Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
For the greater good of the clan’s harmony, Feng Jin and Feng Jue have undergone rigorous training since young. They were constantly reminded of this – their elder brother is the heir who will inherit the clan, no matter how outstanding his younger brothers are, they must not covet what doesn’t belong to them.
No matter which family, it is a great taboo amongst brothers to have disputes.
Rather than giving each child the hope of vying with one another, let them know their disparity from the start.
Therefore, unless it’s a unique situation, Feng Jin and Feng Jue will rarely challenge Feng Gui over anything.
The difference between the three brothers can be seen from many areas, for example, their marriages and wives.
Feng Gui’s wife was carefully chosen based on many criteria, it wasn’t limited to women from Dongqing, the complexity and meticulous extent is unparalleled that even the Emperor’s marriage wasn’t so detailed. Primarily, it examined the family background of the lady, her education, mannerisms, character, beauty…. It required painstaking considerations of every aspect.
For this reason, Feng Gui only got married at twenty-one years old.
How about Feng Jin’s wife — Wei Jingxian’s background?
Born from a scholarly family in Hejian, her family is middle class, she has wits, beauty and has a good temperament. Her only two flaws are that she entered a bandit den before yet came out unscathed, and secondly, she once had a marriage agreement with Liu Xi but she eventually broke the agreement. There are many who are worthier than Wei Jingxian in Dongqing.
If not for Liu She, the matchmaker, based on Wei Jingxian’s family status, she will never be able to become the Second Madam of the Feng family.
Feng Jin has no intentions to vie with Feng Gui, Wei Jingxian also lacks in every way and she’s unable to rise as the matriarch of the Feng family.
Honestly, it’s impossible for both husband and wife to compete over benefits with Feng Gui and his wife.
Feng Jin seriously couldn’t comprehend, why did his elder sister-in-law have to look at Changsheng with such malicious intent and she didn’t have any intention to hide it?
As a man, it was unbecoming of Feng Jin to eavesdrop on gossips about his elder sister-in-law. He could only depend on his wife to find out more information.
What a joke, a matriarch who harbored ill-intentions against Changsheng, how can Feng Jin be rest assured?
Wei Jingxian accompanied her mother-in-law to the back hall to rest, while Feng Jin and Feng Ren stayed at the main hall to converse.
Both father and son haven’t met for years and there was much to discuss.
Wei Jingxian was entertaining Changsheng as she conversed with her mother-in-law about the affairs of the family. Both had an amicable chat while between them there was the cheeky Changsheng, the atmosphere was rather harmonious till Feng Jin’s elder sister-in-law came with her two sons to greet Madam Feng. Immediately, the atmosphere became tense.
In contrast to Feng Gui’s polite and magnanimous disposition, both his sons are rather slow-witted and blur. They seemed rather reserved and they appeared nervous.
She met this elder sister-in-law twice or thrice before, although she didn’t know her well, but after hearing about her background, it is rather strange.
Madam Feng who was smiling joyfully a while back, when faced with her elder daughter-in-law who fawns on her on purpose, her entire being maintained a cold, fake smile throughout, the atmosphere was rather awkward.
Feng Gui’s wife was unhappy, she quickly retorted then swayed her body and left with her two sons.
The person who caused the awkward atmosphere was finally gone; Wei Jingxian secretly heaved a sigh of relief. Suddenly, an intriguing thought filled her mind, she was lost as her eyes widened.
Swaying her body gently?
Naturally, the daughters of aristocratic families undergo strict education, their mannerisms when sitting or walking are governed by rules.
One must not be impolite in words and action, although this isn’t strictly enforced, it shouldn’t be this frivolous?
Watching her elder sister-in-law swaying her hips, Wei Jingxian’s expression was rather appalled.
Madam Feng sighed, then spoke softly, “Finally, she’s left.”
“Mother, in the past, elder sister-in-law wasn’t like this….”
Madam Feng commented, “How long have you been away, how often have you seen her?”
Wei Jingxian thought her mother-in-law was displeased with her being a busybody, thus she swallowed back her words.
Then Madam Feng continued, “Even I thought she was good, yet she turned out to be such a… Anyway, Jingxian, you must not learn from her.”
She replied earnestly, “Mother, I will remember that.”
Madam Feng started an engaging topic, she told her about the events that unfolded in the family over the years in a long-winded manner which caused Wei Jingxian’s facial expression turned unsightly.
After a while —
“…Elder brother-in-law just bore with it?” She asked.
Madam Feng frowned, “What can I do if I cannot tolerate this? After all, they were officially wedded, and he can’t divorce her for this reason. I was deliberating to try teaching her the ways… Sigh, I wonder how the Du family taught their daughters, they are so petty and yet they dare boast as daughters from a wealthy family.”
Feng Gui’s wife, Madam Feng-Du is from the large and respectable Du family in Zhongzhao. She is the fifth in the family and her eldest sister is Zhongzhao’s Empress.
Madam Feng chose from a multitude of women before she set her eyes on the fifth daughter of the Du family.
The distance between Zhongzhao and Dongqing was too far, Madam Feng couldn’t see her future daughter-in-law in person, but sources and replies that came from everywhere affirmed the union between the Feng and Du families in terms of family background, education, looks, manners and character…. there was nothing unsatisfactory in all aspects.
From the time both families set the wedding date till the wedding day itself, it took close to two years.
Madam Feng had high hopes for her eldest daughter-in-law, but she was utterly disappointed in the end.
Greed, jealousy, power-hungry, loquacious tongue, a devious heart!
Besides these, what was the most unbearable for Madam Feng was that she was plagued with a terrible disease!
Feng Jin returned to his apartment before marriage and stayed there, his wife carried Changsheng and walked over with servants escorting them.
Both husband and wife were speaking privately in their room. After Feng Jin heard the entire conversation, he had a broken expression.
“Elder sister-in-law has a chronic disease?”
How can this be?
It was impossible to be shortlisted in his mother’s list of noble ladies if one has a chronic disease.
Wei Jingxian rolled her eyes unkindly, then said, “Didn’t you observe the way elder sister-in-law walked, which appeared rather… frivolous?”
He bit her ear lobe, then righteously and justifiably said, “Jingxian, you’ve called her elder sister-in-law, how can I, her second brother-in-law, look at her with lust.”
“Be serious!” Wei Jingxian felt very uncomfortable, she carried Changsheng and sat further away, “Mother said elder sister-in-law broke her leg.”
Feng Jin knitted his brows, “Since she was born?”
“How can this be, it happened after she was born.”
“After she was born? Were her house servants so careless?”
When he was young, he fell and broke his tooth, the maidservant who served him was disciplined harshly.
Wei Jingxian sighed, she held on the small braid on Changsheng’s hair, “It happened after she was born. However, it wasn’t an accident rather it was caused by someone.”
He cringed; someone caused her feet to fracture?
“Elder sister in law was born in Zhongzhao’s noble family, the Du family. She has an elder sister who is the Empress of Zhongzhao.”
Feng Jin remarked, “I am aware of this matter.”
Wei Jingxian emphasized this point displeased, “When the Four Self-accomplishment Classics for Women was written to educate the women in the world, she’s the one who claimed to be the model woman.”
Hearing the words, the Four Self-accomplishment Classics for Women, Feng Jin immediately became alert.
“This, this… is indeed so coincidental…” Feng Jin commented embarrassedly.
She said, “In previous years, the Du family were on a decline, they depended on the Empress to sustain her maiden family. She wrote the Four Self-accomplishment Classics for Women and won the respect of the renowned scholars. Eventually, she gained the title as a model for all women and thus, the Du family’s reputation increased in Zhongzhao. With the Empress as the standard, the first lady of the Du family educated the women in her clan. Make a guess… this Empress has a habit of binding her feet before the sole of her foot grew as big as her palm, it was utterly beautiful…”
Feng Jin’s face reddened, “Didn’t you just mention that I, your husband, wasn’t being serious, why are you saying such foolish words?”
Wei Jingxian scoffed saying, “A defiled person is blinded by his corrupted mind, do you dare claim you never once thought of what you ought not to? When our elder sister-in-law was 15 to 16 years old, she hailed from a renowned family, her legs were also… now that it’s inconvenient for her to walk, her temperament has turned melancholic and dark…”
These words weren’t coined by Wei Jingxian, they were words spoken by her mother-in-law.
