Chapter 47: The Concubine-Born Elder Brothers

Recently, Jiang Yang, the legitimate second young lady of the Jiang family, had acquired a beautiful man. She showered him with undiminished favor and intense affection, to the point where she no longer even visited the brothels.

The curious gossipmongers speculated about the background of this mysterious beauty. How could he surpass even the most well-trained courtesans from the brothels? After some inquiries, they learned that this beauty was merely a servant in the Jiang household. He had deliberately waited in front of Jiang Yang’s courtyard, hoping to climb the social ladder, and caught her eye, leading to his admission into her chambers.

“It’s been a month already, and the second young lady still hasn’t grown tired of him?”

“That Chi Mei really has some skills!”

The menial servants whispered among themselves.

“At this rate, he might be promoted from a bedchamber attendant to a side husband.”

“Is it appropriate for you lowly servants to discuss the master’s affairs? Do you want to pack your bags and leave along with Wen Hua and Shu Qin?” Xian Qi, carrying Three Lives Tea, coldly glared at the gossiping servants.

After Wen Hua, Shu Qin, and the others were driven away, Xian Qi had been promoted to become Jiang Yang’s personal attendant. In the Hui Xue Residence, he could now order around the lower-ranking menial servants.

His rise to this position was largely thanks to Chi Mei.

Originally, Xian Qi was just a menial servant in the Hui Xue Residence. His appearance was utterly unremarkable, easily lost in a crowd. Because he wasn’t articulate, he rarely gossiped and just focused on his work diligently.

It was Chi Mei who had picked him out from among the servants and recommended his promotion, giving him the opportunity to rise.

Xian Qi understood why Chi Mei had chosen him. His ordinary looks meant he wasn’t as alluring as Rou Shu or Wen Hua, so having him serve by Jiang Yang’s side wouldn’t risk stealing her heart.

Even so, Xian Qi was still grateful to Chi Mei and Jiang Yang. Without them, he would have remained an insignificant servant in the Hui Xue Residence for life.

When he heard the servants gossiping behind their backs again, Xian Qi instinctively defended his masters.

Seeing Xian Qi, the menial servants shrank back like mice spotting a cat, hurriedly apologizing.

Xian Qi gave them a cold look: “Go and receive your punishment. You’re not allowed out today. Don’t spoil the mood of the second young lady and young master Chi Mei.”

“Yes, we’ll withdraw at once.”

Watching the menial servants slink away, Xian Qi shook his head slightly. He knew that recently, not only were people in this courtyard discussing Chi Mei, but the gossip had spread to other courtyards as well. Although the second young lady was known for her promiscuity outside, she had only ever taken one person into her chambers, showing that she truly cherished him in her heart.

Some of Jiang Yang’s concubine-born brothers and sisters also came forward to inquire, hoping to befriend Chi Mei. They wanted him to whisper sweet nothings in Jiang Yang’s ear, asking her to help them find potential spouses from good families.

Although Jiang Yang wasn’t as reliable as Jiang Qingzhou, she was still a woman and had more opportunities to interact with other women outside than the men in the inner courtyards. Even if Jiang Yang’s friends were mostly drinking buddies, those who could be her drinking companions were not ordinary people. Most were from noble families. Even if they lived an unremarkable life of indolence, they would still enjoy lifelong wealth and status.

For a concubine-born son, marrying into such a family as a primary husband was an excellent prospect. Therefore, these concubine-born sons, although they looked down on Chi Mei as a mere bedchamber attendant who relied on his looks, still came forward to curry favor.

Xian Qi had already agreed to the requests from the personal attendants of two concubine-born young masters.

Sighing inwardly, Xian Qi carried the Three Lives Tea and knocked on the door.

“Come in,” Jiang Yang’s voice came from inside. Xian Qi pushed open the door and was immediately enveloped by a rich fragrance. A flame-like red color caught his eye.

Chi Mei was resplendent in a crimson robe, his eyes crinkled with the smile of someone thoroughly pampered. He lazily leaned against Jiang Yang, holding a small silver scissors and randomly cutting red paper. The red paper scraps fell like tongues of flame onto his gold-embroidered brocade robe. Jiang Yang had one arm around his slender, soft waist from behind, while her other hand held up a cut-out red carp. Her gaze was relaxed and indulgent as she watched Chi Mei’s haphazard cutting. This composed display of doting affection made him feel a twinge of envy.

Aside from good looks, how could one obtain such a good wife-master?

Pushing aside his wandering thoughts, Xian Qi took a deep breath and placed the Three Lives Tea before Jiang Yang. “Second young lady, your Three Lives Tea is ready.”

“Mm.” Jiang Yang didn’t lower her gaze to look at him. She picked up the teacup and took a sip. Before she could speak, Chi Mei had already put down his paper-cutting and leaned over to drink from the same spot Jiang Yang had just sipped from. After savoring it for a moment, he said, “It’s delicious. Not as bitter as last time.”

Xian Qi said, “Ever since you mentioned that the Three Lives Tea was a bit bitter last time, young master, the second young lady ordered the kitchen to add more sugar to it.”

Hearing this, Chi Mei’s face lit up with a tender, coquettish smile. “No wonder.”

He put down the small silver scissors and held up his finished work for Jiang Yang to see. “A Yang, look at the little fish I cut out. Is it good?”

Xian Qi glanced at it—it was a pitiful sight. Then he looked at Jiang Yang…

She had an expression that suggested she could barely stand to look at it, and said, “There’s improvement. Still plenty of room for growth.”

Chi Mei hugged the barely recognizable paper-cutting, utterly delighted by Jiang Yang’s single word of praise.

Xian Qi thought to himself: This is considered improvement? How terrible must it have been before?

However, before that, Xian Qi had some official business to attend to.

He looked at Jiang Yang and said, “Second young lady, the ninth young master’s servant has sent someone to invite young master Chi Mei to their courtyard to appreciate plum blossoms.”

Jiang Yang’s gaze was indifferent, like a light ripple on water. “No time.”

Xian Qi continued, “The tenth young master says he heard you’ve recently taken in a new bedchamber attendant and would like to meet him.”

Jiang Yang repeated, “No time.”

Chi Mei lifted his head from his joy at being praised and said, “The ninth and tenth young masters are A Yang’s brothers, right? I’m free, and I’d like to meet A Yang’s family too.”

Jiang Yang put the small silver scissors back into Chi Mei’s hand, along with another piece of red paper. “Just play with this. You’re not free.”

Although he didn’t understand why Jiang Yang wouldn’t let him meet her family, since she had said so, Chi Mei didn’t want to press the issue. He shrugged, his expression relaxed. “Alright then.”

“Shall this lowly servant go and decline their invitations?” Xian Qi asked.

“Mm,” Jiang Yang responded. Those concubine-born brothers of hers were not easy to deal with. Each of them lived as if they were in a palace intrigue novel, treading on thin ice every day. One small misstep and they would be caught in someone’s trap, falling victim to schemes.

Four years ago, her legitimate second elder brother had arranged an excellent marriage. The bride was the legitimate daughter of the Shen family from Yingchuan, quite beautiful and with a steady temperament. But just a few days later, when her second brother went to the matchmaker’s temple to give thanks, her concubine-born sixth brother made his move. Taking advantage of the second brother’s absence, he had an illicit affair with the soon-to-be sister-in-law.

When the second brother returned, he cried his eyes out. He was one of the few truly kind and virtuous among Jiang Yang’s brothers, always courteous and respectful to his concubine-born brothers. But his courtesy and respect did not win their genuine affection. Instead, seeing him as easy to bully, they piled on schemes against him. Climbing into his fiancée’s bed, the second brother was reduced to tears before he could even marry.

In the end, the Shen family took in the sixth brother as well. Being a son of the Jiang family, even though concubine-born, he became a favored consort with some status in the inner courtyard. With his skills, he bewitched the sister-in-law, who doted on him daily while neglecting the second brother. Now, the sixth brother had already given birth to two children, both daughters.

Meanwhile, her second brother had finally managed to conceive, only to miscarry in the first trimester. It became difficult for him to conceive again, and he had been depressed ever since.

With daughters to rely on, the sixth brother practically swaggered through the inner courtyard, his influence almost surpassing that of the primary husband. He even manipulated the second sister-in-law into promoting him to equal husband status, arguing that since he and the second brother were both sons of the Jiang family, they were all brothers without distinction, and it would be a disgrace to the Jiang family for his own daughters to be considered concubine-born.

When the news reached Lingnan, her father Liu nearly fainted with anger. But Yingchuan was too far from Lingnan, and his influence didn’t reach that far to support his son.

However, to vent his anger, he directly had the sixth brother’s birth father, Liu, tied up and beaten. Afterwards, he married off the seventh brother, Liu’s second son, who had just come of age, to a poor scholar nearly forty years old. It was practically a demeaning marriage, disregarding even family dignity just to settle a score.

How could Liu bear to let the seventh brother marry such an older, poor scholar? He wept and pleaded outside the matriarch’s study, but she had long since devoted herself to the Dao, closing her eyes to everything and letting Liu cry and wail as he pleased.

It was said that before the seventh brother’s wedding, he cursed the sixth brother with the most vicious words. When Liu heard about it, he was thoroughly pleased.

But no matter how satisfying it was, it couldn’t save the second brother. Seeing the legitimate young master about to be bullied and ridden over by a concubine-born son, it was finally the eldest brother who returned and advised Liu. He suggested having the sixth brother’s two daughters adopted by the second brother, to be raised by him. After all, they were all brothers without distinction, and the second brother could gain a reputation for being kind and supportive of his concubine-born nieces.

Later, they sent Jiang Yang, the idle playboy without an official position, to Yingchuan for a visit. She reminded them of the importance of the second brother as a legitimate son in the Jiang family. Only then did the Shen family abandon the idea of elevating the sixth brother’s status. After all, with the daughters now adopted under the primary husband’s name, the identity of their birth father became less important.

Afterwards, the sixth brother, unwilling to accept defeat, desperately tried for another child and succeeded in having a pair of twins, a boy and a girl, in an attempt to regain favor.

But the second brother, having gone through the previous domestic strife, returned as if reborn. Not only did he use the old method to take away the daughter, but to show his benevolence, he left the son for the sixth brother to raise. In reality, this was a slap in the face, a humiliation—no matter how fertile you are, you’re still just making wedding clothes for me.

The second brother must have used some method to ‘carefully’ raise the adopted daughters, causing them to become estranged from their birth father. Now, the eldest daughter who has come of age truly regards the second brother as her birth father, while being cold and distant towards her low-born birth father. The two younger ones also only recognize the second brother, crying whenever the sixth brother tries to hold them in secret.

And because of the toll of consecutive pregnancies, the sixth brother’s looks have faded, and he has gradually fallen out of favor.

Since this incident, Jiang Yang has seen through the scheming nature of these concubine-born siblings. Naturally, she wouldn’t dare let this foolish fish near the den of tigers and wolves, lest all sorts of information be extracted from him. It’s better to keep him hidden away like a precious treasure.

Author’s Note:

I’m going for a colonoscopy tomorrow. It’s my first time, and I’m a bit scared (╯﹏╰) Thanks to the little angels who cast landmines or watered with nutrient solution during the period from 2022-08-05 23:51:31 to 2022-08-08 00:50:57~

Thanks to the little angels who watered with nutrient solution: Big Watermelon Immortal 15 bottles; Yan Fire 4 bottles; A Cloud Over There, Xie Wuyan 2 bottles each; 42293163 1 bottle;

Thank you very much for your support, I will continue to work hard!