Zhu Tao stood trembling before Lan Xi's bedside, as if Lan Xi's voice might be any louder and scare her out of her wits. Lan Xi waved her hand to dismiss Zhu Tao, then gently lifted the large turmeric pillow and leaned against it.
Her real name is Lan Xi. Not long ago, she was just an ordinary office worker. However, she accidentally fell into a sewer without a manhole cover while walking. When she opened her eyes again, she found herself to have transmigrated into a ridiculously cliché world.
When she opened her eyes again, she found herself lying on this bed. A handsome man stood beside her, staring at her with a gloomy expression. He stared at her for a moment, then sneered, "You weren't looking for death, so why didn't you die?" He finished with a harsh remark: "If you can't be the mistress of the Marquis's mansion, I won't force you!"
Lan Xi was completely confused.
Seeing her bewildered expression, Qiao Zhan's anger burned even brighter. But reason told him to consider that Lan Xi was still a patient, so he just snorted and strode away.
As soon as he left, the two maids who had been standing tremblingly to the side immediately rushed over, wailing and crying, as if they were about to die.
Lan Xi felt her head throb even more.
Intimidated by Qiao Zhan's imposing aura, Lan Xi desperately searched for the original owner's memories. Fortunately, the original owner of this body with the same name had left her with a few memories, but enough to cope. After two days of integration, she had a general understanding of her future situation, which could be summed up in four words.
The future looks bleak.
The reason she was seriously injured and ill was because a maidservant tried to get into Qiao Zhan's bed. The maidservant boldly drugged Qiao Zhan, but he didn't take the bait. After the incident, Qiao Zhan severely reprimanded the original owner of the body, almost to the point of wanting to kill her. The original owner ran to the lotus pond crying and sobbing, and in a moment of despair, she tried to drown herself.
Lan Xi slowly sorted out the cause and effect in her mind and made a plan. If she continued to run away, she would only die a more miserable death in the end. After spending five days accepting the fact that she had transmigrated, Lan Xi decided to pull herself together. Now that she had been reborn, there was no reason for her to be killed by someone else.
The matter that needs to be resolved right now is this maid's situation.
"Madam, Madam!" Zhu Tao, who had just gone out, ran back. This time, she disregarded etiquette and directly lifted the curtain to come in, saying in a panic, "Fourth Madam has come with Sister Yue Lin and Sister Tang Li!"
The original owner was terrified of this Fourth Madam, but Lan Xi was not afraid of her. She casually summoned her maid, then returned without a word. Clearly, she was taking advantage of Lan Xi's weakness and incompetence! Now, she would show her some skill and prove her wrong! If Lan Xi didn't stand up for herself, Qiao Zhan would be the first to come after her!
"Hmm." Having made up her mind, Lan Xi responded indifferently, showing no intention of moving.
"Madam, you usually respect Fourth Madam the most!" Seeing Lanxi's unhurried manner, Zhutao was almost in tears. "Should I help you get up?"
"Wait for Yue Lin and Tang Li to come over." Lan Xi leaned back comfortably on the large cushion. "If she asks later, just say I'm sick and can't get up, and ask her to make herself at home."
Zhu Tao stamped her feet in frustration. Just as she was about to try to persuade her again, she heard footsteps approaching from outside. She shuddered – it was Fourth Madam!
"Where is your wife?" A slightly stern and sharp female voice rang out from outside the curtain, with a hint of knowing the answer already.
With no other choice, Zhu Tao had to bite the bullet and go out, stammering, "Fourth...Fourth Madam, Madam...she's seriously ill!" Lan Xi, listening from inside, was anxious for her, "She...she can't get up...she can't get up!"
Before receiving a reply from the Fourth Madam, she heard the curtain rustle. Lan Xi immediately messed up her hair, put on a sickly expression, and leaned listlessly against the large bolster.
A moment later, a tall woman, around forty or fifty years old, entered. She wore a gold-embroidered jacket with a double happiness motif resembling a gourd, paired with a ginger-yellow skirt. She had a long face, high cheekbones, and thin lips, giving her a somewhat cold and aloof appearance. Behind her, besides Yue Lin and Tang Li, was a woman dressed in a seductive and alluring manner.
In a flash, Lan Xi remembered who she was. Wasn't she the maid named Chunying who wanted to climb into Qiao Zhan's bed?
"Madam, I was too weak to greet you properly." Upon meeting the Fourth Madam's gaze, Lan Xirou said softly, "As you know, I only had two capable maids by my side, but they've all disappeared long ago! I'm sorry for my poor household management, Madam!"
The Fourth Madam was somewhat displeased upon hearing this. She was the one who had summoned away Lan Xi's two head maids, and Lan Xi's casual remark was tantamount to implying she lacked manners. She was about to lash out when she met Lan Xi's gentle smile, and swallowed her words. She figured Lan Xi wouldn't dare contradict her, and the words were unintentional; besides, she had more important business to attend to today.
"What are you all standing there for? Why aren't you bringing Fourth Madam a stool and serving her tea?" Lan Xi said to Yue Lin and Tang Li, who looked timid, feigning anger. "I'll settle accounts with you later about what happened this morning!"
"I called them away." Forced into a corner, the fourth wife had no choice but to explain, "Knowing that you haven't been feeling well these past few days, I sent them over to inquire."
Lan Xi said softly, "It was Madam who called them away. My niece-in-law said, 'How dare those two little hussies be so unruly?'" Seeing the Fourth Madam's displeasure, Lan Xi felt a surge of satisfaction. However, she knew that the Fourth Madam's visit with Chunying today was never for anything good. Dealing with Chunying was an urgent matter, and Lan Xi didn't intend to pursue the matter of the Fourth Madam calling Yue Lin and Tang Li away. "Thank you for your concern, Aunt. I really can't bear it."
"Xi Niang, speaking of that matter, you were also at fault." Fourth Madam desperately suppressed the small flames rising in her heart, ignoring Lan Xi's implied meaning. She said somewhat urgently, "If you had let the Marquis take her as a concubine earlier, there wouldn't be this trouble now, and the Marquis wouldn't be angry with you! Seeing you two making such a fuss, we elders really can't stand it!"
So it turns out that Fourth Madam came to speak on behalf of Chunying. Chunying, a mere maid, has such a high status! What kind of talk is this? It's right for a maid in the house to want to sleep with someone, but the mistake is that she didn't notice and didn't stand up for Qiao Zhan in time to take her in? She should take in any maid who has slept with someone; that's proper conduct.
Lan Xi almost laughed out of anger, but on the surface she pretended not to understand the deeper meaning. "How could I not want to live a peaceful life! But you know the Marquis's temper, I can't make decisions for him! If the Marquis likes someone, I will take them without saying a word. But if the Marquis doesn't like someone, even if I talk myself hoarse, it will be to no avail, and it will only make the Marquis dislike me."
As she spoke, Lan Xi's eyes reddened, and she looked pitiful.
The Fourth Madam was utterly exasperated. Previously, she had rejoiced in Lan Xi's weakness, as it allowed her to manipulate her. But Lan Xi was far too weak; she occupied the position of the Marquis of Yongning's principal wife, yet accomplished absolutely nothing!
"Xiniang, you are the legitimate wife of the Marquis of Yongning. How can you not make decisions about matters in the inner quarters?" The Fourth Madam seized the opportunity to lecture her. "You'd better stand up for yourself soon! I think those three concubines are about to overshadow you!"
The concubines in the manor? Lan Xi couldn't help but sneer inwardly. In her mind, concubines always had to behave properly in front of the mistress, not daring to utter a sound. Normally, if she said she was sick, the concubines should have been serving her medicine, but for the past five days, none of the three concubines with official titles in the manor had appeared, which was enough to show how incompetent the Lady of Yongning Marquis was.
“You’re right, Madam.” Lan Xi looked enlightened and readily agreed, “Then let Chunying stay.”
Fourth Madam thought Lan Xi had listened to her words and was overjoyed. A satisfied smile appeared on her tense face. "That's the right thing to do. As the mistress of the Marquis's mansion, you should naturally consider the Marquis's well-being! The fact that the Marquis has no heir is the most important thing you should be concerned about!"
Lan Xi nodded blankly.
"The Marquis is twenty-one now, and you and the Marquis have been married for two years but have no children." Seeing Lan Xi's rare understanding and tact, the Fourth Madam became even more talkative. "It's really not proper. If something happens to the Marquis on the battlefield—where will you rely on?" The Fourth Madam quickly covered her mouth, looking somewhat regretful for her slip of the tongue, but secretly glanced at Lan Xi.
Lan Xi felt increasingly uneasy as she listened. It sounded as if the fourth branch of the family was hoping for Qiao Zhan's early death.
Looking at the Fourth Madam's hypocritical face, and recalling Qiao Zhan's anger, Lan Xi had a sudden flash of insight and understood the whole story. Bringing up the matter of offspring, and then saying Qiao Zhan was engaged in a high-risk profession… Could it be that the Fourth Madam's family hoped Qiao Zhan would have an heir soon, and then take the opportunity to kill him so they could control the Marquis's mansion?
What a wicked thought!
If that's really the case, then there's a reason why the original owner was disliked by Qiao Zhan.
“You’re right!” Lan Xi remained unmoved and said softly, “But the Marquis said that it’s better to have legitimate offspring! You see, the Marquis has benefited from this. Logically speaking, in families with both legitimate and illegitimate children, they would have fought tooth and nail for the title long ago, but our uncles have taken great care of the Marquis and protected him so that he could inherit the title.”
Coincidentally, the Yongning Marquis's family has only had legitimate sons for two generations.
Lan Xi smiled slightly, composed and dignified. "Isn't this a benefit?"
Fourth Madam was caught in a whimper, clearly not expecting that the usually timid Lanxi would suddenly become so sharp-tongued.
The fourth wife stared wide-eyed at Lan Xi for a long time, her anger raging but she didn't know how to vent it. Lan Xi outwardly went along with her words, and then brought up Qiao Zhan's matter to pressure her, so she really couldn't refute her.
"I know you mean well! Besides, how old am I, how much have I experienced? I can't possibly see things as clearly as Madam!" Lan Xi's gaze had already fallen on Chun Ying beside the Fourth Madam. She didn't want to immediately break ties with the Fourth Madam. Even if those were just her guesses, they would still need to be discussed carefully. "How about this, you let Chun Ying stay, and I will have my own plans."
Seeing that Lanxi was about to back down, the Fourth Madam's expression softened.