Chapter 285 — Chickens Fly

Wei Fan and Dou Ming were still in the first flush of newlywed bliss, and at these words he could not help but hesitate—and his hesitation did not escape Dou Ming's eyes.

No wonder Mother said a man must not be spoiled. I gave him my whole heart, offended my own uncle and aunt for his sake, and not only does he spare me a single tender word—the moment something displeases him, he turns his temper on me… For whom am I weaving this bridal dress?

The thought had barely crossed her mind before the tears came pattering down. "For whom have I done all this? Day after day running to my uncle's house, listening to my aunt's endless carping… My grandfather is past sixty, yet for the sake of a grandson-in-law he bows his head and begs favors of others… You are an ingrate that no kindness can ever tame…"

Wei Fan was dumbfounded. "What are you talking about? These past days you have gone to Liuye Alley every single day—did you not say you were visiting your mother? How does this suddenly become my fault?"

Because of this mother-in-law of his, sent back to her natal home by his father-in-law, he had borne no small share of his elder sister's displeasure, and some of that resentment had rubbed off on him.

Tell me, you are a second wife raised to the position of principal—could you not attend to your husband and children properly? What business have you stirring up so much trouble?

His brother-in-law was not in the good graces of the Duchess of Jingguo, and for his sister, as a daughter-in-law of that house, life had grown all the harder. It must have cost her untold effort to finally gain a firm footing, and now, because of his mother-in-law, she had been caught in others' snares and was forever being mocked by her sisters-in-law and in-laws. Had his mother-in-law remained in Yunqi Temple Alley, it would have been one thing—but no, she had to move into Liuye Alley, so that his sister lacked the confidence to speak up and could only feign deafness or smile and bear it. How could his sister not be furious!

"When is Father-in-law going to take your mother back?" Wei Fan asked, somewhat displeased. "A couple who have shared youth should share their old age. Father-in-law and your mother cannot go on living apart like this forever, surely? You had better think of some way to persuade your mother to admit her fault to Father-in-law and go back to Guimeng Temple Alley. Why keep up this standoff and make everyone look bad?"

"Your mother, your mother—is my mother not your mother-in-law?" Dou Ming's heart gave a painful twist with anger. "Has your sister been whispering in your ear again? What exactly does she mean by it? Why can she not bear to see us live well? Is there any sister-in-law in this world who behaves as she does?"

"Say what you like, but why drag my sister into it?" The veins stood out on Wei Fan's temples. He thought of how a few days ago his mother had hidden in her room weeping quietly, saying things like "Other families' brothers and sisters-in-law, even in their straits, find ways to put a shine on the married daughters' faces—only in our house does she eat our food and drink our drink and then heap more grief on us." The fire in his heart leapt up. "What about my sister? Has my sister not treated you well? She cannot bear to eat the least delicacy herself—half of it must be sent over to you. Though she is the heir's wife of the Jingguo Estate, every few days she returns to her natal home to wash and bathe Mother with her own hands… She is a daughter who has married out; you are a bride brought into this house. While she was doing all that, what were you doing?"

With those words he had dragged the matter onto the ground of filial piety. If Dou Ming showed weakness now, the cap of unfiliality would be fixed on her head for good.

She gave a cold laugh. "Is it that I will not wait on my mother-in-law, or that your sister picks and finds fault with me on purpose? One moment she says my hands are too heavy and I have broken Mother-in-law's hair; the next she says I put in too much bath bean and soaked the whole room… I am a bride new to this house. If I do not know how, could she not teach me? Yet she must say before Mother-in-law's very face how clumsy and awkward I am—is that my fault too? Wei Fan, speak with a conscience!"

In Wei Fan's heart, Dou Ming had always been a sweet girl. He had never known her to have such a sharp tongue.

The two of them fell to quarreling.

Of course, a clever little maidservant soon carried word to Lady Tian.

Lady Tian was so angry she stamped her feet, crying out, "A curse upon this house, a curse upon this house!" and weeping, she made to go seek the old Marquis of Jining.

The maids and serving women attending her, frightened, ran to fetch Wei Fan. But Wei Fan was locked in furious argument with Dou Ming, and none of the servants dared step forward, so they had no choice but to send for Wei Wan.

The sixth day of the eleventh month was the birthday of the Duchess of Jingguo. Several of the daughters-in-law, eager to curry favor, had gathered before her to discuss the birthday celebrations, and Wei Wan naturally dared not slip away, though she was secretly anxious. The Second Madam of the Zhang family was a typical daughter of the Shi clan—shrewd and full of schemes. Noticing that Wei Wan's expression was somewhat strained when she came in, she quietly signaled to her own personal maid, and before long she knew that someone from the Jining Marquis Estate had come looking for Wei Fan. Seizing the moment when Wei Wan went to fetch the inventory ledgers for the Duchess, she covered her mouth and laughed. "Elder Sister-in-law will be gone a good half hour. Why do we not play a few rounds of leaf cards to pass the time?"

The Duchess of Jingguo was not one to tolerate a grain of sand in her eye. It was plain to her that her second daughter-in-law was pouring poison in her ear against the first, but the second daughter-in-law was not the sort to merely make an outcry either. One glare from the Duchess, and at once an old serving woman stepped forward and reported that someone from the Jining Marquis Estate had come looking for the eldest madam.

The Duchess of Jingguo was furious.

Her eldest daughter-in-law was the mistress of the Jingguo Estate's household, the principal wife of the Zhang clan; yet in all things she must put her natal family first. And what was this Zhang family? Was this not keeping a great rat that ate at the inside of the house while carrying grain out the back?

The Duchess flung the ledgers Wei Wan had presented to her straight back into Wei Wan's face. Wei Wan was struck senseless, wholly at a loss as to what had happened, though in her heart she knew well enough that either her second or third sister-in-law had again been poisoning her mother-in-law's ear against her.

Her heart wept blood, but she dared not show the slightest trace on her face, and with lowered head and downcast eyes she let her mother-in-law scold her.

When the Duchess had scolded herself hoarse and her anger was spent—and her disappointment deeper still—she waved Wei Wan away and kept only her third daughter-in-law at her side for intimate talk.

Wei Wan could only put this down in her account book.

The attendants about the Second Madam could not help remonstrating with her. "Why must you do this? The Jingguo Estate will be the heir's wife's sooner or later."

"If I curried favor with her now, would she treat me any differently?" The Second Madam blew carelessly on the nails stained orange with balsam juice. "In the end I must rely on my natal family. Whether she is pleased or not—what is that to me?"

Her attendants thought it over and saw the sense in it, and spoke no more of persuading her; instead they fell to discussing with the Second Madam how, at the Duchess's birthday, the Changxing Marquis Estate might be made to add luster to her name.