Chapter 89 - Matchmaking isn’t easy (2)

Nie Residence was very large and magnificent, but it was slightly off from the established customs of how the buildings should be arranged. However, the emperor had bestowed this residence, so no one could say anything. Ji Man looked around and discovered that the pavilions and other buildings were built irregularly. Underneath the covered corridors, there was a green pool. After they passed through pool area, they arrived at the southern courtyard. When servant girls passed by them, they would curtsey at them before walking forward.

Nie Clan’s level of prosperousness inexplicably made Ji Man think of the residence in Dream of the Red Chamber and she was absent-minded for a brief period.

Seeing that she wasn’t speaking, Nie Qingyun thought she was feeling unhappy. And so, he explained, “Chenyu and Youran are both attending embroidery class right now, that’s why they’re not here to welcome you. The honored concubines are waiting for you in the main courtyard with mother.”

Ji Man returned to her senses and somewhat nervously said, “Sangyu is a junior. There’s no need for them to wait for me, right?”

Why did she keep feeling that the people in this household didn’t have friendly feelings towards her? Hearing that a group of women were waiting for her up ahead, Ji Man felt even more nervous.

“You’re Marquis Moyu’s secondary wife. It’s only right that they’re waiting for you.”

Marquis Moyu was a first-rank official and managed the six ministries. Even Nie Xiangyuan had to salute him when he saw him. When Ji Man had originally read the light novel, she thought he was a leisurely marquis. Unexpectedly, his position was this powerful.

Nie Xiangyuan’s current main wife was Chen Suqing. Technically, she was also Nie Sangyu’s maternal aunt. However, she had never liked Nie Sangyu. The strange thing was that Nie Qingyun was especially fond and caring of his half-sister.

And so, Ji Man wasn’t sure. Exactly, what was Nie Sangyu’s position in Nie Clan?

After entering the main room, there was a row of honored concubines sitting in the top seats. In the center of the row, there was a graceful and luxuriously dressed woman. She smiled and said, “So, you’ve come back.”

Ji Man stood still. She didn’t know if she should salute them or do something else. She was only sure that the woman in the center was Chen Suqing, but she had no idea about the names of the other women.

There was a trace of annoyance in Chen Suqing’s eyes. She clutched her handkerchief and looked at Nie Sangyu for a while before finally saying, “As expected, people change when they marry well. Are you not even going to salute your mother after coming back?”

Ji Man froze for a moment, then she kneeled down in front of her. “Daughter Sangyu respectfully greets mother.”

Chen Suqing coldly harrumphed and didn’t signal for her to stand. Sitting in her chair, she coldly said, “What kind of status does Nie Clan have? You relied on your maiden family’s fame and left your family to marry into that household as the main wife. But, you didn’t follow the rules and came back here with the position of a secondary wife. Other people will criticize me for not teaching you well.”

Ji Man felt slightly annoyed. Chen Suqing had been a secondary wife herself. If Nie Sangyu’s mother hadn’t died well, the position of the main wife would have never gone to this woman.

Thinking of the recent words that Nie Qingyun had said, Ji Man felt that there was no need for her to speak in a soft voice here. In the marquis’s household, she needed to survive. Why should she let herself suffer from pent-up frustrations and petty annoyances here?

And so, she didn’t care about getting Chen Suqing’s permission before standing up. She patted her skirt, raised her eyes to look at Chen-shi, and said, “Mother, you don’t need to worry. Sangyu was entirely taught and raised by my biological mother. This has nothing to do with you. Other people will only remember that Sangyu was born from father and his original main wife. They won’t blame you. At the time, you were only a secondary wife.”

There were so many honored concubines and ordinary concubines in the room. Ji Man’s words directly choked Chen Suqin to the point that she couldn’t properly speak. Chen Suqin’s finger shook as she pointed at her and kept saying, “You.” She was so angry that her face turned white.

Standing by the side, Nie Qingyin gently tugged Nie Sangyu’s sleeve.

Ji Man eased her expression into a smile and said, “This daughter only came back this time under Old Madame Ning’s order to talk about Marquis Jingwen’s daughter’s marriage with older brother. I won’t stay long and offend mother’s eyes.”

“Utter nonsense!” Chen-shi was so angry that she didn’t even care about maintaining her composure anymore. She stood up and said, “When did it become any of your business to interfere with Qingyun’s marriage? You’re outrageously disrespectful to your elders. You just came back and you’re not showing me the proper respect. You think you can act as Qingyun’s matchmaker? Dream on!”

“Mother, calm down.” Ji Man lightly smiled and curtsied. “A main wife must have an elegant demeanor and presence. You shouldn’t need Sangyu to teach you this, right?”

“You!” Chen-shi was so furious that she laughed. “Good, very good. I can’t outtalk you. But, I’ll leave you with these words. If you want Qingyun to marry that junzhu, you need to obtain my approval. I’m his mother!”

Ji Man slowly walked over. She picked up a nearby teapot and poured Chen-shi a cup of tea. She presented the cup with both of her hands and said, “Mother, you don’t need to listen to truth said by Sangyu or quibble with me. This matter is related to older brother’s major life event. Mother, shouldn’t you carefully think this over?”

Chen-shi wasn’t against Nie Qingyun marrying that junzhu. After all, her status was very good. There would only be benefits and no detriments for him to marry Ning Errong. However, she couldn’t stand Nie Sangyu’s current attitude. In the past, she could at least punish her in accordance to the household laws for acting rude and unreasonable. But now, she was the one that was angry enough to stomp her feet. She couldn’t even find and grasp a minor wrongdoing by Nie Sangyu!

The tea was brought to her, but Chen-shi didn’t want to accept it. She couldn’t swallow the anger in her heart, so she pushed the cup away. “I’ll be the one making a decision on this matter. It’s not your place to say anything.”

The strength she used to push the cup away probably wasn’t great, but the cup of tea was actually pushed out Nie Sangyu’s hands, fell to the ground, and splashed in all directions.