Chapter 6: Brutal

The backyard of the county magistrate’s office was decorated with lanterns and colorful streamers.

In the main courtyard along the central axis, in the southwest corner, a *qinglu* (green tent) had been erected according to the customs of the Northern Territory. After the bride entered the household, she would walk along a path of laid-out felt mats to enter the tent, where the wedding ceremony and other rites would be held.

This was the so-called "Rite of the Green Tent."

The servants of the Wang family, dressed in brand-new clothes, were busy bustling about, welcoming guests and seeing them off.

One could not say they were beaming with joy, but they were certainly very enthusiastic—their master had married a daughter of the Cui family, making him an in-law to formidable military commanders like the Yang and Lou clans.

With this connection, in these chaotic times, the Wang family would only fare better and better.

If the master of the house prospered, they, as servants, would also live well.

It was not like a few months ago, when the Wang family was forced to return to their ancestral home and suffered a siege by rioters at their fortified manor.

To escape that predicament, the head of the Wang family, Wang Lin, had offered up wealth, beautiful maids, and in the end, even his own legal wife... ahem, that could not be spoken of!

That matter was a secret within the Wang family; it must never be mentioned.

Not to mention the servants, even the masters of the Wang family had been divided into separate households after whispering about it a few times while at the manor.

When the young master came to Hedong County to take up his post, he hadn't even brought along those sons born of concubines.

From then on, those branches would be relegated to mere distant relatives, eventually becoming impoverished families.

That the young master could be so decisive toward his own half-brothers showed just how much of a taboo "that matter" was to him!

...But that is straying from the topic. On such a joyous day, it is better to focus on the wedding ceremony.

Before dusk, Wang Lin welcomed the bride into his home.

They entered the green tent to hold the wedding rites.

Wang Lin was a man of imposing appearance; looking only at his handsome features and scholarly temperament, one could never associate him with being a "twice-married man."

The bride, Lady Cui, held a round fan, keeping her face tightly covered.

Although her features were hidden, her hair was as dark as a cloud, and her figure was slender and graceful. Even if she were not a peerless beauty, she would certainly not be an ugly woman.

However, none of this mattered to Wang Lin.

He had already possessed the most beautiful of first wives, and he had passed the age of being obsessed solely with beauty.

Now, as for this new wife, as long as she was not too ugly, Wang Lin could endure it.

After all, what he had always wanted was never just a woman, but the family behind her and the benefits she could bring him!

First bow to Heaven and Earth!

Second bow to the high hall!

Husband and wife bow to each other!

The ceremony was complete.

With the solemn part of the proceedings over, the relatives and friends began to tease and play, purely to heighten the festive atmosphere of the wedding.

Amidst the clamor of the crowd, Wang Lin recited a "fan-removing poem" on the spot.

"Is the bride satisfied?"

Someone took the lead in stirring up the atmosphere.

Others laughed and chimed in.

If the groom's fan-removing poem was talented and sincere enough to move the bride, she would take away the round fan and reveal her true face.

If the bride was not satisfied, the groom would have to compose another.

Of course, this was just a small game to liven up the atmosphere. Unless she was truly dissatisfied with the marriage, the bride would usually take away the fan regardless.

Sure enough, while the relatives and guests in the green tent were still teasing, Lady Cui had already lowered her round fan.

She raised her head, wearing a magnificent and brilliant floral crown, with gold hairpins and dangling ornaments tucked into her hair—a head full of pearls and jade, dazzling to the eye.

Wang Lin’s gaze fell upon Lady Cui’s face, and his expression froze for a moment.

Lady Cui’s appearance was not only not ugly, but could even be described as beautiful.

It was just that her beauty was different from his first wife, Lady Jiang.

Lady Jiang had been a peerless beauty, cold and noble, like the goddess Heng'e in the Moon Palace.

As for Lady Cui, she had high, slender eyebrows, a pair of phoenix eyes, a high-bridged nose, and slightly prominent cheekbones, which made her look somewhat sharp.

Her mouth was not the "cherry mouth" favored by scholars; it was slightly fuller and painted with bright red rouge.

Bright and bold, she was like the most flamboyant peony.

Lady Cui’s features incorporated characteristics of foreign tribes, with a three-dimensional structure and an imposing aura.

In this way, she lacked a bit of the gentleness and elegance of the Han people.

Wang Lin could not tell if he was pleasantly surprised or disappointed; he lowered his eyelids slightly... He had been prepared. He was not marrying Lady Cui for the sake of a woman, but to gain a helpful wife's family.

To marry a wife is to marry virtue.

If he truly wanted a pleasing beauty, he could always take a concubine!

Thinking this, Wang Lin raised his head again, his gentle eyes filled with joy and tenderness.

Seeing the affectionate, jade-faced gentleman—even though he was several years her senior and a twice-married man—Lady Jiang still blushed.

This Master Wang was indeed handsome and noble, just like the ideal husband she had imagined.

With the groom affectionate and the bride willing, the people inside the green tent seemed quite redundant.

The crowd was not without tact; seeing the groom and bride in such a state, they all wore "knowing" smiles and exited the tent one after another, leaving the newlyweds to continue the remaining rituals.

In the crowd, a little girl of eight or nine years old squeezed her way out and hurried toward the courtyard on the east side.

"Jiuniang! Jiuniang!"

Bai Zhi entered the west wing of the east courtyard and called out repeatedly.

"Bai Zhi, what is it? Didn't you go to the main courtyard to help?"

Holding a cherry *biruo* (pastry) in her hand, Wang Heng puffed out her little cheeks, chewed vigorously a few times, and swallowed the food before asking with some confusion.

The wet nurse beside Wang Heng frowned slightly. "Bai Zhi, do not shout and scream!"

"Oh, Nanny, what time is it now? Are you still fussing over such things?" It was an emergency.

"...Is there something wrong with the bride, the Lady?"

The wet nurse was older, after all; just by hearing the tone of Bai Zhi's voice, she knew she must have seen something in the green tent.

"The... the Lady is extremely beautiful! The Master was so stunned he just stared!"

There was obvious worry in Bai Zhi's tone.

The former Lady was gone, the Master had remarried, and the new Lady was so beautiful—the Master was clearly very satisfied.

Then, then what would happen to their Jiuniang in the future?

There was a world of difference between a favored stepmother and an unfavored one.

Bai Zhi was young, but she had spent two or three years in the inner quarters and had seen plenty of infighting between wives and concubines, and struggles between legitimate and illegitimate children.

She knew all too well what kind of conspiracies and filth lay within these deep courtyards.

"Oh!"

Wang Heng, however, did not care.

A newly arrived stepmother was far less important than the delicious food in her hand.

Cherries picked in the fifth month were boiled into jam, made into filling, and turned into cherry *biruo*.

With a thin crust and a filling bursting with the wheat aroma of the dough and the sweet-and-sour taste of the cherries.

Putting it in her mouth, it exploded with juice; Wang Heng was thoroughly satisfied.

Bai Zhi widened her eyes. She was worried sick, yet her own Jiuniang was still leisurely eating away?

Besides, was this cherry *biruo* really that good?

Uh, no, that wasn't the point.

The point was that Jiuniang seemed to have become especially fond of eating lately.

Her little face, which was already round and chubby, seemed to have grown another layer of fat after all this eating.

Although Jiuniang was still as cute and exquisite as a festive golden boy or jade girl, the aesthetic of the Great Zhou Dynasty favored slenderness. Even for a child, being too obese would invite ridicule.

"Jiuniang! Did you not hear what I just said?"

Collecting her thoughts, Bai Zhi brought the focus back to the stepmother, Lady Cui.

She was Jiuniang's stepmother, and since ancient times, how many stepmothers had been kind to the children of the first wife?

Why was Jiuniang not worried at all?

"I heard!"

Having finished the last piece of cherry *biruo*, Wang Heng still felt a bit unsatisfied.

She licked her fingers; some filling had leaked out while she was eating, and her fair, fleshy fingertips were stained a deep red, which Wang Heng quickly licked clean.

The wet nurse’s temple twitched slightly; Jiuniang’s appearance really was not very ladylike.

"If you heard what I said, why aren't you worried, Jiuniang?"

"Not worried, I still have Grandmother!"

Wang Heng always said she wasn't smart, but she had the keen intuition of a small animal.

Grandmother indeed did not like her, but Grandmother might not necessarily like a daughter-in-law who could satisfy her son either.

Lady Jiang—Grandmother Xie was not satisfied.

Lady Cui—might not necessarily satisfy Grandmother Xie either.

"Besides, a few days ago, when Father sent me here, he also agreed with Grandmother that she would look after me from now on."

Wang Heng would not run in front of Lady Cui and be an eyesore.

If she didn't get in Lady Cui's way, Lady Cui shouldn't do anything to her.

Wang Heng still underestimated the complexity and ugliness of human nature. She hid in Grandmother Xie's courtyard, not actively provoking Lady Cui.

Yet, Lady Cui still found Wang Heng to be redundant.

Moreover, Lady Cui’s methods were very simple and brutal, lacking the subtlety and indirection of ordinary inner-chamber ladies...

PS: Thank you to the readers for the tips, collections, recommendations, and investments! Please continue to support me! (`) Heart!

(End of chapter)