A Willing Mistake, My Lady – Chapter 82

Mother and Daughter Watch Opera

“Just Your Legs Going Weak?”

Recent days had found Madam Shen behaving mysteriously — she kept going out to listen to opera, and sometimes she insisted on dragging Shen Hetang along.

            

“My child, what do you think of that young scholar on stage? How does he look?” Madam Shen cracked melon seeds, sipped her tea, and pulled Shen Hetang’s gaze toward the stage.

“Which one?” Shen Hetang had never acclimated to opera — it wasn’t really her thing. She could bring Ah Yu along sometime to listen to storytelling instead. Compared to opera singing, she preferred spoken tales.

“What kind of eyes do you have? That one in the crimson robe — delicate and fair-skinned, a handsome one,” Madam Shen praised.

            

“Mother, he’s got an inch of stage paint on his face, and you can still tell he’s fair?” Shen Hetang’s eyebrows shot sky-high.

“Look at his hands! His fingers are pale and slender — he can’t be a rough one,” Madam Shen said with absolute certainty.

“No, no — Mother, what do you mean? Are you an old tree trying to bloom again, or are you throwing your virtue to the wind in your old age?” Her mother’s recent mental state warranted concern. This was too alarming.

            

If she truly wanted to find a companion in her twilight years, she and Shen Yunshu could put in some effort and it might not be impossible. But eyeing a boy barely twenty? She couldn’t stomach that.

“What nonsense are you spouting? At my age, where would I find such thoughts?” Startled, Madam Shen reached over and swatted her.

“Good, then. Why were you staring at him so?” She breathed a sigh of relief, then asked in confusion.

            

Madam Shen glanced left and right, then waved her closer, beckoning her to lean in.

Then she whispered, “The thing is, you’re not young anymore. I… I was thinking, if I can’t marry you off, I’ll find you a pleasant companion. It’s better than watching you waste your best years like this. A girl’s beauty only lasts a few years — while you’re still young, have a child, so you’ll have someone to rely on later.” She held her hand, rambling on and on.

Shen Hetang’s refined phoenix eyes went wide as she stared at her mother in disbelief. Had her mother transmigrated too, or what? Her thinking was too progressive — she could dream up every scheme under the sun. Utterly floored.

            

“Say something. Why are you looking at me like that?” Seeing no response, Madam Shen grew uncertain.

“What am I supposed to say? When you decided to turn me into a son back then, you didn’t ask for my consent either. Now you’re fantasizing again — is there anything you don’t dare to think or do?” Fortunately, they were in a partitioned private box, but the conversation was explosive, so both kept their voices low.

“Mother’s doing this for your own good. While you’re still at home, what a perfect chance to leave a child behind! Your father spent half his life at the border. I worry that someday you’ll be called back, and I’ll be all alone again. I watch Concubine Ru doting on her grandchildren, and I — when I was young, she stole my husband, and now in my old age I have to envy her bouncing a grandchild on her knee. Why is my life so bitter!” As she spoke, Madam Shen grew genuinely sad, her eyes brimming with grievance.

            

“Alright, alright, I won’t argue with you anymore. You’re half a little old lady already — crying and sniveling, how unseemly! If you want to cuddle grandchildren, go find the Heir’s Wife! It’s not like you only had one child. Tell her to have two, then lend you one — that should keep you from feeling lonely and pitiful.” She had to admit, Shen Hetang was skilled at redirecting the problem. Shen Yunshu sat at home minding her own business, and disaster rained down from the sky.

But that was another sore spot for Madam Shen. Her eldest daughter might seem to rule the manor with an iron hand, but she apparently didn’t enjoy her husband’s favor. Madam Shen had come to solve a problem, and somehow one problem had multiplied into two.

What a headache.

            

“Let’s set her aside for now. This young master on stage — are you interested or not?” Madam Shen circled back to the original question.

“Not in the slightest. Bury that thought. We’re under the Son of Heaven’s feet — do you think I’d dare to pull any stunts?” Shen Hetang leaned back in her chair, arms crossed and legs propped up — the very picture of a dead pig not fearing boiling water¹.

Madam Shen gave her a deflated look. Well, that was that — no hope for this scheme.

            

The two walked home in silence. Shen Hetang hadn’t forgotten to bring back some snacks from the opera house for her wife.

Jiang Chenyu had been at the manor chatting with her sister-in-law. Li Jinhuan wasn’t the troublesome sort — she had younger siblings below her, so her temperament was steady and sensible.

“Sister-in-law, are you settling in all right? Our Shen Manor doesn’t have many masters, and the Madam and the General are both good-natured, so there aren’t as many rules as in other manors. No need to be too constrained.” Jiang Chenyu planned to have two outfits made for her sister-in-law, and the two of them were picking out fabrics together, chatting and laughing.

            

Li Jinhuan hadn’t expected the Shen Manor to be this harmonious. Though the concubine had already filled her with impressions of the first household beforehand, the Young Mistress’s looks truly arrested the eye — she was the most striking woman Li Jinhuan had ever seen.

The Shen General must dote on her tremendously. That alluring, bewitching beauty, in any other household, would be the mark of a pampered concubine. When choosing a principal wife, families preferred steady, dignified women — rarely would anyone dare to engage a woman whose looks could steal a man’s soul with a single glance as the main wife.

But the Shen family’s mistress was exactly that sort of beauty, and yet she carried none of the cheap, ingratiating manner of those flirtatious concubines. Perhaps because she had ample affection, the Young Mistress behaved with casual warmth and an unshakable authority when directing the servants — a refreshing sight for Li Jinhuan, who had grown up watching wives and concubines battle for favor.

            

So whether one could be a proper mistress of the house had nothing to do with looks. Even a woman of dazzling, voluptuous beauty could manage a manor in perfect order, rather than being a dodder flower² clinging to a man.

After Jiang Chenyu married in, all household affairs had been handed to her to manage. Though they knew she wasn’t truly their daughter-in-law, Ah Tang said it was fine, so Madam Shen let her take charge of everything.

She took the authority from Nanny Gui’s hands — after all, Nanny Gui was getting on in years and was looking forward to retiring to a life of leisure. She was more than happy to pass the household reins to the younger generation. If not for worrying that Madam Shen wouldn’t take charge herself, she would have retired long ago.

            

When Shen Hetang returned with the pastries, she found Jiang Chenyu and her sister-in-law chatting and laughing — a kind of happiness she couldn’t intrude on. Like two girls playing house, studying dress patterns, matching and displaying jewelry, chatting away delightedly. They didn’t even notice her come in.

Jiang Chenyu had been thinking about opening a clothing shop, and since she wasn’t yet familiar with the preferences of capital women, she had called her sister-in-law over to discuss it.

“The General is back, so I’ll take my leave first.” Li Jinhuan didn’t dare raise her eyes to meet the Little General’s gaze. After her greeting, she ducked her head and left the room — while screaming internally: What a matched pair! Absolutely perfect together! When she had a child, she would spend every day in the Young Mistress’s quarters. She’d heard that looking at beautiful people during pregnancy made the baby prettier.

            

Despite Lady Li’s calm, quiet exterior, her inner world was wildly imaginative. She constantly concocted elaborate scenarios for her own amusement. Growing up in a household that didn’t allow her to express emotion freely, she had cultivated a surface as placid as water, concealing a restless, lively heart.

“Getting along well with your sister-in-law?” Shen Hetang handed over the snacks and studied Jiang Chenyu’s relaxed, radiant expression.

“Very well. Jinhuan is easy to get along with. I never had close girlfriends growing up, so I don’t know what it’s like to be friends with other girls, but from the looks of it, it’s fun and lively.” She had grown up either at her grandfather’s side or running a business, guarding against her stepfather — she’d never had much time to relax.

            

Now, because of Ah Tang, she lived a different kind of life — relaxed and free, able to do the things she enjoyed, without constraints or worries. She was at ease, full of warmth and anticipation for life.

Though her past life hadn’t been bad either, that had been built step by step through her own scheming — a far cry from her current state of not needing to worry about anything.

And she didn’t mind managing the household’s tedious affairs, perhaps because this was Ah Tang’s home and now hers too. She didn’t find it a burden — she handled it with effortless ease.

            

Shen Hetang watched her smile so brightly and felt a twinge of jealousy. She closed the door, reached out with a gentle pull, and drew her close, pressing her down onto the beauty couch nearby. Her eyes carried a hint of grievance, and even her small unhappy expression shimmered like captured light between her brows.

“What’s wrong? That look.” Jiang Chenyu masked the skipped beat of her heart and met those luminous eyes.

“You’ve never been close to girls before? Then what am I?” Her slightly rough fingertips kneaded Jiang Chenyu’s round, slightly plump earlobe.

            

“You’re different!” Jiang Chenyu flushed under her gaze, turning her head away with a coy protest.

She reached out a finger and casually tipped the beauty’s chin back, not letting her escape, and asked, “How am I different?”

Jiang Chenyu lowered her eyes and ignored her. So annoying — that look could scorch her. Who could return the gentleman who wouldn’t even come close to her when sleeping?

            

“I asked you a question. How am I different?” Seeing her grow shyer, she pressed further, breathing warm tickles against her ear.

Jiang Chenyu’s smooth, pale neck broke out in goosebumps. Feeling those fingers lingering at her waist, she couldn’t hold out any longer.

She turned to the side, wrapped her arms around Ah Tang’s neck, gazed at her with limpid, autumn-water eyes, and breathed fragrant words: “They don’t make my heart race, and they don’t make my legs go weak.”

            

“Just your legs going weak?” Her eyes sparkled with scattered points of light as she boldly surveyed her flushed skin, wondering if the color had changed beneath the layers too.

“Hey! You need to know when to stop — don’t go too far!” Jiang Chenyu panicked, twisting away to escape. Her face burned from the teasing, her mind flooded with images she couldn’t bear to revisit.

She shoved Shen Hetang and bolted from the room.

            

“It’s cold outside — where are you going? I’ll stop asking, all right?” Shen Hetang’s laughing voice rang out behind her.

It made her stomp her foot in frustration. Compared to before, this person seemed to have broken some kind of seal — she couldn’t keep up.

“Miss, where are you going?” Chuntao looked at her mistress in confusion.

            

“Ah? Back to the room!” she blurted out without thinking.

“Back to the room? Didn’t you just come out of it?” Chuntao stared, dumbfounded. Was something wrong with her eyes?

“Ah, I mean — I’m going to the kitchen,” Jiang Chenyu improvised.

            

“Oh!” Chuntao didn’t ask further and went back to her own tasks.

By late March, Jiang Ning, who had headed south, was due to return with her haul.

Sure enough, within half a month, the merchant caravan rolled back into the capital from the south in grand procession.

            

At this time, Jiang Chenyu was still in Jiangnan. On the County Princess’s commission, Shen Hetang’s people had tracked down Miss Ye’s whereabouts — but they couldn’t let Ye Qingyao know she was being watched again. They had to find a way to leave someone by her side.

Since County Princess Qingyang had entrusted this matter to her, she had to ensure Miss Ye’s personal safety, down to the last detail.

The County Princess had returned to her southern fief. If they were on good terms, she would be a powerful ally in the future. If they offended her, with that woman’s prickly, passive-aggressive temperament, she just might throw obstacles in their path.

            

So keeping the woman safe and earning her gratitude was a worthwhile deal.

It also gave her the perfect excuse to take Jiang Chenyu out for a trip. Women had so few chances to travel — she didn’t want her to miss this one.

And so the two of them chartered a boat and sailed down to Jiangnan together.

            

Once they reached the small town where Ye Qingyao lived, they bought a shop and opened a general store.

It sold everything a young woman might want — rouge and powder, silk kerchiefs and handkerchiefs, needles and thread, sachets and soap boxes — a girl couldn’t help but step inside for a look.

They opened it directly across from Miss Ye’s residence, and left Cuidie there specifically to protect her safety.

            

She needed to find a way to get close to Ye Qingyao.

Of course, if something truly happened, Cuidie alone wouldn’t be enough — so she also left seven soldiers, disguised as craftsmen in a nearby house.

The soldiers were more than happy to play undercover civilians. No danger, pay to spend, nothing to do — it was practically a vacation.

            

With that arranged, Shen Hetang took her wife on a tour of the scenic mountains and waters.

Only after nearly a month did they return to the capital.

The moment she got back, she noticed Chuntao’s mood was off.

            

“You seem down lately. Did anything happen while I was away?”

“Nothing major — Boss Jiang just brought back some soft, fragile girl from the south, that’s all.” Chuntao said angrily, gripping her silk handkerchief as though she could tear it to shreds.

“Ah? A girl?” Jiang Chenyu’s wide eyes went round with shock.

            

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