the lady s sickly husband
The madam in dark-red hurried up and helped Yuwen Hanlei to her feet. There was indeed in her scrutinizing eyes and words care and concern.
Another madam didn’t dare to fall behind, “Of course. Just tell us whatever happened, we’ll have your back! I just don’t believe that someone dares to bully us Nings!”
The last sentence was evidently said to everyone or Mo Qianxue specially!
Mo Qianxue just laughed at the words, not minding these people who were too naïve to be her rivals, and looked back at Junzhu Susu, asking casually, “Who are they?”
Junzhu Susu rolled her eyes at Mo Qianxue and tapped on her forehead with her index finger, replying with regret, “Look at you! You’re marrying into the Ning family and you don’t know anyone in the inner courtyards of the Mansion?”
Mo Qianxue now felt wrong. She was only marrying Ning Shaoqing. Why should she care about other stuff? However, after today, she would ask Ghost to tell her everything about the inner courtyards of the Ning Mansion.
“Tell me something.”
“Those two women are the concubines of the last Master Ning!”
“Ning Shaoqing’s father?” Mo Qianxue blinked. Wasn’t the last Master Ning the father of Ning Shaoqing?
“Yes.” Susu nodded and explained to her in details, “The one in dark-red is Madam Jing; the other one is Madam Mei.”
Now, Mo Qianxue couldn’t follow at all!
“Madam? Didn’t you say that they were concubines?”
In ancient times, only wives were addressed as madam, the others concubines.
However a concubine was beloved, she would only be called madam in certain private occasions, which was a big honor. How could they put up the air even more than a real Madam Ning?
Was Susu wrong and these two were both wives? Mo Qianxue looked confused, “This is the case in a super family. The concubines have ranks and are not to be called concubines but only madams. It’s just the legal wife is addressed by her husband’s surname, while concubines by their own given name.”
Mo Qianxue nodded reflectively after hearing Susu’s explanation.
She hadn’t known that in a super family, there were so many unique rules and conventions. There was this difference between the wife and the concubine! How unpleasant!
No wonder that so many women were casting their eyes on her Ning Shaoqing. It turned out that even his concubine would be granted a rank.
“Qianxue! Look!” Suddenly, Junzhu Susu seemed to have seen something gossipier and hurriedly pulled Mo Qianxue’s sleeve, letting her to look behind the two madams.
She saw among the crowd, not far from the two madams, stood a young woman.
She was wearing a pale red dress and a simple cloud hair-bun, not so many jewels as others. However, the austere gold peony was exceedingly beautiful.
She stood there, not saying a word. Even when this cousin Ning was hurt, there hadn’t been a little change in her expression. Neither did she step up like the two madams. She just stood at the side, aloof and watched with indifferent eyes.
“Who is this one?”
Mo Qianxue was a bit curious. Such a woman was rarely seen. And by instinct, she was interested in her.
“Wife of the second legal lord Ning Shaoyu, the former most beautiful woman in the capital—Gui Xiaoxi.”
Merely the profile figure of her was already so graceful and refreshing. Mo Qianxue raised her eyebrows with interest.
She had believed that a person like Ning Shaoyu only deserved a snobbish vicious woman as wife. Bird of a feather flock together.
What was surprising to her was that the monstrous man who hurt his own brother should actually get such a gorgeous unique woman. What…a shame!
Sure enough, the good cabbage was taken by a pig snout.
She was also a poor cabbage that was taken by Ning Shaoqing’s pig snout… No, no, no. If there was a pig so gentle and illegally good-looking as Ning Shaoqing, she was afraid all women in the world would wish to turn into cabbages.
When Mo Qianxue stared at Gui Xiaoxi with appraising eyes, Gui Xiaoxi seemed felt her gaze and looked back!
In an instant, Mo Qianxue decisively denied everything that had been in her mind!
A pig could only take a rot cabbage, while this woman was definitely not a good one!
The way the woman looked at her was like a sharp knife trying to peel her. On that moment, Mo Qianxue felt that she must be blind to have thought Gui Xiaoxi was a kind woman!
Mo Qianxue didn’t enjoy being a target of knives and quickly looked away.
To this jealous and hateful gaze, Mo Qianxue’s attitude was always to turn a blind eye. If she really glared back at every woman like this, wouldn’t she, given the number of suitors of her popular Master Ning, become cross-eyes?
Mo Qianxue not only didn’t look back but also gave a careless chuckle.
However, Junzhu Susu was anxious and rolled eyes at Mo Qianxue, “Look at you! How could you laugh at this intense moment? Just wait and see. These women won’t let you go easily. They’ll surely stir up more troubles against you!”
When she looked at Junzhu Susu again, the smile on her face already disappeared, and she looked a little grave, “Which families do the two madams come from? Great ones?” Only when she knew the enemies well could she win the battle.
Though Junzhu Susu hadn’t paid much special attention to these women, since she knew them, she certainly knew something.
“These two madams are both nieces of Old Madam Ning in charge of the Ning clan. They are both surnamed Yuwen. The Yuwen family isn’t based in the capital, and I heard it had a great influence in the southeast border. It’s an ancient family living in seclusion.”
“As for whether the women are favored or not, I’m not quite sure, but I heard mother mentioned that the most beloved concubine in the Ning clan is Madam Zi…”
Mo Qianxue snorted. They weren’t wives or beloved concubines and had no sons. Little wonder that they had to hang all over them luxurious jewels to look grand.
The Ning family controlled the wealth of the world. She was afraid that wealth was the only thing that they could show off. How pathetic!
Before Junzhu Susu finished her words, the two madams who had been taking care of Yuwen Hanlei suddenly turned around and glared at Mo Qianxue!
Madam Mei frowned at Mo Qianxue, “Kneel down!”
Madam Jing on the other hand commented meanly, “Tut-tut. Just you with the plain face dares to come out? Don’t you fear of losing the face of our family? It’s just our Master is kind-hearted and grateful so that he requested to the Emperor for the marriage, so that you ill-reputed woman could have a place to rest yourself.
But you’re not only ungrateful but also being arrogant and rude to bully your future concubine sister in public. You violate the female virtues even before you move in. What a tragic for the family You, kneel down and learn this lesson from me and Madam Mei!”
Mo Qianxue felt very helpless to this.
Kneel down? Why should she kneel just because she said so? Hilarious. It was just courtesy that the woman was called madam, but anyway she was a concubine in real terms. When Mo Qianxue moved in, she would be the real Madam Ning. How dared them to lecture her?!
Although Mo Qianxue couldn’t stop sneering inwardly, her mind spun fast. Since these women were nieces of an old madam of the Ning clan, while Yuwen Hanlei was their niece, everything was so crystal clear.
These two women alone would never dare to provoke her like this. It turned out that before she moved in, Old Madam Ning’s hand already reached over in an attempt to deter her.
If she was Xue, she would have been so scared and kneeling on the ground or just standing and apologizing. She was afraid, if that was the case, there would be no room for her to stand in the Ning Mansion later.
An old madam in charge of the whole clan couldn’t be this imprudent or asked such people to stir up troubles against her. This was just a test-out.
After sorting it out, Mo Qianxue opened her watery eyes and looked at the two madams with confusion. She was also a good actress. “Then, who are you, madam?”