The Laid-back Life of a Stepmother

Madam Shen was not surprised by Wen Ye's reaction.

She didn't give her much time to think either, and immediately said, "Your aunt mentioned to me a few days ago about your cousin Shen Cheng's marriage prospects. Although he is a son born of a concubine, he has earned scholarly honors and holds an official position in the court. You two would be a good match."

Madam Shen's brother was a romantic and philandering man. Relying on his ancestors' legacy, he secured a fourth-rank idle position in the court. His mind was occupied only by the women in his backyard, and his wife had long given up on him, focusing solely on raising their legitimate children.

As for the sons and daughters born of concubines, she left them to their own devices, letting them fight among themselves.

Among the more than ten sons born of concubines, only Shen Cheng excelled in his studies and entered officialdom early.

However, the Shen family was a complicated environment, and since the family had not yet divided its estate, Shen Cheng, as a successful son of a concubine, was inevitably affected by the family's internal struggles when it came to his marriage.

Wen Ye was not surprised by this choice, and she replied earnestly, "Cousin Shen Cheng is indeed a man of remarkable character and appearance."

In reality... she had long forgotten what this distant cousin looked like, having only met him a couple of times.

Madam Shen glanced at Wen Ye but didn't expose her, continuing, "This year's imperial examinations also produced many outstanding scholars. Your father has found a suitable one for you, surnamed Wu. Although he comes from a humble background, he is quite talented. He is a second-rank scholar, and his ranking is quite high. He has a decent appearance, and his family is simple, with only an elderly mother."

Wen Ye still showed no reaction.

Madam Shen thought she might be concerned about the Wu family's humble origins, so she added, "If you choose the Wu family, I will prepare a more generous dowry for you."

For a stepmother to go this far, Madam Shen's magnanimity was truly beyond ordinary people.

Wen Ye was also tactful. She curved her lips slightly and said, "Thank you, Mother. However, I would like to hear about the third option before making a decision."

But compared to the complicated Shen family, the humble scholar surnamed Wu was indeed more to Wen Ye's liking.

In the Great Jin Dynasty, "humble families" generally referred to lower-ranking aristocratic families. They might not be wealthy, but they certainly weren't poor. Those who were truly poor called themselves commoners.

When it came to the third option, Madam Shen paused for a moment, a hint of complexity flashing in her eyes. She said, "The third option is Duke Xu's Mansion."

Wen Ye was shocked once again. Duke Xu's Mansion?

Had she heard correctly?

Madam Shen explained, "The second master of the Xu family lost his first wife early, leaving behind a son. The Duke and his wife are now preparing to arrange a second marriage for him."

After the initial shock, Wen Ye regained her composure and immediately pointed out the peculiarity: "The second master of Duke Xu's Mansion remarrying—how could it possibly fall to a daughter of a concubine like me?"

Even though she rarely left her home, she had heard of the extraordinary Xu family's second master, Xu Yuejia.

At the age of fifteen, he had become the top scholar in the imperial examinations, the first in the history of the Great Jin Dynasty. The year he achieved this, he rode through the streets in a parade, dressed in fine robes and a red crown, captivating countless women.

Now, at only twenty-three, he was already a third-rank official in the Ministry of Justice, truly a young and accomplished man.

Madam Shen glanced at Wen Ye.

Wen Ye smiled and continued to play dumb.

Madam Shen: "..."

Madam Shen seemed to sigh and said, "As for why Madam Xu has taken an interest in you, I don't know either."

She then looked at Wen Ye again and added, "You don't have much time to consider this."

Wen Ye raised her eyebrows slightly and said, "I understand, Mother."

"Oh, one more thing," Madam Shen suddenly remembered something and called out to Wen Ye, who was already at the threshold. She said in a low voice, "Your second sister's husband is about to be promoted and return to the capital. Soon, you sisters will be reunited."

Wen Ye paused in her steps, her lips twitching.

What kind of reunion was this? It was more like her sister was coming back to haunt her.

*

In the main hall of Duke Xu's Mansion, the Duke, who was not yet thirty, sat at the head of the room, with his wife Madam Lu by his side.

Madam Lu held a two-year-old child in her arms, her face filled with dissatisfaction.

The young Duke Xu looked at his wife's expression and sighed, then turned to the man sitting below and asked, "Have you met that daughter of a concubine from the Wen family before?"

And fallen in love with her?

The man being addressed was the second master of Duke Xu's Mansion, Xu Yuejia.

"No," the man replied indifferently, his voice as cold as the moon over a winter stream.

Duke Xu was puzzled. "Then why? Even if you don't care for yourself, you should think about Xuan. If the daughter of a concubine from the Wen family marries into our family, will she be able to take good care of Xuan?"

Madam Lu chimed in, "The daughters of noble families I picked out a few days ago—aren't any of them better than that daughter of a concubine from the Wen family who hasn't married by the age of twenty?"

Moreover, she was dissatisfied with the Wen family's daughter of a concubine for another reason. When she brought up the matter with Madam Wen, the latter had subtly hinted that they needed to consider it!

What was there to consider for a daughter of a concubine from a third-rank official's family marrying the second master of Duke Xu's Mansion as a second wife?

However, Madam Lu didn't mention this to the two brothers.

Xu Yuejia's first wife had passed away early, and the child in Madam Lu's arms had been raised by her from a young age. She had long regarded him as her own son, but she also knew that no matter how much she loved Xuan, she was still only his aunt and could never replace the role of a mother.

That was why she had carefully selected five or six well-bred daughters from noble families, hoping to find a good stepmother for Xuan.

If she had known she would encounter the daughter of a concubine from the Wen family at Yongcheng Earl's Mansion, she would never have attended the banquet.

And even if she had attended, she shouldn't have mentioned it to her brother-in-law after returning home.

Madam Lu now felt nothing but regret.

"I am thinking of Xuan," Xu Yuejia said calmly. "Three years ago, His Majesty ordered me to investigate the remnants of the Ninth Prince's faction. I discovered that a daughter of a concubine from the Wen family had once been involved with the Ninth Prince."

Duke Xu frowned. "It's not the one we're talking about now, is it?"

He knew his younger brother well. Xu Yuejia was not one for romance or sentimentality. He was devoted to his duties, impartial and incorruptible. Even Xuan only occupied a small corner of his heart.

Duke Xu was afraid that his brother's interest in the Wen family was due to official business.

"It was the second daughter of a concubine from the Wen family," Xu Yuejia explained. "However, she was soon married off to Xian Prefecture by her stepmother."

Madam Lu was confused. "What does this have to do with your marriage? Since the Wen family was involved with the Ninth Prince, why would you still choose a daughter of a concubine from their family?"

Xu Yuejia explained indifferently, "Brother and sister-in-law, you may not know this, but if it weren't for this fourth daughter of a concubine from the Wen family noticing the unusual connection between her half-sister and the Ninth Prince, the Wen family might have already perished along with the Ninth Prince's faction."

Duke Xu's eyes showed admiration. "It seems the Wen family is quite commendable."

In the late years of the previous emperor, several princes vied for power, with the Ninth Prince being the most prominent. At that time, nearly half of the court officials had sided with him. The fourth daughter of a concubine from the Wen family had been sharp enough to detect the unusual connection between her half-sister and the Ninth Prince and had taken the right actions in time. This showed her intelligence.

Moreover, the Wen family had not joined the rising Ninth Prince's faction but had instead remained loyal to the emperor, which aligned with the Xu family's political stance.

Xu Yuejia slowly rose from his chair, his figure as straight as a pine tree.

He said calmly, "I am remarrying for Xuan's sake. As long as she can truly accept Xuan, her background doesn't matter."@@novelbin@@

In the matter of her half-sister and the Ninth Prince, the fourth daughter of the Wen family had handled it with remarkable clarity, showing that she was not a shortsighted woman who only cared about immediate gains.

That was enough.

He didn't need a troublesome wife, and Xuan didn't need a troublesome stepmother.

Madam Lu opened her mouth, wanting to say more.

Duke Xu patted the back of her hand and shook his head.

*

In the Wen residence, Wen Ye didn't keep Madam Shen waiting for long. She gave her decision the very next day.

Madam Shen was slightly surprised. "Have you made up your mind?"

Wen Ye nodded. "Yes, I have."

Madam Shen didn't say anything more, only stating, "Go back and prepare. In a few days, the Xu family will come to propose."

Wen Ye stood up and bowed to Madam Shen. "Thank you, Mother."

Madam Shen had been looking more tired lately due to the matter of Wen Ye's marriage. She waved her hand and said, "You may leave."

In the Hengwu Courtyard, Concubine Chang had not been in favor of Wen Ye's choice since she had mentioned selecting the Xu family.

Now, as Wen Ye returned from the main hall with a cheerful expression, Concubine Chang's heart sank. She quickly pulled her into the room.

"Did you really tell your mother you want to choose the Xu family?" Concubine Chang asked nervously.

Wen Ye replied frankly, "Of course."

She lay back on the long couch by the window, picked up a fan, and gently waved it, eating pastries with great ease. "What's wrong with the Xu family?"

She thought it was a better choice than Cousin Shen Cheng or the humble scholar surnamed Wu.

Concubine Chang's brows were tightly knitted. "What's so good about it? You'll be marrying as a second wife and becoming a stepmother! Ye, it's not easy being a stepmother these days. Why are you putting yourself through this?"

"It would be better to marry the new scholar. You could be the mistress of the house as soon as you marry." Concubine Chang had found out that the scholar surnamed Wu's mother was old and could no longer manage the household.

Wen Ye swallowed the last bite of mung bean pastry and said, "This newly appointed scholar-official has a cousin from his hometown whom he grew up with."

Concubine Chang was momentarily speechless. "...How did you find out about this?"

She hadn’t even managed to gather such information...

"Care to guess, Concubine?" Wen Ye wiped the crumbs from her fingertips and spoke leisurely. "The mother of the Wu family doesn’t manage the household because his little cousin is the one in charge."

All of this had been discovered by Tao Zhi, whom she had sent out the day before to investigate.

A cousin, with both parents alive, had been living in her cousin’s household for over a decade. Tsk, tsk...

Wen Ye wasn’t opposed to her future husband taking a concubine; she just didn’t want to deal with unnecessary complications. A childhood sweetheart like this cousin would surely stir up trouble in the household.

This was clearly not the kind of life she envisioned for herself.

Concubine Chang also understood the implications and hesitated before saying, "What about your stepmother’s cousin..."

Wen Ye took another sip of tea and replied, "There are too many people in that family. Just the mothers-in-law alone would be two."

Shen Cheng’s concubine was still alive and well, and Shen Cheng’s elder brother had an excessive number of concubines. It seemed Shen Cheng had inherited this trait from his father—he already had four maids in his chamber, and he wasn’t even married yet.

With maids, concubines, and other complications, Wen Ye couldn’t be bothered to deal with it all.

Besides, she wasn’t even sure if there would be enough room for her to live comfortably after marrying into the family.

Concubine Chang was silent for a moment.

Wen Ye set down her teacup, leaned back, and continued, "The Minister of Justice is different."

Concubine Chang asked, "How so?"

Wen Ye clicked her tongue. "Both his parents are deceased, he has a sedan chair for travel, his mansion is spacious, he has an elder brother and sister-in-law, and a son. If I marry into his family, I won’t have to manage the household or worry about bearing children."

"As for the little one, I won’t have to fuss over him either. As the saying goes, 'the elder sister-in-law is like a mother.' Madam Lu, the Duchess, is practically half a grandmother to the child."

"With her around, she’ll surely raise the child well."

For Wen Ye, marrying into the Xu family would simply mean moving to a new place to continue her leisurely, carefree life. With such a perfect opportunity falling into her lap, why wouldn’t she choose it?

Concubine Chang was speechless.