The eldest daughter's scheming, the crown prince's exclusive favor to the venomous concubi

On the first day of heavy snow, Qiu Fu's temple was blown up.

Qiu Zhenzhou, despite his advanced age, has surprisingly decided to marry his fifth concubine, much to the shock and anger of the ladies of the Qiu household.

That old geezer has several sons and daughters, how can he still be so shameless?

The first to cause a scene was not Madam Sun, but Madam Jiang, the third wife.

The third and fourth wives were usually unassuming and never showed any interest in each other. They never argued with the other wives, got along well with everyone, and seemed to have no desires or wants.

Jiang had only had a brief conflict with Jian Yue at the ancestral hall. After learning of the old lady's intentions, she abandoned her thoughts of revenge and taught her children to endure humiliation.

Although she didn't know whether Qiu Lingyun had listened to her or not, she was stunned when Qiu Zhenzhou suddenly said he wanted to take a concubine.

Without thinking of anything else, she was the first to stand up and object, which immediately made Qiu Zhenzhou's face turn ashen.

Jiang, however, said without changing her expression, "I disagree. This would be a disgrace to the family and would also be detrimental to the children."

"What do you mean by disgracing the family? This Qiu family is mine. I can take concubines, why can't I? If it's not allowed, then how did you all come to be here? Didn't I take them all in one by one?"

Upon hearing this, Madam Jiang sneered, "How dare you say that, sir? Look at how old you are! We're all nearing our graves. The eldest and second young masters have both married, but the third young master is still in exile and will soon return to the capital to report for duty. If you were to take a concubine now, you would ruin your reputation in your later years and be the subject of gossip. This would have a huge impact on the future of our young masters. Sir, please think twice before you act."

Fourth Madam Liu echoed with concern, "Yes, putting all that aside, even if the Old Madam knew, she certainly wouldn't agree. Master, what's wrong with you? Why do you suddenly want to take a concubine?"

Qiu Zhenzhou was speechless for a moment, and then he realized that he hadn't thought things through before bringing up the matter of taking a concubine. Looking at the many eyes staring at him, he suddenly felt a lump in his throat, unable to spit it out or swallow it down, feeling extremely frustrated.

Qiu Zhenzhou's life was not exactly optimistic. In the first half of his life, while his grandfather was alive, every move he made was arranged by his grandfather. Although all of this was to help him learn more about Taoism, he always felt that it was abuse when he was rebellious.

After that, Old Master Qiu died, and Old Madam Qiu lived in the Buddhist hall for many years, detached from worldly affairs. Only then did he become the head of the Qiu family. However, by this time, the Qiu family had already entered its golden age.

With the Empress and Crown Prince by his side, and having married a woman from the Empress's maternal family, how could he be so content?

However, now everything has changed: the Crown Prince's coercion, Jian Yue's sudden change of heart, Shangguan Linglong's disappearance, Qiu Lingrong's death, and Qiu Lingfeng's loss of chastity.

All of this was like the straw that broke the camel's back, pressing down on him one by one, leaving him unable to move.

None of the women whom Old Master Qiu had married for his future had come to comfort him or show him any tolerance. Even Madam Sun, who was on Qiu Lingfeng's bedside, showed no intention of paying him any attention.

This immediately made him feel angry and exhausted, so when he saw Xiaorou's expectant, trusting, and distressed eyes, he was indeed captivated.

So what if he ruins his reputation in his later years? Now that things are like this, can't he still do some things he wants to do?

Back then, he failed to win Shangguan Linglong's heart due to pressure from the Sun family, and he hadn't even visited her once in the past fifteen years. Now, another woman, a woman who loves him, has appeared in his life. Why can't he bring her with him?

Thinking of Xiao Rou's trusting, watery eyes, he felt that if he didn't do something today and let these concubines shut him down, he would be letting himself down.

So, Qiu Zhenzhou, having given up all hope, glared and said coldly, "I thought I didn't know what you were thinking? It's nothing more than the right to inherit the Qiu family estate."

As he spoke, he glanced around, then sneered at the expressions on their faces: "What? Did I hit the nail on the head?"

Madam Jiang raised her eyes and said seriously, "Doesn't my husband feel guilty saying such things? What do you mean by the right of succession to the Qiu family? Madam has a legitimate son, so the right of succession to the Qiu family naturally belongs to the legitimate son. How could we, as concubines, possibly eliminate the legitimate wife?"

The master's move is merely to get our approval. But regardless of whether our child is born of the legitimate wife or a concubine, the master taking a concubine is an insult to civility. Which official in the capital, big or small, will not laugh at the master?

"My lord, this isn't something you can do on a whim. If you really want a woman by your side, just keep a maidservant. No need for any title, and it will allow you to maintain your current status and position. Isn't that killing two birds with one stone?"

After Jiang finished speaking, Qiu Zhenzhou's eyes lit up, but the next moment he frowned and said, "What are you saying? Am I the kind of person who would take a fancy to anyone? If that were the case, wouldn't all the maids in this mansion be ruined by me?"

"Jiang, you come from a respectable family, how can you speak so without thinking? How are you going to educate Lingyun and Zifan like this?"

Jiang's face stiffened at the words, then she sneered, "What are you saying, sir? How have I disciplined my children? At least I'm not like Madam, who disciplined her own children to the point of having their throats slit with a sword."

Sun hadn't spoken until Jiang suddenly spoke to her, at which point she slowly raised her eyes. But just one glance sent a chill down Jiang's spine.

Previously, when Sun looked at people, her eyelids would always droop and her neck would remain motionless. But now, when she looked at people, there was a deep, dark look in her eyes, making people feel that there was a deathly stillness in her eyes. If you were stared at, it would be like being stared at by a venomous snake, making you feel uneasy.

Madam Sun said, "I'm sorry to have troubled you to bring this up, Fourth Madam. I realize that I, as the mistress of the house, have not been considerate enough. I have failed to raise my Rong'er and Feng'er to be gentle and refined girls. Instead, they are criticized because of their personalities, which is a terrible thing."

But remember this: outside, I can't do anything. But this is the Qiu residence, and I am still the mistress of the Qiu residence. Even if you're running around under my nose, you'll have to watch my expression.

"You just said I failed to raise my daughter properly; that's insubordination, Jiang. I'm punishing you with ten strokes of the cane. Let's see if you dare to overstep your bounds again."

Upon hearing this, Madam Jiang's expression changed. She then saw the maid behind Madam Sun approaching, trying to restrain her. She immediately shouted, "How dare you, Master! If you let her touch me, my Jiang family will surely turn against you!"

Qiu Zhenzhou frowned, displeased with Jiang's threat, but if he confronted Jiang head-on now, he would be the one to suffer. After thinking for a moment, he regained his composure and looked at Sun, saying, "Alright, you haven't been feeling well these past few days, so don't worry about such trivial matters."

Jiang is all talk and no action; she's not going to change the management of the inner quarters. You should go back and recover first, and keep a close eye on Feng'er, lest something happen to her.

Upon hearing this, tears welled up in Madam Sun's eyes. She looked at Qiu Zhenzhou with a bitter smile and said, "Why is my master so concerned about me? Weren't you just clamoring to take a concubine?"

Qiu Zhenzhou immediately turned away from Sun Shi and said, "What concubine? I was just venting my anger. There have been too many things going on at home lately, and I can hardly breathe. You guys have been missing every day. Do you think I'm not lonely?"

As people get older, they crave companionship and fear loneliness, so they think about having someone by their side, without considering anything else. Looking back now, it's really foolish of me to be so hasty.

As he spoke, Qiu Zhenzhou pretended to be helpless and said, "Fine, fine, I won't take any concubines. It's still the same. You all go back to your own courtyards, take good care of your daughters, and go about your business."

With that, Qiu Zhenzhou left, leaving only his concubines and Madam Sun looking at each other.

Jiang snorted and left first, followed by Liu, leaving only the second wife Zhang and Sun sitting together.

Zhang looked at Sun and sneered, "How could eldest sister tolerate the arrogance of the fourth son? He's so arrogant that he doesn't even respect you."

Upon hearing this, Madam Sun wearily rubbed her temples and said, "Let her be! I didn't really intend to hit her, but things aren't going well between Master and the Sun family right now. If we further alienate Madam Jiang, the Qiu family's chances of turning things around will be truly slim."

As Sun spoke, she slowly stood up. Zhang followed suit, carefully helped Sun up, and sighed, "Madam is thinking of the Qiu family in everything. I don't know what Master is thinking. It's really hard to understand."

Madam Sun shook her head and said, "His desire to take a concubine is definitely not unfounded. He's quiet this time, but who knows when he'll do it again? Humph! I've seen through him. We can't count on the Qiu family anymore. Fortunately, Zimin is coming back soon. It's time for a change of government in the Qiu family."

As she spoke, Madam Sun suddenly looked at Madam Zhang and warned, "Although Ziming is the eldest son, he is still born out of wedlock. You better remember this: if you really ruin Zimin's plans, I will never forgive you. I can't touch Madam Jiang, but I can still do what you do."

Zhang paused, her eyes flickered, and she smiled, "What are you talking about, elder sister? In all these years, when have I ever argued with you? And Ziming, have you ever competed with Zimin for anything?"

I'm quite satisfied with Ziming's current position. With Zimin's help, I believe things will be fine. You can rest assured, elder sister."

Madam Sun nodded: "That's good. Don't worry, I'm not a naive person who can't distinguish right from wrong. There's also the old lady. With the master in this state, he definitely can't hide it from the old lady. We don't need to do anything. The person the master wants to take in, the old lady will take action and find out. We just need to keep an eye on her."