The cousin's family is extremely wealthy; she deserves to be a concubine.

“I am the eldest daughter of the family, which means I have the title of the eldest daughter. But unlike my sixth sister, I don’t have a good aunt who worries about me all the time.”

She wasn't as fortunate as the seventh sister, who was born into her stepmother's womb.

I'm just a pitiful little girl without a mother's love. Everyone envies me because my father is a marquis, but I can only see my marquis father a few times a year.

Come to think of it, my fate is quite similar to that of that cousin from the Hua family.

“When I go out to visit guests, I always try to show off. The younger sisters in the mansion look down on my behavior, but they have no idea what bitterness is in my heart.”

Without my aunt's help, I felt like I had lost an arm in this household; my stepmother's kindness to me was merely superficial.

My grandmother, for the sake of harmony within the family, doesn't interfere in affairs. If I don't stand up for myself, who will remember that there's a young lady in this household, and which of the servants in this household will be able to do things for me?

If I don't present myself as a proud peacock and cultivate a good reputation, who would even look at a concubine's daughter like me?

The young woman couldn't stop crying as she thought about all the hardships she had endured over the years.

But she was just one of the insignificant arms in the Marquis's mansion. How could she possibly fight against the powerful Marquis's mansion? Besides, she would need the Marquis's mansion to support her after she married into her husband's family in order to gain a foothold there.

However, she couldn't control others, yet Xiaoyue, an orphan, dared to look down on her?

She won't let her get away with this.

Life went on uneventfully. The eldest daughter was born out of wedlock and had no favored mother. She got married on the appointed date, without causing much of a stir in the capital city where nobles gathered.

------

"Miss, today is the eldest daughter's homecoming banquet. It sounds so lively up ahead. Even though our courtyard is so remote, we can still hear it." Chunyan, carrying a food box, couldn't help but chatter as soon as she stepped into the gate of Qingwu Courtyard.

"The main kitchen is incredibly busy today. If it weren't for the old lady's help, we probably would have only been able to eat snacks for lunch." Chunyan carefully took out the food from the food box and set it out.

"Today, because the eldest daughter is returning to her parents' home, why did the main kitchen specially prepare vegetarian food for the old lady?" Wang's mother wondered.

The old lady was a vegetarian all year round, but she did not completely abstain from meat. She would occasionally go out to banquets or entertain guests at home, so it was impossible for her to only have the few dishes she liked on the table.

"I suppose everyone at today's homecoming banquet is family. The chefs in the kitchen are very skilled. Besides the dishes that the young lady and her husband like, there must also be a few dishes that the old lady likes."

Hua Sirong speculated, "In truth, we have benefited from the old lady's influence. From the moment we entered the mansion, we have been enjoying such culinary skills that are no less than those of the vegetarian meals at Baiyun Temple."

“The young lady is absolutely right. Today, the vegetarian dishes served in the kitchen are not as many as usual, but those two or three are the old lady’s favorites, and they are made with extra care.”

Hua Sirong saw that the table was almost set and sat down as well. "How did you know that was the old lady's favorite dish?"

When did Chunyan become so concerned about these things? It's truly rare.

"I get along well with Fatty Flower, the grandniece of Zhang Mama, the kitchen manager. She told me this secretly," Chunyan replied proudly. Fatty Flower loves to eat just like her, and she has a lovely figure even at a young age.

When Chunyan was hungry, she would go to Panghua for a bite to eat.

Their friendship is purely based on food.

"Our Chunyan is so capable!" Hua Sirong praised. Eating is the most important thing in the world. With Chunyan, a friend with some connections in the kitchen, the three of them won't suffer too much when it comes to food in the future.

“Mom should remember to give Chunyan one or two hundred copper coins every month so that she can treat her friends to some snacks. It’s not good for her to keep eating other people’s food; if Fatty’s elders find out, they might not be happy.”

A long-term relationship requires reciprocity. As for having Wang Mama befriend Zhang Mama, the kitchen manager?

That's unnecessary. They're living in the Marquis's mansion, what are they trying to achieve by doing this to win people's hearts?

It did not arouse excessive suspicion from others.

As for Chunyan and Panghua's friendship, that's just a childish thing, nothing out of the ordinary in this mansion.

The three of them, master and servant, were enjoying themselves in Qingwu Courtyard, but the atmosphere in the warm pavilion of the main courtyard was not so pleasant.

“Eldest daughter, you are now another man’s wife, and I, as your legal mother, should not interfere. But look at her, look at her whole body, is there a single good piece of flesh on her body?” The maid that Madam Shen was pointing to was one of the eldest daughter’s dowry maids.

"Mother, please forgive me." The eldest daughter bowed. Perhaps because she was now married, she no longer spoke with the same caution she used to show in front of her elders at home. "My husband and I have only been married for three days, and this girl, relying on her pretty face, appears in front of my husband every day dressed in red and green, trying to seduce him."

"Eldest daughter! Your sisters are still here, what kind of reckless talk are you saying?" Madam Shen was also angry. The eldest daughter had only been married for a few days, and she had already become like this.

"Mother, sisters, I know my words may offend your ears, but you are all of marriageable age, so it's not a bad thing for you to listen." The youngest of the sisters present was twelve, all of whom were of marriageable age and not young.

"My dear girl, I'll set aside your fallacies for now. But one thing: when we were young, I taught you sisters that women should be virtuous and generous. Which man doesn't have three wives and four concubines? Why is it different for you?"

Besides, she's still your maid, her indenture is in your hands, and her future is entirely up to you. It's better than your son-in-law going looking for other women, good or bad.

“My mother’s words hurt me deeply. I’m newly married, and the people around me are already doing outrageous things like seducing their own son-in-law. Where do I put my face?”

"My husband has already passed the county-level imperial examination and will be taking the provincial-level examination this autumn to become a successful candidate. I have only been married into the family for a short time, and my parents-in-law have been constantly reminding me not to let trivial matters interfere with my husband's preparation for the exam. Who would have thought that this shameless little hussy would try to make my husband indulge in women and distract him from other matters?"

"How can I tolerate this! I'm just a newcomer to the Zhuang family, I can't very well whip a dowry maid who doesn't know any manners in the courtyard, can I? Wouldn't that be putting the face of our Muqing Marquis's mansion in front of the Zhuang family and trampling on it?"

"The injuries on her body were just some punishment I had someone inflict on her in her room. They look serious, but they don't actually break any bones." She dusted off her sleeves and sat down without any ceremony.

In her opinion, this was all her stepmother's fault. She insisted on showing her magnanimity by keeping the people who had served her in the mansion, and only sent her these four vixens right before her marriage.

The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. Ignoring her stepmother's slightly furrowed brows, she continued, "The maids who used to serve me in the manor would rather marry any ugly man in the manor than go to the farm with me."

Several of them were unwilling to go, but there were at least fifty, if not a hundred, maids in the manor who knew them well but had never shown their faces to their masters.