Favoring Qie Over Wife (13)

The next day, Song Jia was very impressed with Bai Mei Lien.

She was about to instruct Ruolan to tell her that she didn't have to come to the zhengfang to pay her respects. But before she could even say a single word, one of the servants in the outer rooms was already announcing Bai Mei Lien's arrival.

Song Jia raised an eyebrow. After her wedding night, she could barely walk. Not to mention getting out of bed, even sitting up brought her unbearable pain.

She secretly thought, with regards to physical endurance, if sister Bai claims to be number two, no one would dare to be number one!

Minglan and other lower-ranked servants had already poured tea for Bai Mei Lien. When Song Jia lifted the curtains and entered the outer rooms, Bai Mei Lien stood up and bowed towards her.

"You don't have to be so polite, sit down." Song Jia didn't sit at the front, but opposite Bai Mei Lien. "We're the only sisters here, so we need to do our best to take care of His Highness. Naturally, courtesies like this should be discarded. Sister Bai has no need to feel so uncomfortable with me."

Bai Mei Lien's hand that held her teacup trembled a little. She had already expected wang fei to bully her, so she went to pay her respects as soon as she woke up. No matter what, she could not give wang fei any reason to find trouble with her and complain to big brother Zhao Cheng.

Bai Mei Lien became even more uneasy with Song Jia's warm attitude and stammered, "Nu...nu [1] doesn't dare."

Song Jia sighed lightly. This Bai Mei Lien was indeed a timid and weak one. No wonder Li Jia had bullied her so severely. She was wang fei, but Bai Mei Lien had Zhao Cheng's favor. No matter what household, if the husband sides with the other woman, she should still be able to live her life at peace.

However, this weak nature was also to Bai Mei Lien's advantage as it made Li Jia look even more like a shrew. In this era, being a jealous wife was taboo, since it could even be a reason for a man to divorce his wife because they were allowed to have a lot of concubines.

Song Jia made a gesture, and Ruolan came forward with prepared gifts. One of the priceless jewelries there was a golden hairpin with melons hanging from a flowering vine, showing her generosity. Ruolan's eyes reddened as she passed it over to Bai Mei Lien's personal maidservant.

Wang fei was truly too kind. Round melons represent a pregnant woman's swollen belly. For wang fei to gift this hairpin would mean that she is blessing this shufei to bear wang ye's children. If this concubine gives birth to the eldest son, she would then have an equal status with the official wife.

Bai Mei Lien was overwhelmed and agitatedly wrung her handkerchief, "Nu is honored to have received wang fei's generosity, but these things, they...they are too valuable..."

She only took one glance at them, but she could immediately see that these were all high-end accessories that would cost at least one or two thousand taels each. Even if this wang fei in front of her was truly 'virtuous', to give all of these to a mere shufei like her, it was a bit too much!

Song Jia was annoyed that she was still refusing her and impatiently waved a hand, "These are only small things, don't think too much of it. Just consider it your reward for serving His Highness well."

Bai Mei Lien saw that it would be rude to refuse at this point and reluctantly accepted the gifts. She could not figure out wang fei's intention for giving it to her. Was she truly not jealous, or was she just creating a façade so that she would drop her guard?

Bai Mei Lien was timid, but she was not stupid. She knew that the more unfathomable a person was, the more dangerous they are. She told herself that as long as she was able to, she should not provoke this woman in front of her.

"If you haven't had breakfast yet, have the kitchen prepare chicken and duck blood soup. It's good for the body."

Having said so, Song Jia motioned for her to leave. Bai Mei Lien didn't linger either. She immediately stood up and left the zhengfang, her heart heavy.

Her first-ranked maid, Bo Yu, cautiously said, "Mistress, this wang fei doesn't seem to be simple."

Bai Mei Lien didn't respond, but her shoulders slumped even lower.

Bo Yu saw this, and the corners of her lips infinitesimally rose up.

The official wife and a favored concubine left alone in the houyuan, even a mere yatou like her knows that they would mix like oil and water. It would not be long before swords will be drawn and bows will be bent [2].

Bo Yu glanced down at the platter that she was holding. A pair of jade bracelets embedded with gems, a flower-shaped clip with a pearl center, a sapphire necklace, and that golden hairpin...when wang fei's maidservant handed these over to her earlier, her eyes were nearly blinded by these expensive accessories.

In her heart, she felt bitter.

Both that wang fei and her mistress were indeed pretty, but Bo Yu didn't think she would lose out to them. Her figure was slender, her hair was long and thick, and her almond-shaped eyes were clear and limpid.

A beautiful girl like her, it would be a waste if she stayed as a servant forever.

[1] Nu : 'this servant'

[2] A state of mutual hostility.