The Good Concubine of the Qing Dynasty [Red Mansion]

Lady Li was furious in her own courtyard, but Ula Nara felt equally uneasy.

She couldn’t vent her frustration because she was Fourth Prince’s primary wife.

She had to abide by her duties and not show jealousy over Fourth Prince marrying another woman. Even though her eldest son had passed away this year, and Fourth Prince shared her grief and heartache, it wouldn’t stop him from having more sons.

That Lin family was one the emperor had his eyes on.

Even she knew that the position of Salt Patrol Censor was a highly lucrative one.

Though the concubine entering the household was the illegitimate daughter of the Lin family, she was a twin to the family’s only son.

She may not have been born from the main wife, but there was little difference from a legitimate daughter.

There were no prominent clans in Fourth Prince’s inner household, and she had little trouble managing it. The newly entering concubine wouldn’t be able to challenge her authority for some time, but if she had a personality like Lady Li, things could become difficult for her in the future.

Whether from personal feelings or for the sake of managing the household, it wasn’t something Ula Nara wanted to see.

For the Fourth Princess Consort, it would be better if Lady Li were officially named a secondary consort. Lady Li came from a servant background, and her only advantage was her ability to bear children.

Since the passing of her eldest son, Lady Li had become more arrogant, causing her headaches, though she could still manage to suppress her.

Unfortunately, the imperial decree was not something she could defy, so she could only choose to accept it.

Lin Ruhai had to take up his new post without delay. Upon receiving the imperial decree, he promptly went to the Fourth Prince’s residence to discuss the details of the marriage.

The wedding couldn’t be arranged immediately, but fortunately, the dowry had been prepared since his daughter’s birth.

Now, they just needed to measure the courtyard’s dimensions, make the furniture, and add some of the latest fashionable pieces. That would almost be enough.

However, none of the necessary steps could be skipped. Lin Ruhai and the Fourth Prince first settled on a date, but beyond that, Lin Ruhai could no longer oversee the preparations in person. At most, if he could find the time when his daughter leaves for her marriage, he would return to the capital to see her off.

In the meantime, his mother would handle the rest of the preparations with his son.

The old lady was both anxious and joyful, with her hands full of tasks.

Her son’s new position required caution, and she couldn’t spare herself from helping, as she also had to organize her granddaughter’s marriage.

Moreover, there was her eldest granddaughter. She had reached the age for marriage, and they had begun discussions for her match. Recently, the capital had been abuzz with joyful news of marriages.

Her eldest granddaughter was already fifteen, and they couldn’t delay any longer.

Fortunately, her son had mentioned that he had found a suitable family, so she shouldn’t worry, as he had everything under control. This finally allowed the elderly lady to relax for a while.

As for Chenyu, both parents had, without discussing it, agreed to postpone things.

There simply wasn’t enough time. For a boy, delaying the marriage discussions for a couple of years wasn’t an issue. They didn’t want to rush and risk making a poor match, as there would be no time for regrets later.

They were not willing to make hasty decisions.

Yun Shuyao, seeing everything fall into place and the family preparing the dowry for her daughter, couldn’t help but feel a surge of mixed emotions.

She began reflecting on whether she had been living too passively in recent years.

When Yun Shuyao married into the family, she already knew there was no room for her to rise in status.

As long as Lin Ruhai remained an official and wanted to continue his career, elevating a concubine to the position of wife would never happen. It would become a ready-made weakness for his rivals.

But hadn’t there been historical instances where officials elevated concubines to wives without facing consequences?

Of course there had.

As long as one made enough contributions and accomplishments, it wouldn’t be an issue.

But achieving those accomplishments, while it sounds simple, actually takes time.

She didn’t know how to make glass, watches, vaccines, or gunpowder like other time travelers.

Maybe her teachers had mentioned these things back in school, but who would memorize them?

The main issue was that after working for so many years, she had long forgotten her textbooks. Even if she had memorized something back then, it had been returned to the teacher a long time ago.

For her, improving crop varieties was the most feasible approach, and it could also bring significant achievements.

Give her time, and by the time Chenyu takes office, perhaps there could be good results.

However, that requires generations of improvements.

Her abilities weren’t so miraculous as to induce mutations just because she wanted them to, or to make plants mutate in the way she envisioned.

Her only ability was to shorten the growth time of crops and ensure their health.

She thought she could wait.

But now, with her daughter about to get married, she couldn’t handle her wedding preparations. And if something were to happen to her daughter in the Fourth Prince’s residence, she wouldn’t be able to easily visit her.

Her status was simply too low.

If she were Lin Ruhai’s official wife, things would be different.

Yun Shuyao felt she should at least try to struggle and turn things around for herself.

Since Lin Ruhai would soon be in charge of salt affairs, Yun Shuyao recalled something.

Salt and iron were both under strict control by the imperial court. She didn’t know how to refine iron, but when it came to salt, most of it was currently extracted from salt wells and salt lakes. There was also salt made from seawater, though it was crude and processed by boiling with firewood.

The nobility wouldn’t mind spending money on refined salt, but for poor families, as long as it had a salty taste, it was good enough.

She thought about trying to find a more convenient and affordable way to refine and promote salt production. It didn’t seem too difficult, and if it didn’t work, she could think of other solutions.

With Luoyu’s marriage settled, there wasn’t much time left for her at home.

Right now, she was very attached to Yun Shuyao.

Whatever Yun Shuyao was doing, she wanted to be by her side.

The same was true for her interactions with her brother, sister, and grandmother.

As long as she wasn’t with her concubine mother, she would always be with them.

If Lin Ruhai hadn’t already gone south, she would have wanted to spend more time with him as well.

The old lady only indulged her in this behavior.

Once she leaves the house, she will become the secondary consort of the Fourth Prince and will no longer have the freedom she enjoys now. As long as she stays within the boundaries, no one will interfere with what she wants to do.

As long as she memorizes the workings of the Fourth Prince’s household and becomes familiar with the rules, everything will be fine.

The rest, the old lady will keep an eye on.

The dowry is very important.

The maidservants and older attendants who will accompany her are also crucial.

These people will become her confidantes in the Fourth Prince’s residence, so it’s essential to choose capable individuals who won’t hold her back.

The old lady once again felt grateful for preparing early on for her granddaughters. Now, she just needed to select the most suitable candidates from those who had been trained.

Still, she often felt it wasn’t enough.

After all, this was the Fourth Prince’s household, not an ordinary family.

As a result, the servants chosen to accompany her were drilled so hard on proper etiquette that they were nearly at their wits’ end.

Almost everyone in the Lin household was busy, except for Concubine Mei and Concubine Chu.

They had no authority. Concubine Chu was focused on her Buddhist practices and had no time for anything else, while Concubine Mei wanted to be involved but couldn’t find a way.

All she could do was watch enviously as Luoyu’s dowry list grew longer and longer.

She felt those in charge were blind. How could they not notice her Yingyu?

She was the eldest daughter!

By seniority, such a good marriage should have gone to her Yingyu!

She was full of resentment but didn’t dare to speak up.

Especially when she thought of the old lady.

She could only silently note down the items on Luoyu’s dowry list. If Yingyu’s dowry wasn’t as good when she got married, she would definitely cause a scene.

Lin Ruhai had to leave in a hurry, leaving other matters in the hands of his reliable advisors. With Chenyu also present, he took charge.

As Lin Ruhai’s only son, he could represent the Lin family.

Such a grand occasion didn’t escape the attention of the Jia family for long, even if they didn’t know about it initially.

Aside from Baoyu lamenting why Sister Lin had to get married, the rest of the family had mixed feelings.

Jia She was pleased, thinking that although she wasn’t his sister’s biological daughter, she still had to call his sister “mother” and refer to them as “uncle.”

Her success could bring some benefit to the Jia family as well.

However, both Grandmother Jia and Second Madam Wang were frustrated. Grandmother Jia knew the true nature of their family’s relationship. If not for various reasons, their ties with the Lin family would have already been broken. They were just maintaining superficial appearances—what benefits were there to gain?

Any supposed benefits were just for show, meant to fool outsiders who didn’t know the truth!

The Lin family was celebrating a joyful occasion—two joyous events, in fact—and she couldn’t help but regret her previous actions, which lacked caution. Ultimately, it was all Zhao Xinghua’s fault; if not for her, the relationship between the Jia and Lin families wouldn’t have soured like this!

The better things went for the Lin family, the more the Jia family could benefit.

After all, Baoyu and Daiyu were of similar age. If they could become in-laws, with successful siblings offering protection, Baoyu’s future would be secure.

But now, that hope seemed faint.

Second Madam Wang’s frustrations stemmed from a different source. Her daughter Yuanchun was serving as an attendant in Noble Consort De’s palace, but if she were to enter the Fourth Prince’s residence, she wouldn’t be able to secure a position as a secondary consort.

Not to mention, the new consort had been bestowed by the emperor himself, giving her a higher status than someone who earned the title through a formal request.

How could Second Madam Wang not feel resentful in the face of such a comparison?

Moreover, Yuanchun was still struggling in the palace, with no clear idea of when she would be able to rise in rank.

Feel happy for the Lin family? She wished she could swap out the name in the imperial decree with her own daughter’s!

If Yuanchun couldn’t secure a future in the palace, becoming a prince’s secondary consort would be an ideal path.

Jia Yuanchun shared snippets of what she had heard with Luoyu, who took note of the favor and planned to repay it in the future.

In fact, this wasn’t what Noble Consort De initially intended.

She had planned for both Lin and Niohuru women to be appointed as imperial concubines of equal rank, but later the emperor intervened.

Noble Consort De had managed to stay safe in the imperial harem for many years because she was skilled at reading the situation and never went against the emperor’s wishes. Whatever the emperor said, she followed.

So when Lin’s status was raised from gege to secondary consort, Noble Consort De didn’t say much, though she was privately dissatisfied.

Had she known earlier that Lord Lin was so highly regarded by the emperor, she would have arranged for Luoyu to be appointed as gege to the Fourteenth Prince instead. That would have helped the Fourteenth Prince and wouldn’t have drawn too much attention.

Many could see that Lin Ruhai’s current position was transitional. If he performed well in his duties, once his term was completed and he returned to the capital, his future would be secured.

Not only the Crown Prince and the Eldest Prince but also others with an eye on the throne had discussed this with their advisors.

Why was Luoyu appointed to the Fourth Prince? Did the Fourth Prince do something?

After much analysis, most believed it was just a coincidence. If not for the Fourth Prince losing his eldest legitimate son, the emperor likely wouldn’t have taken a sudden interest in his household affairs, giving him such a “fortunate” opportunity.

If their own eldest sons had passed away, the emperor would have felt sympathy for them too. But who would want their eldest son to die prematurely?

Even if they disliked their official wives, their legitimate sons were still viewed differently.

It truly seemed like a coincidence.

Upon hearing this news, Jin Huan was nearly furious to the point of spitting blood, her emotions thrown into turmoil.

They had somehow become entangled with the royal family?!

There was no way she could target Luoyu anymore.

Moreover, any move would affect everything. She didn’t know what Lin Ruhai had done, but ever since he returned to the capital, she had suffered the backlash.

She had to use her most precious items to stabilize her cultivation and prevent it from deteriorating. By the time she came out of seclusion, the situation was already set in stone.

Jing Huan felt a deep sense of frustration—was she really just going to watch helplessly?

No.

She had invested too much effort; she couldn’t just let it go.

Opportunities like this were extremely rare. If she missed it, there would never be another. She still had hope…