He named no names.
Yet somehow, everyone knew he meant Song Yutang.
The two entered the study one after the other. The old man sat down in a rosewood chair. "Miss Song, you were very bold today."
Song Yutang met his gaze calmly. "I'm a woman who observes the three obediences and four virtues. Since I've become the wife of the Jiang family's eldest grandson, in the old terminology, I'm the future mistress of the household. Doing my duty is only natural. Even in this new era, without a compass and square, there can be no circles or squares."
The old man's sharp gaze swept straight toward her. "I didn't expect your thinking to be so traditional."
Song Yutang smiled faintly. "It isn't tradition. It's experience our ancestors paid for in blood and tears. For thousands of years, through dynasty after dynasty, people have been trying to avoid the mistakes of those who came before them. Since they ultimately arrived at the concept of a mistress of the household, it was a lesson learned in blood and tears. I married into this family all alone. I have nothing I can't afford to lose. But Grandpa, can you... afford to lose?"
A long silence fell over the study.
After a long while, the old man took a red sandalwood box from a drawer and opened it.
Inside lay a lustrous, translucent jadeite bangle.
"My grandmother passed this down to my mother, and my mother passed it to your grandmother. After your grandmother died, I gave it neither to your mother nor to Qingyu's wife."
He pushed the box to the middle of the desk. "If you truly have what it takes, it's yours."
Song Yutang understood.
This was the token of the Jiang family's mistress of the household.
The corners of her lips lifted slightly. "Then I'll trouble you to keep it safe for me for now, Grandpa."
The old man gave her a long look. "Go."
At the door, Song Yutang paused, then suddenly turned back with a smile. "King You of Zhou deposed his legitimate heir in favor of a concubine's son, and Western Zhou fell three years later. Duke Huan of Qi let his emotions rule him and left the succession unsettled, and after his death, his hegemony crumbled in an instant. Grandpa, how do you think our little Jiang family fortune compares with the Zhou royal house's eight hundred years of rule, or Duke Huan's grand ambitions in the Spring and Autumn period?"
The old man looked up in astonishment.
Song Yutang continued, smiling, "Even with a biological son born to a concubine, King You of Zhou still died without an intact corpse, and Duke Huan of Qi could not escape being left with no one to lay him to rest. What would happen with an adopted son who shares no blood at all? Since ancient times, we've only ever seen tablets honoring birth parents in ancestral halls. When has anyone seen an adoptive father's tablet?"
The old man's expression instantly turned ugly.
Song Yutang smiled and said no more.
From ancient times to the present, the way men thought had never really changed.
When young, they cared only for their own pleasure. Once they grew old, empty, and lonely, they began caring about blood ties and family affection, and worrying that no one would burn joss paper for them after they died.
This old bastard had personally switched the children back then. He had always been selfish and cold-hearted.
As he aged and his passion faded, his feelings toward Chen Ruyin and her son were really nothing special.
It was just that Jiang Guoqiang's branch of the family all seemed rather unpromising, while Jiang Qingyu was someone he had raised himself, after all, so he wanted both the palm and the back of his hand.
But Song Yutang insisted on telling him that a bastard would always be a bastard...
After Song Yutang left, Chen Ruyin, who had been hiding around the corner, wiped her tears and entered the study. The moment she spoke, she began pouring out her grievances. "Brother Kun... Miss Song's words were so hurtful. We're only friends, but she kept calling me a concubine, a kept mistress... It's my fault. I'm the one who's caused you to be insulted..."
The old man rubbed between his brows wearily. "Few young people these days observe propriety as Yutang does. She's just arrived and doesn't understand the rules. Be more tolerant of her."
Chen Ruyin froze, then tentatively placed a hand on his shoulder. "Actually, all these years, I've regretted leaving you back then. Now that we're both old, why don't... we get married? It would make up for the regrets of our youth."
Had she said this before today, the old man might have been tempted.
But at this moment, Song Yutang's words kept echoing in his mind.
He gently moved Chen Ruyin's hand away. "Ruyin, things are... fine as they are."
Her hand froze in midair. "Are you turning your nose up at me now?"
The old man stood and walked to the window, his gaze distant. "We're both old. Let's not stir things up anymore. Spending a few quiet years together like this would count as making up for the regrets of our youth."
A flash of venomous resentment crossed Chen Ruyin's eyes, but she quickly squeezed out a few more tears, covered her face, and ran out. "I understand... I was deluding myself... At my age, I'm still being called an old mistress. I might as well die..."
Watching her affected retreating figure, the old man's brows slowly knitted.
She was over sixty. Why was she still copying Jiang Shiya's routine of crying first, making a scene second, and threatening to hang herself third?
No wonder Yutang had said that when the upper beam was crooked, the lower beam would be askew.
He truly had been negligent all these years, gradually growing accustomed to these women making the household a foul, smoky mess.
With no peace at home, how could they unite against outsiders?
Now that Yutang was here...
He wanted to see just what she could accomplish as this mistress of the household she spoke of.
The first thing Song Yutang did upon returning to the room was lock the door.
Then she walked to the bed, lifted the covers, and carefully examined Jiang Muyan's perfect physique.
With this physique... he should be able to father a healthy child, right?
Her performance today had clearly won the approval of the head of the family.
She had taken the first step.
Jiang Muyan, who had been lying naked in bed for most of the day: "???"
Could this woman think about anything besides having a baby?
The next second, the clear voice sounded again:
But no family would give a share of its assets to a woman from outside.
Unless that woman gave birth to a child carrying the family's blood.
So having a child is even more important than gaining the approval of the head of the family.
Goosebumps instantly rose all over Jiang Muyan.
No wonder she had been willing to marry him, a man in a vegetative state.
This girl certainly had a clear goal, and not a single good intention.
If she really did have a child, she might very well get rid of the father and keep the child to monopolize power...
It's a pity it didn't work during the day. Let's try again... Song Yutang's goal was indeed clear, so she had already started feeling him up.
Jiang Muyan's entire body instantly tensed.
Reason told him he must not react.
His parents and younger siblings were all honest people. Even the four of them put together didn't have as many schemes as Song Yutang.
If she really did have a child, it would be one thing if she only wanted money.
The fear was that her insatiable greed might drive her to murder.
Song Yutang seemed to notice something, and her eyes lit up. Huh? A reaction?
"..."
Jiang Muyan exerted every ounce of strength he had, but the body's instincts were often beyond the control of reason...
Wonderful. It looks like everything works normally. Maybe he was just too nervous during the day...
Delighted, Song Yutang got straight down to business without even taking off her clothes.
But she actually had little experience.
She only knew to copy a position from the erotic illustrations.
The result was...
"Ngh..."
With a sharp pain, a stifled groan sounded in the silent room.
Song Yutang stopped moving and slowly raised her head to look at Jiang Muyan's pale face.
His eyelids fluttered slightly, as though he would open his eyes the very next second.