Chapter 31: The Jealous Wife Li Shi

In the second branch of the Jun household, as soon as Li Shi returned to her own courtyard, she spoke in a sour, sarcastic tone, cursing: "The second young lady is merely lucky; who knows what fox-spirit tricks she used to bewitch both the Emperor and the Crown Prince, leaving them dazed and confused. Even Lady Wu has been cowed into holding a banquet specifically for her..."

Xiang Xiang Junzheng's face turned cold: "Hush your mouth at once. That tongue of yours will sooner or later bring disaster upon the family."

Li Shi woke as if from a dream, realizing only then that jealousy had clouded her mind; she had been babbling nonsense and slandering the Emperor and the Crown Prince, and she was too terrified to utter another sound.

Xiang Xiang Junzheng's expression softened:

"Now that the second young lady is in favor, you must be careful. Instruct Jun Jun Zhidie to maintain a good relationship with the second young lady, and do not offend the eldest brother and the First Lady either."

Li Shi was unwilling but could only nod; then she cursed again:

"Speaking of which, this Lady Wu is even worse. If she had not been so permissive, how could that rascal have done such a thing? Claiming she did not know someone had entered the wrong room in the house is clearly just an excuse..."

Xiang Xiang Junzheng's eyebrows twitched, and he roared:

"Will you not shut your mouth!"

"Be careful the neighbors hear; you will have a hard time of it!"

This time Li Shi would not stand for it; she glared with wide, furious eyes and lunged at Xiang Xiang Junzheng. Her fingers curled into claws as she fiercely scratched at his face. Xiang Xiang Junzheng could not dodge in time, and blood immediately appeared on his face.

Xiang Xiang Junzheng cried out in pain, letting out a "Awooo!" of agony, and cursed:

"You mad woman, you are simply unreasonable!"

"You scolded me! You actually dared to scold me!"

Li Shi, as if possessed by madness, continued to attack him without ceasing.

Xiang Xiang Junzheng roared:

"Enough! Stop fighting!"

Seeing Xiang Junming angry, Li Shi felt a bit of fear and finally stopped. Xiang Xiang Junzheng clutched his face, his eyes filled with rage:

"Why couldn't we discuss things properly? Why must we resort to violence?" Xiang Xiang Junzheng said.

"I am simply unwilling. What kind of man are you? Not only can you not provide us with a good life, but your Lady spends her days bowing and scraping to other Ladies' wives, and when that rascal molested Jun Jun Zhidie, you did not dare to utter a word."

Xiang Xiang Junzheng sighed, then spoke in a softer voice:

"Think of our son Jun Zhihao. The more of a rascal Zicheng is, the more Jun Zhihao will benefit."

Li Shi snorted. "How will Jun Zhihao benefit? By you swallowing your anger day after day like this?"

Xiang Xiang Junzheng ordered servants to bring a chair, sat up straight, and explained in a low voice. Xiang Xiang Junzheng let out a cold snort:

"Look at how absurd and unbearable Zicheng is; how can he possibly support the Jun family in the future? The eldest brother will sooner or later grow tired of him, and since the eldest brother has no other sons, once Jun Zhihao returns from his studies, if we simply wait patiently for the right moment and have Jun Zhihao show himself before the eldest brother often, then once Zicheng is thoroughly ruined, it will be the day Jun Zhihao emerges. The position of family head will sooner or later belong to Jun Zhihao; with such a vast family estate, do you fear it will not fall into Jun Zhihao's hands? If we force our way forward now, we will only anger the eldest brother and harm Jun Zhihao instead."

Although Li Shi's face was still full of resentment, she felt there was some truth in his words.

Jun Jun Zhihao, fifteen years old, is the eldest legitimate son of the second branch, born to Li Shi, and ranks second among the male children of his generation in the Jun family. Due to his frail health and frequent illnesses, he was sent to Mount Kunlun Mountain to study arts from a young age.

Li Shi was a jealous woman who could not tolerate a grain of sand in her eye. After marrying Xiang Xiang Junzheng, she bore no children for many years and had once taken a concubine for him. Xiang Xiang Junzheng doted extremely on this newly acquired Zhou Zhou Yiniang. Soon after, both Li Shi and Zhou Zhou Yiniang became pregnant. Zhou Zhou Yiniang suffered a miscarriage, while Li Shi gave birth to a son. Later, a maid saw Zhou Zhou Yiniang secretly meeting a man, so Li Shi sent her to a temple to cultivate. Zhou Zhou Yiniang later died suddenly of an illness in the temple. Since then, Xiang Xiang Junzheng had taken no more concubines; not that he did not want to, but he simply could not withstand Li Shi's shrewish demeanor.

Seeing Jun Jun Zijin selected three bolts of cloud brocade and three bolts of Shu brocade, calling on Hanxiao and Miaozhu to take them to deliver to the Old Lady later. People of advanced age have short vitality and energy; after lunch, they become lethargic. Before the banquet even dispersed, the Old Lady had already returned to Jingzhu Courtyard to rest. The Old Lady had just awakened, holding a three-ingredient tea prepared by Seeing Jun Jun Zijin. After taking only a few sips, she saw Seeing Jun Jun Zijin walk in with a smile, followed by Miaozhu and Hanxiao holding the brocades.

Seeing Jun Jun Zijin stepped forward quickly and asked Wang Nainai with a smile:

"Grandmother, has your headache not recurred recently?"

Wang Nainai replied respectfully:

"Thanks to the second Young Lady's remarkable acupuncture therapy, combined with the medicinal pills and the three-ingredient tea, the Old Lady has not suffered a headache in the past half month. Just now, the Old Lady was still praising the second Young Lady, saying that the tea she formulated has such great efficacy!"

The three-ingredient tea was a blend prepared by Seeing Jun Jun Zijin using red peony root, achyranthes root, and astragalus, primarily to assist in treating the Old Lady's headaches, dizziness, and numbness in the limbs.

The Old Lady then smiled and said:

"Second Young Lady, rest assured; your grandmother is doing well!"

Regarding Seeing Jun Jun Zijin's medical skills, the Old Lady had always trusted her. It was Xiang Junming who had harbored doubts; previously, he had not realized that this second daughter could diagnose illnesses, yet her performance was so remarkable.

Lady Wu said that unusual occurrences often hide sinister motives, and Xiang Junming had almost believed her. However, the Old Lady stated that it was normal for the second young lady to know how to diagnose illnesses, having heard and seen much while accompanying her maternal grandfather. The Old Lady even scolded Xiang Junming, essentially saying he was not a competent father, not only failing to know his daughter possessed medical skills but also believing others' slander. One must know, if the second young lady's medical skills are so remarkable, does it not bring honor to the Jun family as well?

Xiang Junming felt ashamed and unable to bear it, felt the Old Lady's words made sense, and thus no longer harbored doubts.

Seeing Jun Jun Zijin then instructed Hanxiao and Miaozhu to bring the brocades forward.

"Grandmother, these are the brocades bestowed upon your granddaughter by the Emperor and the Crown Prince yesterday. These colors suit Grandmother best; I have brought them for Grandmother to have a few sets of clothes made."

The Old Lady's face filled with gratification, and she said with a smile:

"Grandmother knows you are filial, but Grandmother is old and does not need such precious brocades. It is my granddaughter who should have a few more sets of clothes made."

"Grandmother, these colors make your granddaughter look old and dull; Grandmother is the most suitable for them."

Wang Nainai smiled and said:

"The second Young Lady's filial piety is sincere; should the Old Lady not accept it?"

The Old Lady finally accepted them. The Old Lady was not being pretentious; she genuinely pitied Seeing Jun Jun Zijin. Other Young Ladies dressed up meticulously every day, while the second young lady wore clothes casually, looking nothing like a Young Lady. Knowing that Lady Wu must have deliberately made things difficult, the Old Lady had asked a tailor a few days ago to make several sets of clothes for Seeing Jun Jun Zijin according to current fashionable styles, yet she saw her wear them only once before putting them away. She thought to herself that the second young lady must be reluctant to wear them. These were rare cloud brocades and Shu brocades; they should be kept by the second young lady herself to make clothes. Her second young lady should be dressed up properly.

Actually, Seeing Jun Jun Zijin did not refuse to wear the clothes the Old Lady made; she simply was not accustomed to the elaborate attire of Young Ladies in high-ranking households. Simple clothing felt much more comfortable and straightforward.

Now that she was not short of money, she originally planned to wait until she had time to design a few sets of lightweight yet dignified clothing styles that would not be overly complicated nor cause her to lose propriety in front of others. After all, living in this great courtyard, sometimes one cannot do without maintaining appearances through clothing.