While Jiang Yunshu was assigning tasks to her maidservants, over at the Duan Family, Jiang Zhaohua was also troubled by her own attendants.
Lately, one vexing matter after another had been weighing on Jiang Zhaohua’s mind!
She had brought eight maidservants with her when she married into the Duan Family. Back in the Marquis's Mansion, she had also been attended by eight maids, yet her mother-in-law took issue with this arrangement, summoning her maids daily under various pretexts to run errands for her.
These eight maidservants had grown up alongside Jiang Zhaohua, their bond with her unlike any ordinary servant. Each possessed a unique skill—some excelled in needlework, others in hairstyling, and some in blending fragrances.
Before her marriage, in the Marquis's Mansion, menial tasks were handled by lower-ranking maids and servants, while her eight personal attendants, all of the highest rank, were responsible only for close, delicate duties.
Whether it was embroidery or dressing her hair, their hands had to remain soft and smooth. Rough hands would snag fine fabrics or scratch Jiang Zhaohua’s delicate skin. Thus, these maids had been meticulously cared for since childhood, their hands even more delicate than those of young ladies from modest households.
Yet after entering the Duan Family, her mother-in-law constantly ordered them to perform the filthiest, most laborious chores!
One day, Widow Duan would command them to wash laundry; the next, she’d have them stoking the kitchen fires.
How could her refined maidservants be accustomed to such rough work?
Widow Duan was an uneducated, unrefined woman—someone Jiang Zhaohua wouldn’t have spared a glance at on the streets. Yet now, simply by virtue of being her mother-in-law, she could order Jiang Zhaohua about!
Jiang Zhaohua wanted to refuse, but her maidservants all rushed to dissuade her: "Young Mistress, you mustn’t!"
"It is our duty to serve you and fulfill your filial obligations."
Hearing this, Jiang Zhaohua’s resolve crumbled.
Ever since her marriage, the weight of "filial piety" had pressed down on her like an immovable mountain.
Widow Duan had lost her husband young, remaining chaste and unmarried while raising Duan Jinxing single-handedly—a sacrifice that cast her in a virtuous light.
Duan Jinxing was bound by duty to honor his mother, and Jiang Zhaohua, in turn, had to be even more devoted to her mother-in-law than society expected. The slightest whisper of impropriety would tarnish both their reputations irreparably.
Duan Jinxing was destined to become the future Prime Minister, and she, a future titled noblewoman—their names had to remain spotless.
To outsiders, it would be unthinkable for Jiang Zhaohua to keep eight maidservants solely for herself while her mother-in-law went unattended. Not only would it damage her reputation, but if word reached her husband, he might grow displeased with her.
So Jiang Zhaohua swallowed her anguish, sending her cherished maids to scrub clothes and tend fires.
Yet despite her sacrifice, her mother-in-law remained unsatisfied—now even finding fault with the maids themselves!
Widow Duan nitpicked relentlessly.
"Put some strength into it! How can clothes be clean if you wash them so weakly? Do it again!"
"Maidservants from the Marquis's Mansion, yet you can’t even light a fire properly? Filling the room with smoke—are you trying to suffocate me?"
Jiang Zhaohua’s attendants had never done such menial work before; of course they struggled at first. But Widow Duan berated them immediately.
Seeing her lifelong companions treated so harshly, Jiang Zhaohua buried herself under her blankets and wept bitterly.
Yet while her mother-in-law could scold her maids, Jiang Zhaohua dared not defy the older woman on their behalf.
She proposed purchasing additional maidservants to serve Widow Duan, even offering to pay for them herself rather than burden the Duan Family’s finances.
Instead of gratitude, her mother-in-law responded with a mocking lecture.
"A married woman follows her husband’s household. Now that you’re part of the Duan Family, you must abide by our customs."
"Our family values diligence and scholarship, not extravagance. With Duan Jinxing at the academy, only you and I remain at home. Eight maidservants aren’t enough? You want to buy more?"
"Where would we even house additional servants in this modest home?"
"In my opinion, you should sell off a few of your maids. Two are plenty."
Jiang Zhaohua trembled with fury. These maids had been handpicked by her mother, the Lady Hou. Since childhood, her mother had sought out girls of matching age, nurturing and training them meticulously.
Though she now had eight, her mother had originally purchased dozens.
Over years, the Lady Hou had refined the group—discarding those clumsy or disloyal—until only the most exceptional eight remained: loyal, clever, and each a master of her craft.
The second-best had been given to Jiang Zhaohua’s younger sisters.
Those less capable became lower-ranking maids or were sold off entirely.
Thus, each of Jiang Zhaohua’s eight attendants was irreplaceable—not just for their years of companionship, but as embodiments of her mother’s love.
They were meant to stay with her for life. Even if they later married, their families would remain bound to her as lifelong retainers. How could she ever sell them?
Voice shaking, Jiang Zhaohua replied, "My maidservants are not for you to decide upon, Mother-in-law."
Jiang Zhaohua was so furious that she developed a headache. Returning to her room, her maid massaged her for a long time, yet her complexion remained terribly pale.
The maid quickly brewed a pot of herbal tea to clear heat, soothe the liver, and relieve melancholy, softly consoling her: "Didn’t the Marquis and Lady Hou plan to buy a residence for you, miss?"
"You could take the opportunity of moving into the new house to hire more servants for the household, so the old madam won’t find fault."
"We maids can endure a little longer. Once you move to the new residence and have new attendants, the old madam won’t order us around anymore."
Jiang Zhaohua let out a long sigh. "It seems this is the only way."
She took the maid’s hand. "You’ll have to bear it a while longer."
When Jiang Zhaohua married Duan Jinxing, she had only dreamed of becoming a chancellor’s wife—never imagining that life in the Duan Family before that would be so unbearable.
Her only hope now was that her parents would soon purchase the residence so she could move in.
Though she would still have to bring Widow Duan along, at least they could live in separate courtyards, keeping their distance!
Yet Jiang Zhaohua never expected even this hope to be dashed.
Finally, when the academy’s ten-day break arrived, her parents invited her and Duan Jinxing to dine at the Marquis's Mansion.
During the meal, the Marquis brought up the matter of gifting them a house.
Duan Jinxing firmly refused. "This unworthy son-in-law has achieved nothing and dares not accept such generosity from my lord father-in-law."
"I am well aware that the Duan Family’s poverty has caused Zhaohua hardship. Once I attain success in the imperial examinations, I shall repay you a hundredfold."
The Marquis, moved by Duan Jinxing’s ambition and now even more convinced of his future as chancellor—just as his daughter had predicted—praised him repeatedly. "Well said! Well said!"
Lady Hou, distressed by her daughter’s suffering, kept signaling to the Marquis, hoping he would still gift them the house.
But the Marquis had already been swayed by Duan Jinxing’s words—a true man of ambition would never live in a house bestowed by his wife’s family!
Today, Zhaohua shares her husband’s hardships; in the future, he will share his success with her!
The Marquis made the final decision. "Then I shall not interfere further."
He patted Duan Jinxing’s shoulder approvingly. "After you attain your rank, you must move Zhaohua into a grand residence!"
