I Became The Stepmother of My Ex-husband

As the twelfth month arrived, the end of the year grew closer and every household became busier. It had snowed in the past few days, painting the sky and ground white as the new year rounded the corner.

In the Buddhist sanctum, a maid hurried in holding a red box. She stomped her feet and shook off the snow on her hood as she entered and shouted, “Shizi Fei, this slave brings you hot soup.”

Gao Ran sat by a low-lying table in a side room holding a hand stove, wrapped in a thick squirrel fur cloak. Despite this, the maid next to her continued stirring the smouldering coal in the brazier non-stop, afraid that Gao Ran would feel cold.

The Buddhist sanctum was clean and sandalwood Buddha incense constantly floated in the room. It was quite shady and cool in the summer, but in winter, it became so cold that it seeped into one’s bones. Gao Ran had been punished by Lin Wei Xi and had to copy the Classic of Filial Piety in the Buddhist hall. She assumed that she’d finish in two or three days, but only after she came here did she realize that the situation wasn’t so optimistic.

Fortunately, although Lin Wei Xi sent someone to keep an eye on Gao Ran as she copied the book, she didn’t stop her servants from sending things to her. She resented how gloomy and cold it was in here and was especially afraid that staying here for a long time would affect her fertility, so she had the servants bring several braziers as well as cushions, seats, pillows, etc., and almost converted the quiet and dignified side room of the Buddhist sanctum into her private heated room.

Ning Fu headed straight to Qingsong Garden to fetch hot tea and freshly baked cakes. Gao Ran was bundled up in thick warm clothing and looked a little bloated when she held the brush. When Ning Fu placed the refreshments and other things on the table one by one, Gao Ran’s hand shook and she wrote a word wrong. A page that was almost finished was wasted yet again.

An unknown fire suddenly burst in Gao Ran’s heart and she threw the brush at the brush holder. The brush and porcelain collided, making a sharp sound that resounded clearly in the quiet temple. Ning Fu paused. Granny Tao saw the look on Gao Ran’s face and quickly pushed Ning Fu from behind, “Shizi Fei is copying the book. Why did you bring food? Won’t it delay Shizi Fei in her writing? Leave.”

Ning Fu opened her mouth. Hadn’t Shizi Fei said that she was cold and asked her to bring some hot food? Ning Fu returned the plates to the food box without saying a word and bowed, withdrawing.

Gao Ran was very irritable. It was almost New Year’s Eve. These few days, the Prince Yan Residence had been very busy entertaining guests, but she’d been trapped in the Buddhist sanctum by Lin Wei Xi and couldn’t even see other people. She gloomily sat for a while and asked, “did all the managers visit Jingcheng Courtyard these past few days to hand over their placards?”

“Yes.” Granny Tao said carefully. “The Princess Consort turned the side room of the courtyard next to Jingcheng Courtyard into a meeting room for the servants. The managers will go there every day at 9am to report to the Princess Consort and ask for her instructions for that day. If there are any problems they can’t solve, they can go there again at 3pm. Aside from these two timings, the Princess Consort won’t see anyone unless it’s something unexpected or urgent. The Princess Consort said that if the managing Grannies came to her for every trivial matter, then the Princess Consort wouldn’t be able to get any work done. So she simply arranged a timing for everyone to gather. If the Princess Consort has anything to say, she only needs to say it once.”

Granny Bu had been moved to Qingsong Garden. Although she was still a head manager in name, anyone with a discerning eye could see that she’d been demoted. While she could no longer manage the residence, there wasn’t much backlash because she could still stay by Shizi’s side and take care of him while maintaining her dignity. The country couldn’t go without a king for a day and the residence couldn’t go on without a decision maker. With Granny Bu gone, the person in charge would naturally be the Princess Consort. The moment Lin Wei Xi took over, she handled things in a completely different way. Not only did the rules become clearer, but a time was set to report to her. Aside from those two hours, Lin Wei Xi didn’t allow the managers to come over as and when they liked. Even if they stood outside her door, as long as it was outside the appointed time, they couldn’t see her so long as she refused.

Of course, the servants who were used to being lazy disliked Lin Wei Xi for being troublesome and doing unnecessary things. But after being refused several times and seeing that there was really no one whom they could complain to, they obediently followed Lin Wei Xi’s rules. Thus, the managers had to visit her every day and the Grannies were too scared to shirk their responsibilities to go gambling and drinking. The steadfast but somewhat clumsy servants saw what their master was doing and knew what they ought to do. If they had anything to report, they could do it in a timely manner. The management system had been reorganized, so it was unlikely not to meet with anyone all day. The low-ranking maids had someone they could go to for questions, so everything became more efficient. In just a few days, the residence was cleaned out. The tidy structure and the work efficiency was clear as day.

The changes in the residence couldn’t be hidden from everyone. Even Gao Ran, who was in the Buddhist sanctum all day, had heard about it. Gao Ran was previously quite confident that compared to her, who was knowledgeable and experienced, Lin Wei Xi, a little girl from a small commoner’s household, had rashly taken over hundreds of people. The Prince Yan Residence, which was akin to a mid-level company, would definitely end up in a big mess. When Lin Wei Xi made a fool of herself because she didn’t have the ability to fix such a large residence, the managerial power would return to Gao Ran’s hands. At that time, it wouldn’t matter whether she copied the Classics of Filial Piety a hundred times or not.

So Gao Ran remained unhurried. But as the days passed, the weather grew colder and New Year’s Eve approached, the trouble Gao Ran anticipated never came. She couldn’t sit still. After sending someone to inquire for a few days, she found out that the way Lin Wei Xi managed the huge residence was truly neat and tidy. She was shocked and found it unbelievable.

How was it possible? Lin Wei Xi was new to the residence, didn’t even recognize the servants, and was completely ignorant about the complicated and intertwined relationship of these slaves. How could she, the new Princess Consort who had gone in blind, arrange everything perfectly?

Gao Ran couldn’t figure it out and tried hard to ignore the unceasing panic she felt. She frowned and pondered for a while, and could only sum up Lin Wei Xi’s seemingly prophetic actions to sheer dumb luck. Gao Ran sat in boredom for a moment, but still asked reluctantly, “There are so many things to do at the end of the year like preparations for the banquet, purchasing things for the New Year’s, auditing the account books of the shops and estates, even planning gifts for the palace and high-ranking officials, and handling the subordinate’s gifts. Did she manage all of this alone?”

“Yes.” Tao Granny said, “I heard that the Princess Consort’s courtyard has been especially busy these past few days. Those from Jingcheng Courtyard almost look like they’re flying. However, the Princess Consort definitely arranged everything.”

A bride who’d barely been married for a month wanted to manage such a huge matter and was quite good at it. Gao Ran didn’t know what it was that she felt. She’d entered the household in the second month and it would be almost a year now, but she was hesitant to work on something so tremendous and complex, especially when it involved sending gifts to the palace, the Grand Secretary and other such people. This wasn’t a joke. However, Lin Wei Xi had only married in the eleventh month and took over everything almost as soon as she entered the household. Even though she was faced with completely unfamiliar staff, no one dared to look down on her no matter who they were.

Seeing Gao Ran’s still expression, Granny Tao felt uncomfortable. In her maiden home, Gao Ran had struck back and then married up in one move. Although she was a shu daughter, she’d been progressing forward all these years and had never suffered such a huge setback. Now, someone with a higher status, a higher authority, and who was clearly more capable than Gao Ran suddenly appeared. Not to mention Gao Ran, even Tao Granny couldn’t stand it.

Time seemed to have turned back to the time when Gao Ran was ten years old and firmly shrouded in Gao Xi’s light. It had also been like this back then. Gao Xi had the status of eldest di granddaughter, a powerful maternal family with a grandmother whose reputation preceded her, and outstanding literary achievements that received admiration. The younger generation in the Duke Residence were full of wonder and admiration when talking about their eldest sister and didn’t even have the heart to feel jealous or compete with her. Gao Ran constantly felt that she lost when it came to her status as a shu daughter, so she worked hard the past few years and did everything she could to pry away the people around Gao Xi and everything she had. And after a strange series of events, she married Gu Cheng Yao in the end. Gao Ran thought it was over. She’d finally proved to everyone that she was better than Gao Xi and any distinction between di and shu children was all prejudice. But even after her years of struggle, she seemed to have returned to the starting point.

A servant arrived and Granny Tao went out for a moment. She looked embarrassed when she returned. She saw that Gao Ran’s expression didn’t look good but was too scared not to relay the message. She faltered but had no choice but to say, “Shizi Fei, Shizi needs to prepare for the civil service exam and won’t be returning to sleep with you for the next few days. Granny Bu says that Shizi Fei is focused on copying Buddhist scriptures and won’t have time to serve Shizi, so she had Yun Hui follow Shizi to the study.”

Gao Ran suddenly returned to her senses and clenched her palms, her nails digging into her flesh. After that day, Gu Cheng Yao had been punished by Prince Yan. The inner courtyard didn’t know any specifics on the punishment. All Gao Ran knew was that his workload had drastically increased all at once and she barely saw him on a day to day basis. Now, Gu Cheng Yao wanted to completely live in the study. Gao Ran could understand a man’s ambitions and she was supportive of it. But this support was limited to him studying hard by himself and didn’t include abandoning his wife to have another woman, a beautiful woman at that, accompany him day and night.

Granny Bu had intercepted Gao Ran’s servants and sent Yun Hui to the study. Did they really think that no one could see their filthy thoughts? Gao Ran was beyond angry. Her chest rose and fell, but she ultimately held back her outburst. If she couldn’t tolerate such a small thing, she would ruin the bigger, more important things. She was currently in ancient times. It was normal for a man to have multiple wives and concubines. Anyway, she was the main wife. For the time being, she could put up with these lowly maids. It was more important that Gu Cheng Yao not have complaints about her. Once she gave birth to a son in the future and her position stabilized, wouldn’t she be free to dispose of those lowly wenches?

Gao Ran calmed her anger after much difficulty and suddenly felt agitated as she looked at the Classics of Filial Piety spread open before her. Who had the patience to copy such old fashioned rubbish? What else did it accomplish except to waste time? A woman studied the four arts to get married. Now that she’d married up, what was the use of reading this? Right now, Gao Ran ought to be busy attending banquets, socializing with the other Madams, as well as keeping an eye on the numerous concubines around Gu Cheng Yao.

Gao Ran paused and knew that she couldn’t delay any further. She called Granny Tao and whispered in her ear. Granny Tao understood. After a while, a person walked out of the Prince Yan Residence’s side gate and headed towards the Duke Ying Residence.

In Jingcheng Courtyard, Lin Wei Xi finally took care of the work the managers reported. She sat back in her living room and Wan Xing hurriedly stuffed a soft pillow behind her waist. Wan Yue handed some hot tea to Lin Wei Xi, “Princess Consort, you’ve been busy all morning. Why don’t you drink a cup of tea.”

“En.” Lin Wei Xi accepted the tea, took a sip, and asked, “that person in the Buddhist sanctum still hasn’t finished copying?”

At the mention of this, Wan Yue looked a little baffled, “she’s only made one more copy since yesterday.”

Lin Wei Xi put down the teacup and found it outrageous. She admitted that she’d been selfish when she punished Gao Ran and had her copy the Classics of Filial Piety a hundred times. But it wasn’t even two thousand words. How could she not finish copying a hundred, or more than a hundred, copies in twenty days? Lin Wei Xi expected her to take half a month. When a woman made a mistake, it was normal to confine her and have her copy text for half a month. This punishment was the right amount, and it prevented Gao Ran from being present during the year end visitations. Nosy people said that she treated her daughter-in-law harshly. But Lin Wei Xi didn’t think that Gao Ran would spend more than twenty days copying, from the beginning of the month to the end of the year, and not leave the Buddhist sanctum.

How embarrassing. At the end of the year, every household began to visit one another. Many Ladies visited the residence and met only Lin Wei Xi without seeing Gao Ran. They would inevitably question this. In the past few days, Lin Wei Xi explained multiple times that the reason why Shizi Fei wasn’t present was because she was confined and copying the Classics of Filial Piety for Prince Yan.

Anyway, Gao Ran was the one who lost face. With Prince Yan as her shield, Lin Wei Xi frankly told the truth. Gao Ran’s handwriting was unpassable and she couldn’t finish copying the Classics of Filial Piety a hundred times. Could anyone blame Lin Wei Xi?

They could leave it at that if the magnificent daughter of the Duke Ying Residence, the Shizi Fei of the Prince Yan Residence, had bad handwriting. But she didn’t even have the most basic, legible handwriting. Lin Wei Xi felt embarrassed for Gao Ran’s negligence of such fundamental skills. What had Gao Ran actually learned after more than ten years of hard work?

Lin Wei Xi raised her eyebrows lightly and didn’t hide the mockery in her eyes. Wan Yue also felt that Shizi Fei was actually in quite poor shape, but it wasn’t her place to say such things. Wan Yue could only change the subject and said, “Princess Consort, it’s the twenty third today. From today on, the Prince will be on vacation from court.”

Without her noticing, it was already the twenty-third. She glanced at the sky outside, stood up and said, “since it’s a vacation today, the Prince won’t need to stay in the palace to discuss official matters. Perhaps he will return soon. I will take a look outside.”

Wan Xing exclaimed in surprise and said anxiously, “Princess Consort, you’ve been assigning tasks to the servants all morning and your waist is stiff. Why don’t you rest first before leaving.”

Lin Wei Xi had already walked out of the room, her voice careless, “there’s no need.”

At the front gate of the Prince Yan Residence, Gu Hui Yan had just returned from the palace and brought along some people with him. Following behind him on one side was Zhao Qian and on the other was Zhou Mao Cheng.

Zhao Qian was also an old general who’d followed Gu Hui Yan for many years. He’d heard of Prince Yan’s wedding long ago, but he’d been in another province and wasn’t able to attend the wedding. He could only entrust someone to send his gift to the capital. Now that he’d returned to the capital to give his end of year report, Zhao Qian took this opportunity to finally visit the Prince Yan Residence and personally congratulate Gu Hui Yan.

“My Prince, this subordinate congratulates you on your new marriage. When this subordinate heard of it in the sixth month, this subordinate wanted to come and congratulate you. But there were many matters to attend to at the frontier and there was never a chance to leave. It dragged on and it was only now that this subordinate found the chance to visit the capital.”

“It’s not a big deal. It’s only right that you wholeheartedly guard the border.”

“This subordinate understands. This subordinate was afraid of being unworthy of my Prince’s trust and refused to relax for a moment.” Zhao Qian said and sighed, “this subordinate previously always felt that you were alone. Although you are resolute and full of vigour, it’s unavoidable that you’ll feel a little lonely. Now that you’ve married a new Princess Consort, it’s truly a load off of mine and the other old general’s shoulders after so many years.”

Usually, no matter how familiar or close the soldier or old friend was, Gu Hui Yan’s expression would always turn indifferent the moment marrying a new Princess Consort was brought up. Zhao Qian was initially prepared for this reaction but found that Gu Hui Yan didn’t stop him, his expression looking very soft. Zhao Qian was shocked and unconsciously looked at Zhou Mao Cheng.

Zhou Mao Cheng understood and explained, “The Princess Consort is beautiful, virtuous and sincere to others. The Prince and Princess Consort have a very good relationship.”

Zhou Mao Cheng was someone who’d rolled around on a bloody battlefield. For him to call someone “sincere to others” was clearly a very high assessment. Zhao Qian was even more amazed. He saw that Gu Hui Yan didn’t look displeased about this and obviously thought that his new Princess Consort was perfect. Zhao Qian was surprised and asked with curiosity, “I haven’t paid my respects to the Princess Consort yet. Which household is the Princess Consort from?”

Based on the high assessment of the Princess Consort earlier, Zhao Qian’s question was quite normal. But he didn’t expect the atmosphere to suddenly become a little strange. Gu Hui Yan was walking in front so he couldn’t see his expression, but Zhou Mao Cheng coughed forcefully.

Zhao Qian was puzzled, “What is it?”

Zhou Mao Cheng glanced forward quickly, then winked at Zhao Qian, “you remember Lin Yong? The Princess Consort is his daughter.”

Zhao Qian’s jaw dropped and he couldn’t react for a long time, “Lin Yong’s… daughter?”

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