The Marriage Choice of the Third Miss Ning - Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The Great General, renowned for his military achievements, had set his sights on marrying my legitimate elder sister.

But my sister had her heart set on the elegant, moon-bright Top Scholar. She had no interest whatsoever in a rough, uncultured brute like him.

The Great General was highly valued by the Emperor.

If he truly came to propose, my family would not be able to refuse.

So my sister came up with a nasty plan.

She wanted me to gamble with my innocence and force the Great General to marry me instead.

I returned to my courtyard with a face full of worry.

My mother was calmly sewing clothes for me.

Seeing me sigh and moan, she laughed and said, “You know nothing of music, chess, calligraphy, or painting. All you do every day is eat, drink, and play. How could the Great General possibly take a liking to you? Stop borrowing trouble.”

Unconvinced, I said, “Mother, don’t look down on me! Maybe the moment I make my move, I’ll charm the Great General so thoroughly he’ll refuse to marry anyone but me.”

My mother rolled her eyes and held the garment up against me.

Then she slapped my soft belly and snapped, “Eat less! You’ve gotten fat again!”

As she spoke, she let out the waist of the garment by a few more inches.

The maid Pingping came in carrying a steaming bowl of three-delicacy wontons.

The moment I smelled the aroma, I happily planted a kiss on my mother’s cheek.

My mother said with disdain, “If you keep getting this fat, you really won’t be able to marry anyone.”

I tugged on her sleeve and wheedled, “Then I just won’t marry. I’ll stay with Mother for the rest of my life.”

My mother poked my forehead, scolding me for talking nonsense.

That night, I did not go back to my own room. I stayed in my mother’s chamber.

My mother fanned me, driving away the trace of summer heat.

Her dark brows were slightly furrowed as she stared at the patterns on the bed curtains, lost in thought.

I took out the bracelet I had hidden against my chest and slipped it onto her wrist, smiling brightly. “Mother, happy birthday.”

My mother’s eyes reddened, and she hugged me tightly.

Leaning against her shoulder, I said softly, “Mother, don’t go to First Madam to plead for me. Trust me. I can handle this.”

Among the three concubine-born daughters, my looks were nothing special.

As for talent, I ranked even closer to the bottom.

Yet my legitimate elder sister had chosen me to seduce the Great General.

It was obvious First Madam had put her up to it.

First Madam wanted to force my mother to stand in her camp and help her fight the newly arrived Concubine Zhao.

Lately, Concubine Zhao had been greatly favored by my father and was beginning to act as though she no longer needed to put First Madam in her eyes.

She even used excuses to skip the daily morning and evening respects.

First Madam could not swallow that insult, so she was trying to force my mother back into the fray.

After all, three years ago, my mother had been the champion of the inner courtyard.

The maids in the household whispered privately that my mother was a little vixen, an expert at bewitching men.

When my mother heard about it, she merely chuckled twice, then taught me the secret to managing men.

“First Madam treats the master as her husband, respecting and loving him dearly.”

“Concubine Wang treats the master as a money pouch, making offerings to him every day.”

“Concubine Lin treats the master as her lover, clinging to him at all hours.”

Nestled in her arms, I asked humbly, “Mother, then what do you treat Father as?”

My mother burst into laughter. “I treat him as a fart.”

She said unconcernedly, “Your father is a fourth-rank civil official. Here in the capital, he is neither high nor low. Outside the home, besides handling official business all day, he has to curry favor with his superiors and keep his subordinates in line. When he comes home, one sweep of his eyes and he still has to stay on guard while dealing with First Madam, listen to Concubine Wang’s petty little tricks, and soothe Concubine Lin’s broken heart.”

At this point, I commented, “Father sounds like a servant boy in a pleasure house.”

My mother poked my forehead. “What kind of thing is that for a young girl to say?”

But there was laughter in her eyes. She clearly agreed with me.

In the end, my mother concluded, “In short, if you treat him as a fart, he’ll feel much more comfortable.”

But in the inner courtyard, when one person gained favor, another was bound to lose it.

As my father visited my mother more often, Concubine Lin’s place grew increasingly empty and cold.

Three years ago, my mother became pregnant.

Concubine Lin plotted against her, causing her to miscarry.

My father flew into a rage and ordered Concubine Lin dragged into the courtyard to be beaten to death.

In the end, it was my mother who pleaded for mercy and spared her life. That very night, Concubine Lin was sold off.

My mother sat on the bed holding me, quietly listening to Concubine Lin’s unwilling wails from outside.

I gripped her ice-cold hand and comforted her. “Mother! I’m not scared, so don’t be scared either! She was the one who hurt us first!”

Only then did my mother’s tense body relax a little.

She pressed her face against the top of my head and cried silently for a while.

After that, my mother used the excuse of recuperating from illness to take me with her to the secluded Wutong Courtyard.

My father sighed. “Why put yourself through this?”

My mother looked at him, tears streaming down her face. “Mingsong, your affection is a blade that kills. Don’t let things get to the point where there’s nothing left between us but hatred, all right?”

Hearing my mother call him by name like that, my father moved his lips, but in the end, he said nothing and turned to leave.

The moment he was gone, my mother wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes.

She patted me, who was staring in a daze, and said, “Did you see that? One tear from a woman, and you act until his heart breaks. Sometimes, in marriage, you need a little skill at performing. Learn well.”

I clapped enthusiastically, admiring her from the bottom of my heart.

But when I saw the weariness in my mother’s eyes,

I thought that perhaps it hadn’t all been an act.

My mother had known perfectly well that the soup Concubine Lin brought her was poisoned.

Yet she drank it anyway.

On the surface, First Madam was tolerant and magnanimous, but she was always subtly stirring up Concubine Lin to bully me.

Even worse, they actually wanted to betroth me to a widower.

They praised that widower to the skies, but my mother had long since made inquiries and found out the truth.

His previous wife had been beaten to death by him after he got drunk!

First Madam and Concubine Lin were trying to force me to my death. Naturally, my mother refused to let it go.

My mother sacrificed a child to drive away Concubine Lin and intimidate First Madam.

With that, she was also able to withdraw from the battles of the inner household.

The night the two of us moved into Wutong Courtyard, we slept curled up together.

Lying in my mother’s soft, fragrant embrace, I declared with great ambition, “Mother, from now on, I’ll be the one you can rely on.”

My mother said lazily, “You should think about what you want for breakfast tomorrow instead.”

Unconvinced, I said, “Don’t look down on me! I’m very capable, you know.”

My mother laughed even harder and coaxed me, “All right, all right. Then let me hear it. How does our very capable Third Miss Ning plan to support me? By opening a restaurant, or by becoming a talented lady whose brilliance shocks the whole world?”

The moment I heard that, I was genuinely angry!

My mother had actually peeked at my diary!

I made a fuss about running away from home, and my mother cried out in distress as she apologized to me.

“Oh, you’ve been hiding in your room these past few days, secretly writing and drawing. Pingping suspected you were privately exchanging love tokens with someone and was afraid you’d be tricked by some bad man. That’s why I peeked at your notebook.” My mother admitted her mistake. “Good daughter, Mother was wrong.”

I was speechless. “Mother, I’m only fourteen! Isn’t it a bit early for you to be worrying about that?”

My mother yawned. “Fourteen isn’t that young. In a few more years, you’ll be clamoring to get married.”

She fell asleep, but I couldn’t.

My heart ached for my mother. I wanted to become someone with a future, someone she could depend on.

I racked my brains, trying to remember what people in all those transmigration novels used to do.

Open a restaurant? Impossible. In this world, scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants were ranked in that order, and merchants were lowly.

If I really went and opened a restaurant, my father would be the first to beat me to death, and my mother would become a laughingstock too.

Become a talented lady? Even more impossible!

After my college entrance exams, I couldn’t even recite a single complete poem.

After thinking it over and over, I realized there was only one path that followed the crowd.

Marriage!

Marriage was the true lifelong career.

As long as I married well enough, my mother would be able to live well in this estate.