Mother-in-law and Daughter-in-law Mutually Venting Their Grievances

"Take care on your way, Mother."

Madam Song, the First, respectfully escorted Madam Song, the Dowager, to her carriage. Watching until the carriage had receded into the distance, she turned and walked back to the main courtyard.

Seated inside, she sat blankly on the *luohan* bed before suddenly sweeping a teacup off the table onto the floor.

At this sight, Nanny Fang signaled for servants to clean up the mess. She then poured a fresh cup of tea, dismissed the maidservants, and stepped forward to stand before Madam Song.

"Nanny, she scolded me just now. She said I was muddle-headed. Nanny, was I in the wrong?" Looking at Nanny Fang, Madam Song felt a wave of lingering resentment. "I endured in the past, and now that I hold the rank of a First-Rank Lady of Honor, I still have to endure. When will this ever end? I am planning for my daughter's future, trying to gild her path so she can make a good match—is that wrong of me? She has no daughters of her own; how could she possibly understand a mother's heart?"

Madam Song remained deeply unconvinced.

Nanny Fang gently replied, "My dear mistress, your actions are entirely for the Second Young Miss's sake, so of course you are not wrong."

"Exactly! I am doing it all for Qi'er. I only wanted her to bring Qi'er into the palace to pay respects to the Empress Dowager, and she bombarded me with a whole string of lectures. I never knew my mother-in-law had so many doctrines up her sleeve." Madam Song vented her grievances about the Dowager's scolding in a rapid-fire stream of complaints.

Nanny Fang knew she should not try to stop her at this moment; otherwise, keeping it all bottled up inside would only make her resentment fester even more.

A full cup of tea later, Madam Song finally ran out of complaints and took two consecutive gulps of tea.

"I am doing this all for Qi'er, not for anything else. Since she has a good relationship with the Empress Dowager, why can't she lend a hand to pull her granddaughter up? This is her very own flesh-and-blood granddaughter, her direct kin. I know the truth—she simply doesn't care much for Qi'er, blaming me for giving birth to two girls in a row back then and taking all her frustration out on Qi'er," Madam Song muttered, looking quite aggrieved.

Nanny Fang sighed softly, "Mistress, that is harboring a bit of misplaced resentment. It is true that the Dowager favors grandsons, but as for the Second Young Miss, while she may not daze over her quite as much as she does the Eldest Young Miss, the bestowed gifts have never once fallen short. Mistress, the ten fingers of a hand are of unequal lengths; a certain degree of partiality toward certain grandchildren is inevitable. They say that the oldest and the youngest are the most treasured, while those stuck in the middle are treated like blades of grass. That is precisely what they mean."

Stubbornly, Madam Song retorted, "So what is wrong with me planning more for Qi'er's future?"

"This old servant feels that what the Dowager said is beyond reproach. As the grand matriarch, what she values and cares about above all is the entire Song family. Mistress, only when the Song family remains steady can everyone within this household remain steady. The Prime Minister was only promoted to his post less than two months ago, and though this old servant has shallow insight, I still know that given the Prime Minister's age, there are bound to those who are unconvinced."

Madam Song fell silent.

"As for the Dowager's remark that keeping a low profile is never wrong for the Prime Minister's estate, this old servant finds it quite sensible. It is just like the saying about making a fortune in silence—only by staying low-key can one avoid drawing unwanted attention and slowly build up one's wealth and strength, isn't that so?" Nanny Fang gazed at her intently. "This old servant has spoken too much; I deserve to be slapped across the face."

She lightly tapped her own lips.

Madam Song chided, "Nanny, are you trying to mock me? Who ever accused you of babbling? It's not that I think she's wrong; I just felt that helping her granddaughter along wouldn't hurt."

"Who is to say the Dowager won't drop a word before the Empress Dowager?"

Madam Song curled her lips in disbelief. "Would she really?"

Meanwhile, inside the carriage bound for the imperial palace, Madam Song sneezed. *I just know Lady Gu is back there bad-mouthing me,* she thought. *She simply refuses to accept my scolding. But Nanny Gong, did I really lecture her wrongly? It is lonely at the top; why can't she realize how fierce the wind is on the peak of a mountain? Standing up there showing off—one gust of wind, and it's all over!*

Living a low-profile life and keeping oneself in a calm and steady state was the only way to remain secure. To revel in temporary glory was thrilling for a moment, but remaining consistently low-key meant staying thrilled forever!