Two days later, Pei Meiniang came over to congratulate her. She looked much more haggard than when she had just been married, but her eyes were still charming and bright. Apparently, she was under a lot of pressure these days, but she had her own plans in mind, so she hadn't lost control yet.

Song Zaishui had only told Wei Changying about that. At this moment, seeing her come here, Mrs. Huang, Mrs. He, and the others were worried. However, they could not say that they didn't want her to come to visit to give her congratulations. Neither could they stop her from meeting Wei Changying. The Grannies had discussed it and decided to get all the maidservants in to serve, in case something bad happened.

In front of all these people, Pei Meiniang couldn't mention anything, so she just said a few words to show her concern and gave Wei Changying two of her hand-made embroideries. Wei Changying politely accepted and thanked her. Seeing that Pei Meiniang hadn't left, she knew what she wanted, saying, "I haven't seen you for a few days. You have lost some weight."

When Mrs. Huang and Mrs. He heard this, they secretly thought, "Oh no." And they quickly hinted to Qin'ge and the others with their eyes, meaning that they must protect Wei Changying well. This fourth young madam was the person who had made Madam Su angry and cry when she had only been talking to her nicely. Though it turned out that she had done it at Duanmu Wuse's instigation, it was clear that she had been unreasonable as she had been disobedient towards the elders of her husband's family. Even if Wei Changying was expressing her concerns to her, Pei Meiniang might think that she was deliberately laughing at her.

If Pei Meiniang made a fuss in the Jintong Courtyard, given Wei Changying was so weak, she wouldn't be able to take the stress.

Thankfully, perhaps having been scolded and stripped of her power over the household by her father-in-law in public, Pei Meiniang was better-behaved. She let a sigh out, saying, "I was young and ignorant. Having believed other's lies, I made a huge mistake. Now I can still be a wife in the Shen Family because my husband still loves me and the elders are tolerant and just let it go. Every time I think about what happened then, I feel deeply guilty. I am sad, so I do not look all that well. It is not because I'm having a hard time. In fact, my first sister-in-law treats me very well. But the better she treats me, the guiltier I feel and the sadder I am."

Having heard her saying this, if it hadn't been in the daytime, Mrs. Huang and others would have doubted whether the person who had come was Pei Meiniang. If this had been from someone else, it would have been normal. But since it was from Pei Meiniang, the unreasonable daughter-in-law whom all the families in the capital had heard about, no one believed she was someone who could speak nicely.

Wei Changying was not surprised, as she had heard from Song Zaishui that Pei Meiniang had planned to be in the position just below the Family Mother. Even if she could not be the Family Mother of the Shen Family from Western Liang, she wouldn't want to be bullied by her three sisters-in-law or be despised by her future younger sisters-in-law who came from gentlefolks because of her family background. Pei Meiniang had seen what had happened in the Song Family! Thinking her old family was at a higher rank than her sister-in-law Mrs. Huo's, Duanmu Wuse had kept causing trouble for her first sister-in-law since she had been married.

Knowing what had happened to the sister-in-law of the Song Family, Pei Meiniang probably felt insecure, thinking that Mrs. Huo was lucky that she was the wife of the first lineal son and the first daughter-in-law. But in contrast, as her old family was inferior to her younger sister-in-law's old family, she had been despised by Duanmu Wuse. She had married into the Shen Family and become the first daughter-in-law of Count Xiangning's family. But since Count Xiangning's wife had died young, her husband had been brought up by his aunt. Duanmu Wuse had already made Mrs. Huo suffer a lot. If all the sisters-in-law from gentlefolks behaved like Duanmu Wuse, not to mention that there would be many younger sisters-in-law in the future, the existing three sisters-in-law she had after her marriage. There were three people who acted like Duanmu Wuse. Would she be able to have a normal life?

And Shen Xuan had three lineal sons and three sons from his concubines, so in total, six sons. The place of the third son, Shen Cangfeng, had been confirmed a long time ago. Pei Meiniang had known that Shen Canghui, the man she would marry, couldn't possibly beat his cousin. Since there had been no way that she could become Family Mother of the Shen Family, Pei Meiniang had decided to walk on a difficult path. So she had come up with a plan to ally with Wei Changying and to fight against the two sisters-in-law who had come into the family earlier.

Having never talked about this plan showed how desperate she was. If she hadn't been careful, Pei Meiniang would have ended up being divorced and sent back home. As this was a rare occasion when a person from the Pei Family had been married into a family among gentlefolks, how could they tolerate her being divorced? If it really came to that point, they would surely make her commit suicide at her husband's and then say to the public that it was sudden death.

Anyway, since Pei Meiniang could do what she had done, clearly, she wasn't as stupid as people thought, but very aware and bold.

To gain Wei Changying's trust, Pei Meiniang had already done something to show it, sacrificing herself to help the Song Family's Mrs. Huo and Song Zaishui to get rid of Duanmu Wuse. By using the relationship between Duanmu Wuse and Duanmu Yangyu as cousins, she secretly helped Wei Changying gain Duanmu Yangyu's power without arousing anyone's suspicion.

During the planning, Mrs. Huo had taken part. So had Song Zaishui and Pei Meiniang. But Wei Changying had got the benefit without doing anything. Since they were going to have an alliance, she couldn't keep doing nothing. Now was the time for Wei Changying to help Pei Meiniang out of her current position. Though Mrs. Huang and the others were extremely worried, the two sisters-in-law were in tacit agreement. Since Song Zaishui had already come to inform Wei Changying of what had happened, it was just more for the show now.

So, Wei Changying tried to comfort Pei Meiniang, "The first sister has always been virtuous and good. Everyone in the capital knows that. Otherwise, the Su Family would not have asked her to be the wife of the first brother. You were silly earlier, but it was Duanmu Wuse's fault. She sowed discord between our families for no reason. Now that you know you have done wrong, I think the elders and the first sister are magnanimous, so they will let it go. We are a family. We should look out for each other!"

Pei Meiniang gave a look as if she had suddenly come to her senses and felt regretful, wiping away her tears, "I know. But the more everyone is like this, the more ashamed I am. My third sister-in-law, to be honest, now I don't even dare to go to see my first sister-in-law."

"That's not good." Wei Changying said gently, "If you don't go to see the first sister, she might misinterpret that you still worry about what has happened. Knowing her personality, I guess she is worried about you because of this."

"My third sister-in-law, what should I do now?" Pei Meiniang humbly asked for advice.

Wei Changying then told her to be more considerate towards Shen Cangzhu and to serve people from her husband's family well and so on. These were some ordinary things that people used in education. Girls like these who were daughters of an eminent family had born these to heart since they had turned fifteen, the first time they heard them.

However, Pei Meiniang listened to her very attentively, looking as though this was the first time in her life that she heard something so enlightening.

After she had left, Mrs. Huang and the others didn't understand. She advised Wei Changying, "Young madam, you are still in recovery and need to keep your baby safe. Miracle Doctor Ji has repeatedly advised you not to tire yourself. The fourth young madam is not a very sensible and gentle person. Although what you said to her today is thoughtful, who knows if the fourth young madam will actually listen to you? Why did you want to spend time worrying over her?"

"Only when you have a child do you see the kindness of your parents." Wei Changying didn't want to explain it to others. After all, it was a serious matter. Duanmu Wuse had become divorced and had been sent back to her old family instead of suddenly dying at her husband's, which was a huge humiliation to the Duanmu Family in Jinxiu County. Although she could trust Mrs. Huang and Mrs. He, Song Zaishui thought they should be cautious. The fewer people knew, the safer they were.

Instead, she just said something seemingly more reasonable, "This time I was totally scared because of my child. I finally understand how much a mother loves her children and how cautious she can be! So, seeing my fourth sister-in-law, I recalled how she was set up by Duanmu Wuse before she married and how her wedding made people from each side unhappy. Even though things seem to be over now, there are still issues between them. Duanmu Wuse caused some of them, but so did the fourth sister-in-law. If they want them to be resolved, the fourth sister-in-law should start first."

She said emotionally, "Having seen mother was so sad that she became ill because of the fourth sister-in-law, I thought mother was just angry. Since I'm pregnant, I realize that my mother was angry, but mostly, she was sad. After all, the fourth younger brother was brought up by her and the fourth sister-in-law was carefully chosen by her. Therefore, if it were these two people who misunderstood her, my mother would naturally feel sad rather than angry. I think if the fourth sister-in-law could repent, no matter what she would do, she could comfort mother. That would be good. After all, we are all family. Mother has always treated the fourth younger brother as her own child and has always hoped that they will become more thoughtful one day."

What she had said wasn’t appreciated by her servants only in the Jintong Courtyard. Soon, it reached Madam Su. Meanwhile, a piece of news came, saying that Pei Meiniang had stopped deliberately avoiding Shen Cangzhu now and staying inside all day. Instead, she had started to serve Shen Cangzhu respectfully.

Having heard this, Madam Su was relieved and pleased. She praised Wei Changying first, "This child has been so protected by the Wei Family's Old Madam Song, growing up in a peaceful environment. She is young and a bit reckless. She even did not know she was almost three months into her pregnancy! However, a child who grows up without concerns usually has a good heart and becomes someone thoughtful! No wonder Old Madam Song favors her."

Granny Tao agreed, "Madam, you are right. The third young madam was in critical condition earlier. Thanks to Miracle Doctor Ji, she has a chance to keep the baby safe. She is also considerate towards you, Madam. She spent time having a long talk with the fourth young madam, persuading her to start afresh. If she wasn't truly filial and obedient, she wouldn't be so considerate and thoughtful."

"Changying is certainly good." Madam Su nodded. However, when talking about Pei Meiniang, the smile on her face completely disappeared. She said scornfully, "She is so young, so she fell for Pei Meiniang's trap! Although the Pei Family is an aristocratic family, they know the etiquette. Pei Meiniang had been promised to Canghui a few years ago, so the Pei Family must have quickly taught her etiquette! If she was really a person who could become well-behaved after just having been given some advice, Changying wouldn’t need to teach her as the elders of her old family would have turned her into a nice person!"

Granny Tao thought for a moment, asking, "Madam, you mean...?"

"She had probably thought that by making Canghui obey her in every aspect, she would be able to take over the household of the Count Xiangning's mansion! She knew she has no mother-in-law. As her aunt, I can't do much to her. But she didn't realize her father-in-law wasn't stupid!" Madam Su snorted, saying, "My second younger brother took away her power over the household and gave it to Cangzhu, so now she only has the title of the first daughter-in-law but can't do anything. No one at Count Xiangning's, except Canghui, gives her the time of day. Is she someone who can live like this? Now, since Changying is pregnant, she finally has got a chance!"

"Madam, you are saying that the fourth young madam deliberately used what the third young madam said as a way to get out of that awkward situation?" Granny Tao asked.

Madam Su said, "Otherwise, what else can it be? Pei Meiniang probably wanted to give in a long time ago, but she also knows that she has gone too far. So it is very difficult to say she has changed! People like us don't care about her. So, this time, as Changying is pregnant, she went to congratulate her and used her words as a stepping stone. So she could get to please Cangzhu. Later, she might come to me and even have something to talk about with me. You know if she had gone to talk to Cangzhu without any help, Cangzhu might not have been willing to speak to her. Even for the sake of Canghui, she would be cold and not give her a chance to talk more. However, if she went there and said Changying had said something, Cangzhu would definitely forgive her in order to not embarrass Changying. After all, Changying is not as close to her as her brother, so she can not embarrass Changying. In case Pei Meiniang went to bother Changying because she wasn't pardoned, Cangzhu had to talk to her."

Granny Tao asked, "Madam, what should we do?"

"Since we haven't been able to cause her to become divorced, it's not good to remain hostile to her now. After all, she is the first daughter-in-law of my second younger brother." Although Madam Su was still a little displeased, now she could only sigh, saying, "It is fine that Cangzhu takes charge of the household for the time being, but it is impossible to keep Pei Meiniang from taking it over for the rest of her life. Since Pei Meiniang has finally understood that she should be submissive. It is better than her being stubborn and using her children as a token to get power when indeed she has some children. At that time, for the sake of his grandchildren, the second young brother has to hold back in case he will hurt them. I think we should just let it go for now!"

Granny Tao said, "I think although the fourth young madam used the third young madam, she also helped the third young madam gain a good reputation."

"That is true." Madam Su nodded, saying, "Changying deserves her good name. Actually, Changying was much more loved when she was in her old family than Pei Meiniang. Since they became married, as daughters-in-law, Changying has behaved much better than Pei Meiniang. After all, the Pei family in Youzhou is an aristocratic family, so the standard of children's education is far below that of the Wei Family in Fengzhou! It is said that Old Madam Song treated Changying as her precious treasure, yet she was able to turn her granddaughter into a virtuous and excellent person. She is worthy of being a virtuous woman. Mrs. Min, Pei Meiniang's mother, claimed to be strict and harsh with her. Now, look at this sad outcome!"