Jin Yong, the master of the Jin family, who was Jin Ruizhu's elder brother and also known as Jin Mengmeng's senior brother, sent Jin Mengmeng a word that she should take good care of Lord Second Shui and try to bear a son soon so that the Jin family would have a backer.
The Shui family had a dominant position in River Town, a city vast in territory.
When the second young master of the Shui family decide to take a wife, the first thing he had to do was to match his "eight characters[1]" with the other side. He was told that only by marrying a girl from the Jin family could help him consolidate the family business.
Since Jin Ruizhu was no longer eligible to be considered, Jin Mengmeng had to make up for it.
With such good luck, more than eighty or nighty percent of the women in River Town would scramble onto Lord Shui's bed.
Jin Mengmeng had actually won out.
She didn't think she so, for it was hasty and painful when she lost her virginity unlike what she had heard from the operas.
Lord Second Shui came back at midnight as he had promised. As soon as he stepped inside, he dismissed all the maidservants and beckoned her to wait upon him.
She tugged at the quilt without moving. Staring at the tall, handsome figure in front of her, her eyes, full of anger and panic, were gradually filled with tears of timidity.
Standing at the end of the bed, he took off his shirt and trousers, and shook off his riding boots before grabbing her feet and dragging her towards him.
The same scene played out. Lord Second lifted his body against hers and entered her. She firmly clasped the quilt and clenched her teeth, ready to suffer again.
This second time, however, was different. Although it was still painful, she gradually had a little tingling or numbness sensation and it was unexpectedly not that uncomfortable.
The groans went on for some time until Lord Shui released with a low growl. Collapsed in bed, Jin Mengmeng stared at him with watery eyes.
Lord Second dressed himself up and sat at the head of the bed. Then he stretched out a finger and stroked her cheek gently. "How old are you?" he asked expressionlessly.
"Eighteen." She answered obediently.
"What's your name?" he asked.
"Jin Mengmeng."
"Mengmeng?" he smiled.
With that, he went out alone.
Lord Shui didn't come back that night.
The maidservants came in to clean up the mess. Jin Mengmeng hid herself in the quilt and had a good sleep.
It was already in the morning when she woke up. The big western wall clock in the room showed it was seventeen past seven.
Jin Mengmeng knew how to read the wall clock. There was a small western table clock in the main hall of the Jin family and her Master had taught her before.
A maid came in and said, "You need to get up now, madam, everyone is waiting for you."
Who would be waiting for her at this time of the morning?
In the drawing room of the main courtyard sat Master Shui, Mrs. Shui and several gorgeously dressed young ladies.
When Jin Mengmeng entered the room, they all turned to look at her.
After serving tea to Mrs. Shui, her mother-in-law, she sat down beside her.
Now she finally realized that all the women, except for Mrs. Shui, her mother-in-law, were Lord Shui's concubines.
They came from various backgrounds but all shared one thing in common: they were older and married into the Shui family earlier than her.
Mrs. Shui smilingly said, "From now on you are the second young mistress of the family. You have to know your place and act with propriety. Just learn from Mama Rong. She used to be the personal maid of the former Madam Shui."
Jin Mengmeng was a bit confused.
She still appeared bewildered after returning to the bridal chamber. Seeing this, Mama Rong could only explain everything all over again.
Master Shui got sick a few years ago and could no longer overwork himself. And Lord Shui had been the one handling all domestic affairs.
There were no elder masters than Lord Shui in the family. The only one died at age three, though his title was kept.
Which makes Lord Shui the real and the only young master.
Mrs. Shui was Lord Shui's stepmother. His birth mother died when he was studying in England.
Lord Shui promoted his concubine, Mrs. Shui to be his new legal wife later, who, however, wasn't able to bear a child.
"So?" asked Jin Mengmeng as she looked at Mama Rong.
Annoyed by her ignorance, Mama Rong said bluntly, "So, as long as you can bear a son for Lord Shui, a grandson for the master, you'll be in charge in the future. What is there to worry about?"
Jin Mengmeng didn't want to be in charge. She just wanted to go home.
Lord Shui came back at noon.
When he came in the room to call her to lunch, Jin Mengmeng was putting on hand cream in front of the dresser.
In the Jin family, she was a junior sister. She had been wearing and eating her senior sister's leftovers since she was young. And her hands were full of calluses due to years of hard work.
Now she had been married into the Shui family. The drawer was full of fragrant powder and cream for her to use. Simply for the hand cream, there were five different kinds.
Mama Rong was helping with the cream, whose fragrance intrigued her.
Seeing Lord Shui, Rong immediately stepped out of the room.
Jin Mengmeng looked up and found Lord Shui was gazing at her face. The next moment, she was swept into his arms and pressed against the dresser.
[1] Translator's note: the “eight characters” consists of the hour, day, month, and year of one’s birth, each being represented by two characters of the Celestial and Terrestrial Cycles. The Chinese believes that human beings are of the five types represented by the Five Elements: Gold, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth. Marriage is a science of matching types. There are types that beautifully complement each other, and types that, if not mutually destructive, would hasten one another toward common destruction. “Inbreeding” between a boy and a girl of the same type should be discouraged because it would only emphasize or augment the original tendency in the husband or the wife. This is clear enough: marrying an indolent (“water”) wife to an indolent husband would only make matters worse, and marrying a quick-tempered (“fire”) husband to a quick-tempered wife would just burn up the couple.