Chinese wives and concubines

So we continue our story about the wives and concubines of one Chinese official.
Events of the previous episode.
An official, the owner of an estate, goes on a business trip, taking his first wife with him. The first wife is the mistress of the estate, smart, beautiful and a real lady. The business trip was expected to be long and therefore, in order not to get bored, the official took his most beloved wife with him. There were still six wives and fourteen concubines left in the estate. One of the wives was pregnant at the time of the official’s departure. The official understood perfectly well that this entire female kingdom, left without a firm male hand, could cause a lot of trouble, but the official left with a light heart, because his mother, a practical woman with a firm hand, an iron heart and high moral principles, remained on the farm. But disaster struck; the official had been away for almost six months when his mother’s iron heart failed. The family doctor was at a loss; the official’s mother died suddenly. Before that, she had never been sick or complained about anything. Shaking his head, the doctor came to the conclusion that household chores had undermined the health of this heroic woman. He had some suspicions, but he kept these suspicions to himself until the owner arrived. The family doctor suspected that the official's mother had been poisoned. She kept the official's wives and concubines in her fist, and there were also maids, nannies, and a dozen distant relatives - hangers-on. Of course, there were also male servants, among whom there were many eunuchs, but the male half of the estate was run by a distant relative of the official - the manager. And then trouble happened - the official’s mother died. After the due mourning, unrest began on the estate. The official's second wife, who now remained on the farm as the first wife, tried to take over the power. The other five wives did not object when the second wife took the keys from the table, symbolizing power over the estate. Women understood that someone had to command the servants, give orders to the manager, and so on. However, when the second wife wanted to appropriate the newborn boy who was born to the seventh wife, a riot began on the estate. According to the laws of that time, if one of the wives of a lower rank had a son, then the first wife had the right to take the child for herself and declare it her own son. However, the second wife was not the first, and therefore, during the first attempts to take the child for himself, a riot began on the estate. The seventh wife's servants began to arm themselves. The estate was divided into those who supported the second wife and those who were sharply against her. Not many people supported her; the fourth wife and several concubines sided with the second wife. Each wife and each concubine had her own mansion, her own servants, eunuchs, nannies, aunts, and so on. All these brethren took the events on the estate very seriously. The discussion was about what status each of the wives would now receive. So far, one thing was clear, the seventh wife, the moment the official returned, would be treated kindly, rewarded beyond measure and, most likely, would become the second wife. Naturally, the second wife will then be moved to third place, and the rank of the remaining wives will correspondingly decrease. Events took a serious turn. The servants armed themselves with whatever they could, and any minute a real battle could begin, but fortunately at that moment there was a knock on the estate gate.
Now the second series will begin.
So, again, there was a knock on the gate.
No, it is not the owner of the house who has returned from distant travels. There was knocking and knocking on the gate, we had to find the manager, who hid from the showdown. The manager did not want to take anyone’s side, and therefore decided to sit out in one of his back rooms, announcing to everyone that he was sick. However, now it was impossible to do without a manager. A stranger stood outside the gate and demanded to be let into the estate. The servants hastily pulled on the manager's formal clothes and soon the manager was already standing near the gate. The gate shook so much that small dust and chips fell from it, the manager asked the Buddha for help in his soul, and with a nod of his head he finally ordered the servants to open the gate.
A luxurious palanquin was brought into the gate, followed by a line of servants and maids, and the column was completed by six carts with the property of the arriving guest. A nephew arrived to visit his aunt. The official, leaving for distant lands, decided to play it safe and sent a letter to his cousin asking him to visit the estate and live there for some time while he, the official, was away. The letter took a long time, and the cousin took even longer to get ready for the trip. And finally, the official’s request was fulfilled, the cousin arrived to stay on the estate until the official returned. The cousin, however, let me call him more briefly, brother or cousin, was unpleasantly surprised when he learned that his aunt had died. This changed everything! The cousin was not at all happy about staying in this estate full of sexually unsatisfied wives and concubines. But there was nothing to do - my brother’s request had to be fulfilled.
The cousin was a famous poet, favored by the emperor himself. In keeping with his status, he had 14yon and 28 concubines. The laws of that time clearly regulated the relations of male relatives with the wives of the owner of the estate. Finding himself in the pavilion, which was intended for guests, the cousin, after all the rituals: greeting, worshiping the ashes of his aunt in the home chapel and ablution, became thoughtful. He realized that he had taken his brother's request lightly. Going on the road, the cousin thought that he would communicate only with his aunt and his main wife, but the young man did not imagine that he would find himself in the epicenter of women's fights. The servants quickly scouted out the situation and reported to the owner what was happening on the estate. Having so many wives and concubines in his own house, the cousin knew firsthand about women’s treachery.
He knew very well that everything was used to achieve his goals - bribery, blackmail, bullying. When all these techniques did not help, heavy artillery was used: poisons, knives, even a rope around the neck. All this was extremely unpleasant and terrified the subtle soul of the court poet. The cousin suffered all night, he could not understand what to do. On the one hand, right in the morning he needed to congratulate his seventh wife on the birth of an heir, but the poet understood perfectly well that if he did this, he would strengthen the status of the seventh wife and offend the second wife. If he intends to greet his second wife right in the morning, this will offend the seventh wife. Overall, there was a lot to think about. Finally, unable to find a consensus, the poet decided to trust his muse. Usually it was she, the muse, who gave him the hint! And so it happened! In the morning, when the cousin opened his eyes, he understood how to behave. Calling the manager to him, he announced that he was expecting all six wives in the ceremonial hall at noon. Each wife had, so to speak, her own booth behind a thin curtain-screen in the ceremonial hall. This made it possible for wives to participate in the life of the estate while remaining invisible to men. This usually happened when an official invited guests. This is what happened today, all six booths were occupied when the guest of honor arrived, only one booth was empty. The owner of this cabin, as you know, was now far from the estate and was enjoying sole happiness with her husband, an official.