According to An-mei, she was raised the Chinese way to desire everything.

An-mei was ten when she met her mother for the first time.

According to the Turtle, your tears feed other people happiness.

Wu Tsing's second wife used his fear of ghost to manipulate him to get what she wants.

Before becoming Wu Tsing's third wife, An-mei's mother was honorable and a wife of a scholar.

The closer An-mei's mother Tientsin her mother's mood changed from apprehension to excitement.

It can be inferred from the text that An-mei's mother was unhappy because Wu Tsing's first wife took her son as her own.

Yan Chang, An-mei's mother's best friend, told An-mei how her mother was manipulated by the Second wife and how she became Wu Tsing's concubine.

Fearful of being haunted by An-mei's mother, Wu Tsing promise to raise An-mei and her brother as his honored children, and respect her mother as if she was his only wife.