Looking at the string of wooden beads on the table and the gold jewels on the floor, Chen Dasheng was deeply worried, not even daring to let his father know yet.

Qiqian’er stood honestly with her hands folded, thinking only how unlucky it was that he’d found out!

Right, the skill she had on hand now was still lacking compared to Chen Dasheng’s years of experience. That day at Duke Song’s residence when they ran into assassins, the more than a hundred catties of “stuff” in the carriage — Chen Dasheng had thought it was a person. He’d quickly checked after getting off the carriage, only to be called over by Qiqian’er, and after she whispered in his ear, he broke out in a cold sweat.

He’d thought his wife hadn’t been able to hold back and had wiped out Duke Song’s household.

After he finally understood, his back drenched in cold sweat, he immediately turned the carriage around and left the city. The whole way back he was mortified with shame, and the moment he got off the carriage, he saw A’Nai creeping along carefully, hugging several boxes toward the old family residence. When the maids went up to help her, she shooed them all away.

Something was off! Clearly, this one wasn’t innocent either.

When they got everyone back and took a look — oh my, oh my! Oh my goodness!

What was going on here? Were they short on food? Short on drink?

Most infuriating of all, both of them still looked thoroughly unrepentant. The old madam even muttered, “Whose family doesn’t save up penny by penny? And here you go being so generous — what a useless good-for-nothing who can’t even manage a household…”

Chen Dasheng, legs weak, slumped over the table, waving for someone to help the old madam back and to send the three children off as well.

Once everyone had left, he glared at Qiqian’er and asked, “Talk. Ancestor of mine.”

Qiqian’er looked up at him, blinking innocently. “What does my lord want to say?”

Chen Dasheng pointed at the jewels on the floor. “Did anyone see?”

The moment she heard this, Qiqian’er beamed with pride and praise. “Hey, and it’s not me boasting about our son, but you have no idea — that boy can really hold his composure under pressure. I was bouncing around up there and he didn’t make a single sound. At first I even thought, if anyone heard, I’d just go to the trouble of tearing their ears off — hmph, my son, now that’s steady…”

Chen Dasheng wanted to laugh but forced it down. “That’s not what I’m asking. I mean — the Zhong family — did anyone see you?”

Qiqian’er waved a hand. “Impossible. My hearing’s fine, and as for that bunch, I went straight for their eyes first. You think I’m stupid?”

Chen Dasheng didn’t want to talk anymore.

Seeing him fall silent, Qiqian’er said, “Someone in there seemed to be from Yuegong Mountain.”

Chen Dasheng’s whole body tensed, and he sat up straight to look at her.

Qiqian’er smiled and walked over, picking up the teapot to pour Chen Dasheng some water, and with a clever motion of her foot, kicked the bag of gold jewels under the low table.

Chen Dasheng’s hand trembled slightly as he drank, but he held himself back.

“You’re saying Yuegong Mountain?”

“Yeah, what could they possibly be doing coming to the capital, getting mixed up in something this big? Aren’t they afraid of angering the Emperor?”

Chen Dasheng shook his head. “One wrong step leads to another. From the day Yuegong Mountain came to the capital from Pangtu, their attitude was already wrong. Challenging me is challenging imperial authority! There’s no way back from that — their downfall was inevitable.

Look — Qinshe fought them for over half a year, and Qinshe managed to preserve his core strength and pull back, while Yuegong Mountain lost theirs entirely. Anyone with real ability has already found another patron. By now they’re basically finished — the fact that they’re scraping together money like this now just means they’re a cornered dog jumping the wall.”

Qiqian’er watched his expression and said, “This matter — could it have something to do with the Tan family?”

Over these past years she’d sensed that Chen Dasheng’s relationship with the Tan family was delicate, though he’d never said anything — he was quite good at keeping a lid on things.

Chen Dasheng set down his teacup, expression unreadable. “The capital is in chaos today. I should go to the palace. These next few days, I’ll trouble you to take good care of the household, and have Jixiang gather good men to patrol the alleys at night…”

He finished speaking and strode off quickly, but halfway there he remembered something, turned back, and gripped Qiqian’er’s shoulders. “Wife, I need to ask something of you.”

Qiqian’er blinked. “Go on.”

Chen Dasheng instructed her very seriously, “This skill of yours is our Chen family’s last resort. No matter what happens, don’t easily reveal it — understand?”

Qiqian’er mentally calculated how many people already knew, and once she’d finished counting, she nodded. “Fine. I’ll remember. From now on, unless it’s truly critical, I won’t act rashly.”

“Swear it.”

“I swear!”

“Swear it on — cough — swear it on our family’s treasury. If you’re ever reckless again, all that money goes up in smoke, not a single coin left!”

Qiqian’er’s eyes went wide at once. “What are you saying!”

But Chen Dasheng looked at her with utmost seriousness. “Swear it.”

Even with his wife’s martial skill, he couldn’t bear the thought of her getting so much as a scratch.

Seeing Chen Dasheng look at her with a resolve she’d never seen before, Qiqian’er pursed her lips, and finally raised a finger. “Fine — fine, I swear…”

Chen Dasheng slowly exhaled and turned to leave.

Qiqian’er watched his retreating back and clicked her tongue, thinking to herself: what a foolish man, so full of worry, and making her swear an oath on top of it? Hah, you fool — you fell right into it… So what if the treasury’s gone empty? This old lady still has the second vault under the Plague God Temple, and that’s where the real fortune is!

Hmph!

Look at him worrying like that — isn’t it just some feud with someone, silly man! If she had a grudge, she’d have already stormed the Tan family and settled the score with whoever deserved it. All this hemming and hawing — who knows what he’s even trying to accomplish?

Sneaking around all day with a stomach full of worries.

But what Qiqian’er didn’t know was that Chen Dasheng’s grudge was never fixed on any single person — what he meant to shake was the entire Tan clan and the network of interests surrounding it. Because every beneficiary of that network had fed off the blood of the Old Blade Camp.

Just how large was the Tan family? In the past, the Emperor’s three armies had one commanded entirely by the Tan family; later it was split into five armies, and only through much maneuvering was their family’s power reduced to still commanding one army. Even now, that one army is mostly stationed in Jindian, and the southeastern border still has to rely on them.

Revenge sounds simple to speak of, yet how difficult it truly is.

Not long after Chen Dasheng left, Zhang Wanru came in cradling her family’s big “bronze hammer” — her son. The boy’s eyes still had undried tears, and the moment he entered he pouted and asked Qiqian’er, “Auntie, where’s An’er? Where’s Brother Gennu? Where’s little brother Gaoxing? Ugly Sister won’t play with me, waaah…”

Zhang Wanru was thoroughly exasperated and complained to Qiqian’er, “Where is everyone? Come take him quickly! He sat on the doorstep waiting the whole morning, and when your son didn’t show up he started crying. I finally coaxed him into calming down, and then Ugly Sister made him cry again — such a spoiled temperament, thanks to his grandmother indulging him, he doesn’t act like a proper little man at all!”

Qiqian’er laughed and had someone carry the boy off to the old residence.

Once he’d gone, the two sisters-in-law let out a breath, and Zhang Wanru leaned over the table, her face full of mystery. “I heard Duke Song’s residence was attacked?”

Qiqian’er nodded. “Yes, that’s why we came back early. Thankfully everyone’s fine.”

But Zhang Wanru said, “Oh, let me tell you, something huge has happened! You don’t know yet — in two days there’s to be an autumn execution, and it’s not just one person dying, it’s whole clans, wiped out root and branch! Whoever’s behind this has gone completely mad. My family’s buyer in Yandu just got back and told me — several marquis households, and even the palace, have all had incidents!

He was scared out of his wits, wanted to rush out of the city right away, but by then they weren’t letting anyone leave. He had to flash our family’s token just to get out, and the moment he was through, the city gate slammed shut behind him — can you imagine how close a call that was?”

Qiqian’er pressed her foot down, hooking the bag of gold jewels further toward the wall, her face betraying nothing as she sighed. “So that means these men won’t be able to come home for a good while yet… this is bad!”

A flash of realization crossed her mind, and Qiqian’er abruptly stood and started for the door — but after only a few steps, she raised her hand and slapped her own mouth, twice.

Serves you right for swearing rashly!

That oath was still warm — what on earth was she supposed to do now?

Zhang Wanru, utterly bewildered, followed close behind her all the way to the entrance.

Qiqian’er instructed the young servant at the gate: “Hurry and saddle the horses — go to Jiu Si Tang in the city and find Young Master Five. Tell him it’s from me, and have him bring along Master Zhou Wujiu — bring as many men as possible — and rush to Qingque Nunnery to escort our great-grandmother back!”

The quick-witted servant boy nodded and dashed off at once.

Qiqian’er then gave careful instructions to another: “Go to Youtian’s office. Quietly tell him to stay alert tonight, and if anything happens, not to be reckless chasing merit — his own safety comes first.”

Zhang Wanru, seeing Qiqian’er’s face turn utterly serious, asked, “This — this — is this really — is that what’s really happening? Are, are we about to have trouble here too?”

Qiqian’er closed her eyes and took a breath, then turned to look at her earnestly. “Right now Yandu is in chaos, and all four city gates are shut tight. Those villains can’t get into the capital — if they wanted to seize people, where do you think they’d strike?”

Zhang Wanru froze for a moment, then let out a gasp and stumbled backward to sit on the threshold. Qiqian’er tried to help her up, but she scrambled to her feet in a panic, desperate to go find her children, only to be yanked back by the arm.

The truth was, a life of comfort had made people forget — and it was only now that Qiqian’er remembered something, though she wasn’t sure if the timing lined up. In her previous life… it also seemed to be autumn, when word spread that something had happened in the capital, followed by news that the Emperor’s birth mother had been murdered in a temple. The Emperor’s fury shook the heavens, and after that… even more people died.

Back then she’d lived in the rear alley, and one morning everyone told her that intruders had gotten into the Six Ministries Alley and abducted many of the women there. Though those women weren’t killed afterward, when they were found, several had become nuns, and several had taken poison…

And from that autumn all the way through winter, Quanhou Street was still holding funerals — the dead were all the households’ matriarchs, and young ladies too.

Qiqian’er calmed Zhang Wanru and whispered to her, “Go quickly and find Physician Cheng’s wife, have her send word to the medicine storehouse, and call Physician Cheng back too — tell them the household isn’t safe anymore. Listen, it’s urgent now — have your family go to the Sanli Academy right away and get it ready. That place is large, with thick walls.”

Zhang Wanru was nearly in tears. “Then — then I’ll send someone into the capital to find my father and brothers quickly.”

Qiqian’er’s eyes narrowed. “There’s no time! All four gates are sealed. Those outside are bound to retaliate here… a cornered dog bites too.”

She let out a slow breath, then sent someone to fetch Xu Ximei, and went back to change into plain clothes before hurrying off down the street.

At the head of Quanqian Street, Qiqian’er stood looking around in every direction — she was a native of this Qingfeng city, and she knew every extra detail about it like the back of her hand.

Sure enough, she soon spotted a few faces nearby that didn’t look local — from the way they walked, the rhythm of their breathing, she understood at once.

Indeed. It was happening today.

Before long, some street urchins came running past playing around, and she reached out and caught one, pressing a string of coins into his hand and whispering in his ear: “Good child, hurry and find your Grandpa Xin. Tell him an auntie from Quanhou Street said he needs to take men to Qingque Nunnery right away. There’s an old granny there who absolutely must not come to harm — no matter what, escort her back safely. This concerns someone’s life, hurry!”

The boy glanced at the coins, then at the old woman, and finally recognized her as the kind granny who often gave out food and clothes. He grinned, turned, and dashed off.

By now it was past noon. Qiqian’er turned back and headed into the alley, and just as she did, she saw Jixiang hurrying toward her: “Ma’am, ma’am? The old master is asking what’s going on.”

Qiqian’er said, “Tell the old master everything’s under control with me here — tell him to eat and drink as usual, all his children and grandchildren are here, he needn’t worry.”

Jixiang’s family let out a breath and walked alongside her, then heard Qiqian’er lower her voice: “In Yandu, all those people caught up in the imperial mausoleum case have gone completely mad tonight — many households have been attacked. But the men are all stuck in Yandu right now, and Qingfeng Prefecture surely can’t spare the manpower either. I just saw some unfamiliar faces at the street corner — they’ll probably want to head into the capital after dark, going in is fine, it’s their coming back this way that worries me.”

She Jixiang’s expression changed dramatically, but he managed to hold himself steady.

He listened attentively as his mistress continued laying out the plan: “The way I see it, tonight the official families’ households on Quanhou Street definitely won’t be safe either. Just in case, let’s find people to quickly get Sanli Academy ready, and you send others quietly door to door to notify everyone — have them all gather at Sanli Academy shortly. No one is to panic — if things get chaotic, it’ll be even harder to manage.”

It was bad luck too — with the execution two days off, most of the lords of the Six Ministries Alley wouldn’t be able to come home. And even those who were at the Qingfeng prefectural office — who would dare leave the office and return alone at a time like this?

And right now there wasn’t a single patrol on the streets — the news over there must already be confirmed, yet no one could get out to bring word.

This was truly dangerous. Pitifully, Quanhou Street was full of women and children — other households might manage, but the Six Ministries Alley plus the Imperial Guard Alley were without question the most dangerous.

Jixiang ran off, face pale, stumbling once along the way.

Arriving again at the mouth of the Imperial Guard Alley, Xu Ximei stood there, belly big with pregnancy, dressed in leather armor, and even lifted her chin at Qiqian’er. “Sister-in-law, no need to panic — it’s nowhere near as bad here as over on our side! Leave this to me, you just stay in your room.”

Qiqian’er shot her a look. “You’d better behave yourself. I want you to bring some useful people — first get everything sorted that can be put to use, and then go be with my father.”

Xu Ximei thought it over and nodded firmly. “Right. The Prince’s safety comes first.”

The Six Ministries Alley was close by, and the Chen family’s servants spread the word everywhere — before long, the children who usually ran around this alley and the old women who gathered to chat had all vanished.

It was like a ghost street with not a soul in sight.

By evening, Qiqian’er stood at the gate of Sanli Academy and finally welcomed the arrival of Old Madam Jiang.

Xie Liuhao helped the old madam down from the carriage, a strip of cloth wrapped around his arm, blood already soaking through.

One could tell how difficult the journey had been.

Seeing Qiqian’er, Xie Liuhao let out a long breath. “Sister-in-law, thank goodness for your quick thinking. If we’d left even a bit later, our old madam would have been in real danger. Right now Grandpa Xin and Brother Zhou are covering our retreat…”

Qiqian’er asked him, “Many of them?”

Xie Liuhao nodded gravely. “Those on the mountain had real skill. Thank goodness you thought ahead, or else Old Zhou and I would have been done for over there. Most of the trouble on our end seems to be heading toward Yandu, but I’m worried they’ll circle back this way.”

He glanced at the old madam, the meaning clear without words.

Gesturing outside the alley, he said with real regret, “I’d planned along the way to find somewhere in the back alleys, or hide in a shop on the main street, but now… it seems too late for that.”

Qiqian’er said, “What are you thinking — dragging others into danger for nothing? It was already too late from the start.”

The old madam, having seen much of the world, stepped down from the carriage steadily enough, but her hand trembled as she gripped Qiqian’er’s, and she cut into their conversation. “My child, I never imagined that in this world, the one looking out for me would be you.”

The old madam’s eyes were dim with despair.

Qiqian’er smiled and said, “What are you thinking? I’m just a woman of the inner household — if it weren’t for word getting to me in time, would I have thought of you at all? Let me tell you, the capital is drenched in blood right now.”

Even as she said such dangerous words, Old Madam Jiang’s eyes grew brighter and brighter.

She asked loudly, “Truly?”

So her son still thought of her after all.

Qiqian’er nodded. “I wouldn’t lie to you. It’s just that I was afraid making too much of a target of you would alarm even more people. You see, all of this is truly on his orders — you really are safe now.”

The old madam’s last reserve of strength drained away all at once, her legs going soft beneath her, tears finally spilling out, suddenly feeling utterly without support.

Everyone rushed to help her into Sanli Academy. Inside, the Chen family’s old madam and several other important matriarchs had claimed one room. Some had thought Qiqian’er was being overly dramatic, but once they saw the great-grandmother being helped in from outside, her attendants covered in blood, well — that settled it. Two people promptly fainted on the spot.

Qiqian’er stood at the door, waiting, until she saw Grandpa Xin arrive wearing an unpatched long robe, the men with him all dressed as commoners too — not a single one wearing the patchwork robes of the Beggars’ Sect.

She understood at once — today had been a real trial for Grandpa Xin.

Seeing him unharmed, Qiqian’er finally relaxed.

But Grandpa Xin came over and cupped his hands to her. “Today we’ve called on too many friends’ favors — going forward, we won’t be able to step in easily anymore.”

Qiqian’er took a breath. “Whose doing is this, in the end? To pay such a heavy price?”

Grandpa Xin said seriously, “The doing of many people! And there are those inside the Yandu government offices passing word too. This time, even your Emperor probably didn’t expect it to get this serious — but did he ever consider, this is the kind of disaster that wipes out entire clans and families? Others are ready to spend their whole fortunes to buy lives, and there’s never a shortage of the reckless and penniless willing to sell theirs. Most of my Beggars’ Sect disciples are people with no other choice — who would beg for a living if they had any strength to spare?”

Qiqian’er thanked him earnestly. “I’m already more grateful than I can say. Please, go take shelter quickly.”

Grandpa Xin, with no time for further courtesies, led his men swiftly toward the back of Quanhou Street.

Evening finally fell. Master Yang’er’s face had flushed red all day, forcing himself to hold onto his last bit of energy. The gates of Sanli Academy stood shut tight, the household guards stationed under the eaves, gripping what few weapons they had — those without proper weapons held kitchen cleavers, mallets, whatever tools they could find — waiting quietly.

None of their expressions looked good.

All seven alleys — and strangely enough, the men in charge weren’t home, and few of the grown sons were home either.

Unluckily, word was that there’d be executions at the street corner — some who had old ties went to see the condemned off, and some, half out of their minds, went along just to watch the spectacle.

That was an execution — what was there to watch?

And now, with only the old, the weak, and the women and children left, what was to be done?

In the largest room of the academy, the students’ desks had been pushed aside, a bonfire flickering, firewood crackling and popping. Seated around it were the matriarchs of every household, while the very old and the very young had been settled in the room next door.

Occasionally an infant’s cry could be heard, quickly soothed again.

Qiqian’er sat right in the center, with Madam Li of the Tang family beside her, and the ever-silent Physician Cheng’s wife as well — these few matriarchs of the Imperial Guard Alley were the ones who could hold things together in a crisis, and they’d gathered in the inner circle.

Qiqian’er glanced around and thought to herself, actually, this wasn’t so bad — as long as she herself didn’t have to act, it might as well be a chance to toughen these women up a little, so long as no lives were lost.

One timid matriarch began sobbing, and Qiqian’er glanced behind her, then coughed lightly and said, “Esteemed ladies of the household, by now you all know — Yandu is in complete chaos, and Qingfeng Prefecture can’t spare the manpower to help us.

It doesn’t matter who you’ve sent to bring word — it won’t do any good. The one comfort we have is that several of Jiu Si Tang’s division commanders are all here with us. But even so, two fists are no match for four hands, and even a fierce tiger fears a pack of wolves. We still need to find a solid way to protect our households, protect our children and elders. Don’t you all agree?”

A matriarch from the War Ministry Alley spoke up, trembling: “I had my household send word to my husband’s camp.”

The rarely-speaking Physician Cheng’s wife said, “Without a tiger tally, your husband won’t dare mobilize troops on his own even if he knows there’s danger. And even with a tiger tally, he’d surely see to Yandu first…”

Another matriarch pinned her hopes on the twenty-some men next door: “Who knows what plan they can even come up with?”

A matriarch who had little regard for her own husband snorted. “Waiting on them? Ladies, we might as well hang ourselves and be done with it! Hmph, they’ve got plenty of nerve for drinking and gambling, but when it comes to real duties, today’s the first time they’ve hunkered down and stayed home — I just saw them playing at divination with the tutor…”

That was true despair — more women began sobbing intermittently, until finally one matriarch said fiercely, “What is there to be afraid of! This is nothing — we’ve only had a few peaceful years and already forgotten what we’re capable of. I don’t know about the capital, but here on Quanhou Street, which of us hasn’t seen blood before?”

The words carried real fire and spirit, and everyone nodded in agreement.

Another matriarch said, “My girls and boys are right next door — if anyone dares frighten them today, this young lady will kick him where it hurts!”

The one who said this was, of all people, the most refined matriarch from the Rites Ministry Alley.

Everyone looked at her face in disbelief at first, then burst out laughing together.

Qiqian’er laughed too, but raised a finger to her lips for quiet.

Once everyone had settled, Qiqian’er spoke. “It’s fine — the Imperial Guard Alley is right here, and my father is right next door. Worst comes to worst, we’ll fight them together.”

That Prince surely had capable men protecting him.

Hearing this, the ladies felt a bit more settled.

Another matriarch said, “I wonder how many will come? With Yandu forced to shut its gates, we’d better make more preparations. Don’t laugh, ladies, but I believe there are still a few sets of 【crossbows/weapons】 in my cellar that my husband prepared for us years ago.”

At this, someone said happily to fetch them right away — that would be very useful.

With this suggestion, every household’s matriarch began recalling other useful things they had at home — guard dogs by the dozen, for instance…

Everyone chattered on, and people were sent home in pairs to fetch dogs and supplies.

Caught up in this atmosphere, Wu Ling, who had only recently come to Quanhou Street, had been quiet at first, but once she saw the Chen family matriarch send all the children to the east room, guarded by several of Jiu Si Tang’s capable men, she finally felt some sense of security.

As long as the children were safe, even a mother wolf protecting her cubs here could throw everything she had into it.

And so Wu Ling slowly stood and said, “I, I, I…”

Everyone fell silent, all eyes turning to her.

Qiqian’er quickly poured a cup of water and brought it over. “Sister Wu, no need to rush — drink some water and take your time.”

Wu Ling gulped down the water, and seeing Qiqian’er’s encouraging smile, finally found her courage. “My family comes from military stock — I know how to make several kinds of rope snares. If you ladies would help, it’s easy to learn — just hang a few in the trees around here and lay a few on the rooftops, might that help some?”

Xu Ximei nodded approvingly at this. “Good idea!”

Madam Li of the Tang family stood up. “Use my ropes — my family has fine silk-blended cables for towing pleasure boats, and old hands skilled at digging traps too. Oh, and I think I have a few thousand steel needles in my dowry that could be useful.”

For a moment everyone was stunned, then fell quiet, recalling Tang Jiuyuan’s handsome, fair face — well then, this got interesting.

Li rolled her eyes. “What are you all thinking? Those were bought all at once from craftsmen my family sent south specifically to make needles — I have a needle-and-awl shop in Yandu. The lot of you have such dirty minds.”

Qiqian’er coughed. “Yes, well, moving on, moving on!”

Another woman said, somewhat awkwardly, “Then I… in my jewelry box, I also have quite a bit of sedative powder…”

Everyone snapped their heads around to look at her, and the woman flinched, and seeing the odd looks, spat and cursed, “What are you all thinking! It’s my mother-in-law’s temper, you all know how she is! Anyway, she doesn’t like wearing fur coats with holes in them — when my husband takes men out hunting in winter and sets traps, the traps that use sedative are for that reason. Oh, you, you’re all terrible!”

A fresh round of tittering laughter followed.

Finally, Physician Cheng’s wife stood as well. “My husband oversees the medicine storehouse — without a tiger tally, the storehouse can still be accessed for medicine. I’ll go home now and prepare two kinds — one antidote, which we’ll all take first, and one sedative — and I’ll say this, even if a bear came tonight, we’d knock it right out…”

What a great idea — everyone grew more and more excited, breaking into applause together.

Qiqian’er stood, sweeping her arm with a smile. “Alright then, what are we waiting for — let’s get moving!”

The matriarchs answered as one and surged outward without hesitation.

But next door, the group of men were still piously casting divinations, even able to hear the commotion from next door, yet putting on an even more devoted, useful-looking front…

Physician Cheng and She Qingling leaned against the wall, sitting across from each other over a game of chess — they’d moved a brick from the shared wall, letting the sounds from next door filter through clearly.

Physician Cheng placed a stone and said, “That ten-thousand-coin lady of your family is truly extraordinary.”

Prince She replied with a single stone, looking immensely proud. “You can say that again — today it’s hardly just one ten-thousand-coin lady…”