The banquet ended, and the female family members walked out from inside. The front gate of the residence became lively, with carriages, horses, servants, and maidservants in chaos.

“Make way, make way.”

A carriage rushed forward, driven by an old servant who appeared to have failing eyesight. The carriage swayed unsteadily, as if it might crash into other people and vehicles at any moment. The other carriages and horses hurriedly scrambled to avoid it.

“What’s going on?” “Whose carriage is that?” “Why the pushing?” “Shh, it’s the Chu family’s.”

Upon hearing these words, the clamor quieted. Everyone watched as the carriage swayed but still steadily stopped in front of the gate.

Xiao Tu ran out first from inside, lightly jumping up to sit at the front of the carriage.

“How did it go?” the old servant driver asked in a low voice.

Xiao Tu curled his lip. “There wasn’t even a fight.”

That maidservant had run out in a panic saying the young miss was calling for him, trembling as she described how the people inside were bullying the young miss.

“There might be a fight,” the maidservant had said in a low voice. “It all depends on you.”

Now that the Chu family had closed their doors to guests, when Chu Tang went out, she only had one old servant driving the carriage, one young servant to help with the step stool, and one maidservant following—not showing the slightest prestige befitting the Empress’s family.

But while others didn’t know, the maidservant who had followed Chu Tang closely that evening knew very well that this one old servant and one young servant could match a crowd of servants. Don’t be fooled by one being old and one young—when they killed people, it was like cutting melons!

She didn’t even dare talk much with them.

“You’re all Second Master’s people. You must help the young miss, protect the young miss—and me,” the maidservant had instructed repeatedly.

How was he Second Master Chu’s person? He was more like Second Master Chu’s enemy.

After entering, the first question thrown at him was whether he hated General Chu Ling. He had almost blurted out the truth.

Fortunately, he understood in time that this was acting out a performance with this girl. After Miss Chu Tang fabricated his background story, he also performed his part about how pitiful orphans were—good thing the gold collar was hidden under his clothes and couldn’t be seen.

At the time, he saw many of the women and girls in the room with tears glistening in their eyes.

However, listening to what the women said afterward—

“Although there was no fight,” he nodded, “it was still quite fierce.”

As they spoke, Chu Tang emerged with her maidservant. Unlike before when the girls had clustered around her and the madams had greeted her, only the hostess and two or three girls were by her side. More people were behind them, keeping their distance from them.

“Miss Chu, our hospitality was inadequate,” the hostess said with a somewhat apologetic expression. “Please forgive us.”

Chu Tang smiled. “You’re too kind, Madam. This has nothing to do with you.” She looked at the girls behind her. “I’ll gather with everyone again next time.”

Hearing her words, the expressions of those keeping their distance changed slightly. There would be a next time?

Next time they wouldn’t invite her—

“I will take the initiative to visit,” Chu Tang said with another smile.

That’s right—they might not invite her, but if she came to visit on her own initiative, who would dare refuse her at the door?

No matter what, she was still the Empress’s sister.

If she quarreled with them and threw her weight around, that was her moral failing. But if they refused her at their doors, then they would be in the wrong.

This Chu Tang was truly troublesome. The madams watched her leave in a leisurely manner, then looked at the girls beside them.

“Now that the border commandery is unstable and the people are suffering disaster, you should all stay home and not go out.”

……

……

Chu Tang got into the carriage and immediately collapsed softly against the cushion.

“Miss!” the maidservant cried out in alarm.

“It’s nothing, let me rest a moment,” Chu Tang said, signaling the maidservant not to speak, then letting out a long breath.

The maidservant pressed her hand to her chest, feeling she also wanted to collapse. “Miss, how did you—how did you become so bold?”

The young miss wasn’t this kind of person at all. She never quarreled with people, let alone for Second Master Chu and Chu Zhao. She must have gone mad.

Had she gone mad? Chu Tang lay on the soft cushion, thinking of what Chu Zhao had said.

“I’ve ascended to the Empress position, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the Chu family will have good days ahead.”

“Great wealth and honor come with danger. Of course, if you want safety, it’s not impossible.”

That girl had sat in the Empress’s palace hall, smiling as she spoke to her.

“Your whole family should leave the capital and henceforth live in an academy, never to return.”

“And you and your brothers should find marriages with families of simple backgrounds—best if they have no official posts or positions, just commoners.”

“That way, even if something happens to me in the future, since you had nothing to begin with, you won’t be implicated.”

Live a whole lifetime like that? It would indeed be peaceful and safe, but—

Chu Zhao had looked at her and continued: “If you don’t want to live peacefully and uneventfully, you can also be like me and take a risky gamble. I’ll scheme within the palace, you’ll manage things outside. I’ll be your backing, you’ll be my eyes and hands. If luck is good, we sisters can both occupy high positions and gain glory. If luck is bad, then we’ll—”

She had drawn her hand across her neck.

At that time, the palace hall had been magnificent, the girl in palace attire had reclined leisurely, yet the corners of her mouth bore a smile—a smile that made one’s scalp tingle, yet was irresistibly alluring—

Chu Tang suddenly sat up again.

“Back when there was slaughter outside the gates and she opened the Chu Garden doors, I dared to run over and stand with her,” she said, her hands clenching tightly before her. “Now it’s just some verbal mockery—what’s there to fear?”

The maidservant was startled. Miss A’Tang has gone mad!

The next moment, Miss A’Tang collapsed back onto the cushion with a long sigh.

Chu Zhao, oh Chu Zhao, please come back quickly.

And Uncle, you absolutely must not be found guilty—

When she got home, she should still pack her luggage properly, so they could flee in the night if necessary.

……

……

“Young Master, more than half of the criticism regarding General Chu Ling comes from the hand of Prince Zhongshan.”

Steward Cai walked in carrying a stack of papers, meeting Xie Yanfang who was walking out, a maidservant by his side holding a cloak.

“This is the newly investigated list—Prince Zhongshan’s connections in the capital and outside—”

Xie Yanfang didn’t even look. “Eliminate them all, by any means necessary.” He paused. “Root them out completely.”

These three sentences made everything clear. Steward Cai asked no more questions, putting away the papers and following him outside. He took out several more papers. “Also, half are not Prince Zhongshan’s people.”

The maidservant softly urged, “Young Master, it’s cold. Please put on your cloak.”

Xie Yanfang stopped slightly, letting the maidservant drape the cloak over him, while turning his head to ask, “What kind of people?”

Steward Cai looked at the papers in his hand. “All kinds of people—court officials, aristocratic families, especially military officers—”

The maidservant couldn’t help but sigh. “General Chu is so hated.”

Xie Yanfang smiled. “It’s not that he as a person is hated—it’s that his position is hated. General Chu has been silent and unnoticed for over a decade. How could he have so many enemies?” He looked at Steward Cai again. “I understand. These are people who want to take advantage of this opportunity to divide up the Northwestern military authority.”

Steward Cai nodded. “Indeed, it’s a very good opportunity.”

First, the Chu clan’s foundation was weak. Second, Chu Ling was quite controversial. Now as the Empress’s father with the Emperor still young, he could easily be labeled as seizing power. Third, an incident had occurred in the military campaign.

“There’s already been a proposal in court to replace the commanding general of Yunzhong Commandery,” Xie Yanfang said.

Steward Cai hesitated, then reiterated his earlier statement. “Young Master, this truly is a good opportunity.”

What the Xie clan currently lacked most was military authority.

Xie Yanfang said, “This is naturally a good opportunity, however—”

Steward Cai wore an expression of having known all along. “In any case, everything must prioritize Miss Chu first, not harming her in the slightest.” He sighed again. “I truly never imagined our Xie clan would fall to the level of babysitting children.”

“Steward Cai, our Xie clan has indeed fallen to the level of babysitting,” Xie Yanfang sighed softly. “But babysitting is also the easiest way to gain returns.”

General Chu Ling was a man close to death. If they showed him their sincerity, then naturally everything of his would be left only to them.

Why play the villain at this time?

Moreover, to obtain what one wants doesn’t necessarily require kicking someone when they’re down—one can also provide warmth in the snow.

Steward Cai looked at the papers in his hand. “Then how should we deal with these people? Also eliminate them all, by any means necessary, root them out completely?”

Xie Yanfang glanced at them. “These are all friends who can be persuaded. We can’t turn them into another Prince Zhongshan. Have Seventh Aunt go out and make some rounds.”

Although they weren’t like the Chu clan in closing their doors to guests, the Xie clan elders were in Dongyang, and there was basically no socializing on the capital side either.

To express the Xie clan’s intentions, it was still most appropriate to start from within the inner quarters of noble families. If the Xie clan spoke up for Chu Ling in the inner quarters, that alone would be enough to influence the outside world.

Hearing this, Steward Cai smiled. “I’m afraid that won’t be convenient recently.”

Xie Yanfang was puzzled. What did “not convenient” mean?

“Of course, it’s not that everyone won’t accommodate our Xie clan,” Steward Cai said with a smile. “Rather, recently the capital isn’t holding any banquets. Even if Seventh Madam holds a banquet and invites people, it might not go smoothly.”

He didn’t pay much attention to the movements in the capital’s inner quarters. Xie Yanfang asked curiously, “Why is that? Logically, with trouble in the border commandery, this should be the time for lively denunciations.”

For many people, when something happened—as long as it didn’t happen to them—it was a good opportunity to raise their reputation, strengthen relationships, and form alliances.

Steward Cai said, “Miss Chu Zhao’s cousin runs to banquets every day to debate with people about whether Chu Ling is at fault or not. Not only that, she brings along servants she claims are orphans and widows from the border commandery to tell tragic stories about how hateful the Xi Liang bandits are, how difficult things are for the soldiers, and how we must share a common hatred of the enemy—disrupting the banquets so they can’t continue. With Miss Chu Tang bearing the status of the Empress’s sister, no one dares block her from entering. If this continues, the gatherings will become praise meetings for Chu Ling. Everyone can only close their doors, stay home, and cease socializing.”

Xie Yanfang laughed heartily, his laughter mixed with some admiration.

He naturally knew well what kind of temperament the Chu Lan family had.

Setting aside that couple, for Chu Tang, that cold and selfish girl, to actually charge into battle for Chu Ling—

Why was this? He was very clear in his heart. It was because the other Chu family girl was formidable.

She had left the capital, but before leaving, she had made preparations.

She said that in this life, meeting Third Young Master was Heaven’s mercy upon her.

But actually, she didn’t rely on his mercy.