Yun Chu closed her eyes to rest.

After Tingyu finished her tearful complaints, she finally spoke: “Ping’er, what do you think?”

Xie Ping hadn’t expected Yun Chu to ask for her opinion.

She thought, it was probably because her status was different now—as the future Princess An’jing, her words should carry some weight.

She said: “Father doesn’t want Concubine Yu to raise Yun’er for Yun’er’s own good. Concubine Yu cannot let her fear of losing her child delay Yun’er’s future prospects. I believe it would be better for Yun’er to remain with Concubine He.”

He Shi smiled.

Although she found raising Xie Shiyun tiresome, Xie Shiyun had to stay by her side.

If she could ruin Xie Shiyun, then all of the Xie family’s resources would fall to An’er. The entire Xie family should belong completely to An’er.

Only with better prospects could An’er protect the worthless Xie Shiyun.

Tingyu knew that no matter what else she said, the madam would never soften her heart.

She had betrayed the madam twice. The madam had given up on her, so she was venting her anger on Yun’er by deliberately sending him to He Shi’s side.

She knew she was wrong in every way, but what had Yun’er done wrong?

“Everyone withdraw.”

Yun Chu waved her hand.

Tingyu glanced at He Shi, whose lips curved in a smile, bit her lip, and retreated.

Concubine Tao, supporting her pregnant belly and helped by a maid’s hand, walked slowly outside. She looked at Tingyu, who was leaving Shengju with her head lowered, then turned to Concubine Jiang: “That one climbed into the master’s bed behind the madam’s back to become a concubine. Instead of being content with her station, she tried to sow discord between the master and madam. If the madam doesn’t deal with her, who should she deal with?”

Concubine Jiang didn’t wish to discuss others’ affairs. She asked with concern: “You still have over a month until delivery. You must be extra careful.”

“Of course.” Concubine Tao was about to complain about how difficult the late stages of pregnancy were when she saw in the distance He Shi and Xie Ping walking to a tree, speaking in low voices. Her eyes narrowed. “Tell me, Concubine Jiang, have you noticed that the eldest miss and Concubine He look somewhat alike?”

Concubine Jiang was a woman of few words. Reserved people tended to be more observant, and she had discovered this long ago, just never mentioned it to anyone.

She nodded: “There are so many identical leaves in the world. Two people looking similar is nothing unusual. Perhaps this is the fate between Concubine He and the eldest miss, which is why they’ve always been close.”

“It’s not just the eldest miss who’s close to Concubine He. The eldest young master and second young master are also particularly close to Concubine He.” Concubine Tao tapped her chin with her finger. “Now that I think about it carefully, the eldest young master’s eyes are exactly the same as Concubine He’s. The second young master’s mouth looks like it was carved from the same mold as Concubine He’s. And the eldest miss also looks so much like Concubine He…”

Concubine Jiang couldn’t help but cover her lips: “They say daughters grow up to resemble their birth mothers…”

“Heavens!” Concubine Tao’s eyes widened. “Could it be, could it be… it’s not very likely, is it? Too incredible.”

“What are you two chatting about?”

A voice suddenly came from behind.

Both Concubine Tao and Concubine Jiang were startled. They turned around to see He Shi and Xie Ping standing there. Being caught gossiping about someone behind their back was somewhat embarrassing.

“Nothing, nothing.” Concubine Jiang tightened her grip on Xie Xian’s hand. “I’m taking Xian’er to the study hall.”

She left quickly after speaking.

Concubine Tao touched her pregnant belly, her eyes sweeping over He Shi and Xie Ping’s faces: “I must say, Concubine He and the eldest miss really do look a bit like birth mother and daughter.”

He Shi drew in a sharp breath.

She hadn’t misheard. Concubine Tao and Concubine Jiang had indeed been discussing her resemblance to Ping’er.

Xie Ping carefully remembered Nanny Fu’s teachings—no matter what remarks she heard, she couldn’t show her emotions. She steadied herself and said coldly: “What ridiculous words is Concubine Tao saying? My mother is the eldest miss of the General’s Manor, the Yun family. I am the eldest miss of the Xie family. How could I possibly resemble He Shi, a servant? Stop insulting me!”

She walked away briskly.

Concubine Tao frowned. The eldest miss’s words were full of disdain and contempt for Concubine He. Had she guessed wrong?

He Shi lowered her head, clenched her fingers, and quickly walked away.

Yun Chu found that she simply couldn’t calm her mind to do anything.

Tingshuang had gone to investigate what happened that day—it would take at least three days to uncover results.

She simply had someone prepare the carriage and headed to the hot spring estate in the northern part of the city to take a look. After so many days, the estate should look quite different.

The carriage traveled for about half an hour before arriving at the estate’s entrance.

The last time she came, waist-high weeds were everywhere. Now they had been completely cleared away, revealing the estate’s original appearance.

This was where the Wu family ancestral shrine once stood. The buildings had been constructed with great effort, and even after more than twenty years without inhabitants, they weren’t too dilapidated.

Of course, some repairs were still needed, especially the courtyard walls, corners, corridor eaves, rooftops, and such…

“Madam truly has foresight!” Chen Defu’s face was full of admiration. “There’s actually a huge hot spring on the mountain behind this estate. We won’t know exactly how large until it’s fully excavated.”

Spending three thousand taels of silver to purchase this estate, completing all repairs, excavating the hot spring, and building hot spring pools would cost roughly seven to eight thousand taels total.

But relying on this hot spring, they could earn at least several tens of thousands of taels in one winter—and that was a conservative estimate.

Yun Chu followed Chen Defu toward the back mountain. Just as they arrived, she saw Jiu’er, dressed in blue garments, distributing cooling tea to the workers.

She stopped and asked: “What does Chen Bo think of Jiu’er?”

“She’s an honest girl.” Chen Defu replied. “Her health is weak, but she never slacks off to rest. Whenever the workers start, she starts working. When she arrived, she was fairly fair-skinned, but these past few days she’s gotten quite tan.”

Hearing voices, Jiu’er turned around. Seeing that Yun Chu had come, she quickly set down the tea and came forward to pay her respects.

Yun Chu spoke: “A portion of the hot spring has been excavated. You should start bathing in it. The physician said at least half a shichen each day.”

Jiu’er kept her head lowered: “Madam, Jiu’er’s life is lowly. I shouldn’t pollute those pools.”

“I’m not letting you bathe for free.” Yun Chu said lightly. “No one has bathed in this hot spring before. We don’t know what effects it has. You need to record everything—what it feels like after a quarter shichen, what it feels like after half a shichen. Each pool has a different temperature, so the sensations will differ. You must try them all. After a month, I’ll come ask you about it.”

Jiu’er was moved: “Yes, madam.”

She knew the madam had arranged this task so she could bathe in the hot spring without psychological burden.

From now on, her humble life belonged to the madam. Even if the madam asked her to climb a mountain of knives, she wouldn’t blink an eye.

As they were speaking, they saw Madam Wu, leaning on her cane, emerge from the thatched cottage in the woods behind. Upon seeing Yun Chu, Madam Wu’s face streamed with tears: “Madam Xie, you are my son’s savior, the great benefactor of the Wu family! Even working like an ox or horse, I could never repay your kindness…”

Three days ago, her son had gone to Qingzhou with Physician Si for treatment. If not for Madam Xie acting as intermediary, they would never have encountered Physician Si in their lifetime.

With Physician Si there, her son would surely recover his life. She could then rest in peace and tell the Wu family ancestors that the Wu family line had not been broken!

Yun Chu helped Madam Wu up: “Since I bought the Wu family ancestors’ estate, helping Young Master Wu with his treatment was just a small matter. Please don’t say such things, Madam Wu—you’re being too kind.”

Madam Wu was about to say more when a servant whispered something in Chen Defu’s ear. Chen Defu’s expression changed dramatically: “Madam, we’ve discovered Concubine He’s identity!”