The Hua family dinner was unusually silent.

After the meal, Minister Hua and Hua Rongtian left first, citing official business. Hua Rongjian and Hua Rongjun stayed behind to keep the Matriarch company.

Mei Jiu had heard of these two brothers’ reputations, but seeing them in person made her doubt the rumors. Hua Rongjun wasn’t as cheerful as she had imagined; despite his young age, he had a melancholic air about him. Hua Rongjian spoke more, but he wasn’t as frivolous as the rumors suggested.

“Second Sister-in-law doesn’t look well. You should go out more often,” Hua Rongjun suddenly interjected, breaking his usual silence.

The Matriarch disagreed, “A young woman should be more reserved, take care of her health, and give my second son a chubby boy soon!”

It was generally believed that women who practiced martial arts were healthy, but extremes often led to opposite results. Those with high martial prowess often had difficulty conceiving.

Mei Ruyan glanced at Hua Rongjian, seeing he didn’t want to speak, and stood up, saying, “Mother is right. Thank you for your concern, Uncle.”

“You should remember this too,” the Matriarch looked at Mei Jiu.

Mei Jiu had been married to the Hua family for over a year. Every day, she would pay her respects to the Matriarch morning and evening, regardless of whether the Matriarch received her or not, rain or shine.

For an ordinary daughter-in-law, this would be fine. But Mei Jiu was sent by the Emperor, so much eagerness inevitably aroused suspicion. To prevent Mei Jiu from harming Hua Rongtian, the Matriarch secretly had her monitored. However, every time the secret guards reported back, Mei Jiu was either embroidering, writing, painting, playing the zither, reading books, or playing chess. Looking at the embroidery and calligraphy obtained from her, the Matriarch discovered she was an extremely talented woman, nothing like an assassin from the Crane Control Army!

The Matriarch didn’t know much about the Crane Control Army; her understanding of female assassins mostly came from the previous eldest daughter-in-law.

Hua Rongtian’s original wife wasn’t incompetent either. However, most of her energy was spent on martial arts training, so she only had a superficial knowledge of the four arts. She was far from Mei Jiu’s level of accomplishment.

These skills weren’t innate, especially calligraphy. It would take over a decade of practice to write like that. How could a female assassin spend all her time on these things? The Matriarch was puzzled.

“Daughter-in-law will heed Mother’s teachings,” Mei Jiu stood up and said.

The Matriarch watched her every move, which resembled that of a sheltered young lady, and found it even more incredible. She said to Hua Rongjian and Hua Rongjun, “You two can go about your business. I want to have a word with my eldest and second sons’ wives.”

The two brothers looked slightly surprised but stood up and left after a moment’s hesitation.

The maids changed the tea.

The Matriarch waved her hand, dismissing all the maids except for one old servant woman and one personal attendant.

“We all know how you two came to marry into this family. I don’t want to waste words beating around the bush,” The matriarch usually followed her husband and sons’ words obediently, seeming like a woman without her own opinions. But at this moment, her imposing manner was oppressive. “Being confined to this courtyard must not be as exhilarating as moving in the dark of night and living on the edge of life and death, right?”

Her words carried deep implications.

Mei Jiu replied, “A duckweed born in water has no roots to settle. If given a handful of yellow earth, I’d be willing to be ground into dust and mud.”

Her meaning was that her position in the Crane Control Army was forced by circumstances. If someone could give her a piece of tranquility, she would be willing to die in that peace.

She met the Matriarch’s scrutinizing gaze with determination. She often appeared delicate, but at this moment, she had shed all weakness.

After her rebirth, Mei Jiu pondered many things. For instance, her delicate and feigned strong appearance could soften Hua Rongtian’s gaze but earned contempt from women. This insight came from Anju. If Anju hadn’t so bluntly shown her disdain, Mei Jiu wouldn’t have deliberately observed the subtle reactions of those around her. Mei Jiu was inherently sensitive and perceptive, and after living day and night with her maids, she could understand eight or nine-tenths of their thoughts.

After Mei Jiu stated her position, Mei Ruyan quickly added, “My heart is the same as Sister’s.”

She didn’t call her ‘Sister-in-law’ but ‘Sister’, intending to let the Matriarch understand that they were both women of the Mei family, in the same boat.

However, for Mei Ruyan, she preferred freedom more.

“Very well,” the Matriarch’s expression softened slightly. “I just want to tell you, I’m just a mother. I don’t ask about or understand political affairs, but anyone who dares to harm my sons, I will repay a hundredfold on her body.”

Both women verbally agreed, but in their hearts, they thought, “The person who most wants to harm your sons is the Emperor!”

However, although the Matriarch’s attitude had relaxed, she thought to herself that these two women were harder to deal with than the previous one!

Usually, female assassins wouldn’t have so many twists and turns in their minds. Even if they had some wit, how could they compare to the Matriarch, a master of household politics? Don’t be fooled by her current situation with no mother-in-law above her, no sisters-in-law at her level, and daughters-in-law of no consequence. In her day, she had lived with her mother-in-law and sisters-in-law, engaging in plenty of scheming.

After talking for a while, the Matriarch let them leave.

Outside, the wind and snow had lessened. Mei Ruyan walked side by side with Mei Jiu under an umbrella, trying to get closer to her. “Sister, are you from the main branch of the family?”

Hearing Mei Ruyan affectionately call her “Sister,” Mei Jiu felt a moment of confusion. Suddenly, she understood many things. In the past, she had met few people, and among the group of girls locked up together, Mei Ruyan had been the kindest to her. So she naturally considered Mei Ruyan her best sister. Now that she was no longer that person, Mei Ruyan’s address of “Sister” hadn’t changed at all…

“You should still call me Sister-in-law,” Mei Jiu smiled at her. “We must be cautious about our positions.”

“Sister-in-law is right,” Mei Ruyan saw her respond and her smile deepened.

Whether it was the past Mei Ruyan or the current one, she always had this charisma. Even if someone didn’t know her or had reservations, it was hard to treat her coldly. Mei Jiu thought that probably only Anju in this world could manage that.

Thinking of Anju, Mei Jiu remembered that she had once told her about Mei Ruyan joining Wei Yuzhi.

Even who Wei Yuzhi was, was something Anju had explained to her.

This wasn’t important. What mattered was that she knew Mei Ruyan had joined the Liao state and then the Crane Control Army. Regardless of the reasons behind it, she could be prepared just in case.

Seeing Mei Jiu’s irrelevant answer, Mei Ruyan knew she wasn’t interested in establishing a closer relationship and stopped pushing.

The two parted at the archway, heading to their respective rooms.

The door curtains were lined with thick cotton, blocking the cold air. Inside, a fire stove made it as warm as spring. As soon as one entered, the heavy dampness on the body could be felt.

Mei Jiu changed her clothes behind a screen with the help of her maids, then dismissed everyone in the room and sat on the couch with a book. Most of these maids were there to monitor her, so she often preferred to be alone.

“The words you said to your mother-in-law were so sentimental and fake, it made my hair stand on end,” a female voice suddenly said in the quiet room.

The words were critical, but the tone meant “Well done!”

Mei Jiu looked up in delight to see a slender figure sitting in the chair opposite her, having appeared out of nowhere.