“The one behind the screen is Seventh Miss, correct?”

No matter how melancholic he’d become, that frankness belonging to Quan Zhongbai had never truly departed. As if unaware that the two families had intentions of arranging a marriage, he raised his brow and asked pensively.

Seventh Miss naturally couldn’t speak. Nanny Liang answered on her behalf, “Yes.”

Seeing First Madam’s displeased expression, she added, “Years ago, the Divine Physician also took our Seventh Miss’s pulse and prescribed formulas for her.”

Quan Zhongbai smiled faintly. “Yes,” he closed his eyes and increased the pressure of his fingers, “isn’t it recognized with one touch of the fingers? This pulse pattern is to a physician what a face is to others—those with good memory won’t forget after seeing it once…”

He pressed his lips together again. “Miss Seven, please relax.”

First Madam and several maids immediately looked toward Seventh Miss behind the screen.

Seventh Miss couldn’t help grinding her teeth slightly—though she had a maiden’s modesty, her nervousness at this moment was absolutely not due to shyness.

This Quan Zhongbai was still the same as ever. To put it kindly, he was unrestrained and bold; to put it bluntly, he never knew how to read the room when speaking.

Fortunately, before long he withdrew his hand and slowly contemplated with lowered eyes, his fingers tapping continuously. Viewed from behind the screen, his expression actually seemed somewhat grave.

Could the residual poison not have been completely cleared… Seventh Miss pressed her lips together, rarely feeling somewhat nervous again.

However, in front of First Madam, whatever words there were couldn’t be properly spoken…

“Miss Seven was weak in her youth—I fear she had some congenital deficiency. Twins are often like this. Your household’s Fourth Young Master has the same problem.” Fortunately, Quan Zhongbai quickly organized his words. “At the time, I prescribed several preventive formulas. Though the medicinal ingredients were precious and seemed extravagant, they were indeed all good things. Miss Seven evidently took them on schedule, and her vital energy is no longer as weak as before. The previous formulas need no longer be taken.”

First Madam also listened intently.

Quan Zhongbai hesitated slightly, his brow creasing, then continued, “However, this vital energy deficiency has persisted for many years. Miss Seven’s body is still somewhat weaker than ordinary people—this cannot be compensated for by medicine. I’ll say it again: she must normally avoid excessive worry and maintain good health, otherwise in terms of bearing children, I fear her fortune will be somewhat thin—”

First Madam gasped sharply. “What does Ziyin mean?”

Unknowingly, she was already addressing Quan Zhongbai intimately by his courtesy name.

“It’s not that there’s no solution at all.” Quan Zhongbai glanced once behind the screen, his face completely calm. “It’s just that her fortune will be somewhat thin… it will be more difficult to conceive, and even if she does, the children born will have naturally weaker vital energy than ordinary people.”

This news could hardly be considered good. First Madam couldn’t help but furrow her brow tightly, losing all interest in further conversation.

Quan Zhongbai didn’t mind. He prescribed two more formulas for Seventh Miss to regulate her body, then properly took his leave without uttering any more shocking statements.

First Madam’s mood dropped again, and she slept poorly that night as well.

“Ziyin is a physician himself—how could he not mind after feeling such a pulse? Great households value legitimate sons most, especially these capital families. Without a legitimate son, it’s as if the sky were falling…” She complained to First Master. “Looking at it this way, this match with the Quan family has an eighty to ninety percent chance of failing. Even if it succeeds, Seventh Miss will suffer grievances after marrying in!”

First Master didn’t see it that way.

“Ziyin knew years ago that Xiao Qi’s vital energy was weak. This ailment improved somewhat thanks to his treatment. How could he not know that Xiao Qi would have difficulties in childbearing? He was willing to marry even Third Miss of the Da family—he’d be even less critical of Xiao Qi.” He stroked his beard. “In any case, Ziyin has an elder brother above him. He’s merely the second legitimate son, and a legitimate eldest grandson has long been born… I believe the Quan family won’t be particular about this aspect of Xiao Qi.”

First Madam immediately saw many problems with this Quan family match. “That may be so, but after all it’s a remarriage—already difficult to establish oneself. The Da family is desperately clinging to the Quan family now, relying on that bit of marriage connection to avoid being exterminated and having their property confiscated. But if Ziyin remarries, this marriage connection will become even more tenuous. Don’t you know how formidable those Da family people are? When trouble arises, won’t it be Xiao Qi who suffers the embarrassment…”

First Master grew somewhat impatient. “Let’s wait until Hanchun arrives before deciding. Even though Xiao Qi is clever in every way, first, childbearing will be difficult for her, and second, her birth status is ultimately somewhat low. Neither the Quan nor Gui families would be dishonored. Where in the world are there perfect arrangements? Even Xiao Wu—isn’t she privately full of bitter grievances?”

First Madam’s attention immediately shifted as she wiped away tears. “Truly, just thinking about Xiao Wu makes me unable to sleep! At home she had endless favor and indulgence—even an imperial princess could only have it this good. After arriving at her in-laws’, she suffers grievances everywhere…”

First Master looked coldly at First Madam. Words reached his lips but he swallowed them back. After a long while, he sighed, rose, and walked out of the inner room.

He then summoned Seventh Miss to the small study to talk.

Since arriving in the capital, First Master’s affairs had been complex. It had been quite some time since he’d called Seventh Miss over to attend him. Now with Quan Zhongbai’s visit, it was as if a depth charge had been thrown into the Yang family’s peaceful rear courtyard. First Madam was the first to be thrown into chaos, and First Master was the second.

“This isn’t really a major matter.” He chose his words carefully to console Seventh Miss. “Both families’ sons are second legitimate sons, with legitimate eldest grandsons already present. If you’re worried, a year after marriage you can elevate two chamber maids and raise the children at your side from infancy. Both in terms of affection and propriety, they would recognize you as their birth mother.”

Among the three, Seventh Miss was the one who took it least to heart—she originally had a fear of childbirth. Though Yang family daughters mostly had smooth deliveries, after being in this era so long, wasn’t there every year several female relatives of friends and family who died in difficult labor… The sanitary conditions in ancient times were so poor that giving birth was like passing through the gates of hell. Whether or not to give birth wasn’t such a major matter in Seventh Miss’s view.

However, compared to First Madam’s shock and sympathy, First Master’s composure was ultimately more pleasing. In just a few words, he’d produced a solution to comfort Seventh Miss. Though this solution conflicted with the education Seventh Miss had received, in ancient times it was indeed the most natural line of thinking.

The great households of that era—none didn’t take concubines. Though they wouldn’t elevate chamber servants before marriage, after marriage when the wife became pregnant, they would certainly elevate chamber maids to serve the male master. In middle-class families there were some examples of not taking concubines, but ultimately these were a minority within minorities, and even in this tiny minority, wives mostly had powerful natal families. However, in the social stratum Seventh Miss occupied, even imperial son-in-laws had several senior maids by their sides. No matter how powerful one’s natal family, could it be more powerful than the imperial family? Even imperial son-in-laws couldn’t avoid this custom—truly monogamous men were as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns.

The idyllic life she yearned for had ultimately departed the moment she was recognized as a legitimate daughter. As First Master rose step by step, aspiring now for lifelong monogamy seemed to have become empty words. Moreover, Seventh Miss never believed she could maintain lifelong monogamy with an ancient man… With different educations, experiences, and perspectives, achieving harmony was already difficult. As for lifelong devotion—when young girls in their flower-blooming years experienced love at first sight, that was fine, but after twenty years, this love at first sight would inevitably become faded beauty and waning affection.

Since it was thus, weren’t the Gui and Quan families all the same anyway? Being able to live her small life well, managing household affairs then leisurely passing her days, having a strong natal family, not needing to observe others’ expressions… that was enough!

Seventh Miss looked at her toes and softly replied, “Father is right—this is after all a future matter. No one can say for certain. Worrying about it now is truly not worthwhile.”

First Master examined Seventh Miss with slight surprise for several moments before finally smiling. “It’s admirable that you think so openly.”

After another long silence, this middle-aged scholar unconsciously counted the documents on the small standing table while slowly revealing his innermost thoughts to Seventh Miss.

“Originally, coming to the capital to serve as cabinet minister, Father intended to betroth you to the Quan family—they’d be right under our noses, and both families happen to need an ally. Though the Xu family is reliable, one never has too many friends.”

His words carried deep exhaustion.

“But… the capital’s political winds shift constantly. Perhaps Father is truly getting old and can’t bear this hardship. Every day walking on thin ice, I truly feel somewhat overwhelmed…”

Seventh Miss couldn’t help feeling surprised.

First Master was in his prime, at the height of his ambition, and one of the youngest cabinet ministers in Great Qin’s history. By rights, he should be full of aspirations, preparing to make his mark. How was it that barely a month after arriving in the capital, he already had a sense of disillusionment?

She didn’t speak, only gazed quietly at First Master, waiting for him to continue.

First Master wiped his face again before lowering his voice. “The Emperor intends to reform the tax system, combining land and poll taxes, promoting it nationwide.”

Combining land and poll taxes—putting it simply, it was nothing more than reforming the tax system, abolishing the poll tax and incorporating it into land tax. In other words, what Seventh Miss’s previous world had known as “merging poll tax into land tax.”

Seventh Miss was so shocked she stood up.

Only now did she understand why First Master had such an expression.

Among the three great cabinet ministers currently in the cabinet, Cabinet Elder Jiao had the most seniority and was the undisputed Grand Secretary. Half the civil officials in court could be counted as his disciples—every year at the metropolitan examination, by custom the Grand Secretary served as chief examiner, and the successful candidates all addressed the chief examiner as “examination master.”

Yet this very Cabinet Elder Jiao had violently quarreled repeatedly with Grand Tutor Qin over this matter of combining land and poll taxes during the Zhaoming Emperor’s early years, squeezing Grand Tutor Qin out of the cabinet and attacking him repeatedly. If the Emperor hadn’t protected Grand Tutor Qin both overtly and covertly and promoted him to Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent, the Qin family would have found it very difficult to recover from that battle.

At that time, First Master was insignificant and naturally didn’t qualify to participate in the battle. But from the late Emperor’s repeated promotions of First Master afterward, even in the late Emperor’s heart, there had been intentions to reform the tax system. It was just that his arm couldn’t twist the cabinet’s thigh, and the late Emperor had too many concerns on his mind, so he temporarily didn’t get around to this matter.

It seemed that the Crown Prince—now Emperor—had promoted First Master to the capital as cabinet minister precisely for tax reform and combining land and poll taxes.

This was no small matter!

Cabinet Elder Jiao had been Grand Secretary for over twenty years. Though normally cautious and tactful, famous as a kowtowing Grand Secretary, his influence truly couldn’t be underestimated. Back when the Crown Prince’s establishment of his tutorial office was being decided, the Emperor hesitated. It was Cabinet Elder Jiao who added fuel to the fire at the critical moment, prompting the Crown Prince’s successful establishment of his tutorial office. Speaking of it, the new Emperor still owed him a favor.

To support combining land and poll taxes meant opposing such a well-established senior with deep roots and extensive influence. Never mind First Master—even when Grand Tutor Qin was alive, he probably had to carefully weigh this matter again and again!

“Great Qin is truly fortunate.” First Master shifted topics again, leaning against the chair back and murmuring to himself. “Over a hundred years since founding, the emperors gradually became somewhat unreasonable. Though the late Emperor was clever, his mind wasn’t on governing the state. Originally, we thought the nation’s gradual decline was inevitable, but unexpectedly the Eastern Palace produced a dragon and phoenix among men, truly an exceptional talent appearing once in a century. Every step taken in Jiangnan achieved multiple results… He’s actually subdued your father into complete submission, without any strength left to resist.”

How could Seventh Miss not understand First Master’s meaning?

This Emperor she’d never met was truly too profound! Like a snake’s trail in grass or a line through ashes—extending for thousands of miles. He’d probably begun laying groundwork for today before even ascending the throne.

Though the Yang family had allied with the Crown Prince, they’d been repeatedly given cold treatment over the years and naturally walked on thin ice. At that time, Jiangnan was turbulent with rising winds and surging clouds. The Crown Prince’s scheming and methods had shocked even First Master.

Precisely because he feared the Crown Prince’s methods and knew he couldn’t outmaneuver the Eastern Palace, First Master had conceived thoughts of returning home and yielded the position of Viceroy of Liangjiang. Naturally this was exactly what the Crown Prince desired. Thus he consolidated Jiangnan on one hand while promoting First Master to enter the capital and join the cabinet on the other. The Yang family had shallow roots in the capital. Duke Pingguo was a military general who’d been idle for years since the great Zhaoming victory. Cabinet Elder Jiao and Grand Tutor Qin had long been at odds. For First Master to secure his position as cabinet minister, the only path was to flatter imperial intentions for self-preservation… To put it plainly, the new Emperor had already intimidated and frightened First Master, leaving him without the capital or courage to play power games and oppose him.

This was quite a domineering monarch, his thoughts so profound even First Master couldn’t fathom them, much less Seventh Miss…

“Then what does Father mean…” Seventh Miss inquired in a low voice. From the bottom of her spine upward, cold air emanated. Her entire body felt as if soaked in ice water.

First Master revealed a bitter smile.

“Combining land and poll taxes is naturally a great deed benefiting future generations. But once promulgated, both the new Emperor and our Yang family will certainly become targets of universal criticism. With everyone’s mouths melting metal, after your father’s death a hundred years hence, I fear the label of treacherous minister will be unavoidable.”

“But now it’s like forcing a duck onto a perch—even wanting to retreat, there’s no path of retreat. Xiao Qi, Father can’t hold out much longer. After next year’s era name change, I’ll probably have to take the lead in memorializing, speaking in favor of combining land and poll taxes.” He wearily wiped his face and lifted the tea from the table, draining it in one gulp. “But our Yang family absolutely cannot be without a backup plan.—Father has wronged Xiao Qi. Though Ziyin is young, distinguished, and dashing—truly an excellent match, but…”

Seventh Miss already understood First Master’s meaning.

To leave a backup plan meant selling her to the Gui family.

The new Emperor was no simple figure, but wasn’t First Master also more than a clear, shallow stream? Calling her here today to pour out these grievances was nothing more than making her accept the fate of marrying into the Gui family, to not implicate Feng Jin and create further complications.

Thinking that staying in the capital meant being endlessly drawn into such dizzying, involuntary whirlpools made Seventh Miss’s head spin.

Fine, the Northwest it is then! Though it was a place of heartbreak she never wanted to return to, but… it also had its advantages!

“As a Yang family daughter, I naturally obey Father’s instructions. Whomever Father tells Xiao Qi to marry, Xiao Qi will simply wait to board the bridal sedan.” She agreed without embellishment, stating it plainly. “Both families are excellent matches. Whoever favors Xiao Qi is Xiao Qi’s good fortune.”

A barely perceptible flash of relief crossed First Master’s eyes.

“Rest assured.” He in turn consoled Seventh Miss. “The Gui family has always wanted to find a path leading to the heavens, but unfortunately General Gui is upright and has never liked currying favor with the powerful. Otherwise, Madam Gui wouldn’t be so enthusiastic about this match. The household is simple with strict family customs—your days in the future won’t be too difficult!”

Seventh Miss silently let out a long breath.

First Master had truly put his mind to her affairs—back and forth, he’d actually found four or five channels to “move the goods”…

Fine, fine. Just consider herself tumbleweed—wherever she drifted, she’d take root and sprout there! As long as she had her natal family as backing, whether the Quan or Gui family, establishing herself wouldn’t be difficult.

She forced out a smile. “At home I obey Father. Father need only make the decision. What does Xiao Qi understand? As long as I can ease Father’s worries, that is Xiao Qi’s good fortune.”

First Master smiled faintly, clearly not taking Seventh Miss’s polite words seriously. “With the Quan family, there’s a ready-made excuse for refusal—just wait for that child Hanchun to arrive in the capital. After your mother examines her and finds nothing amiss, I’ll reply and settle the match.”

In just a few words, Seventh Miss’s future was decided. First Master then drifted into abstraction again.

“Next year’s era name change has been decided—the era name will be Chengping.” He seemed to be muttering to himself, yet also seemed to be chatting idly with Seventh Miss. “Heh, Chengping? I fear that during the Chengping era, things are destined not to be peaceful!”

Just looking at how the new Emperor had deployed such shocking reforms as combining land and poll taxes even before the era name change, one knew that the Chengping era was destined not to be as peaceful as the Zhaoming era.

Seventh Miss also couldn’t help but let out a heavy sigh.

As the empire’s prime minister, there was originally no possibility of remaining untainted in the political whirlpool. In the coming years, the Yang family was destined to serve as a pillar in turbulent times.

It was just unknown whether the tide would topple the pillar, or the pillar would uphold Great Qin…