Nanny Liang’s vision suddenly went black, and a fine buzzing sound rang in her ears.

“The painting—it’s truly excellent!” She forced a smile. “Miss’s painting skills are becoming increasingly accomplished.”

Seventh Miss only smiled. “Not at all. Recently there haven’t been many matters at home—Nanny has seen this with her own eyes. Confined to Mingde Hall all day, I can only amuse myself with writing and painting.”

She changed the subject, saying casually: “Ninth Brother will be getting married in a few days!”

Nanny Liang felt a chill sweep through her entire body.

How could she not understand the meaning behind Seventh Miss’s words?

To establish a family and career—unless circumstances were special, young men of prominent families always married first before establishing their careers. Only after marriage could they be treated as adults.

Though Ninth Brother was already seventeen or eighteen years old, the Grand Master kept a tight rein on him, only allowing him to focus on his studies. He had never had any say in family matters. But after marriage, things would be different… Not to mention that next year was the spring examinations. If Ninth Brother passed the imperial examinations and became a jinshi, entering the Hanlin Academy would be a certainty. Even the Grand Master would have to face the fact that Ninth Brother had grown up.

The Grand Madam had complained for years about the heavy burden of household management, just waiting for her daughter-in-law to come through the door so she could hand over the responsibility… For the next several decades, she would have to live watching the Fourth Young Madam’s moods!

Over these years, though this pair of twin siblings appeared distant, their private dealings couldn’t escape Nanny Liang’s eyes and ears.

With just one word, Seventh Miss could crush her into the ground, making it difficult to ever rise again!

Nanny Liang felt an itching numbness on her cheeks. When she raised her hand to wipe, she realized she was already covered in cold sweat.

“Young Madam…” Without realizing it, she had changed how she addressed her.

Looking again at the golden jade ruyi outside the room, enshrined in a glass case with bright yellow brocade—Nanny Liang felt as if the round stool beneath her had suddenly sprouted small nails, making it impossible to sit still. Slowly, her entire body slid off the stool, her knees hitting the ground as she knelt before Seventh Miss.

The room suddenly fell silent.

Seventh Miss lowered her head to carefully examine the portrait she had painted. After a long while, she slowly sighed.

“Actually, how could Nanny Liang be completely ignorant in her heart?” Her tone was as quiet as a winding stream, with only the soft tinkling sound of water on stone. “Speaking of which, I must thank you for your mercy back then, for graciously facilitating that batch of medicinal tonics I requested.”

Nanny Liang’s entire body trembled like chaff being sifted, her heart repeating over and over the same phrase.

It’s finally come!

This pair of twin siblings had been cautious everywhere in the Yang household for years, especially Seventh Miss, who kept everything smooth as a wall, always the most trouble-free. Before the Grand Madam, there were only four words: “obedient and filial.”

Over ten years, bit by bit—from concubine-born daughter to legitimate daughter, from concubine-born son to legitimate son, Second Madam, Fourth Concubine… one after another disappearing into the passage of time. Only Seventh Miss and Ninth Brother had unknowingly grown wings so full and strong!

The Grand Master’s years were advancing. As long as Ninth Brother could pass this examination, he would eventually hand the family business over to his son. Or rather, the Grand Master had probably spent his whole life waiting for his daughter-in-law to come through the door and take over the inner household affairs…

Seventh Miss had married gloriously, holding the Grand Madam’s pair of grandsons in her grasp. Above her, Madam Xu looked after her; outside, her natal family fully supported her. In the palace, Sixth Miss had been close to Seventh Miss before her marriage. Outside the palace, there seemed to be noble patrons watching over her. At this moment, even if she wanted to pluck the moon from the sky, the Grand Madam would probably find a way to fetch it for her!

The day of reckoning and revenge had finally arrived!

She took a deep breath, struggling to force herself to calm down, but her voice still betrayed a tremor.

“Young Madam, let the past remain in the past!” She raised her head to look at Seventh Miss, saying earnestly: “Right now, Young Madam is enjoying success and glory. The Grand Madam… the Grand Madam already has one foot in the grave. Her sole focus is on Young Madam establishing a firm foothold in the Xu family…”

“But Ninth Concubine has been lying beneath the yellow earth for eleven years.” Seventh Miss’s voice was like a soft sigh. “Is my birth mother’s life necessarily three parts cheaper than my legitimate mother’s? Nanny Liang, that’s not how it works.”

Though she didn’t flush with anger, and even maintained a slight, pleasant smile on her face, Nanny Liang felt a chill slowly rising from the soles of her feet.

She couldn’t help but let out a long, weary sigh.

She thought of the more than twenty years serving by the Grand Madam’s side.

Though the Grand Madam had many faults, she had never shortchanged her or Nanny Wang.

“Young Madam, please consider the Grand Madam’s position,” she heard her own voice, low and hoarse. “The Grand Madam hasn’t had it easy either. Young Madam served by the Grand Madam’s side for many years… please also consider the Grand Madam’s bitterness. In over twenty years of marriage into the Yang family, she built up such a great estate… without bearing a single male heir. This vast estate will eventually go into Ninth Brother’s hands anyway! The Grand Madam truly, truly has unspeakable suffering!”

Seventh Miss followed Nanny Liang’s thread and gently sighed as well.

“Nanny Liang worries too much.”

Her tone was light and shallow, as if even her voice wore a mask. “I’ll be honest with Nanny Liang. In these ten years by the Grand Madam’s side, I know in my heart how she has treated me.”

She paused, not elaborating further. “But there are some matters that, as a child, I cannot ignore.”

Yet this pause, laden with disdain, made Nanny Liang hold her breath.

In the eleventh month, the capital was already freezing cold. The cold wind outside should have made the warmth inside feel even more comforting. But every sentence, every word Seventh Miss spoke made her tremble involuntarily, as if she were kneeling outside in single-layer clothing on the frozen-hard flagstones.

Eleven years, eleven years…

Seventh Miss had buried this matter in her heart for eleven years!

At such a young age, how could her scheming be so deep? How could she not reveal a single flaw in these eleven years?

With such a mind, how could she not understand exactly how the Grand Madam had treated her during these eleven years?

Any further explanation would be useless!

She glanced at Seventh Miss again.

Seventh Miss wore an ordinary lotus-colored jacket. Under the lamplight, she sat with her chin resting on her hand, her beautiful face bearing a slight smile, her manner peaceful, as if she were merely chatting casually with Nanny Liang—not revealing anything amiss at all.

Nanny Liang’s heart sank to the flagstones.

Even now, pressing step by step, interrogating her about past events, Seventh Miss remained so impeccable, so understated!

Had she not witnessed Seventh Miss’s methods? Over these years, she had watched Seventh Miss climb bit by bit to her current position! If she concealed anything at all, how would Seventh Miss deal with her—Nanny Liang dared not even imagine!

In that instant, Nanny Liang suddenly let out a bitter smile.

This was a true master—without a single impolite word, just casual conversation like this… and her defenses had already crumbled piece by piece.

She suddenly thought of the Grand Madam’s face.

Since entering the Qin family at age thirteen to serve her, over thirty years they had been close as sisters. The Grand Madam had scolded her, punished her, yet had also single-handedly raised her to her current position…

Should she speak or not?

The silence in the room suddenly became oppressive.

Seventh Miss was also studying Nanny Liang.

She frowned slightly.

That Nanny Liang would maintain silence wasn’t without reason.

Just as if someone pressed Lixia about her own secrets, her reaction would certainly be the same: Nanny Liang was the Grand Madam’s Lixia.

But precisely because of this, the information obtained from her would certainly be the most accurate and detailed.

She couldn’t help but sigh.

Living too long in deep courtyards and great estates, the boundaries between right and wrong, good and evil often became very blurred. She had always tried to be an upright person, limiting all her scheming to self-preservation.

In the past, this had perhaps been a simple principle. After all, she asked for little, only hoping to live peacefully with Ninth Brother. However, now that she had schemes and aspirations, her hands could no longer remain clean. Today might be her first time using threats, but it would definitely not be her last time using improper means to achieve her goals.

“Nanny Liang.” She slowly spoke. “You have a daughter-in-law too.”

Nanny Liang trembled again.

In an instant, this kindly-faced, well-dressed middle-aged woman’s face turned ashen.

“What does Young Madam wish to know?” Her tone no longer held any warmth, instead revealing indescribable resignation. “Whatever this old servant knows, I will tell without reservation.”

Seventh Miss then let out a long, cool breath.

“Nanny Liang might as well start from when Ninth Concubine began working at Qianxiu Workshop.” She paused, then added: “You should stand up to speak. Though the floor is warm, kneeling for too long is still uncomfortable.”

But Nanny Liang didn’t move. She stubbornly stared at Seventh Miss’s feet and calmly began her account.

“Ninth Concubine started working at Qianxiu Workshop over twenty years ago. At that time, she was about your age.”

“The Master had just been promoted to Provincial Administration Commissioner of Jiangsu. In previous years, to protect his official reputation, all expenses came from the Grand Madam’s dowry, which after so many years was nearly depleted. The Grand Madam thought of the two embroidery workshops that were part of her dowry. At that time, Qianxiu Workshop only had two branch shops in the capital, managed by family servants, earning only one or two thousand taels annually. The Grand Madam thought that Jiangnan, a land of fish and rice, was the most prosperous region with many embroiderers—this business had great potential.”

“So she sought out several excellent embroiderers locally. Ninth Concubine and Embroiderer Huang were the twin marvels of Su embroidery at the time. Embroiderer Feng’s family was more prosperous, and her ancestors had held official positions, so she had never worked in an embroidery workshop. The Grand Madam offered an annual salary of sixty taels and promised to help the eldest son of the Feng family gain admission to the provincial school. Only then did Embroiderer Feng agree to become a master artisan at Qianxiu Workshop, with the understanding that she would produce one embroidery piece per month and teach the embroiderers during her spare time. Embroiderer Huang was simpler—Northern Duotian Workshop and Southern Siqiao Garments, she had always worked at Siqiao Garments but didn’t get along with several of their master artisans. The Grand Madam also had the title of wife of the Jiangsu Provincial Administration Commissioner. The two sides quickly reached an agreement, and soon both embroiderers joined Qianxiu Workshop. After recruiting a batch of apprentices and ordinary embroiderers, within less than a year, Qianxiu Workshop made a name for itself in Jiangnan.”

“The esteem accorded to master artisan embroiderers is beyond what Seventh Miss can imagine. Especially since the household wasn’t well-off at the time—though the Master hadn’t asked the Grand Madam for money in years, his position wasn’t yet secure. Many benefits could be seen but not necessarily obtained. During those two years, Qianxiu Workshop’s profits were truly our family’s lifeline. The Grand Madam valued the two embroiderers highly. When she had leisure, she also gave them face by inviting them to the Yang residence to appreciate the towers and pavilions, so they would have models in mind when embroidering later.”

“Unexpectedly, after just a year and a half, when Qianxiu Workshop had barely established itself in Jiangnan, the Feng family sent someone to tell the Grand Madam that they wanted Ninth Concubine to return home to marry. They said the several hundred taels of silver the family originally had were all lost in failed business ventures, and now they could barely afford to eat. A wealthy family now wanted to take Ninth Concubine as a concubine, offering a generous betrothal gift. They asked the Grand Madam to show mercy and release Ninth Concubine to return home, willing to repay double the year and a half of artisan fees.”

“The Grand Madam was very angry when she heard this. Though Ninth Concubine hadn’t signed a death contract, as you know, the relationship between artisan and patron is based on honor. Embroiderer Feng was Qianxiu Workshop’s pillar at the time. If she abandoned her post, Qianxiu Workshop would certainly collapse. At that time, we advised against an outburst. When we investigated privately, that family was distantly related to the proprietor of Siqiao Garments… How could the Grand Madam swallow this insult?”

“The Grand Madam then asked for Embroiderer Feng’s birth date and about the betrothal gift from that family—it was only four hundred taels. She doubled it to eight hundred taels as a betrothal gift, gave the Feng family great face, found a matchmaker to propose, wrote concubine-taking documents, and brought Embroiderer Feng through the door as Ninth Concubine. The Feng family was initially somewhat unwilling. The Grand Madam learned they needed silver to send the eldest Feng son to the capital for the examinations, so she simply wrote to the Grand Uncle, asking his steward to look after him. The eldest Feng son immediately agreed, and thus Ninth Concubine was married in.”

“Only unexpectedly, on the day Ninth Concubine entered the household, she came in crying… cried until the Master was extremely vexed. He didn’t rest in the bridal chamber at all, going directly to Fourth Concubine’s room instead. This made Fourth Concubine quite smug. The Grand Madam already felt the Feng family had acted improperly, and this made her even angrier at Ninth Concubine. She sent someone to scold Ninth Concubine, saying she was ungrateful—becoming whose concubine wasn’t the same? Could our Master’s character and family status not be better than that other family? Moreover, our family had even issued concubine-taking documents—how was that not better than being sold as a concubine? She told Ninth Concubine to work properly at Qianxiu Workshop and stop crying all day. If she wanted to blame someone, blame the eldest Feng son for being heartless.”

“At that time, the Grand Madam sent Nanny Wang and me to reprimand Ninth Concubine. When Ninth Concubine heard this, she cried. Embroiderer Huang was better—she kept comforting Ninth Concubine, saying ‘this is your fate.’ Later, Ninth Concubine washed her face and worked properly at Qianxiu Workshop for half a year. She also helped the Grand Madam manage Qianxiu Workshop, expanding it to five branch shops in Jiangnan. The Grand Madam was very pleased and increasingly favored and trusted Ninth Concubine. At that time, Fourth Concubine was quite proud at home. So the Grand Madam elevated Ninth Concubine, wanting to suppress Fourth Concubine somewhat.”

“Unexpectedly, Ninth Concubine proved capable. Though the Master didn’t like her at all initially, after just one night, Ninth Concubine became pregnant. At that time, the Master was also worried about heirs. Especially since the second branch already had three sons while our household still had no boys at all. Expectations for Ninth Concubine’s pregnancy were quite high.”

“This gave Ninth Concubine standing in the household. Not only did she completely suppress Fourth Concubine, even the Grand Madam somewhat… couldn’t contain her arrogance. She had skills in her hands, all the embroiderers at Qianxiu Workshop obeyed her management, and of the more than ten thousand taels Qianxiu Workshop earned for the family annually, seven or eight parts were Ninth Concubine’s achievement. Of course the Master valued her. Over time, the Grand Madam felt that Ninth Concubine… was a very difficult person to manage.”

Nanny Liang’s voice faded, as if casually recounting an event from many years ago.

“At that time, Fourth Concubine was cordial to Ninth Concubine, the Master was cordial to Ninth Concubine—Ninth Concubine was quite smug for several months. The Grand Madam was uncomfortable, but Ninth Concubine managed things well, and Qianxiu Workshop’s silver was visible. Moreover, at that time, the raised embroidery technique earned so much silver annually that we couldn’t count it all. The northerners bid up the price of one of Ninth Concubine’s handkerchiefs to astronomical heights. This skill was her exclusive secret technique. To eliminate Ninth Concubine, the Grand Madam couldn’t bear to part with that silver.”

“By then, Embroiderer Huang had reached marriageable age. She had signed a three-year contract with the Grand Madam and was about to return home. Both Ninth Concubine and the Grand Madam were worried—what would Qianxiu Workshop do without Embroiderer Huang? At that time, though the family had money, the Grand Madam’s dowry was nearly depleted—and the Grand Madam feared that once Ninth Concubine had her own child, she would stop managing Qianxiu Workshop’s affairs. So she discussed with Ninth Concubine about hiring Embroiderer Huang to keep her company.”

“When Embroiderer Huang heard about this, she was very angry. The next day, she taught several embroiderers the raised embroidery technique… Seventh Miss, you’re a clever person. Ninth Concubine had offended the Grand Madam and lost the foundation of her position, and then gave birth to a son… On the day Ninth Brother was born, the Master immediately carried him to the Grand Madam’s room for her to raise. Ninth Concubine was very reluctant. The Grand Madam feared she would cause more trouble, so she wanted a dose of medicine… It was when Embroiderer Huang came to pay respects that she mentioned the raised embroidery technique—she had only learned the superficial aspects; the true essence was still in Ninth Concubine’s hands…”

“The Grand Madam, considering the money, couldn’t bear to act, yet was unwilling to let it go. So she ordered me to administer half a dose of medicine and send Ninth Concubine to the northwest. After a year or so, once Ninth Brother recognized the Grand Madam as his mother, she would be brought back. She originally intended to keep you, Seventh Miss, and send you to Seventh Concubine to raise. But Ninth Concubine, just out of her confinement period, went to plead with the Master, asking him to let her take you to the northwest…”

Nanny Liang slowly closed her mouth, cautiously looking toward Seventh Miss.

Seventh Miss’s lips were pressed tightly together, her expression wooden. Under the lamplight, she looked like a jade statue.