As soon as Seventh Miss returned to the Xu household, she went directly to Qingping Garden to tell Madam Xu the news that the Emperor intended to bring down Grand Secretary Jiao.

Madam Xu listened carelessly. When Seventh Miss finished, she simply said directly, “From now on, tell the Heir Apparent about such matters. If it’s something major, send word to Menghua Pavilion and tell your father-in-law… I’ll just focus on recuperating and holding a few more grandchildren. I don’t want to bother with outside affairs anymore.”

When it came to relinquishing authority, Madam Xu truly did so with ease.

Seventh Miss was somewhat speechless and could only mumble her acknowledgment. “I suppose Shengluan has returned. Then Little Qi will have him relay the message to Father-in-law.”

She then requested permission from Madam Xu. “Speaking of which, it’s been some time since I visited my natal family…”

Seventh Miss’s last visit to her natal family had actually been at the end of the third month—barely a month ago.

A new bride’s first year of marriage didn’t permit frequent visits to her natal family. Even Second Miss, despite being a marquis’s wife wielding great power in her manor, only visited her natal family once every two or three months.

Yet Madam Xu agreed without hesitation. “Since you learned this news from the Imperial Consort, you should naturally make a visit home.”

She pondered for a moment, then offered Seventh Miss guidance.

“For this kind of matter, since even the Imperial Consort already knows, it probably can’t be concealed much longer. You needn’t immediately tell the Duke. Our family doesn’t have much contact with the Jiao family anyway—this time we’re just watching the fire from across the river. However, you should still discuss with the Heir Apparent and judge the timing yourself to give all your brothers and sisters-in-law a heads-up—after all, we’re one family. No matter how fiercely we compete internally, externally we must still look after each other. Take your eldest sister-in-law, for instance—the Han family has produced one or two students of Grand Secretary Jiao!”

Seventh Miss nodded knowingly.

As the first information source, she would naturally share this matter with both her marital and natal families at the first opportunity. In modern times with information explosion, news had become cheap, but in Great Qin, many times an accurate piece of news was even more precious than gold, silver, and jewels.

Having information meant having favors to trade, and how to trade those favors required careful consideration.

Madam Xu’s words reminded Seventh Miss that she could use this news to win over First Young Madam.

Seventh Miss walked back to Mingde Hall deep in thought, carefully considering First Young Madam as a person.

As the eldest daughter-in-law from a concubine, whether the family divided assets or not, she would naturally receive her due share of property. First Young Master was also capable. As long as she showed Seventh Miss slight goodwill, preventing the two sides from becoming hostile, she could maintain a stable life. Such a person without desires or demands was actually the hardest to deal with.

Of course, if she hadn’t been implicated in Fifth Miss’s death, Seventh Miss wouldn’t need to “deal with” her at all—both sides living peacefully would have been fine. But since Lady Min’s maternal family excelled in medicine, Seventh Miss couldn’t help but consider more carefully and think about First Young Madam’s weaknesses.

With matters on her mind, her steps slowed. By the time she entered Mingde Hall’s courtyard, the sky had already darkened. Inside Mingde Hall, lamps had already been lit.

Just entering the main hall, she heard childish laughter from the corridor, along with Fifth Son’s shrill cry, “Give me, give me!”

Immediately after, Fourth Son came running out of the corridor at a trot, followed in hot pursuit by Fifth Son, Guyu, and Chunfen.

Seeing Seventh Miss, Fourth Son changed direction and threw himself at Seventh Miss’s legs, hugging her knees and giggling.

These two children had no other playmates from birth and grew up together, so they loved teasing each other. Fighting over things was a daily occurrence. Now over two years old and steady on their feet, they had begun running wildly all over Mingde Hall.

Seventh Miss bent down to stop the pursuing Fifth Son, smiling as she admonished, “Outside the room, the ground is hard. If you fall, it will hurt. Don’t run around outside anymore, all right?”

She felt something bumping against the back of her knee, so she reached behind to feel for it. Unexpectedly, Fourth Son instead pressed the object into Seventh Miss’s palm. He released Seventh Miss, turned to face Fifth Son, spread his arms wide, and said while laughing.

“All gone!”

Fifth Son still didn’t believe it. He circled around Fourth Son in confusion, saying as he turned, “Where is it? Brother is lying, where is it!” By the end, he looked ready to cry.

Seventh Miss didn’t dare take out the small toy the two were fighting over—she squeezed it and found it was just a building block—lest it spark another contest. She could only exchange glances with Chunfen and Guyu. The two maids bent down and each picked up one young master, saying with grins, “Time to eat! Want some pine nut candy?”

Though Fifth Son’s eyes held tears, hearing about pine nut candy, he cheered up again. Fourth Son, seeing him walking ahead, turned back to reach toward Seventh Miss. Seventh Miss also spread her hands to him and smiled. “All gone!”

Fourth Son was somewhat more mature. He didn’t cry, just blinked his large eyes, studying Seventh Miss as if disbelieving. After thinking, he turned his head away and leaned against Guyu’s shoulder, seemingly unconcerned about where the block had actually gone.

This child was truly much cleverer than Fifth Son.

Seventh Miss thought for a moment, then smiled and followed behind the two children, instead waving off Shangyuan who had come out to greet her.

Just turning into the corridor, she froze.

Xu Fengjia was leaning in the shadows at the turn, arms crossed, grinning as he watched Seventh Miss. Though he stood right at the corridor’s bend, because of the candlelight shadows, Seventh Miss and the two children had played for quite a while without noticing him.

“Why so late coming back? I’ve been waiting for you forever.”

Seeing Seventh Miss enter, he straightened and walked alongside her into the nursery.

“I arrived early, but I first went to Qingping Garden to say a few words to Mother.” Seventh Miss looked at Xu Fengjia curiously. “How long were you standing there? I didn’t see you at all.”

“Such poor eyesight.” Xu Fengjia tsked as he criticized her. “I came out when I heard you entering. Otherwise, how do you think these two little monkeys got out of the room?”

Not expecting that Xu Fengjia would actually be in the nursery playing with the two sons, Seventh Miss couldn’t help but laugh. “Rare, rare! The general is in such fine spirits today, serving as an ox for children.”

Seeing Fourth Son and Fifth Son had already entered the washroom to wash their hands, she slipped the building block from her sleeve and placed it in the pile of blocks in the corner of the nursery. She turned to beckon Xu Fengjia. “I returned late today. Hurry and eat. You eat first—I’ll come after changing clothes.”

Young Master Xu had a large appetite and could often eat three or four bowls of rice in one sitting. He’d get terribly hungry if he was even slightly late. They’d already missed mealtime for a while now. Seventh Miss felt somewhat regretful, blaming herself for walking too slowly on the road.

Xu Fengjia grumbled a few times and accompanied her into the west wing. Maids naturally came forward to remove her ornaments and change her clothes, undoing her elaborate coiffure and rebraiding it into a simple cloud bun. After hastily washing up, she entered the western side room. But Xu Fengjia hadn’t touched his chopsticks yet—he was just propping his face, looking utterly bored as he waited for her at the table.

Seventh Miss realized for the first time that having someone wait for you to eat was a very happy thing. This feeling could even strike sharply at her heart, making her breathing momentarily difficult.

She took a deep breath before waving at Zhongyuan with a smile. “Go on. There’s no need to serve here anymore.”

The maids all understood Xu Fengjia’s habits. After arranging the bowls and dishes, they silently withdrew from the room.

Seventh Miss didn’t sit down either. She stood waiting for the two maids to close the door, bit her lip, then walked to Xu Fengjia’s side and tapped his shoulder.

Xu Fengjia looked up in surprise.

Seventh Miss leaned down and placed a kiss on his lips before quickly turning and hurrying back to her seat.

“Let’s eat.” She tried to keep a straight face but couldn’t hide the rampant blush flooding her cheeks.

Xu Fengjia didn’t respond for a long time. The young general’s face rarely showed bewilderment. He raised his hand to press his lips, hesitated for a moment, then asked.

“Why, why so suddenly…”

“Is it not allowed?” Seventh Miss frowned. “If it’s not allowed, then in the future I’ll…”

“I didn’t say it wasn’t allowed!” Xu Fengjia hastily interrupted her. He finally recovered his usual demeanor and gave Seventh Miss an eye roll. “Just about to eat, and you’re provoking me again—forget eating, forget it!”

Seventh Miss hastily protected her bowl, glaring fiercely at Xu Fengjia. “No! I haven’t bathed yet… After eating, I still have things to tell you!”

Even as she spoke, she couldn’t help laughing at him. “One kiss gets you worked up? No self-control!”

After the two traded barbs back and forth several times, Xu Fengjia finally managed to settle down and sat across from Seventh Miss to finish dinner and discuss returning to her natal family.

“The Command Office has matters these days,” he said with some regret. “I won’t accompany you. Tomorrow morning, tell Grandmother and have Seventh Brother escort you to the Yang family.”

Seventh Miss shook her head and smiled. “It’s just a few steps away. You know Shanjiu didn’t pass this examination and is now studying hard. If Seventh Brother goes over, should Shanjiu receive him or not? If he falls behind in his studies, he’ll be scolded again.”

At Ninth Brother’s age of nineteen, not passing the jinshi examination was perfectly ordinary. That he could be a young juren was already quite remarkable. So everyone around him wasn’t disappointed, only encouraging him to try again in the next examination. But he himself considered it a great humiliation and was now studying even more diligently than in previous years.

Hearing this made sense, Xu Fengjia nodded, then sighed. “When Grand Secretary Jiao falls, the court will be in turmoil again—though I imagine Fourth Brother-in-law will be most pleased.”

When a great minister like Grand Secretary Jiao fell, at least half of Great Qin’s bureaucrats would shift positions. The whole affair wouldn’t settle for at least half a year. Whether First Master could seize the opportunity to rise and gain power was another matter.

Seventh Miss counted on her fingers. “When Grand Secretary Jiao goes, by seniority, Grand Secretary Wang should become Chief Grand Secretary. However, Grand Secretary Wang’s health isn’t good. Last time when I went drinking with Fifth Sister-in-law, I heard people say he probably won’t make it through this year… Even now he’s just recuperating at home. There’s also Grand Secretary Miao ahead of Father. I think only Grand Secretary Miao will compete with Father.”

The two talked a bit more. Xu Fengjia told Seventh Miss much about court affairs before they each washed up and went to bed to talk. However, they naturally did some other things first, then separated breathlessly to wipe themselves down before speaking privately.

Seventh Miss breathed slightly heavily as she fastened the jade buttons on her gauze robe, complaining, “We’re this far north, yet somehow summer is just as hot as in Suzhou. The room doesn’t ventilate well either—it’s really uncomfortable.”

“Then add more ice mountains.” Xu Fengjia said carelessly. “Open the windows wider, replace them as soon as they melt… Why did you kiss me just now?”

He still couldn’t forget this matter after all.

Seventh Miss couldn’t help but laugh, asking lightly in return, “Why are you so concerned about it?”

Xu Fengjia lowered his eyes, gazing at her intently. After a long while, he smiled. “Don’t you remember yourself? This… was the first time you took the initiative to kiss me.”

His voice was hoarse and low, the heat carrying sweetness like scalding honey flowing over Seventh Miss’s skin. The marks it burned were also sweet.

Seventh Miss froze.

A crimson tide swept over her. She felt her skin would be scorched by this sudden temperature.

“I… why would I remember such boring things?” She uncomfortably turned her head away, not daring to meet Xu Fengjia’s gaze. After mumbling for a while, she said brusquely, “Let’s sleep. It’s late, and I have to go out tomorrow. I’m really tired.”

Xu Fengjia breathed into her ear, saying softly, “Tell me why, will you?”

At the end of his words, his tone slightly rose, carrying both pleading and a hint of amusement.

Seventh Miss couldn’t help but turn to look at him.

This man was truly too delectable!

Having just finished their intimate activity, he was still half-naked, wearing only silk pants. His robust upper body had distinct lines, with a faint sheen of sweat still covering his honey-colored skin. Through the hazy bed curtains, moonlight spilled in, adding a thin halo of light to his face… He was beautiful—his body was beautiful, his face was beautiful, his spirit was also beautiful. His focus and persistence, along with that relentless pursuit, made his spirit like brilliant flames, beautiful enough to be dazzling.

How could such a man be… infatuated with her? It was truly an unsolved mystery. Seventh Miss thought with slight vanity.

She licked her lips and propped herself up, also leaning close to Xu Fengjia’s ear.

“Because you waited to eat with me.” She placed another kiss on Xu Fengjia’s ear. “So… I wanted to kiss you.”

Xu Fengjia moaned low in his throat. He suddenly grabbed Seventh Miss’s hand, coaxing and compelling her onto himself.

“Only wanted to kiss my ear?” His breathing, which had already steadied, became disordered again. “Not going to kiss anywhere else?”

To maintain balance, Seventh Miss could only spread her legs and straddle Xu Fengjia’s waist and abdomen.

Her face flushed… because of a certain place that had become aroused again.

“Kiss there? Don’t even think about it…” The words had already left her mouth when she barely managed to bite her tongue: Xu Fengjia hadn’t meant that—he probably just wanted you to kiss his lips.

Young Master Xu had always been quite quick about such matters. He suddenly tensed. A moment later, the organ that had only been slightly excited was already pressing against the hollow of Seventh Miss’s thighs, dampening the thin silk pants.

“Didn’t expect you to look so proper, yet think such thoughts in your heart—”

Before he could finish speaking, he was silenced by an embarrassed and furious Seventh Miss.

Inside the red silk curtains arose waves of low laughter from throats and annoyed complaints.

The next morning when Seventh Miss got out of bed, her movements were quite stiff. She staggered a few steps before barely managing to straighten her back.

Lixia and Zhongyuan, who came in to tidy the bed and help her dress, both had faces full of crimson blush. Only Young Master Xu was in excellent spirits. After returning from his martial practice, he even reminded Seventh Miss a few times, “If you’re really tired, go to your natal family tomorrow instead. I happen to have the day off tomorrow and can spare time to accompany you!”

Seventh Miss gave him three or four eye rolls before saying huffily, “This matter is quite urgent. I’d better go today… Besides, who wants you to accompany me!”

Xu Fengjia immediately laughed heartily.

He mischievously said in Seventh Miss’s ear, “You can return a bit later tonight. I’ll wait to eat with you.”

He then pinched Seventh Miss’s sore waist before smiling and entering the washroom to wash up.

Lixia and Zhongyuan carefully observed Seventh Miss’s face, flushed red and white in turns, then exchanged several glances, both pressing their lips together in silent laughter.