Instigated?

Yan Sanhe glanced at the old steward but didn’t answer “yes” or “no.” Instead, she continued speaking on her own.

“Concubine Fu was the Old Madam’s younger cousin. The two had a very good relationship when they were maidens.

Because of her health, no one dared marry Concubine Fu. Her natal family gradually couldn’t afford her medicine expenses. Her brothers and sisters-in-law gave her cold looks, and her days became harder day by day.

Out of sisterly affection, the Old Madam brought her into the residence to recuperate. This was the most fundamental reason Concubine Fu entered the Zhu household.”

Yan Sanhe raised her head: “Old Steward, am I correct?”

The old steward nodded: “Miss is speaking all facts, without any exaggeration.”

“So, Concubine Fu didn’t start out called Concubine Fu—she should have been called Miss Fu.

She was just a poor relative living in the Zhu residence, and moreover, a poor relative who consumed considerable silver in medicine every month.”

Yan Sanhe: “Young Master Pei, if you were Concubine Fu, what would you do?”

Pei Xiao was startled: “I’d be grateful!”

Yan Sanhe: “Besides that?”

Pei Xiao scratched his head: “My words and actions would become cautious and careful.”

Yan Sanhe: “Cautious and careful toward whom?”

Pei Xiao thought for a moment: “Toward everyone, of course. I’m living under someone else’s roof!”

Yan Sanhe walked before the old steward. “Are Young Master Pei’s words correct?”

Not wrong.

After Miss Fu entered the Zhu household, she refused to take an extra step or say an extra word. Her face always wore a smile, gentle and mild toward everyone.

Not a trace of temper.

The Old Madam told her to go east, she wouldn’t go west.

The Old Madam told her to stand, she wouldn’t sit.

In the first three days after entering the Zhu residence, a servant wanted to test this young lady’s depth and deliberately neglected her.

She endured it forcibly without uttering a word.

Later the Old Madam discovered it and made an example by punishing that servant.

Thinking of this, the old steward sighed deeply. “Miss Yan, Young Master Pei spoke correctly.”

Yan Sanhe: “What did Concubine Fu look like, Old Steward?”

“Rarely seen good looks, especially her skin—so white it dazzled the eyes. But she had a sickly air about her, thin and frail, looking different from ordinary young ladies.”

“You’re wrong. A physically delicate young lady is more pitiable than any ordinary young lady.”

Yan Sanhe: “That’s why your Old Master became determined to take her as a concubine.”

The Old Master taking a concubine—the old steward still remembered this vividly.

That night, the Old Master summoned him to the study, saying he wanted to give Miss Fu a proper status and wanted to hear his suggestions.

What suggestions could a servant have?

As a fellow man, he’d long known the Old Master treated Miss Fu very differently, his eyes often drifting to her.

He’d long had his eye on her.

He just hadn’t made it explicit to the Old Madam due to Miss Fu’s status.

“Miss Fu originally didn’t want to be a concubine. Later, at the Old Madam’s urging, she could only steel herself and agree. Why did she agree?”

Yan Sanhe suddenly smiled.

“Because if she didn’t agree, she couldn’t remain in the Zhu residence. Leaving the Zhu residence, where else could she go? Who would bear her enormous medicine expenses?”

Young Master Pei clapped his hands: “I understand now. Concubine Fu becoming the Old Master’s concubine wasn’t willingly—she had no choice.”

“Hmph!”

Li Buyan ground her teeth: “This world never leaves women a way to live.”

Ding Yi glanced at Li Buyan’s imposing manner: “If she didn’t become a concubine, the Zhu family couldn’t support her for life. That wouldn’t make sense.”

Huang Qi’s lips moved, about to speak, but seeing Li Buyan glare at him, he quickly shut his mouth again.

Yan Sanhe looked at the arguing group, her gaze calm:

“Everyone speaks correctly. This was Concubine Fu’s only and best choice, though her heart was unwilling, her feelings reluctant.

Then why don’t you all consider—after Miss Fu became Concubine Fu, what was her situation?”

Xie Zhifei, seeing no one speak, said in a low voice: “Her situation was very delicate.”

“Exactly, very delicate.”

Yan Sanhe met Xie Zhifei’s gaze.

“The Old Master clearly loved her. But what about the Old Madam? Could the Old Madam truly be so magnanimous as to not care about anything?”

“How is that possible?”

Li Buyan snorted: “Magnanimity is all an act, performed for men to see. Her heart must be sour.”

“So after Miss Fu became Concubine Fu, her words and actions had to be even more cautious and careful.”

Yan Sanhe’s gaze lifted toward the old steward: “Correct?”

The old steward sighed heavily: “Correct, Miss Yan.”

He remembered very clearly—the Old Master often complained that Concubine Fu was too cautious. After sleeping in her room a few times, she would push him away, frequently urging him to go to the Old Madam’s side.

“These cousin sisters serving one husband together—no jealousy, no quarrels, no dirty dealings, all harmonious.”

Yan Sanhe: “Who made the concessions, Old Steward?”

Old steward: “Concubine Fu.”

Yan Sanhe: “Who made the compromises?”

Old steward: “Concubine Fu.”

“When I first investigated this heart demon, there was one point I particularly couldn’t understand—why would the Old Madam tolerate Concubine Fu giving birth to a concubine-born son?”

Yan Sanhe turned to look at the exquisitely carved wooden door.

“The Zhu family rules were clear. No matter how deep the sisterly affection, it shouldn’t have been deeper than her son’s future. Yet she tolerated it.”

Young Master Pei interjected: “This can only prove one thing—Concubine Fu was so obedient, so sensible, so yielding, so compromising that she made the Old Madam feel sorry for her.”

Yan Sanhe: “Correct, Old Steward?”

At this point, Zhu Jing finally completely understood why Yan Sanhe insisted he also come in to listen—because only he knew these past events.

“More than the Old Madam feeling sorry—the Old Master also felt sorry.”

The old steward: “Everyone in the residence, high and low, liked her.”

“Making one person like you is simple. Making everyone like you is too difficult.”

Yan Sanhe: “This shows that Concubine Fu’s key to surviving in the Zhu household was one word: endure. Not conflicting with anyone, wearing a smile for everyone, uncontentious with the world.”

Old steward: “That’s right. Concubine Fu was exactly that kind of person.”

“Precisely because she was that kind of person, the Old Madam permitted her to become pregnant and bear children. Thus Zhu Xuanjiu was born crying into the world.”

Yan Sanhe turned around: “This child, given Concubine Fu’s physical condition, shouldn’t have been born. If not born, she could have lived a few more years. Young Master Pei, why did she give birth?”

Aiya!

You can’t just keep fleecing one sheep!

Young Master Pei steeled himself: “Bearing a son or daughter, she could truly have roots in this household.”

Yan Sanhe’s gaze fell on the Zhu siblings: “This shows that though Concubine Fu didn’t fight or compete, secretly she still made plans for herself.”

The Zhu siblings didn’t object to these words.

Because this was human nature.

A concubine with offspring and a concubine without offspring—their final fates were completely different.

Because she bore a son, Concubine Fu ultimately entered the Zhu family ancestral grave and received worship from descendants.

But the Old Master’s other concubines without offspring couldn’t even enter the ancestral grave—they could only find a spot beside the grave to be buried casually.

This was just treatment after death. What about while alive?

Worlds apart!