Mo Zi returned to the nunnery, learned a few cat calls to summon Xiao Yi, then climbed back over the wall using the same method she’d come out.

At this time the sun was nearly setting, steaming the clouds into a rosy red with golden edges.

Entering the courtyard and walking into Qiu Sanniang’s room, seeing both Bai He and Lu Ju were there, she thought this was perfect.

“Mo Zi, why were you gone all day? The young lady asked about you several times.” Bai He’s expression was worried.

Was Qiu Sanniang afraid she’d run away? Mo Zi smiled. “I went to Wangqiu Tower for a while. There were some problems with the accounts, so I helped Cen Er take a look.”

“What problems?” Qiu Sanniang came out from the inner room. Compared to news from the capital, she cared more about her own business.

“There was a discrepancy of three thousand taels of silver. I looked at it—the newly hired accountant lacked experience and recorded the manor the young lady bought under expenditures but didn’t record the obtained deed.” After Mo Zi finished speaking, she added another sentence. “Cen Er just returned from the capital. He couldn’t figure it out for a while.”

“So you’re speaking well of him?” Seeing Mo Zi’s empty hands, Qiu Sanniang knew she hadn’t brought the account books. “You went but didn’t bring the account books back for me to look at?” The young lady had few hobbies—looking at account books was one of her favorites.

“Young lady, I was afraid you couldn’t spare the time.” Mo Zi’s meaning was that the lifelong major matter should be resolved first.

“Time is always made available.” But Qiu Sanniang was difficult to serve.

“Then should I go get them for you now?” After Mo Zi said this, she received Qiu Sanniang’s eye roll.

“Enough. Tell me what you found out today, then I’ll decide whether you need to go back and get them.” Qiu Sanniang’s words were half-true and half-false, not allowing people to let down their guard.

Bai He and the others watched the two go back and forth in conversation. Having gone through that harsh three-hundred-tael incident, naturally this now felt painless and harmless.

Mo Zi relayed Madam Gao’s words in great detail, finally mentioning Wangqiu Tower. “Cen Er went to the capital years ago, so I wanted to ask if he’d heard these rumors about Prince Jing’s mansion.”

“It can’t be true, can it?” Lu Ju’s eyes blinked in alarm.

“Though what Cen Er said differed somewhat from Madam Gao, it’s absolutely true that Prince Jing’s mansion’s Third Young Master has married and divorced wives twice. The difference is that according to Madam Gao, the Third Young Master had bad luck and married women with ulterior motives. But Cen Er heard it was because the Third Young Master excessively doted on his concubine and the pair of children she bore, which the legitimate wives truly couldn’t endure.” Mo Zi related both versions.

After hearing this, Bai He was as agitated as Lu Ju. “Young lady, we cannot choose this person. Regardless of which account, it’s true he divorced twice, and it’s true he dotes on his concubine and illegitimate son and daughter. If the young lady marries into that household, there’s no guarantee—” She couldn’t continue speaking.

“No guarantee he won’t divorce me too.” Two clusters of fire burned in Qiu Sanniang’s eyes. “So that’s it. The son of Prince Jing’s mansion’s princess consort—what kind of noble ladies couldn’t he have? Yet he came all the way to Luo Zhou to arrange a marriage for him. Turns out his reputation stinks. Bullying us for not knowing, wanting to choose some fool who knows nothing and will go over to preserve the prince’s mansion’s face.”

“Young lady, you cannot marry such a person.” Lu Ju supported Bai He. Just hearing about it, he didn’t seem like a good man. What did high status and good family matter? “When men divorce wives they can remarry better ones, but when women are divorced they can only bear the stigma.”

“Mo Zi, why aren’t you objecting?” The twin fires in Qiu Sanniang’s eyes suddenly extinguished when she saw Mo Zi’s calm expression.

“The young lady’s marriage is a major matter that should be decided by the young lady herself. I shouldn’t speak out of turn.” Mo Zi thought, she would only gather information. How to ultimately decide was Qiu Sanniang’s business.

“What if I insist on hearing your thoughts?” But Qiu Sanniang refused to let Mo Zi evade.

Mo Zi looked at Qiu Sanniang and said slowly, “I can speak, but please don’t take my thoughts too much to heart, because in the end you still must consider it clearly yourself.”

“Speak.” The more Mo Zi was like this, the more Qiu Sanniang wanted to hear.

“There are advantages and disadvantages.”

With Mo Zi’s four words, Qiu Sanniang calmed down. Her fiery temper had previously been indulged and spoiled by her father. Others, looking at her father’s face, showed her much forbearance. Now that her father could no longer support her, she needed rational people like Mo Zi to prevent her from acting impulsively.

“Doting on concubines and divorcing wives—having asked two people, there are already two versions. Even if the real reason isn’t either of the above, it probably won’t deviate too far. Marrying in, you’ll inevitably conflict with the concubine, and the husband won’t stand on the wife’s side. Behind closed doors, aside from us few maids, you probably won’t find anyone to help you or anyone trustworthy. You must know, ordinary servants are most adept at going whichever way the wind blows. Whichever side the male master favors between wife and concubine, they’ll naturally gravitate toward the favored one. Young lady, your days after marrying in will mostly be troubled. Moreover, that concubine already has a son and daughter. Though illegitimate, being the eldest son, he’ll be valued to some degree. According to Madam Gao, the princess consort extremely dotes on these two children. The children’s degree of importance will inevitably affect their birth mother’s status.” Mo Zi finished stating the disadvantages.

Taking a breath, she then spoke of the advantages. “Young lady, from the small Qiu Mansion to the larger prince’s mansion, it’s all just one struggle. In the Qiu Mansion you struggled with Madam. In the prince’s mansion, there might be a few more people to struggle with. If you look at the long term, whoever wants it can go stir up trouble among a pile of women. The young lady has no time for such pointless fussing. If the husband doesn’t care, the concubine will be delighted you’re neglected. Who knows, it might be just like the young lady in the Qiu Mansion—they’ll give us a remote small courtyard to live our own lives. For the young lady, wouldn’t that be a good thing? You can personally oversee Wangqiu Tower in the capital, and all those businesses the young lady previously wanted to do can be started one by one. You could say you’d be like a fish in water. That’s not your natal family, it’s your husband’s family. Even if people know about the young lady’s enterprises, we can say it’s dowry. The husband’s family can’t take it, and the natal family having given it out can’t take it back. Openly and legitimately it’s the young lady’s own. Divorce? It would be best if he divorces you. Once divorced, the young lady would be like fish leaping in the vast sea, birds flying in the high sky. A married woman conducting business is more convenient than an unmarried young lady, and her movements have better justification. Besides, that Third Young Master dotes on his concubine so much he’s already divorced two legitimate wives for her, yet the elders still insist on marrying him a third legitimate wife. This shows that concubine doesn’t please the elders. If the young lady can gain the elders’ trust, victory or defeat becomes even harder to predict. In short, whether divorced or not, the road before the young lady is very wide. Because, young lady, you yourself often say relying on men is inferior to relying on yourself, and you’ve also said if you don’t get someone wholehearted, you won’t invest a lifetime of feeling. Mo Zi also believes that with the young lady’s intelligence and talent, why be bound by one man’s neglect and mistreatment? Young lady, do you want to be like those thousand-gold young ladies who never step outside their chambers, whose sole thought is finding someone to entrust their lives to, spending this lifetime trapped in the overt and covert struggles of backyard women, just to compete for a husband’s heart? Moreover, young lady, weren’t you also planning to make a fuss about leaving the mansion to live separately? Once married out, and to a household like Prince Jing’s mansion…”

Mo Zi knew Qiu Sanniang had always only regretted not being born male. After entering marriageable age and being confined at home by Zhang Shi, though Xiao Yi could often help her sneak out, it ultimately wasn’t a long-term solution.

Many words didn’t need to be spoken aloud. Mo Zi believed Qiu Sanniang understood in her heart.

Qiu Sanniang remained silent.

Bai He and Lu Ju, who had originally so strongly objected, also remained silent.

Xiao Yi and Mo Zi, one in front and one behind, like two shadows most aware of warmth and cold, stood ramrod straight.