As soon as Lin Zhaoxiang left, the room suddenly fell silent. Old Madam Lin’s face turned pale, showing signs of exhaustion. She let out a long sigh and leaned back on her pillow. Madam Qin, fearing something might go wrong, hurried forward to attend to her. Madam Wang had already led the female relatives out to rest in the side room. When Madam Qin returned moments later, Madam Wang immediately went up to her and asked in a low voice, “How is she?”

Madam Qin pulled her to a secluded spot before saying, “The Old Madam turned pale with fright and kept sighing, not knowing what to do. I’m worried something might happen to her, which would spoil the birthday celebration. I said some comforting words, and right now Xue Zhan and Liu Bei are by her side attending to her. I’m going to send someone to find Shou Chuan, please keep watch here.”

Madam Wang readily agreed, and after discussing further details, Madam Qin departed.

In the side room, after everyone was seated, they began discussing in low voices among themselves. Xue Ning came in to serve tea. Lin Dongxiu, sitting on the edge of the kang bed, held her teacup and blew on it, saying with a half-smile, “Did you hear? Shou Chuan was lost in the inner room of the flower hall. I haven’t even touched the doorframe of that room, but everyone who went in today knows exactly what happened, right?”

The room fell silent at these words. Lin Dongxiu was no longer her former self; her commanding presence had grown even more impressive than Lin Dongwei, Li Miaozhi, and others.

While others remained quiet, Lin Dongwan’s face immediately darkened. “Fourth Sister, what are you implying? Are you suggesting we’re thieves?” She had always disliked Lin Dongxiu. Though both were married daughters, Lin Dongwei was born to a legal wife and married well, which was acceptable. But who was Lin Dongxiu to act so grand? She used to be nothing but a little wretch following others around, but now that she had married the Marquis of Yongchang, she had transformed and was putting on airs. Today she dared to speak to her with such sarcasm and even show attitude!

Lin Dongxiu, suppressing her anger while maintaining a false smile, replied, “Since I didn’t see it with my own eyes, I dare not accuse anyone of being a thief. But I do know who’s the type to take advantage of their own family for small gains. Eldest Sister, do you know who that might be?”

Lin Dongwei was startled and quickly pulled at Lin Dongxiu’s sleeve, saying, “You must be drunk! What are you saying!”

Lin Dongwan, already feeling guilty, had her sore spot touched by these words. Her face reddened as she sprang up, took two steps forward, and pointed while shouting, “You’d better make yourself clear today. If you’re accusing me of theft, I’m standing right here – search my clothes! If I stole that bracelet, I’ll willingly kneel and kowtow to you!”

Li Miaozhi and Lin Dongwei hurried to mediate: “Enough, enough, this is such a joyous occasion, we’re all sisters here, why create a scene? Calm down.” “Fourth Sister always speaks without thinking, why take offense at her words?”

Lin Dongwan had intended to deflect attention by challenging them to search her, but Lin Dongxiu wouldn’t let it go. She burst out laughing, “Eldest Sister has quite the skill! I never said you were a thief. I was talking about those who love to take advantage of family members… though who knows, maybe someone would even steal from the Old Madam.”

This remark made Lin Dongwan lose face again. She stepped forward, pointing and saying, “You keep talking about taking advantage and calculating against family members – you have someone in mind! Why don’t you just say it outright today instead of letting it fester? I had too much to drink and was lying down in the inner room, but I was asleep the whole time. Second Sister, Sister-in-law, and Miss Xi were all there to witness!”

Su Meiru sat smiling on an embroidered stool, cracking melon seeds; Jiang Xiuyun remained silent in the corner. Li Miaozhi hurriedly tried to calm Lin Dongwan, while Lin Dongwei anxiously mediated, going between both parties, whispering to Lin Dongxiu, “My dear, please say less. Are you going to start a fight? If the Old Madam finds out, won’t it just add to her troubles?”

Lin Dongxiu coldly laughed, “I’m counting on the Old Madam finding out! What’s wrong with making it a bigger scene? Let the elders judge – she’s gone mad!”

Xiang Lan went over and softly said, “If this escalates, it will tear apart sisterly relationships. You might not care, since the Lu family is already just an empty shell, but you represent the Yongchang Marquis now. If word spreads that sisters quarreled at the Old Madam’s birthday celebration, regardless of who’s right or wrong, Fourth Madam will lose the most face. It’s not worth it.”

These words stopped Lin Dongxiu. She didn’t respond, just gave a slight cold laugh and drank her tea while gazing out the window. Xiang Lan sighed – trying to reason about sisterly affection and noble conduct with someone like Lin Dongxiu was like playing a lute to a cow; it was better to appeal to practical interests.

Meanwhile, Li Miaozhi had convinced Lin Dongwan to return to her seat. Lin Dongwan, guilty inside, didn’t dare make a bigger scene and was just putting on an act. She sat down with her face completely red, tears welling up as she choked out, “Listen to what Fourth Sister is saying! Every word is aimed at me. Now that you’ve married into a noble family, you look down on your elder sister? Have you forgotten how you used to beg me to brush your hair when you were little?”

Xiang Lan thought to herself that Lin Dongwan, being older, had managed to make Lin Dongxiu appear unreasonable with these words.

Indeed, Lin Dongxiu was angered, her eyebrows rising in fury as she was about to speak, but Xiang Lan quickly pulled her sleeve and whispered, “Let her save face. Everyone in this room knows each other’s true nature, why say everything that could be said?”

But Lin Dongxiu refused to back down, giving a slight cold laugh, “Yes, dear sister, so you remember the feelings from our childhood. Since that’s the case, dry your tears – it’s as if I’m bullying you.”

This made Lin Dongwan cry even harder. Li Miaozhi and Lin Dongwei hurried to console her while Lin Dongxiu sat watching with a cold smile. Su Meiru maintained her spectator attitude, and Jiang Xiuyun naturally kept her distance.

Xiang Lan frowned slightly. Family quarrels were never good and should be stopped when possible. She went to Lin Dongwan’s side and softly asked, “First Young Madam, what’s the most pressing matter right now?”

Lin Dongwan ignored her, her shoulders shaking as she covered her face with her handkerchief.

Xiang Lan, having spent recent days coaxing Lin Jinlou like a child, had developed great patience. She thought that even if Lin Dongwan threw a tantrum, she couldn’t match Lin Bawang’s unreasonableness. She continued, “The most urgent matter now is finding the Crown Prince’s gift. Both the Old Master and Old Madam are worried about this. If they learn that First Young Madam has been crying here and investigate deeper, won’t that just add to their troubles?”

The phrase “investigate deeper” made Lin Dongwan’s heart sink. She immediately stopped crying, wiping her tears while gripping Xiang Lan’s hand, sobbing, “Everyone should know what kind of person I am, clear as a mirror. How could I possibly steal from the Old Madam? When I entered the room, Liu Bei was there, and when I left, Miss Xi was still eating.”

Before she finished speaking, Su Meiru interjected with affected tones, “So Miss Jiang was the last to leave? No wonder, no wonder…”

Everyone was stunned. Lin Dongwan immediately understood that Su Meiru was holding a grudge against Jiang Xiuyun for setting her up. Jiang Xiuyun’s heart sank – she was the only outsider in the room, and there had been past unpleasantness with the Lin family. If trouble fell on her, she would suffer. Frightened, she stood up, stepped forward, and glared coldly at Su Meiru, saying, “Concubine Su, what do you mean by that? Speak clearly! What do you mean by ‘no wonder’?”

Su Meiru hadn’t expected Jiang Xiuyun to confront her directly. She was first startled, then patted her chest and said with a smile, “Oh my, the young lady who was as gentle as a flower before the Old Madam turns out to be so fierce – you’ve scared me! By ‘no wonder,’ I didn’t mean anything special. I just remembered some rumors I heard when I first came to the capital, vague stories about someone fearing future competition for favor and giving others medicine to prevent children, and now with this bracelet missing, comparing past character…”

Xiang Lan was stunned, wondering what grievance Su Meiru had with Jiang Xiuyun whom she’d never met. These words were ten times more venomous than Lin Dongxiu’s earlier insinuations, aimed directly at a vital point.

Jiang Xiuyun’s face immediately turned purple-red with anger. Her whole body trembled, her chest heaving. Usually, she was the one choking others with words; she never expected a Lin family concubine to use such cutting remarks against her.

Li Miaozhi, seeing the situation deteriorating, hurried to mediate, “What kind of talk is this? I must be stupid because I can’t understand a word. Concubine Su, you’ve been out for half a day, you must be tired. You should go rest.”

“Thank you for your concern, Third Madam, but I’m not tired.” Su Meiru looked at Jiang Xiuyun with contempt, then lowered her head to stroke her belly, speaking softly, “My darling, don’t be afraid, stop kicking me.” She raised her head to look at Jiang Xiuyun with a coquettish smile, “I was just joking, Miss Xi, please don’t take it to heart.”

Jiang Xiuyun laughed coldly inside, slowly raised her head with a calm expression, smiled slightly with dimples showing, and sat down again. She said loudly, “Concubine Su was telling me about capital rumors, how could I take offense? Speaking of rumors, I heard some interesting ones recently too. They say the former Minister of War, Lord Jia, failed to manage his household properly. His sons and grandsons caused a scandal – father and son sharing the same woman, son taking father’s concubine. The Censorate submitted a harsh memorial, and Lord Jia was so angry he nearly fainted, never knowing he had such unworthy descendants. He enforced family punishment, and that very night the concubine was sold off, never to be seen again. Alas… poor Lord Jia, at his age, having to write a self-criticism memorial for imperial review, losing all face.”

The room fell silent. Everyone present was clever enough to understand that Jiang Xiuyun was alluding to Su Meiru’s affair with their uncle and nephew.

Jiang Xiuyun turned to look at Su Meiru with a warm smile, “I’m just sharing someone else’s amusing story. In my opinion, the Lin family men are fortunate to have such a pleasing and quick-witted concubine as yourself.” The phrase “Lin family men” was another slap at Su Meiru’s face.

Su Meiru’s expression changed, though she quickly resumed her spring-like smile, her hand crushing her handkerchief in her sleeve. “I am the fortunate one – the main wife is merciful and hasn’t given me medicine to prevent children.” She glanced at Xiang Lan as she said this.

Actually, from the moment their confrontation began, Xiang Lan had felt uncomfortable. Every sentence was laden with hidden meaning, flashing like knives and swords, each trying to gain the upper hand and vent their anger. Moreover, they had dragged her into it, like a stick stirring up her long-settled bitterness. She slowly took a breath, met Su Meiru’s gaze for a moment, and was about to speak when Lin Dongxiu pulled her outside and whispered, “Were you going to play peacemaker again? How foolish! Su Meiru and Jiang Xiuyun – neither is any good. Perfectly, they’re at each other’s throats; we can just enjoy the show! I counted on my fingers – among everyone in that room, no matter who took the Old Madam’s bracelet, it would look bad if word got out. Only Jiang Xiuyun is an outsider. In my opinion, this affair is probably that little wretch’s doing. Let them fight – don’t rush to meditate, or you’ll end up covered in filth.”

Just then, Madam Wang entered, supported by her maids Ying Luo and Hu Po.