The Qiu family wasn’t peaceful at this time either.

Although Qiu Yun’s father Qiu Hongfeng was the legitimate eldest son of the Qiu family patriarch, among the grandchildren there were still two ranked before Qiu Yun: one was the eldest young master Qiu Xiang, the son of Qiu Xinmin’s secondary son, and another was the second young master Qiu Lin, the son of Qiu Xinming’s other legitimate son.

The Qiu family’s eldest young master, Qiu Xiang, was already married. Although his father was a secondary son, his mother’s family was one of the most prominent clans in Mozhou. Even though his mother was also born of a concubine, she was very favored in her natal family, and ultimately managed to arrange for her son to marry a legitimate daughter from her maternal uncle’s family. Although this young lady had injured her leg in childhood due to an incident and had somewhat uneven legs, her status was there for all to see.

The second young master Qiu Lin was also Old Madam Qiu’s legitimate grandson. Old Madam Qiu had already arranged for him a noble young lady whose birth was no inferior to that of the eldest young master’s wife, just waiting for the marriage in two years.

When it came to third young master Qiu Yun, First Madam naturally couldn’t bear to let him marry a woman whose status was inferior to that of the eldest and second young madams, while Old Madam Qiu hoped that Qiu Yun’s principal wife would at least have stronger status than the wife of the eldest young master born of a secondary son.

So Old Madam Qiu had her eye on the eldest daughter of the Guo family from Weizhou, who was the legitimate eldest granddaughter of her close friend. First Madam Qiu was determined to have Qiu Yun marry her own natal family’s niece. First Madam Qiu’s maiden name was Wei, also from a high-ranking family in Jizhou. Her natal family’s niece was her legitimate brother’s daughter, who had been close to her since childhood, like mother and daughter, and often visited the Qiu family as a guest.

On the issue of not marrying a Ren family daughter, this mother-in-law and daughter-in-law pair shared the same enemy and successfully used feminine wisdom to override Old Master Qiu’s opinion. However, when it came to the final candidate selection, Old Madam Qiu and First Madam Qiu were not so harmonious.

It wasn’t that Old Madam Qiu looked down on First Madam Qiu’s natal niece. That young lady had a good family background, was pretty as a flower, and had a gentle and pleasing personality. But Old Madam Qiu felt she was too close to First Madam Qiu – they were already like mother and daughter now. After entering the family, wouldn’t she listen to her mother-in-law in everything? She, the grandmother, was still alive!

So Old Madam Qiu felt it was better for her to decide on the wife candidate for her most beloved grandson. Not only was Miss Guo’s grandmother her close friend, but the Guo family’s status was also stronger than First Madam’s natal family. This way, when standing before the Qiu family’s lame eldest young madam in the future, she could hold her back straighter.

Thus, Old Madam Qiu and First Madam Qiu began open and covert struggles, while people from other branches busied themselves watching the excitement.

Old Master Qiu might be somewhat weak in ability due to his background and personal experiences. Even when he wanted to manage inner courtyard affairs, he often felt powerless. Although Old Madam Qiu appeared to follow his lead on the surface, in reality Old Master Qiu had always been led by the nose by Old Madam Qiu in Qiu family matters.

Take this marriage alliance between the Qiu and Ren families for example. Originally, Old Master Qiu had already made his firm decision and spoken harsh words, yet it still came to nothing. Old Master Qiu became disheartened and simply stopped caring, spending all day in his concubine’s courtyard, letting the outside world do whatever it wanted!

At this time, Qiu Yun returned to the Qiu family. Although Third Young Master Qiu usually seemed carefree and improper, once he returned, he went to his grandmother’s and mother’s places respectively for some comic relief. After listening to both elders’ tearful complaints of grievances, he didn’t seem to do much, yet in the end, he managed to ease the relationship between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law pair of Old Madam Qiu and First Madam.

By the time Third Young Master Qiu left the Qiu family, he had barely managed to persuade his mother to yield to his grandmother as much as possible.

Third Young Master Qiu was very clever. He directly told his mother, “You only have me as your son. Grandmother doesn’t only have me as her legitimate grandson – Second Brother is also a legitimate son and grandson ranked before me. Mother, the Qiu family doesn’t necessarily need me. Your son knows mother plans everything for me. This time, insisting on letting cousin enter the family is also because you’ve seen me and cousin grow up together and have compatible temperaments, fearing that Miss Guo has a strong personality and would be difficult to get along with. This time, it’s indeed your son who made your mother suffer grievances. After your son marries a wife, whoever she is, if she dares treat your mother badly, your son will divorce her immediately.”

These words made First Madam Qiu’s eyes brim with tears. Although she knew Qiu Yun’s talk of divorcing his wife was to make her happy, wasn’t her son willing to spend effort coaxing her? And her son understood her painstaking efforts. Most importantly, Qiu Yun’s words, “the Qiu family doesn’t necessarily need me,” made First Madam Qiu suddenly realize the truth. Although she still felt somewhat unwilling in her heart, she didn’t dare openly quarrel with Old Madam Qiu anymore.

To Old Madam Qiu, Qiu Yun was all gentle words and acting spoiled: “Your grandson just told mother he doesn’t like cousin, which made her quite angry. Your grandson still feels guilty about it. Grandmother, your grandson has to return to the academy tomorrow, but seeing you and your mother worry so much about your grandson’s affairs, your grandson can’t even concentrate on studying. However, your grandson said when he was small that your grandson’s wife, regardless of other things, must be someone his grandmother can approve of. Your grandson trusts his grandmother’s judgment. Anyone’s grandmother doesn’t like, even if she’s a heavenly fairy, your grandson won’t marry. As for my mother’s side, please don’t be angry with her for your grandson’s sake. Your grandson will listen to you in everything.”

Old Madam Qiu was overjoyed, and the stifled feeling she had experienced with her daughter-in-law immediately vanished into smoke. By evening, when the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law met, they had already restored complete harmony.

Seeing this situation, the various Qiu family members who had originally been waiting to watch the excitement gained even more understanding of Third Young Master Qiu Yun’s capabilities.

While the Qiu family’s inner courtyard went from excitement to tranquility, the Ren family remained constantly bustling.

After Old Madam Ren wrote several letters to Old Master Qiu asking about the marriage without receiving any response, the Ren family also understood that the marriage alliance between the Qiu and Ren families would probably not succeed.

People from Ren Yaochi’s husband’s family, the Gu family, finally came to fetch Ren Yaoyin.

As the legitimate eldest daughter of the Ren family’s first branch, when the Ren family found Ren Yaochi a husband’s family, it could truly be said they searched with lanterns. The Jiangning Textile Commissioner Gu family was also considered one of the top high-ranking families in the south, with both real power and wealth. Although Ren Yaochi didn’t marry the future head of the main branch, her husband was also the capable type among the Gu family’s younger generation, and the position arranged by the family was quite good. The Ren family’s several coal depots opened in Jiangning in recent years had relied on the care of this son-in-law and his family.

Ren Yaochi was eight years older than Ren Yaoyin. When she married, Ren Yaoyin was still small, but they were after all sisters from the same mother. Ren Yaochi still paid great attention to Ren Yaoyin’s affairs. She specially sent the nanny and maids she had brought from her natal family to fetch her, and also brought five full carriages of gifts for the Ren family, with everyone in the household receiving a share.

Ren Yaoqi received four bolts of feather satin produced in Jiangning, four bolts of brocade silk, a box of the most fashionable silk flowers from Jiangnan adorned with pearls and various gems, and a complete set of red gold jewelry inlaid with precious stones.

Ren Yaoqi felt the gifts she received were somewhat heavy. She had received gifts sent back by this eldest sister every year before, but what she received this time was the most valuable.

She asked Ren Yaohua and found that what Ren Yaohua received wasn’t much different from hers, just that the red gold jewelry set differed in style.

However, she later learned that the gifts received by Ren Yaoyu, Ren Yaoying and others were far less valuable than what she and her sister received – just two bolts of brocade satin, two bolts of feather satin, a box of ordinary silk flowers that were novel in style but not valuable, and no gold jewelry sets like theirs.

Ren Yaoqi then understood that Ren Yaochi was expressing her apology to them regarding Ren Yaoyin’s matter, while also taking a stance that Ren Yaoyin was her biological sister and she would back her up.

The Gu family’s maids and servants didn’t stay long at the Ren family. They arrived at Bailu Town in the afternoon and left at dawn the next morning. Ren Yaoyin naturally left Bailu Town with them.

Since Ren Yaochi had taken a stance, Ren Yaoqi and Ren Yaohua naturally had to respond as well. They harmoniously went to see Ren Yaoyin off, though they didn’t meet Ren Yaoyin face to face. In fact, since returning from Yunyang City, no one except Old Madam and First Madam had seen what Ren Yaoyin looked like.

Ren Yaoqi’s visit was just going through the motions anyway, and she hadn’t wanted to see Ren Yaoyin.

Now that Ren Yaoyin had left, she felt somewhat relieved.

Days with wolves in front and tigers behind were not easy to endure. Now, at least one had left. She hoped the Ren family’s days could be more peaceful in the future.

Unfortunately, Ren Yaoqi’s hope wasn’t fulfilled. The Ren family didn’t truly calm down because of Ren Yaoyin’s departure.

On this day, a woman who had gone out to buy needles and thread came back saying she had seen a maid who had previously served in the Ren family.

This maid had originally served in the third branch’s Ziwei Courtyard. Two years ago, like Chun’er, she had also been ordered sold by Ren Yaohua for making mistakes and offending her.

Originally, this wasn’t anything unusual.

After the maids were sold, they would be bought by other master families. Although local families wouldn’t likely buy maids and women who had been sold for making mistakes, it was possible for others who didn’t know the situation to buy people cheaply from elsewhere and bring them back, attracted by the low price.

But according to the woman who went out to buy needles and thread, this maid’s clothing and appearance didn’t look like that of a proper person. Out of curiosity, she followed her for a while and finally discovered she had entered the famous flower street and willow lane in Bailu Town.

Once this news spread, it shocked all the maids and women in the Ren family, and they looked at Ren Yaohua with even more awe.

Previously, when the Li family came saying Chun’er had been sold to a brothel, most of them didn’t believe it. But now someone had seen a maid who had been driven from the Ren family for offending Third Miss become a prostitute. Although this maid wasn’t Chun’er, it couldn’t help but create unpleasant associations in people’s minds.

Had this maid been sold to a brothel by Third Miss’s orders? Then Chun’er was probably in grave danger too, wasn’t she?