“Oh? What did she say to you?” Madam Jiang asked curiously.
Jiang Qianiang shook her head: “She didn’t say much to me directly, but I overheard her telling a story to her maid. Aunt, do you know about the history of the ‘False Dynasty’ during the early founding period of the Great Zhou Dynasty?”
Madam Jiang thought for a moment: “Are you referring to the period when Xia Weiming rebelled?”
Jiang Qianiang nodded: “Emperor Gaozu settled accounts after the autumn harvest. Not only did he kill everyone in the Xia family, but everyone in the capital with the surname Xia was implicated by association. Many people who originally had the surname Xia changed their names. In Chuzhou, there was a family surnamed Mao whose daughter had married a carpenter surnamed Xia years earlier. This carpenter, surnamed Xia, was framed by another carpenter in their village, who claimed he was a remnant of the rebel party, and he was thrown into prison. Originally, this matter had nothing to do with the Mao family, but one night, a group of people rushed into the Mao home and robbed all their valuable possessions. The authorities turned a blind eye to this. Such incidents were not uncommon at the time. Therefore, during Emperor Gaozu’s twenty-some years of reign, no family dared to marry their daughters to men surnamed Xia. Later, people called this incident the ‘Calamity of Marriage Ties.'”
“The Calamity of Marriage Ties?” Madam Jiang murmured.
“At the time, I thought Madam Gao was just casually telling a historical anecdote and didn’t take it to heart. But after returning home, the more I thought about it, the more something felt wrong. Previously, when the Han family wanted to do a grain and oil business in Shunzhou and asked our Jiang family to make connections, my father spent considerable time running around everywhere because of this marriage relationship. But unexpectedly, this business was eventually snatched away by the Gao family. Not long after that, problems arose with that piece of land belonging to the Jiang family, and we happened to be pitted against this same Gao family.”
Madam Jiang frowned: “I’ve implicated the Jiang family.”
Jiang Qianiang shook her head: “Aunt, please don’t say such things. How can we daughters have any say in our marriage arrangements? No matter which family we marry into, it’s all for the benefit of our clans.”
Upon hearing this, Madam Jiang felt much better and said with reddened eyes: “If not for the arrangements of our elders, who would willingly become the second wife of a man who already has children and is two generations older?”
Jiang Qianiang held Madam Jiang’s hand: “So no matter what, the Jiang family owes you, Aunt. My father knows this in his heart as well. Please be at ease, Aunt.”
After this conversation, the relationship between the aunt and niece had grown much closer.
“What should we do now? Do I need to go before Master and persuade him?” Madam Jiang wiped her tears and asked.
Jiang Qianiang asked in return: “For such important matters of the Han family, would Master Han discuss them with you, Aunt?”
Madam Jiang shook her head and said frankly, “Perhaps it’s because I haven’t been in the Han family for long, but I often feel like an outsider. The Han family doesn’t tell me about their affairs—at best, they inform me after the fact, which is already considered good.”
Madam Jiang felt that perhaps it was because she had no children, while Master Han’s deceased wife had left behind children who were already grown. Old Master Han even seemed inclined to bypass Master Han and let Han Yunqian manage the Han family. Master Han showed little interest in marital matters, and the couple had been intimate only a handful of times since their marriage. Master Han seemed to have no intention of having more children either. All these things made Madam Jiang feel she had no sense of belonging in the Han family.
“Then, Aunt, you’d better not mention it for now. If you bring it up, it might make things worse,” Jiang Qianiang said. “Don’t worry, the Han family must have clever people to have reached their current position. Our visit to the Yanbei Prince’s Manor to see Young Madam Xiao today will be noticed by those with discerning eyes. If they’re smart enough, they won’t just sit and wait for doom. Moreover, after this incident, your status in the Han family will certainly change, Aunt. The Han family members won’t treat you lightly anymore—they’ll have times when they need to rely on you.”
“But what if…” Madam Jiang was still somewhat worried.
Jiang Qianiang sighed: “Don’t worry about that either. As long as the Jiang family exists, there will always be a place for you.”
Meanwhile, at the Han family, after Madam Jiang and Jiang Qianiang left, Han Yunqian went to see his grandfather once more.
Old Master Han was bent over his desk in the study, drawing something, without even raising his head.
Han Yunqian glanced at it and could barely make out that it was a painting with buildings, trees, and flowers. However, Old Master Han’s artistic skills were truly poor, making the drawing look quite messy. But Han Yunqian was not unfamiliar with this painting, as he had been watching Old Master Han draw it since childhood, for twenty years already. If any member of the Ren family were to see this painting again, they would be extremely shocked, because what Old Master Han was drawing was a certain part of the Ren family’s grand residence.
Old Master Han made his final stroke, casually placed the writing brush in the brush washer, picked up the painting, and handed it to Han Yunqian: “Take a look.”
Han Yunqian took it and looked at it silently for a few moments.
Old Master Han stared at him with burning eyes: “Have you remembered it clearly?”
Han Yunqian pressed his lips together and nodded: “Yes, Grandfather, your grandson has remembered it.”
Old Master Han slammed the desk hard and scolded: “Just remembering is useless! You must remember it clearly! Remember it firmly! Not a single blade of grass or tree can be forgotten! When we have our great revenge and take back what belongs to us, all the places those thieves have touched must be restored to their original state!” Old Master Han gripped Han Yunqian’s shoulder so tightly that his fingertips turned somewhat white. “Grandfather is getting old, especially in recent years. Things I used to remember clearly are starting to fade. So you must remember firmly in Grandfather’s place, understand?”
Han Yunqian’s expression didn’t change at all, as if Old Master Han wasn’t gripping his shoulder. He replied calmly: “Yes, Grandfather, your grandson understands.”
Old Master Han was finally satisfied and released Han Yunqian. He picked up the drawing to look at it again, frowning: “No, this pot of arhat pine wasn’t placed in this position…” He picked up his brush and began drawing again.
Han Yunqian stood to the side, quietly watching Old Master Han for a long time, then suddenly said: “Grandfather…”
Old Master Han didn’t look up, answering absentmindedly: “Mm?”
Han Yunqian paused, then said: “Your grandson will take his leave now.” He bowed and withdrew from the study.
After leaving Old Master Han’s study, Han Yunqian slowly exhaled the breath he had been holding in his chest for so long. He raised his hand to touch his somewhat numb left shoulder, then expressionlessly lowered his hand. He stood in the courtyard for a long time before calling to a servant woman coming in from outside and asking indifferently: “Have Madam and Miss Jiang returned?”
The servant woman quickly replied: “They have returned, Young Master.”
Han Yunqian nodded and dismissed the servant woman.
That evening, after Madam Jiang and Jiang Qianiang had dinner, they planned to take a walk in the garden to aid digestion, but unexpectedly encountered the Han family’s eldest young master, Han Yunqian.
Han Yunqian bowed to Madam Jiang, and Jiang Qianiang also quickly curtsied.
Madam Jiang smiled: “It’s rare to see you at home. Are you not busy today?”
Han Yunqian was not much different in age from Madam Jiang. To avoid impropriety, except when going to his father’s courtyard to pay respects, Han Yunqian rarely appeared before Madam Jiang.
Han Yunqian nodded politely and replied: “I had some matters to discuss with Grandfather when I returned home.” He then asked Jiang Qianiang: “Is Miss Jiang comfortable with her accommodations? If you need anything, just speak to Mother—don’t be polite.”
Jiang Qianiang smiled in acknowledgment and expressed her thanks.
After exchanging pleasantries, the three of them walked leisurely through the garden. Han Yunqian finally spoke: “I heard from Ah You that Mother and Miss Jiang visited the Yanbei Prince’s Manor today?”
Jiang Qianiang glanced at Han Yunqian and smiled: “Yes, I had met Young Madam Xiao a few times during my previous visits to Yanbei and felt we got along quite well, so I shamelessly visited her today. Fortunately, Young Madam is good-natured and didn’t blame me for the intrusion.”
Someone as clever as Han Yunqian naturally didn’t believe such nonsense from Jiang Qianiang, but he didn’t expose her and simply nodded.
After a long while, Han Yunqian spoke again: “There’s something… I’d like to ask Mother to help with.” When saying this, Han Yunqian still seemed somewhat hesitant, perhaps because his relationship with Madam Jiang made him reluctant to involve her too much, or perhaps because he didn’t quite trust Madam Jiang and the Jiang family.
But now the Han family needed a female head of household to step forward. He wasn’t married, his birth mother was no longer alive, and among the other two female heads of the Han family, Old Madam Han had always obeyed Old Master Han completely, while Han You was too young and naive. Only Madam Jiang remained.
Madam Jiang had been married into the Han family for some time now. Han Yunqian felt that although this Madam Jiang had a somewhat strong personality and some cleverness, she wasn’t unreasonable or unlikable, and her nature wasn’t bad.
Moreover, today’s visit by Jiang Qianiang and Madam Jiang to the Yanbei Prince’s Manor indicated that these two must have some awareness of the Han family’s situation. Although they might not know much, otherwise the Jiang family wouldn’t have made such a self-protective move.
Han Yunqian was not Old Master Han—he wouldn’t be blinded by the hatred of previous generations. Compared to revenge, he cared more about the entire family.
If the price of revenge was to drag the entire Han family down with it, he couldn’t accept that, because compared to his great-grandparents, whom he had never met, the safety of the family members he lived with day and night was more important to him. It was just that Old Master Han had already become obsessed and completely unable to listen to advice. After several failed attempts at persuasion, Han Yunqian stopped wasting his energy.
Now, to resolve this matter, he could only find another path while keeping it from Old Master Han.
Han Yunqian had already figured out who was orchestrating recent events from behind the scenes. He didn’t resent Ren Yaoqi; on the contrary, she was the woman he admired most—courageous, capable, and decisive, yet not malicious, with a clear sense of gratitude and grievances.
Han Yunqian understood in his heart that with Ren Yaoqi’s current status and intelligence, if she truly wanted to deal with the Han family, the Han family absolutely couldn’t have remained unharmed until today.
But Ren Yaoqi had also given the Han family a warning this time.
If the Han family continued to stubbornly persist, Han Yunqian believed that the Han family would next face isolation and experience what the Ren family had previously gone through. First, the Yun family and the Jiang family, and in the future, more families with connections would distance themselves from the Han family.
Han Yunqian sighed. It was time to settle certain matters. He couldn’t let over a hundred members of the Han family be sacrificed for Old Master Han’s hatred.