The urgency in the guard’s manner made it obvious to everyone that this distinguished guest was no ordinary visitor. For a moment, the whole room fell silent. Jiang Yuan wasn’t oblivious — quite the opposite, he was remarkably perceptive, always quick to read people’s expressions and gauge the mood.

He recognized that this guard was one of Grandmother’s trusted attendants, and seeing her solemn expression, he immediately buried his face against his mother, sniffling but no longer causing a fuss.

Madam Gu, ever the picture of composure, though startled and anxious inside, kept her face calm. “There are guests here too. Tell the master I’ll be over shortly.”

These young women, though all daughters of prominent families, were here as informal friends of Gu Meiting, not for a formal visit — Madam Gu certainly needn’t have entertained them at all, and could simply have left right away.

But she still wanted to preserve Gu Meiting’s standing in front of her friends. Hearing this, the young women were all flattered beyond measure, delighted to receive such courteous treatment from Madam Gu, proud to count themselves among Gu Meiting’s friends.

“Elder Madam, we just came to chat with Ting’er. If you have a distinguished guest to attend to, please don’t let us keep you — go on ahead!”

“Yes, yes, Elder Madam, you’re being far too polite. We’ll come sit with you again another time when you’re free.”

…

The young women, understanding the situation, urged her along at once. This was exactly what Madam Gu had been waiting for. She feigned reluctance for a moment before finally saying, “Then I won’t keep you all waiting. This evening, you must stay for dinner — ever since Ting’er married out, you all rarely get together anymore.”

After a final round of pleasantries, Madam Gu hurried off, asking the guard quietly as she went, “Who has arrived? Why the urgency?”

“Han Ziqing, the princess consort of Yao from Da Zhou,” the guard said, voice lowered as far as it could go.

Madam Gu stopped in her tracks, her heart skipping a beat. “How did she get here? There was nothing in the letters about her coming!”

Madam Gu wasn’t blind to how much resentment Yingzi and Physician Gu harbored toward Jiang Chen and his wife — she had, more than once, quietly reviewed the correspondence between Physician Gu and Da Zhou.

It wasn’t that she meant to pry — she had already decided long ago to hand over the reins of the Gu family to Jun Beiyue. It was only that she felt she had to consider her daughter and son-in-law’s position too, wanting to keep things within her own control, to minimize the harm as much as possible.

And now, Han Ziqing’s arrival had come entirely outside her expectations. This girl’s reputation in Da Zhou wasn’t small — she was clearly not someone who would tolerate even the slightest slight!

What was she to do?

Han Ziqing’s temperament and Ting’er’s temperament, colliding head-on, would surely spark tremendous conflict. The more Madam Gu thought about it, the more anxious she became, unable to see any way to avoid it. Without thinking, she glanced back toward the great hall.

But at that very moment, she saw Yingzi hurrying after her.

Yingzi had hesitated for a long while. There were things Madam Gu wasn’t giving him the chance to say, but he still felt he had to bring them up himself — otherwise, he and Physician Gu would surely make themselves sick from holding it all in.

“Madam Gu, there’s something I’d like to discuss with you seriously,” Yingzi said, getting straight to the point.

Madam Gu glanced at him, hesitated, but ultimately kept the news of Ziqing’s arrival to herself, saying flatly, “The guest is waiting. Whatever it is, can we discuss it later?”

With that, she made to leave, but Yingzi hurried to catch up. “Just a few words, we can talk as we walk. Madam Gu, the eldest young lady moving into the West Garden…”

Before he’d even gotten to the point, Madam Gu cut him off. “Repairs on the west wing have already been sped up. The eldest young lady is only staying a short while. Guard Yingzi, I know the young master is a bit noisy, but children are simply like that by nature — please, you and Physician Gu, bear with it a little.”

Yingzi sneered inwardly. At last, Madam Gu had given some kind of response.

“Madam, Yingzi is only a servant, with no right to complain to you about anything. But Yingzi would like to speak up on our master’s behalf. Our master is injured — though unconscious, he’s still recuperating, and what he needs most is quiet. The young master’s tantrums, well, there’s nothing to be done about that. But does the eldest young lady really need to receive guests in the great hall? There are plenty of other reception halls on Liuxian Mountain, aren’t there?”

“Sigh, well, it’s just this once. I’ll speak to her, have her go somewhere else next time,” Madam Gu said, looking helpless, as though she were the one being pressured by Yingzi, not the other way around.

“Madam, there’s another matter. Physician Gu needs to brew medicine for our master every day, but once the eldest young lady arrives, she practically occupies every stove — Physician Gu has nowhere left to prepare the medicine.”

Yingzi went on, though even he, a grown man, felt this all sounded rather petty to bring up. Yet it was precisely these small matters that had been driving him and Physician Gu to the edge of madness these past days.

They couldn’t say any of this directly to Gu Meiting — the moment they did, she would surely start crying and making a scene again, and they couldn’t withstand that. With the family head unreachable these days, Madam Gu was their only option.

Madam Gu maintained the same tone of forced patience. “All right, all right, I’ll speak to her about it! Guard Yingzi, I really must go now. Whatever else there is, we’ll discuss it later, all right?”

Seeing the elderly woman look so helpless, Yingzi felt a twinge of guilt and finally nodded.

Madam Gu hurried off at once, but though she appeared anxious, she took a roundabout path, stopping in a secluded spot and letting out a long sigh, rubbing her temples.

“What should we do, Old Li? Trouble’s here!”

The guard called Old Li lowered his head, pondering for a long moment before saying, “Madam, this was bound to happen sooner or later. If the princess consort hadn’t come, our prince probably would have woken within the next couple of days anyway. Just yesterday, Doctor Hua was saying he’d be waking up soon.”

“He still hasn’t woken yet, though.” Madam Gu’s voice rose with anxiety. Every day she could delay was a small mercy — if her son and daughter came into open conflict, there’d be no controlling it!

“Madam, whatever needs to happen should just happen. The eldest young lady can’t keep being indulged like this,” Old Li advised.

“No, no, it’s not a matter of indulging her right now. It’s… if Han Ziqing comes and tries to drive Meiting out, what then?” Madam Gu asked anxiously.

“Surely not. However you look at it, the two of you as elders still carry weight, and besides, it’s not as if the Gu family answers to the prince yet,” Old Li reasoned.

“But what if she pushes the princess too far, and she decides to take Beiyue and leave? What then? I don’t want things to come to such a breaking point. If this gets out into the open, everything will be exposed — what standing would the Gu family have left on Liuxian Island?” Madam Gu grew so anxious she nearly stamped her foot.

Old Li sighed helplessly. Having served Madam for so long, he understood her temperament very well — she always wanted everything smoothed over, everyone within the family living in harmony, inside and out.

But how could that possibly happen? Never mind how many people and how many hidden agendas existed within the Gu family — even her own daughter Gu Meiting didn’t necessarily wish for harmony!

Suddenly, Madam Gu clenched her jaw, as though coming to some major decision, and said seriously, “Old Li, I have something for you to handle. Make absolutely sure it’s taken care of before Han Ziqing reaches the main residence!”

Old Li was startled, a flicker of unease crossing his face, but he still leaned in to listen. Yet upon hearing Madam Gu’s instructions, his expression changed drastically.

“Madam, this… this doesn’t seem right!”

“There’s no other way. Delay as long as possible — I need time to talk sense into Meiting. I know her temperament best; she’s not entirely unreasonable, it just takes patience.”

Madam Gu spoke with great seriousness, adding, “Make absolutely sure it’s handled properly. I’ll take care of things with the master.” With that, she strode off quickly toward the east wing…