Concubine Wu recalled several instances when Lady Yu had approached Fu Tingyun with unwanted familiarity, only to be met with coldness.

For Lady Yu to humble herself like that, it was clear that not only was the Yu family in the wrong, but they were likely the party at fault.

Lost in thought, her expression inevitably appeared somewhat blank.

Fortunately, she was usually introverted and taciturn by nature, so Mama Shu thought nothing of it. After giving a few instructions, she went to report back to Lady Yu.

Lady Yu nodded slightly, but still feeling uneasy, she further instructed Mama Shu: “Did you make everything clear to Zelan?”

“I did,” Mama Shu quickly replied. “If Concubine Wu stays in her courtyard, that’s fine, but if she leaves it, no matter what she says, does, or whom she meets, Zelan is to report everything to me in detail.”

Lady Yu nodded slightly upon hearing this.

Mama Shu breathed a sigh of relief and comforted her: “Madam, that Concubine Wu rarely goes out all year. Even if she does, the chance of her encountering Fu is extremely slim. After all, they don’t move in the same circles. This time was merely a coincidence, so you needn’t worry too much.”

“I’m just taking precautions!” Lady Yu sighed and said: “If the Wu family learns of this matter, it would harm Dejing’s reputation.”

At the mention of the eldest young master, Mama Shu’s face showed hesitation, and she pondered: “Do you think we should inform the young madam… after all, we assigned Zelan to Concubine Wu without consulting her first…”

Since they had a child, Yu Jingxiu had been called the eldest young master, and Madam Fan had been called the eldest young madam.

Before she could finish speaking, she heard Lady Yu give a cold snort and say: “Doesn’t she manipulate Dejing however she wants? Let her go cry to Dejing. I want to see what he has to say this time.”

Mama Shu felt a chill in her heart.

Concubine Wu had miscarried after slipping when making way for the young madam.

The baby had been a boy.

Madam had fainted from anger at the time. Even the usually steady master had turned pale with fury. Yet the eldest young master had been wholly concerned with the young madam, fearing that his parents would blame her. He had even scolded Concubine Wu for being clumsy, saying she couldn’t even make way properly, causing the Yu family to lose an heir…

Madam had barely managed to swallow her anger.

Afterward, seeing the eldest young lady’s frail constitution and considering that the young madam cried every day, which wasn’t easy either, she had been much more cordial to the young madam. So why had she suddenly begun to resent the young madam again?

Could it be because of that Fu woman?

Previously, she had only been angry that the young madam had bewitched the eldest young master and done such an unconscionable thing. But the young madam had, after all, married into the family and become a Yu family daughter-in-law. Madam had overlooked some things for the sake of the bigger picture, not wanting to embarrass the eldest young master, enduring what she could. But now that Fu had borne two children in three years, blooming and bearing fruit, and was pregnant again… anyone would feel somewhat awkward, let alone someone with Madam’s strong personality. She had likely redirected her anger toward the young madam.

Thinking of this, Mama Shu was about to offer some advice when Lady Yu said: “There’s one more matter… Concubine Wu said that Fu’s sister was accompanying her. Go find out who this sister of Fu’s is.”

Perhaps a sworn sister, or a lady from some family whom she called sister to establish closeness…

Mama Shu quickly collected her thoughts, respectfully acknowledged the order, and went to Lady Wu’s place.

Within two days, there was news from Lady Wu. It was said that the person who accompanied Fu Tingyun to Tanzhe Temple was her fifth cousin, who had come with her when Fu Tingyun returned to Shaanxi to establish a memorial stone for her parents-in-law.

Lady Yu drew in a sharp breath.

She hurriedly sought out Grand Scholar Yu and told him about this matter: “…I fear that the Fu family already knows that Fu Tingyun is still alive. You should quickly inquire about what the Fu family is saying. They are a prominent clan from Huayin, with in-laws throughout Shaanxi. If this gets out, it will be troublesome.”

Grand Scholar Yu was already troubled.

The Emperor had seized upon the matter of the missing silver from the Imperial Treasury.

Shen Shichong was likely finished this time!

Although this matter had nothing to do with Shen Shichong, it had occurred under his administration, so he could not escape blame.

Shen Shichong knew this, so he was prepared to make a drastic decision—he would voluntarily resign and try to recommend someone from among the Grand Secretaries to succeed him as Prime Minister.

Grand Scholar Yu was currently seeking Shen Shichong’s support.

If successful, he would replace Shen Shichong as Prime Minister.

Thinking of this, he waved his hand at Lady Yu: “Handle this matter as you see fit! I’m extremely busy with official duties these days.”

Seeing her husband’s worried expression, Lady Yu sat down beside Grand Scholar Yu with concern and asked gently: “What has happened?”

At this critical time, there could not be any mishaps at home!

Grand Scholar Yu thought for a moment and told Lady Yu about the matter.

Lady Yu was startled upon hearing it: “How could this happen?” She continued, “How did the Emperor discover that silver was missing from the Imperial Treasury? This is a capital offense!” Then she sighed, “Who knows how many officials will lose their heads!”

Grand Scholar Yu was also very depressed and said: “The Emperor is raising funds and provisions for the rebellion in Guizhou. It’s just a local rebellion—the Ministry of Revenue could have allocated funds from anywhere. But then the Emperor suddenly ordered that the Imperial Treasury provide the funds and provisions for Guizhou. Grand Secretary Shen never anticipated that the Imperial Treasury would be short of silver, and that’s when the problem arose.” As he spoke, he added with some indignation, “The Emperor must have been watching for this all along, but Grand Secretary Shen had no warning. After Qin Feiyu was appointed Commander of the Tengji Guard, they stopped monitoring the princes and started monitoring the court officials instead. I fear that if this continues, the court will be in a state of constant anxiety!”

“That’s a matter for the future.” Lady Yu was only concerned with the present. “What are your plans now, sir?”

“Since the Emperor wants to deal with Grand Secretary Shen, Shen certainly cannot directly recommend his successor,” Grand Scholar Yu said calmly. “But the Emperor won’t let Mo Yingbo take over either—he was Zhuang Prince’s man back then. Fortunately, I have good relationships with both Grand Secretary Shen and Mo Yingbo. We can only assess the situation and see if luck is on our side.”

Lady Yu encouraged her husband: “Didn’t the Taoist Master Zhang from the Tianyi sect say that these few years are your most fortunate time? I believe you will succeed in fulfilling your wishes this time!”

This gave Grand Scholar Yu more confidence: “I hope it will be as you say! When the time comes, I will certainly thank you for your auspicious words.”

Lady Yu smiled.

The couple chatted intimately for a while, and seeing that Grand Scholar Yu still needed to write a memorial to the Emperor, Lady Yu personally brewed him a cup of tea and returned to the main room. The next day, she summoned Yu Huai’an and gave him some secret instructions. Yu Huai’an handed over the household affairs to the second steward and went to Huayin.

Meanwhile, it took Madam Fan seven or eight days to learn that Lady Yu had rewarded a maid to Concubine Wu.

She was furious at the time: “…My eldest daughter is barely holding on to life, and everyone is worried about her, yet she has the mind to reward a maid to a concubine? Is she saying that I’m not taking good care of the concubine? Or does she think that since the young master no longer visits the concubine’s room, she needs to find someone new to help that Concubine Wu?”

Before Madam Fan could finish, her wet nurse covered her mouth: “My good young lady, please endure it! What if you frighten the eldest young lady? Whether he likes someone or not depends entirely on the young master, doesn’t it? Otherwise, your rooms would have been filled with concubines long ago, instead of waiting until today! Instead of spending time being angry at your mother-in-law, you’d be better off putting effort into keeping the young master’s heart. A woman’s greatest fear is not being able to conceive; once you conceive, children will come one after another. Young madam, be at ease. If you give birth to a son again, no matter how many ideas the madam has, they will be useless.”

Madam Fan stamped her foot hard, pretending not to see Zelan, but she still felt a sense of frustration that wouldn’t dissipate. Especially when she saw Yu Jingxiu’s gaze lingering on Zelan, she could no longer contain herself and said with a smile: “What’s this? Our young master now has someone he finds pleasing to the eye? Although she served her mother, since her mother has placed her in my courtyard, she is now my person. I can also make decisions for you!” As she spoke, she covered her mouth and laughed, but there was not a hint of joy in her brow; instead, there was a trace of affected mockery.

Yu Jingxiu frowned: “What nonsense are you talking?” He ignored her and asked: “How is Miss Zhen today?”

The child’s illness had tormented both of them, and their tempers were not as good as before.

In the past, he would have embraced her with promises and vows, but today he didn’t even offer a word of explanation.

Madam Fan found Zelan increasingly disagreeable.

Zelan assumed it was because she was serving Concubine Wu and secretly laughed at Madam Fan’s narrow-mindedness and lack of a mistress’s dignity.

But she had no other options. She could only try to appear as little as possible before Madam Fan, staying in the room with the dull Concubine Wu, sewing every day.

Lianxin became worried.

Although she had been sent by Lady Wu, Concubine Wu was not favored. Now that she had lost her child and had no roots in the Yu family, how could she compare to Zelan, who had not only served the madam but was also born in the household… her only hope was to be of one mind with Concubine Wu to have a path to survival.

However, before she could find an opportunity to show her loyalty to Concubine Wu, Concubine Wu approached her first: “…You can rest assured while following me. Even if I don’t succeed, your contract of indenture is still with the Wu family, and I will send you back when the time comes.”

For Concubine Wu, who usually showed no interest in anything, to say such words to her, it was clear that although Concubine Wu seemed cold, she recognized Lianxin’s service over the years.

She immediately became emotional and felt she must repay Concubine Wu well. Seeing Zelan hovering around Concubine Wu every day, she often ran to the kitchen to help the older women wash rice and vegetables, and occasionally brought news to Concubine Wu: “…Mama Shen said that Shitou went out with Yu Huai’an, and all household matters have been handed over to the second steward. They say he won’t return until after the New Year!”

“Mama Li said that the young madam and the young master must be angry with each other—neither of them ate dinner. In the evening, the young madam personally went to the kitchen and prepared several small dishes, and even had a small jar of Jinhua wine brought, supposedly delivered to the young master’s room.”

Concubine Wu heard this and scolded her: “Stop gossiping. Be careful that others don’t hear you.”

But she didn’t turn her head away in boredom as she had done before.

Lianxin giggled.

On the morning of the first day of the New Year, Concubine Wu even rewarded her with two small silver ingots as a holiday gift.

Lianxin was so delighted she couldn’t close her mouth, and she often took them out to look at them while getting ready for bed.

Concubine Wu instructed her: “If Yu Huai’an returns, let me know.”

Lianxin opened her eyes wide and looked at Concubine Wu with curiosity: “Does Concubine have business with Yu Huai’an?”