There was still some doubt in Third Brother-in-law’s eyes. Fu Tingyun couldn’t explain clearly, so she could only say vaguely, “It’s getting late. Let’s head back first and talk later!”

Indeed, this wasn’t a good place for conversation.

Third Brother-in-law nodded and smiled, “I’ve been looking for you along the way, but couldn’t find you. I thought you might stay overnight at Tanzhe Temple. I didn’t expect you to return overnight.”

When he left the city, the gates had already been closed, so there was certainly no way to get back in now.

As he spoke, Third Brother-in-law smiled and cupped his hands in greeting toward the mounted man who had been escorting Fu Tingyun and her group—the one who appeared to be the leader. He first introduced himself, then humbly thanked the leader with a respectful attitude.

The leader had already realized they must be relatives or close family friends when he saw how eagerly Third Brother-in-law tried to lift the carriage curtain while the Zhao family’s carriage driver remained unmoved. He hadn’t approached, instead quietly observing from the side. As one of the Emperor’s Imperial Guards who served under Master Yi, he had seen all types of people. Though only a minor Banner Commander, he carried himself with inherent dignity. Seeing Third Brother-in-law’s respectful manner, a hint of a smile appeared on his face. After introducing himself, he exchanged pleasantries with Third Brother-in-law.

Third Brother-in-law smiled and said, “If the Officer doesn’t mind, I’ll go to the Ping’an Inn ahead and book several good rooms. We can all rest for the night and enter the city early tomorrow morning. How does that sound?”

Ping’an Inn was the best lodging on this route.

By suggesting this, Third Brother-in-law both showed respect to the leader and expressed gratitude for escorting Fu Tingyun and the others into the city.

The leader’s smile grew more cordial.

“Master Shen needn’t worry,” he said discreetly. “Since the Grand Master instructed me to escort Madam Zhao home, I will certainly deliver Madam Zhao safely to Shi Family Hutong.”

With things put so plainly, Third Brother-in-law couldn’t say much more. He mumbled a few words and then followed Fu Tingyun’s group back.

When they reached the city gate, they saw brightly lit torches and soldiers in heavy armor.

The Third Brother-in-law watched as the leader took something from his bosom and showed it to the guards. The soldier’s expression changed dramatically, and he turned and ran toward the gate tower. Soon, with a heavy creaking sound, the city gate slowly opened, leaving just enough space for carriages to pass through.

Third Brother-in-law lowered his head, barely suppressing his shock, and smiled as he entered the city alongside the leader.

That night, he instructed his wife in bed: “Did you see? The Emperor has entrusted even the capital’s security to Master Yi. Such trust and esteem the Emperor has for him! Given our current status and position, is this someone we can associate with? You’re usually such a shrewd person; how could you have done something so foolish today? Fortunately, Ninth Sister went to Tanzhe Temple for Youyou’s sake. If she had been persuaded by you to seek Master Yi’s help, I fear the Emperor would have known about it as soon as you left.” Then he sighed, “Ninth Sister is truly a worthy help to Zhao Ling. Clear-headed and calm, she knows how to assess situations—unlike ordinary women.”

Third Sister-in-law felt both embarrassed and ashamed, replying in a voice as faint as a mosquito’s buzz, “I… I know I was wrong… I won’t speak carelessly to Ninth Sister again.”

Old husbands fear young wives. Besides, they had always had a good relationship.

Third Brother-in-law’s heart immediately softened, and his voice became much gentler: “How could you know about matters outside? This isn’t your fault. I shouldn’t have told you these things. You only wanted what was best for Ninth Sister.”

Third Sister-in-law nodded.

After thinking for a moment, Third Brother-in-law advised his wife: “In the future, if similar matters arise, consult with Ninth Sister. She’s a perspicacious person.”

Third Sister-in-law gave a sound of agreement, then hesitantly said, “Then, about Chunbing’s matter…”

Third Brother-in-law smiled bitterly: “Please don’t mention it again. It will only make things awkward when we meet.”

How could Third Sister-in-law not understand?

Yet thinking of the way her son looked at Youyou, she couldn’t help feeling sad for him.

She sighed softly and consulted with her husband: “Let’s not arrange Chunbing’s engagement too early. When the child is older, he’ll see things more clearly. This will prevent an unhappy match and household discord.”

Deep down, she was still unwilling to give up.

The Third Brother-in-law saw through her. Considering that his daughter-in-law would probably spend more time with his wife than with Chunbing after marriage, if the bride didn’t meet his wife’s approval, there would likely be household discord anyway. So he smiled and said, “That’s fine! It’s better to let Chunbing focus on his studies for a few more years.”

Third Sister-in-law breathed a sigh of relief and quietly kept an eye on Youyou’s marriage prospects.

Madam Meng indeed sought Youyou’s hand in marriage for the second son of the Marquis of Yingchuan. However, just as the matchmaker hinted at this to Fu Tingyun, the Empress issued an edict betrothing the second son of the Marquis of Yingchuan to the eldest daughter of Qin Feiyu. The nobility of the capital was in an uproar, discussing it privately while maintaining an eerily calm facade.

Everyone’s attention turned to the selection of the Governor-General of Yunnan and Guizhou.

The Cabinet deliberated, but Zhao Ling was not among the candidates.

After much consideration, the Emperor was not satisfied with any of the options. Finally, he issued an edict appointing Zhao Ling to oversee all military garrisons in Yunnan and Guizhou in his capacity as Guizhou Regional Commander. As for the Governor-General position, a suitable candidate would be appointed later.

This effectively made Zhao Ling the de facto Governor-General of Yunnan and Guizhou.

Those with keen insight could already discern the Emperor’s intentions.

The Emperor did not want the Zhao family to form marriage alliances with any of the powerful frontier governors.

Mo Yi couldn’t help lamenting to Lady Mo: “Had we known this would happen, we should have settled this matter earlier. With our four sons, they could have chosen any one of them!”

Lady Mo was somewhat amused and teased him: “Are the sons I bore so inadequate?”

“That’s not it,” Mo Yi smiled. “I just feel somewhat unsatisfied that Lady Fu has become someone else’s mother-in-law.” He continued, “Think about it—if Youyou had married into our family, wouldn’t we have a granddaughter as beautiful as Youyou? How proud I would be! At the very least, we could have grandsons like young master Xi and young master Xu!”

Lady Mo couldn’t help pinching Mo Yi hard: “You and your loose tongue! How can you say such things so casually!”

“What’s wrong with that?” Mo Yi said dismissively. “When I was in Xuanfu, I mentioned it to Zhao Ling. He hesitated, probably worried that our sons wouldn’t amount to much when they grew up and wouldn’t be worthy of their Youyou. I’m telling you, you need to discipline our sons properly. We should at least make Zhao Ling regret his decision.” His expression was full of frustration.

Lady Mo shook her head, at a loss for words.

Yu Wei stamped her foot in frustration: “The way Master Yi handled this… how will our young miss ever find a good marriage?”

Fu Tingyun smiled and said, “I think this was handled quite well. I never wanted Youyou to marry into those noble families anyway. Such households have too many complex relationships. I don’t want Youyou to be constantly troubled by such matters.”

Yu Wei felt discouraged.

Fu Tingyun comforted her with a smile: “Youyou is still young. Who knows what will happen in a few years? Perhaps the Ninth Master will return to the capital and take a position at the Five Military Commands, and then it won’t matter which family Youyou marries into. Or perhaps the Ninth Master will win more victories, and the Emperor might suddenly decide to arrange a marriage for Youyou by imperial decree… There’s no need for you to worry unnecessarily.”

“Imperial-decreed marriages usually only consider family status, not the quality of the son. What if she marries a dissolute young master?” Yu Wei muttered softly. “Wouldn’t it be better to marry our young miss to the young master of our family? At least we’ve watched him grow up. His family has a good reputation, and despite his young age, he has excellent character. He’s also good to our young miss, always putting her first…”

Fu Tingyun’s heart skipped a beat.

Zhenzhu came running in: “Madam, Madam, An Xin wishes to see you.”

If An Xin wanted to see her, it was likely about the matter in Waijiang Hutong.

Fu Tingyun quickly composed herself.

An Xin had remained in the capital for over a year because of this matter. Although Zhao Ling hadn’t mentioned anything in his letters, it must be inconvenient without his usual assistant by his side. Moreover, they had investigated almost everything they needed to. As the saying goes, to catch adulterers, you need to catch them together; to catch a thief, you need to catch them with stolen goods. Miss Min was still in mourning, so the Yu family couldn’t possibly let her enter the household at this time. Without her entering the household, there was no evidence, and no matter how much was said, it would be useless. Since they had Guo Young Master as leverage, it might be better to keep an eye on Miss Min’s side and make plans if anything changed.

With these thoughts, she went to the hall.

Fu Tingyun entered the hall.

An Xin greeted her with a grave expression.

Seeing this, Fu Tingyun felt a sense of foreboding, and her expression grew serious: “What has happened?”

An Xin looked at her with a strange expression and said in a low voice: “Something has happened to Young Master Guo!”

Fu Tingyun’s heart tightened.

An Xin continued: “We had people following Miss Min’s maid. They saw the maid following Young Master Guo back to his hometown from a distance. After Young Master Guo entered his home, the maid took up residence in a secluded house nearby. Every day, she would wear coarse cloth garments and wander around the Guo family residence. Later, we discovered that Young Master Guo would go to a nearby tavern every few days for some drinks. The maid bribed some local ruffians to stage a conflict with Young Master Guo, and they beat him to death.”

“Ah!” Fu Tingyun was shocked. “How could this happen? Didn’t you have people following that maid? Why didn’t they intervene? A human life is at stake!”

An Xin replied with regret: “I sent a military scout. When they scout ahead for intelligence, they’re trained not to reveal themselves no matter what happens—it’s their habit. Besides, we never expected that a mere woman would have such a ruthless heart. By the time we realized something was wrong, I wasn’t there, and the scout didn’t know what to do. By the time I received the news, Young Master Guo had already died from his injuries.”

Fu Tingyun’s brows furrowed: “Does the Ninth Master know about this?”

“We haven’t had time to tell the Ninth Master yet,” An Xin said. “I’m planning to return to Tongren Prefecture in the next few days to report all recent events to the Ninth Master in detail and seek his guidance.”

Previously, they had only wanted to catch Yu Jingxiu’s weakness and teach him a lesson, but now that someone had died, the situation had changed. It was necessary to report to Zhao Ling.

Fu Tingyun agreed: “Then you should go back in the next few days. Regarding Miss Min, unless something happens, don’t contact the kitchen matron anymore, lest Miss Min discovers her and harms her.”

An Xin respectfully acknowledged and withdrew.

The military scout who had been summoned to help stood silently like a shadow under the eaves.

Seeing An Xin emerge, he approached silently with light steps and asked in a low voice, “What did the Madam say?”