While Zhou Shaojin busied herself with changing maids, Shi Danainai Zheng Shi sat before her dressing table, her face full of exhaustion.

Hong Rui brought in a bowl of fermented rice with poached eggs and gently urged Shi Danainai: “The young master is only nine months old. If you keep wearing yourself out like this, your body won’t be able to take it! Besides, Great Ancestor and the Old Madam are both hoping you can continue expanding the Cheng family lineage. You must take care of your health!”

Shi Danainai smiled bitterly.

Looking at her plump, fair face in the mirror—dressed in a bright red jiao cloth vest that made her appear somewhat aged—she said helplessly: “I have no choice. The Old Madam has given me orders, and I cannot refuse!” Then, turning around and seeing no one else in the room, she lowered her voice: “If you ask me, this is really not the right time to provoke the First Branch.

“But the Old Madam’s reasoning also makes sense. If we don’t take advantage of Great Ancestor still being alive to break off one of the First Branch’s arms, once Cheng Jiashan gains power and the First Branch fully supports him, where will our Master have any foothold? If our Master wants to establish himself in the Cheng family, he’ll only be able to serve as a green leaf helping to set off Cheng Jiashan. Think about it—our Master is such a proud person. Making him support Cheng Jiashan would be even more unbearable than killing him!

“When that time comes, all that awaits our Master is a life of melancholy and lifelong frustration.

“So I thought, since things are already like this, they couldn’t possibly get any worse. The Old안인 has experienced so many things—listening to her might actually lead us to find a way forward!

“Besides, Great Ancestor is backing us from behind. If things really go badly, Great Ancestor can just step forward and say ‘stop this nonsense’ and that will be the end of it. What I’m afraid of now is…” Her words suddenly stopped.

Hong Rui asked in confusion: “What are you afraid of?”

Zheng Shi feared that in the end, all these mistakes would be blamed on her.

Though she and Cheng Shi were husband and wife from their first marriage, she wasn’t confident enough to make Cheng Shi defy his parents for her sake.

Fortunately, she still had two sons and held the status of the legitimate eldest son. If her reputation was tarnished, her two sons’ reputations and futures would also be affected. She only hoped that for the sake of the two children, the Old안인 would clear her name when the time came… or if not clear her completely, at least protect her.

But she couldn’t say this to Hong Rui.

After a pause, Shi Danainai said: “I’m afraid if we push the First Branch too far, they’ll turn against us.”

Hong Rui breathed a sigh of relief and said: “But you can’t disobey the Old안인’s orders either!”

“Exactly!” Shi Danainai sighed. “It’s just a pity I don’t know why we have this grudge with the First Branch. Otherwise, I’d cede territory and pay reparations. For the sake of my two sons, I’d be willing to accept it.”

The reason the Third Branch had never been able to shake off the merchant label was because of the combined suppression by the First and Second Branches.

If the First Branch used the same tactics again, that would be real trouble.

But all of this was old accumulated resentment. Even if she wanted to investigate, she couldn’t get to the bottom of it. Perhaps only before Great Ancestor’s deathbed would everything be explained clearly.

Naturally, Hong Rui didn’t dare ask more questions.

She said: “Danainai, please drink this fermented rice quickly. If it gets cold, it won’t taste good.”

Shi Danainai nodded and picked up the bowl to drink a few sips, then absent-mindedly set it down again, saying: “Has there been a letter from the Master?”

“Not yet,” Hong Rui smiled. “Didn’t you just receive a letter from the Master two days ago? I figured it wouldn’t come so quickly!”

Shi Danainai’s expression grew even more dejected.

Hong Rui consoled her: “Didn’t Great Ancestor say? He has already asked old friends to look after the Master. The Master will be fine, you don’t need to worry.”

But Shi Danainai frowned and said: “My heart keeps feeling uneasy. Logically, we should be keeping an eye on Cheng Jiashan, but why do I feel that Great Ancestor cares more about Fourth Master Chi? It’s as if… as if once Fourth Master Chi is controlled, the First Branch won’t be worth fearing at all… I don’t know if this feeling is right or not… I want to discuss it with the Master. Initially, I just thought the Old안人 wanted to embarrass the First Branch. Since Hanbei Mountain House has been promoting the Fourth Branch’s Second Miss these days, I thought I’d casually give her some embarrassment and let the First Branch lose face. But I never expected that when Great Ancestor found out, he sent Liang Yiniang to ask about the poetry gathering… If I had done something wrong, while Great Ancestor wouldn’t scold me, he would at least give me some gentle hints. If I had done right, he should also have hinted at it. But he said nothing at all. Could it be that he’s afraid word will leak from me? Now I’m completely confused and don’t know what the right thing to do is!”

Hong Rui hesitated: “Why don’t you write another letter to the Master and see what he says?”

Shi Danainai remained silent for a long while.

She had tested the Old안인, but the Old안인 just played taiji with her, and she couldn’t press too urgently. After all these years, even if her mother-in-law was confused, she should at least know something about the grudge between the two families. Since her husband had always respected the Old안인, rather than risk alarming the Old안인 by writing to ask her husband, she might as well find a way to get some information out of her mother-in-law.

Having made up her mind, her mood improved, and she instructed Hong Rui: “Don’t worry about this matter anymore. I have my own plan.”

Hong Rui felt relieved.

She had served Shi Danainai since childhood, so their bond was naturally special, but for matters involving family secrets like this, the less she knew, the better.

※※※

In Jiashu Hall, Old Madam Guan, Mian Daitai, and Cheng Mian sat facing each other in silence, the atmosphere oppressive.

Old Madam Guan thought for a moment, then said to her son and daughter-in-law: “I think we need to discuss this matter with Shaojin. That child is thoughtful. If it weren’t for her words reminding us, we still wouldn’t know the situation had reached this point.”

Cheng Mian quickly stood up: “Then I’ll return to my study first.”

As the head of the family, if his mother wanted to speak with Zhou Shaojin, his presence would carry a different meaning.

Old Madam Guan nodded.

Mian Daitai saw her husband out, then immediately instructed a young maid to summon the Zhou sisters.

Old Madam Guan closed her eyes to rest, counting the eighteen beads of her aloeswood Buddhist rosary one by one. Only when Zhou Shaojin and her sister arrived did Old Madam Guan open her eyes. She gestured for Mian Daitai to close the door, then spoke directly: “Shaojin, I had the household steward investigate the First Branch’s public income. According to one of the accounting stewards, the public income from Jiuru Lane is two thousand taels of silver per year. The sacrificial fields only yield five hundred taels. All other income comes from a lacquerware shop on the main market street outside Tianjie Temple. This lacquerware shop was divided among the First, Second, and Third Branches when they separated households. After Fourth Master took charge of general affairs, the First Branch became a major shareholder in the Yutai Bank. They also began dealing in salt licenses and maritime trade, and only then did their days gradually improve.”

Zhou Shaojin looked confused.

Old Madam Guan now valued Zhou Shaojin’s words highly and said: “There are no outsiders here. Speak freely.”

Only then did Zhou Shaojin say: “Do you know how much the Yutai Bank’s annual dividends are?”

“Your maternal uncle investigated that,” Old Madam Guan said. “Our branch receives five thousand taels per year, while the First Branch receives ten thousand taels annually.”

“That’s impossible!” Zhou Shaojin thought of the furnishings at Hanbei Mountain House. “The Guo family also suffered disaster back then. When Old Madam Guo married out, the Guo family couldn’t possibly have provided a large dowry. Uncle Chi also couldn’t have touched Madam Yuan’s dowry. Even if the First Branch’s annual income is twelve thousand taels of silver, looking at the First Branch’s food, clothing, and expenses, they don’t look like they only became wealthy in recent years… Not to mention anything else, just those few pieces of jewelry Old Madam Guo gave me—each one is exquisite, already worthy of being heirlooms in ordinary families. Even with money, you couldn’t just buy them anytime. Clearly, they were preserved or acquired in earlier years.”

Mian Daitai couldn’t help nodding repeatedly. Looking at Zhou Shaojin with even more appreciation, she said: “Your maternal uncle had the same suspicion as you—that the First Branch has another source of income. But this income simply cannot be traced. If we say these things were acquired after the First Branch’s old master entered officialdom, how much would he have had to embezzle to acquire this entire estate? But the First Branch’s old master was famously upright—this is acknowledged by all officials who served alongside him. If someone wants to embezzle, there must be evidence, right? He might deceive one person, but he couldn’t deceive everyone, right?

“So your maternal uncle went to investigate the Second and Third Branches’ properties.

“Besides the fields and shops divided during the household separation, the Second Branch has actually not acquired any other properties over the years. Yet they are the biggest customers of Yongfu Sheng, the largest silver jewelry store in the capital. Every year, Yongfu Sheng sends its head shopkeeper to pay respects to Great Ancestor. Even if the Second Branch just has a steward going to the capital on business, Yongfu Sheng will send a shopkeeper-level person to accompany them.

“The Third Branch is exactly the opposite. Not only have they expanded the pharmacy divided during separation into a large establishment with thirteen branch stores, they also own restaurants, pawnshops, oil presses, pastry shops… very diverse. They’ve gotten involved in almost every profitable business.

“Your maternal uncle believes that if this income truly exists, it must be shared between the First and Second Branches, with no share for the Third Branch. And this income is most likely controlled by Fourth Master Chi, who manages general affairs.

“Now the Second Branch is in decline, while the First Branch is flourishing like brocade over flowers. Both Youyi and Jiashan have reached the stage where they need silver poured into them. The Second Branch most likely fears that the First Branch will monopolize this income, which is why they’ve had conflicts with the First Branch.

“Because this income cannot be traced anywhere, we don’t know whether the First Branch did something to cause the Second Branch’s misunderstanding, or whether the Second Branch is worrying needlessly and speculating wildly…”

As Mian Daitai’s mouth opened and closed, Zhou Shaojin and Zhou Chujin had long been stunned speechless, unable to recover for quite some time. Especially Zhou Shaojin—her heart surged with emotion, unable to calm down for a long while.

What other secrets did the Cheng family hold?

Was the Cheng family’s house raid related to these secrets?

The five households of Jiuru Lane spoke with one voice—why would the First and Second Branches conceal things from the other three branches?

Zhou Shaojin suddenly felt resentful.

When enjoying fortune, only the First and Second Branches benefited, but when disaster struck, the Fourth Branch suffered along with them. How could there be such a convenient arrangement!

This time, she must extract the Fourth Branch from this mess.

Otherwise, everyone would end up in trouble together!

Moreover, saving just the Fourth Branch would be much easier than saving all of Jiuru Lane.

She said: “Maternal Grandmother, since this is the case, why don’t we move out? Jiuru Lane is too complicated. I’m afraid our Fourth Branch will suffer losses!”