Today was the fifteenth, and Chen Xuan Yue had not yet come over, but several concubines had arrived first to pay their respects to her.

When Gu Jin Chao had just given birth, the concubines had visited her. Xue Concubine had given the child a pair of gold-inlaid white jade rattles, while Yu Concubine and Lu Concubine had both presented self-made little jackets or baby bibs and socks for the child.

The three concubines now lived in Xianyu Pavilion, which was far and secluded, not far from where Madam Jiang had originally resided. Originally, when Gu Jin Chao moved to Muxi Hall, the concubines’ quarters should have been relocated closer to her. However, firstly, she did not need the concubines to attend to her, and secondly, Third Master Chen no longer spent nights with the concubines. So the concubines had never been moved.

Following the custom, Xue Concubine served her tea and asked about Chang Suo: “…The former Madam had poor health, so I took care of the Eleventh Young Master until he was four. The Eleventh Young Master was mischievous as a child and did not nurse well. I came up with many methods to raise him. I heard recently that the young master has been crying at night, if it hasn’t improved, I do have some techniques…”

Gu Jin Chao drank her tea and smiled: “He’s fine now, so you needn’t trouble yourself.”

Xue Concubine looked at her cautiously, after all, since Third Master Chen didn’t manage them, Gu Jin Chao’s mood alone could determine their fate. She smiled again: “That’s good then. I heard the young master hasn’t been well recently, which reminded me of the Eleventh Young Master’s situation back then. The two brothers seem to have similar circumstances.”

Gu Jin Chao knew that Xue Concubine missed Chen Xuan Xin. Outside of seasonal occasions, she and Chen Xuan Xin couldn’t see each other.

Gu Jin Chao said lightly: “The Eleventh Young Master will be coming over shortly to pay his respects to me. You may stay for lunch.”

Xue Concubine’s face lit up with joy, understanding that this was Gu Jin Chao’s special favor allowing her to see her son. She immediately bowed in gratitude.

Lu Concubine then smiled: “I truly envy Xue Concubine, being able to accompany Madam for lunch. When myself and Yu Concubine are at Xianyu Pavilion, we have no one to talk to, making our hearts quite lonely…”

Just as she was speaking, Yu Concubine began to cough. Lu Concubine’s expression stiffened.

Gu Jin Chao glanced at her. Yu Concubine wasn’t many years older than herself and was at her most beautiful age. With skin like snow, she was more lovely than flowers. She covered her mouth with a handkerchief, turning her head aside, saying softly: “I caught a cold a few days ago and haven’t fully recovered… I’ve offended Madam.”

Gu Jin Chao could see that her complexion was somewhat pale, and she appeared weak. Naturally, she would not blame her: “Since your illness has persisted, we should have a physician come and examine you. If a cough is prolonged, it could develop into other illnesses.”

Yu Xian Yin stood up and curtseyed, still maintaining her faint tone: “A few days ago, I had a woman skilled in medicine look at me. I’m currently taking medicinal soup, and it has already eased considerably. There’s no need to trouble Madam to send for a physician.”

Yu Concubine had the strangest temperament, perhaps because her father was a Wanping County Assistant Magistrate, making her somewhat more arrogant than Xue Concubine and Lu Concubine, who came from servant and merchant backgrounds. Since she was unwilling to see a doctor, Gu Jin Chao didn’t force her and nodded for her to sit down.

After the two concubines withdrew, it was time for Steward Liu and Steward Wei to speak. Since there was nothing urgent, Gu Jin Chao sent them back and picked up an account book from the office to examine carefully. She had been accustomed to reviewing account books from shops and estates for years, so these didn’t pose much difficulty for her. However, only upon examination did she realize how large the Chen family’s expenses truly were. The office alone had monthly expenditures of nearly a thousand taels of silver, and when major social obligations arose, even a thousand taels wouldn’t be sufficient… Calculating this way, who knew how vast the Chen family’s assets must be to sustain such spending?

Xue Concubine stood beside her, helping to serve tea and fan her.

At noon, Gu Jin Chao had the maids set up a meal in the west side room and invited Xue Rong to sit down and dine together.

Xue Rong was too apprehensive to accept, but Gu Jin Chao said: “When the Eleventh Young Master arrives, he certainly wouldn’t want to see you standing and serving me…”

Madam wanted to preserve her dignity in front of her child… Xue Concubine bit her lip before slowly sitting down.

Chen Xuan Xin had to attend lectures at Tao Yan Hall in the morning, so he could only come at noon. When he entered the west side room and saw Xue Concubine, his face showed some surprise, but he quickly composed himself, respectfully bowing to Gu Jin Chao, and then addressing Xue Rong as “Xue Concubine.”

Xue Concubine saw that he had grown taller and was beginning to resemble Third Master Chen. She nodded with a smile, and Chen Xuan Xin looked at his birth mother, seeming to want to speak but hesitating. Then he softly asked Gu Jin Chao about Chang Suo.

Just then, the wet nurse brought Chang Suo out. Perhaps seeing his mother sitting on the luohan bed wearing a crimson silk-knotted jacket, his eyes were fixed unblinkingly. Gu Jin Chao rose smiling to tease him, kissing his little face, while he stared at her intently, just as he would look at the tiger doll on his bed. When Gu Jin Chao took him into her arms, he obediently leaned against her shoulder, his body emanating a milky fragrance.

Seeing this, Xue Concubine smiled: “Eleventh Young Master, look how adorable the young master is. When you were this age, you were as skinny as a monkey…”

Chen Xuan Xin secretly frowned; he wasn’t accustomed to his birth mother speaking so intimately with him. But his good upbringing prevented him from expressing his displeasure.

Not having grown up with his birth mother meant there was naturally little affection. Moreover, the Xue Concubine he saw was merely a concubine raised from a servant, far incomparable to Madam Jiang or Madam Gu. If not for giving birth to him, Xue Concubine would likely have struggled to maintain her position in the Chen household.

Gu Jin Chao could also perceive Chen Xuan Xin’s distance from Xue Concubine, yet Xue Concubine gazed eagerly at her son, unwilling to even blink. She said nothing more and lulled Chang Suo to sleep before having the wet nurse take him back to the warm room.

At this moment, Chen Xuan Yue arrived.

Shi Qiu lifted the curtain for him, and Chen Xuan Yue entered.

Chen Xuan Xin smiled upon seeing Chen Xuan Yue: “Ninth Brother has come to Mother’s quarters?”

Chen Xuan Yue merely grunted, his voice betraying a faint impatience. Without even looking at him, he walked straight toward Gu Jin Chao.

Chen Xuan Xin had initially wanted to tease him a bit but didn’t feel it appropriate in front of Gu Jin Chao. They often mocked Chen Xuan Yue verbally at Tao Yan Hall. Yet he hadn’t expected that one day Chen Xuan Yue would speak to him this way. Moreover, there was an indescribable feeling about him that momentarily intimidated Chen Xuan Xin. By the time he reacted, he felt somewhat resentful and wanted to tease him further.

Gu Jin Chao, seeing that Chen Xuan Yue had arrived, naturally didn’t want to say much. It was a good opportunity to let Xue Concubine speak privately with Chen Xuan Xin. So she had the two of them leave first.

Chen Xuan Yue, preoccupied with his matters, paid no attention to Chen Xuan Xin.

After everyone had left, he sat across from Gu Jin Chao, feeling quite uneasy.

“Aunt… I…”

Gu Jin Chao sighed: “I saw the writing on the paper crane. Let me ask you, have you been pretending to be foolish all along?”

She didn’t beat around the bush, which put Chen Xuan Yue at ease. Gu Jin Chao’s direct question proved she had no misgivings about him. Chen Xuan Yue shook his head then nodded, lowering his gaze and saying softly: “When I was young, I had a high fever. From that time on, my nanny told me I must pretend to be simple-minded… otherwise, sooner or later, Mother would harm me. It was only a few years ago when my nanny passed away that I began to plan, knowing I couldn’t continue like this…”

As he spoke, he clenched his fist: “At that time, my nanny had a stroke, and I told Mother. But she refused to call a doctor to examine my nanny, just sending a woman with some medical knowledge to look at her. I was only seven years old and could do nothing but watch over my nanny day and night… The only person who was good to me lasted barely a month before she was gone. I admit, initially I was calculating with you too. But I know you’re genuinely good to me…”

Gu Jin Chao recalled meeting him by the lotus pond one day when several children had snatched his sachet.

“So that day at the lotus pond, you wanted to get back your nanny’s sachet?”

Chen Xuan Yue nodded without hesitation.

It was actually from that moment that he began to notice Gu Jin Chao. The more he pondered, the more he felt that only Gu Jin Chao would help him. He began a long period of planning, including hiding near Gu Jin Chao’s Muxi Hall, waiting for her to rescue him.

A seven-year-old child, watching helplessly as the nanny who had raised him died—Gu Jin Chao could empathize with that feeling. She remained silent for a while before asking: “Were you born so intelligent? That day you spotted the error in my account book at a glance.”

Chen Xuan Yue thought for a long time before slowly saying: “Aunt, I cannot tell you this. It’s not that I don’t trust you, but this matter is difficult to explain… But I truly have a photographic memory. As for that error, it may be hard for you to see, but for me, it couldn’t be simpler.”

This child was displaying his extraordinary intelligence for the first time, speaking clearly and eloquently. In his gestures and mannerisms, there was a special presence.

Gu Jin Chao finally understood why he would assume the position of Left Commander-in-Chief before the age of thirty.

Everyone has their secrets. Not to mention, Gu Jin Chao was also concealing certain matters, so she didn’t press further. She wanted to ruffle his hair but sighed and lowered her hand: “…Besides this, you must have other things you’re hiding from me.”

Gu Jin Chao was certain that Chen Xuan Yue harbored many secrets, and some of those secrets were related to the Chen family.

Chen Xuan Yue stared momentarily at her lowered hand. Even if she believed him, when the day came that she knew the truth, she would inevitably distance herself from him…

Gu Jin Chao looked at him steadily, seeing only Chen Xuan Yue’s silence. She knew she should take a stance. So she said lightly: “If you won’t tell me, so be it. Since I now know you’re not truly simple-minded, you needn’t pretend anymore. I’ll invite a physician tomorrow to treat your condition!”

This way, using the physician’s words, she could gloss over Chen Xuan Yue’s pretense.

To spare him the exhaustion of pretending, and herself the greater exhaustion of watching.

Chen Xuan Yue merely smiled bitterly and shook his head, looking up at her and saying: “…What if I told you that I must continue this pretense? If one-day others discover that I’m faking, I fear my life would be in danger… Do you still want me to reveal everything?”