Seeing her like this, Nanny Fang knew she was angry. She helplessly shook her head and averted her eyes—if Great Madam Fan had been willing to listen to even one word of advice, just one word, Little Madam Fan back then wouldn’t have been tormented into that neither-human-nor-ghost appearance. What she decided upon had never changed, nor could it ever change. Since she had decided to send Han Yueheng to Dongying as an accompanying maid, she would certainly make it happen.
The late summer breeze carried a hint of coolness. She brushed away the goosebumps on her body and began asking Great Madam Fan about other matters in a low voice: “Miss Heng is Ninth Princess’s companion reader. By rights, if Ninth Princess were to go for the marriage alliance, it would be perfectly natural for Miss Heng to go as an accompanying maid.”
Though she felt Great Madam Fan was truly being too harsh toward Little Madam Fan, and the reasons for this harshness were too far-fetched, she was ultimately just a servant who couldn’t change her mistress’s thoughts. Since she couldn’t change them, she could only try to smooth things over, avoiding too early an escalation of conflict between these two sisters, lest matters reach an irretrievable point and affect the entire Fan clan.
Great Madam Fan understood Nanny Fang’s meaning. As long as the one going for the marriage alliance was Ninth Princess, it would be perfectly natural for Han Yueheng as her companion reader to accompany as a maid—there were plenty of such precedents. When the time came, she need only claim she was powerless to prevent it, and no one could do anything to her or find fault with her.
Though she knew Nanny Fang wanted to prevent them from falling out too openly, Great Madam Fan rarely refrained from contradicting her—not because she truly cared about Little Madam Fan’s feelings or feared she might go mad, but because Han Yueheng was after all Han Zhi’s own sister. This time because of Sixth Miss Song’s matter, Han Zhi had already quarreled with her for the first time. If she personally sent his sister to Dongying, no matter how close Han Zhi was to her, there would inevitably be a rift in his heart.
Moreover, she had thought even deeper. Ninth Princess had always been arrogant and domineering, never favored by Her Majesty the Empress, and had always looked coldly upon her nephew Zhou Weiqi. If she went for the marriage alliance, Consort Xian, having already lost Prince Duan, would have to sacrifice another daughter and would surely be devastated. The Empress would undoubtedly be pleased to see this.
Furthermore, she had heard that recently, besides Consort Xian and Ninth Princess being exceptionally warm toward the Shen family of Shangqiu, Old Madam Song had also asked Princess Consort Zhennan and Madam Li to make contact with the Shen family of Shangqiu.
When the time came, if she helped remove the stumbling blocks of Consort Xian and Ninth Princess, facilitating the good fortune of Consort Song and Eleventh Princess, wouldn’t Earl Changning’s mansion owe her another great favor? This transaction that killed three birds with one stone was truly the most worthwhile deal imaginable.
At dusk, Zhou Weiqi came to pay his respects to her and mentioned Tao Dinghu’s matter: “He might not agree if others approached him, but when I brought up my maternal grandfather, he had nothing more to say. The fake account books on uncle’s side are all ready. When the time comes, we’ll push everything onto Zhang Tianhe. Once Zhang Tianhe admits his guilt, this matter will basically be settled and won’t implicate uncle.”
Great Madam Fan breathed a sigh of relief. Compared to that disgusting sister of unknown origins, this childhood sweetheart who was now her brother-in-law concerned her far more. Moreover, Han Zhengqing was still gathering wealth for them in Xibei—his usefulness was extraordinary.
While instructing Nanny Fang to go to the kitchen and have them prepare a dish of butter snails and a dish of sesame elephant eyes, she raised her eyes to ask Zhou Weiqi: “What does Zhang Tianhe’s side say? Is he willing to accept punishment? After all, he must have some letters exchanged with your uncle and the Chen family in his possession. If we don’t get them in hand, it will always be worrying.”
Zhou Weiqi had already thought of this point. Hearing this, he lifted his robe and sat in the first chair below Great Madam Fan’s seat, smiling: “Cousin has already thought of this long ago and has already bribed the Imperial Guards escorting Zhang Tianhe, learning the location where Zhang Tianhe hid his secret letters. He even managed to extract several of Zhang Tianhe’s children, precisely to prevent Zhang Tianhe from talking. Mother need not worry about this.”
This nephew she had raised with her own hands was indeed useful. Great Madam Fan reached up to remove the round-headed white jade hairpin from her hair to pick at walnut kernels, a smug smile hanging at the corner of her mouth—she was superior to Little Madam Fan in every way. The man she married was the one she wanted, the son she bore was favored and intelligent, her brother-in-law was firmly in her grasp, and even Little Madam Fan’s son and daughter were close to her. This feeling made her suddenly feel she was superior to Little Madam Fan by more than just a little.
When they were young, the guests and more distant relatives who didn’t understand the full story all liked the naturally cheerful and coquettish Little Madam Fan a bit more, and their father had always doted on and indulged her. She had been in the spotlight for so many years, yet now wasn’t she thoroughly trampled underfoot?
Having savored her triumph, she thought of other matters and said to Zhou Weiqi with a smile: “Elder Chen coming to you for help is actually a good thing. That side definitely won’t intervene in this matter. If we provide help in their time of need now, they’ll naturally know whom to side with in the future. You’ve both earned money from beyond the border and can cleanly extract yourself without suspicion, and can also keep your uncle stationed in Datong. It’s a good thing.”
Zhou Weiqi deeply agreed. He took the glass bowl Great Madam Fan handed over with both hands, looked at the walnut kernels inside, and laughed: “Mother is right, which is why I agreed to help him. With the Chen family having such a weakness fall into our hands in the future, even if I draw close to the Song family and want a Miss Song to become my princess consort, they’ll have nothing to say about it.”
It was still too early to talk about these things now. Who knew whether the Song family would be willing to jump back into the whirlpool? Keeping the Chen family on a string was still necessary. Great Madam Fan frowned and spoke to him about the marriage alliance: “Speaking of the Song family, Consort Song has been so worried about the marriage alliance that she can’t sleep at night. Why don’t we go with the flow and help her, facilitating Ninth Princess’s good fortune? In the future, even just for this, your imperial grandmother will think more highly of you. Not to mention the favor from Consort Song.”
Zhou Weiqi understood his mother’s meaning. After thinking for a moment, he tossed a walnut kernel into his mouth: “When the time comes, I’ll pass word to the Ministry of Rites. Once the Ministry of Rites and Court of Imperial Sacrifices people mention it to the Dongying envoys, the Dongying envoys will know which princess they should request to marry.”
Compared to Eleventh Princess, Zhou Weiqi disliked the always temperamental and spoiled Ninth Princess even more. Moreover, what Great Madam Fan said was right—making Consort Xian suffer would please his imperial grandmother, even if she didn’t say it aloud.
This matter could both please his imperial grandmother, who had always been somewhat cool toward him because of his mother Great Madam Fan’s relationship, and also draw close to the Song family to curry favor with Song Chuyi, establishing good relations with Consort Song and Eleventh Princess. It was truly a deal where no matter how one calculated, there would be no loss. He had always been proud of his mother’s farsighted planning and moved closer to Great Madam Fan with a smile, picking up a walnut kernel to hand to her.