Ever since Old Madam Chen had been criticized by Old Master Chen for poor household management and lax family governance, she had constantly felt uneasy. At this moment, hearing Old Master Chen mention having Chen Mingyu follow the grand-aunt to learn some skills, she belatedly grasped the true meaning. For no reason at all, why talk about tempering her temperament? Back when the attempt to kill Song Chuyi failed, Old Master Chen had merely mentioned once that Chen Mingyu needed to be urged to break her habit of fixating on Song Chuyi. But now he spoke these four words about tempering her temperament. Old Madam Chen savored this for a while, then understood and asked him: “The grand-aunt once trained two princess consorts. Could it be that your meaning, Old Master…”

Old Madam Chen was actually quite perceptive in this regard. Old Master Chen restrained the smile on his face and slowly nodded. After careful consideration, he decided to tell Old Madam Chen about the matter: “Master Yuanjue from Huangjue Temple came to see me, seeking my assistance with a convenience. To continue the unfinished business from last time. After weighing the pros and cons, I obtained a definite answer from His Highness and Lady Liangdi.”

Old Madam Chen’s eyes showed shock. Her gaze toward Old Master Chen instantly brightened, and she gained several degrees more spirit. She had thought they would henceforth die of old age in Jinling. Thinking that returning to Jinling was better than falling into destitution elsewhere or having their entire household executed, she had absolutely never considered the matter of making a comeback. Now hearing Old Master Chen say this, it clearly meant the Eastern Palace still had use for them—not only that, but they had even promised that Chen Mingyu would be selected as the Princess Consort?!

This was truly sending a pillow when one was drowsy. After her initial shock, Old Madam Chen smiled at the corners of her mouth, her eyes unable to hide her joy: “What I’ve always worried about most was Mingyu’s future prospects. This girl has been pampered and raised by us since childhood. From a young age her pride was high, regarding herself as the future Grand Princess Consort. Now that disaster has struck, I see she’s even lost her vitality and spirit. If you hadn’t spoken those words to her last time, I fear she would have become even more despondent. Even so, I still worried she had fallen from such heights and couldn’t recover. Since this is the case, all is well.”

If Prince Dongping and Fan Liangdi truly succeeded in their goal, it would be fulfilling Chen Mingyu’s dream anew—she had always been convinced she would become the Grand Princess Consort, and then without obstacles, she would naturally truly become so.

Having heard such joyful news, Old Madam Chen was especially attentive when instructing Chen Mingyu: “This time your grandfather personally instructed that you follow your grand-aunt closely to learn more. Your grand-aunt is a treasure of old age—countless clan members wish to seek her guidance and instruction but cannot. You must cherish this blessing.”

She recalled Old Master Chen’s earlier instructions and felt his concerns were quite reasonable. Chen Mingyu was clever to be sure, and possessed schemes and methods, but unfortunately they were all too superficial. With this level of skill, facing someone as shrewd as Song Chuyi would only result in death. And if she truly wanted to be the mother of the nation, such temperament was clearly far from sufficient.

Chen Mingyu only felt confused. She naturally knew that after going to Jinling, a grand-aunt would be invited to the household to manage the inner residence and provisions. But what did this have to do with her? The grand-aunt had trained nothing less than princess consorts! Surprised in her heart, she widened her eyes looking at Old Madam Chen: “Grandmother, I don’t understand what you’re saying.”

Old Madam Chen patted her hand: “There are some things you shouldn’t hear about. Your grandfather and grandmother will never treat you unfairly. Among this generation of girls in the Chen family, only you are both legitimate and eldest. As the legitimate eldest daughter, you must uphold the family’s reputation. When you eventually leave the household in marriage, you mustn’t bring shame to our Chen family.”

Chen Mingyu heard this even more confusedly, as if walking through clouds and mist. But one thing she understood very clearly—grandmother had been despondent for so many days, even nearly falling ill with anger over the grand-aunt’s matter, yet now seemed eager for the grand-aunt to come teach her. She recalled the earlier incident when Rushang reported that someone at the dock sought an audience, then connected it to grandfather’s recent elusiveness and the clearly busy retainers and advisors these past days. Her heartbeat imperceptibly quickened.

During the first part of the journey they had leisurely enjoyed the scenery, frequently disembarking for banquets and social calls along the way. But the latter half of the journey suddenly accelerated toward the city, with more frequent stops at docks. Each time they reached a dock, large batches of letters arrived from the postal station. Though Chen Mingyu didn’t know the specifics of what was happening, she understood that grandfather must have major business to attend to, so she became even quieter.

When one couldn’t help, not adding to others’ troubles was the greatest benefit. Chen Mingyu had now deeply comprehended this principle. She silently stayed in her cabin, simply not stepping out the door at all, peacefully reading her books.

Old Master Chen was indeed very busy, but not busy immediately opening doors for Huangjue Temple. Only by knowing oneself and one’s enemy could one win every battle. He always felt Yang Qing was quite right—he had been defeated precisely by underestimating his opponent. Previously, he had never taken Song Sixth Miss seriously at all. But the Song family men had all taken Song Chuyi seriously—this was their difference.

Having finally found his opponent, Old Master Chen naturally couldn’t too easily pounce like a hungry tiger on food. He needed to first thoroughly understand the person, and only after understanding clearly could he proceed with subsequent matters.

Naturally, these matters were for Yang Qing and the other advisors to handle—no need for him to personally oversee them. What he needed to handle first now were clan affairs. That Emperor Jianzhang was willing to spare him this time was certainly partly due to remembering old affections, but more so because Tao Dinghu had recanted his testimony. And the reason Tao Dinghu’s recantation was so easily accepted was because from their Chen manor, truly nothing had been confiscated.

He had never learned from those fools who piled gold, silver, and treasures at home or registered them in account books at banks. The family fortune he had accumulated over these years had all been sent back to his ancestral home, properly used to buy land, build schools, and purchase estates and forests. According to the clan’s calculations, he could now produce over two hundred thousand taels of silver in ready cash—this was a very large sum of silver indeed.

He gripped the account ledgers in his hands, a slight smile blooming at the corners of his lips.

The Crown Prince needed money, desperately needed it. Everything he did required money—winning people over, supporting people, supporting those advisors of his. Relying solely on the Eastern Palace’s stipend and the Emperor’s rewards was insufficient. These were all expenses.

Prince Dongping and Fan Liangdi needed it even more. Even if they might still harbor a bit of dissatisfaction about him making demands, with these two hundred-plus thousand taels of silver as Chen Mingyu’s dowry, that bit of dissatisfaction in their hearts would vanish into thin air.

The Chen family had not produced outstanding descendants. The eldest son had been extremely outstanding, but unfortunately died young. The remaining second son was of mediocre caliber. As for the third son now… The eldest grandson was nothing more than an ordinary wastrel. Old Master Chen couldn’t place his bets on his descendants.