After the banquet, the Great Young Madam’s position in the inner courtyard became even more secure. Not only had she moved in to live with the Prince as husband and wife, but she had also won the Marquis Dingxi’s favor. The poem the Young Madam recited at the Mid-Autumn banquet was personally written down by the Marquis Dingxi, framed, and hung in his room.

“She even smiled and asked the Marquis for that calligraphy, saying she wanted to hang her father’s precious work in her room to absorb some literary talent…” Nanny Su said to Madam Xie.

Madam Xie let out a snorting laugh through her nose.

“The Marquis is truly satisfied now. This beautiful daughter-in-law is finally both talented and beautiful.”

She said this while slowly turning the teacup in her hands.

Indeed, the Marquis had laughed heartily at the time, and Concubine Zhou had also joined in to please him.

“That lowly slave is also satisfied. Her scheming wasn’t in vain,” Madam Xie said with cold laughter, placing her teacup heavily on the kang table.

“The Young Madam also…” Nanny Su continued.

Just as she began speaking, a maid outside announced that the Second Madam had arrived.

When the Second Madam entered the courtyard, she saw Madam Xie come down the steps to personally support her.

“If there’s anything, just send someone to call me, and I’ll come over. Why did you come out yourself again?” Madam Xie said with some worried reproach.

Chen Shi smiled and took her hand.

“I’m fine. I just came to see how sister-in-law is doing,” she said.

Madam Xie pulled her into the room, and they sat down as host and guest. A’Luan personally served tea.

“Second Madam can’t have this tea,” Madam Xie said.

“Yes, this servant remembers. This is Tongmu Pass tea,” A’Luan said with a smile.

Only then did Madam Xie nod with relief.

“You’re so thoughtful, child,” Chen Shi said with a smile, looking at Madam Xie. “Thank you, sister-in-law.”

“What are you saying?” Madam Xie looked at her and sighed. “Your health was getting better, but back then it was for my sake that things became like this…”

Speaking of this, she smiled bitterly again.

“After all, you suffered for nothing,” she said, her expression unable to hide her grief and anger.

Nanny Su was perceptive and waved her hand, leading the maids out of the room, leaving only A’Luan and the Second Madam’s senior maid Cai Qing to attend nearby.

“Sister-in-law, I heard that elder brother is becoming more and more fond of Yueniang?” Chen Shi began.

The children from the West Mansion had all been at the banquet that day and naturally saw how that lowly slave had delighted the Marquis Dingxi.

Madam Xie laughed mockingly.

“It would be strange if he weren’t fond of her,” she said. “Any beautiful woman looks good to him. That’s also why that old witch was so confident back then.”

She stopped herself after saying “old witch.”

Chen Shi seemed not to hear and sighed gently.

The room fell silent for a moment.

“I heard about last night, so I specially came to see sister-in-law,” Chen Shi said, looking at Madam Xie. “Sister-in-law, don’t let anger harm yourself. You must know that harming yourself will only please those people more.”

Madam Xie’s constantly tense expression gradually relaxed, and the sadness on her face could no longer be concealed.

“I’m not angry, I’m just unwilling to accept it,” she said slowly, her voice trembling. “I’m unwilling, I’m unwilling!”

Chen Shi’s eyes filled with tears as she walked to her and grasped her hands.

“Sister-in-law, we still have options, we still have options,” she consoled.

“What options are there? It’s a marriage decreed by the Emperor—she can’t be divorced. That old witch blocked all paths. Unless… unless that lowly slave dies,” Madam Xie murmured. When she reached the word “dies,” her eyes lit up.

Chen Shi noticed the hands she was holding had clenched into fists and quickly called out “Sister-in-law.”

“Sister-in-law, you mustn’t, you mustn’t. For this woman, you can’t take risks. If anything happens to you, Cheng-ge’er won’t escape involvement either. Don’t look at how cold and ignored Qiu Tong Courtyard seems—secretly, so many eyes are watching,” she hurriedly whispered.

Madam Xie’s clenched hands finally relaxed.

“Even if she died, what good family’s daughter would be willing to come as a second wife?” She returned to sadness, tears falling. “Our Cheng-ge’er is ultimately ruined by her.”

“No, no. Our Cheng-ge’er has both looks and status. Young and already favored by the Emperor—you couldn’t find such a good match even with a lantern. So many families dream of joining us. Not to mention as a legitimate wife, even to be a concubine, they’d fight over it,” Chen Shi quickly said with a smile. “These days I’ve suddenly received many invitations—some inviting me to visit, others wanting to visit our home. I was puzzled why I suddenly became so popular after being ill for so long. It was clever Cai Qing who figured out that they weren’t coming to see me at all—they were clearly looking for opportunities to come to our home, hoping to be noticed by you, sister-in-law…”

Madam Xie couldn’t help but laugh at her amusing description.

“How could you demean yourself like that? You were always popular,” she said with a laugh, patting Chen Shi’s hand and wiping her tears with a handkerchief, calling to Cai Qing. “Since you’re said to be clever, why don’t you quickly support your mistress instead of letting her stand for so long?”

Cai Qing was a seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl, not particularly beautiful, but with dimples when she smiled that made her very endearing. She smiled and quickly helped the Second Madam back to her seat.

With this crying, laughing, and talking, Madam Xie felt the depression in her heart had indeed dissipated considerably. Looking at Chen Shi’s frail and sickly appearance, she sighed.

“There will be a way, sister-in-law. Don’t worry,” Chen Shi said with a slight smile.

Madam Xie let out a long breath.

“That lowly slave has been taught by that lowly woman to become increasingly cunning. She stirs up trouble in this mansion, winning over the Marquis with just a few words…”

She continued: “Everyone in the family has seen it—she’s won the Marquis’s favor and moved into Cheng-ge’er’s courtyard. Who can do anything about her now…”

“By the way,” Chen Shi interrupted her question upon hearing this, quickly asking, “How did Cheng-ge’er let her…”

Madam Xie glanced at her.

“It’s nothing. Didn’t Cheng-ge’er get injured some time ago? On the way back, he encountered a strange person who said there was a disaster and needed a yin person to suppress it. It had to be a legitimate wife. Of course, there’s no need for them to share a room or anything. Just living in the same courtyard would do. It’s not for long—ten days to half a month would be enough. You know how hard our Cheng-ge’er works outside. I can’t bear the slightest shock,” Madam Xie said with a smile.

Only then did Chen Shi breathe a sigh of relief.

“You scared me to death. I thought…” she said, holding her chest.

“You thought sons must necessarily resemble their fathers?” Madam Xie said, her face showing unmistakable pride. “Once some time passes, we’ll immediately drive her away.”

Chen Shi smiled with pursed lips.

“It’s precisely because father has seen too many beauties that our Cheng-ge’er has grown tired of them,” she said with a laugh.

“Cheng-ge’er is upright, proper, honest, and steadfast. Those rouge and powder women are nothing but skeletons in his eyes,” Madam Xie said with her chin slightly raised, showing undisguised admiration and pride for her son.

Chen Shi covered her mouth and laughed.

“However,” after laughing, her eyes still showed inevitable worry, “with a man and woman living alone under the same roof, Cheng-ge’er is grown up after all. Besides, that Yueniang is ultimately a beauty. What if they become intimate and she gets pregnant? That would be even more troublesome…”

“It won’t happen,” Madam Xie said without hesitation.

“Sister-in-law, such things can’t be predicted. You should still warn Cheng-ge’er,” Chen Shi said.

“Cheng-ge’er never needs warnings,” Madam Xie said with full confidence, then smiled again. “Besides, even if he did become intimate with her, so what…”

Chen Shi’s eyelid twitched, and she couldn’t help but stand up.

Madam Xie was somewhat surprised.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“Nothing,” Chen Shi quickly smiled, then sighed. “Sister-in-law, you should still remind Cheng-ge’er. Our Cheng-ge’er is precisely because he’s upright—upright people are selfless at heart, which makes them most easily exploited by others, especially by these rouge skeletons…”

Seeing her mention this repeatedly, Madam Xie’s heart was also moved. Thinking of that lowly slave’s captivating smile at the banquet, her expression finally became serious as she slowly nodded.

“You’re more thorough in your thinking,” she said, patting Chen Shi’s hand with a sigh.

“I’m also truly unwilling to accept this,” Chen Shi said with a complex expression.

Madam Xie nodded gratefully at her. The Second Madam’s long illness had weakened her constitution, and after talking for so long, she was completely exhausted. Madam Xie quickly ordered for her to be carefully sent back in a sedan chair, standing at the door watching until she was gone before turning back.

“The Second Madam truly cares for the Prince,” Nanny Su sighed. “When the Old Madam arranged that marriage, thinking no one would stand up to oppose it, unexpectedly the first to stand up was her. She even went on a hunger strike, refusing food and medicine, to make the Old Madam take back her words…”

“She said it was so the children could rely on Cheng-ge’er. Though she had selfish motives, being able to do so much—I keep her feelings in my heart,” Madam Xie said while supporting Nanny Su and turning around, then remembering something. “What were you about to say earlier? What else did that lowly slave do?”

“The Prince’s courtyard still doesn’t have a name plaque. You said to wait for the Prince to write it himself,” Nanny Su said with an indignant expression.

Madam Xie nodded.

“That…” Nanny Su felt too embarrassed to say “lowly slave” directly and glossed over it, “after making the Marquis happy, she actually said she had thought of a name for the Prince’s courtyard and asked father to write it together and hang it up…”

“What?” Madam Xie clenched her hands and raised her eyebrows. “That lowly slave! This is too much!”

This was indeed too much!

At this very moment, Qiu Xiang standing in the courtyard had already screamed this phrase countless times in her heart, but the raging anger in her heart didn’t prevent a brand new plaque from being hung at the courtyard gate.

Pengcheng Courtyard.

“Really nice,” Qi Yue examined it from left to right, nodding to the servants. “Reward them.”

Jiu Zhi took out a string of coins and tossed them to the servants with a smile.

“Thank you for the Young Madam’s reward,” the servants kowtowed and called out, each leaving happily.

“Qiu Xiang,” Jiu Zhi called out, “what do you think?”

Qiu Xiang’s face had turned green. It was calligraphy written by the Marquis—could she say it wasn’t good? If it weren’t hanging here…

“Good,” she said dryly.

Jiu Zhi winked flirtatiously at her. Qiu Xiang snorted and turned her head, only to see seven or eight servant women pulling flatbed carts over, loaded with various flowers and plants.

“What… what is this for?” she couldn’t help asking.

Qi Yue was just stepping through the door and looked over when she heard the question.

“Oh,” she said with a smile, “the rooms in this courtyard are too plain, so I had the flower house send some flowers and plants.”

“But… but the Prince doesn’t like flowers and plants,” Qiu Xiang said, biting her lower lip.

Qi Yue looked at her.

“Really?” she said with squinting, smiling eyes.

Qiu Xiang nodded heavily.

“How could one cart be enough?” Qi Yue stopped looking at her and turned to smile at the women unloading the cart. “Bring another cart.”