When the Lin family members came to the estate, they said it was to relax, but they also had their own matters to attend to.

After the Old Madam had someone spread a few casual words, she completely set the matter aside. That was the Fourth Prince, the future Emperor. She absolutely couldn’t participate too much—this was already enough.

Even without her dropping hints, wouldn’t Concubine Li think of it herself?

She would.

She wasn’t stupid.

What she had done this time, upon careful reflection, was somewhat impulsive. Now she shouldn’t do anything—just watch.

The Old Madam also didn’t know whether the Fourth Prince would agree to petition for Concubine Li’s enfeoffment. His Ce Fujin position could still secure him a useful marriage alliance.

It would depend on how he weighed it.

Having let go, the Old Madam busied herself copying sutras for her eldest granddaughter and chanting prayers for her second granddaughter.

One was praying for the other to conceive smoothly, the other for a smooth delivery.

Yun Shuyao continued catalyzing seeds and had to channel her ability into her spiritual mirror to help it recover. Additionally, after arriving here and seeing those expanses of fields, she got an idea and picked up her paintbrush. She wasn’t in a hurry—when she had leisure time, she’d add a few strokes, then play with Yuan Geer. Her days were leisurely and carefree.

Tang Wanxin devoted most of her energy to accompanying her son. Coming here, she no longer needed to manage household affairs. With nothing to do here, when her son was asleep, she would pick up her needlework to make undergarments for her husband, to be sent over later.

Yuan Geer was also very happy here, extremely curious about this new world he hadn’t encountered before. Every day he had to look at the outside world. If they didn’t carry him out, he would protest.

Lin Daiyu was also busy. The bellyband she was making for her nephew wasn’t finished yet. Additionally, the gift she was preparing for her father was also nearly complete. The scenery here differed from home. When inspiration struck, she would pick up her brush and write a few verses…

When they returned, Lin Ruhai was satisfied to see that their anxiety from his son’s departure had been diluted.

“This is a letter Chen Yu had sent back.”

Everyone had one.

He wrote some at each leg of the journey. Gathered together, it looked like a thick stack, quite substantial.

Chen Yu was worried that with him gone, the family would miss him, so he wrote in detail to convey that he was doing well outside and they needn’t worry.

The Old Madam sighed: “This child is always so considerate.”

Yun Shuyao: “Indeed.”

Lin Ruhai nodded in agreement. Not only considerate—he had also discovered from his son’s letter that his son’s perspective on things had changed, his mindset had changed. This was a good thing.

After everyone read his letter, the Lin family members wrote even more substantial letters for his attendants to deliver.

Not long after, the Emperor and his party were returning from the frontier. The princes left behind all had to go outside the city to receive them. Only then did the Fourth Prince return to the capital.

The capital became even livelier with these people’s return.

Yun Shuyao discovered a good item.

During their time at the estate, she had her servants buy back things the Jia household had secretly taken to pawn, to see upon her return if there were any rare treasures.

During this period… quite a few things had accumulated. Fortunately, she discovered a treasure in one of the necklaces inlaid with gemstones.

This was good news.

Beyond her joy, Yun Shuyao looked carefully and discovered something different from before.

Previously, the things they took out to sell were items used less frequently and not particularly conspicuous. But now even a necklace fully inlaid with gemstones—something small but clearly a woman’s treasured possession—had been pawned.

If Yun Shuyao hadn’t previously given clear instructions to buy anything from the Jia household that could be bought, and then simply opened her own pawnshop, they might not have obtained it.

This necklace was a good item.

The capital never lacked people who recognized quality. Even if the pawnshop people didn’t know there was something special inside, the gemstones alone were already heirloom treasures.

Ordinary people wouldn’t easily take such things out to sell.

Thinking of how the Matriarch now lay in bed with her prestige greatly diminished, Yun Shuyao had a guess—this should be the Matriarch’s private stash.

Previously things had been fine, but now they probably saw her in this state with no hope of recovery and set their sights on her storehouse.

Earlier they’d worried the Crown Prince would move against the Jia family, but by now they should have set their minds at ease. Moreover, the Matriarch’s current state meant her control over those around her had also greatly diminished.

Then Yun Shuyao called someone to inquire and discovered that things coming out from the Jia household to be sold now came in three waves.

One was Wang Xifeng’s people as before, one was Grand Madam Xing’s dowry, and another was Second Madam Wang.

Wang Xifeng’s and Grand Madam Xing’s people secretly pawning things—her side had collected quite a bit because the prices were fair. But Second Madam Wang’s side, they hadn’t collected any.

She went through the route of Zhou Rui’s wife’s son-in-law Leng Zixing, one of Second Madam Wang’s trusted servants.

That pawnshop was much more unscrupulous than hers. To say Zhou Rui’s wife had no hand in this manipulation—she didn’t believe it. What a pity. Additionally, Yun Shuyao also felt regret for the Jia family’s situation. Just from this situation alone, the Jia family was now divided into three factions. When people’s hearts weren’t united, it was the source of family chaos.

If the Matriarch knew, Yun Shuyao suspected she might be angered to death. She already couldn’t withstand anger due to her stroke.

Yun Shuyao absorbed this treasure, then felt puzzled.

The pawnshop was open, and it wasn’t as if they hadn’t received things from other great households that had fallen on hard times secretly coming to pawn items, yet they hadn’t encountered a single treasure.

Did the Matriarch have no awareness of her situation?

No, she was the person who felt it most clearly.

The longer she lay in bed, the less frequently her children and grandchildren came to see her. The attitude of those attending her also slowly changed.

She was furious, but in her current condition, the more furious she became, the worse things got. She had to suppress her anger.

The Matriarch didn’t want to die yet.

Even living like this, as long as she was alive, there was hope.

To prevent herself from becoming a despised old thing, and also to remind them that even though she was ill, she was still the Rong household’s ancestor and was important to it—

She would have her daughters-in-law and granddaughters-in-law come attend to her illness.

She was sick—did they dare hide?

Her speech might be unclear, but she wasn’t dead yet!

Moreover, as long as she showed differential treatment, these people wouldn’t unite together.

The Matriarch would sometimes be afraid. If they were of one mind and harbored malicious intent, would they still attend to her this way?

Every so often she would summon people to accompany her. She loved Baoyu most and called him over every day.

She knew her Jia Baoyu was inherently kind but also had a flaw—he trusted others too easily. If those unfilial children and grandchildren neglected her and coaxed Baoyu a bit, he would believe them. At this point, no matter how much the Matriarch regretted not properly educating him, it was too late. Fortunately, he was here, which gave her some peace of mind.

The Matriarch would also call for Daiyu by name. Although this granddaughter wasn’t close enough to her, the Matriarch knew she was kindhearted. This child’s heart wasn’t hard—she wouldn’t watch her suffer.

Moreover, when she came, others often accompanied her. This made things even more secure. Even for the sake of reputation, the Jia family couldn’t neglect her!

The Matriarch also knew not to call too frequently. If she called too often and exhausted the Lin family’s patience, that wouldn’t benefit her. So she only sent for them every so often.

Old Madam Lin had people watch the Jia family’s situation, so naturally she knew of the Jia household’s current chaos. She wouldn’t let her granddaughter go attend to her illness, but wouldn’t oppose her visiting from time to time.

One reason was consideration for reputation. Another was hoping her granddaughter could see the turbulent undercurrents during this period.

She would marry out in the future. If the family she married into had many members, it might not be unlike another Jia family. If Daiyu understood nothing, she’d easily suffer after marrying in.

So when the Jia family sent someone to request again this time, the Old Madam waved her hand: “Daiyu, you go with your sister-in-law to visit.”

Yun Shuyao’s heart stirred. “Old Madam, let me accompany them.” She wanted to see what the Jia family had become.

The Old Madam raised her eyes to look at her, not knowing why she wanted to go, but would her going or not going affect anything?

No. “You go then.”

Upon arriving at the Jia household, Daiyu showed concern for the Matriarch lying sick in bed. Jia Baoyu was very happy to see her but had also learned to be more careful. With the Matriarch’s illness, his greatest support had half-collapsed.

When Jia Zheng wanted to wield the rod, Second Madam Wang alone couldn’t stop him.

So now he had become even better at reading people’s expressions.

As for the Matriarch in bed, her condition naturally couldn’t be good, and because of the asymmetry in her face, she looked somewhat frightening. Jia Baoyu never quite dared to look directly at her face.

Wang Xifeng’s dress and adornments remained bright and beautiful. Holding Daiyu’s hand, she spoke of how she cared for the Matriarch daily: “The ancestor naturally must be carefully attended to.” The dark circles under her eyes also showed she wasn’t lying.

The ancestor’s temper had grown increasingly volatile. The several of them took turns attending to her so they could catch their breath. Otherwise, they would surely collapse from exhaustion.

Grand Madam Xing hastily spoke up: “If you’re busy, just let me handle household matters. I can also manage the household.”

Second Madam Wang directly mocked: “Can you manage a household? The Rong household is not the Xing family.”

She was saying Grand Madam Xing came from a small household, didn’t have the capability yet dared to take on this work—overestimating herself.

Grand Madam Xing’s face reddened upon hearing this: “I’ve been in this family so many years—I’ve learned just by watching!”

Speaking of this made her grit her teeth. Previously it was Second Madam Wang who managed the household, then her convenient daughter-in-law managed it. In any case, she had never gotten a turn.

Now the ancestor had collapsed. She was a general’s wife. Her managing the household was proper and justified!

Second Madam Wang: “I’ve managed the household before. If it’s too much, there’s still me.”

…

The two went back and forth arguing. Yet Wang Xifeng acted as if she heard nothing. Of course she didn’t want to relinquish control.

It was just that one was her mother-in-law, the other her aunt. It wouldn’t do to say so to their faces. But she wouldn’t relinquish control.

If she let go, Wang Xifeng had no doubt the ancestor’s private storehouse would be emptied by them!

Lin Daiyu’s eyes held unconcealed shock and doubt. Had the Jia family’s power struggle already become this severe?

They were arguing right in front of them?

She glanced at her grandmother lying in bed. Her eyes were closed as if asleep, but her eyeballs were still moving. She wasn’t asleep.

Beside her, Baoyu hung his shoulders, head lowered looking at the ground, as if he also heard nothing.

At this moment, there was no room for outsiders to speak.

Lin Daiyu furrowed her brow, looking out the window. Out of sight, out of mind. When leaving the Jia household, she was still in low spirits.

Tang Wanxin and Yun Shuyao rode the same carriage back. After arriving at the Jia household, she rarely initiated conversation. This time, having seen the Jia household’s chaos, in the carriage she finally asked Yun Shuyao: “Madam, why has the Jia family… become so chaotic?”

The current situation of the Jia family was three madams competing for household management authority. Usually, household management authority might not yield much profit, but with the Matriarch in this condition, the profits were definitely substantial.

Each of them knew the Matriarch’s private stash was extremely abundant. To say they had no designs on her private property would absolutely be false.

Yun Shuyao thought of the items collected at the pawnshop. Don’t look at them arguing here—when taking things, they were quite coordinated. She just didn’t know if they knew they weren’t the only one. They probably all had some idea.

The Jia household had two sons, each with one turn. Her private property would eventually all go to Jia Baoyu. But in her current condition, if she passed, would Jia She really give her private property to Baoyu?

Without the Matriarch presiding, the possibility of this private property being split fifty-fifty was greater. Moreover, according to law, these things from the Jia family were divided seventy-thirty, with the heir getting seventy percent. This difference was also significant. Would the second branch accept this willingly? And if the Matriarch passed, they would become a collateral branch and have to move out. On Jia Zheng, there was only a low-ranked sinecure.

If the Matriarch could improve somewhat and speak normally, with her presiding over the division, the second branch absolutely wouldn’t suffer.

So the second branch should be the ones who least wanted something to happen to the Matriarch. They would watch the doctors and attendants closely while also wanting to compete for household management authority. This way they could get their hands on some “deserved” things in advance.

The first branch wouldn’t watch household management authority fall to others. Wang Xifeng was already managing the household. After giving birth to a son, her prestige in the Jia family had increased, she had become more adept, and the storehouse keys in her hands had increased. There was no reason to relinquish household management authority at this time.

On the other hand, they would worry about the second branch moving away too many things. She herself was doing the work of a grain thief.

Her managing the household gave her the greatest convenience.

If the second branch came on strong, even the discordant mother-in-law and daughter-in-law would join forces. Another thing—they also didn’t want something to happen to the Matriarch. Jia She had inherited the title, true, but he was incompetent, only indulging in dissipation in his own courtyard. He didn’t have much capability.

And the Matriarch? She was not only the connecting link between the Jia and Shi families—she knew many old madams, and quite a few of the Jia family’s connections were still in her hands. Only she knew them. Once she passed, the Rong household… wouldn’t be the Rong household anymore.

So they competed, they fought. The Matriarch not only wouldn’t intervene but was pleased to see it happen. This was most advantageous to her.