With a thud, his hand slammed on the redwood table, and the hall suddenly fell silent.

He Zeyou said angrily: “The past was the past, now is now. Even His Majesty practices frugality, repeatedly reducing palace expenses. How dare you act like the wealthy gentry here? If you have money, go settle the accounts yourselves.”

Second Master He looked aggrieved, and seeing this, Old Madam He began wiping her face and crying: “I raised you through hardship and toil, letting you achieve the glory of being enfeoffed as a marquis. Now, when I’m merely spending some silver, you’re already resentful. Have I raised an ungrateful wolf!”

“Mother!” He Zeyou was both helpless and furious.

Madam He didn’t care and was about to start wailing dramatically when He Tinglan suddenly spoke: “Where did all that silver in our manor come from before? Others might not know, but doesn’t Mother know in her heart?”

The crying stopped abruptly. Madam He frowned: “Know what? That was all earned through my son’s ability.”

He Tinglan nodded: “Living off someone else is indeed also a kind of ability.”

Slap—

Madam He, being close, directly gave her a slap that knocked her sideways, then pointed at her nose and scolded: “You ungrateful wretch, is this any way to talk about your brother?”

Her teeth cut her lip, drawing blood. He Tinglan covered her face and turned back, saying stubbornly, “Thirty-six large shops on Gongshen Street supported this newly established marquis manor’s wealth for a year. Mother could have whatever she wanted, spending silver like water with some fool always there to pay Mother’s debts. This spoiled Mother into looking down on that person, insisting on arranging Big Brother’s marriage to the Wen family.”

“Now that Big Brother can marry the Wen family’s legitimate daughter, Mother is already happy. You can’t still be thinking about that fool’s silver.”

Madam He was both angry and ashamed: “Who, who’s thinking about her silver? If she won’t give it, she won’t give it. Am I supposed to beg her?”

“If she doesn’t give silver, then using Big Brother’s salary to support over a hundred people in our household, we can’t afford to buy even one box of things from outside.” She lowered her hand and said calmly, “Mother chose this herself. Why are you crying?”

Madam He was speechless, unable to find words to argue, so she simply grabbed a flowering branch nearby and began beating her with it, cursing as she struck: “How dare you talk back to me! How dare you turn your elbows outward! I’m the birth mother of a marquis—can’t I afford those worthless things? I’ll beat you to death! Beat you to death!”

The long branch left red marks wherever it fell. The people nearby didn’t intervene, and He Tinglan didn’t dodge, letting her beat welts all over her body while her eyes remained full of mockery.

She used to look down on that fool Liu Ruyi, thinking her stupid, unable to distinguish between good and evil.

But now she looked down even more on this family—greedy and insatiable, ungrateful.

It would be fine if she were beaten to death; living was boring anyway.

He Tinglan closed her eyes.

Suddenly, a servant came in from outside and whispered something in He Zeyou’s ear.

He Zeyou’s eyes suddenly brightened, though he seemed somewhat hesitant: “Why would she come?”

Madam He stopped her hand, asking suspiciously: “Who?”

“No one. I’ll go take a look. You all stay here.” He stood up. “If anyone wants to settle accounts, use your silver. No one is allowed to touch the accounting office’s money today.”

With that, he quickly strode out of the hall.

The last time he’d seen Liu Ruyi was at the imperial audience. He Zeyou deeply regretted it—he shouldn’t have listened to Zhenxue about seizing those shops. Having offended Shen Qiyuan, no one in court was willing to invite him to banquets, and those coming to the manor with calling cards had decreased by more than half.

This was just the change in a few short days. If it continued like this, his marquis title would probably become an empty honor.

Liu Ruyi seemed very close to Shen Qiyuan. If she could help him—

He Zeyou looked up and saw the graceful figure approaching outside the gate.

Apricot face and peach cheeks, with a fritillaria, ginkgo, and pearl hair ornament hanging from her single-spiral cloud-like hair bun, swaying with each step in gentle pearl light. She wore a pine-flower colored long dress and bright pearl brocade shoes, walking toward him with a smile.

“Greetings to the Marquis.” Ruyi bowed with a curtsy.

He Zeyou stared at her fair side neck in a daze.

In his memory, Liu Ruyi had been timid, always carrying an unshakeable air of humble origins, with simple makeup and ordinary features. But the person before him now was as brilliant as the blue tassels and red jade atop the Heaven-Reaching Pillar at the autumn hunting grounds—shimmering with light, captivating with every glance.

He suddenly remembered how he had once been moved by her in their past, just like the stirring in his chest now.

“Yi’er.” He couldn’t help calling her that, then regretted it as soon as he spoke. With her current temperament, she’d probably mock him in return.

However, Ruyi said nothing and smiled in response.

He Zeyou felt flattered and quickly invited her into the front hall to take the seat of honor, ordering servants to brew tea.

“This is your favorite Dragon Group Snow Victory tea.” He handed it to her.

Ruyi glanced at the superior tea color, mockery flashing in her eyes before quickly turning to sadness.

“The Marquis remembers wrongly.” She sighed softly, her eyes downcast and trembling slightly. “Dragon Group Snow Victory has always been the Marquis’s favorite. This humble woman doesn’t care for it.”

He Zeyou was startled and lightly patted the back of his head: “Right, it’s what I like. You never liked it. Then, what do you like to drink?”

She liked to drink Shen Qiyuan’s blood.

—Of course, that wasn’t something she could say.

Ruyi smiled elegantly and properly sipped from the cup: “No matter, they’re all the same. I didn’t come to the Marquis today to drink tea anyway.”

He Zeyou straightened, already calculating in his mind.

Since she’d taken the initiative to come, she must have something to ask for. This was perfect—he wanted to apologize and make peace with Shen Qiyuan. A mutual exchange would prevent the Marquis Manor from becoming a dead game.

However, the person before him hadn’t even stated her business when tears began welling in her eyes.

Ruyi’s eyes were already bewitching, and with a layer of moisture, they were like withered branches by a stream begging the moon, every drop making one’s heart ache with pity.

He Zeyou stared in a daze, his expression softening: “Don’t cry first. Tell me what difficulties you have.”

“I want to keep Mother’s belongings with me.” She choked with sobs. “But the Grand Preceptor won’t allow it. He says I’m the Liu family’s disgrace and won’t even let me through the door.”

Liu Ruyi’s greatest love had always been her mother, so He Zeyou wasn’t surprised by such a request, but…

“What do you want me to do?” he asked. “Shen Qiyuan holds a high position and great power. Wouldn’t it be simpler to have him help?”

Ruyi shook her head slightly: “He’s an outsider after all. For this matter, I feel the one who tied the bell should untie it.”

He Zeyou understood.

Liu Ruyi had endured endless scorn because of him, so she wanted him to personally go and plead with Grand Preceptor Liu.

But He Zeyou frowned: “I’m already betrothed to the Wen family. Accompanying you back would be improper, and Grand Preceptor Liu might not give me this face either.”

“How will we know without trying?” Ruyi sighed. “What I want is merely an old piece of clothing.”