The smell of cooking meat drifted through the air, and the faint sound of the opera troupe singing came and went on the wind.

Meng Wanquan had told his legendary tale twice that day and his throat was starting to feel raw. He picked up the teapot and drank three cups in a row before sighing and smacking his lips: “…and from that point on, this world had the Qinwei Alley! That’s how we got our good days. Before you gentlemen came back, we had two capable young wives on Quanhou Street—one was Madam Li, wife of Director Tang of the Punishment Ministry’s records office over at Qipan Courtyard, and the other was our own Huo Niangzi.

But what background did Madam Li have? She was the legitimate daughter of the current Grand Tutor. And yet even she, if her carriage happened to meet our young mistress’s carriage at the alley entrance, had to yield the right of way first. And why is that? It’s because of our young mistress’s ability to manage a household, her thoroughness in dealing with people, her devotion to her husband, her filial piety toward elders. Her virtue was so complete that no one dared look at her sideways—everyone could only respect her.

What kind of people are we, really? What roots do we come from? To speak plainly and without flattering ourselves—if it weren’t for our young mistress working things behind the scenes, if it weren’t for those six words back then, every single one of us would still be suffering out there in this world. Back when Master Yu from the palace came to visit, he praised her with a line I still haven’t forgotten to this day. That day he said—our young mistress handles matters better than most men, and can see three steps further ahead than anyone else. It’s just a shame she was born a woman. If she’d been born a man, she’d have made a governor, a chancellor, a prime minister—that’s the caliber of person she is…”

When Meng Wanquan finished, everyone fell into a long silence, until Chen Dazhong suddenly yelped and turned to glare at his wife: “What are you pinching me for?”

Madam Li’s face flushed deep red with embarrassment. Since she had a guilty conscience, she didn’t dare say anything more, only muttering under her breath, “So many people around, why are you fidgeting…”

Madam Li then pointed accusingly at Chen Dazhong and said to Meng Wanquan, “Brother Quanzi, this can’t be blamed on me. It’s this fellow—from the first day we married, he never stopped going on about how A’Nai was being bullied, how hard A’Nai’s life was, how A’Nai wasn’t going to Wuyang because she was afraid the fourth branch would drag down the whole family’s reputation, so the old matriarch just endured it. He’d worked himself into a fury over it. I’d only just married in, I didn’t understand the situation at all. On the way here he kept going on about it every day, saying he needed to stand up for grandmother! Stand up for her! So yesterday I got tough about it right away—but who knew we’d be snatching things away from Fourth Uncle’s family? I’ll say it now—whoever looked down on people without knowing the full situation, that fool certainly wasn’t any of us!”

She finished and looked around at Madam Kou and Chen Dayong’s wife, Madam Luo. Both of them nodded immediately, unwilling to take on that reputation either.

Chen Dayong raised his head and added, “Quanzi, the letters we got were always too vague. They just said not to send money anymore, and kept insisting everything was fine—naturally we couldn’t help but wonder.”

The other sisters-in-law all nodded in agreement. They’d all been thinking the same thing—the more you insist everything is fine, the more you’re probably hiding.

Yesterday the old matriarch had turned out to be surprisingly dignified, living a life of no small prosperity. But was that just for show, put on for their benefit? Was the old matriarch enduring some hidden grievance without daring to speak of it?

Meng Wanquan laughed, his tone light: “Ah, how could the letters dare say anything in detail? On these roads, bumping along, if they fell into the wrong hands, that would bring you disaster. After all, Dasheng now serves at His Majesty’s side—if the wrong person got hold of such information, the consequences would be serious. You sisters-in-law misunderstood, that’s all. Once it’s out in the open, it’s fine. Our young mistress doesn’t even bother with these petty family matters.”

This remark from Meng Wanquan thoroughly irritated Madam Li and the others. Oh, so the young mistress doesn’t concern herself with these petty family matters—does that mean the rest of them do?

Feeling put out, and remembering how impressive things had looked at the old estate today, she reached over and pinched Chen Dazhong again. He didn’t dare cry out in pain, but his handsome face grew even more stony.

Meng Wanquan kept rambling on: “As for the matter between A’Nai and Fourth Uncle—it’s not that I’m gilding things for our young mistress’s sake. From the day she entered the Chen family, she pressed that woman Qiao Shi’s head to the ground and never let her raise it again. That Qiao Shi still carries the title of concubine to this day, if we’re being blunt about it. I used to resent that woman myself, blaming her for treating our old matriarch badly behind her back, but there’s no reasoning with a woman like that. But do you know what our young mistress said? She said, whenever something happens, don’t blame the women of the inner household first—women in the inner household only act according to the faces their men show them. If you yourself don’t stand upright, how can you demand a clean and proper household? If Fourth Uncle truly cared about the old matriarch in his heart, Qiao Shi would never have dared act that way. So the most detestable person in this world isn’t Qiao Shi, it’s—

well, never mind, we all understand in our hearts. He’s still an elder after all, so let’s just steer clear of the subject. Your generation only has this one person still drawing breath. If he were gone, the old matriarch would never be able to shake off the reputation of having an ill-fated bloodline. And besides, no matter how much a mother says she doesn’t care about her son, if he dies, it takes half her own life with him.”

Everyone fell silent. Madam Li, being the forthright sort, thought for a moment and then said, “Well, if it weren’t for Brother Quanzi’s kind guidance today, running into us three fools—yes, Dingxiang counts as half a fool too—we would have offended our family’s great benefactor. And this being only our first day here, we’d have made an enemy out of unfamiliarity. No matter! From now on, we’ll be sure to get along well with Fourth Brother’s wife. This household—everything was built up bit by bit by her over the years. If she didn’t care about us in her heart, forget a nice house, she wouldn’t have given us so much as a roof tile, and no one could fault her for it. Don’t worry, we…”

“You what?” An elderly voice came from outside the door. Everyone jumped up in surprise to see two young maids helping the old matriarch into the room.

The old matriarch glared around the room as she entered, and only after being helped to sit on the kang did she finally speak: “I said, I hadn’t seen a single one of you for a while, and wondered what was going on. Turns out you’ve all had some kind of falling out with my Qian’er?”

Chen Dazhong, afraid his grandmother would get upset, quickly explained: “A’Nai, it’s nothing like that, no falling out at all, we just hadn’t quite talked things through yet.”

The old matriarch pointed at him and scolded: “Your father was a fool who only looked at surfaces, and I can see you’re cut from the same cloth—you won’t amount to much either. I noticed my Qian’er hadn’t come to see me all day and thought she was jealous. Turns out it’s you lot who drove a wedge between me and my darling girl. Oh, what am I supposed to do with you? Might as well not have come back at all—we mother and daughter were doing just fine without you.”

Watching her grandchildren look ashamed, the old matriarch turned to Yiyue and said, “Tonight after the opera’s done, quietly bring your mistress over. Let’s have a private family talk—there are some things that need to be said clearly…”

With that, she got off the kang and, leaning on Yiyue, left the room, leaving everyone sitting there feeling quite uneasy.

That day happened to be Little New Year. In the evening, as the first quarter of the shen hour arrived, the opera ended. At the beginning of that hour, the Kitchen God was sent off to heaven, and by the end of the hour, the old matriarch sent someone to fetch Qiqian’er. But word came back asking everyone to wait a bit longer—she still hadn’t finished burning the paper horses.

So the whole room sat waiting once again for the young wife of the fourth branch.

When an elder calls for someone and the answer comes back as a refusal, delivered so confidently at that—it left Chen Dazhong and Chen Dayi exchanging glances, not quite sure what to make of it.

The old matriarch, however, seemed to relax, breaking into a smile. After laughing, she said, “Ah, I knew she was generous—look how she can just brush people off and not think twice about it! That means she never took this seriously to begin with!”

Seeing everyone confused, she laughed and explained, “Do you think this seems willful? Hah! Never mind you lot—even her godfather, if he steps out of line, gets pushed right back into place by her too. If she ever starts reasoning things out politely with you, that’s when you know you’re really an outsider.”

Hearing grandmother say this, everyone laughed together. The usually quiet Madam Luo spoke up: “A’Nai, going by what you say, haven’t you been pushed around plenty yourself?”

The old matriarch nodded, her expression a strange mix of pride and smugness: “She might just scold me too! All day long it’s ‘don’t eat this,’ ‘don’t eat that’! ‘Don’t play with old Madam Tao,’ ‘don’t run around in the snow’! If you go against her, that little wretch can hold a grudge—she can go seven or eight days without speaking to you, hmph!”

Someone had you so thoroughly tamed, and you’re still proud of it somehow.

Chen Dazhong smiled awkwardly and was about to speak when they heard someone outside call out, “The old madam has arrived…”

This announcement seemed to ripple through the household—it seemed all the servants from the old matriarch’s quarters were gathered in the courtyard to greet her. Even Old Madam Li, who’d been unusually quiet and smiling these past few days, was outside, saying in the most flattering tone, “Oh my dear madam, the old matriarch has been thinking of you all day. Where have you been? We looked everywhere and couldn’t find you!”

Then the young wife’s charming voice drifted in from the courtyard: “Don’t try to fool me. Now that she has her own dear grandsons back, and the darling granddaughters-in-law have shown up all at once—does she even have eyes for me anymore?”

Hearing this from outside, the old matriarch scrambled up and climbed to the window sill, pushing open the lattice to shout back: “You know I’ve been looking for you, and you still won’t come? Tsk! Can’t do without me anymore, can you? Hah! And you’re jealous too?”

Then the charming voice from the courtyard started scolding back: “She’s gone senile, and you’re all going along with her? That room’s packed full of warm stuffy air, and it’s snowing out here—catching a chill after being so warm, and if you get sick, you’ll be giving me trouble! I’m telling you now, don’t you dare whine to me tomorrow if your head hurts!”

The old matriarch, ever obedient in this, promptly shut the window and sat back down. Seeing everyone staring at her, she said, feeling rather sheepish, “She, well, she’s not wrong. I’m the one giving in to her—I scold her plenty on ordinary days too…”

Qiqian’er lifted the door curtain and entered, saying, “That’s you being unreasonable and stubborn! I won’t even bother arguing with you.”

She came in followed by Jixiang’s wife, carrying a stack of account books and a small box.

After Qiqian’er exchanged greetings with her cousins and their wives, and received the courtesies of Cui You and Dingxiang, Jixiang’s wife set the items down on the kang and took her leave.

Once Jixiang’s wife had left, the old matriarch grew anxious. Pointing at the things on the kang, her lips trembling slightly, she asked, “Qian’er? What does this mean? Don’t tell me you’re done taking care of me? You—you promised me, you said you’d see me through to the end, you’d prepare my thirteen-layer burial clothes…”

Even if all her grandsons abandoned her, the old matriarch wouldn’t feel this despairing. She’d learned one thing clearly over her long life—in this world, only Qian’er could truly be relied upon. She was stronger than her, saw further than her. As for everyone else, the old matriarch had long since stopped trusting them.

Back on the road fleeing famine, in that ruined temple, the men of the family had watched a woman get dragged away without daring to show themselves. She’d never trusted them since.

Qiqian’er, worried she’d work herself up, quickly went over and took her hand. “Nothing’s wrong at all, old matriarch, you’re just stirring up trouble for no reason. What do you mean I’m done taking care of you? If you want, tomorrow I could drop dead and I wouldn’t even need that rascal grandson of yours—I’d let you be buried alongside me instead. In this life, I’m not leaving you. Just relax.”

Chen Dayong, who’d been drinking water, spat it out in surprise. No one paid him any mind—everyone was too astonished, staring at this grandmother and granddaughter pair.

Wait—things had gotten this close between them?

Given how tough and unyielding the old matriarch used to be, no one could quite believe that this old woman, acting like a spoiled child throwing a tantrum, was really their own grandmother. The same old matriarch who’d followed the battlefield through a thousand miles, who dared to strip armor off corpses with a blade and sell it to the army camp for silver?

The old matriarch didn’t care what anyone else thought. Hearing Qiqian’er promise to take care of her, she let out a relieved breath and asked again, “Really?”

Qiqian’er nodded firmly. “Really.”

The old matriarch looked around, then finally pointed at the account books and the box. “Then what’s the meaning of this?”

Qiqian’er leaned against her and sat down. “What do I mean by it? We’re one family. When there weren’t many of us, doing things my way was simply out of necessity. But now that the ones meant to carry the family line have come back, if I keep doing things that aren’t mine to do, that would sow discord in the family. We ourselves might not mind, but in dealing with others, everything should be done openly and aboveboard. If someone sees it and is on good terms with you, of course they’ll understand and even explain it to outsiders on your behalf. But if someone already harbors ill will toward you, this would just give them ammunition to pick at you. Our whole family serves under the imperial court, after all.”

Hearing Qiqian’er say this, Chen Dazhong felt even more embarrassed. He stood up and apologized to Qiqian’er first.

Qiqian’er quickly returned the courtesy, insisting there was nothing to forgive.

Once everyone had settled back down, Chen Dazhong said, “Little sister-in-law, today was entirely my fault. I didn’t understand the family’s situation and went ahead making decisions on my own—I really did hurt your feelings.”

Qiqian’er shook her head, insisting she wasn’t upset. Seeing that no one believed her, she didn’t bother explaining further.

Yes, everyone in this world loves to grab hold of matters and wield power. But if they’d lived even one lifetime with no one to manage things, no one to ask, everything falling on their own shoulders, they’d know just how exhausting that really was. Not tired from the work itself, but tired in the heart.

In Qiqian’er’s eyes, if someone else took on the burden of caring for the old matriarch, that would be the best possible outcome in the world. She didn’t mind at all that the others hadn’t spoken up, hadn’t touched any of this—her filial devotion was only genuine because of that. If she’d held onto the old matriarch’s several hundred mu of land without letting go, no matter how well she did by her, others would still think she was only after the old matriarch’s money.

Qiqian’er stood up, took the account books, and placed them on the table. “My heart couldn’t be more at ease. Before, when Dasheng wasn’t around, it was just me and the old matriarch at home, and everything fell on me, a mere daughter-in-law, to handle—that’s when my heart really ached. Now that there are more men in the family, more people to carry the family line, I couldn’t be happier. Come, eldest sister-in-law, second sister-in-law, third sister-in-law, take a good look at the old matriarch’s accounts first, and then I’ll go over the household matters with you.”

She handed over the account books but placed the box with the land deeds and house deed by the old matriarch’s leg—she wasn’t going to make that decision for her. Since everyone had already been so generous, it would seem improper not to review the accounts now. Over the years, Chen Dazhong and the others had done well enough outside to have learned basic literacy, so they exchanged glances, sighed, and took out the account books to look them over.

One look, and it became clear—these were all expenditure records, with no income ledger at all. They grew increasingly astonished, and not daring to bring it up in front of the old matriarch, quietly glanced at Qiqian’er instead.

Qiqian’er had expected this, and laughed when she saw their expressions. “Are you gentlemen puzzled that there’s only an expense ledger, no income record?”

Behind her, the old matriarch coughed. Qiqian’er wasn’t about to spare her any face, and said plainly, “Once money falls into our old matriarch’s hands, you think you’re ever getting it back out? Dream on!”

Chen Dazhong and the others exchanged glances, then broke into laughter, feeling relieved inside. If there had been an income ledger, taking over these accounts would have felt like an imposition on their conscience.

Chen Dayong, being the straightforward type, laughed and said, “Well, that puts our minds at ease. This past year must have been such a burden for you, little sister-in-law. Don’t worry, from now on, all four branches will care for the old matriarch together. We can’t let your fourth branch shoulder it all alone anymore.”

Chen Dazhong and the others nodded in agreement, and none of the younger sisters-in-law voiced any objection.

That was only right. Five officials in the family, aside from that useless one next door, if they still couldn’t properly support one old matriarch between them, they might as well not be living at all.

Seeing the old matriarch looking uncomfortable, Qiqian’er went over and half-embraced her, coaxing playfully, “A’Nai~ I’ve handed over my accounts, so let’s settle ours too, shall we?”

The old matriarch, sharp as ever, glared at her the moment she heard this, putting on her old cantankerous face and scolding, “What? What accounts? Settle what? This old woman can’t even read—what accounts would I know about?”

Qiqian’er immediately glared right back. “You’ve gone senile, haven’t you! You kept a whole year of Dasheng’s salary for us, and now it’s gone missing—well, isn’t that convenient? Who exactly were you planning on giving it to?”

The old matriarch grew flustered at once. “I—I wasn’t giving it to anyone! I kept it for your own good! And you’re laughing about it—are you planning to go squander it later? You’re a leaky basket, I don’t trust you one bit—settle what accounts, there’s nothing! Nothing!”

Chen Dazhong and the others were utterly stunned. So this really was their grandmother after all—being supported by fourth branch and his wife, and still trying to manage fourth branch’s salary on top of it? Fortunately fourth branch’s wife was generous enough not to make an issue of it, treating her like the dowager matriarch of a wealthy household, and getting along with her this well besides—that really was something not just anyone could manage.

Flipping casually through the expenditures, they saw that every month the old matriarch spent upward of thirty strings on incense oil and alms at the temple—all quietly subsidized from Fourth Branch’s wife’s dowry money.

Everyone privately asked themselves whether they could manage such a thing, and the answer was clearly no. Even if they could, it would still feel awkward, mainly heartbreaking.

Their old matriarch, however good her intentions were deep down, had a manner and a sharp tongue that offended people—no matter how well you treated her, she couldn’t win people’s loyalty on her own.

This wife of Fourth Branch truly was an extraordinary person.

Seeing the old matriarch about to act shameless about it, Qiqian’er spoke to her plainly: “There’s no getting out of this one today. There are only two paths: either you manage all four grandsons’ salaries together from now on, or you manage none of them. That’s the only fair way for an elder to handle it. Otherwise, either their feelings get hurt, or mine do. You choose!”

No one dared say a word, all lowering their heads to hide their smiles.

Dingxiang, however, had only inherited the old matriarch’s recklessness, not her shrewd, money-grubbing streak. Hearing this, she was utterly astonished and blurted out loudly, “A’Nai, honestly! Look at where you live, what you eat, what you use—it’s all provided by my fourth sister-in-law’s private funds, and you still have the nerve to take my fourth brother’s salary too? Well, it’s only because my sister-in-law has such a good temper. If it were my mother-in-law…”

Before she could finish, Qiqian’er turned to her and said, “A young sister shouldn’t speak of her husband’s family’s elders while at her maternal home. Otherwise, over time, even your own family will start looking at you with calculating eyes.”

Chen Dingxiang blinked in confusion and asked her sister-in-law, “You can’t even say that?”

Qiqian’er glanced sideways at Cui You, who was staring up at the ceiling beams, and said, “Ah, forget it, little sister, let me teach you something useful—while your husband’s around, you just can’t say it!”

A round of coughing broke out, and stifled laughter rippled through the room. Only the oblivious Chen Dingxiang clapped her hands and said, “Right, why would I say it in front of him? I should tell A’Nai behind his back and have her beat him to death!”

The old matriarch, at the end of her patience, pointed at her and scolded, “You foolish girl, just close your mouth already!”

The whole family didn’t dare laugh outright, but in the end even Cui You was amused. He said sheepishly to grandmother, “A’Nai, don’t scold her. Dingxiang has traveled with me through hard times and suffered plenty. Ever since my mother and brothers arrived, it’s been difficult for her. Today I…” He stood and apologized to Dingxiang: “Today, in front of my brothers, sisters-in-law, and A’Nai, I apologize to my wife.”

After he finished apologizing, Qiqian’er looked at Chen Dingxiang and pointed at Cui You. “See that? Let me teach you something else. This is what an apology on the surface looks like. You think just because he apologized, things at home will get better tomorrow? Not a chance. Everything will stay exactly the same—your mother-in-law will still make things hard for you, your brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law will still cause trouble, not one bit less. And when you complain about it later, he’ll say, ‘Ah, but I already apologized to you, what more do you want? Do you want me to kneel down too?’ And in the end, everyone in his family looks like the good ones, and you’re the only unreasonable one. Now tell me, isn’t that foolish?”

Cui You flushed instantly, unable to find a way to counter this sharp-tongued sister-in-law. He never imagined there could be a person like this—speaking so bluntly in front of everyone without sparing anyone’s feelings, cutting straight to the heart of every man in the room.

Chen Dingxiang, meanwhile, looked as though she’d suddenly understood everything. She was about to speak again, but a single glare from her fourth sister-in-law made her shrink back immediately.

Then this simple girl murmured, nodding, “I understand, I understand. I won’t ask my sister-in-law in front of others, I’ll go ask her privately.”

Qiqian’er sighed with exasperation and said to grandmother, “See that? The moment she turns around, she’s already selling me out. Later, whenever she’s unhappy, if she takes it out on her husband, he’ll surely say it was her sharp-tongued sister-in-law who taught her that.”

Cui You waved his hands hastily, “No, no! Sister-in-law, you’ve got me all wrong.”

Qiqian’er ignored him entirely and said, “I haven’t gotten anyone wrong! I wouldn’t say this much to outsiders, but don’t worry, this isn’t something I can teach anyway. However a person’s life turns out, they need to suffer through it themselves a few times before they really learn. Whether your mother and your wife get along well depends on you, the head of your own household. I’ll tell you plainly—I won’t teach her anything. Dingxiang has capable brothers and a maternal family that won’t drag her down. That’s more than enough.”

With that, the young wife rolled her eyes and turned to lean against the old matriarch, tugging at her arm and shaking it playfully, “A’Nai~ hand over the accounts!”

By this point the old matriarch had actually thought it through. That’s right—why was she holding onto Dasheng’s money anyway? She was already this old herself. If she passed away suddenly, the money would just become communal property, and she’d die with her eyes still open in regret over it.

But she still wasn’t willing to just hand it over easily, so she huffed and reached into her sleeve, fishing around for a good while before finally pulling out a key and tossing it to Qiqian’er.

Qiqian’er beamed with delight. She scrambled up onto the kang in her shoes, opened the old matriarch’s cabinet, and began pulling out money pouches, asking as she dug through, “A’Nai, which pouch is ours?”

The old matriarch, having fully resigned herself by now, pointed at the largest, red one. “That one, the red one.”

Qiqian’er picked it up without even looking inside, and called out through the door curtain, “Siyue!”

Siyue answered crisply and entered. Qiqian’er dropped the bundle into her arms, and Siyue sagged noticeably under its weight.

Everyone immediately thought, just how much money must be in there?

“Take this to the accounting office and put it under your master’s name. From now on, whatever your master eats, drinks, or spends will come out of his own account. I won’t be supporting him anymore.”

The old matriarch, displeased, reached over and swatted Qiqian’er.

Once Siyue had left, Qiqian’er arranged the remaining pouches in a row and looked up at her grandmother with a smile. “A’Nai, these are what you’ve been saving for the other grandsons, right?”

This struck a nerve. The old matriarch just nodded silently.

Qiqian’er had come today precisely to untangle whatever was weighing on the old matriarch’s heart. So she opened the pouches one by one, revealing piles of gleaming silver ingots inside.

Money is always a fine thing to see, and once these piles were revealed, everyone’s expressions turned strange—wanting to look but too embarrassed to, yet unable to look away either. It wasn’t until Qiqian’er spoke that everyone let out a collective breath of relief.

Qiqian’er ran her hand over the silver ingots and said, “Your four households’ courtyards—the old matriarch arranged to have them rented out. Qingfeng isn’t like Yandu; renting a courtyard house goes for eleven strings a month. Over three years, that’s three hundred ninety-six strings. The old matriarch hasn’t touched a single coin of it—she’s been saving it all for you.”

After a long moment, Chen Dazhong finally swallowed and said, “A’Nai, just consider this our filial contribution to you. We don’t need it back.”

As Chen Dazhong said this, there was real shame in his heart.

Back when Chen Siniu had treated his nephews harshly, and the old matriarch was far away where they couldn’t see her, having endured such harsh treatment themselves, how could they not harbor some resentment? So they’d kept their finances hidden and lived modestly. To be honest, over all these years, Cui You alone had managed to save up seventeen thousand-plus strings while supporting that many people—even if they’d only managed half that much, it would have been considerable.

When Chen Dazhong said this, Dayi, Dayong, and Dingxiang all nodded along—it seemed no matter what, none of them would accept this money.

But Qiqian’er urged them otherwise: “Come now, don’t be like this. Over the years, however much you all gave to the fourth branch, those old accounts can’t be traced anymore anyway, so let’s not report any of it in front of the old matriarch either, or it’ll just upset her. Today let’s settle the old accounts, so the old matriarch can live with a clear conscience and enjoy her remaining years in peace. If you refuse this, isn’t that just leaving the old matriarch hanging up in the air with nowhere to come down?”

The old matriarch’s heart ached as she looked around earnestly at her grandsons and granddaughter, and finally said, her fingers trembling, “Yes, it’s just as Qian’er says! Take it, all of you, take it.”

Chen Dazhong and the others exchanged glances once more, and finally each took their heavy pouch of silver.

Once the four pouches had been distributed, there was still one large bundle left on the kang.

Qiqian’er pursed her lips with a smile, and seeing their curiosity, opened the bundle to show them.

In an instant, everyone felt a bit dazzled. Inside the bundle were gold peanuts, gold melon seeds, gold and silver ingots, along with loose new-dynasty coins.

Money brings peace to people, and the old matriarch slapped her leg contentedly. “Divide this one up too, one share each family, Dingxiang gets one too!”

But Qiqian’er said, “This one, this one we won’t be dividing up.”

Seeing everyone’s shock, she waved her hand playfully and said with a mischievous smile, “Come now, everyone, feast your eyes on it first, take a good whiff of that money smell too—this is what my godfather and Dasheng privately gave to A’Nai on the side. From now on, this is only going to keep growing. So for the sake of all this good stuff, I’d better keep being attentive and devoted to the old matriarch—otherwise, all these fine things… will just be mine alone!”

With that, she gathered up the bundle and tucked it back into the cabinet, locking it carefully. Then she sat properly in front of grandmother, holding out the key with both hands and saying earnestly, “It’s settled then—in this life and the next, you love me the most. You said I come first. If you ever love someone else more, I’ll never speak to you again!”

Under the candlelight, the young wife’s smiling face bloomed like a flower, her bright eyes full of charm, looking at the old matriarch with utter dependence.

Something in the old matriarch’s heart stirred strangely—it felt as if something had pierced through her, aching inexplicably. Her eyes stung, and holding back tears, she reached out and hugged her, saying, “I know! I know! No one can ever come before you, no one can compare to you. You’re first, first!”

That bond between the two of them was something no one else could ever come between—everyone in the room understood this in an instant.

Chen Dayi, feeling a bit envious, leaned over and asked Meng Wanquan in a low voice, “You haven’t said a word all evening. What, come to my house just to watch the show?”

Meng Wanquan snorted. “I’m a godson too, why can’t I come? What am I supposed to say?” I’ll tell you honestly, I watch this lovey-dovey display every single day—give it time and you’ll get used to it too.

Chen Dayi, still not quite understanding, asked quietly, “Tell me, where did A’Nai dig up that treasure? Was that really traded on the roadside that day? Really just ten strings?”

Meng Wanquan shifted his stool a bit further away from him before nodding, then sat down even further off.

The young mistress had said it herself—don’t play along with fools.

Ahem, his own wife had said the same thing.

Chen Dayi, still not catching on, was about to scoot his stool forward again when he heard someone outside call out excitedly, “Old madam, look who’s come back!”

Before the words had even finished, hurried footsteps sounded outside, and then a young man strode in—a jade belt at his waist hung with a cluster of glittering trinkets, a gold saber at his hip, a red-plumed guard’s helmet on his head, wearing a golden-embroidered scarlet bull-emblem imperial guard uniform, his face bright with a broad smile.

He walked in calling out “A’Nai” while his eyes darted around, and when he spotted his beloved young wife, he grinned and said, “Heh heh, wife, I’m back!”

Then he turned to find his family, and upon seeing his eldest cousin, went up and gave him an enthusiastic hug, saying, “Brother! You’re back!”

Chen Dazhong was momentarily stunned by the embrace, and it took him a good while before he managed to push his brother back, holding his shoulders with both hands and looking him up and down. “Choutou?”

The young man laughed heartily and gave each of his brothers a firm hug, even reaching over to pat the teary-eyed Dingxiang, saying, “Dingxiang’s all grown up, married now! Guess big brother can’t hug you anymore…” Then, noticing her round belly, he sighed, “Our little Dingxiang’s going to be a mother.”

Once he finished sighing, he reached a hand out toward the door, and someone outside silently passed him a bundle. Chen Dasheng handed this bundle straight to grandmother. “A’Nai, here, this month’s salary.”

The family, who’d still felt like they were dreaming, now all rolled their eyes in unison, thinking, well—he may have taken on a new skin, but underneath, he’s still the same fool.

Truly, how wonderful—the whole family reunited at last.