Great Madam clicked her tongue repeatedly, examining the pair of mutton-fat white jade bracelets that Madam Quan had given over and over again. As she looked, she sighed to Nanny Liang, “Truly white as cut fat, without a single flaw. Look, look—in terms of luster and moisture, they’re even brighter and smoother than the pair I usually wear!”

Nanny Liang smiled. “From Madam Quan’s meaning, she has worn this pair of bracelets for many years. Jade needs to be nurtured. You have so many fine jewelry pieces—wearing one here, another there—how could you wear just this one pair of bracelets every day?”

“You can’t say it like that.” Great Madam was rarely factual. “Look at this translucence, this luster—I’m afraid fundamentally speaking, they are indeed better than several of my pairs. However, top-grade mutton-fat jade pieces are all unique. The pair I usually wear is wider and thicker than this pair, which is also rare.”

She carefully placed the jade bracelets in her hands back into the brocade box and instructed Seventh Miss, “Such fine things must be carefully kept. Don’t lose them and waste heaven’s gifts. Even if you don’t wear them, just looking at them is good!”

Only then did she wave her hand, dismissing Lidong and Nanny Liang. She found a letter from her writing case and handed it to Seventh Miss.

“I was saying that the Quan family’s actions have never been this rash before.” She smiled ambiguously. “And here it is? General Zhu had just sent someone to the door when letters from Duke Liangguo and Madam of Duke Liangguo arrived. Your father also has a letter from Duke Liangguo, which I know he will naturally have you read.—You first read Madam Quan’s tone yourself. Between the Quan family and the Gui family, I truly cannot distinguish which is better. We still need to see Little Qi’s own opinion.”

Judging from Great Madam’s manner of speaking, she should already know of Seventh Miss’s decision. Speaking of it, apart from not being able to enter the palace as Crown Prince’s consort to bring Great Madam face, Seventh Miss’s decision not to marry into the Feng family still left Great Madam quite satisfied. Even her attitude toward her carried a few more points of respect, as if speaking to an equal, using a consultative tone.

It was just unknown how much Great Master had revealed to Great Madam, or whether Great Madam knew about the relationship between Feng Jin and the Crown Prince…

Seventh Miss couldn’t help feeling slightly vexed: she had told Great Master about this matter not so that Feng Jin would be criticized behind his back.

However, given Feng Jin’s appearance and the path to advancement he had chosen, he would probably never escape being discussed by others his entire life. She could only hope Great Madam would know what was appropriate and not spread gossip everywhere.

While Seventh Miss’s thoughts wandered, she accepted Madam Quan’s letter.

She didn’t read it first but boldly looked toward Great Madam and said softly, “Mother just mentioned the Gui family… Does that marriage proposal with the Gui family still… still stand?”

With just this one question, Seventh Miss’s attitude was clear as day.

Great Madam nodded, though her expression became somewhat grave.

“It still stands. Over these years, our family and the Gui family have had an implicit understanding. I heard that the Gui family’s second young master also very much likes the idea of you becoming Second Young Master Gui’s wife.” She paused before continuing. “However, in the fourth month I received a letter from Madam Gui saying that Hanchun was grazed by an arrowhead on his face while leading troops against Northern Rong remnants some time ago. He sustained injuries that were neither light nor heavy, and it’s still unknown whether he’ll be left with scars… At the time, thinking we had to wait until after the selection anyway to discuss this matter, I didn’t tell you!”

Gui Hanchun was disfigured?

Seventh Miss was slightly stunned but not too surprised.

Generals inevitably die on the battlefield. Forget disfigurement—even injury and amputation were nothing unusual at the border.

It was just that she had been away from the Northwest for too long and had actually forgotten that in that land of wind and desert sand, the word “life” was far cheaper than in the Jiangnan water towns…

“You can rest assured. I know Madam Gui’s temperament very well.” Seeing Seventh Miss lost in thought, Great Madam couldn’t help feeling a trace of pity and comforted her. “She values face more than anything. Once Hanchun is truly disfigured with a horrifying appearance, even if our family wants to marry into the Gui family, she will definitely make it clear to avoid awkwardness when the two in-law families meet later. Fortunately, you’re only fourteen this year. Reasonably, we should wait until your Fifth and Sixth Sisters’ matters are settled before arranging your marriage. By that time, whether he’s disfigured or not, won’t it be clear at a glance? At worst, we’ll have Hanchun come to Jiangnan again and let you see for yourself before deciding!”

Seventh Miss suddenly came to her senses. While listening to Great Madam speak, she smiled and opened Madam Quan’s letter.

Great Madam’s eyes flashed: upon hearing the word “disfigurement,” she opened the letter… Forget it, forget it. Compared to Quan Zhongbai’s immortal bearing, Hanchun’s appearance was indeed too unremarkable.

But Seventh Miss was usually such a clever young lady—how could she be blinded by the Quan family’s wealth and status…

While she pondered on this side, Seventh Miss had already finished reading Madam Quan’s letter with one sweep of her eyes.

“There’s not much said.” She murmured to herself. “Just praising Little Qi and mentioning Divine Physician Quan’s matters. As for why they came to propose marriage, there’s not a single explanation…”

Great Madam was stunned.

Seventh Miss didn’t care about Quan Zhongbai’s current status and position, didn’t care about the Quan family’s internal affairs, but instead was concerned about Madam Quan’s motive for coming to propose marriage?

“Mother needs to understand—our two families, one under Prince Lu’s command and one by the Eastern Palace’s side, although we’ve had some interaction, anyone with eyes can see we’re not close. Second Young Master Quan has been a widower for quite some time—not just a year or two. Madam Quan didn’t just meet Little Qi yesterday either. Coming to propose marriage at a time when His Majesty’s health is poor and undercurrents surge between Prince Lu and the Eastern Palace—Little Qi feels there’s a sense of ulterior motives…”

Great Madam’s expression became serious, and the way she looked at Seventh Miss changed.

Although Seventh Miss’s performance had repeatedly delighted her, this child’s rare clarity regarding political situations still earned Great Madam’s particular appreciation.

If only Little Fifth had half of Little Seventh’s wisdom—why would she have to marry into the Xu family…

Great Madam’s sorrow flashed by in an instant.

“Your father and I calculated for half a day yesterday and only came up with some vague clues.” Great Madam looked at Seventh Miss and smiled. “Little Qi has always been perceptive. Might as well share your thoughts.”

Seventh Miss had no intention of being modest.

The Yang family’s future was tied to the face of all married daughters, not to mention Ninth Brother who couldn’t marry out… Seeking the greatest political benefit for the Yang family was every Yang family member’s duty.

“The timing of the Quan family’s marriage proposal is quite delicate.” She pondered while analyzing. “Supposedly with the selection imminent, even our Yang family only just decided on our approach. Yet the Quan family had already sent someone to propose marriage earlier. This is somewhat unreasonable.”

Great Madam immediately found a kindred spirit in Seventh Miss. “Yesterday your father and I deliberated for half a day but couldn’t penetrate the mystery behind the Quan family’s move. If they wanted to propose marriage, when couldn’t they come to the door? Not early, not late, but they had to write at this time…”

“Indeed. Those who don’t know might think the Quan family is quite familiar with Eunuch Zhang—that one letter could influence the success or failure of our Yang family’s selection.” Seventh Miss murmured in response.

Great Madam’s expression immediately changed.

The Crown Prince’s selection, overseen by Eunuch Zhang who was a close associate of the Eastern Palace’s chief attendant—Eunuch Zhang being a staunch Crown Prince supporter went without saying.

Yet as ministers under Prince Lu’s command, the Quan family could actually speak with influence near Eunuch Zhang. The implications here were so delicate as to be frightening!

Reading the winds and trimming sails was a tactic commonly used by noble families. The Quan family not favoring the First Prince and wanting to defect to the Crown Prince’s side wasn’t anything unusual. With Duke Liangguo’s status and power, even in the Crown Prince’s camp, they sorely needed such established nobles.

However, wanting to defect versus already being quite familiar with Eunuch Zhang were two entirely different matters.

Could it be that the Quan family had already joined the Crown Prince’s camp as early as when Madam Quan came to Jiangnan?

The more Great Madam thought about it, the more alarmed she became. Reasoning from this angle, everything seemed to have a reasonable explanation for why Madam Quan viewed Little Qi differently: with an unstable foothold in the Crown Prince’s camp, wanting to form an alliance with the similarly shallow-rooted Yang family was a very reasonable decision.

Why propose marriage at this time—with the Quan family’s status and position, having a word with the Crown Prince to eliminate this Yang family daughter from the selection would be the easiest thing.

However, the Quan family had always been stable and diligent toward the Da family. No one expected they would betray the First Prince’s side. Supposedly, they should be moles planted by the Crown Prince in Prince Lu’s camp. But then why would they suddenly make a grand show of asking General Zhu to propose marriage to the Yang family?

Although this matter couldn’t immediately become common knowledge, concealing it from those with intentions was never easy. Wasn’t the Quan family afraid…

“Your Fifth Brother-in-law has no major issues.” Great Madam suddenly brought up Xu Fengjia again. “The person he sent to report entered the city early this morning. Reportedly he only sustained some minor flesh wounds that won’t delay the journey much. They said the bandits they encountered on the road were all quite tall and large. They captured one, and although the prisoner refused to confess, his speech indeed carried a Shandong accent… General Zhu ultimately did not make a move.”

Looking at the relationship between the Zhu family and Quan family at this point revealed the flavor of it all.

Seventh Miss couldn’t help feeling cold dread in her heart: just seeing that the Zhu family would come to propose marriage for the Quan family showed that their defection to the Crown Prince’s side was no recent matter. The Crown Prince concealing this from the Yang family was still understandable, but pitifully the Xu family was kept completely in the dark—what deep scheming was this?

Of course, even more frightening was if the Xu family knew in their hearts but had never revealed it to the Yang family…

Political struggles in the outer residence were truly countless times colder and more sinister than the trivial matters of the inner residence!

Great Madam’s face was also somber as water. She lowered her head in contemplation for a long while before raising it to call someone, dismissing Lidong: “Go to the front courtyard and see if General Zhu has left. If he has, invite the master to come speak!”

Lidong hurried away. Mother and daughter exchanged glances, both wordless.

Although these were just scattered small matters here and there, somehow Seventh Miss already had a premonition that a storm was approaching.

The heavens were truly about to change!

#

Great Master soon hurriedly entered the main courtyard.

This frontier official seemed to have aged considerably overnight. The silver strands at his temples gleamed white, adding much haggardness to Great Master’s appearance.

Great Madam naturally couldn’t wait to tell Great Master the line of reasoning Seventh Miss had raised.

Great Master listened very intently.

He only looked at Seventh Miss with approval once before falling into contemplation on his own, his eyes flickering as if infinite thoughts were flowing through his mind.

Even Great Madam began calculating on her own.

The room fell silent for a time.

After a long while, Great Master finally let out a long sigh.

In this sigh was a disheartened dejection that Seventh Miss had never before discovered in Great Master.

“The heavens are changing!” As soon as Great Master spoke, he hammered down the verdict on the current situation with finality.

Both mother and daughter were startled.

Great Madam couldn’t help crying out, “Master…”

But once the words left her mouth, she had nothing to follow with.

Great Master didn’t pick up Great Madam’s thread. He called Lidong in and instructed the maid, “Go find Steward Zhang. Tell him on my orders to send a carriage to Shantang Academy to bring Ninth Brother back.”

Ninth Brother had naturally gone to Shantang Academy early in the morning to study together with his classmates.

Great Madam, Seventh Miss, and even more so Lidong were all shocked.

The maid’s face instantly turned deathly pale. She turned and hurried out of the room, even her movement of lifting the curtain losing restraint, causing the crystal beaded curtain to rise and fall dramatically, reflecting starlight throughout the room.

“Have Fifth Miss and Sixth Miss also called to the main courtyard!” Great Master softened his tone to consult with Great Madam. “The family’s major matters—the children should know about them!”

Great Madam’s face was deathly pale. “Master…”

Her voice was already trembling.

Great Master smiled at her, comfortingly gripping Great Madam’s shoulder. “What’s there to fear? We’ve weathered storms before and I’ve never seen Madam afraid!”

Great Madam showed a smile like crying. “As one grows old in the rivers and lakes, the courage grows smaller… Master, our family, we won’t have trouble, will we?”

“How could it come to that?!” Great Master laughed heartily, his manner becoming relaxed again. “It’s just taking precautions. With heaven’s change imminent, our family must also arrange a retreat!”

Although Seventh Miss said nothing, her heart beat like a drum as she went through the information she knew over and over in her mind.

In this moment, she finally realized how insignificant she was to this world, how to this era she was merely a dodder flower on the Yang family vine. No matter what abilities she possessed, being a woman without family, what remained to her wasn’t much!

She had hated the Yang family, resented the Yang family, even loathed this enormous and cold brocade coffin. Yet leaving the Yang family, what was she?

She quietly clenched her fists, gradually evening out her breathing again.

However, she had never been a stranger to the taste of having nothing. She had twice had nothing, and twice taken root and sprouted on her own small patch of soil. If it came again, what of it?

Even if the worst outcome occurred and the Yang family fell, they could still return to the Northwest! From vast family wealth, something could always be saved. As long as people remained and abilities remained, there was no fear of being unable to stand firm or survive!

By the time Fifth Miss and Sixth Miss entered the room, Seventh Miss had completely calmed down.

Matters were still far from severe. Although the Yang family was not favored by the Crown Prince, they had indeed chosen the correct side. The calamity of family extermination would not occur.

However, she also had a premonition: for some time to come, the Yang family’s days would probably not be easy.

Great Master’s emotions also surged, unable to calm for a long time.

He surveyed this refined and elegant, richly understated east side room over and over, and over and over inspected these three daughters beautiful as flowers and jade. Even Great Madam’s domestic small talk became blurred at the edges of his hearing.

Many years of the past seemed to float before his eyes again—going to the capital for the examinations, marrying a high-born lady, climbing step by step to today’s position…

“…Father, Mother!” Ninth Brother strode hurriedly into the room. “What’s happened?”

Seeing Ninth Brother at a glance, Great Master’s heart settled.

Glory and wealth became empty after death. Only this drop of blood was truly passed down! In the future when he passed on, he could face his ancestors!

He smiled faintly, stopping Great Madam’s nagging.

“Ninth Brother, go close the partition screens and shut the door properly.” He amiably instructed Ninth Brother. “Daughters, sit closer to your parents.”

The family thus crowded together around the Eight Immortals table. Ninth Brother closed doors and windows, locking the passages from the east side room to both the main hall and the east inner room.

Great Master took another deep breath before slowly beginning to speak.

“The other day General Zhu…”

He added and subtracted details, explaining clearly the several major incidents that had occurred yesterday.

“When one leaf falls, one knows autumn approaches. From the time your cousin came to Jiangnan earlier this year, the Crown Prince seems to have already laid out an incomparably vast and exquisite game using all under heaven as the chessboard. First removing Prince Lu’s hidden pieces in Jiangnan with greedy and ugly methods, letting everyone in the world think that when His Majesty’s health has further problems, the Eastern Palace is merely following the trend, wanting to control this land of fish and rice that is Jiangnan.”

“Then deliberately sparing the life of a trusted confidant that Prince Lu values, making a grand show of escorting him to the capital to lure Prince Lu into sending troops for rescue. This confidant, if I haven’t guessed wrong, probably already defected after capture… Then using the selection to soothe us Jiangnan local powers’ emotions, taking the opportunity to send his confidant Feng Zixiu to take the imperial examinations, very much intending to have Feng Zixiu go from darkness to light and officially take over the factory guards. All this performance conveys but one message: His Majesty’s health is already failing, victory or defeat lies in this round, which is why the Crown Prince’s movements are so large and so urgent… Our Great Qin’s heavens will soon change!”

Seventh Miss was first to show a look of sudden realization, with Ninth Brother following close behind showing shock.

While Sixth Miss was still bewildered, Fifth Miss’s expression also changed drastically. Even Great Madam listened with a horrified expression.

“But whether His Majesty’s health is good or not depends on whose word? It depends on the imperial physician he now trusts most—Quan Zhongbai, Quan Ziyin! Ever since the twentieth year of Zhaoming when Quan Ziyin forcibly pulled His Majesty back from death’s door, His Majesty has refused to let any other physician take his pulse and won’t allow Quan Ziyin to leave the capital even one step… To put it bluntly, His Majesty’s life and death actually rest in one person’s hands alone!”

“When the Quan family joined the Crown Prince’s camp, how the heavens would change was no longer for His Majesty to decide!”

“However, as the First Prince’s mole, if the day of heaven’s change were still in the future, they wouldn’t propose marriage now. This move after all exposed their hand. Once the First Prince knows, he couldn’t help but grow suspicious.”

“Just looking at the Quan family’s move, one can know that the day of heaven’s change… probably won’t be far off either, and the Eastern Palace has probably made complete preparations. Prince Lu has fallen deep into the trap yet still doesn’t know it. Only then did the Quan family free their hands to show goodwill to our family and raise this marriage proposal. After all, the person most clear about His Majesty’s health is none other than Quan Ziyin.”

“When one emperor changes, his ministers change. Once heaven changes, our Yang family cannot avoid being affected. Over these years, although serving the Eastern Palace, we haven’t received important positions and have been subject to suspicion…” Great Master’s face rarely showed some fatigue. “This Crown Prince’s methods are unfathomable and his scheming surpasses others. Father is already old. To serve another emperor would be somewhat beyond my strength… I’ve already made up my mind—once the current emperor passes away, I will submit a memorial to the new emperor claiming illness and returning to my hometown!”

Everyone was instantly stunned.