In the spring of the third year of Chengping, major events occurred frequently at court. Elder Jiao and Elder Yang’s rivalry was in full swing, but the provinces were equally restless. Sea-going vessels from various regions had been largely completed and had reached the final stage of launching and trial voyages. Even the Miao tribes in Yunnan and the Northern Rong in the northwest continued to provoke minor conflicts along the borders. However, since the beginning of spring this year, the weather had been favorable for farming, and the common people were quite content. Court matters, after all, were decided by the great figures at court.

The Duke Pingguo’s mansion in the capital had been busier than usual since entering the third month. Great households avoided ostentation unless absolutely necessary, normally keeping a low profile in their daily affairs. But this year was different: in the fourth month, the Grand Madam’s seventieth birthday would arrive. As the saying goes, “seventy years is rare since ancient times”—a seventieth birthday had always been cause for grand celebration. Thus, even before entering the third month, birthday gifts from the Xu family’s old friends, former subordinates, and others from across the nation had begun arriving in the capital one after another. Some relatives even traveled up from Yangzhou specifically to celebrate the Grand Madam’s birthday.

The Xu family had been prosperous for many years. Among these old clan members, some had done well in business and lived comfortably, while others inevitably bore the air of poverty—their so-called birthday gifts were merely a few bolts of cloth. Never mind the Grand Madam, even Fifth Young Madam and Seventh Miss looked down on such gifts. But since people had taken the trouble to come in person, it showed goodwill. Fifth Young Madam spent her days settling the guests and arranging for several young masters who hadn’t entered official service to accompany the visitors on tours around the capital, keeping her utterly overwhelmed.

“Though we’ve become prosperous,” on this matter the Grand Madam and Madam Xu spoke with one voice, “we must never forget that two Xu characters are written with the same stroke. When poor relatives come to offer birthday congratulations, it’s their sincere intention. We must take good care of their lodging and meals. You must also be careful in your speech—never casually flaunt wealth and lose the bearing befitting sons of a great family.”

This new work of external relations was only part of Fifth Young Madam’s newly added duties. Relatives visiting the capital needed hosting, the birthday banquet itself required arrangement, servants needed assignment, theater troupes had to be engaged, and the relationships of numerous relatives and old friends had to be carefully considered to avoid seating incompatible parties together and causing unpleasantness.

For celebrations in the capital, they also needed to select a respected elder from the same clan to serve as reception master. The entire household, top to bottom, would share in the Grand Madam’s good fortune, receiving rewards for new clothes. The masters naturally needed new jewelry, and various auspicious items with the character for longevity had to be arranged for the Grand Madam… Though Seventh Miss merely observed coldly from the sidelines, calculating privately, just this one grand birthday celebration would cost the Xu family around twenty to thirty thousand taels of silver. According to the prices of the time, an acre of excellent farmland near the capital cost only four or five taels of silver—the Xu family’s wealth and extravagance were evident.

Entering late third month, the Emperor suddenly appointed Marquis Dingguo Sun Liquan as General of Guangzhou, ordering him to oversee Guangzhou’s military affairs and assist Eunuch Zhang in managing the Southern Seas patrol. Court and country were immediately in uproar: many had assumed that the assignment to the Southern Seas would naturally fall to someone from the Xu family, never expecting the Emperor to ultimately choose his wife’s brother.

Though the Xu family didn’t receive this lucrative assignment, Xu Fengjia received imperial rewards for several consecutive days and even accompanied the Emperor on a hunt in the capital’s outskirts—showing no signs of having lost imperial favor. This wave of turbulence passed without incident. Madam Xu was overjoyed upon receiving the news, her face unable to hide her smile for several days: whether regarding the Xu family’s wealth and status or Xu Fengjia’s personal achievements, both had actually reached a considerable stage. The change in personnel for the Southern Seas expedition was actually favorable news for the Xu family’s sixth branch.

Seventh Miss took this opportunity to request permission from Madam Xu to return to her natal family to visit her Ninth Brother, who had just finished his examinations. This year Ninth Brother had also sat for the spring examinations, and though results hadn’t yet been announced, after such diligent study, he deserved some relaxation. For a young married woman to want to visit her brother was perfectly natural.

Though new brides shouldn’t frequently visit their natal homes, Seventh Miss was usually careful in word and deed. After a few admonitions, the Grand Madam gave permission. Xu Fengjia specially accompanied her back to the Yang family, where they paid respects to the Grand Master and Grand Madam, then chatted idly with Min Brother, Ninth Brother, and others. Due to proper separation between men and women, the male guests withdrew to the outer courtyard to converse and take tea.

When they returned to Mingde Hall, Xu Fengjia didn’t go back out to the outer courtyard but stayed with Seventh Miss in the west three rooms to talk.

“Cousin…” Now when he mentioned Feng Jin, he was accustomed to calling him cousin, though his expression still carried a trace of disapproval. “Cousin says this matter isn’t very convenient for him to discuss publicly. In any case, it’s related to the northeast. It seems that at the time, that person didn’t go south but instead went north to the Korea region… As soon as this intelligence arrived, the Emperor immediately lost interest in Southern Seas affairs. Which saved us considerable effort.”

Whatever schemes he and Feng Jin conducted privately, Seventh Miss never inquired, except that the Southern Seas matter concerned Xu Fengjia’s assignment, so she paid some attention.

“The northeast?” She raised her voice. “But…”

Xu Fengjia’s expression gradually grew somber.

“Many things are much more convenient to handle under an official title than without one.” His words carried deep significance. “I’ve also received some hints about this matter myself… Since your cousin says the same, it seems this is indeed the case.”

He paused, then changed the subject rather than continue the discussion. “But you chose the Yang family as the meeting place today—your intentions are quite worth examining, aren’t they?”

Seventh Miss’s face flushed slightly, but she didn’t hide anything from Xu Fengjia. “Because of past events, Cousin and Shanjiu have never been close, and Father has long wanted a way to reconcile… This benefits both sides, merely paving the way—how did Cousin’s conversation with Father and Shanjiu go today?”

Xu Fengjia shrugged his shoulders, his face showing a half-smile.

“Fourth Uncle-in-law is a deep person—naturally all smiles. Shanjiu was more reserved, but also polite to him.”

Whenever Feng Jin came up, he always acted this way, as if he had some inexpressible opinion of the man. Seventh Miss couldn’t help frowning and rolling her eyes at Xu Fengjia.

“Why are you rolling your eyes at me?” Master Xu felt quite wronged, frowning as he protested righteously. “I haven’t said anything improper.”

It was also true that Feng Jin’s rise had been irregular, so the scholar-official class’s resistance to him was quite natural. Seventh Miss sighed and said lightly, “After all, Cousin is wholeheartedly helping us. You’re not without need of his assistance—wouldn’t showing more respect be good?”

These words circled nothing, cutting straight to the heart of the matter. Xu Fengjia couldn’t help but pause in surprise before cheerfully nodding.

“You’re quite right. Using someone while guarding against them isn’t the conduct of a gentleman.”

He was actually more receptive to advice than Seventh Miss had imagined, seemingly unconcerned about being lectured by a woman. Whenever Seventh Miss spoke reasonably, he always accepted readily.

Seventh Miss glanced at him, and a sweet smile had barely formed on her lips when she heard Xu Fengjia continue.

“It’s just that my dislike of Feng Zixiu isn’t because of his irregular rise… His willingness to help our sixth branch isn’t for my sake. For you to expect me to share wine and good cheer with him is impossible.”

The relationship between him and Feng Jin was indeed too delicate. Even without mentioning that Feng Jin had once intended to marry Seventh Miss, there was also the deceased Fifth Miss caught between them.

But regardless, the Feng family was indeed her most reliable support in this world…

Seventh Miss couldn’t help but sigh in frustration, reminding herself once again: being able to stand on her own was the foundation of everything.

She didn’t continue this topic but changed direction.

“In any case, not having to go to the Southern Seas is naturally good.” She propped up her chin thoughtfully. “As for northeast matters, we’d better not get too deeply involved… Times are different from the past—the Young Master naturally understands this principle.”

The Xu family and the Crown Prince had once shared hardships together. During those difficult times, the distinction between ruler and subject wasn’t very clear, and the Crown Prince had few secrets from the Xu family. But now their positions had changed—the Crown Prince who once needed the Xu family’s protection and support had become the supreme ruler. Naturally the Xu family’s perspective on problems had to change accordingly. If they inserted themselves too deeply again, they’d inevitably invite suspicion.

Of course, as a new bride, Seventh Miss had absolutely no standing to say much about the Xu family’s political stance. After mentioning it once, she jumped to the immediate matter at hand. “At the end of the fourth month, I’ll be taking over the accounts. Before then, I want to enter the palace to pay respects to the Imperial Consort and have a chat. What do you think, Shengluan?”

Xu Fengjia glanced at Seventh Miss and smiled.

“As for outside matters, just rest assured. With Father at the helm, the family won’t go astray. We haven’t interfered in northeast affairs at all—even if we knew, we’d pretend not to… After working hard all these years, it’s time to rest.”

He stretched leisurely, pillowing his hands behind his head as he gazed at the ceiling.

“Paying respects to the Imperial Consort can certainly be arranged.” He adopted the casual manner of a Chang’an dandy, only missing a blade of grass at the corner of his mouth. “But if you’re hoping the Imperial Consort will support you—Yang Qi, that’s too naive.”

Over the past month or so, though the couple had cleared the air, both were busy, so their relationship couldn’t be said to have advanced by leaps and bounds. But at least when together they felt less need for calculation. Seventh Miss felt that life in Mingde Hall had become somewhat easier, no longer as suffocating as before.

“How do you know the Imperial Consort won’t support me?” She said with a half-smile, leaning on the kang table to look at Xu Fengjia. “Besides, this time entering the palace isn’t to ask the Imperial Consort for support.”

Seeing Xu Fengjia raise one eyebrow at her, she didn’t keep him in suspense but readily revealed her plan. “Many things require advance preparation to be useful when needed. The Imperial Consort has no children and finds the palace boring—she still worries about the Xu family as if it were her own. Since I’m taking over household affairs, naturally I should enter the palace to hear her teachings, so the old lady’s heart can be at peace.”

Xu Fengjia responded with a low sound of agreement. “I’m confident in how you handle things.”

He also imitated Seventh Miss’s posture, leaning on the kang table to show one eye, looking at her. “Guess whether Fifth Sister-in-law will so readily hand over household affairs to you?”

Seventh Miss smiled slightly. “Even if she doesn’t want to, what can she do? By position, status, and birth order, even if our sixth branch doesn’t manage the household, it wouldn’t fall to her.”

Speaking these words, she felt unprecedentedly settled: before, when acting in the Xu family, her heart always held some uncertainty, not knowing if anyone would catch her if she stepped wrong. But since clearing things up with Xu Fengjia, Seventh Miss had gained a long-absent sense of peace. Having a companion at her side sometimes truly felt good.

“Of course, expecting Fifth Sister-in-law to hand over household affairs to me openly and honestly would be overestimating her.” She continued the previous topic. “I imagine in these few days before Grandmother’s birthday, she’ll definitely create some trouble for me—Mother shares the same view.”

Xu Fengjia raised his eyebrows. He suddenly propped himself halfway up, murmuring, “Fifth Sister-in-law is truly unpleasant to look at—excessively devious… About the mole matter, do you think the fifth branch might be behind it?”

“Fourth Brother—” Seventh Miss began exploratively.

“Fourth Brother took the military merit route. All these years he’s been far away in the northwest—to insert hands into my personal guards would be beyond his reach.” Xu Fengjia spread his hands. “Our Fourth Sister-in-law doesn’t seem like the capable helpmate type either.”

Thinking of Fourth Young Madam’s arrogance, Seventh Miss couldn’t help smiling along.

“Elder Brother has managed the family business all these years, benefiting considerably.” Xu Fengjia continued his analysis. “Even if he split off now, he’d be a wealthy, respected country gentleman. For him to stir up trouble—he has neither the capability nor the inclination.”

“According to your reasoning, only Fifth Brother has both the inclination and capability.” Seventh Miss also sat up straight. “But even if Fifth Brother has the capability to ambush you on the road, the family still has Fourth Brother—who outranks him in both seniority and military merit…”

“What if something happened to Fourth Brother too?” Xu Fengjia glanced at Seventh Miss with a half-smile. “Then wouldn’t everyone inside and outside the family have to defer to him?”

Seventh Miss’s expression immediately darkened.

Great household struggles inevitably involved loss of life, but to consecutively harm two brothers you grew up with for the sake of a title—that would be truly deranged.

She couldn’t help reviewing every action and gesture of Fifth Young Master Xu Yujing in her mind.

This was a wealthy young master who appeared careless on the surface but meticulous inside. Before the Grandmother, his every action seemed somewhat innocent yet never crossed bounds. If she had to compare, he was rather like Ninth Brother before the Grand Madam, only much more rough and unrefined. Normally when on palace duty, he’d made friends with a whole group of wealthy young men, and when off duty often went carousing with them… Nothing like someone intent on an official career seeking advancement.

Even this palace guard position was said to have been arranged by Duke Pingguo after Fifth Young Master married, feeling that his constant wandering wasn’t proper, so he secured this posting for him.

Would such a person be the type of deep schemer who’d plot to kill two elder brothers for a title?

“I don’t think Fifth Brother seems like such a deep schemer.” She furrowed her brow tightly. “Without solid evidence, it would be difficult to…”

At this point, Seventh Miss suddenly fell silent.

She realized she’d completely overlooked the most important person in Duke Pingguo’s mansion.

How could her judgment be so poor, forgetting that whether the Grand Madam or Madam Xu, when it came down to it, all major and minor matters of Duke Pingguo’s mansion still required Duke Pingguo Xu Heng to make the final decision?

Of course, as a daughter-in-law, if Seventh Miss wished, she could treat Duke Pingguo as a bystander, because regarding inner household affairs, Duke Pingguo had no choice but to hand over household management to her.

But if she wanted to successfully solve Fifth Miss’s case and find the true culprit behind Xu Fengjia’s ambush, then have them properly dealt with, she couldn’t help but understand Duke Pingguo’s psychology.

“Without solid evidence, it would be difficult to pass Father’s scrutiny.” Seventh Miss murmured, completing the sentence, then asked Xu Fengjia. “What kind of person do you think Father is?”

Xu Fengjia also seemed immersed in his own thoughts. After a long while, he looked up and chuckled.

“Want to know?” He snapped his fingers, frivolously lifting Seventh Miss’s chin. “Beg me.”

The room immediately filled with Seventh Miss’s complaints—though these complaints ultimately contained threads of laughter.

The Grand Madam’s birthday was on the thirteenth of the fourth month. After entering the fourth month, Fifth Young Madam indeed made her move.

When Seventh Miss entered Leshan Residence early one morning, she caught the tail end of her conversation with the Grand Madam.

“Simply can’t manage it all…” Fifth Young Madam indeed looked somewhat more haggard. “And Hexian has fallen ill again—at this critical moment, I thought, perhaps Sixth Sister-in-law could…”

Seeing Seventh Miss enter, she turned her head to smile sweetly at her. “Sixth Sister-in-law comes at just the right time.”

She went on to explain with various additions and subtractions how affairs inside and outside the mansion were numerous, and just at this time Xu Hexian had fallen ill, so Fifth Young Madam as his mother had every reason to stay by his side. She stood up, grasped Seventh Miss’s hand, and earnestly requested, “These next few days, mansion affairs will have to rely on Sixth Sister-in-law to manage. I’m afraid I can only help from the sidelines.”

Seventh Miss couldn’t help sweeping a glance at everyone.

First Young Madam had long since retreated into her indifferent shell, completely unmoved. Fourth Young Madam wasn’t paying attention to this matter at all, instead propping her head up in a daze. But in the Grand Madam’s and Fifth Young Madam’s eyes, there seemed to be traces of amusement.

With the grand birthday imminent, countless matters inside and outside the household—for Fifth Young Madam to unload this burden now, if Seventh Miss couldn’t handle it smoothly, establishing herself in the mansion later would be difficult.

Moreover, Seventh Miss had never really dealt with these steward matrons. Never mind now—even after the grand birthday, without Fifth Young Madam’s support, suddenly taking over household affairs would be difficult.

Her gaze drifted to Xu Yujing.

Fifth Young Master was whispering with one of the Grand Madam’s maids about something, seemingly paying no attention to the situation here.

First Young Master’s face showed hidden worry, as if concerned about Seventh Miss’s predicament.

Xu Fengjia, however, was the picture of calm confidence, seemingly extremely trusting of Seventh Miss’s capabilities, not worried at all that she couldn’t handle it. Seeing her glance fly over, he even winked at her.

Seventh Miss couldn’t help smiling and looked back at Fifth Young Madam.

“Hexian’s illness is truly ill-timed.” She grasped Fifth Young Madam’s hand warmly in return. “But Fifth Sister-in-law needn’t worry too much. As for household matters, leave them to this younger sister-in-law. You just focus on Hexian. When children fall ill, it absolutely cannot be taken lightly—one careless moment and it could develop into chronic illness, which is no joke!”

Fifth Young Madam’s expression immediately soured.

Before she could respond, Xu Fengjia gave a light, mocking laugh, then proactively asked Xu Yujing, “Hey, Fifth Brother, I heard last time about Guard Zhao…”

Xu Yujing seemed completely oblivious to the undercurrents between his wife and sister-in-law, immediately drawn in by Xu Fengjia’s words.

“There is such a matter, but I don’t know what taboo he violated before the Emperor!” He looked at Xu Fengjia with concern. Xu Fengjia said a few words in a low voice, and both brothers burst into hearty laughter.

The room immediately seemed harmonious and pleasant.