It was already quite late when Seventh Miss returned to the western side courtyard. Ninth Young Master had changed into his going-out clothes and was talking with Nanny Wang in the main hall.

When everyone saw Seventh Miss enter, their expressions varied.

Lichun stood beside Ninth Young Master, smiling as she poured tea. When she saw Seventh Miss come in, she glanced at her with a smile before turning away.

That glance contained unconcealed concern.

Ninth Young Master acted as if he noticed nothing and continued pulling at Nanny Wang, inquiring about the First Madam’s whereabouts.

The First Madam had arrived in the capital at the end of March and had sent back messages once or twice, all saying everything was fine.

But Nanny Wang’s face immediately showed three parts wariness… Before today, she and Seventh Miss had been gradually growing closer.

“Nanny Wang.” Seventh Miss had no mind to fathom Nanny Wang’s mood. She nodded to her. “My maid Lixia had some trouble at home today. I let her go home and come back after dinner.”

Lixia was her personal maid. As long as Seventh Miss was willing, even letting her go home for dinner every day, Nanny Wang had nothing to say about it.

Without waiting for Nanny Wang’s response, she smiled slightly at her and lifted the curtain to enter the eastern inner room.

Though Seventh Miss still maintained her usual composure, her eyes and brows clearly carried a sense of urgency and helplessness… She looked as if she had something weighing heavily on her mind.

Ninth Young Master stared at her retreating figure in astonishment.

Lichun shot Bailu an inquiring look.

When they left Yu Rong Garden, Seventh Miss had been perfectly fine, showing no abnormalities whatsoever.

At that time, Shuangjiang, Lichun, and Bailu had all watched as Seventh Miss spoke a few words with Madam Feng with only Lixia present, gave some silver, appearing neither particularly close nor particularly cold.

Zhu Ying Pavilion always dismissed at the first quarter of the申 hour. With Seventh Miss’s quick pace, she could return to the western side courtyard by the second quarter of 申.

Today she was nearly two full quarters late—it was already the third quarter of 申, while the western side courtyard normally ate dinner at the second quarter… That was why Ninth Young Master was talking with Nanny Wang in the main hall, both passing time and waiting for Seventh Miss.

To say there was no curiosity would be a lie. Even Lichun wanted to know why Seventh Miss had returned so late.

Although in deep mansions there were no eternal secrets, news in the western side courtyard was not so swift that Fourth Concubine speaking with Seventh Miss on one side would immediately reach Nanny Wang’s ears on the other.

A flash of displeasure crossed Nanny Wang’s face: After only a few days in the main courtyard, she was putting on airs like a young miss? When she had been led to meet the Madam, that pitiful appearance was still vivid in memory!

Bailu had already followed into the room. Low voices came from the eastern inner room…

Lichun smiled and said to Ninth Young Master, “Are you hungry? Don’t wait for your Seventh Sister, let’s eat first!” Whatever Seventh Miss was fussing about, Ninth Young Master could not go hungry.

Nanny Wang also came back to herself and repeatedly urged Ninth Young Master to eat.

Ninth Young Master looked curiously at the curtain of the eastern inner room, dazed for a moment before responding and asking with some concern, “Did someone upset Seventh Sister?”

Lichun’s eyes darkened slightly. Nanny Wang smiled. “Hard to say… But this is not something for you to worry about, Ninth Young Master!”

At that moment, Bailu suddenly lifted the curtain and emerged from the eastern inner room. She gave Nanny Wang a meaningful look and said softly, “Nanny Wang, Seventh Miss requests that you come into the room to speak…”

Her tone and manner both suggested something had happened.

Everyone was confused, and Nanny Wang was even more displeased.

Such mysterious behavior, who knows what she’s up to! Not a trace of a proper young lady’s demeanor! What did the old saying go? In a family like the Yang household, young ladies should remain unmoved even if Mount Tai collapsed before them!

But she did not want to embarrass Seventh Miss in front of Ninth Young Master.

For Nanny Wang to have achieved her current status beside the First Madam, she certainly did not rely on being harsh and petty… Her fierceness was for the servants to see. No matter how out of favor Seventh Miss might be, she was still her master!

“Ah! Coming right away.” Though showing three parts displeasure, Nanny Wang still responded, gave Lichun a meaningful look, instructing her to take good care of Ninth Young Master, and entered the eastern inner room with Bailu.

Lichun and Xiaoxue served Ninth Young Master his meal together.

The dishes were plentiful. Though somewhat cooled, the weather was gradually warming up, so Ninth Young Master did not mind.

As he ate, he kept glancing toward the eastern inner room, his ears perked up sharply.

Seeing this, Lichun could not help but find it amusing.

She too was distracted, paying attention to the movements in the eastern inner room.

Inside the eastern inner room, the low voices never ceased. At first it was all Seventh Miss’s voice, then Nanny Wang’s voice joined in.

At first, Nanny Wang seemed very agitated… her voice actually became somewhat shrill.

“How could such a thing happen!”

Her voice immediately dropped again, speaking in urgent, rapid whispers. Lichun listened for a long time before catching a few words.

“Fourth Concubine… Third Miss… Second Madam…”

Her heart tightened, and she dared not listen further.

Serving beside the First Madam had always brought great prestige. In Lichun’s position, the wealth and status she enjoyed sometimes surpassed that of young ladies in ordinary families.

But sometimes this position also carried great risk! Knowing too much that should not be known… made it impossible to leave safely!

These past few years, Lichun had been anxious night after night, fearing that she would inadvertently become too deeply involved, making the First Madam unwilling to let her marry someone else!

The higher one stood, the more fear one felt.

When Seventh Miss summoned only Nanny Wang without letting her in, Lichun had felt somewhat slighted.

Now all that remained was relief and gratitude.

No matter what, Second Madam was the legitimate wife properly married into the Yang household by Second Master Yang. Though she had always harbored ill intentions toward Ninth Young Master, matters concerning her… the less one knew, the better, lest in the future, for the sake of appearances, one might end up…

Lichun smiled as she served Ninth Young Master through dinner and helped him wash up, then coaxed him into the western inner room to read and practice calligraphy.

Though Ninth Young Master obediently sat down at the desk, he kept paying attention to the activity outside. His small face revealed concern and worry that could not be concealed.

Seeing this, Lichun felt deeply pained.

Though he never showed it, Ninth Young Master was a sensible child. He could not be unaware that his birth mother’s family lived in difficult circumstances…

Yet he could do nothing, had never even met Madam Feng—who among those around him would dare take him to see her? Unable to do anything… he was even less useful than Seventh Miss, a girl.

After Seventh Miss met with Madam Feng and returned acting so abnormally, his heart must be filled with both worry and anxiety.

“The Madam is in the capital now, thinking of you!” she said gently. “If you haven’t practiced your characters well or memorized your lessons, when the Madam returns to examine your studies, she will be disappointed!”

On the surface, she was merely urging Ninth Young Master to study.

A flash of gloom crossed Ninth Young Master’s eyes. He obediently acknowledged with a sound and bent over his desk to continue copying calligraphy with full concentration.

Then Nanny Wang’s voice came from the main hall.

“The food has gone cold! I’ll have Sister-in-law Cao remake it immediately.” Her voice trembled slightly, the pitch high and urgent, carrying three parts embarrassment and three parts ingratiation.

Lichun and Ninth Young Master turned to look simultaneously.

“Nanny is too kind.” Seventh Miss seemed to have completely returned to normal, her voice carrying a soft smile. “Just make a bowl of noodles to get by. Having missed mealtime, I’m not very hungry anyway!”

“Perfect—Sister-in-law Cao’s chicken noodle soup is exceptional…” Nanny Wang’s voice faded. Not long after, she lifted the curtain and entered the western inner room.

“Has Ninth Young Master been practicing his characters diligently?” Nanny Wang appeared to have completely returned to normal.

Lixia was brought back to the western side courtyard by Shangyuan at the third quarter of the 申 hour.

Though she looked tired, she also seemed somewhat excited. She carried a small basket in her hand. Upon seeing Seventh Miss, she presented a small ceramic jar from inside. “This is pickled soybeans my parents offer you respectfully. Knowing you like spicy food, they made it especially thick.”

She appeared perfectly normal, as if she had worked hard to get leave to visit home and was now bringing back small gifts for her mistress upon returning.

This girl had matured through experience.

Seventh Miss felt somewhat gratified but remained impassive. “Good, thank them for me on my behalf.” She indicated for Shangyuan to take the small jar away. “Did you eat dinner before coming? You must be tired. Go find Sister Bailu to chat. I don’t need service here.”

Lixia left the main hall smiling through the side door and entered the south wing. Seeing that both senior maids were absent, Shangyuan did not leave either, but stood by the desk with lowered brows and obedient eyes, ready at any moment to grind ink or add water for Seventh Miss.

This actually made Seventh Miss feel somewhat uncomfortable.

After a while, Lichun came in with a smile, carrying a bowl of lily and lotus seed sweet soup into the eastern inner room.

“Seventh Miss.” She called out. “You ate little tonight. Have some night refreshment so you won’t get hungry.”

Since Ninth Young Master moved to the western side courtyard, Seventh Miss had eaten quite a few midnight snacks.

Shangyuan quickly came forward to receive the sweet soup from Lichun and gently placed it on the table before Seventh Miss.

Seventh Miss stood up smiling and offered, “Sister Lichun, please sit.” She closely watched Lichun’s expression.

Not summoning Lichun inside was for her own good… but Lichun might not understand her good intentions.

Lichun looked back at her candidly, gratitude faintly visible in her eyes.

The two locked eyes for a moment and understood each other’s thoughts.

Lichun shook her head, smiled with pursed lips and said, “I still need to attend to Ninth Young Master’s bedtime. It’s my night shift tonight—I can’t be negligent.”

Seventh Miss smiled and saw her to the door, then returned to sit in the reddish-brown rosewood chair, spooning the clear, transparent, slightly viscous sweet soup intermittently.

Telling this matter to Nanny Wang was also a helpless measure.

Though unverified, speculation was merely speculation. If the truth of the matter was not as she thought, Nanny Wang might instead think she was making a fuss over nothing…

But when it involved Ninth Young Master, no amount of fuss was excessive.

Moreover, her handful of people had no way to gather intelligence at all!

In other words, if even Bailu and Shangyuan under her command could easily find out about Fourth Concubine and Second Madam’s secrets, they would have long been devoured by the First Madam without a bone remaining.

Now in the Yang household, the trap Fourth Concubine had set could only be broken by the First Madam.

Though telling Second Miss might have more ideal results and would clear her involvement more thoroughly—after all, Second Miss was her elder sister and not very old… fabricating a story to make her motives seem more pure would not be difficult.

But the relationship between the First Madam and Second Miss was not very close… Second Miss never said much about inner courtyard matters, and the First Madam never bothered her with them.

And the person who could influence the First Madam’s impression of her was none other than Nanny Wang. After months of constant contact… what Nanny Wang would tell the First Madam in the future would, to a large extent, be her report card for these months.

Before Nanny Wang, Seventh Miss played no tricks.

She simply honestly recounted the conversation she had overheard at Ju Ba Xian.

Just this conversation alone had made Nanny Wang’s expression change drastically, shocked and angry.

If Fourth Concubine got her way, besides the First Madam losing face… she, the steward nanny left in charge, would naturally be most likely to bear the brunt of displaced anger.

Moreover, what Seventh Miss could think of, Nanny Wang could also think of.

In fact, due to her familiarity with the Yang family, what Seventh Miss did not know, Nanny Wang knew clearly.

During the years Fourth Concubine managed household affairs, she had very little contact with Second Madam.

That made sense—during those years, though the matter of adoption was never explicitly raised, it remained an unspoken understanding in everyone’s hearts. Second Madam was at the height of her glory, devoted solely to serving the First Madam with filial piety. Where would she have had leisure to interact with Fourth Concubine?

Though Second Madam had acted without pattern these past years, revealing disorder, she ultimately was not a three-year-old child… Why she was so busy running around for Third Miss’s marriage match—anyone could guess her scheme!

Women who lived year after year in deep mansions developed narrow hearts. The slightest stimulating news could set their imaginations running wild and make them panic.

Nanny Wang was just like this.

What Fourth Concubine had just discussed with Seventh Miss no longer mattered.

Seventh Miss was still young and did not truly understand why what she overheard was important… They were indeed twin sisters. Bringing her into the main residence was truly the First Madam’s far-sighted wisdom!

After only a few months, she had already blocked several calamities for Ninth Young Master. She was his lucky star! In the womb, the elder sister protected her younger brother; after leaving the womb, even if these two were not close… the elder sister could still ward off disasters for her younger brother through mysterious fate!

Nanny Wang stood up and paced back and forth in the room, even chanting Buddha’s name several times in a low voice before gradually calming down.

She was different from Seventh Miss. Seventh Miss was still young, and her thoughts were still quite simple.

Though she did not get along with Third Miss, by chance she had overheard those words at Ju Ba Xian but did not take them seriously or keep them in her heart.

After all, Fourth Concubine’s eager running about for Third Miss’s marriage was an open secret.

Only when Fourth Concubine indirectly probed and tested her did she become alert, which prompted her to find Nanny Wang and reveal that conversation.

“Originally I thought Second Madam was merely helping Fourth Concubine look at potential families. After all… she is also an official’s wife, having spent over ten years in Jiangnan with naturally many connections.” When Seventh Miss said this, she still seemed somewhat embarrassed. “So I didn’t pay it much mind… Though this is somewhat improper, Second Madam hasn’t been… I never imagined Fourth Concubine would be so anxious that she would specifically seek me out to probe.”

What a foolish child!

Why would Second Madam sell Fourth Concubine a favor for no reason?

Fortunately she was still clever enough to ultimately brush it off without exposing the eavesdropping.

To say she was foolish, yet she was clever; to say she was clever, yet she was foolish…

While deep in thought, Nanny Wang extinguished the lamp.

Tonight it was Lichun’s turn to watch over Ninth Young Master, but Nanny Wang did not leave either. She slept in the western side courtyard.

She needed to think carefully… Though this matter required careful handling, it was also a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

In the darkness, Nanny Wang’s face revealed a trace of excitement, then the next moment, her expression darkened again.