When she entered Mingde Hall, the western third room remained cold and empty—at this time ordinarily, if Xu Fengjia hadn’t gone out, he would most likely have already returned to the room to read his gazette reports and write his letters. Seventh Miss couldn’t help frowning slightly. After pausing, she instructed Zhongyuan, “Go to the second gate and ask whether His Lordship has returned, or if he’s gone out again.”

She was in a bad mood, so the maids immediately didn’t dare speak loudly. Zhongyuan lowered her head and obediently agreed, then slipped out of the room like smoke. Before long she reported back, “The Third Young Master from Earl Yongning’s household sent someone to invite His Lordship out. His Lordship went directly there from Menghua Pavilion. He had a young servant inform Stewardess Qiao at the gate, but Stewardess Qiao didn’t dare wander about and hasn’t had time to send word inside yet.”

Lin Zhongmian, Xiao Shiyu, Tang Qing and the others also often came to talk and drink with Xu Fengjia. These past days, Xu Fengjia had frequently mentioned that the lotus white wine in Haidian was about to be ready. Most likely several young noble lords had arranged to go out and enjoy themselves. Only then did Seventh Miss relax. She nodded and asked Shangyuan, “Where did His Lordship sleep last night?”

“His Lordship slept in the study in the fifth western room.” Shangyuan cautiously watched Seventh Miss and said in a low voice, “He wouldn’t let anyone in. It was Nanny Wang on night duty who couldn’t bear to watch and only brought in a quilt in the middle of the night. She said His Lordship had fallen asleep sprawled on the kang, curled up in a ball. You know, at this time of year the night wind is already very cold… We don’t know if he caught a chill or not.”

Seventh Miss couldn’t help frowning slightly. She sighed, glared at Shangyuan, then said in a low voice, “I understand. You don’t need to beat around the bush persuading me. I know what to do.”

Shangyuan immediately breathed a huge sigh of relief, as if a weight had been lifted. “Actually it was Stewardess Xin and Nanny Wang who urged this servant to speak… How would this servant know anything!”

Seventh Miss had no foster mother, so regarding bedroom matters, she had no elder she could consult at any time. To have maids persuade her like this made both parties feel somewhat embarrassed. Seventh Miss blushed slightly and didn’t pick up Shangyuan’s thread. She said directly, “Shortly the accounting office will send in the account books from these past years. You and Lixia personally go out to the small courtyard on General’s Alley and invite the two honored accountants in. We can begin reviewing the accounts.”

With the Grand Master making a move, how could matters not succeed? Of the Lianghuai salt merchants, not one didn’t want to curry favor with the current cabinet elder. When he was willing to speak, plenty of people racked their brains to flatter him. In early June, two battle-tested, shrewd and steady female accountants were sent to the capital. Seventh Miss didn’t neglect them either. After bringing them in to speak a few words, she had two upper rooms cleared out in her dowry courtyard on General’s Alley, then instructed Uncle Zhou and Aunt Zhou to move there to serve them, essentially supporting these two female accountants.

Although she had now taken over the account books and should theoretically be so busy her feet didn’t touch the ground, Seventh Miss had made nearly complete preparations beforehand. Everything was arranged properly, and for the moment she actually had nothing to do. After sitting at home for a while, she couldn’t focus on reading or calm her mind to practice calligraphy. When the two female accountants entered, the several items bestowed by the Grand Consort also arrived, and the internal accounting office sent the accounts to Mingde Hall. Seventh Miss arranged and instructed everything individually, closing the accountants in a side room in Mingde Hall’s wing to begin reviewing the accounts. Then she actually had nothing to do.

After thinking it over, she simply went to talk with Fourth Young Mistress.

Duke Pingguo’s estate occupied vast grounds. The western wing occupied by Mingde Hall had several courtyards all cold and uninhabited—reserved for Yu Ning and Yu Tai’s future use. The several brothers all lived in the eastern wing. Because male family members resided there, Seventh Miss ordinarily had no business there and rarely walked in the eastern wing. She brought Zhongyuan and Duanwu through a circuit of the eastern wing, familiarizing herself with the eastern wing’s courtyard layout in her mind, before entering Shendu Hall in the northeastern corner. Even within the eastern wing, this was the most remote building. First Household’s Zhishan Hall and Fifth Household’s Shensi Hall were adjacent neighbors, whereas Shendu Hall stood alone against the mountain wall. Looking in from outside, it appeared especially desolate. Only one or two young maids Fourth Young Mistress usually kept by her side leaned against the threshold holding a cat in the sunshine. Seeing Seventh Miss arrive, they smiled shyly and turned to go inside to announce her.

Fourth Young Mistress soon came out to greet her. “Sixth Sister-in-law has time to come talk with me today? I’m truly startled!”

Seventh Miss was currently in favor. Though Fourth Young Mistress wasn’t especially attentive, she did put on a smile.

“My heart is extremely vexed.” Seventh Miss sighed. “I came to talk with Fourth Sister-in-law!”

She rarely revealed even a trace of the endless irritation in her heart to the surface.

Fourth Young Mistress immediately smiled. She glanced at several maids and casually waved her hand, dismissing all the servants before gesturing to Seventh Miss.

“Sixth Sister-in-law, please sit!”

Seventh Miss sat down at the edge of the kang and surveyed the entire room.

Despite Fourth Young Mistress’s lively temperament, the room was decorated very simply. Aside from a treasure cabinet in the corner that perfunctorily held a few pots and bowls, this eastern side room for receiving guests had almost no superfluous decoration. Even Fourth Young Mistress herself, after returning from Leshan Residence, had changed out of her fine clothing. At home she wore only a half-old lotus-green jacket and skirt, looking somewhat aged.

With her husband away from home, Fourth Young Mistress seemed to have little inclination to cultivate her small daily life.

“What, did Zhang Shi give you grief?” Fourth Young Mistress didn’t notice Seventh Miss’s scrutiny. She leaned back and looked at Seventh Miss with a half-smile. “Zhang Shi’s schemes run very deep, and she’s your sister-in-law. I’ll advise Sixth Sister-in-law one thing—swallow whatever anger you have. Your Fifth Sister couldn’t stand the anger and made scenes before the Grand Madam several times—wasn’t she the one who suffered?”

Mentioning the several conflicts between Fifth Miss and Fifth Young Mistress, Fourth Young Mistress’s face showed traces of disapproval, as if she had little favorable impression of either party in the conflict.

Seventh Miss’s heart stirred.

Though Guyu and Chunfen had mentioned some conflicts between Fifth Miss and the other courtyard mistresses, after all they were limited by status—and Fifth Miss rarely confided in people after marrying out, so their account was vague. They only knew Fifth Miss had unpleasantness with all three sisters-in-law, with conflicts with Fifth Young Mistress being the most frequent.

She had originally only wanted to find someone to complain about Xu Fengjia with, using this thread to draw out Fourth Young Mistress to talk about herself and Fourth Young Master, and to better understand Fourth Young Mistress’s character. She hadn’t expected Fourth Young Mistress to offer up the conversation topic herself.

Of course, her intentions might not be good.

“I won’t hide it from Fourth Sister-in-law.” Seventh Miss spoke in a delicate, gentle voice. “Properly speaking, as a younger sister-in-law, I shouldn’t speak ill of my sister-in-law. It’s just that Fifth Sister-in-law’s conduct is truly unexpected… Aren’t I feeling terribly uncertain? Fourth Sister-in-law, you know First Sister-in-law’s temperament—you can’t get a word out of her with three sticks. Yu An and the other sisters don’t ordinarily manage the household, so asking them is asking the blind. Since household management has now come into my hands, I can’t help but clutch at Buddha’s feet at the last moment and ask Fourth Sister-in-law to teach me.”

Though she hadn’t originally thought of this, saying it now on the spur of the moment fit seamlessly together, as if this visit had been long brewing. Fourth Young Mistress looked at Seventh Miss with focused eyes for several moments, then smiled with satisfaction. She leaned back against the welcoming pillow, and a few traces of calculation appeared in her beautiful eyes.

“We’re all family—it’s not about helping or not helping.” Fourth Young Mistress brought up matters from around New Year’s. “In this household, if there’s anyone who still knows my heart, it’s you, Sixth Sister-in-law.”

She paused meaningfully before smiling again. “I also have one matter I want to ask your help with.”

Seventh Miss raised her eyebrows in surprise. “Is it Fourth Sister-in-law’s natal family…”

Fourth Young Master was fighting at the frontier and had no connection whatsoever to the Yang family. If Fourth Young Mistress had something to ask of her, it was probably a natal family matter requiring her to use Yang family connections.

Fourth Young Mistress waved her hand and changed the subject.

“This person Zhang Shi.” She didn’t put on airs at all, and even put away her pride, explaining Fifth Young Mistress’s character to Seventh Miss in a straightforward, amiable manner. “Speaking of it, it’s just one word: sinister. Since entering the household, Mother-in-law clashed with her several times and gained face while losing substance, not to mention your Fifth Sister. With her scheming ability, trying to fight Zhang Shi—she could practice for ten years and still might not be her match…”

She lowered her voice, as if in this instant, Fourth Young Mistress herself also had doubts—if she were to face Fifth Young Mistress, could she battle this deeply scheming sister-in-law to an even draw?

“Over these years, I’ve observed coldly from the sidelines and learned quite a bit about Fifth Household’s secrets.” She quickly cast this concern aside and sniffed. “But knowing is knowing—if you ask me for leverage, I must decline… Sixth Sister-in-law understands my meaning, yes?”

With Fifth Young Mistress’s methods, it would be strange indeed if she let leverage fall into Fourth Young Mistress’s hands. Seventh Miss nodded. She looked seriously at Fourth Young Mistress, waiting for her further explanation.

Fourth Young Mistress’s face showed slight hesitation. She lowered her head to look at her fingertips. Suddenly, she took a deep breath and spoke recklessly. “Zhang Shi’s actions are always deeply deliberate, with repeated groundwork laid. The marketplace novels speak of ‘grass snake gray lines, hidden threads stretching a thousand miles’—I think it describes her methods very aptly. She wanted to take over household management upon entering the household, but though Mother-in-law’s health was already poor, there was still First Sister-in-law ahead of her. By reason and sentiment, even if Mother-in-law stopped managing the household, it should be First Sister-in-law deputizing.”

“At that time I’d only been married in a few years and was still very favored by Great-grandmother. I often attended Great-grandmother together with Zhang Shi.” Fourth Young Mistress’s voice lowered further. “Zhang Shi frequently chatted with Great-grandmother about household accounts. Though her family was prominent, they weren’t wealthy. Her dowry wasn’t much, so Fifth Household’s small accounts were quite tight. Yet Zhang Shi managed to arrange everything in perfect order—you couldn’t see it from the outside at all. Just this water-grinding effort, Zhang Shi invested over a year.”

A year’s time was enough to leave an impression on the Grand Madam, establishing that Fifth Young Mistress was an expert household manager.

“What happened next has no evidence to this day.” Fourth Young Mistress took a deep breath. “You know First Brother has always handled the family’s external business. If the internal accounts were also handed to First Sister-in-law… many matters might become unclear. Mother-in-law delayed handing over the accounts partly considering this. But though Grandmother already had the intention to let Zhang Shi manage the household, she wasn’t completely certain. She asked me several times which sister-in-law was suitable for household management.”

She suddenly raised her head and stared hard at Seventh Miss. “If not for this matter having no concrete evidence, if not for Sixth Sister-in-law also understanding the suffering in my heart—I would never tell you this… At that time your Fourth Brother had a favored concubine by his side…”

Seventh Miss’s mind buzzed with shock. She understood.

“Fifth Sister-in-law helped you find the drug?” She also lowered her voice.

Fourth Young Mistress nodded, and a cold smile appeared at the corner of her lips. “Her family background is very substantial after all. Obtaining one or two good drugs wasn’t difficult. Our family, being related to Grandmother no matter what, wasn’t very convenient for such matters. That drug was brought back from Nanyang years ago. Supposedly there were only a dozen or so doses in the entire world. It had a nickname—’Difficult for Immortals.’ One dose taken, within ten days to two weeks, the person would certainly be gone. Afterward coroners couldn’t detect anything. Unless a good physician in the capital checked the pulse, they absolutely couldn’t determine it.”

It seemed Fifth Young Mistress had traded this dose of poison for Fourth Young Mistress’s support.

Seventh Miss suddenly felt somewhat strange—would Fourth Young Mistress really share such a private matter with her? Even if circumstances had changed and without concrete evidence she couldn’t make difficulties, still, this was leverage. Why would Fourth Young Mistress be so eager to confess it to her?

“Having received her favor, I naturally had to work for her.” Fourth Young Mistress smiled slightly, pulling at her lips. “Not long after, I went to Zhishan Hall to talk with First Sister-in-law. I inadvertently discovered First Sister-in-law was reviewing the household account books. Of course, I didn’t say anything publicly, but several maids had loose lips…”

Before Madam Xu had spoken to hand over household management, First Young Mistress was already eagerly reviewing the account books. If household management came into First Young Mistress’s hands, how could that be acceptable?

With Fourth Young Mistress spreading this rumor of uncertain truth, Fifth Young Mistress’s hands were clean and could withstand Duke Pingguo and his wife’s scrutiny.

“Naturally Mother was very displeased. Her mental state couldn’t handle household management, First Sister-in-law was so impatient, and I—with my firecracker temperament, running outside all day—didn’t look like someone suited to household management either. Going round and round, once Grandmother spoke up, it ultimately fell to her.” Fourth Young Mistress smiled enigmatically and gestured. “She didn’t lose out either. Over these years, I’ve watched coldly from the sidelines—this amount exists.”

Seventh Miss drew a sharp breath and said softly, “Fifty thousand taels?”

To embezzle this amount from the Xu family’s household funds, Fifth Young Mistress would have to embezzle ten thousand taels of silver annually! True, the Xu family’s foundation was substantial, but how could the small household treasury possibly have this much silver? Moreover, how could such a large sum leave no trace in the accounts?

Fourth Young Mistress laughed derisively. “It’s not all official household money. Taking monthly wages to lend at high interest, the family’s gold and silver vessels—a bit more, a bit less, unnoticeable matters… I’m just guessing!”

A casual guess, yet the amount was shocking to this degree, detailed to this degree?

Fourth Young Mistress probably had informants in Shensi Hall as well.

Seventh Miss put on an expression of complete conviction. “If Fourth Sister-in-law hadn’t said so, I truly wouldn’t have known…”

She rapidly calculated the significance of this information in her mind.

For Fourth Young Mistress, she probably just wanted to add a bargaining chip for Seventh Miss to bring down Fifth Young Mistress. Once this discrepancy of fifty thousand taels was discovered, Fifth Young Mistress would have no room for explanation whatsoever and would instantly fall from favor.

And the vague connection between Little Luowen and Stewardess Zhang from the accounting office, Fifth Young Mistress’s various affectations—all seemed to gain explanation in an instant. Fifty thousand taels of silver was no small sum. To balance the books would take at least half a year. No wonder Fifth Young Mistress used both soft and hard tactics to keep household management in her hands for so long. No wonder once matters succeeded, she immediately transferred Stewardess Zhang from the accounting office. To embezzle this much silver was impossible without an inside person. It seemed Stewardess Zhang from the accounting office was Fifth Young Mistress’s inside person.

Fourth Young Mistress had immediately produced information worth a thousand gold. What she sought naturally wouldn’t be small either, would it? Without her words, Seventh Miss might not have taken the matter of shortfalls to heart—a bit of silver, once past was past. No need to expend effort digging and excavating on this matter…

She raised her eyes and looked calmly at Fourth Young Mistress. “This kindness from Fourth Sister-in-law, Little Seventh has noted in her heart!”

Fourth Young Mistress smiled. She lowered her head to fiddle with the edge of her teacup. After a moment of silence, she answered in a low voice.

“I’m not without requests of you!—Next spring, I want to go to Xuande! For this matter, I need Sixth Sister-in-law to speak some good words for me before Mother-in-law.”

Seventh Miss was completely stunned.

Military generals stationed at the frontier, unless permanently garrisoned, never brought family members to their posts. Not to mention both Fourth Young Mistress’s natal and marital families were in the capital. For her to go to Xuande to find Fourth Young Master, the resistance she faced would likely not be small.

No wonder she used this information as a favor, asking Seventh Miss to smooth things over with Madam Xu.

Only…

Xuande wasn’t very far from the capital, yet Fourth Young Master hadn’t even returned home for Grandmother’s birthday. Though men devoted themselves to careers, this showed his heart held few concerns for Fourth Young Mistress. Was Fourth Young Mistress’s action worth it?

She glanced at Fourth Young Mistress, then looked at the simple furnishings in the room. Her heart suddenly felt somewhat sour—without Fourth Young Master by her side, perhaps life in Duke Pingguo’s household was only torture for Fourth Young Mistress.

But she was also one of the suspects in Fifth Miss’s case. Wanting to go to Xuande might be an attempt to avoid Seventh Miss’s investigation…

Seventh Miss’s thoughts raced like lightning. Finally she still agreed.

“If Fourth Brother still hasn’t returned to the capital next spring and Fourth Sister-in-law is determined to go to Xuande, I will naturally speak a few words for Fourth Sister-in-law.”

Everything had its rules. One couldn’t just take advantages without paying a price. If Seventh Miss politely declined Fourth Young Mistress’s request, she would naturally push her toward the opposing side. At this time, one more friend was always better than one more enemy.

Besides, if her plan went smoothly, by next spring everything would likely have come to light.

Fourth Young Mistress immediately broke into a smile. In this smile was an indescribable charm. “Then Fourth Sister-in-law thanks Sixth Sister-in-law in advance!”

Seventh Miss’s heart was filled with myriad emotions. In the end, she only smiled faintly at Fourth Young Mistress, exchanged a few polite words, then stood to take her leave.

Suddenly, she very much wanted to talk with Xu Fengjia.

She had delayed quite some time at Fourth Young Mistress’s place. When Seventh Miss stepped into Mingde Hall, it was nearly mealtime.

Xu Fengjia had already returned to the western third room. He sat cross-legged at the edge of the kang, eyelashes lowered, reading a letter with focused attention.