Seeing the confusion on Seventh Miss’s face, Imperial Concubine Xu couldn’t help but let out a long sigh.

She called to Seventh Miss, “Come sit beside your aunt!”

Grasping Seventh Miss’s hand, she said carefully, “Your mother-in-law is in poor health, and with you, she’s both a relative and not quite a relative—many things she probably finds inconvenient to point out to you. As for your mother, when it comes down to it, she didn’t give birth to and raise you herself. Plus with that temperament of hers, she herself cannot tolerate others—she insisted on dragging it out until past thirty before allowing your father to take concubines. Don’t learn from her!”

Her tone was intimate. Though there was reproach, it was ultimately affectionate reproach. Hearing this, Seventh Miss first breathed a sigh of relief: Imperial Concubine Xu ultimately hadn’t become distant from her.

Then she felt somewhat angry: the Fifth Young Madam truly never forgot to create trouble for her at every turn, keeping her too busy to investigate Fifth Miss’s case. Just after interrogating the old servants from Mingde Hall, the Fifth Young Madam dared to hint to Imperial Concubine Xu about her faults.

If she hadn’t already forced the truth from Xiao Songhua’s mouth, she would probably still be kept in the dark, puzzled about why the Fifth Young Madam had been so unable to contain herself recently, repeatedly making moves to provoke conflict between herself and the family elders.

Seventh Miss quickly gathered her thoughts to listen to Imperial Concubine Xu’s lecture. “In great families, who doesn’t have one or two concubines by their side? Having a completely empty household would be laughable if it got out. Especially since you have Fourth Young Master and Fifth Young Master as your heirs—this is your own nephew who came to your household while still in swaddling clothes. If he doesn’t count as your own son, what does he count as?”

“With these two sons, yet you still watch Fengjia so closely, not allowing him to have other children—if this matter gets out, forget everything else, your father-in-law will be the first to think poorly of you.” Imperial Concubine Xu sighed, her tone taking on more sincerity. “Never mind whether this shows you can’t tolerate others—just look at how even though you have Fourth Young Master and Fifth Young Master, you still act as if you have no heirs, insisting you must bear one yourself before allowing Fengjia to go to other women’s rooms. Isn’t this plainly treating the two children as outsiders?”

Seventh Miss was suddenly stunned.

If Imperial Concubine Xu hadn’t reminded her, she truly had never considered the problem from this angle.

Imperial Concubine Xu glanced at her and smiled with satisfaction, then patted Seventh Miss’s hand. “After all, you’re still young and tend to overlook things. If your Fifth Sister-in-law hadn’t mentioned it to me, I really wouldn’t have known you could stumble over such a small matter!”

She changed her tone, turning reproach into encouragement. “You’re a good child. Don’t learn from those low-class jealous wives out there. Listen to your aunt—go back and allow the trusted maids around you to become concubines. Fengjia will gain face both inside and outside, and will naturally treat you even better and never become alienated from you. Raise the two young masters well. To put it plainly, whether concubines’ sons are born or not still depends on your wishes, doesn’t it?”

From Imperial Concubine Xu’s perspective, these words were indeed well-intentioned guidance. Seventh Miss’s heart was filled with mixed emotions. She said softly, “If Aunt hadn’t told me, Xiao Qi truly wouldn’t have known that outsiders see this matter this way…”

She suddenly rubbed her eyes, putting on a wronged expression, though her mind was already calculating rapidly. In just a moment, she had made her decision.

She moved closer to Imperial Concubine Xu, appearing to open her heart. “Actually, this matter isn’t what outsiders think… Does Aunt think Xiao Qi is that kind of intolerant person?”

Imperial Concubine Xu was immediately moved. “Oh?”

She suddenly brightened. “I knew Xiao Qi wasn’t like that! How could your aunt be wrong about you? It’s just… what your Fifth Sister-in-law said was all true, wasn’t it?”

Seventh Miss sneered inwardly but showed a trace of disapproval on her face. “Fifth Sister-in-law can’t wait to catch every one of my mistakes—how could she pass up this opportunity?”

This was the first time she had so clearly laid out the discord between herself and the Fifth Young Madam before Imperial Concubine Xu.

With Imperial Concubine Xu’s shrewdness, she naturally could see the conflict of interests between the two young madams. Before Seventh Miss’s strong rise, she had also had opportunities to interact with the Fifth Young Madam. The old lady immediately fell into contemplation and didn’t speak for quite a while.

Seventh Miss understood perfectly well: Imperial Concubine Xu wanted to treat all of the Xu family equally. Though she might particularly favor the sixth household, she would never stand with the sixth household to attack the other households. She wiped her reddened eyes before saying in a low voice, “This matter has to trace back to Fifth Sister’s death.”

“Aunt also knows that there was something sinister behind Fifth Sister’s misfortune.” Seventh Miss put on a sorrowful expression. “But there are only so many people in the household. Father and Mother naturally wouldn’t do such a thing, and Grandmother has even less reason to do so. When it comes down to it, the suspects must fall among the several sisters-in-law and brothers…”

Though this logic was clear to everyone, this was the first time it had been stated so plainly.

Imperial Concubine Xu couldn’t help but be shocked and didn’t speak for a long while.

Seeing she didn’t respond, Seventh Miss spoke even more bluntly. “The heir apparent has always felt that while he risks his life outside for the Xu family, someone at home schemes against his wife. This matter truly chills the heart. Over these years, he’s been secretly angry about this. On one hand, angry that the culprit was so bold; on the other, angry that this person hasn’t emerged. Looking at the several brothers and sisters-in-law, he’s always had misgivings in his heart… Please forgive Fengjia for his narrow-mindedness!”

She suddenly tried to kneel but was immediately stopped by Imperial Concubine Xu. Before she knew it, the old lady’s tears were streaming down. “Your aunt understands, your aunt understands!”

Seventh Miss continued slowly, “When it comes down to it, this matter is still because of the distinction between legitimate and illegitimate birth. Fengjia is the legitimate son but young in age—it’s only natural that his brothers feel resentful. For the legitimate-illegitimate conflict to reach this point is truly meaningless. Fengjia says that before Fourth Young Master is established as heir apparent, he doesn’t want any illegitimate sons born, to avoid having the children repeat today’s awkwardness…”

Imperial Concubine Xu herself was a legitimate daughter and naturally could sympathize with Xu Fengjia’s thoughts. Duke Pingguo, however, was born illegitimate. Such words, if spoken to him, would only make him more sympathetic to the illegitimate sons who were older but couldn’t obtain their rightful position. Therefore, these words could be said to Imperial Concubine Xu but not to Duke Pingguo.

Imperial Concubine Xu was indeed deeply moved, gripping Seventh Miss’s hand. After a long while, she said, “Your aunt… your aunt hadn’t thought of this aspect… Alas, you young couple have had such a hard time!”

“Moreover,” Seventh Miss lowered her head again. “Fengjia studied under a famous martial arts master from Cangzhou and developed excellent martial skills. According to him, his master instructed that to further advance in this discipline, while celibacy isn’t required, one should limit contact with women. Therefore, whether it’s the two concubines originally in the household or the maids I arranged to send to him—he wasn’t interested in any of them. He also said that since I didn’t have such requirements, there was no need to waste their youth. It would be better for me to arrange to marry them off to good families than have them idle in the household.”

Her face flushed as she said softly, “Even between us, we rarely…”

These words touched even more deeply on the old lady’s heart. Imperial Concubine Xu herself had been without favor for many years. She couldn’t bear to see Seventh Miss too favored, but she also couldn’t bear to see her completely without favor. Suddenly understanding, she couldn’t help but sigh. “That’s been hard on you too.”

She helped her think of solutions. “Since there are such difficulties involved, you’re bearing the name of being jealous for nothing. Alas, yet this matter can’t be explained directly to your elder brother…”

Seventh Miss said lightly, “That doesn’t matter. As a daughter-in-law, enduring some grievances is nothing. Aunt needn’t worry about me—even regarding Fifth Sister-in-law’s matter, I don’t blame her…”

She deliberately left the sentence hanging. Imperial Concubine Xu took the bait and immediately asked, “What matter is this?”

Seventh Miss then revealed the issues with the Fifth Young Madam’s account books, adding and subtracting details. Listening to this made Imperial Concubine Xu’s eyes widen. After a long while, she said, “You’re right—family harmony brings prosperity! A bit of silver isn’t worth quibbling over.”

She couldn’t help saying indignantly, “Fifth Daughter-in-law has really gone too far! Who spoiled her into such boldness? She dares to embezzle thirty thousand taels of silver?”

Seeing Seventh Miss only smile without speaking, she remembered that the Grand Madam had always favored the fifth household and had asked for favors on their behalf several times in front of her. Her face couldn’t help but redden, so she lowered her head to drink tea without speaking.

Seventh Miss took no offense and continued chatting about household matters with Imperial Concubine Xu, bringing up the matter of taking Prince An out of the palace to play. “My young cousin is quite grown up now. If Aunt is agreeable, we could choose a day to bring him out of the palace to play…”

At the mention of Prince An, the Imperial Concubine’s face immediately softened. “Good, good. That you have this young cousin in your hearts—what more can your aunt say?”

She had Prince An come over to thank Seventh Miss. “When autumn comes, you can leave the palace to play at your Sixth Cousin Sister-in-law’s home.”

Prince An immediately covered his mouth, his face full of disbelief. “Imperial Mother has agreed?”

Seventh Miss and Imperial Concubine Xu smiled and exchanged a glance. Imperial Concubine Xu touched Prince An’s forehead and instructed him, “Don’t play until you’re covered in sweat again.”

After sending Prince An away, she encouraged Seventh Miss in a low voice, “Although Fengjia has such restrictions, you yourself can’t relax. You should still have more children while you’re young—when you’re old, you’ll have people to serve you! Look at your aunt. After having Prince An, life has truly become more cheerful—”

Seventh Miss rarely felt irritated.

As the years increased, not only did external pressure to bear children grow annually, but even she herself felt the desire for children gradually swelling.

Yet there were so many matters before her demanding her attention…

She suddenly reined in her chaotic thoughts and smiled at Imperial Concubine Xu. “Xiao Qi understands. Recently, I’ve also, also been working hard…”

#

After leaving Cishou Palace, Seventh Miss hurried across the central axis into Jingren Palace in the eastern wing of the Forbidden City.

Compared to her last visit, Jingren Palace today was much livelier. Though Sixth Miss remained in the hall without showing herself, there were still many maids coming and going inside and outside the palace. Some carried watermelons, others held ice trays. Seeing Seventh Miss, their faces all broke into smiles as they greeted her softly, “The Heir Apparent’s Wife has arrived.”

Being favored or not truly made a world of difference. When she had visited Jingren Palace before, she hadn’t felt it was particularly desolate or quiet. Only after witnessing today’s scene did she realize that this was how truly favored people in the palace lived. Seventh Miss felt moved inside but said amiably, “You’ve all worked hard.”

As she spoke, she entered the inner hall. Sixth Miss had already come out to greet her, smiling. “Seventh Sister came late today! I couldn’t wait and ate lunch first—that’s alright, isn’t it?”

She was pregnant—forget lunch, even if she ate dinner early, how could Seventh Miss possibly be angry? She grasped Sixth Miss’s hand and examined her carefully for a moment before saying, “Mm, still just as beautiful!”

Sixth Miss said unconcernedly, “I’ve developed a few spots too. Doctor Quan says this can’t be avoided, but he comforted me saying they’ll fade after the children are born. I said I can’t worry about a few spots now! Properly caring for the little ancestors in my belly is what matters.”

As they talked, they entered the inner hall and sat down. In the sunlight, Seventh Miss examined Sixth Miss’s face more closely and indeed saw one or two spots on her delicate cheeks, though they weren’t noticeable unless one looked carefully.

Today was different from the past. As soon as they sat down, palace maids came to offer refreshments. Sixth Miss asked Seventh Miss, “Did you eat at the Imperial Concubine’s? If not, would you like to eat something here?”

Seventh Miss smiled and waved her hand. “I don’t want to eat your lukewarm food here. I’ll just have some refreshments—that’s enough. I’ll find something else to eat after leaving the palace.”

The Forbidden City was so large, and not everywhere could have cooking fires. The meals for ordinary consorts were sent from the imperial kitchen. The journey was so long that by the time the dishes arrived, most had passed their prime. Therefore, all the titled ladies dreaded eating in the palace, and Seventh Miss was no exception.

Sixth Miss couldn’t help showing a bit of pride. “Thanks to the blessing of the one in my belly, I finally don’t have to eat lukewarm food.”

She glanced at the maids coming and going outside and lowered her voice. “The Empress said that when Noble Consort Niu was pregnant, the palace also had a small kitchen specially prepared to cook for her. Jingren Palace naturally couldn’t have less, so as soon as I completed three months, they selected two good cooks to send in.”

It seemed that Noble Consort Niu’s existence was actually more beneficial than harmful to Sixth Miss. Seventh Miss smiled knowingly. “How has the Empress been treating you recently?”

“After Noble Consort Niu gave birth to the Second Imperial Prince, she’s been much better to me.” Sixth Miss sighed again. “Especially after that matter with the Crown Prince, the Empress is very grateful to me. Now I truly have nothing to worry about and just focus on nurturing the pregnancy!”

Though in terms of beauty, being pregnant now made Sixth Miss look much more haggard, at this moment the contentment showing on her face was something Seventh Miss had never seen in all these years.

She also smiled with relief. “That’s good. I told you long ago that as long as you wait, your day to shine will eventually come!”

Sixth Miss looked at Seventh Miss, her eyes crinkling as she grasped her hand and squeezed it tightly.

The deep affection between sisters—unspoken yet fully present.

She suddenly sighed and said in a low voice, “If Fifth Sister were still alive and Fourth Sister hadn’t been widowed, how happy we sisters would be now?”

Thinking of the past, Seventh Miss also felt somewhat sorrowful. Just as she was lost in thought, she heard Sixth Miss ask, “Before, when I couldn’t help you with anything, I never asked—are you living happily in the Xu family?”

She paused, then said in a lower voice, “Have you discovered any leads regarding Fifth Sister’s matter?”

Now that Sixth Miss had gained some capability, she couldn’t wait to stand up for her.

Seventh Miss’s heart warmed.

She looked at Sixth Miss’s belly. Before she could speak, Sixth Miss had already waved her hand dismissively. “It doesn’t matter. I don’t mind this—over these past few months in the palace, I’ve experienced blood and carnage and heard all manner of terrible things.”

Since she put it that way, Seventh Miss told her about the Fifth Young Madam’s matter, also instructing Sixth Miss, “Don’t mention this to Second Sister or Mother yet. After all, without any solid evidence, acting rashly could very likely cause unnecessary misunderstandings between the families.”

Sixth Miss listened with flashing eyes. She asked Seventh Miss, “If Zhang Shi did this, what was her motive?”

Seventh Miss said disdainfully, “Isn’t it all for those few taels of silver?”

She paused, then sighed. “After all, her methods are far more ruthless than Fifth Sister’s. If it weren’t for the money, she wouldn’t have needed to use poison—she could have slowly destroyed Fifth Sister. When it comes down to it, she was probably afraid Fifth Sister would make a thorough investigation and drag her into the vortex, forcing her to spit out the silver that had already reached her mouth.”

Yang family daughters all had extremely generous dowries. Since entering the palace, Sixth Miss had never worried about money. Her pupils suddenly contracted. “Just for those tens of thousands of taels of silver, Fifth Sister was…”

A rare fierce aura covered the face of this usually innocent, lovely, lively, and charming consort.

She asked again, “So aside from that confession, do you have any key physical evidence…”

“She’s becoming somewhat panicked too.” Seventh Miss shook her head. “Recently she keeps creating trouble for me. The physical evidence—I still need to find it.”

Sixth Miss nodded, pondered for a moment, then said decisively, “If you really can’t find it, that’s fine too! When the time comes, bring her into my Jingren Palace.”

A trace of killing intent flashed across her face as she said word by word, “Didn’t Fifth Sister die from drinking her poison? I’ll make her drink that bowl of poison back, not leaving a single drop!”