The matter of Yu Ping’s dowry ultimately failed to stir up much turmoil in the manor.

Seventh Miss had just left Leshan Residence when she entered Shendu Hall, where Fourth Young Master happened to have just returned. After exchanging greetings, Seventh Miss went straight to the point, informing Fourth Young Master and his wife about Yu Ping’s complaint regarding her meager dowry.

“When all is said and done, we as older brother and sister-in-law haven’t shown Yu Ping enough care.” Seventh Miss wore an expression of self-reproach. “We also failed to explain things clearly to her, letting a young girl worry about her own dowry…”

Before Fourth Young Madam could say anything, Fourth Young Master’s face was already filled with guilt. “Sixth Sister-in-law, please don’t say such things—this matter is Yu Ping being too immature!”

In the great families and clans of the Great Qin, there was absolutely no custom of unmarried daughters inquiring about their own dowries. Yu Ping’s request was not only unseemly but also quite hurtful to feelings, implicitly accusing her brother, sister-in-law, and parents of favoritism. The Grand Old Madam still doted on her somewhat, which was why she had Seventh Miss refrain from telling Duke Pingguo; otherwise, punishment would be the least of it—Yu Ping’s image in Duke Pingguo’s eyes would likely be greatly damaged. Even the Fourth Branch would be implicated, since Yu Ping was Fourth Young Master’s sister by the same mother. The responsibility for poor upbringing would inevitably fall partly on Fourth Young Madam’s shoulders.

Before Seventh Miss could demur politely, Fourth Young Madam hurried to ask, “What does Grandmother think should be done about this matter?”

Seventh Miss then relayed the Grand Old Madam’s meaning to Fourth Young Madam with some additions and omissions. “Fourth Sister-in-law just needs to scold her privately and that will be the end of it. Children are immature—we as older siblings naturally must be understanding. Fourth Sister-in-law is the most appropriate person to speak with her. However, since Yu Ping has already brought this up, I was thinking we should still add a few large pieces of furniture—otherwise the child might truly think we’re being partial…”

Since Sixth Branch would inherit at least eighty percent of Duke Pingguo Manor’s vast wealth, and Seventh Miss was being so generous, what could Fourth Branch possibly say? Naturally they agreed repeatedly with murmurs of assent. Fourth Young Master thanked Seventh Miss again, “Sixth Sister-in-law is still the most thoughtful. Yu Ping doesn’t understand things, and neither does your Fourth Sister-in-law—you’ve had to worry about so much.”

To call one’s own wife ignorant in front of a younger sibling—those who knew would call it modesty, but those who didn’t might harbor doubts. Seventh Miss couldn’t help glancing at Fourth Young Madam, and seeing her wearing an expression of complete contentment, sighed inwardly.

It was only because Fourth Young Master said such things that Fourth Young Madam didn’t take it to heart. Otherwise, given her domineering nature, if she didn’t make the other party uncomfortable, the matter certainly couldn’t be considered settled.

Seventh Miss pretended not to have heard and changed the subject with Fourth Young Madam to discuss going to Tanzhe Temple to offer incense. “Fourth Sister-in-law should also go pay respects and request a safe childbirth amulet for the child. The whole family can have a lively outing together—wouldn’t that be killing two birds with one stone?”

Fourth Young Madam was most devoted to such beliefs. Her face immediately lit up with joy as she affectionately took Seventh Miss’s arm. “Wonderful! Sixth Sister-in-law is truly capable—you even persuaded Grandmother to come. She is the most blessed, so if I ask the old lady to personally request an amulet for me, it will surely be more efficacious than if I requested it myself.”

Fourth Young Master seemed somewhat dismissive. He coughed once, then stood up to bid Seventh Miss farewell. “Sixth Sister-in-law, please take your time. I’m going outside to find some military texts.”

After seeing off Fourth Young Master, Fourth Young Madam pulled Seventh Miss aside for private conversation. “You really should arrange for a few people to serve in your quarters, lest Fifth Branch sow discord again and use you as fodder for gossip. Look at me—I sent those two maids to your Fourth Brother’s room that very night. The next morning I claimed to feel unwell… Your Fourth Brother understood perfectly. That was the only night—to this day he hasn’t touched those two little sluts with a single finger.”

By doing this, Fourth Young Madam had indeed silenced the household while gaining both face and substance. To put it simply, she had only sacrificed Fourth Young Master for one night—this transaction was quite worthwhile.

Seventh Miss’s thoughts churned in countless directions. She sighed and said quietly, “Ah, there are many things here that cannot be shared with outsiders… I understand Fourth Sister-in-law’s kind intentions. However, Grandmother wants to find fault with me—even if I do everything perfectly, she can still pick out twelve faults from ten good deeds. Unless I’m like Fifth Branch and also produce a pregnant chamber maid, otherwise, it’s better to endure the grievances.”

She rarely spoke so frankly with Fourth Young Madam. For a moment, Fourth Young Madam listened in a daze, then after a long while finally laughed, “You still see things most clearly.”

Her brows were also infected with a trace of melancholy from Seventh Miss, and seeing this, Seventh Miss had to comfort her in turn. “Fourth Sister-in-law’s situation is different from mine. With that get-out-of-death-free card in your belly, you won’t suffer much injustice anywhere…”

Fourth Young Madam immediately touched her belly again, revealing a blissful smile. “Bah! What get-out-of-death-free card—I’m only proud for this brief moment. Once the child is born, won’t I be the same as you!”

Yet she was already taking it for granted, positioning herself above Seventh Miss.

Seventh Miss felt a complex mixture of emotions. After exchanging a few more words with Fourth Young Madam, she took her leave from Shendu Hall.

On the road back to Mingde Hall, she happened to catch a distant glimpse of Fifth Young Madam bringing that pregnant chamber maid, leisurely turning into the alley leading to Little Cuijin Garden.

Even with Seventh Miss’s composure, her complexion was somewhat poor when dinner time came. Xu Fengjia tried several times to engage her in conversation, but she only responded with sullen murmurs, treating that as sufficient reply.

Even if Young Master Xu had a thousand virtues, patience was absolutely not among them. Seeing Seventh Miss’s poor mood, he became somewhat angry himself, setting down his rice bowl on the table with a thud. “What’s wrong today? I just stayed one night at Xiaoyang Mountain, and when I come back you give me a cold shoulder.”

He paused, his face taking on a slightly wicked air as he continued, “Could it be that last night I—”

Seventh Miss shot Xu Fengjia a look but was actually amused by his antics. “What nonsense are you spouting?”

She sighed and couldn’t help complaining indignantly to Xu Fengjia, “Ever since someone in Fifth Branch became pregnant, they can’t wait for everyone in the world to ask to my face, ‘Why haven’t you given birth?’ I find it strange—what business is it of hers whether I bear children or not? She has to jump about frantically, lest people not know how virtuous she is, how willing to promote chamber maids…”

She rarely complained in her life, and having complained a few sentences about Fifth Young Madam now, even she felt uncomfortable. She stopped talking and sighed, “But she does have righteousness on her side. If she wants to pressure me, I can only let her do so. Who told me to be so useless—I ate poisoned milk as a child and can’t bear children—”

Her words stopped abruptly mid-sentence.

The room suddenly fell silent. Seventh Miss rarely showed such surprise. She even covered her mouth with her hand as if trying to push the just-spoken words back in, turning her head away, not daring to make any eye contact with Xu Fengjia.

Xu Fengjia slowly set down the chopsticks in his hand. His voice was very soft, “Say that again?”

Though she hadn’t turned around, Seventh Miss could still feel his burning gaze searching over her face and body, as if wanting to bore a hole through her.

Since the two of them had laid everything out and reached reconciliation, Xu Fengjia had never stared at her with such scorching eyes.

Seventh Miss sighed dejectedly and said quietly, “This matter—you’re better off not knowing. Madam is your Fourth Aunt after all. If you knew, you’d be caught in a difficult position between us.”

Though she didn’t say it explicitly, this statement had already obliquely answered Xu Fengjia’s question.

Xu Fengjia fell silent at once. After a long while, he sighed heavily.

“Does Shanjiu know or not?” He suddenly seemed to age ten years, his shoulders almost sagging. “Could he also—”

“Shanjiu never nursed from Ninth Yiniang’s milk—he was taken directly to the main courtyard.” After hesitating, Seventh Miss decided to tell him the truth. “He also doesn’t know about this matter.”

She seemed to want to make amends, adding hastily, “However, it’s not to say I can never bear children. Physician Quan said that if I take care of my health and don’t worry excessively, in another two or three years, I should still be able to conceive.”

Xu Fengjia’s already tightly furrowed brows drew even tighter. He remained silent for a long time before slowly saying, “Are you… explaining this to me?”

Whether she had concealed the matter of residual poison from Xu Fengjia because she didn’t want him caught between herself and the Grand Madam, or because she feared that once Xu Fengjia knew, he would use the excuse of producing heirs to develop relationships outside—even Seventh Miss herself hadn’t fully thought this through.

She took a deep breath, mustered her courage to meet Xu Fengjia’s eyes directly, and shook her head frankly. “I don’t know. Ultimately, I don’t need to explain to you. Even regarding Madam—if Physician Quan hadn’t spoken bluntly in front of her at the time, saying it would be difficult for me to conceive after taking that medicine, I probably wouldn’t have had the good fortune to marry into the Xu family.”

Various emotions immediately surfaced on Xu Fengjia’s face. He stared at Seventh Miss, and in that gaze there seemed to be anger, pity, anguish, worry, and various indescribable feelings of loss… yet perhaps there was nothing at all, only an inscrutable profundity.

Seventh Miss said nothing more. She lowered her head, gazing at the rice grains in her bowl, and slowly continued, “Also, because there are always so many matters at home, I haven’t thought about this aspect…”

Her words still carried a trace of self-justification.

“With your methods, if you wanted to tell me, you would have said so long ago. Dragging it out until now—it’s simply that you don’t trust me.” Xu Fengjia immediately exposed her excuse. “I suppose you’re still afraid—afraid that I would place producing heirs above you as a person. Yang Qi, am I so lacking in credibility to you?”

His words surprisingly contained little emotion—whether hurt, anger, pity, or heartache, all were deliberately erased, instead being so calm it seemed oddly unnatural.

To deceive this man was truly too difficult.

Seventh Miss couldn’t help sighing slightly in her heart—if she had married into the Quan or Gui families back then, with Quan Zhongbai’s and Gui Hanchun’s temperaments, they probably couldn’t have put this kind of pressure on her.

But conversely, if Xu Fengjia weren’t so formidable, spending a lifetime with an ordinary mortal—how tedious those days would be!

Seventh Miss raised her head and told Xu Fengjia honestly, “Perhaps I was afraid—after all, producing heirs puts great pressure on you. If something happened to Silang and Wulang, and I still hadn’t given birth… But part of it was also not wanting you caught in a difficult position. Whether you believe it or not, that’s what I thought.”

Although at the time she had already told Xu Fengjia that she couldn’t easily conceive, and that the result of his exclusive devotion might very well be a childless life, difficulty conceiving due to excessive worry versus difficulty due to residual poison were fundamentally different things. If one wanted to make much of it, this could also be considered deliberate deception.

Xu Fengjia’s eyes deepened in color. His voice dropped so low it was almost a whisper, “When all is said and done, you still haven’t completely trusted me…”

“If I completely trusted you based solely on one promise from you, how cheap would my trust be?” Seventh Miss told Xu Fengjia seriously. “I also made it very clear at the time—your promise only earned you an opportunity. Everything else still has to be earned by you yourself.”

Her eloquence was flawless. Xu Fengjia found himself unable to respond. After staring blankly for a while, he said resentfully, “Fine. You women are petty and narrow-minded, full of twists and turns. I won’t argue with you.”

After teasing her once, his voice lowered again, asking softly, “So this matter—are you planning to bury it in your heart and just live out your life like this?”

Seventh Miss looked at Xu Fengjia with a half-smile and asked, “What do you think I’ll do?”

Xu Fengjia paused before reluctantly saying, “You won’t even give up on your Fifth Sister’s matter, let alone something like this… It’s just that Fourth Aunt is your legitimate mother after all. If this matter becomes too big, you’ll lose face, and it will be even harder for you to establish yourself in the family.”

Though he didn’t say it explicitly, the implication was still advising Seventh Miss not to go too far. Seventh Miss glanced at him and smiled, “How much of what you’re saying is for my sake, and how much stems from selfish motives?”

When husband and wife live together, there are always conflicts. Speaking frankly like this was actually better than everyone keeping things unsaid.

Xu Fengjia looked as if he’d swallowed a duck egg. He didn’t speak for a long time, only glaring at Seventh Miss resentfully. After a very long while he finally said, “Yang Qi, may Heaven have mercy and tear out your tongue!”

The room immediately filled with Seventh Miss’s relaxed laughter. “Go on with you! Without a tongue, wouldn’t it be even more convenient for you to bully me?”

The couple talked and laughed, not mentioning the matter again. Only before retiring for the night did Xu Fengjia bring up the old topic again.

“I know your nature—in everything, you believe in drawing the bow without releasing the arrow, laying groundwork for thousands of miles. Then when the right moment comes, delivering the fatal strike with one thrust.” In the darkness, Xu Fengjia’s voice seemed to float beside Seventh Miss’s ear. “But you must remember, no matter what you’re thinking, in the clan register you’re written under Fourth Aunt’s name. Everyone will treat you as Fourth Aunt’s own daughter. Many things—you can’t do them too conspicuously…”

Though Xu Fengjia’s words had the meaning of defending the Grand Madam, what he said was indeed all reasonable. Seventh Miss sighed softly and simply laid everything out for Xu Fengjia. “Actually, regarding who should bear responsibility for Ninth Yiniang’s tragic life, I’m still uncertain in my heart. The events of those years are too ethereal and difficult to trace. It seems everyone has a different version, and everyone bears some fault.”

She asked herself quietly, “Even if I wanted revenge, how should I take revenge to do it best? And who should I take revenge on? Should I only blame your Fourth Aunt? In this matter, everyone had their helplessness, everyone acted out of necessity. Ah, if the world’s grievances and resentments were always black and white, how much trouble could be avoided?”

Thinking of Ninth Brother, thinking of Feng Jin and Eunuch Lian, she shook her head again and encouraged herself. “At least I’m very fortunate—I can investigate the truth, unlike Ninth Brother, who spent his whole life caught between his birth mother and adoptive mother, stuck in an impossible position, not even daring to have the courage to uncover the truth. As a concubine-born son, even having gained legitimate son status with no other brothers to divide the inheritance—this path is still much harder to walk than that of a concubine-born daughter.”

Xu Fengjia didn’t speak for a long while. After a very long time, he said lightly, “Sleep! Who in this world doesn’t have their own suffering? Tomorrow we still have to visit Anfu Ward. If you sleep too late, you’ll have two big bags under your eyes again.”

Seventh Miss murmured her assent, adjusted her position once more, then nestled against Xu Fengjia’s chest and fell into deep sleep.