Cheng Chi smiled and kissed her cheek, saying, “His Majesty may send the Fourth Prince to his fiefdom.”

His Majesty had a total of thirteen sons. Eight had reached adulthood, six had been enfeoffed as princes, yet all of them resided in the capital. In earlier years, censors had submitted memorials asking several princes to go to their fiefdoms, but His Majesty had consistently kept the memorials without issuing any response. Moreover, since the Crown Prince’s position had long been established, the matter had been dropped.

Now that His Majesty was sending the Fourth Prince to his fiefdom, it meant the Fourth Prince would be far from the capital with no further chance of inheriting the throne.

Zhou Shaojin couldn’t contain her joy and said, “Does this mean the Cheng family will be safe from now on?”

“Halfway there,” Cheng Chi said with a smile. “If he’s truly determined, he could still rebel even after going to his fiefdom.”

Zhou Shaojin laughed and said, “But even so, it won’t be so easy for him to succeed, right?”

“Exactly!” Cheng Chi’s mood improved even more seeing her smile with her eyes curved like crescents. He said, “Away from the capital, many things will no longer be appropriate for him to do. When the time comes, we’ll add fuel to a few fires for him. If he doesn’t rebel, he can forget about ever setting foot in the capital again in this lifetime.” As he spoke to this point, his expression became stern.

Zhou Shaojin knew that Cheng Chi would do what he said. She couldn’t help but nervously grasp his hand and said, “Then you must be careful. Don’t let anyone see through your schemes.”

Playing with imperial descendants in the palm of one’s hand like this—once suspected, regardless of who ascended to the throne, they would never spare Cheng Chi or the Cheng family.

“I know,” Cheng Chi said with a smile. “After sending the Fourth Prince off, the Seven Stars Hall will be formally handed over to the Golden Sands Gang. By then, the Seven Stars Hall will no longer exist as a faction in the martial world.” As he spoke, he paused slightly in his tone and continued, “From now on, although our descendants may be able to distance themselves from these disputes and troubles, I’m afraid our standard of living won’t be as comfortable as before.”

Zhou Shaojin saw things quite clearly. She smiled and said, “In worldly affairs, the virtuous inherit them. It’s impossible to have everything, to claim every advantage. Besides, the Seven Stars Hall wasn’t something passed down from the Cheng family ancestors since ancient times—it was created by the Old Master. This shows that if descendants have ability, they’ll naturally leave their names in history and enjoy fine clothes and food. If descendants lack ability, they’ll only end up like Cheng Li from the second branch—dying young. It’s better to let them eat according to the size of their bowls and earn their own futures.”

Cheng Chi’s gaze toward Zhou Shaojin became somewhat solemn.

Zhou Shaojin couldn’t help but feel a bit uncomfortable. She said carefully, “Did I say something wrong?” Then she added, “I was just thinking of what Mama Fan told me when I was young—a good woman doesn’t wear her wedding clothes forever, a good man doesn’t eat his parents’ food forever. When people grow up, they should go out and make their own way. That’s better than having mountains of gold and silver piled up at home for them to use…”

Cheng Chi laughed. He affectionately pinched Zhou Shaojin’s chin and said warmly, “I hadn’t expected my little wife to have such a clear-minded heart and think the same as me. Thirty years on the east side of the river, thirty years on the west side. This world is full of ordinary common people. Rather than relying on ancestors’ remaining protection to determine what kind of people our descendants become, it’s better for them to earn it themselves.”

Wouldn’t that mean Yun Ge’er would also have to earn things himself?

Just thinking about it made Zhou Shaojin’s heart ache. Her hand unconsciously stroked her slightly protruding belly.

“What’s wrong?” Cheng Chi asked nervously when he saw this. “Are you feeling unwell somewhere?”

Zhou Shaojin gently shook her head. She realized that although she clearly understood this principle, when it came to Yun Ge’er, she couldn’t let go. This showed that the saying “a doting mother spoils her children” had merit.

Her thoughts turned to Old Madam Guo.

To be able to raise three sons who all became successful scholars—one couldn’t truly understand the difficulty without being a mother oneself.

She discussed with Cheng Chi, “From now on, regarding matters of raising the children, should we consult Mother more often?”

Cheng Chi immediately understood her concern and said with a smile, “As long as you’re willing, I’ll entrust the children to Mother’s care.”

“I’m willing!” Zhou Shaojin said through gritted teeth. “We can’t harm them just because our hearts ache for them.”

Cheng Chi chuckled softly.

He felt there was no girl more gentle and understanding than his little wife.

Most rare of all was that she knew what she could and couldn’t do. What she could do, she never shirked. What she couldn’t do, she never took on.

Perhaps because of this, even though they’d been married for three or four years, her gaze was still so clear and pure.

Cheng Chi gathered Zhou Shaojin into his arms and tenderly planted a kiss on top of her head, saying softly, “After you give birth to the baby, I’ll find time to accompany you to Mount Putuo.”

“Really?” Zhou Shaojin looked at Cheng Chi in surprise. “How did you know I wanted to go to Mount Putuo again?” She couldn’t hide the joy in her expression. “Can you get away?” Cheng Chi was no longer the idle man he used to be. Her expression dimmed as she said, “If you’re busy, you don’t have to accompany me. I can go with Elder Sister. Last time, Elder Sister was quite envious of me…”

Just going out for a trip could make her this happy.

A flash of tenderness crossed Cheng Chi’s heart. He smiled and said, “I’ll always be able to find some time. But we’ll have to wait until the baby is a bit older. Plus, we’ll have to leave both of them at home—they’re still too young. When Yun Ge’er is older, I’ll let him accompany you on another trip…” Since she had no interest in going anywhere else, he’d let her do what interested her.

Zhou Shaojin always felt that her rebirth was due to her reverence for the Bodhisattva in her past life. So in this life, she was even more devout.

Going to Mount Putuo to worship Buddha was, in her view, an act of merit.

But if Cheng Chi accompanied her, wouldn’t it require great effort on his part?

Better to wait until Yun Ge’er was older to accompany her.

By that time, the baby could be brought along too.

Zhou Shaojin made up her mind, but she was just as grateful that Cheng Chi had proposed accompanying her to Mount Putuo.

She nodded with a smile, deciding to discuss it further when the time came.

The baby wouldn’t be born until winter!

No matter what, she’d have to wait until the child was a year old before she could travel, right?

Zhou Shaojin decided to tell Zhou Chujin about this so everyone could prepare in advance.

However, before she could send someone to invite Zhou Chujin over, someone submitted a calling card.

Zhou Shaojin held the card, examining it front and back, confirming that she absolutely hadn’t misread it. Only then did she ask Nanny Shang, “Why would she come to visit me? Shouldn’t she be visiting Old Madam?”

Nanny Shang tactfully reminded her, “In the past, she couldn’t get an audience with Old Madam. Now that we’ve separated our ancestral lineage from Jiuru Alley, she can even less get to Old Madam. She can only use Old Madam Guan’s name to come to you and try her luck.” Then she advised, “Since Madam Wu has come to visit you, it shows she approves of Young Madam Nuo staying in the old Jinling home to serve her mother-in-law. I think you should see her—without support from her natal family, Young Madam Nuo can’t leave Jiuru Alley unless Grand Madam Wen passes away.” She continued, “I also know that Madam has a straightforward nature and may not like dealing with her. You don’t actually need to maintain frequent contact with her—it’s not worth it for Young Madam Nuo’s sake. As long as she comes to present gifts and you don’t return them, letting her know you haven’t implicated the Wu family because of Young Madam Nuo’s matter, that will be enough.”

Zhou Shaojin said, “Lord Wu is a fourth-rank prefect… well… he’s been promoted to third-rank provincial administration commissioner now…”

This time Madam Wu came to visit her because Wu Baozhang’s father, Wu Xiu, had been promoted to Left Provincial Administration Commissioner of the Two Lakes region.

For Madam Wu to be so humble before Yuan Shi was understandable. But to be like this before her… wasn’t it a bit much?

However, ever since that incident with Cheng Jing, Yuan Shi’s relationship with the Yuan family had instantly dropped to freezing point. When she came to pay her respects to Old Madam Guo before the Dragon Boat Festival, her face was frighteningly pale and her spirits very low. Everyone pretended not to know what had happened. No one mentioned Cheng Jing at all—they only asked with concern about her health. Seeing her in this state, Old Madam Guo still felt somewhat troubled. She told her to rest at home if she wasn’t feeling well and didn’t need to come pay respects on Dragon Boat Festival.

Yuan Shi probably truly had no heart for social obligations. On the day of the Dragon Boat Festival, only Cheng Jing came alone. He apologized to Old Madam Guo, saying Yuan Shi was feeling very unwell and was lying at home. Zhou Shaojin, Qiu Shi, and the others even went to see her.

Little maids were brewing medicine for her in the corridor. Yuan Shi had become much thinner than before. From the looks of it, she truly was ill.

Moreover, judging from Cheng Jing’s tone, Yuan Shi still hadn’t let anyone tell Cheng Xu.

Under these circumstances, even if Madam Wu wanted to associate with Yuan Shi, it would be impossible to see her.

Thinking of it this way, Zhou Shaojin felt somewhat relieved.

She said, “Then please invite Madam Wu in!”

Whether in her past life or this one, the one who had wronged her was Wu Baozhang.

In the past, she still harbored resentment toward Wu Baozhang.

But having come step by step to where she was today, when she looked back at Wu Baozhang, this person had become someone she could completely disregard.

If Madam Wu was afraid the Wu family would be implicated by Wu Baozhang, then it would be good to untie this knot.

From now on, the Wu family was the Wu family, and she was herself.

As for festival gifts and such… it would be better for everyone to stay clean and not associate with each other.

Zhou Shaojin received Madam Wu courteously.

Madam Wu didn’t mention the previous friendship between the two families at all. She only said that Lord Wu had already left Jinling, and thinking of how the Cheng family had cared for Lord Wu in the past, the couple wanted to come express their gratitude. The Two Lakes region was thousands of miles away. Having met now, who knew when they would meet again. The Wu family’s Second Miss Wu Baohua and Wu Baozhi had all married or become engaged, and their husbands were all from Yangzhou. They would rarely return to Jinling in the future. Although Wu Baozhang’s elder brother Wu Tailai wasn’t accomplished, he was ultimately Lord Wu’s son. This time when going to the Two Lakes, he would be taken along, and so on.

She also mentioned that Cheng Nuo’s concubine had given birth to a son. A few days ago, he had written a letter back requesting to register the son in the family genealogy, but was rejected by the old matriarch of the second branch. The second branch’s Grand Madam Zheng Shi had even made a special trip to the Wu residence. Lord Wu felt this was the Cheng family’s affair and they shouldn’t interfere.

The implication was that the Wu family would no longer take responsibility for Wu Baozhang.

Zhou Shaojin acted as if she didn’t understand and didn’t respond. She only asked how Wu Baohua’s marriage was, what kind of family Wu Baozhi was engaged to, when Lord Wu would depart for Huguang, saying that Lord Wu had been promoted to provincial administration commissioner so quickly that becoming provincial governor was just around the corner, congratulating them on Lord Wu’s promotion… When Madam Wu left, Zhou Shaojin even presented a pair of gold-inlaid jade ruyi scepters as a return gift.

Madam Wu left happily, but Zhou Shaojin couldn’t help but sigh.

Wu Baozhang… was even worse off than in her past life.

In her past life, despite being so destitute, her relatives had never abandoned her.

She merely wasn’t favored by her husband’s family, yet her own relatives treated her like a venomous snake.

This time, Zhou Shaojin completely let go of Wu Baozhang. She wrote a card inviting the female relatives of the Earl of Pengcheng’s household and Cheng Xiao and others to go to the temple on the sixth day of the sixth month to watch the masters air out the scriptures.