“She will be taken in, but not into the Yue Manor.” Before the Old Master could speak, the Yue Manor steward stepped forward.

He cupped his hands toward the Old Master and said, “Old Master, before the Master left, he instructed me to keep a close watch on Miss Yang.”

“The Master is already aware of the evidence of Miss Yang’s crimes. We simply haven’t yet decided how to punish her.”

“The Master also said that if Miss Yang still shows no remorse, I am to send her directly to the authorities.”

“Old Master, there is no need for you to trouble yourself over this matter. I will have someone take her away at once. Let the authorities determine all charges against her.”

The Old Master gave a slight nod but offered no comment.

Seeing the Old Master nod, Yang Hong was so frightened that she crumpled to the ground.

But she quickly scrambled back to her knees. “Old Master, no — I didn’t mean to deceive anyone. Please don’t hand me over to the authorities.”

“Old Master, I have treated you as if you were my own father. You cannot be so heartless toward me.”

While Yang Hong was pleading, the Yue Manor steward gave a wave of his hand.

The four guards stationed outside the door cupped their hands in unison and strode in.

Two of them hauled Yang Hong up from the floor. Xiao Tao, who had been hiding inside, also came running out.

“No! Don’t arrest my mistress — she has done nothing to harm the Old Master. She is innocent!”

Before Xiao Tao could even reach Yang Hong, she was already restrained by the other two servants.

“Old Master, please don’t hand me over to the authorities. I want to go back to Yue Manor — I won’t go anywhere else. Please give me one more chance. I promise I will do better.”

Yang Hong struggled and pleaded without cease.

“Old Master, from beginning to end, I never harmed you. You cannot be so cruel. Old Master, save me — Master Yue, save me!”

“Xiao Hua is my child, and no one is permitted to harm her!” the Old Master said in a heavy voice.

He waved his hand, and the four servants dragged both still-pleading women out of the hall.

The scene was, in a word, wretched.

With the Old Master’s declaration that “Xiao Hua is my child,” neither Yue Jianhua nor Yue Jiancheng’s wife dared to utter a sound.

Yang Hong and her maidservant were taken away. The hall fell quiet.

Feng Jiu’er glanced at the Old Master once more but said nothing. She was an outsider; there was little reason for her to involve herself in these affairs.

Still, the Old Master was her patient now, and that made him her responsibility. Her only duty was to ensure he did not collapse again.

The silence in the hall carried an oppressive weight, particularly for those with guilty consciences.

In the end, it was Zeng Lanzhi who could no longer bear the pressure. She lowered her head and said softly, “Father, it — it was my fault. I was greedy for wealth and status. I was the one who was wrong.”

“Jianhua only found out about Yang Hong’s actions later. Everything was my doing — I was the one who put him up to it.”

“Even the matter of drugging you was arranged by me. Jianhua didn’t agree at first. It was my fault, Father. If you must punish someone, punish me alone.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Zeng Lanzhi kowtowed three times against the floor with a series of resounding thuds.

“Father, Ah Lan knows she was wrong. You are a magnanimous person — please give me one more chance. I will never dare to do this again.”

The Old Master stared at the kneeling figures in the hall for a long moment without speaking.

Feng Jiu’er picked up a teacup and held it out to him. “Old Master, have some tea first. Whatever happens, please don’t let your anger ruin your health.”

The Old Master drew a deep breath, withdrew his gaze, and took the cup from Feng Jiu’er’s hands, sipping it twice.

No one in the hall spoke. The sound of the Old Master drinking his tea was almost conspicuous in the silence.

After a while, the Old Master set the teacup back on the table and let his gaze come to rest on Tang Xiaohua.

“Xiao Hua, what is your view on all of this?”

Tang Xiaohua seemed not to have expected that the Old Master would leave the decision to her. She raised her eyes to meet his gaze, a faint furrow forming between her brows.

At last, she gave a soft cough and said, “Father, you know perfectly well I dislike handling matters like this. You decide.”

Tang Xiaohua was not afraid of trouble — had this not been a house full of her husband’s own family members, she would likely not have been nearly this restrained.

But as it was, these were people she had no business moving against.

Tang Xiaohua shrugged and crossed her legs. “Qiao Mu, do you have time later to come by my manor for a visit?”

“Just now I noticed a few of your moves that I can’t replicate myself. I was wondering whether you might offer a pointer or two?”

Qiao Mu turned to look at her, eyes half-lidded. “Are you serious? With so many people surrounding us just now, you still had the presence of mind to watch my techniques?”

“If your techniques weren’t worth watching, why would I have had the leisure to notice them?” Tang Xiaohua raised an eyebrow. “Besides, with you holding the line, no one could have gotten to me anyway. I was idle — might as well make use of the time.”

“Madam Yue, have you gone mad?” Qiao Mu’s brow furrowed even deeper. “I was fighting for my life out there, and you were slacking off? I actually thought you were frightened.”

“You’re the one who’s gone mad,” Tang Xiaohua said with a look of complete indifference. “Could a handful of people like that ever frighten me? So — are you free to come by my manor or not?”

Qiao Mu cast Tang Xiaohua a sideways glance, then also shrugged. The gesture was remarkably similar to the one Tang Xiaohua had made just moments ago.

“My rates are high. If you can afford me, I’ll come.”

“How high?” Tang Xiaohua’s lips curved faintly as she asked.

Qiao Mu’s gaze slid briefly toward Feng Jiu’er. “Jiu’er charges one hundred taels per hour. I charge eighty. Do you want me there or not?”

“No problem!” Tang Xiaohua waved a hand.

Feng Jiu’er was genuinely in awe of these two utterly carefree women. The important matter at hand was not yet resolved, and they had already wandered off into an entirely different conversation.

Though she could understand Tang Xiaohua’s position well enough. How could she be expected to open her mouth and pronounce punishment on her own husband’s brothers and sisters-in-law?

Zeng Lanzhi and Lin Jingmin looked at Tang Xiaohua, each wanting to beg for mercy, but the sight of her air of such supreme indifference left them unable to find the words.

The Old Master observed Tang Xiaohua and Qiao Mu for a moment, then drew his gaze back to the people remaining in the hall.

“Do any of you have anything further to say?”

The two men held their silence. The two women also bowed their heads. In the end, the one who spoke was, again, Zeng Lanzhi.

“Father, I know I was wrong. If you must punish someone, punish me alone. I truly know I was wrong.”

“If you were wrong, of course you must accept punishment.” The Old Master gazed out toward the entrance and drew a long breath.

“All these years, do you think I haven’t known what you’ve all been getting up to?”

“Your eldest brother never made an issue of it. Xiao Hua never made an issue of it. That is because they are generous.”

“They never even deigned to take notice of your little schemes, and yet they still allowed you all to live comfortably.” The Old Master shook his head and let his gaze fall.

“Third son, I will trust you and your wife’s words for now. But all of you had better hear me clearly — this must never happen again.”

“Thank you, Father. Thank you, Father.” Lin Jingmin was nearly beside herself with relief.

“Thank you, Father.” Yue Jiancheng kowtowed once. “I will never dare act this way again.”

“It is not only you who must not dare — your family must not dare either. Is that understood?” the Old Master said, his voice cold.

“I understand.” Lin Jingmin nodded vigorously. “Father, I will never dare again!”