A month ago, when He Xu was forced to leave the capital due to debts, Yun Chu had arranged for people to follow him from that moment on.

“After He Xu left the capital, he kept heading toward Jizhou.” The servant reported with his head lowered. “His hometown isn’t actually in Jizhou, but in Yangliu Village, over thirty li outside Jizhou city. Only after going to the village did I learn that He Xu’s original name was He Xu—turns out his clan surname is actually He. Chen Bo asked me to inquire about a woman named He Lingying. There was no family surnamed He there, so in a moment of inspiration, I changed He to He and was able to find information. There really is someone called He Lingying—she’s He Xu’s biological younger sister.”

Yun Chu’s hand paused.

No wonder she had searched the entire capital but couldn’t find any trace of the He clan. So the surname was actually He.

“I went to the village chief to ask for information. As soon as I mentioned the He family, the village chief’s face became deeply evasive. He smoked his pipe without saying a word. I offered the village chief silver, but he directly closed his door and refused to chat with me anymore… I stayed in Jizhou for nearly half a month and only managed to extract some information after becoming familiar with the group of old ladies in the village. The He family moved to the village over twenty years ago—all elderly, women, and children under seven years old. Everyone bore injuries, a horrible sight. In the first month after moving to the village, seven or eight people from the He family died of illness…”

“Of the He family’s younger generation, meaning He Xu’s generation, only the two siblings survived. The entire clan pooled their resources to find He Lingying a good marriage family, but I was incompetent and couldn’t discover which household He Lingying married into.”

Chen Defu’s expression showed great alarm: “Madam, over twenty years ago, wasn’t there a prominent He family in the capital that was destroyed? Could it be…”

Over twenty years ago, Yun Chu hadn’t been born yet, but she had also heard family members mention this matter.

At that time, the He family head, Lord He, served as the current dynasty’s Minister of Revenue. That year, a great drought occurred, and seven or eight provinces in the south suffered disaster. The court allocated two hundred thousand taels of silver for relief, but when this money reached the south, less than twenty thousand taels remained… Countless disaster victims starved to death or died of thirst, countless people became displaced, large numbers of common people gathered and sparked uprisings… In short, the consequences were severe.

After the situation was suppressed, the court thoroughly investigated the disaster relief matter. This investigation revealed something terrible—the entire Ministry of Revenue, from top to bottom, was involved in corruption. It was rotten through and through.

As Minister of Revenue, although the He family head hadn’t openly embezzled, he would take benefits from those officials who had embezzled, creating a unified system from top to bottom that completely deceived the emperor.

The court was shaken. The emperor was furious. The more they investigated, the worse it became. All males within three generations of the He family over seven years old were sentenced to beheading. Women and children under seven were imprisoned for a full six months. When they were finally released, of that enormous clan, only thirty-some survivors remained alive. The court sent them back to their ancestral home.

Of those thirty-some people on the road to Yangliu Village in Jizhou, another dozen died. Only just over twenty remained when they reached their destination.

And even after reaching their destination, life didn’t improve much. Otherwise, of that youngest generation, only the He Xu siblings would not have survived.

A cold smile appeared on Yun Chu’s lips: “So our manor’s Concubine He is the daughter of a criminal official.”

He Shi’s father was a minor official in the Ministry of Revenue, her grandfather was the Minister of Revenue. Over twenty years ago, the He family could be described as infinitely prestigious.

Once trouble struck, the entire clan collapsed… She finally understood why Xie Shi’an had such great resentment toward the current emperor. So many clan members had died at the emperor’s hands. He Shi harbored resentment toward the court and the emperor, which would naturally be carried into her everyday teachings, which was why Xie Shi’an developed such hatred for the emperor at such a young age…

Chen Defu was quite frightened: “The master took a daughter of the He family as a concubine. If someone with ulterior motives learns of this, I’m afraid…”

Although the court had not exiled the He family’s women and young children, nor explicitly forbidden the He family from leaving their ancestral home, descendants of criminal officials were half criminals themselves. Wandering around thousands of li away was one thing, but to actually come to the capital and marry a court official—if someone with ulterior motives revealed this to the Censorate, and a censor impeached them, it would be enough trouble for the Xie family to handle.

Yun Chu shook her head.

He Lingying was just a weak woman. Even if she married a court official, the court wouldn’t think much of it. The price Xie Jingyu would pay would merely be demotion by one rank.

But if descendants of the He family—one married to an imperial prince, one entered the Imperial Academy…

The He family had a grudge against the imperial family, yet went to great lengths to approach imperial family members. What would the emperor think?

If this matter was properly orchestrated, it could completely destroy the Xie family.

What needed to be done now was to transform He Lingying from Concubine He into the biological mother of the Xie family’s eldest young master, second young master, and eldest miss—these three children.

After leaving the estate, she returned to the Xie residence.

Yun Chu went directly to Xie Jingyu’s courtyard. This was his study, and after their marriage, he had been staying here continuously.

When she arrived, the maids all seemed somewhat surprised, because during this period, Yun Chu had never set foot in this courtyard.

“All of you withdraw.”

At Yun Chu’s words, the maids quickly nodded and withdrew in an orderly manner.

The study was filled with books. On the desk was a memorial Xie Jingyu had written halfway through. Yun Chu picked it up and glanced at it—nothing remarkable.

She searched around and in the layers between several books, she actually found an account book.

She took out the account book. The elegant handwriting was clearly written by a woman:

“Shuntian Year 13, Spring, Yuquan, eldest daughter born, midwife fee, five taels.”

“Shuntian Year 14, Autumn, Yuquan, eldest son born, midwife fee, seven taels.”

“Shuntian Year 18, Autumn, Jizhou, second son born…”

The Xie family’s old residence was in Yuquan, Jizhou. After Xie Jingyu passed the provincial examination, he moved to Jizhou. Later, after becoming a presented scholar, he came to the capital… All these timelines matched perfectly.

And this handwriting—with a slight comparison, one could tell it was He Lingying’s writing.

Yun Chu smiled slightly. Xie Jingyu truly wasn’t guarding against her at all, leaving such an important item casually placed on the bookshelf.

She placed the account book in her sleeve.

Just then, Tingshuang’s voice came from outside, paying respects: “Greetings, master.”

Xie Jingyu’s brow furrowed: “Why are you here?”

Tingshuang kept her head lowered: “Madam came to speak with the master. Seeing the master wasn’t here, she went inside to rest for a moment.”

As she was speaking, the door opened.

Yun Chu stood behind the door, her gaze falling on Xie Jingyu’s hands: “Husband, what’s in your hands?”

Xie Jingyu held up the gift box: “This is a ginseng root that Lord Hu sent.”

He raised his other hand: “This is tea leaves Lord Zhou gave.”

Yun Chu pulled at her lips.

It seemed that after becoming the future father-in-law of Prince An’jing, Xie Jingyu’s days were gradually becoming more prosperous.

“What did Madam want to discuss with me?”

Xie Jingyu placed the gift boxes on the desk and looked at Yun Chu.

“During morning greetings, Concubine Yu came crying to me, wanting to take Yun’er back.” Yun Chu spoke. “Yun’er seems to have fallen ill. What does husband think?”

Xie Jingyu frowned: “Since Yun’er was given to Concubine He, let Concubine He raise him. If he’s ill, just call a physician.”

“That’s what I think too.” Yun Chu spoke with a smile. “Speaking of which, Concubine He can be said to have some fate with our Xie family. This morning Concubine Tao was even saying that Concubine He and Ping’er look exactly alike. If outsiders who don’t know the truth saw them, they would probably think Concubine He was Ping’er’s biological mother.”

Hearing these words, Xie Jingyu was completely shocked, his heart seeming to plunge into an ice cellar.

He should have realized earlier—daughters resemble their mothers. The more Ping’er grew up, the more she would resemble He Shi’s face…