It was not the time for Chu Yitong to have her baby. Although Madame Zhuang barely persuaded Madame Tao to intercede with Marquess Qin and Madame Ou, Madame Tao said that she would only persuade them depending on the situation. If these two really did not agree, she could not force them to do so.

Now that she had a miscarriage, it was natural that they could not recognize that Chu Yitong had gotten pregnant. As such, the folly that she got pregnant during the mourning period could be covered. That made Madame Tao relieved, “Send some nourishing herbs to her and tell her not to be sad. It has only been a few days since she entered the family, hasn’t it? It was just the first time. The couple is both in their prime. Should they be afraid of not having enough children in the future?”

Madame Tao was usually a generous elder. Although this time, strictly speaking, Chu Yitong and his husband were in the wrong. Even though Chu Yitong had a miscarriage, the couple should have been given a few words of warning. However, with Madame Zhuang as a mother-in-law there, she was not willing to be the villain. So, she did not mention the embarrassing date of the pregnancy and treated it as if Chu Yitong had had a normal miscarriage.

Madame Zhuang was someone that loved her daughters-in-law. And she knew that the reason why Chu Yitong was pregnant was mostly that her eldest son was driven by pure lust and could not resist. So, she would not blame Chu Yitong as well.

Marquess Qin and Madame Ou were serious about this thing. As they knew it, both of them felt unhappy. But when they heard that Chu Yitong had had a miscarriage and was thus devastated, they felt it pity, “The folly of Yadan, in turn, did harm to his wife! It was a pity to lose such a baby!”

Both of them decided to punish Jiang Yadan but chose to appease Chu Yitong.

But the other elders were not so gentle. For example, upon hearing of Chu Yitong’s miscarriage, Madame He counted the days and sneered to her people around, “No wonder the child was not kept. He knew he should not be given birth and would be disgraced for the rest of his life. He would rather die and find another family to be born into the world. Anyway, Chu Yitong is the trueborn Commandery Princess of the Prince’s Mansion and she doesn’t even know the rules. Do you know whether she really doesn’t know it or not?”

Although Madame He spoke harshly in private, out of respect for Madame Zhuang, she did not dare to say anything out in the public.

The first branch waited for a few days but there was no movement from the third branch. So, Madame Lu said to Jiang Huizhi, “Madame He must be afraid of that shrew Madame Zhuang. As that is the case, Zhi’er, you’d better not go to the fourth branch to visit Chu. In case you run into Zhuang, you may have to suffer a lot!”

She had a vendetta against the fourth branch for her husband’s murder! But at this moment, she did not want Jiang Huizhi to rub salt into the wounds of the fourth branch, because she was afraid that Jiang Huizhi would follow in Madame Dou’s footsteps and be killed by Madame Zhuang!

Jiang Huizhi had an idea in her mind, “I’m not going there publicly. I’m just being nice and condoling with my aunt. Although the fourth branch refuses to admit that Chu has a miscarriage, they have told that she has an infection on her bed. As her niece, is there anything wrong with me to visit my aunt? If my fourth aunt wants to use me as a punching bag, she should also think about my second great grand uncle!”

Madame Lu shook her head, “It’s true that your second great grand uncle doesn’t like Zhuang. But Zhuang is so lucky that she has her sons and grandsons, who are all loved by the elders! And Zhuang is capable of doing anything! You… Don’t blame me for speaking badly. You are just a female and not as important as a male heir. Zhuang has your nineteenth uncle…”

“My second aunt, please rest assured. I saw what my grandmother went through with my own eyes. How could I not know how cruel Madame Zhuang is?” A flicker of resentment appeared in Jiang Huizhi’s eyes. She said calmly, “But you forget my nineteenth sister-in-law. She has just taken a message from the palace the other day, saying that that person will keep his promise before my third great grand uncle’s death and promote me. She will choose the best date to take me to the palace. Since that she has heart-to-heart with me, it is natural that I go for her when I have been treated badly!”

She sneered, “We’ll see if she really loves me, or she is just pretending! If she really loves me, I will come to her sooner or later to thank her. If she is just pretending, I am sorry! I am so young and simple that I will do anything if I cannot redress my grievance… Anyway, if we have to lose face, we will all lose face together. If someone has to lose face, then I will make everyone embarrassed. Anyway, I have nothing to care about now. She is now six or seven months pregnant. I do hope nothing happens to her!”

Madame Lu was still hesitant, “She is with the fourth branch. And the Empress Dowager is partial to her. She is in the palace. If the Empress Dowager stops our people and says that she cannot be bothered as she is pregnant and that we should look out for ourselves…”

“My aunt, do you forget that there is the sixth branch?” Jiang Huizhi sneered, “Her mother of the maiden family is such a fool. She treats her only trueborn brother of the sixth branch like dirt and refuses to let go of the feud between her and Mi Yinyin. She drove Mi Yinyin crazy and then forcibly repudiated her from the Mi Family a few days after the death of my third great grand uncle! A deadly feud had been formed between her and my sixth grand aunt! But Mi Yinyin has no sons, and it’s useless for her to be backed up by my sixth grand aunt. But my sixth grand aunt herself has sons and grandsons of her own!”

“My sixth grand aunt is her only aunt and she swore to treat me well before the death of my third great grand uncle. And then my sixth grand aunt can just tell my third great aunt that she is afraid that if she does not tell the Empress and does not let her do my justice, her reputation will be ruined! People will say that the mother of the country has broken her promises to her elders! My aunt, do you think my third great grand aunt will not let my sixth grand aunt go to the palace to deliver the message? No matter how rude the mother of the maiden family is, she cannot do anything to my third great grand aunt!”

Madame Lu thought carefully about Jiang Huizhi’s plan and only then did she agree, “And then you can go… But I should go with you! Zhuang is such an evil woman. Even if she can’t get something on you, she may create problems where there are none and make you suffer. If I go with you, I can block it for you!”

“My aunt, you’d better not go!” Jiang Huizhi shook her head, “I have the promise of the Empress in the palace but it still may not be safe for me to go to the fourth branch! If you go, it will be even more dangerous for you! Even if you don’t think of yourself, you should also think of my two cousins, right?”

Thinking of her two young sons and her husband who died in Shazhou in his prime, Madame Lu’s heart was filled with hatred and pain. It took a while before she said, “Be careful. Remember, it’s okay if your plan fails. Do not make yourself suffer immediate losses!”

Madame Lu and Jiang Huizhi planned for a long time and the two almost cried together. And then Jiang Huizhi made herself presentable and went to the fourth branch to visit Chu Yitong. However, she never expected that she got a problem before carrying out her plan. Because the fourth branch did not let her in!

“The eighth madame has a cold. For fear that others may be taken ill, the fourth branch is closed to guests at the moment. I humbly beg your pardon, junior young lady!” The doorkeeper was polite, not arrogant or rude at all, but unusually determined to stop the door from entering. Jiang Huizhi was blocked from entering after several attempts. The grievance in her heart was unspeakable!

As they were in the middle of a standoff, Jiang Yadan came back from outside. Jiang Huizhi came forward and teased, “My eighth uncle! I have heard that my eighth aunt is ill. So, I want to come and see her. But they don’t let me in! He said he was afraid that I would be taken ill. Am I so delicate? Besides, I’m always at home. I’m not afraid of a minor illness! I came all the way over here. I shouldn’t just go back, right?”

Jiang Yadan was always loafing but he was not stupid. How could he not know the reason for her visit was not good? But his guess was wrong. “The little girl wants to find out the truth about Yitong’s miscarriage so that she can spread the word and ruin the reputation of our fourth branch, doesn’t she?”

He was scolded by Marquess Qin and Madame Ou for this. Marquess Qin even had his guards give him ten lashes to let him remember his mistake. And he was not in a good mood at the moment. If it were his nephew, he would probably kick him and vent his anger at being punched before Marquess Qin. But he could not do so as it was his niece who was at her marriageable age.

However, squinting his eyes, he said, “Really? Go with me!” After leading her in, Jiang Yadan did not let her go to his own courtyard but went straight to Madame Zhuang, thinking, “Looking for trouble in our branch? Come and be disciplined before my mother first!”

Jiang Yadan didn’t know what he did was exactly what Jiang Huizhi wanted. Jiang Huizhi intended to use her own grievance in the fourth branch as a reason to force Xin Fubing to stand up for her. Her visit to Chu Yitong was just a pretext. She would be very glad to take Jiang Yadan’s behavior, which he thought was a trap.

When they met Madame Zhuang, Madame Zhuang said tonelessly, “What brings you here?”

When Madame Zhuang said so, she immediately began to whimper, “My fourth grand aunt, listen to your words! I just want to visit my eighth aunt. That’s all! Do you think I should not come? I don’t know what has displeased you and made you dislike me so much…”

Madame Zhuang disliked her. When she saw that she was still pretending in front of her, she didn’t bother to make a fuss but directly told Mrs. Chang, “Get two people to send her back to the first branch. She comes to our branch and keeps crying for no reason. Even if Madame Dou Junior is not in Jing City, Lu should have cared about it. It is folly!”

As soon as she gave the order to send her back, Jiang Huizhi went from sobbing to crying!

Now everyone could see that she had come here for looking for trouble. Jiang Yadan had wanted to watch the fun, but unexpectedly he was set upon. He was livid with rage! He was not the type of disciplined man. He was so angry that he didn’t care if his niece could not be hit. And he slapped her across the face, “What are you howling about?”

Jiang Yadan knew what he was doing and reduced the strength of his hands. But how could Jiang Huizhi not seize this opportunity? Without saying a word, she lay down on the ground and kept quiet!

The maids she had brought with her began to cry, saying that her young lady was dead or something else… Madame Zhuang called over her subordinates, her face darkening, “Carry her back to the first branch! If she wants to cry or make a scene, just go back to her own room! Don’t spoil the peace of our fourth branch!”

She also ordered, “Go to the main room and ask Dr. Lin to check her. Don’t think that she can blame her situation on our fourth branch just because she managed to get in!”

Finally, she cursed Jiang Yadan to be silly, “I have the door guarded. And no one is allowed to visit. What do you think the reason is? You brought her in. And just now you even hit her. Have you gotten used to beating those mistresses? So, now you’re beating your niece, right? Have you forgotten what your father told you before he left?”

Madame Zhuang was now in the same mood as her youngest daughter-in-law had been before, “What a dork!”

… As to the first branch, as soon as Dr. Lin and the people from the fourth branch left, Jiang Huizhi opened her eyes. She pressed the towel on her face and said to Madame Lu, who was guarding her by the couch, “My aunt, I hope you will talk to my sixth grand aunt!”

“Of course!” Madame Lu looked at her face with pain and gritted her teeth, “Don’t worry! Your fifth great grand aunt is unforgiving. She has been pressing hard these days. And your sixth grand aunt is being driven mad by her! If we seek an alliance with her now, there will be no reason for her to refuse!”

And that was exactly what happened. Madame Mi didn’t hesitate to agree as soon as she heard the people that Madame Lu sent there say they did that to set up Xin Fubing!

Her trusted subordinate tried to persuade her, “Why should you get into this? Given Old Master Tiancan’s identity, it doesn’t matter which side wins. Our branch will be rich and prosperous anyway!”

“We will be rich and prosperous while we should be humiliated by the b*tch Jiang Tianhe once again and again!” Madame Mi said so as she clenched her teeth, “I’d rather bow to my grand niece later than let go of Jiang Tianhe and Xin Fubing!”

She added, “Besides, Jiang Tianhe hates me so much. Do you think it will be good for our branch if Xin Fubing is in charge of Hall of Taishi in the future?”

“Seriously?” Jiang Tianhe asked his people with an ugly expression. “Madame Mi went to the palace and asked Fubing to help the little b*tch of the first branch? Why did mother agree to let her enter the palace?”

The man replied, “Madame Mi told Madame Ou that before Sir Jibei passed away, Her Majesty promised to take good care of Miss Huizhi of the Jiang Family! Now Miss Huizhi has been wronged by the fourth branch. If she did not report to Her Majesty, others would think that Her Majesty didn’t think highly of her promise because they believed that Her Majesty knew it. So, for the sake of Her Grace’s reputation…”

“Nonsense! Did my mother believe it?” Jiang Tianhe laughed with anger, “Didn’t she just want to have trouble with me? Fubing is pregnant now and Madame Mi is really cruel to be an aunt. If so…”

In the fourth branch of the Marquess’s Mansion, Qiu Yelan smiled and looked at Jiang Qizheng sitting beside her. They hadn’t met for more than one year. Chunfu Princess didn’t look bad as she lived in hardship and remote areas. She even looked better than two years ago. She was just tired because of the long journey though.

Obviously, she had a very good relationship with Qiu Feng right now. Otherwise, as Jiang Qizheng had been spoiled since childhood, with her frailty and delicacy, she would definitely not have the spirit or energy that she had now. People were in high spirits when getting involved in happy events.

“How time flies!” Qiu Yelan watched Jiang Qizheng, whose childishness and innocence were replaced by calmness. Qiu Feng, who was covered in luxuriant clothes, respectfully answered Madame Zhuang’s questions. Qiu Yelan sighed with emotion, “This couple has changed a lot these two years!”

When she thought, the conversation between Madame Zhuang and Qiu Feng came to an end. Madame Zhuang was unhappy with Qiu Feng because he neglected her daughter at the beginning, but Jiang Qizheng couldn’t help but help them make peace. Obviously, she was unwilling to see the conflict between her mother and husband. Madame Zhuang had two sons, but only one daughter, so she spoiled her daughter. At the beginning, she was a little unhappy. Seeing Qiu Feng was respectful, she turned her attitude, “You must be tired after the long journey so let’s talk tomorrow. You can greet your grandmother first and then go to the Mansion of Sir Jibei to see your uncle!”

Jiang Qizheng secretly breathed a sigh of relief, thanked her mother, and solemnly bowed to Qiu Yelan, “Thanks for taking care of Fu’er.”

“Sister, are we strangers?” Qiu Yelan wanted to stop her and smiled, “Furthermore, Lang’er was not born before. An’er was so lonely and it would be better to have Fu’er keep company!”

They exchanged a few words and then Madame Zhuang said, “We are a family. Don’t be polite. Qizheng, you go to greet your grandmother with your husband. Yelan, you stay. I have something to tell you!”

After Jiang Qizheng left with Qiu Feng, Qiu Yelan asked, “What is that, mother?”

“Since they have come back, it’s not good for you to take care of Fu’er anymore.” Madame Zhuang thought for a while and said, “If you can often go to visit your eighth sister-in-law, she can feel better.”

Qiu Yelan knew what she meant. It was that she didn’t want to have any gossip between her daughters-in-law.

Chu Yitong was unreasonably troublesome. She became the mother of a group of children before she got married. She was finally pregnant, but the time was embarrassing. It was easy to end her pregnancy by accident! Considering that she was sad now, her behavior was understandable.

“Don’t worry. I asked someone to get some ingredients yesterday. I plan to make a can of nourishing porridge for my eighth sister-in-law by myself!” Qiu Yelan sighed in her heart and smiled, “Of course, I share it with mother, grandmother, the youngest grand aunt, and my eighteenth sister.”

“Thank you!” Madame Zhuang was very satisfied with her daughter-in-law’s obedience. For her own people, Madame Zhuang was fair and generous so she took off her dowry bracelet as a reward, “I can’t eat yours for nothing. This is for you!”

Qiu Yelan smiled and refused it, “Showing filial respect for you is my duty, mother. We are a family!”

“You are right but this is a reward for you!” Madame Zhuang said kindly, “As your mother, all of my things will be yours in the end.”

Seeing that she really wanted to give it to her, Qiu Yelan thought about it and didn’t refuse it anymore. She smiled and took it, “Thanks, mother!”

And then they talked about Ling Zui’s marriage to Zhuang Man, and Qiu Yelan went back to her yard to make porridge.

She said she would cook it, but in fact, she just went into the kitchen, put the cleansed ingredients into the pot, and asked the people to light up the fire. After that, she went back to the room and had a rest. When she came into the room, Jiang Jingkun jumped over, hugged her legs, and tumbled her down suddenly. Qiu Yelan sighed and hugged him, “Why did you get off the bed? Don’t I tell you to have a rest on the couch?”

The wet nurse who followed hurriedly bowed and explained, “The junior young master thought that the couch was too small so he wanted to walk on the ground!”

“Tomorrow, please change the blanket on the floor and pick up a thicker one!” Qiu Yelan looked down at the ground and said, “Don’t be too thick to prevent him from walking. Find one that if he falls, he won’t get any injuries!”

Jiang Jingkun was known as three years old this year, but his real age was not two years old. Although he could walk and talk, he was not very proficient. Qiu Yelan was afraid that he got hurt when he was eager to learn these two things without any protection.

After playing with her nephew for a while, Qiu Yelan coaxed him to see Jiang Jinglang and took advantage of the opportunity to slip away to the kitchen by herself because the porridge was done. Jiang Jingkun and Jiang Jinglang played a drum-shaped rattle together.

“Don’t add the green onion to this bowl because my eighth sister-in-law doesn’t like it.” Qiu Yelan tasted the porridge and thought it was yummy, so she asked the servants to serve the dishes according to everyone’s preference. “Add more pickles to the bowl for mother. Add some preserved eggs to the bowl for grandmother because she is too old to bite pickles. It is not suitable for the youngest grand aunt to eat meat today so we should put a portion of braised tofu.”

In order to fulfill Madame Zhuang’s instructions, all servants delivered the porridge, but Qiu Yelan delivered it to Chu Yitong in person.

When she arrived at Chu Yitong’s yard, she was blocked by Mrs. Zhu, “Just now madame Chu fell asleep. She didn’t sleep well over the past two days. If you go into her room, I am afraid that it will wake her up, madame Qiu.”

Qiu Yelan frowned, doubting her words, but when she thought about Madame Zhuang, she said calmly, “In this case, I won’t bother her. I made the porridge for her. Please pass it to my sister-in-law!”

Ms. Zhu thanked her, took the food box with both hands, respectfully sent her to the door, watching her going to the palanquin before closing the door.

Although Mrs. Zhu had a good attitude, Su He and others still felt unhappy for Qiu Yelan on the way back, “It is Madame who gave you a bracelet for this pot of porridge. However, madame Chu even refused to show her face when you cooked and sent it in person.”

“Don’t you listen to Mrs. Zhu? Madame Chu doesn’t feel well so I can’t bother her.” Qiu Yelan was not very happy but she still scolded the servants, “We are a family so I don’t care about it. Why do you say this?”

Of course, Madame Zhuang and others knew this. Thinking that Chu Yitong was in confinement because of childbirth, it was hard for them to blame her, but they comforted Qiu Yelan.

Jiang Yashuang felt aggrieved for his wife when he knew it, “The eighth sister-in-law is young and she gets pregnant for the first time. I think she doesn’t understand it now. You shouldn’t care about her these days. She will come to make amends with you later when she understands!”

“It’s fine.” Qiu Yelan was unfamiliar with Chu Yitong and this little dispute wouldn’t make her hate. Now she cared more about Shazhou, “Is there a war in Xijiang? How about my brother’s marriage?”

Speaking of this, Jiang Yashuang also sighed, “He cannot return! But the Ou Family is not unreasonable so let’s talk about it later!”

“The war in Beijiang has been going on for several months and it won’t be finished quickly. If there is going to be a war in Xijiang…” Qiu Yelan pondered, “I don’t know if the national treasury is enough.”

Although Xue Chang governed the country well and managed Darui’s financial resources well under the pressure of years of chaotic politics and power struggles between the heroines, the cost of wars was extraordinary. Qiu Yelan knew that the current political situation was not good. It would be worse than the time when two empresses fought for power. At that time, the two restrained each other and Xue Chang balanced them. Many corrupt officials were afraid of being caught by political enemies who might put them to death.

Now?

The Jiang Family had the final say so Xue Chang was just relying on his talent to protect himself. How about his subordinates? If things went on like this, Xue Chang might remain in power and it would not be able to stop the decline of national power.

“It is okay for one or two years.” Jiang Yashuang groaned, “If they delay it, I am afraid it will be troublesome. But the war in Beijiang will be stopped in one or two years!”

As for Beijiang, Jiang Tianchi did it with an unintentional positive outcome. Because of Sir Jibei’s death, even Marquess Qin was deceived at first and Jiang Tianchi succeeded in cheating Beihu. Although the war was not over, they got the upper hand.

What needed to be worried about was Xijiang. Han Jishan lacked ability and Qiu Jinglan was young and had few qualifications. Although the Kuang Family had been cleared several times, it was hard to say whether there was anyone left.

Domestic strife had been over. If the aggression of the western savages…

“After Beijiang is settled, it will be hard to say whether the western savages dare to attack.” Jiang Yashuang thought for a while and said, “Anyway, there is nothing to worry about now so let’s talk about it later!”

“This is only for Darui as a whole. The Northern Army first calms Beijiang and then helps the Western Army settle Xijiang, so there is no need to worry about Darui’s safety!” Qiu Yelan pursed her lips and thought, “The Western Army enjoys the same reputation as the Northern Army, but it has to rely on the Northern Army to resist foreign aggression, which shows their incompetence.”

Previously, Marquess Qin and Sir Jibei did not want to find out the truth of Jiang Yayue’s and Jiang Yaqing’s deaths and allowed Qiu Jinglan to develop in the Western Army. The biggest reason was that Qiu Jinglan had the support of the Ruan Family and the Qiu Family in the army.

If it was because of the defeats of the Western Army, the soldiers were dissatisfied and the morale of the army was shaken, and Qiu Jinglan had a bad name of coward. How could he stay in the Western Army by then?

“Xijiang starts a battle and wins, and then my brother can take charge of the Western Army! If he loses, I am afraid that the first branch and the third branch will make trouble!” Qiu Yelan thought, “Even Marquess Qin will not really be willing to give up the Western Army!”