Madame Tian's face had ointment applied by the old servant woman, and she endured the pain with her head lowered.
"Please give your instructions, Mother."
Old Madame gave a look, and after a moment, the servant woman brought over a wooden box.
"This was sent by the Ministry of Works Vice Minister's household a few days ago. Take this card and deliver it back to their residence personally, then ask for a ginseng root."
Madame Tian accepted the card in confusion. After getting into the carriage, she secretly pulled it out for a glance.
Instantly, her soul nearly fled her body.
Inside was actually a card of bribery from the Ministry of Works Vice Minister to her father-in-law!
Chancellor Xuan was almost obsessively incorruptible as an official, requiring everyone in the Chancellor's household to live simply alongside him. He would certainly refuse this bribe.
No doubt things were desperate now, and her mother-in-law had no choice but to act first and report later, obtaining the ginseng to save her son first.
Madame Tian pretended she had not seen it. Upon arriving at the Ministry of Works Vice Minister's residence, she explained her purpose, and without even the heart to drink a cup of tea, she directly took the ginseng and a box of silver, handed them to the servants beside her, and returned to the Chancellor's residence in a daze.
Xuan Wenyang obtained the ginseng to sustain his life. Combined with Old Madame begging the imperial physician, they forcibly snatched him back from the King of Hell's grasp—though his body remained weak, and he still needed to lie in bed to recuperate.
Only after Old Madame recovered her breath did she have the presence of mind to discipline her daughter-in-law.
She called Shen Fuyan into Xuan Wenyang's room: "You are too inconsiderate. Xuan'er's life hung in the balance, yet you were still nursing your anger. If you had promptly brought out silver to buy ginseng that night, Xuan'er would be able to attend court by now."
Shen Fuyan stood without moving: "The public funds have no silver. Mother, even if you drive me to death it won't help. Besides, isn't Second Master taking ginseng now?"
She did not know whether Old Madame had dipped into her own private savings or forced Madame Tian to hand over her dowry—but in any case, they would not squeeze another copper out of her.
Old Madame was furious, yet could not admit she had secretly sold an official post, so she could only angrily slap the tea table: "You truly are childless and jealous! You have so much dowry, yet you refuse to bring it out to save your own man!"
"A dowry is a woman's confidence. When did it become the fallback money for a husband to visit brothels?"
Shen Fuyan's tone was calm: "Mother, best not to get so worked up—lest you fall ill from anger and come looking to me for ginseng again. This time there won't be any."
She had never spoken like this before. Old Madame was choked until her blood and qi rushed to her head, and she staggered and collapsed by the bedside.
"Shen Fuyan, you are disrespectful and unfilial!"
** Xuan Wenyang wished he could stand up and point at her and curse.
"If Second Master hadn't been so absurd, bringing his kept mistress to a brothel, he wouldn't need his wife's dowry to treat his illness."
She countered faintly. Beside them, her younger sister-in-law Xuan Wenshan, supporting their mother, shrieked: "Shen Fuyan, have you forgotten all the feminine virtues the Shen family taught you? You, a fatherless girl, were able to become the Chancellor's household's matriarch—instead of being grateful, you actually dare to anger Mother and Second Brother like this!"
Shen Fuyan looked at her. Xuan Wenshan wore a colorful Shu brocade that set off her delicate beauty, carrying a trace of a young girl's willfulness.
She said nothing, only walked over to Xuan Wenshan's side and slowly tipped over the teacup in her hand.
"Are you insane!"
Seeing her skirt hem stained black by the tea, Xuan Wenshan screamed.
"Shen Fuyan, you've rebelled against heaven!" Old Madame, having caught her breath, angrily scolded.
"Wearing clothes I made, and you still dare say such things?"
Shen Fuyan turned and set down the teacup.
"The public funds have no silver. Half of what you eat and use comes from my dowry. What am I grateful for? Grateful that you let me suffer?"
"Serving your parents-in-law and managing the household—that is what you ought to do!" Xuan Wenshan sharply retorted.
"Then let me ask you—when you marry in the future, if your mother-in-law's medicine comes from your dowry, if your sisters-in-law and husband's sisters buy their clothes with your dowry, and even your husband's kept mistress, his illegitimate children, and his visits to the pleasure houses all come out of your dowry—would you be willing?"
Shen Fuyan's face turned cold, and Xuan Wenshan stammered, unable to produce a word.
Of course she wouldn't be willing—but Shen Fuyan had clearly married above her station into the Chancellor's residence. What was the harm in spending a little of her dowry?
After Shen Fuyan finished speaking, both Old Madame and Xuan Wenyang wore extremely grim expressions.
"You—you haggle over every penny! A petty, hard-to-please creature!"
Xuan Wenyang screamed in agitation, then suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood.
The room immediately descended into chaos. Shen Fuyan found it tiresome to watch and strode out with long steps.
By evening, Shen Fuyan had the small kitchen in her courtyard prepare fine dishes separately, distributing them to everyone in the courtyard. Ignoring the turmoil outside, she quietly enjoyed her dinner.
"Miss, I hear that Second Master's vomiting blood today was because the ginseng wasn't aged enough," Lürong whispered at her side. "The imperial physician said that even with supplements now, it's too late—Second Master has developed a chronic condition, and his prospects for heirs in the future may be poor."
"Wasn't the ginseng procured by Madame Tian from outside?"
Shen Fuyan treated it like a story, finding it quite appetizing alongside her meal.
Lürong giggled: "Madame Tian said she got it from the household of the Vice Minister of Works, and handed it to a servant along the way. Old Madame investigated for the whole morning—turns out that old woman had swapped the ginseng for a substitute, and had already gambled away the extra money."
"I only handed over management of the household to my eldest sister-in-law three days ago, and the servants have already grown this lax."
Shen Fuyan smiled, set down her chopsticks and bowl, and picked up her bird's nest soup.
"Father-in-law came from mud-stained origins. This Chancellor's residence tried to imitate the grand families but only ended up looking ridiculous—wanting all the staff and pageantry, yet unable to control a single household."
When she finished, another messenger arrived from Old Madame's courtyard.
"Madame Tian truly has no talent for managing the household. From now on, the inner quarters will be managed by you."
Old Madame, her face grim, flung the account books before her.
Madame Tian bore fresh wounds on her face and stood to the side, not daring to make a sound.
Shen Fuyan lowered her eyes: "Your daughter-in-law has not produced a child in three years and needs to tend to her health. I beg your pardon, but I cannot accept these account books."
"Are you forcing me to summon the matriarch of the Shen family?"
Seeing that she remained slippery as an eel, Old Madame flew into a rage.
"Shen Fuyan, since you entered the Chancellor's residence, our entire family has trusted you completely. Now merely because you've been childless for three years and Wenyang brought home a child, you act so difficult! I misjudged you!"
"Mother keeps saying I have no child—I too want a child of my own," Shen Fuyan said with a calm expression. "The physician said I must not overexert my mind. Isn't my refusal to take the account books also for the sake of bearing heirs for the second branch? Mother need not flatter me with high praise. Is there truly no one besides me in this grand Chancellor's residence who can manage the household?"
With that, she turned and left. The members of the second branch still in the room exchanged meaningful glances with one another.
Shen Fuyan had always been the most docile—no one expected that once she dug in her heels, the entire residence would find her impossible to handle.
Old Madame's face darkened as she flung the account books back at Madame Tian.
"Whatever Shen could manage, you must be able to manage as well. If you make another mistake, I'll have the eldest son divorce you outright!"
Shen Fuyan, with her substantial dowry, could not be divorced—but a mere Madame Tian could easily be controlled.
Shen Fuyan returned to her room and summoned Lürong while bathing.
"The ginseng came from the Vice Minister of Works' household? Did you hear that clearly?"
"I heard it with my own ears, truly."
Lürong wrung out her long hair.
Shen Fuyan sent her out to summon Lu Bai.
"Tomorrow morning, send someone to the Commander-in-Chief's residence. I wish to pay a visit to Commander Pei."
Both Lu Bai and Lürong showed looks of fear.
"My lady, why do you want to meet that god of death?"
The last time Pei Yanwei came to the Prime Minister's residence, they had followed Shen Fuyan and were nearly frightened to death.
"I've heard he often chops off people's hands and feet at the slightest disagreement, and he takes pleasure in tormenting women. Corpses of women are frequently carried out from the back gate of the Commandery Office. My lady, please think twice!"
Lürong was already in tears.
"It's not as you say," Shen Fuyan smiled. "The Left Prime Minister has won the Emperor's favor for his water management, so this Mutual Divorce certainly won't be granted. I must find another way."
Closing her eyes, she sighed secretly.
Without her financial support, the Prime Minister's residence had actually sunk to selling official posts. Its decline was already inevitable, and this Mutual Divorce could not be delayed any longer.
Going to see Pei Yanwei, she merely thought to see whether, for the sake of the bond they had shared in childhood, she might ask him to show her a little more pity and lend a helping hand.