Late into the night, with candles still burning, Old Madame Cheng held her hand and spoke at length.
Hai Yunshu was nearly nodding off from listening.
It was nothing more than—
Her son had a bitter fate, betrayed by others, which led to his defeat on the battlefield.
Outnumbered, he fought desperately until he collapsed, drifting along the river into enemy territory.
He would rather die than surrender, seizing the chance to escape, only to be falsely accused by villains of defecting to the enemy. That was why he dared not return home to reveal himself, fearing he would implicate his family.
This fabricated tale was seamless. If Hai Yunshu hadn’t witnessed their true faces firsthand, she might have almost believed it.
“Does Mother truly have no idea whether Cheng Zifeng defected to the enemy or not?”
“You… what do you mean by that?”
“Wasn’t it you who came to me back then, saying Zifeng had committed a grave mistake that might bring disaster upon the entire family, and asked me to find a way?”
Hold a funeral, carry out the burial—directly erasing Cheng Zifeng from existence.
Once a person is dead, who would bother investigating the affairs of their past life?
Old Madame Cheng: “Yunshu, hasn’t the situation changed now? Who knows which wretched soul exposed the matter again? With the authorities now threatening to confiscate our property, what if Zifeng is exposed…”
The old lady pretended to wipe away tears: “My poor second son, he couldn’t even see his own child, Cong’er, when he was born.
“Who knows whether he’s alive or dead, living well or not, all alone in that remote place.”
He was likely living quite well.
Fenglin Manor was located in a secluded area and wasn’t officially registered as a Houfu property. It would take the authorities ages to trace it there.
The manor stored hundreds of bushels of grain and countless treasures of gold, silver, and jewels, enough for him to live in luxury for the rest of his life.
“If Mother can’t bear to part with him, why not go and keep him company? No one is stopping you.”
“Nonsense! How could I show my face at a time like this? Wouldn’t that harm him?”
“Is Mother truly willing to listen to me?”
“Of course I am! As long as you all are safe and sound, I’d be willing to die right now if I had to!”
Such a mother’s heart.
Looking at the old lady’s determined gaze, Hai Yunshu couldn’t help but laugh inwardly.
“Good. Tomorrow, I’ll first withdraw one million taels from the accounts.”
After Hai Yunshu became pregnant, Old Madame Cheng used her frail health as an excuse to reclaim the Houfu’s household management keys.
Everything still required her approval.
“What do you need so much money for?”
“Naturally, to buy the lives of Elder Brother and the others. Jiang Chengjing has made his demand to me. Whether to give it or not is up to you, Mother.”
“Give it, give it! As long as it can protect my eldest and second sons, even if it were a mountain of gold, I’d hand it over to him!”
Returning to Guanju Ge, Xiaochan was still puzzled.
“Didn’t the Prince Regent ask us for money? Why did you say that earlier, Madam?”
“If I don’t keep some silver for myself, how will I establish my independence in the future?”
Xiaochan was taken aback: “Establish independence? Are you planning to leave the Houfu?”
Hai Yunshu didn’t deny it: “To be precise, it’s a divorce.”
When she married into the family, the marriage contract between the two families stipulated that all of the Hai family’s dowry was to be merged into the Houfu’s accounts. As long as Cheng Zifeng did not divorce her, even if Hai Yunshu died, the million-tael dowry would remain with the Cheng family and could not be reclaimed by her natal family.
Because of this, no matter how much Cheng Zifeng despised her, for the sake of money, he dared not divorce her.
In her past life, he colluded with treacherous individuals, causing the entire Hai clan to perish. With the marital contract from her father’s family gone, he finally dared to divorce her decisively—his intentions were truly sinister.
Her father had planned his whole life for her to marry into a noble family, only to end up with such a fate.
At this moment, Hai Yunshu also knew that if she truly sought a divorce, her father would likely berate her mercilessly. Given his temperament, it wouldn’t be impossible for him to sever their father-daughter relationship.
Therefore, she had to carefully plan for the future.
Unfortunately, her rather cunning mother-in-law was a miser, as stingy as an iron rooster.
If she wasn’t pushed to the brink, she would never willingly hand over such a large sum of money.
Hai Yunshu had no choice but to take this roundabout approach, using Jiang Chengjing’s name to demand repayment from the marquis’s household, transferring assets in advance to accumulate enough money for her own security.
She instructed Yingge, “Tomorrow, take the banknotes to Hengtong Money House and find Manager Tian. Remember to be discreet. Our future resurgence depends entirely on this.”
“I understand the importance, madam.”
Hai Yunshu originally held only a thirty percent stake in Hengtong Money House. She said, “With this money, we can open at least two more branches—one in Quzhou Prefecture west of the capital, and another in Linyi Prefecture south of the capital.”
By then, the money houses near the capital would be no match for her.
Yingge then said, “There’s something I haven’t had a chance to report to you yet, madam. Your noble title certificate has been stolen.”
“Stolen?”
It was the first time she had heard of someone stealing such a thing.
“When did it happen?”
“Just now.”
The late emperor was benevolent and cared deeply for his ministers. He had a particular fondness for bestowing noble titles upon the wives and daughters of his officials. Although his reign was short, he conferred titles to over thirty women, more than any other dynasty in history.
Hai Yunshu had managed to secure this title as a bargain, having handled the messy accounts of the imperial estates and being the principal wife of the Marquis of Dongchang.
Even so, losing the noble title certificate was a capital offense.
“Who stole it?”
Xiaochan said angrily, “Who else could it be? It must have been that wretched Bai Cangzhai. She won’t rest until she sees you dead.”
Yingge explained, “Earlier, when you weren’t here, Concubine Bai came with her attendants to pay respects. As soon as she reached the door, she twisted her ankle and rested in the side chamber for a moment. That’s when the item went missing.”
Now, Bai Shishi believed that with her son appointed as the heir, she could rest easy.
First, she didn’t want Cheng Zifeng to return; second, she refused to be controlled by Old Madame any longer; and third, she couldn’t bear being suppressed by Hai Yunshu’s status as the principal wife.
Her true intentions were now revealed.
Hai Yunshu guessed, “She’s determined to make me step aside. Even if you confront her directly, she might not admit it.”
“I thought the same, which is why I didn’t dare act rashly.”
After a moment, Hai Yunshu already had a plan in mind: “It’s fine. I have a way to make her hand it over willingly.”
Under the cover of darkness and howling wind,
Xiaochan set fire to the backyard of Bai Cangzhai’s residence, causing the entire courtyard to erupt in chaos.
“Fire! Come quickly and put out the fire—” The servants shouted as they ran back and forth with buckets of water.
Hearing the commotion, Bai Shishi rushed out of her room. Just as she was about to ask what was happening, Hai Yunshu shoved a brocade box into her hands.
“Principal wife, what is this…”
Hai Yunshu solemnly instructed her, “Sister, you’ve always been frail. Since the fire is growing stronger, you shouldn’t join us in fighting it. This is the imperial title certificate. Please keep it safe for me. If anyone loses it, it’s a beheading offense.”
Hai Yunshu even made a slicing motion across her own neck.
Bai Shishi instinctively clutched her neck. By the time she realized what was happening, Hai Yunshu had already vanished without a trace.
Looking down, she saw that the box she had been handed was, of course, empty.
Devious and despicable.
She had originally planned that if Hai Yunshu came to question her, she would play dumb and deny everything. After all, she knew about the hidden compartment in Cheng Zifeng’s study, where she had hidden the certificate. Hai Yunshu and her people would never find it, even if they searched for a lifetime.
As long as Hai Yunshu lost the imperial gift, it would be a crime of deceiving the emperor, and she would no longer be able to remain the principal wife of the marquis’s household.
Everything had been handled flawlessly, yet she had managed to pull off such a move.
The result was that Bai Shishi’s courtyard was burned down, and she had to return the precious register to its brocade box and obediently hand it back to Hai Yunshu.
Watching Bai Shishi standing helplessly on the ruins of the neighboring courtyard, covered in dust and ash, Xiaochan doubled over with laughter. “Madam, you should have seen Concubine Bai’s face—it was blacker than charcoal. She lifted a stone only to drop it on her own foot. How satisfying!”
With Bai Cangzhai burned down, Bai Shishi had no choice but to move to a corner wing room.
Previously, she had enjoyed the marquis’s favor, and the furnishings and decorations in her courtyard were of the finest quality. As a mere concubine, she lived more lavishly than the legitimate wives of other households.
Now, suddenly forced to move to an old, dilapidated side room, she was utterly unwilling.
To make matters worse, the lazy and idle workers she had hired spent their days gossiping and chatting, doing shoddy work that was as worthless as dog droppings.
The roof they repaired still had holes, the doorframe was splintered and rough to the touch, and the windows were haphazardly patched with the cheapest gauze screens—it was simply unbearable to scrutinize.
Frustrated but not daring to seek help from Old Madame, let alone confront Hai Yunshu, Bai Shishi could only pull Cao Huzi aside and ask, “Manager Cao, why haven’t you asked Foreman Wu to repair the courtyard? He’s always been the one to fix it.”