Old Madame Wei's expression remained calm and unruffled.
"Whether it is genuine admiration or feigned affection, Yan'an truly ought to take a wife for Marriage for Luck (Chongxi). Since she schemed so relentlessly to secure this marriage, she will surely treasure her position as Seventh Lord's wife and remain devoted to Yan'an for life."
She did not care whether Shang Mijun truly admired Xie Yan'an. What she sought was a woman who would stay by Yan'an's side for the rest of his days.
Whether that be a living person, or…
a memorial tablet.
Though Old Madame Wei was loath to face it, she knew in her heart that Yan'an likely did not have much time left.
Finding such a woman was no easy task.
If the family standing was too high, they would not be willing. If too low, they would mostly be seeking to curry favor, and having low-born relatives would inevitably bring no small amount of trouble.
Moreover, who would willingly marry a man on the verge of death?
One or two years they might endure, but ten or twenty? Could they still endure it? Grudge energy was bound to fester, and if she were to stray, Yan'an would not rest easy even in death.
Old Madame Wei would never permit such a thing to happen!
But Shang Mijun was different. She harbored resentment in her heart and wanted nothing but the identity of Seventh Lady to use it to trample over the Third Branch.
Furthermore, Shang Mijun had fallen out with the Xiao family and had no natal family to rely on. She could only cling to Old Madame Wei's great tree for shelter.
Where there is desire, there is leverage. For Old Madame Wei to take hold of her would be far too easy…
Old Madame Wei's gaze seemed to pierce through the subtlest of things.
"That girl appears soft and delicate on the surface, but in truth she has spirit. Look at the wound on her head—she struck with real force. She will have plenty of clashes with the Third Branch in the days to come. She wants the identity of Seventh Lady, does she not? Give it to her."
Who among the young does not have a bit of fire in their heart?
If anything, Old Madame Wei rather admired Shang Mijun's ruthlessness. To be able to gamble so recklessly, destroying both Xie Zhaoqing's and Xiao Jing's futures in one stroke, and still remain composed enough to negotiate terms with her?
That took courage.
Surely, she would be able to catch Yan'an's eye as well.
"Have a physician look at her wounds. Tomorrow, open the ancestral hall and amend the Clan Genealogy."
Old Madame Wei gave her orders.
Hearing this, Old Nanny Qiu knew that the Old Matriarch had everything settled in her mind, and had even come to appreciate that girl somewhat.
"Yes."
…
Over on that side, after Shang Mijun's wounds were freshly bandaged by the physician, she went to lie down on the bed, with Qingzhi keeping watch outside.
Only now that all her schemes had come to rest did Shang Mijun have the mind to ask about the male ghost's origins.
[Hey, judging by your accent, you're also from Shengjing. Where do you live? What's your name?]
Xie Yan'an hesitated for a moment, then asked, [What year is it now?]
[The twenty-second year of Jianzhao.]
Shang Mijun remembered the year of her marriage very clearly.
Xie Yan'an felt the urge to tease her. [Well then… I was born in the fourteenth year of Yuankang. Little girl, call me grandpa!]
Shang Mijun was puzzled.
[You're deliberately trying to take advantage of me, aren't you? Your voice doesn't sound like an old man's.]
This male ghost was actually someone from the previous emperor's era? Calculating it, he would be forty-six years older than her?
If he were still alive, wouldn't he be sixty-two?
Xie Yan'an clicked his tongue. [What kind of talk is that? I was only seventeen when I died.]
[You're not really making that up?] Shang Mijun still didn't believe him.
[Ugh… why would I lie to you?]
Xie Yan'an's voice sounded a bit weak, as if to cover it up, he cleared his throat and spoke in a serious tone:
[This old man's surname is… Huo, yes, given name a single character, Chuan. You may call me Grandpa Huo.]
The situation had arisen so suddenly that he could not yet let Shang Mijun know his true identity. He would just make up a fake name for now!
(Giraffe: Until the male lead's true identity surfaces in later chapters, we will temporarily continue using the fake name Huo Chuan~ Thank you!)
Shang Mijun was speechless.
[Huo Chuan, is it? You were only seventeen when you died, so why do you call yourself "this old man"? I was twenty-five when I died in my previous life. If anything, you should be calling me older sister. Come on, say it—call me Sister Shang!]
Huo Chuan: […]
That's not how the math works!
Just as Huo Chuan was about to argue with her, the door was suddenly kicked open with a bang. Two burly matrons rushed in, looking fierce and menacing.
"Madam, if you please!"
These were people sent by her former mother-in-law, Madam Qu. They likely did not yet know that Old Madame Wei had taken charge of swapping the marriage.
Shang Mijun was not surprised. Tonight was destined to be a sleepless one.
She raised a hand to stop Qingzhi, who was about to speak up in protest. She was also quite curious now—how were Xie Zhaoqing and Xiao Jing faring?
The Xie ancestral hall was cold and dim. On either side of the many ancestral tablets, only two candle flames burned, flickering in the wind.
Xie Zhaoqing knelt on the ice-cold floor tiles, her face pale with not a trace of color.
Madam Qu accompanied her, her expression dark and gloomy.
Footsteps sounded, and Shang Mijun stepped into the ancestral hall.
The moment Xie Zhaoqing saw Shang Mijun, a thick hatred blazed forth from her bloodshot eyes.
"Bitch, what nonsense did you spout in front of the guests? You've ruined me!"
She lunged forward, wishing she could stab Shang Mijun to vent her fury!
"I didn't mean to, don't come near me…"
Shang Mijun pretended to be startled and dodged backward, "accidentally" kicking her square in the face.
After Xie Zhaoqing fell and hurt herself, Shang Mijun's hands fluttered about in a panic, not knowing what to do, and a slap "just happened" to land on Xie Zhaoqing's face.
Smack!
The whole sequence flowed like water, and the sound of the slap echoed especially loudly in the ancestral hall.
Xie Zhaoqing froze completely. What had just happened?
"You bumped into me yourself—it's not my fault."
Shang Mijun waved her hands repeatedly, her expression innocent.
[Heh…]
Huo Chuan couldn't help himself—wasn't this acting a bit too exaggerated?
Xie Zhaoqing was badly injured and couldn't get up, so furious she was about to lose her mind.
"Bitch! You did that on purpose, I won't let you get away with this…"
Shang Mijun wrinkled her nose, her eyes full of disgust:
"You're the slut. A mere 'Xiao-huan' trying to take a wife like a real man—marrying filth like you is the worst luck of eight lifetimes. Pah, how disgusting. Good thing everyone told me the truth…"
Xie Zhaoqing's eyes nearly bulged out of her head. This green-tea bitch actually dared to curse at her?
She'd finally revealed her true colors—all that innocence and fragility before had been an act!
"How dare you! You've gone too far—seize her!"
Madam Qu slammed the table and rose to her feet. She was Xie Zhaoqing's mother and the wife of the third branch.
The reason she hadn't spoken until now was that she'd been observing Shang Mijun, trying to determine whether running to the front courtyard crying for help had been deliberate or accidental.
But she couldn't tell. There were two possibilities: one, that little wench Shang Mijun had simply stumbled into this mess by sheer accident;
Two, she had done it on purpose.
If it was deliberate, then her acting was truly exquisite, and her scheming ran unfathomably deep!
Madam Qu's eyes turned dark and profound. Whether she'd meant it or not, she wouldn't escape blame!
Several fierce-looking old matrons advanced step by step toward Shang Mijun.
"Stop."
Qingzhi walked in and paid her respects in turn.
Madam Qu immediately fell silent. "Why has Miss Qingzhi come? Has Mother-in-law summoned me?"
Qingzhi was the head maidservant beside Old Madame Wei, so of course she recognized her.
Qingzhi shook her head and said in a voice neither too loud nor too soft:
"The Old Matriarch says this marriage was a wrong done by the Xie family to the new bride, so she has arranged a change of spouse for her. The new bride is now Seventh Lord's new wife, and I hope Third Madam and Young Master Zhaoqing will mind their words and actions."
Madam Qu was stunned into silence.
"This… this… how can this be?"
Xie Zhaoqing's expression was as if she'd seen a ghost, and her voice cracked as she shrieked:
"What did you say? Grandmother changed her match and married her off to Seventh Uncle?!"