Lady Zhang spared no further glance for her, instead looking expectantly toward her lord.
"No one's position remains unchanged forever. Otherwise, there would be no such thing as traitors," he remarked.
Seeing his wife's expression change, Zhu Maonian refrained from uttering more weighty words. "But coveting a daughter-in-law's family fortune is sothing no respectable family would do. Wu He is an honorable man, and given his current position, he must maintain his integrity. Moreover, our son He is upright by nature and would never engage in such behavior."
"Yes, I trust Wu He," Zhu Changning chid in. He and his brother-in-law had been classmates for many years, studying under the sa teacher, and he knew his character best.
"Indeed, our son-in-law is righteous," Lady Zhang agreed, twisting her handkerchief as she looked to her husband. "So, regarding this matter..."
"Let's proceed as planned."
"Very well, very well," Lady Zhang sighed in relief. Mindful of the ti, she quickly moved on to another matter. "I've released most of the servants in our household, returning their contracts and allowing them to seek employnt elsewhere. The workers on our estate remain untouched, and along with those who ca with my dowry, they will all be left for Changmin's use. Six carriages have been prepared to depart first, with one servant remaining for each family mber. The rest will follow with the steward later. Hani."
Xu Hani's heart skipped a beat as she responded.
"Under these circumstances, the midwife cannot accompany us. We'll have to find one when we arrive. Take Lady Qin from your quarters with you; her husband will follow with the steward later. I've taken the liberty of keeping the others here."
"But Mother..."
"I'm rely informing you, not consulting with you," Lady Zhang fixed her gaze on her. "As a daughter-in-law of the Zhu family, your focus should be on how to weather this crisis together."
Xu Hani, having been pampered in her maiden ho and living a life of ease since marriage, was experiencing such harsh words for the first ti in her life. Her face flushed red with sha and anger, wishing the ground would open up and swallow her.
Zhu Changning glanced at his wife. "Mother, Hani didn't an any harm."
"That's good to hear," Lady Zhang said, not wishing to dwell on the matter, and continued discussing other affairs.
Changle's eyes darted back and forth, catching her eldest brother's gaze and silently grinning. She was certain that her mother's years of playing the role of a benevolent Buddhist had fooled her sister-in-law, who hadn't realized how formidable her mother-in-law could be. The absence of concubines in their household wasn't due to her father's abstinence, but because her mother was a force to be reckoned with!
A commotion outside drew their attention. Steward Zhou hurried to the doorway, peered out, and promptly announced, "My Lord, it's Gao Zhi."
Gao Zhi, a trusted advisor to Pri Minister Zhu. Zhu Maonian's face remained impassive as he watched the man enter. "Uninvited guests are hardly welco."
Gao Zhi bowed with a ingratiating smile. "Pri Minister Zhu sent to bid farewell to Lord Zhu and to kindly remind you that a seventh-rank official residing in a first-rank mansion is against regulations. Surely, Lord Zhu wouldn't want to face additional charges before departing?"
"How considerate of Pri Minister Zhu," Zhu Maonian replied dryly.
"Indeed, Lord Zhu. The Pri Minister is most concerned about you," Gao Zhi said, hands clasped behind his back and chin held high, clearly relishing the feeling of having a powerful enemy under his heel. As his gaze swept across the room, a beaming face caught his eye. Ah yes, the Zhu family's youngest daughter who had been studying abroad had returned.
"I wonder how the Fourth Young Miss's studies have progressed?" he inquired.
"I'm invincible!" Zhu Changle was delighted to be addressed, ignoring her father's warning glance. She approached Gao Zhi with a mischievous smile. "Would this esteed official like to spar with ?"
"The Fourth Young Miss flatters . I'm but a humble subject, unworthy of the title 'official,'" Gao Zhi demurred.
"If not an official, then a petty man?" Zhu Changle swallowed the very tempting follow-up question of 'What's so petty about you?' Instead, she observed, "You have a beard and don't look so small to !"
Gao Zhi had encountered many sharp-tongued individuals before, but rarely a woman so bold in her speech. However, as the victor in this situation, he didn't mind. He smiled and nodded, "The Fourth Young Miss is too kind."
"You misunderstand. I wasn't complinting you; I was calling you shaless!" Changle retorted.
Gao Zhi maintained his facade of being above quarreling with a woman. "They say the Zhu family excels at educating their children, but it seems that's not entirely true."
"Mm-hmm," Zhu Changle nodded in emphatic agreent. "Compared to the Zhu family, the Gao family's ancestral graves must be emitting auspicious vapors to have produced such an 'esteed official' as yourself."
Gao Zhi sensed there was more to co and inwardly braced himself.
Zhu Changle leaned in closer, lowering her voice conspiratorially. "But you know, those who walk dark paths too often are bound to encounter ghosts. And usually, these ghosts are one's own people. For instance..."
"Nonsense! Lord Zhu..."
"You've already called my words nonsense, so why bother tattling to my father?" Changle scoffed. "Knowing so many of his unsavory secrets, do you think he'd keep you around to light his lamps once he succeeds? Who can keep a secret forever? Only the dead! You'd better hope your esteed master never succeeds, or you'll be done for."
"Lord Zhu..."
"There you go tattling again! Fine, I'll say no more," Zhu Changle retreated a few steps, turning to wink at her family mbers, whose expressions varied widely. "I'm off to find Aunt Feng!"
Zhu Maonian glanced at Gao Zhi, whose smile had long since faded, and nodded slightly. "Gather your belongings; we're about to depart."
"Got it!" Changle called back cheerfully as she ran off, seeming far too happy for soone about to be exiled. An outsider might have thought she was headed for a picnic.
"My young daughter is naive. Please excuse her," Zhu Maonian said, smoothly glossing over the incident. "I appreciate Pri Minister Zhu's concern. Please convey my thanks to him. It seems we may never et again. I wish the Pri Minister... swift fulfillnt of his desires."
With Changle's earlier words as context, Zhu Maonian's statent left Gao Zhi unsure how to respond. He snorted, clasping his hands behind his back as he turned to leave. "It's getting late. Lord Zhu, please 'ah'..."
Unbeknownst to him, soone had scattered tiny black pearls just beyond the threshold. Gao Zhi's foot slipped, and he stumbled across the doorway. Before he could regain his balance, he slipped again, staggering forward several steps before desperately hugging a pillar to steady himself. Glancing back at the pearls on the ground, he realized what had happened. With a furious swish of his sleeve and an indignant snort, he stord off.
Zhu Changle shook her head in disappointnt. Had she known the pearls would co in handy, she would have opened more oysters earlier. How dare he bully her father! This grudge wouldn't be settled until she knocked out at least one of his teeth.
Living by the creed of rembering kindness and swiftly avenging wrongs, the fourth young miss of the Zhu family dusted off her hands. "Aunt Feng, did my master ntion how long he'd be in seclusion?"
"No, he didn't," Aunt Feng replied, glancing in the direction Gao Zhi had departed. "Shall I go teach him a lesson?"
"No rush," Changle grinned, leaning in to whisper in Aunt Feng's ear. "Tomorrow night, double back and drug him so he doesn't wake up. Use your special technique to 'loosen his bones' without leaving any marks. Make sure his entire body aches so badly he can't get out of bed for ten days to two weeks."
"Yes, Young Miss."
Zhu Changle bounced along, hands clasped behind her back, taking two steps left, then two steps right. Building on her earlier words, she'd now arranged for Gao Zhi to experience a ghostly visitation. A man so full of sches would likely scare himself half to death. If this made him wary of Pri Minister Zhu, who had wronged her father, it would be a complete victory for her.
Hehe, she was so clever!
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