Chapter 99 Mystery

Chapter 99 The Hidden Message

Aunt Chen was momentarily speechless at her question, pondering it for quite some time.

"The Old Lady, as she has grown older, has become somewhat overbearing in her management. How could the two lords, raised under the watchful eye of their legitimate mother, be subject to her control?"

"So that's why you advised her that children have their own destinies?"

"Miss Yan, why do the eyes of the elderly grow dim and their hearing fade? It's because Heaven intends for them to mind their own business less."

Aunt Chen gave a bitter smile. "Minding one’s own business less makes one less disliked, don't you agree?"

"That is indeed the case."

Yan Sanhe suddenly changed the direction of the conversation. "So when the Ning daughter was to become the Crown Prince's concubine, and the Old Lady spoke out against it, that would also count as minding other people's business."

Aunt Chen hadn't expected her to bring this up. She thought about it, shook her head, then nodded.

Pei Xiao was getting anxious. "Aunt Chen, why are you shaking your head and then nodding? What does that mean?"

"Ah, Young Master Xie."

Aunt Chen sighed softly, "The Old Lady and I have spoken about this – better to be the wife of a commoner than the concubine of a wealthy man. Being a concubine is tough!"

Aunt Chen knew all too well how difficult it was.

Others only saw the Old Lady's rise in status, but Aunt Chen understood the hardships she had endured, the injustices she had suffered, and the tears she had shed along the way.

Without mentioning other things, during the last two months before the Lady of the House passed away, when she couldn't defecate, it was the Old Lady who used her hands to help her, bit by bit.

This kind of dirty work was something even one's own children wouldn't do.

"Because the Old Lady knows how hard it is, you can see that every lady from the Ji Family enters her husband's home with dignity, carried in an eight-man sedan chair."

Aunt Chen wiped a tear from her eye with a handkerchief. "But the other party is the Crown Prince Residence, so I advised her: Old Lady, in the Crown Prince Residence, they don't call it being a concubine; they call it being a secondary consort.

When the Crown Prince ascends the throne, she will become a proper Empress in the palace. If she bears him a son or daughter, the future and the immense wealth that comes with it—how many women in this world could hope for such fortune?

Furthermore, if Fifth Miss becomes a secondary consort, the Ji Family will truly establish ties with the Crown Prince Residence. Isn't this better than trying to curry favor with the Zhang Family indirectly?

It would also benefit the official careers of the Eldest and Second Masters!"

As the last word left her mouth, everyone, including Yan Sanhe, stared intently at Aunt Chen.

Now, they finally understood why the Old Lady only had her as a confidante.

This old woman saw through everything!

Yan Sanhe narrowed her eyes slightly. "With so many benefits, why does the Old Lady still strongly oppose it?"

Aunt Chen met Yan Sanhe's gaze.

"The Old Lady said: Anyone can calculate the benefits. If the Empress bears a son or daughter, what if our son catches the Crown Prince's eye? Wouldn't our Ji Family become even wealthier and more powerful?"

These words startled Xie Zhifei and Pei Xiao.

Before they could react, Aunt Chen continued, "She said: Our Ji Family's ancestral graves won't emit that auspicious smoke. Even if they did, the Ji Family doesn't have the fortune to handle such wealth and power. It's better to live a peaceful life and not push Fifth Miss into the fire pit."

Yan Sanhe asked, "Doesn't she care about offending the Zhang Family at all?"

"A Miss Yan, I asked her the same thing. The Old Lady said that the Zhang Family doesn't have good intentions. Otherwise, why wouldn't they send their own daughters in?"

Aunt Chen added, "The Old Lady also said that the Eldest and Second Masters are still useful to the Zhang Family, so there's no need to fear offending them for now."

Upon hearing this, Yan Sanhe subconsciously looked up at Xie Zhifei.

Xie Zhifei returned her gaze, his expression gradually cracking.

An illiterate old lady from the inner quarters, who never left the house, had seen through the relationship between the Ji and Zhang Families?

This...

He couldn't help but give a bitter smile. Why were the women nowadays smarter than men? Was there some hidden secret behind this?

There was indeed a hidden secret, Yan Sanhe thought to herself.

"Third Master Xie?"

"Go ahead."

"Does the Xie Family discuss important court matters with the matriarch?"

"No!"

Xie Zhifei firmly replied, "My father says: Women are long-haired and short-sighted. Talking too much about these matters might cause trouble."

"Is this the general atmosphere in Beijing?"

"It's not just in Beijing, but rather, it's the way of the world."

Men handled external affairs while women managed internal affairs. A wall separated the two, and few couples would ever cross it.

Xie Zhifei reached out to touch Pei Xiao. "I suppose the Ji Family is the same?"

"It has to be!"

Pei Xiao added, "Unless my uncles' words somehow reach my grandmother's ears, but that's impossible. My eldest uncle is so cautious!"

"Ah, Young Master Xie, the Old Lady is very smart. Although she can't read, no one has a better memory than her."

Aunt Chen sighed. "The Old Lady often says that one must observe more, listen more, and speak less. Speaking too much not only makes one appear foolish, but it also reveals one's thoughts."

Pei Xiao's face turned pale, and his eyes were blank for a moment.

Eldest Uncle, Third Aunt, the Old Lady Aunt Chen speaks of—is she the person I know?

Why am I like a fool, knowing nothing about this?

Yan Sanhe's mind raced.

The Old Lady in Ji Lingchuan's description was full of schemes;

In Ning's account, the Old Lady wore different masks in public and private;

And in Aunt Chen's narrative, the Old Lady was worldly-wise and insightful.

Their perspectives differed, and so did their accounts, but they all proved one thing: The Old Lady was definitely not an ordinary old lady from the inner quarters.

This person had cunning, means, and ruthlessness. She was leagues above the Old Lady of the Xie Family.

Such a person, no matter how Yan Sanhe looked at her, sideways or straight on, from the front or the back, she just didn’t seem like a fisherwoman.

"A Miss Yan, is there anything else you want to ask?"

After Aunt Chen finished speaking, she covered her mouth and yawned. "I’m getting old, so I don’t sleep much, but I can’t stay up late either. It’s not like when I was young, where I could keep watch all night."

What could she ask?

Yan Sanhe didn't even know herself. She had already asked everything she should have asked, and everything she shouldn’t have asked. Everyone had said everything they could say, and everything they couldn’t say.

However, she had not yet come across anything regarding the old lady's obsession.

"Aunt Chen, please bear with it a little longer."

Yan Sanhe couldn't let her go. "Tell me more about the old lady."

"What do you want this old woman to say?" Aunt Chen was confused too.

Yan Sanhe blurted out, "Why does the matriarch like sitting by Heart Lake?"

Aunt Chen: "She says it's quiet over there."

Yan Sanhe: "Before the Ji Manor had Heart Lake, where did she like to wander?"

"Apart from anywhere else, the old lady just liked to stroll around the vegetable garden."

Aunt Chen suddenly smiled, as if recalling something: "Sometimes, she even complained about Little Hong’s vegetables not being good enough and preferred to do things herself."

"Really?"

"Yes! Especially when the young shoots were sprouting, she would practically make three to five trips to the vegetable garden every day. She repeatedly warned Little Hong to keep a close watch so that no one would steal them."

Aunt Chen chuckled: "I couldn’t help but laugh when I heard her say that."

"Who wouldn’t laugh at that?"

Yan Sanhe joined in her laughter: "Who would dare steal the vegetables planted by the old lady? They must be out of their minds."

Aunt Chen’s eyes suddenly seemed somewhat dazed.

She was taken aback; Yan Sanhe had a subconscious sense that something was amiss. "Aunt Chen, did you think of something?"