The Jiang Family knew nothing about Emperor’s mind.

After all, the two frontier troops were in their hands, and there were also many cronies in the court. Emperor had always been so docile and sensible, so it was normal for them to let their guard down on him.

Qiu Yelan, who was unaware that she had been regarded by Emperor as a stepping stone for a shortcut to seize power, discussed Qiu Qian’s marriage with He Shuijin, “The Cheng Family really asked again?”

“Of course. I’m serious.” He Shuijin slowly peeled an orange and threw the orange peel into a small incense burner not far away. The fragrance filled the room and she said, “After your daughter was born when the family threw a party to celebrate her birth, the Cheng Family came to the party. Madam Yin pulled me to the corner to talk about it, saying that Cheng Xide really liked Commandery Princess Yishu, but Qiu Nie did not think that he and Commandery Princess Yishu would get along well, so he wanted me to talk to you to see if it was really hopeless.”

Madam Yin was Cheng Jin’s eldest daughter-in-law and the sister-in-law of Cheng Guoxi, the wife of Xue Nongying.

“Not only is Qiu Nie not optimistic, but I also don’t understand it. According to what I know, Cheng Xide is an upright and well-educated gentleman who is most concerned with the virtues of women, right?” Qiu Yelan pondered. The Cheng Family had a good style, and it was said that there was a family rule that a mistress could only be accepted after the couple had no children at the age of fifty. Such a family had a good reputation, and they cherished their reputation very much. A woman who was not from a good family and had a poor reputation was generally not considered, no matter how noble her background was.

Why did they propose to Qiu Qian again and again?

Compared with those orthodox virtuous women, Qiu Qian was a young untraditional girl in nature though her title contained the meaning of being virtuous. Qiu Yelan couldn’t understand why she would attract people from the Cheng Family. If she only attracted Cheng Xide, one could say that tastes differed. But now the Cheng Family proposed marriage, which was strange.

“The Cheng Family relies on Prime Minister Xue. Although it has nothing to do with our Jiang Family, its status is very stable. Judging from their usual behaviors, their moral integrity is not low. It is not like Prime Minister Xue is thinking about looking for a new backer before he is dead… If it’s not after the Jiang Family, is it ‘Tianya’? It doesn’t feel like it… If it’s after this, they could ask the Xue Family to pull some strings and invest money. Why do they have to do it at the cost of the marriage of the Number One Scholar?”

She was thinking about it when He Shuijin said, “There are no outsiders here, so I’ll tell the truth. You’ve been there. Do you really think that an upright gentleman only likes a virtuous woman?”

“We can’t be sure.” Qiu Yelan said, “After all, people’s preferences are different.” In fact, a silly and rigid young man was basically matched with a quirky young lady…

“Don’t you think so?” He Shuijin didn’t think there was anything wrong with this, because the couple Jiang Yashuang and Qiu Yelan had greatly impressed her, “I’m two years older than Yashuang. I watched him grow up. I always thought that he was so obedient, sensible, and filial when he was a child, and he would definitely find a gentle and virtuous wife like Madame Tao Junior! When you dated him, to be honest, I was very surprised!”

Qiu Yelan was a little speechless, “This is really different. To be frank, although Yashuang was very honest in the past, do you think the others in this family are honest? He has long been used to dishonest people! He doesn’t hate or complain that his family has humiliated him. It can be seen that though he doesn’t make trouble, he is not very disgusted by people who make troubles. But it’s said the Cheng Family is relatively old-fashioned.”

“It’s a little old-fashioned, but it’s not that they are not flexible at all!” He Shuijin said, “Think about it. Cheng Xide is Cheng Jin’s junior, but Cheng Jin won’t force him, because he is Number One Scholar! If Cheng Xide isn’t attracted, why did the Cheng family mention it again and again? Besides, I don’t think you should always think of Qiu Qian as a reckless girl. In terms of blood, she is your cousin, and the wealth of Prince’s Mansion of Xihe could be dated back to the founding of our country. Back then, the Cheng Family was little known, let alone their backer, the Xue family! In terms of upbringing, she was also educated by Madam Shao. In terms of identity, she is Commandery Princess now. Well, the Cheng Family doesn’t even have the lowest title, so who do they think they are to look down on her?”

Qiu Yelan pondered, “It’s not that we look down on them. I just think it’s a bit strange… But just as you said, since the Cheng Family has talked about it for the second time, it can be seen that they are sincere. Well, when I recover from giving birth to my daughter, I’ll invite Mei Xue over to discuss it.”

He Shuijin achieved her goal and said goodbye, “And then I’ll wait for your message!”

That night, Qiu Yelan told her husband about it, “Last time I heard that Qiu Nie refused, and I thought that it was the end of the matter, and I didn’t care anymore. Unexpectedly, the Cheng Family took it seriously and asked He Shuijin to come to deliver a message. Well, since the Cheng Family is so eager to set Cheng Xide up with Qiu Qian, are they sincere or up to something else?”

Jiang Yashuang was more open about it, “Even if they’re up to something else, we should see what they’re up to. If it’s not too much, and they’re good to Yishu, I don’t mind it.”

Qiu Yelan thought about it and agreed, “Well, when I recover, I’ll ask Mei Xue and Qiu Qian to come over and have a good talk! Qiu Qian is really old enough to get married. It’ll be harder to find her a husband if she gets older!”

She made a decision.

At this time, there were less than ten days before her daughter was one month old. After two or three days, while Mumian was serving her, Mulan came in and reported, “Mistress Gu is here, saying that she has something to consult you about!”

“Consult me? Huishan is still young. She should look after her daughter in her yard. Why would she come to talk to me?” Qiu Yelan was quite puzzled and said, “Bring her in!”

… At the beginning of the year, Gu E’nuo had announced her pregnancy right after Jiang Qizheng. The two gave birth to two daughters in October this year, and both the mothers and daughters were safe.

Jiang Qizheng’s daughter was named Qiu Yehe after her brother and sister, and Gu E’nuo’s daughter had the word “Shan” in her name. The two children were both just one month old now. Normally, as a mother, she should be concentrating on taking care of her child and her body. Why did she come here in such cold weather?

After a moment, Gu E’nuo was brought in. After greetings, she said, “Our branch’s expenses for this month…”

“Wait, shouldn’t you talk to our eighth sister-in-law about it? Why do you talk to me?” Qiu Yelan was surprised when she took out the ledger.

“Our eighth sister-in-law has severe morning sickness and couldn’t get up at all!” Gu E’nuo sighed, “Mrs. Zhu stays with her day and night and she really doesn’t have time to manage things. So, she asked me to take care of it for a few days. When your mourning is over, I’ll handle it over to you! There are a few accounts I can’t decide on, so Mrs. Zhu asked me to come over and ask you for advice!”

Qiu Yelan hurriedly asked, “Is our eighth sister-in-law all right?”

“Mrs. Zhu said that there were no other problems but she had vomited a lot. After taking a few medicines, it still doesn’t work.” Gu E’nuo said, “We can only wait a few days to see if it will get better.”

In this case, Qiu Yelan really had to help. After all, Sheng Shishui was not here. She and Chu Yitong were the two daughters-in-law in the fourth branch. Gu E’nuo couldn’t manage in that she was a mistress after all. Fortunately, the fourth branch was not in charge of Marquess’s Mansion, so the so-called ledger was just about their branch, and it wouldn’t take much effort.

And then Qiu Yelan asked about Chu Yitong’s diet, expressing enough concern as a sister-in-law, and then began to ask about the accounts.

She didn’t hear anything wrong. She confirmed with Gu E’nuo the accounts that she couldn’t decide on, and nodded, “And then you can take care of it for a few days. I can’t go out now and it’s inconvenient. You can give it to me when I’m recovered.”

Gu E’nuo left after nodding. She took a step but turned around hesitantly, “Madame Qiu…”

“What’s it?”

“Huishan has been crying a lot for the past few days. The doctor said it was because the swaddling material for her was not very good.” Gu E’nuo said cautiously, a little embarrassed, “But given the current standard, we can only use something like this… Our eighth sister-in-law is ill and I don’t think I should trouble her with it.”

In order to prevent the Kui Xiannan’s branch from squandering too much of the property of Marquess’s Mansion, He Shuijin had reduced the fees since the first half of the year. Since the second branch and fifth branch were still in Jing City, the fees had not been increased. The wives had dowries, and the impact on them was not very big, but the mistresses and concubines weren’t so lucky.

Although Gu E’nuo came from a noble family, when she ran away from Prince Zhou’s Mansion, she was lucky enough to be able to survive in a desperate situation. She was poor. As soon as the fees were deducted, she was inevitably short of money. She could bear it herself, but when the one-month-old child felt uncomfortable, she would just cry. How could a mother ignore it?

Therefore, Gu E’nuo could only bite the bullet and beg the person she had looked down on in the past.

Qiu Yelan looked at her, “Your daughter is little and delicate. You should have said it earlier.”

And then she told Mulan, “Go to open the warehouse and choose some materials for swaddles…”

“No, no!” Gu E’nuo hurriedly said, “I mean, I can just take the old swaddling clothes of the fourteenth junior young master and the seventeenth junior young master in the family! How could I ask for new ones?”

“An and Lang’er are both boys, and the swaddles they used may not be suitable for Huishan. You should take a new one. It’s going to be New Year’s Eve, so it’s more festive with a new one!” Qiu Yelan looked calm, but she secretly sighed. When Empress Dowager Gu and the Prince’s Mansion of Guangyang still existed, Gu E’nuo had been so pampered. Even Princess Lexin and other princesses were polite to her.

Now she was a humble mistress. When her own daughter needed some better swaddling clothes, she could only beg for it…

… Gu E’nuo thanked her profusely and followed Mulan to choose materials in the warehouse. Mumian was very young. She had been sold to Jing City as a slave when she was a child, she no longer remembered Princess Shou’an. She laughed when she saw it and said, “Mistress Gu is lucky to meet a kind-hearted madame like you! The swaddles used by junior young masters and junior young ladies are the best! Even the other junior young masters and junior young ladies can have the clothes. Her daughter is so lucky!”

Jiang Yashuang was still in the process of forming his forces. He had invested everything he had earned, so he had no money left. The things in the warehouse were Qiu Yelan’s private belongings. Most of them were her dowries, and each item of them had been carefully selected by Qiu Jinglan back then.

Qiu Jinglan was a young prince and the owner of “Tianya” with total assets of over ten million. He felt guilty and wanted to compensate his sister, so he naturally focused on the quality of things instead of their prices.

A swaddle took little material and time, but Mumian knew that even the used clothes by swaddled, such as Jiang Jingkun, Jiang Jinglang, and the twenty-third junior young ladies who had not got a name, weren’t cheap. Even a layman, just by looking at its texture, knew it was expensive.

As a primary maid, Mumian had lived a very comfortable life, and even she thought that the material was terrifyingly expensive. Once Mistress Gu begged for it, Qiu Yelan asked Mulan to take her to choose something new in the warehouse. She couldn’t help feeling a little jealous. She had wanted to praise Qiu Yelan for her generosity, but when she said it, it sounded jealous, “My madame, you allowed her to go into the warehouse and choose by herself. She will definitely be impressed!”

But Qiu Yelan just said lightly, “Impressed? You’re underestimating her. What had she not seen back then? As for the things in my warehouse, she had probably had most of them!”

Mumian froze.