“You!” Shang Wulang reeled from Du Jingyi’s sharp retort, feeling as though his insides had been twisted into knots, smoke practically billowing from his ears. He was utterly speechless. Du Jingyi’s words, after all, were undeniably true. Given his status, he certainly couldn’t address ShangJi with such familiarity. But years of being called that by his family had bred a habit in him. Yet, habit was one thing; the laws of the land and the household were another. Even if he wanted to make a scene, he couldn’t!
Seeing his son so utterly deflated, Shang Yu’an couldn’t bear it any longer. His eyes narrowed, and he snapped at Du Jingyi, “If Wu Lang isn’t worthy of calling him that, then what about me, his uncle? Should I kneel three times and kowtow nine times just to say hello when I see him?”
Du Jingyi nodded in satisfaction, a smile playing on her lips. “The fact that my Fourth Uncle has such enlightenment shows he’s truly intelligent. The Fifth family finally has his eyes open.”
“You!” Both father and son were stunned, rendered completely speechless. Their eyes wide, as they couldn’t utter a single word. They had arrived with such aggression here , only to be utterly stifled and silenced by her , leaving the entire Fifth House to lose face completely.
Seeing this, Wu Lang’s wife attempted her familiar ploy. With a theatrical “Ouch,” she dramatically collapsed to the ground, beginning to wail and sob for sympathy. However, before she could utter another word, Du Jingyi’s voice, laced with a sweet smile, cut through the air. “Fifth Sister-in-law is about to become a mother. You know, a child’s future often depends on family support—whether it’s a daughter’s marriage or a son’s success in the world. But if one greatly offends their most capable uncle and aunt, I wonder what the consequences might be in the future, don’t you agree?”
With those few words, Du Jingyi had expertly clutched Wu Lang’s wife’s lifeline. Her mouth fell open, frozen in shock, daring not to utter a single sound. Her hands instinctively flew to protect her stomach, as tears welled up in her eyes, trickling down her cheeks, making her resemble an innocent maiden forced into a predicament.
Beside her, the Fourth Lady Ni had long been trembling with fear. If not for the dread that something might happen to the child in her daughter-in-law’s womb, she would have surely fainted from fright. She held on by a thread of sheer willpower.
The members of the Fifth House, who had arrived seeking a confrontation, were now utterly silent. Du Jingyi then rose, her expression shifting, returning to her usual calm and detached demeanor. She addressed Shang Yu’an and Shang Wulang. “Steward Qi’s hands were not clean. He stole from the master and was punished by the General for being caught with the stolen goods. However, he himself was in poor health and unfortunately passed away within moments. How can you blame the General for this? Don’t you agree, Fourth Uncle? Fifth Cousin?”
Her tone was remarkably cordial now, her expression far more lively and innocent than before. Anyone observing her would think she had always been this way. But with the subdued Fifth Old Lady still sprawled on the ground, and two mother-in-law and daughter-in-law pairs sitting in stunned silence, Shang Yu’an, even if he had a hundred arguments, couldn’t voice a single one.
Seeing his continued silence, Du Jingyi approached Shang Wulang. Her sternness and ferocity melted away, replaced by a polite demeanor. “The General is kind-hearted. Now that something unfortunate has happened at home, he specifically instructed me to withdraw one hundred taels of silver from his private treasury for Steward Qi ’s posthumous affairs. This is a gesture of master-servant benevolence, but I am merely a wife, a woman who has not seen much of the world, so naturally, I cannot handle this well myself.”
“I wonder if my Fifth Cousin would be willing to bother with this? We wouldn’t want the servants of the Duke’s Mansion or uninformed outsiders to say that we, the masters, are stingy, would we?”
It was a classic carrot and stick. Shang Wulang was reluctant to humble himself, but Du Jingyi had mentioned a hundred taels of silver. For the Fifth House, that sum could sustain them for several months if they were frugal. Qi Er was dead; getting three or five taels for funeral arrangements would be more than enough for him . The rest, naturally, would belong to the Fifth House.
At the mention of one hundred taels, the eyes of the other five people in the house also lit up. Despite living in the Duke’s Mansion for so many years, they had never developed any sense of true vision. Their faces, from old to young, betrayed their unabashed greed. But the more she saw this, the more Du Jingyi liked it. After all, using money to manipulate these people was, in her opinion, the easiest thing to do. A mere hundred taels of silver, buying Dongyuan several months of peace and quiet – it was an excellent deal.
Noticing Shang Wulang’s hesitation, Du Jingyi glanced at Wu Lang’s wife, who was still on the ground, and feigned concern. “Ah, why is Fifth Sister-in-law still sitting on the ground? Get up quickly. It’s autumn now. Be careful not to catch a cold. Winter is coming soon, and you are pregnant. If you don’t have something good to eat, or some thick clothes to protect you, I’m afraid the child will suffer, right, Fifth Cousin?”
The greatest weakness of the Fifth House was their bloodline, their lineage. Grip this, and they would surely yield. As expected, her words had barely settled. Shang Yu’an regained his composure and said, “What General’s wife said is true. If Qi Er caused trouble, he would naturally be punished with a beating. However, the man is gone after all. If we simply use some money to dismiss him, I’m afraid outsiders will say that we are using money to buy off a life!”
“Besides, it’s not appropriate for Wulang, a commoner, to handle these matters. He’s afraid that people outside will look down on him. Wouldn’t this also affect Liulang… oh no, the General’s reputation? Don’t you think so?” Shang Yu’an was a skilled negotiator. Realizing the timing was wrong for aggression, he immediately softened his tone. Their goal had never been to seek justice for Qi Er, but to secure a job for Shang Wulang. Since the hard approach failed, a softer one was in order. In this regard, he was more flexible than his parents.
His words sounded much gentler, and Du Jingyi responded, “My Fourth Uncle is right. This is merely an external matter. As a woman, I cannot make any decisions. But since it concerns the family, I don’t believe the General will truly let it go.”
“How about letting the Fifth Cousin take care of this matter first? If he can gain a good reputation, I think the General will trust him and give him some errands to do.” Du Jingyi’s words, though not entirely true, sounded like absolute truth to the ears of the Fifth House members. They automatically disregarded any other possibilities, convinced that this matter was a certainty. Neither of them cried any longer, and the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, who had been sitting on the ground,also helped each other to their feet.