For the first time, the servants of the Duke’s Mansion saw their masters running about in panic. Naturally, they all gathered in whispers, speculating about the chaos unfolding in Yunjin Courtyard.
Inside the main hall of Yunjin Courtyard, Shang Yukuan sat pale with shock.
“F-Fifth… Fifth Uncle isn’t truly dead, is he?”
As he spoke, he clutched his chest, trying to calm his racing heart. Only then did he seem to regain his senses.
But Madam Wei, who usually treated him with kindness and gentleness, now gazed at him as though he were something foul. Her eyes brimmed with contempt.
Yukuan, knowing full well his own uselessness, dared not speak further. He averted his eyes, rose quietly, and walked out. Carefully stepping around the bloodstains on the floor, he acted as if the matter had nothing to do with him—so long as he did not sully himself.
He quickly retreated into his favored study, shutting himself away from the vulgarity of the world.
Once the crowd had dispersed, Mama Jiao also immediately ordered the attendants to scrub the courtyard clean, both inside and out. Not a corner of the house or yard was left untouched.
Madam Wei, who had forced herself to appear fearless moments ago, now sat slumped like a broken marionette, drained of all strength in the middle of the hall .
Seeing this, Mama Jiao hurried forward to steady her.
“Madam, are you all right?”
Madam Wei seized Mama Jiao’s hand with a trembling grip. Fear flickered in her eyes.
She had schemed against many, yes—but always from the shadows. Never had she struck a man down before witnesses as she had today.
“That damned old wretch,” she spat bitterly. “Already half-buried in the grave, yet he still tried to harm me! And that useless Du—I thought her so capable, but she fainted in pretence only to scurry away moments later! Curse her!”
She had left these relatives at home to ‘watch over affairs,’ a burden they shouldered most unwillingly. Yet now, it was as if she had dug her own pit and leapt inside.
The Dongyuan branch had remained uninvolved, while she herself was now entangled deeply. Not only had she offended the Third branch, but she had also provoked the Fifth.
If the Fifth Old Master truly died… then blood feud was inevitable.
Her head throbbed with pain. She has now longed to vanish into hiding for a few days.
But after living alongside these people for decades, Madam Wei knew their tempers all too well.
Taking several deep breaths, she forced herself to calm and began to plot.
At length, her plan crystallized.
“Go. Silence Doctor Zhou. Whatever he hears, spread only this: Wu Lang has taken ill with a strange sickness and must be sent away to the manor to recuperate. If the Fifth branch refuses, then drive them out as well!”
“But… won’t there be an uproar—”
“An uproar?” Madam Wei’s eyes turned icy. “Since when have you feared an uproar?”
Chastened, Mama Jiao lowered her gaze. “Yes, Madam. I will see to it at once.”
This matter must first be contained within the household walls. If the Fifth branch agreed to stay silent, she could still shield them under the guise of kinship. But should they insist on making trouble, she would not hesitate to consign them to ruin.
Once she reached this resolve, her fear subsided.
After all—it was only death. Had men not died before? Why, then, should she cower?
Her gaze darkened as she stared at the bloodstains seeping into the expansive brocade rug, lost in thoughts none could read.
Meanwhile, the disputes outside grew louder.
On the road back, Shang Ji received Liu Xun’s urgent dispatch detailing the uproar in Yunjin Courtyard. As he read, he sneered.
So, his wife—who had long kept a low profile—had finally made a move leading straight to an inescapable end.
That the Fifth Old Master had flown into madness and struck at Madam Wei did not surprise him in the least. With no loyal servants at her side, of course all she could do was smash at whatever she could grasp.
If the Fifth Old Master truly was beaten to death, then it was a feud between the two branches. It had nothing whatsoever to do with Dongyuan.
But as for Shang Wulang’s sudden, terrifying illness—he did not believe for a moment that Du Jingyi’s hand was absent in it.
Since his wife had instructed him to delay his return, he would delay.
Thus, the party that had been racing home at breakneck speed now halted merely five miles outside the city, letting their horses graze.
Luo Yuan was baffled. Hadn’t they rushed because disaster had struck at home? Why stop now, as though all was well?
The autumn wind grew chill, but for soldiers hardened on the Cezhou front, it was little more than an idle itch.
In the East Garden, Du Jingyi finally awoke after swallowing two sets of treasured family “miracle medicines.” At once, she reported herself unwell, claiming she must rest and could not rise.
All eyes, after all, were fixed upon Yingjuan Courtyard of the Fifth branch . So no one spared a thought for the Xitang Courtyard. Unless she announced a pregnancy, her illness would cause no stir. Since she had chosen to feign sickness, then she must play the part convincingly.
Hearing of her state, Xue Niang rushed over from Fuqiu Courtyard, her eyes clouded with worry.
Du Jingyi glanced behind her and, seeing no one else, understood. The eldest sister-in-law still bore grudges, unwilling to come.
But since her husband had said he would handle matters, Du Jingyi would not debase herself with hollow apologies to the sisters-in-law.
Still, she received this younger sister-in-law with more warmth.
“Sixth Sister-in-law, are you unharmed? I heard you fainted in fright at Yunjin Courtyard. What happened there? Why was it so dreadful?”
Xue Niang, only four years younger than Du Jingyi, was to her still but a child. Stroking the girl’s hair with the air of an elder, she said gently:
“It’s nothing. But I fear the coming days will be tumultuous. Stay here in the East Garden with your eldest sister-in-law and Ping’er. Do not wander out unless you must. We shall be moving out soon. If you’re restless, think instead of what belongings to prepare and begin packing.”
Xue Niang knew she was still young. Her eldest sister-in-law often treated her as though she were Ping’er’s age, and she had not expected Sixth Sister-in-law to do the same.
Though worry lingered in her eyes, she held her tongue and remained quietly by Du Jingyi’s side.
Her concern stirred memories of Du Jingyi’s own elder sister back home. For the first time, she felt a genuine fondness for this girl.
She thought: I must find her a good match one day, so she may live a happy and comfortable life—not end up like the daughters of the Third and Fifth branches, reduced to puppets at their family’s whims.
In this tangled drama, Qi Niang (Seventh sister) and Si Niang (Fourth sister)—the very ones at its heart—remained unseen.
Si Niang, broken-hearted, no longer cared where her family cast her. She had no interest and did not appear.
Qi Niang stayed away only because she was nursing the ailing Madam Guo.