Not long after the Fifth branch returned to Yingjuan Courtyard, word spread that Wu Lang had been struck by a strange illness—one rumored to be contagious.
For the “safety” of the Duke’s Mansion, Madam Wei immediately had everyone of the Fifth branch confined.
Some were bound, dragged into carriages, and sent off to the estate outside the city.
The Fifth Old Master, once the most formidable in the Fifth branch, now clung feebly to life.
But before he could even awaken, the power base that had dominated Yingjuan Courtyard for decades was completely uprooted by Madam Wei.
For years she had indulged them on the surface, while secretly holding the reins tight.
So long as she did not move, nothing happened. But once she acted—she left nothing standing.
Within a matter of hours, the Fifth branch vanished as if it had never existed in the Duke’s Mansion. Even their traces were swept away without a shadow.
The neighboring Third branch, having never before witnessed Madam Wei unleash such ruthless force, was truly terrified this time.
Everyone kept to their rooms, not daring to make a sound or show their faces.
It was as if the past decades of arrogance and presumption had been nothing more than a dream. Upon waking, they discovered they were merely poor relations within the Duke’s Mansion—insignificant, even.
Shang Ji also did not return until nightfall.
For him on the surface the plaque above the gate was the same as ever, yet the air felt wholly different.
He dismounted, strode through the main gate, and went directly toward the East Garden.
As he neared the entrance of Xitang Courtyard, the faint scent of medicine reached him. His brows furrowed, and his pace quickened.
Pushing into the main hall, he saw Du Jingyi lying weakly upon the bed, her face pale.
“What is it? Are you hurt?”
Startled to see her husband return so soon, Du Jingyi quickly composed herself and smiled.
“Don’t worry, General. I’m fine.”
She then sat up, brushed her fingers across her cheek, and a trace of fine white powder rubbed off onto her fingertips.
It was plain to see her sickly pallor was only painted on.
“Madam Wei wants to deal with the Fifth branch and sought to use me as her shield. I’m not foolish enough to shoulder her blame, so I can only feign illness.”
“She may not be unaware of your act.”
Shang Ji knew his stepmother well; he saw through matters at once.
But Du Jingyi remained untroubled.
“It matters little if she knows. After all, she has already thoroughly offended the Fifth branch this time. They will not stop fighting her, not for the rest of their lives.”
Hearing this, Shang Ji silently agreed.
At that moment, Butler He and Nanny Dou entered, bowing deeply.
“This old servant greets the General and Young Madam.”
“Rise,” Shang Ji said.
“Thank you, General.”
Both looked visibly relieved, as though freed from years of suppression.
“How fares the Fifth branch?” Shang Ji asked.
“Madam Wei has driven them out. Yingjuan Courtyard is now spotless, as though no one ever lived there. Even the servants who once attended them—or merely had ties with them—have been seized. It is said they will all be sent beyond the city walls tonight.”
Where exactly they would end up, no one knew.
If fortunate, they might be sent to the farm to toil at rough labor.
If unfortunate—or too loyal—their lives could not be guaranteed.
Shang Ji sneered.
“She has tried to steal a chicken but only managed to lose the rice. Let us see if her ‘good name’ as a benevolent woman can survive once this matter becomes known.”
After speaking, his gaze flicked toward the shadows outside. He said nothing more.
Du Jingyi, too, caught the faint stirrings in the wind. She knew Liu Xun, hidden in the dark, must have urgent business.
Butler He and Nanny Dou, preoccupied these days with managing the General’s Mansion, had never met Liu Xun. Since he served as a secret agent, the fewer who knew of him, the better.
Du Jingyi thus understood his absence.
Shang Ji’s eyes softened as he looked back at her. Though pale, she appeared alert and steady after only four or five days apart.
His tone gentled.
“Since you’re unwell, rest well. I’ll go see my sister-in-law and Xue Niang.”
Now that the Fifth branch had been dealt with, Shang Ji knew it was time to resolve matters with his sister-in-law.
Du Jingyi understood, nodded, and continued her act of illness.
Butler He and Nanny Dou followed Shang Ji out.
Once outside Xitang Courtyard, the two exchanged a glance, then stepped forward to block his way.
For the first time, they were openly pledging themselves to the Young Madam, Du Jingyi.
“General,” they said earnestly, “before, we underestimated her. We feared she was too young to weather the storms within the inner residence. But now—the Fifth branch has been eradicated, Madam Wei’s reputation is stained, and the Third and Fifth branches have been alienated. All this has ensured our East Courtyard’s safe passage through the turmoil.”
They had all originally been brought in by Madam Gu, so their declaration was no falsehood.
Shang Ji could see clearly that Du Jingyi had won their loyalty through careful consideration these past days. Otherwise, their shift would not have come so swiftly.
He was confident now in her ability to command subordinates. With a faint hum of approval, he asked:
“How fares Fuqiu Courtyard? Is all well with my eldest sister-in-law?”
Nanny Dou shook her head.
“I have heard nothing amiss. The Eldest Young Lady remains in Fuqiu Courtyard and seldom leaves. Only the Eighth Young Lady visits more frequently.”
“Good,” Shang Ji replied. “Then see to your duties. I will visit Fuqiu Courtyard to speak with my sister-in-law and Ping’er.”
“Yes, General.”
The courtyards were not far apart, and it took little time for Shang Ji to reach Fuqiu’s gate.
The quarrel he had with his sister-in-law that day was still vivid in his memory, though much time had since passed.
Some matters, he felt, must wait for their outcome before being spoken of again.
Now that the Fifth branch had been destroyed, he dared set foot once more into Fuqiu Courtyard.
He only hoped his sister-in-law’s anger had cooled enough that she would not drive him out outright.
Stepping inside, he glimpsed three dim figures in the main hall. One glance told him his Eighth Sister, Xue Niang, was among them.
He rapped lightly on the door.
“Who is it?” a voice called.
He knew at once it was Xue Niang, and the corners of his lips curved faintly.
“It’s me. I’ve come to see Sister-in-law and Ping’er.”
Xue Niang was startled. Her brother rarely spent his nights at home, much less came here at such an hour.
She was about to open the door when Shang Zhiping tugged at her sleeve.
Fear and resentment burned in his eyes, but in his small frame and lack of force, he looked more like a kitten’s paw raised to scratch—petulant, yet almost comical.