Du Jingyi’s face was still powdered with pearl dust, lending her a pale, fragile air. Yet in her movements and manner, there was not the slightest sign of illness.
Especially when she saw her sister-in-law Liu enter—Du Jingyi even rose from her bed.
This startled Madam Liu, who had half-suspected her of feigning sickness.
“I heard you were unwell, so I came to visit. But it seems there’s no need,” Madam Liu said with a faint smile, her tone warm and without estrangement.
Du Jingyi, however, knew full well what her husband had been busy with the previous night, though she had not expected her sister-in-law to come personally today. She smiled softly and replied,
“Thank you for your concern, Sister-in-law. I’m quite all right.”
“That’s good.”
The maid Yingtao stepped forward, served tea to them , and quietly withdrew.
This was the first time the two women were alone together. Du Jingyi was not timid in the least—she simply waited to hear her sister-in-law’s true purpose.
After sipping from her cup, Madam Liu began.
“I heard about what happened at Yunjin Courtyard. Sixth Brother thinks you handled it beautifully. I, however, do not quite agree.”
Du Jingyi arched a brow at this. Her sister-in-law was skilled in couching sharp judgments in gentle words.
So she asked with apparent sincerity,
“Please enlighten me, Sister-in-law.”
“The Yunjin Courtyard incident was ultimately sparked by Fifth Uncle’s rash temper. That is human nature—how could you have foreseen it? If not for his outburst, then even with Wu Lang’s sudden illness, matters would never have escalated so far.
The Min Mansion affair was merely a pretext. You appeared to back the Fifth branch, making the Third wary—but how could you have known they would truly make such a scene yesterday? Even come to blows over it?
So in this case, I think you were fortunate. If it came down to a contest of wits, you might not be Madam Wei’s match.”
Madam Liu spoke directly, striking at the heart of the matter.
She had thought Du Jingyi clever—but string these events together, and luck seemed to outweigh skill. Thus she withheld praise, choosing instead to test Du Jingyi’s response.
Unexpectedly, Du Jingyi listened without the slightest haste, calmly took a sip of tea, and then chuckled lightly.
With ease, she began to recount her own hidden calculations of recent days.
“When I married into the Duke’s household, I brought with me several dowry shops. By coincidence, they are located near the establishments of Liu Niang’s husband—the Jia family. Though they claim to trade in rice, their true dealings are murkier.
For instance, the most sought-after narcotic paste in the smokehouses these days—Hibiscus Cream—is circulated by the Jia family. Once a man tastes it, he cannot let it go.
I heard Fifth Uncle was fond of drink and tobacco. At thirty taels a box, Hibiscus Cream would hardly be easy for the Fifth branch to afford.”
As she spoke, Du Jingyi’s eyes gleamed with quiet resolve.
It was as if no one—no matter who—could escape her grasp.
“I had Yingtao tamper with the silver. That was only one part. As you know, the Fifth branch has long been poor. Suddenly flush with coin, it was natural they would squander recklessly. Add the temptations of the smokehouse, and how could Fifth Uncle resist taking the bait?
Hibiscus Cream is most treacherous because at first it refreshes the mind—but once deprived, it leaves the body itching as though bitten by insects.
I calculated that the box he purchased a few days ago should already be gone. Without that poison to steady him, Fifth Uncle’s temper was like oil waiting for a spark.”
At this, Du Jingyi’s lips curved in a smile laced with cold mockery.
“After that, I spread a few rumors—half-truths, half-lies—about king Min’s household. With Fifth Uncle’s nature, could he not be provoked to make trouble?
The Third Branch, meanwhile, was guilty as a thief. Having secretly sought favor through the Jia family, they grew anxious when no news arrived. The Fifth, greedy and unwilling to lose the duck already in its beak, naturally went to Yunjin Courtyard to demand justice.
On the surface, the Third and Fifth seem allied. In truth, they are wary of one another. A single quarrel was bound to turn violent.”
Of course, Du Jingyi had also arranged for Liu Xun to quietly dust the flowers and plants at Yunjin Courtyard with a powder that bred unease and restlessness.
That, too, stoked tempers until the inevitable brawl.
But Liu Xun’s role was a matter still kept in strict confidence, and Du Jingyi had no intention of revealing it.
By the time Du Jingyi finished, Madam Liu’s earlier doubts had all but crumbled.
Her expression grew taut, her teeth clenched.
At length she asked, voice low with disbelief and unease,
“Did you orchestrate every step of this?”
Du Jingyi smiled, her expression clear and tranquil as still water.
“Sister-in-law, you jest. The smokehouse peddled the paste, the Jia family supplied it, the lackeys lured him, Fifth Uncle grew addicted, Madam Wei struck him, Fifth Brother fell ill, his wife panicked, Mama Jiao bound them and dragged them out, and the Fifth Brother’s wife was cast aside.
What has any of this to do with me?”
Her words rang with innocence—yet the more lightly she spoke, the more dread coiled in Madam Liu’s heart.
After all, it was the Third and Fifth branch who had borne the brunt at Yunjin Courtyard.
To put it bluntly, Du Jingyi had merely “fallen ill” and kept clear of the storm.
Even if the Fifth branch came to settle accounts, they would seek out Madam Wei, or the Jia family, or the Third Branch—not the East Courtyard.
And perhaps they still recalled the favors Du Jingyi had once extended them.
Even if they wished to exploit the matter to gain a foothold with Du Jingyi—or with the General’s Mansion—they would first have to escape Madam Wei’s iron grip over the household.
Piecing it all together, Madam Liu felt the strength in her back slowly give way.
At last she said, her voice tinged with both defeat and reluctant admiration,
“Sixth Brother was right. You can indeed accomplish whatever you wish.”
Once, she had thought highly of her own capabilities. But standing before Du Jingyi’s intricate schemes, her efforts seemed like those of a child.
Du Jingyi gave no reply.
She was still young, yet she had been immersed in the Du family’s trade since childhood.
In truth, business and the inner court were much the same: it was all a matter of gauging leverage and discerning the other’s desires.
Still, in one respect, she agreed with her sister-in-law.
This time, it was Madam Wei’s underestimation of her that had allowed her plan to succeed so swiftly, so precisely, and so mercilessly.
Yet she had never confronted Madam Wei directly.
And so—Du Jingyi knew—she must never grow careless.