Just talking about himself, when he goes to worlds without young men while on missions, isn’t he just an ordinary man? The ghost in this body could be of any gender or age! The more Shen Qian thought about it, the more he felt this was the case. Damn, did that Ye Gui want to take advantage of him last night when he mysteriously appeared in bed again? It’s all his fault for sleeping like a dead pig, not even waking up to thunder. Shen Qian sneakily tugged at his collar to take a peek inside, and it seemed normal. After a while, he couldn’t help but take another look.

Li Xun glanced at him indifferently, “What are you doing?”

Shen Qian chuckled awkwardly, “Nothing, nothing. Just feeling a bit itchy, not sure if it’s a bug bite.” Maybe he was overthinking it. Statistically, this Ye Gui could very well be a young man or a woman! That would make them “sisters.”

Zhan’er curiously asked, “It’s so cold, and there are still bugs? Did you get bitten, gongzi? We should get some medicine to fumigate later.” Coincidentally, they were going out today, and since gongzi didn’t like the smell of mugwort, they would fumigate and ventilate the room so that the smell would be gone by the time they returned.

Today, they were going to visit the shops in the southeast markets. As they were about to leave, they passed by the main courtyard but didn’t hear Liu Yufu reciting the “Women’s Commandments.” They turned around and didn’t see Liu Yufu at the windy spot either.

Xiao Wan said, “Today, finally, Guifei sent someone to the residence. I guess it’s different from the previous two noble ladies’ procedures?”

Hearing the word “Guifei,” Li Xun’s heart stirred, and he turned his steps towards the main hall. Since he swapped souls into the body of the eldest son of Duke Fuchang’s Residence, he had been contemplating whether to confide in someone close. Although Hua Xiangming was his companion reader and commander of the East Palace guards, Li Xun hadn’t told him the truth. If there was anyone in the world he could absolutely trust, it would be his father, the emperor. And then…

As he approached the main hall, he glanced inside and saw Bai Dan, the head palace maid beside Guifei, sitting at the top with her eyes slightly closed, saying nothing. Liu Yufu was kneeling inside, with a cushion under her knees.

Compared to the previous two days, this was much more relaxed. However, Liu Yufu had been worried and depressed these days, becoming increasingly ill, her face pale and her body thin, swaying even while kneeling. Surprisingly, Shen Yi’an was not present today, only the steward was there, smiling along.

Zhan’er whispered, “Guifei is truly merciful… she got off easy.”

Her voice was very low, probably only Li Xun, Shen Qian, and Xiao Wan could hear it. Unexpectedly, the palace maid who had been sitting with her eyes closed suddenly opened them and looked over. Zhan’er was startled and instinctively shrank back.

“So this must be the eldest gongzi,” Bai Dan looked at Li Xun, “Eldest gongzi, you must have been living comfortably these days, right?”

Li Xun was taken aback and nodded slightly at her.

After the empress was poisoned and died, Emperor Jiawen was heartbroken and vowed not to establish a new empress. At that time, Li Xun was only six years old. Emperor Jiawen originally intended to choose an honest and virtuous woman from the harem to be Guifei and have her raise and care for Li Xun. But at that time, the empress’s younger sister, the youngest daughter of Duke An’s Residence, had been engaged three times, and each fiancé fell ill and died before the six rites were completed.

In such a situation, people wouldn’t think the woman was cursed but rather that her fate was too noble for her previous fiancés to bear, leading to their deaths. Duke An reported this to Emperor Jiawen, who, after much consideration, believed that having a close aunt care for Li Xun would be more appropriate than other women in the harem. Thus, he followed Duke An’s suggestion, bringing her into the palace as Guifei and having her raise Li Xun.

Although she was made Guifei, Emperor Jiawen was firm in his decision not to let anyone else have any ideas. He rarely entered the harem while the crown prince was young. Guifei, having been in the palace for many years, never met him, nor did she receive his favor.

Guifei only focused on raising the crown prince. Before Li Xun turned fifteen, he lived in Guifei’s palace. After moving to the East Palace, he still visited daily to pay respects, treating her like a mother.

This palace maid, Bai Dan, was someone Li Xun often saw and even called “aunt.” But today, seeing Bai Dan as the eldest son of Duke Fuchang’s Residence, he found her demeanor and expression completely unfamiliar.

Li Xun’s gaze fell on Liu Yufu, who was kneeling inside.

Bai Dan sneered coldly, “What, did the actions of the two noble ladies in the past two days not satisfy you, eldest gongzi? Do you have any dissatisfaction with Guifei’s handling?”

Li Xun quickly lowered his eyes and said, “I dare not.”

Bai Dan had already stood up. As a female official from Guifei’s palace, she brought many attendants with her when she left the palace, and they all stood up in a crowd. Bai Dan said coldly, “Liu Shi is already seriously ill, and if she continues kneeling, her life might be in danger. Guifei is kind-hearted and cannot bear this, so let’s end it today.”

She had only been there for the time it takes to burn an incense stick, and after speaking, she didn’t look at Li Xun and the others again, leaving with her entourage. The steward quickly had two little maids help Liu Yufu up and send her back to her room.

“Tsk, this Guifei…” doesn’t seem like a good person. Shen Qian muttered in his heart. Zhan’er quickly covered his mouth, “Do you want to die talking about Guifei behind her back?”

Shen Qian pulled her hand away, “I know, I know.” That’s why he didn’t say the second half. Turning his head, he saw Li Xun staring at him with a very unpleasant expression, which startled him.

In the past few days, Shen Qian had roughly understood that although this Ye Gui was formidable against Shen Yi’an, Liu Yufu, and others, he was very kind to his own people. At most, he would tease a bit, sometimes pretending to be fierce for fun. He was like a harsh winter to enemies but a warm spring breeze to his own people.

This was the first time Li Xun looked at him with such a “fierce” gaze, “Wh-what’s wrong…”

“What do you want to say, what’s wrong with Guifei?” Li Xun suddenly grabbed Shen Qian’s wrist. He was quite strong, but his body wasn’t great, so it didn’t hurt, but Shen Qian couldn’t shake him off.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Shen Qian was puzzled by Li Xun’s reaction. He didn’t react this strongly even when he received a reply from Commander Hua, but he was so agitated when he mentioned Guifei. Could it be that he had some relationship with Guifei in his previous life?

He couldn’t have been a consort or noble consort and a good friend of Guifei, right?

Shen Qian hesitated for a moment but still spoke his mind, “The emperor rejected Shen Song’s request to appoint a heir and had consorts with sons come to reprimand Liu Yufu. On one hand, it’s to admonish Liu Yufu, but more importantly, it’s to warn these consorts with sons not to have any improper ambitions like Liu Yufu, who is of a concubine’s birth. The previous two noble ladies followed the emperor’s intentions obediently, regardless of what they thought, they at least showed their stance.”

“But what about Guifei? Everyone thought she should have been the first to send someone to admonish, given her status. But she didn’t, delaying for two days until she had no choice, then just made a token gesture and left.” Shen Qian actually thought this wasn’t very smart. Even if she had ulterior motives, she should have put on a show, more exaggerated than the Honored Lady, enduring hardships to achieve her goals. Those little grievances should be endured.

Unfortunately, there was only one Goujian, and there weren’t many in the world who could endure such humiliation to achieve great things.

Most people couldn’t suppress their inner resentment, which unconsciously showed on their faces and actions. Moreover, many people’s actions were determined by their stance. Emperor Jiawen, due to his stance, wanted to support the legitimate and suppress the illegitimate. Seeing Liu Yufu’s situation, Guifei would naturally know her stance. Of course, Shen Qian said Guifei wasn’t a good person based on his position as the eldest son of Duke Fuchang’s Residence… and his attendants’ stance.

“So this Guifei is clearly not on our side, but fortunately, apart from the emperor ordering her to send someone to reprimand Liu Yufu, we shouldn’t have any more interactions with her, right?” Feeling the increasing pressure on his wrist, Shen Qian was also a bit annoyed, “It hurts! Let go!”

Li Xun finally snapped out of it and released his grip, only to see a red mark on Shen Qian’s wrist. Shen Qian rubbed his wrist and glared at Li Xun, “Gongzi is smarter than me, every word against our boye is justified, how come you can’t see through this today?”

Li Xun’s face was as dark as the bottom of a pot. It wasn’t that he couldn’t see through it, he just… didn’t want to believe it.

Moreover, if he hadn’t changed bodies and perspectives, how could he have seen Bai Dan’s completely changed face and tone, or known that his aunt would act this way?

Shen Yi’an hadn’t been feeling well these past few days. He felt like Liu Yufu had changed, but he couldn’t pinpoint how. In any case, he felt a slight discomfort staying by Liu Yufu’s side, unlike the complete comfort he felt before.

He attributed this feeling to Liu Yufu being ill and being reprimanded daily. People change when they’re frightened, but… it’s human nature to avoid harm. Even though he wouldn’t blame Liu Yufu, when it was time to go back to his room to sleep, he would sit in the side hall for a while, breathing in the fresh air.

Now it was even more so. Every time someone from the palace came to reprimand, Shen Yi’an felt very distressed seeing Liu Yufu suffer. The heartache and guilt of not being able to save her mixed together like oil on a hot pan. The first time he experienced this torment, he wished he could take her place, feeling twice as sorry for Liu Yufu.

By the third time… Shen Yi’an chose to avoid it.

So on this day, he didn’t accompany Liu Yufu to receive Guifei’s reprimand but instead sent a note to the Tongzhou Zhifu’s residence in the capital to visit his wet nurse, Zhou Mama.

Zhou Mama had already received the note and ran to the gate to wait for Shen Yi’an. This was the child she had nursed, spending more time with him than her own son. Even though she had been hurt before, as soon as her son lowered his head, how could she hold a grudge? She immediately hugged Shen Yi’an, crying and calling him her son. Shen Yi’an’s heart broke, and he repeatedly said he was unfilial. Since it was unseemly to do this on the street, they quickly went inside the residence.

After catching up on the past few years, Shen Yi’an poured out all the complicated matters in the residence to his wet nurse and then brought up the idea of having Zhou Mama help train a few maids for Liu Yufu.

Zhou Mama originally resented Liu Yufu for leading her son astray, but since she had been angry with Shen Yi’an for a few years and had finally reconciled, she had learned her lesson and didn’t want to upset Shen Yi’an again. So she smiled and said, “What’s the big deal? Your residence is currently in the spotlight, and I’m afraid training them now won’t be in time. Those mischievous ones might cause new trouble. I have a few serving me who are very honest and well-behaved, without any bad intentions. You can take them back to use now.”

She then picked out four from the group of girls behind her, and indeed, they all looked very well-behaved.

Shen Yi’an quickly declined, “If I take them, it will inconvenience Mama.”

Zhou Mama shook her head, “You can see, even if I give away these four, there are still a dozen or so behind them. And these are just the ones I brought out; there are still a dozen or so watching the courtyard. Your milk brother went to take office in Tongzhou, only taking his wives and a few boys, thinking it inconvenient to travel with too many servants, so he went with a light entourage, planning to hire locally. Leaving behind this whole courtyard of people, only serving me and a young man and a young lady, how can we use them all?”

She was now in her own residence, practically like an old lady of the house. The young man and young lady were the Tongzhou Zhifu’s son and daughter, left in the capital to accompany their grandmother and also to find a marriage match in the capital, not wanting to marry them off to the distant Tongzhou.

This reminded Shen Yi’an of something. After thinking for a moment, he accepted the four maids, “When I return, I’ll select a few young ones to send over for Mama to play with.”

Zhou Mama didn’t mind. What were a few maids worth? Besides, although she was mindful of the master-servant distinction, she genuinely regarded Shen Yi’an as family, naturally not making such distinctions. Since she said so, Shen Yi’an didn’t stand on ceremony, “Now there’s one more thing I need Mama’s help with. Before… I was a bit muddle-headed, only caring about my own happiness, but I delayed a few children. Now the children are gradually reaching marriageable age, but no one is interested. Liu Shi… her background doesn’t allow her to socialize, and now it’s become a problem. Mama, with your title, if you have free time, why not take the children out to see the world?”

Zhou Mama sighed at these words, “I always said you were muddle-headed before, but I was afraid you’d be angry with me!”

This made Shen Yi’an even more ashamed.

“This is a serious matter. If I remember correctly, the eldest son is now seventeen, right? And Qiao Jie’er is fifteen.” These two children were also ones Zhou Mama had seen and held, so she naturally kept them in her heart. “But if you want me to take them out to socialize, you’re being foolish. No matter what, I’m just a fourth-rank lady, and the families I can interact with are around this level. Do you expect a first-rank marquis’s daughter to marry down here? I see you’ve come to your senses a bit now, and you might need to marry a proper wife to enter the noble circles.”

She said this while watching Shen Yi’an, afraid he would make excuses for that Liu enchantress again.

But unexpectedly, today Shen Yi’an was very honest in front of her, lowering his head for a long time before saying, “Yes… I do have that plan. But I’m afraid it won’t be easy to find someone quickly, and the eldest son can’t be delayed any longer.” He knew his reputation now, and good families wouldn’t want to marry their daughters to him. Plus, he still had a tendency to avoid the issue, thinking to delay it as long as possible.

Zhou Mama watched him for a while and didn’t expose him. Any progress was better than before, and she could slowly coax him in the future. So she said, “Well… it’s a coincidence, there’s a way now, but it will take some effort to arrange.”

She had inquired about this for her own grandchildren before, but it hadn’t worked out. But now it was just what Duke Fuchang’s Residence needed, “Last month, news came from the palace that Guifei intends to find a few companion readers for the eldest princess. You’ve probably heard of the eldest princess, who is… slightly lacking by nature. Guifei loves her dearly, and now that she’s ten, she’s just starting her education. They’re planning to select a few young men and women from noble families and officials of rank three and above in the capital to be companion readers.”

If they could become companion readers for the princess, receiving guidance from palace nannies and great scholars, their status would naturally increase. And there’s a rumor that this selection isn’t just for the eldest princess’s companion readers, but also for Guifei’s intention to find a few side consorts for the crown prince.

Though they would be side consorts, when the crown prince ascends the throne, they would still hold a consort title. However, due to the crown prince’s current situation, it’s temporarily on hold. But it’s beneficial for Duke Fuchang’s Residence, giving Shen Yi’an more time to arrange and plan.

Hearing this, Shen Yi’an was indeed delighted.