Chu Chengbai was shaking with anger. “What you and that maid said in the kitchen was all heard by Si’er! Do you still want to argue?”

Si’er was a young attendant who followed him closely.

Xue Shi said, “What did I say? Bring him over here to confront me!”

Chu Chengbai shouted angrily, “You said that if it weren’t for Yue Niang risking her life to give birth to your son, you wouldn’t have to face the gates of hell again!”

Xue Shi immediately burst into tears, grabbing Old Madam Chu’s sleeve and crying, “Grandmother, this is unfair! What I actually said was that Yue Niang was a poor soul. She died after giving birth to the child, and you entrusted Nian An to me. My husband doesn’t trust me and fears I’ll mistreat Nian An. I told the maid that I’d rather not have children for the rest of my life, but to take good care of Nian An.”

Mama Yang, the most trusted servant of Old Madam Chu, had indeed heard the last two sentences when she entered the kitchen, so Old Madam Chu didn’t think Xue Shi was lying.

When they interrogated Xue Shi’s maid, Ya, she wasn’t very clever, but Xue Shi had indeed expressed her unwillingness to have another child.

For a moment, everyone in the Chu family felt that Chu Chengbai was ungrateful.

His legitimate wife was willing to raise the concubine’s child out of fear that her husband would think she was treating the child poorly, and she didn’t even plan to have her own children.

Yet, Chu Chengbai had the nerve to shout about divorcing her.

Old Madam Chu was about to hit Chu Chengbai, but Liu Shi, seeing her son in such a state, quickly pleaded for him.

Old Madam Chu pointed a finger at her, scolding, “Look at what kind of person he is!”

Liu Shi felt humiliated and couldn’t lift her head.

Old Madam Chu then turned to Chu Changping, “Changping, give this scoundrel a good beating! To be able to marry a wife like Awen, he must have accumulated many lifetimes of good fortune!”

Xue Shi covered her face and cried uncontrollably, “Grandmother, please let him divorce me. I just said that I’d treat Nian An as my own son, yet I’m being slandered like this…”

Old Madam Chu shouted, “Give Si’er, who’s always by his side, twenty lashes and kick him out of the house! These despicable servants are becoming more and more outrageous!”

Chu Chengbai gritted his teeth and said, “Xue Wen! You can hide for a moment, but you can’t hide forever! When we get back, I’ll make sure to beat you to death! Nian An is my child with Yue Niang, and I will never let a concubine raise him!”

As he continued to say more outrageous things, Chu Changping slapped him across the face: “The Chu family has no men who hit women! You’ve really learned a lot!”

Having spent a few years in Yongzhou, he regarded Chu Chengbai almost like a son.

Xue Shi had always been dignified and proper, but it was his concubine who caused trouble every few days.

Chu Changping had learned from Chu Chengmao that they had been captured by the court’s army thanks to that concubine’s actions.

He already had a poor impression of her; now that she was dead, he didn’t want to pursue the matter further.

It was only today, seeing Chu Chengbai’s outrageous behavior, that he finally took action.

Xue Shi cried out, “Grandmother, please let him divorce me. If I go back to my room, he’ll hit me again…”

Old Madam Chu trembled with anger, “This ungrateful child! Good girl, from now on you’ll live with Nian An and me, and not return to his courtyard. I want to see if he dares to hit an old lady like me!”

Xue Shi cried loudly.

Jiang Yanyi was worried that Old Madam Chu might suffer from a fit of anger, so she supported her with one hand while gently patting her back with the other.

She never expected that the seemingly refined and weak Chu Chengbai was actually a domestic abuser.

No wonder she felt that Xue Shi seemed to have little affection for Chu Chengbai.

Even if the situation had developed to this point today, with some suspicion of Xue Shi deliberately setting it up, it was still a fact that Chu Chengbai was scum.

Chu Chengbai’s attendant had already been dragged away to receive his punishment, and Chu Chengbai had been hit hard enough by Chu Changping that his mouth was bleeding.

Liu Shi, heartbroken for her son, had just called out to her mother to plead for him when she heard Old Madam Chu say:

“Since you’re all here today, let me make this clear: Awen is the eldest daughter-in-law of the Chu family. From now on, she will be in charge of the household affairs.”

Liu Shi’s face turned pale.

For the daughter-in-law to take charge of the household affairs was like a slap in her face that she couldn’t ignore.

After all these years, Xue Shi had not produced any children, and her son didn’t favor Xue Shi, which had caused Liu Shi much distress.

Now, her daughter-in-law had climbed above her, and Liu Shi found it hard to accept.

But no matter how she felt, Old Madam Chu had already made her decision, and the other branches of the family had no objections, so it was settled.

**

After all this, the one most upset was actually Chu Shubao.

She cried as she apologized to Xue Shi for the disgraceful things her brother had done.

Xue Shi naturally reassured her that it was fine, and the few of them went to help Xue Shi pack her things.

Chu Shubao was so distressed that she ran outside, crying loudly.

Chu Huibao and Chu Jiabao both followed to comfort her.

Jiang Yanyi glanced out the window, and Xue Shi, with a trace of self-deprecation on her lips, asked, “Do you think I’m despicable, second sister?”

She knew that Mama Yang would go to the kitchen at that time to check on the medicine being boiled for the old lady, and when leaving the old lady’s courtyard, she also received news that Chang Sui, who was by Chu Chengbai’s side, was headed to the kitchen.

Thus, she deliberately went there before him to say such words that would provoke Chu Chengbai, yet when Mama Yang arrived, she asserted that Nian An was her son.

Jiang Yanyi said, “It’s not your sister-in-law’s fault for not meeting a worthy man.”

Upon hearing this, Xue Shi curved her lips into a smile and said, “Thank you.”

She was a clever woman; she understood the current situation of the Chu family better than anyone else.

The reason she was putting in so much effort to please the old lady instead of Liu Shi was that she knew Old Lady Chu was the most authoritative figure in the family; Liu Shi and the Eldest Young Master counted for nothing.

Additionally, it was crucial to maintain a good relationship with the people from the third branch.

Chu Chengbai, that good-for-nothing, could be infatuated with anyone; she didn’t care for any of it.

The only useful thing about that person was to leave behind an heir.

Someone had already risked her life to help her give birth to a son, and now she only needed to raise the child well so that she would have someone to rely on in the future.

Having just arrived in Xizhou, Xue Shi didn’t have much in her rooms, and the servants moved her belongings with just a few baskets.

Jiang Yanyi, Chu Shubao, and the three sisters had just accompanied Xue Shi to the old lady’s courtyard when suddenly a servant rushed in, flustered. “Old Madam! Old Madam!”

Old Lady Chu was lying in bed, feeling pain in her chest from anger at Chu Chengbai.

When someone came in like this, Mama Yang scolded, “What’s all the fuss? Is the sky falling?”

The servant was reprimanded and took a breath, but still, too terrified to speak smoothly, said, “The Prince of Liaonan has come to propose!”

Jiang Yanyi was playing with a rattle drum to amuse little Nian An.

Upon hearing this, she trembled, and the rattle drum fell to the ground.

There had already been too many shocks that day, and Old Lady Chu doubted her own hearing.

She said, “Say it again, who came to propose?”

“The Prince of Liaonan!”

That title was too terrifying; the servant nearly bit their own tongue.

The young ladies exchanged looks, and besides Jiang Yanyi, everyone else had a ghostly expression.

Old Lady Chu was, after all, someone who had weathered many storms.

After a moment, she asked, “Which young lady did he come to propose to?”

“The second young lady.”

Instantly, all the gazes in the room turned to Jiang Yanyi.

---

At this time, the four Chu family men sitting in the front hall to receive the matchmaker also looked bewildered.

The preparations for the proposal were very substantial; not only was there a live sheep tied with red silk, but also a white deer, a pair of mandarin ducks, two fish, two wild geese, and ten jars of wine, along with ten dou of rice.

The matchmaker was the old lady from the Han family.

Han Tuo was a fierce general under Feng Shuo and was highly valued, making the Han family a notable household in Xizhou.

The higher the status of the matchmaker, the more the family cared about the marriage.

With the old lady of the Han family acting as the matchmaker, her sincerity was unquestionable.

The smile on the old lady’s face was almost overflowing as she said, “General Chu, the prince is interested in marrying your daughter. At this crucial moment, the prince specifically instructed me to ensure that we follow the traditional customs closely, so as not to slight the Chu girl. Look, the live animals we’ve brought for the proposal were all personally caught by the prince; capturing a white deer in this freezing weather isn’t easy.”

Usually, only a pair of live geese would suffice for such a proposal, but Feng Shuo had directly brought every type of livestock previously used in marriage proposals.

Yesterday, Chu Changping had just heard Feng Shuo say, “Without accomplishing great things, how can one start a family?” and today, a matchmaker came to the door.

Even with psychological preparation, he still felt like he was dreaming.

He said, “This… is really too sudden.”

Perhaps having been briefed on the Chu family’s situation before coming, the old lady of the Han family replied, “General Chu, there’s no need for concern. This is merely the proposal; the prince’s intention is to secure the engagement first, and marrying next year will not be too late.”