Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 13 Trap
When Zhang heard that He wanted her to go to the small storeroom the next day, she felt uneasy, wondering what He was going to do next.

Over the years, she has suffered a lot at the hands of the second wife.

“They’re definitely up to no good,” Yang Qin said, his face full of wariness and disgust. “The second wife’s mother just wanted to call my mother over to scold her, but my sister-in-law stopped her. Now she’s come up with another way to scheme against us.”

This wasn't just Yang Qin's wild guess; he'd seen it all before. When he was five, his mother, the head of the second branch of the family, gave him a pastry, and immediately accused him of stealing something from the kitchen. Whenever anyone in the clan lost something, their eyes would immediately fall on him and his mother.

His mother had just asked the eldest daughter-in-law of the Wei family in the neighboring neighborhood to let him attend classes at the Wei family's clan school when he turned seven. But after all this gossip, the Wei family refused to let him go no matter what.

From then on, he didn't believe a single word the second wife said. Even the smallest, insignificant matter could become a stone thrown at him and his mother.

Even though he and his mother hadn't offended anyone in the clan.

Sometimes he didn't understand why even strangers wouldn't harm them, yet his own clansmen would attack them—they were blood relatives, after all. Why couldn't they stand to see them doing well?
Every time his second wife's family came, he wished he could pick up a stick and drive them far away.

Yang Qin said, "Otherwise, I'll go over tomorrow and tell her that Mother isn't feeling well and that she can talk to me about anything."

Before Zhang could respond, Xie Yuyan calmly said, "It was I who schemed against them in the first place, so there's no need to worry."

Zhang and Yang Qin were stunned.

……

A fragrant aroma wafted from the room, and soon Yang Qin brought out three large bowls of noodles, along with some sugar pancakes and pickled vegetables.

Yang Qin placed the sugar cake in front of Xie Yuyan: "Sister-in-law, try it. My mother's sugar cake is the best."

Ever since he called Xie Yuyan "sister-in-law," Yang Qin has been calling her that, and... the more he says it, the more natural it sounds, and the more intimate it feels in his heart.

Xie Yuyan was genuinely hungry; her stomach started rumbling loudly as she was talking.

Zhang then realized that they hadn't eaten all day, especially Xie Yuyan, who hadn't eaten rice for several days. He had only eaten two pastries at the government office to stave off hunger. Thinking of this, she didn't have time to think about anything else and hurried to the kitchen to cook.

The kitchen contained only dried vegetables that had been drying in the autumn and pickled vegetables that had been prepared in advance. Zhang had used all her skills to make these dishes.

Zhang felt a surge of joy as she watched Xie Yuyan take a bite of the sugar cake.

Throughout the entire day, Xie Yuyan had taken care of both mother and child, and now she could finally do something for him.

If there was anything she wasn't satisfied with, it was the food. Zhang was planning that as soon as the market opened tomorrow morning, she would go to buy some meat and eggs to nourish Xie Yuyan, and then she would go and fetch a doctor.

After eating a sugar cake, Xie Yuyan immediately felt much warmer. Then she noticed that Zhang hadn't touched the sugar cake, and Yang Qin had only broken off a small piece.

The mother and son saved all the good food for her.

Xie Yuyan distributed the sugar cakes to Zhang Shi and Yang Qin. The two of them were naturally unwilling to take them, but seeing that Xie Yuyan was also unwilling to eat them, they knew they couldn't persuade him otherwise, so they reached out and took them.

Having eaten her fill, Xie Yuyan felt a bit stronger. She reached out to take her pulse. Her body was weak and blood was deficient, so she needed to take good care of herself. If she could take some medicine, she would recover by spring. If she didn't take care of herself, it would take longer and she might even develop a chronic illness.

"Sister-in-law is skilled in medicine?" Yang Qin leaned closer.

Xie Yuyan said, "Anyone who has been to school will have the opportunity to read a few medical books." During the years she was deposed and sent to a Taoist temple, she read a lot of miscellaneous books with her master.

Besides medical books, Master had a particular fondness for miscellaneous subjects that were not considered respectable. In the backyard, in addition to alchemy, he would also tinker with various small items.

As soon as Xie Yuyan moved his hand away, Madam Zhang immediately asked, "How is it?"

Xie Yuyan said, "It's nothing serious. I'll write a prescription myself, and tomorrow Mother will help me get a few doses from the pharmacy." Zhang Shi knew Xie Yuyan's temperament to some extent, so she stopped trying to persuade him: "Then let's try it this way first."

“I’ve given myself a name,” Xie Yuyan said, writing the characters of her name for Zhang Shi and Yang Qin to see. “Outside, people call me Xie Shiniang.”

She didn't care what others called her, as it was her own name. Today she was Xie Shiniang, and tomorrow she would be called by many other names. "Xie Shiniang" was just to prevent the neighbors from forgetting what the Yang and Xie families had done.

After saying this, Xie Yuyan mentioned that He Shi would invite Zhang Shi to the small storeroom the next day.

"Mrs. He intends to hand over the key to the small storeroom to the third branch for safekeeping."

Zhang's expression changed immediately: "No matter what she says, I can't accept it. If something goes missing from the storeroom, or if something happens, we'll never be able to explain ourselves."

Xie Yuyan said, "There's definitely something wrong with the items in the storeroom, but Mother, you should take the key to the storeroom."

Zhang asked in surprise, "Wouldn't that hand over leverage to the second wife?"

Xie Yuyan remained calm, clearly not taking the matter seriously: "I paved the way for them long ago. I know exactly what they're going to do."

Zhang couldn't understand. Xie Yuyan wasn't a patient person; she rarely explained her actions to others. But then she remembered Yang Qin, who had stood in her way in her past life…

Xie Yuyan said, "When I returned to the Yang family, I vindicated the Third Branch's reputation for 'loyalty and righteousness.' In the future, if the Second Branch wants to deal with the Third Branch, they will have to ruin the Third Branch's reputation first."

"After entering the house, I deliberately brought up the dowry again, threatening He Shi to keep it safe. If the second branch of the family wants to deal with us again, they will definitely start with these two things I brought up."

“I restricted their planning direction in advance, just like giving them a test question in advance. No matter how they answered, it was within the limits of the question.”

"As for what Madam He is going to do, it's not hard to guess. Madam He is Yang Mingjing's wife, and she should be in charge of the inner quarters. But in the matter of Sixth Brother, it was Madam Zou who stepped forward. It's not hard to see that the Second Madam favors her second son, Yang Mingshan, and Madam Zou is using this to compete with Madam He for power."

“I’ve seen He’s methods, and they’re better than Zou’s. She would never just stand by and watch Zou take away her power unless she does something wrong and leaves something in the hands of the Second Madam and Zou.”

“If that mistake comes out, she will lose all her prestige in the clan. Most likely, the mistakes the housekeeper makes are due to embezzling public funds.”

At this point, Xie Yuyan raised her eyes and looked at Zhang Shi: "Now you know what He Shi is going to do?"

Zhang thought about it for a moment and then shook her head.

Xie Yuyan said, "As long as Madam He pins the blame on the Third Branch, firstly, the Third Branch will lose its reputation, and secondly, both the Second Madam and Madam Zou will have no choice but to side with Madam He in order to deal with us. They will never tell anyone the truth. Madam He will then have no more faults and can continue to be a good housekeeper."

"By returning my dowry, Madam He handed over the small storeroom to my mother, seemingly as a gesture of goodwill towards us. But I wanted this dowry anyway, and I wanted to help the third branch of the family regain control of the household affairs. Taking control of the keys was the first step, so why would I refuse?"

In just one day, Zhang was shocked several times.

Xie Yuyan's words were something she should ponder her whole life. She suddenly understood why they had been repeatedly schemed against over the years—not because the second wife's family was too clever, but because she was too stupid.

“Then what use is this key to us…” Zhang said, “to expose He’s intentions?”

Xie Yuyan's lips curled up: "What are keys for? Aren't they just for taking valuables?"

As for the He family...

Those who knew Empress Dowager Xie in her past life knew that many of the people who worked for her had been her enemies. Others might have eliminated them, but Empress Dowager Xie... always used them very effectively.

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(End of this chapter)