“Is… is that really going to work?” Madam Qian hesitated.

  “It will,” Wumian said firmly. “The Sun family may be upright and virtuous, but by the time it reached Lord Sun’s generation, they hadn’t produced any promising descendants. His two sons are neither schorly nor martial—just mediocre. The Sun cn is thin and cks capable people. To speak pinly, the reason they agreed to marry into our family was because I am the Empress. They were betting that I’d one day bear the Emperor a child. Since that motive hasn’t changed, it doesn’t matter if we swap which groom we offer. If they break off the match now, sure, our side will be at fault—but they’ll lose face too. They won’t want that. Just make sure Grandfather and Father lower their tone when they go speak to them.”

  “Ah… I’ll tell them, but… will your grandfather and father really agree to it?” Madam Qian began worrying again.

  “They will. They know what’s best for the family. Don’t worry, a foolish child causing trouble isn’t the end of the world. If this had happened a few months ago, maybe it would’ve been harder to clean up. But now? It’s fine.”

  “Eh? Why now?” Madam Qian didn’t understand.

  Wumian smiled. “A few months ago, rumors were probably circuting in the capital that I wouldn’t live much longer.”

  Back when Madam Qian visited her st winter, her eyes had been filled with such grief.

  “It’s different now.” Not only had she recovered, but there were likely whispers in court about the Empress Dowager being pleased with her too.

  “Don’t say such things,” Madam Qian’s eyes welled up red again.

  “This matter—have Grandfather and Father go handle it first. After that, I’ll request a meeting with Madam Sun here in the pace and expin things clearly. Once everything is settled, send Fifth Brother to see me. He’s a clever one—I'm sure he won’t refuse,” Wumian said.

  “Yes, your fifth brother is filial—not like your fourth brother…” Madam Qian sighed.

  When Madam Qian had first married into the family, she wasn’t well liked by her mother-in-w, especially since the marriage had been arranged by Wumian’s grandfather. She had suffered quite a bit.

  After giving birth to the eldest legitimate son, her mother-in-w deliberately pushed women into her husband's path. As a result, Wumian’s second brother, third brother, eldest sister, and second sister were all born of concubines. Madam Qian, however, was simple and kind-hearted, and eventually the old matriarch softened.

  Later, she gave birth to Wumian and her two younger sons.

  The fourth brother had been clever from a young age and was always well-liked by their parents. The fifth, though quiet, was thoughtful and obedient.

  “Have Fifth Brother come see me tomorrow,” Wumian added.

  Madam Qian agreed, visibly rexing—as if she'd suddenly found her anchor.

  Watching her, Wumian couldn’t help feeling a bit helpless. So this is the mother I inherited… no wonder the former Wumian turned out that way.

  Wumian still had Madam Qian stay for lunch. Perhaps to show her some face, the Emperor even had a few dishes sent over, a subtle gesture of acknowledgment.

  In the afternoon, after sending her mother off, Wumian leaned on her hand and sighed, “So many siblings—so many problems.”

  “It’s a small matter, really,” Linshui said, shaking her head. “It’s just that Fourth Young Master was being ridiculous. Who decides to marry some random woman of unknown origin?”

  “Exactly. Things are better for our family now, and it’s gone to his head. You know what he’s like,” Wumian replied.

  Both Linshui and Zhaohua had followed her from outside the pace; they knew the Zhao family well.

  “Still, I wonder who this woman is. She must be some seductive little fox to have bewitched Fourth Young Master so thoroughly.”

  “Whatever she is, he is in the wrong. He wanted to have his fun and didn’t care who got hurt,” Wumian said, thinking briefly of her predecessor. The Zhao family’s upbringing really left something to be desired.

  The next morning, Wumian specifically sent word that she would be summoning her younger brother from her natal family and exempted everyone else from paying morning respects.

  It was a reminder to the other dies: don’t come calling today. This was still the inner pace—best not to give rise to gossip.

  Zhao Qiufeng, age fifteen, was the youngest legitimate son of the Zhao household’s main branch.

  He was good-looking, but with an elder legitimate brother and a fourth brother above him, he rarely got much attention.

  As he stood before Wumian now, she noticed how much taller he had grown. It had been a full year since they’d st seen each other.

  Though Wumian had only been in this world for a little over half a year, living in this body seemed to have passed on some of its memories—and some genuine affection.

  Or maybe… she had simply grown attached herself. Seeing this younger brother felt truly familiar and warm.

  “Rise. No need for all that formality. Come, sit and talk,” she said.

  Zhao Qiufeng nodded. “Have you fully recovered, Sister? I wanted to visit before, but Father wouldn’t allow it.” He looked a little aggrieved.

  “I’m well now. I summoned you today—did Mother expin the matter?”

  “She did. I don’t have any objections, but… what about Fourth Brother?” Zhao Qiufeng frowned.

  “And did Fourth Brother consider you when he made a mess of everything?” Wumian huffed.

  “By the way—do you know where that girl he brought home came from?”

  “Oh, we’ve looked into her background already. She’s clean. She came from Jiangnan to the capital to live with her aunt, but the aunt passed away. She’s been living with just an old servant since then. The issue is…” Zhao Qiufeng looked a little awkward. “The issue is, Fourth Brother and she have already… you know… crossed a certain line.”

  Wumian took a deep breath. “Truly impressive.”

  “Please don’t be upset, Sister. What’s done is done—now we just need to clean it up. At first, Father and Grandfather wanted to compromise by making her a concubine. But Fourth Brother refused. He says… he says he wants one lifelong partner, and since there was no official betrothal with the Sun family, it shouldn’t count.”

  “...Fine. Let him handle the consequences himself. Father and Grandfather will speak with the Suns. Since you have no objections, just wait for the outcome. The Suns will agree,” Wumian said calmly.

  “Alright.” Zhao Qiufeng mainly felt awkward facing his elder brother, but truly, his actions had been foolish and inconsiderate of the family.

  The Zhao family had already taken a humble stance—just as Wumian predicted. If the Sun family broke off the match entirely, their own daughter’s reputation would suffer too.

  The world was harshest on women. Even if the fault y entirely with the Zhaos, outsiders would still say that the Sun family’s daughter “lost” to a nameless woman. It would be humiliating.

  Zhao Qiufeng was no less impressive than his elder brother—in fact, he was arguably more handsome. In the end, the Sun family gave a reluctant but affirmative response.

  Wumian ter met with Madam Sun, speaking with a lowered posture and offering both apologies and reassurances, to the point that Madam Sun nearly knelt from guilt and embarrassment.

  Wumian even sent gifts to the Sun family's daughter, and with that, the matter was resolved. The engagement was set for the twenty-eighth of the month, with the wedding pnned for winter.

  Naturally, word of this couldn’t help but reach the Emperor.

  Back at the Xuanzheng Hall, Ying Qionglou listened as Lu Zhong reported the incident.

  “Oh? You’re saying the idea came from the Empress?” he asked.

  “Most likely,” Lu Zhong nodded.

  “The Empress… really has changed,” Ying Qionglou mused with amusement. “Handled it well, too. If this had happened before, I imagine the Zhao and Sun's marriage would’ve fallen apart completely—or worse, become a sting grudge.”

  He chuckled. “Come, let’s go see the Empress. It’s been a few days since I st visited.”

  But before he could even step out the door, someone came with news: Li Liangyi had summoned a physician and was asking the Emperor to come.