The furor at Qiu Yejiao’s one-year-old banquet was not mentioned by any of the parties involved after they returned to the Marquess’s Mansion. So, it passed.

Three days after that, it was Wang Qingqian’s birthday.

Qiu Yelan brought Jiang Jingkun and Jiang Jinglang to visit her as promised. And the Lian Family received them with great enthusiasm. At the birthday banquet, Madame Lian sought an opportunity to ask quietly, “I heard that Princess Royal Lexin is going to get married in the same month of Emperor’s birthday, right?”

“Yes.” Qiu Yelan knew what she meant, “After the marriage of Princess Royal, it was the turn of Prince of Wei.”

Madame Lian was relieved. Back then, Wang Qingqian was unexpectedly chosen as the princess. But first, she couldn’t get the dowry together, which was finally solved after the raid on the Duan Family. And then Empress Dowager Gu and the former emperor died. On the advice of important officials, Prince of Wei kept his mourning for three years. However, after the mourning, Wang Qingqian’s reputation was strangely ruined… For several years, the Lian Family had been worrying about the marriage. When Princess of Wei finished his mourning, Madame Lian was eager to see her daughter marry him as soon as possible to avoid any accidents!

Now, with Qiu Yelan’s words, she calculated that in her heart. Although July was already the second half of the year, it might not be too late to have a big wedding in the remaining months. Especially, Princess Royal Yongfu, the daughter of Empress Dowager, was two years older than Wang Qingqian. Madame Lian was afraid that her daughter’s youth would be delayed again. And she thought that Empress Dowager would also consider the same thing for the sake of Princess Royal Yongfu. So, if there were no accidents, Wang Qingqian should be able to get married this year.

With this in her mind, Madame Lian’s mind was set. And she asked Qiu Yelan for advice on what to wear for Emperor’s Birthday in a few days.

When she returned from the Lian family’s banquet, Qiu Yelan changed her clothes. Shan who served He Shuijin also got married. Xian, Juan, and others got married as well. The four new maids of He Shuijin, Shan, Jiao, Jie, and Yuan, were named with the same form as her former maids. Shan, the leader of He Shuijin’s four new maids, came over to report, “My madame invites you over for a chat, Madame Qiu!”

“What is it?” He Shuijin had always been a busy person. Especially, now that she had a son and had to guard against her mother-in-law Madame He, she had been even busier this year. This year, she had always asked her trusted subordinates to send word directly and rarely asked Qiu Yelan to go over to meet her. At this moment, Qiu Yelan couldn’t help but guess if something had happened again.

As expected, Shan said softly, “It seems to have something to do with the fact that several young masters from Kui County are escorting Miss Huizhi to Jing City.”

“Counting the days, my eldest brother and eleventh brother have all finished their mourning. Huizhi is also twenty now. It is time for them to return to Jing City together.” Qiu Yelan followed Shan to the third branch. When she saw He Shuijin, she asked, “Is there any change in this matter… That needs to be discussed?”

He Shuijin looked at the servants around her. When all of them left, she said, “If it were just the grandchildren of the first branch coming back with their great-grandchildren, there would be nothing. But this time, there are people from the second branch and the fifth branch coming along.”

“Oh?” Qiu Yelan was slightly surprised, “These two branches are not going to be officials, aren’t they? Do they come to Jing City just for a visit…?”

“It would be nice if it were so! But think about it, although Kui County is much richer than before because of our Jiang Family. No matter how rich it is, can it be compared to Jing City?” He Shuijin plucked the tea bowl in front of her and said seriously, “Even if they really come here to open their eyes when they see this flowery world, can they really hold on to it and not stay? We all know very well how our grandfather treats our eldest grand uncle’s family! It was our eldest grand uncle’s wish that the second branch and the fifth branch should not be allowed to be officials. But now our eldest grand uncle passed away, he did not leave the second branch and the fifth branch with the words that they would not be allowed to be officials in the future. If these two branches begged grandfather, do you think our grandfather would be soft-hearted?”

“Besides, even if they didn’t mention being officials and just stayed in Jing City for having fun…”

He Shuijin put her hand out, “I’m not that petty. However, my sister-in-law, you know that there are a lot of people in our family who only spend money and don’t care about earning it! Your fourteenth brother-in-law is one of them! Although I have some experience in managing properties, I don’t have the skills to turn stones into gold. I can maintain the current situation. But if there are a few more who waste money, I can’t make it!”

“Our third branch is managing the property of the Marquess’s Mansion nowadays. But to put it bluntly, in the future, when the family is divided, your fourth branch and the eighth uncle’s branch are rightfully entitled to share the wealth while the other branches have no reason to do so. The first branch has been living with grandfather for decades. It is just acceptable to provide them with food, clothing, and housing. But if the second branch and the fifth branch also make the Marquess’s Mansion feel being taken for a ride, then…”

Obviously, He Shuijin didn’t welcome the second branch and the fifth branch to Jing City at all!

After all, the estate she now presided over would have to be divided into four in the future, with the third branch taking two shares and the fourth branch and the eighth branch each taking one share. That was to say, without taking into account the gifts Marquess Qin would make to his nephews on his deathbed, half of the assets that He Shuijin was now worrying about would be for the fourth branch and the eighth branch.

Even if the third branch, as the eldest branch, could take two shares. However, Jiang Yaheng was not the only male heir of the third branch. The third branch’s estate had to be divided into four shares, with the dead Jiang Yaqing’s branch taking two shares, and Jiang Yayi and Jiang Yaheng each taking one share. Even if Jiang Yaheng could get a larger share, considering that for many years it was He Shuijin who presided over them, it might not be more than Jiang Yaqing’s share!

And in this case, she had to supply some outsiders. It made sense that He Shuijin would be resentful. Who wanted their hard-earned possessions to be squandered by someone who came out of nowhere without wincing?

“And that’s just in terms of family assets. In terms of the political pie, the second branch and the fifth branch are unlikely to be in high positions at the moment. But what about the future? Even though Marquess Qin may still be alive for a few years. The second branch and the fifth branch are always members of Kui Xiannan’s branch. Previously, Kui Xiannan did not allow the second branch and the fifth branch to be officials because he did not want to encroach too much on the interests of his nephews and also to appease Jiang Tianao’s grievances. How is it possible that the second branch and the fifth branch have followed the first branch back to Jing City without the permission of the first branch?”

It occurred to Qiu Yelan in a flash, “The first branch is not someone who will remember brotherhood. They must be doing this for a reason. Could it be because Jiang Yayue has passed away and there are not enough trustworthy people and so they are planning to get help from the second branch and the fifth branch?”

From the point of Marquess Qin, the head of the Jiang Family, he didn’t like Madame Han. But the second branch and the fifth branch born by Madame Han were also the bloodline of Kui Xiannan in the end. When Jiang Tianao and Jiang Tianyuan were wronged, Old Master Tianju and Old Master Tianjun were still young. They were not at the age so that they were not abetted by their mother to bully their half-siblings. So, Marquess Qin’s feelings towards these two nephews were not bad.

Besides, the two branches had been in Kui County for decades. No matter how prominent the Jiang Family was in Jing City, they could only keep their old father as a country squire in their hometown. They were totally paying the price for their mother. As such, Marquess Qin would have some pity for them.

In terms of the second branch and the fifth branch themselves, they were not allowed to be officials. No matter how well they did in their study, they were not allowed to enter Jing City for the imperial examination. They were artificially limited as Juren. Even if the ban on their being officials was removed, it was hard for them to develop overnight. As they had spent many years in Kui County, they never got along with their relatives from the two branches of Marquess Qin and Sir Jibei, nor did they have much affection for each other.

In contrast, despite the feud between the first branch and them, their bloodlines were closer. And their sons and daughters of the same family had many contacts. If they wanted to be officials, who else could they follow except for the first branch?

“I really didn’t expect Jiang Tianao to choose this way after his old father passed away. What he did is also tantamount to a magnanimous gesture in front of Marquess Qin.” Qiu Yelan pursed the corners of her lips and said in a slow voice, “It’s just that when they say they’re coming, we can’t say we don’t want them to come, can we?”

“The people who are in mourning in Kui County, except for the married daughters, have all come. The family of our fourth brother born to our second uncle and the family of our fifth brother born to our fifth uncle are also included.” He Shuijin took a sip of tea, “Our fourth brother was Juren. Not to mention his daughters, his only son Jingmu is just eleven years old. When he comes here, do you think he won’t have a try in the imperial examination in spring? And if he doesn’t pass, he will probably try again. I have made inquiries. The way our fourth brother acts…”

She threw up her hands, “It’s somewhat similar to that of our eighth brother.”

Well, without any other words, Qiu Yelan already knew the character of this fourth brother whom she has never met.

“No offense. But my sister-in-law, as who he is, even if our eighth brother passed, do you think he is willing to leave Jing City for being an official?”

Of course not. Jiang Yadan had accompanied Jiang Qizheng to Shazhou, which was already his only advantage that he valued his siblings. And at that time, Jiang Yadan thought that he could return to Jing City soon after a short trip to Shazhou. He never intended to stay there for long. If it were for any other matter that he was asked to leave the bustling Jing City, perhaps he would rather be killed.

“At this age, Jingmu is at the right time to study. Our fourth brother can use him as an excuse. He can say that he is worried if he doesn’t take the kid with him when being an official outside. However, if he takes him, he is afraid that it will be bad for his study because there aren’t as many scholars outside as in Jing City!”

So, when the family of the Fourth Young Master Jiang Jingzhao came there, it was nearly impossible to make him go unless he himself was willing to leave.

“And when it comes to our fifth brother, he doesn’t have many children either. He just has two sons. You also know the news that after Jingzhan’s death, his wife, Madame Jin Junior, hanged herself and died for her husband.”

“Nowadays, there are only our fifth brother, his wife, and his youngest son Jingman in his family. Jingman is only thirteen, two years older than Jingmu!”

“Our fifth brother is not interested in studying. But I have heard that he is quite good at pleasure. When he was in Kui County, he alone spent more than 100 gold a day! That’s because Kui County is just a county and its prosperity is limited! When he comes to Jing City, I really don’t know how much money he will spend.”

He Shuijin said, “It is said that the son takes after his father. Jingzhan did the same thing as our fifth brother when he was alive. Jingman is still young. But I think he should be similar to his father and brother, right? If that were true, what should we do with our life?”

Qiu Yelan knew that the Marquess’s Mansion could afford the squandering like this. But why was that?

She couldn’t help but frown, “Aren’t they planning to bring any money to Jing City themselves?”

After the rise of the Jiang Family, the branches in Jing City grabbed countless amounts while the other branches in Kui county got in on that and raked in a lot of money as well. How else would Jiang Yawan be able to spend a hundred gold a day on himself?

“The first branch has been using the public accounts of our Marquess’s Mansion to afford their daily use. It is said that our grandmother Madame Dou started it during her lifetime.” He Shuijin sneered, “Having them as an example, do you think the second branch and the fifth branch, who are brought to Jing City by them, will not take advantage of this? In their eyes, they have been suffering in the countryside! Now that they’ve come to Jing City, it’s only right that we spoil them!”

“When they pay their respects to our grandfather, he will, in all likelihood, keep them in the mansion…”

After living in the mansion, if they asked for things and said nothing about paying money, how could He Shuijin ask them for money as Marquess Qin was there?

Qiu Yelan rubbed her forehead and mused, “Well, my sister-in-law, why don’t you say that there is a problem with the accounts and reduce the expenses of all the people in the mansion, except for grandparents? When the two families come, we can treat them with the standard that we have reduced. And then they will have no reason to say they are treated badly. For the rest of the expenses, you can pretend to be confused and let them find their own way, can’t you?”

It seemed like the only way to go. They couldn’t just kick them out, could they?