After serving his grandson, he served his grandfather. Wei Da's neck stiffened and cracked, and the veins on his thin arms slowly showed: "What a fucking bastard! He wants to seize my power. We're all doomed!"
...
When the concubine from Xingning Courtyard came to seek refuge, the old man enjoyed himself to the pleasure quarters, only then remembering his eldest grandson, whose tragic and unfortunate fate had been sealed.
He has been focusing his energy on raising his second grandson lately and has paid less attention to matters at Xingning Courtyard.
Now that even his own concubine has been sent over, Changsun couldn't live with himself, so he sent his steward to warn the servants of Xingning Courtyard to send Changsun many fine gifts.
Upon receiving the gift from the old man, Wei Da was overwhelmed with gratitude and wept uncontrollably.
The more destitute the eldest son becomes, the more it highlights the current brilliance and splendor of the second wife.
...
Autumn goes, winter comes.
Yu Zhi counted on her fingers the number of months she had been a concubine in the Jingzhe Courtyard.
Three months have passed, half of the 'half a year' that Jinshi Yinding mentioned.
She sighed repeatedly, looking dejected.
"It's starting to commotion! It's starting to commotion! Auntie, the eldest young master and the second young master are fighting!"
Yin Ding rushed in: "What a scandalous affair! The second young master was caught having an affair with his eldest sister-in-law by the eldest young master! The eldest young master is now chasing the second young master all over the courtyard with his sword, stabbing him several times in that spot. The old master was so angry that he vomited blood! The Marquis said he's going to kill the eldest young master!"
She rattled off a long string of words: "Auntie, aren't you surprised? This matter will soon become common knowledge, and the Wei family will have completely lost face!"
As early as when the Fourth Miss said that the desolate Wei mansion needed to see some bloodshed, Yu Zhi had already foreseen the current chaos.
She was now absolutely certain that the scheme was set up by the Fourth Miss.
The purpose was to get rid of the two young masters.
Using the pretext of cutting off their lifeline, the Sun family and Sun clan were dragged into the mess, leading to a series of troubles that caused the eldest and second branches of the family to fight each other, and even severing the kinship between the two branches.
With such a scandal, the eldest son's divorce from Madam Sun is now a foregone conclusion, and the Wei and Sun families have become enemies.
A woman as proud as Mrs. Li would surely be furious to learn that her husband was having an affair with her elder sister-in-law.
Madam Li was furious, and naturally the Li family wouldn't give the second young master a kind look.
The two elder brothers became eunuchs by mistake. Would the third branch of the family be willing to watch the second branch's immature child inherit the vast Marquis's mansion?
One stone stirs up a thousand ripples, each link connected to the next; it is truly ingenious.
The eldest, second, and third wives were vying for power, while the fourth young lady remained calm and collected, reaping the benefits without lifting a finger.
Such deep cunning.
What a vicious scheme.
What a clean-cut, detached fourth young lady she is.
"What, scared?"
Wei Pingxi came out of the house carrying her zither: "Being afraid is useless. I'm not tired of you yet. You are still my concubine."
Yu Zhi walked up to her and placed a kiss on her forehead: "I'm not afraid."
"It's better if you're not afraid. Come, sit down, I'll play the piano for you."
Amidst the commotion of the Wei family home, a burst of piano music soared into the sky; it was still the same piece, "Dancing Beauty."
"You're so bold." Yu Zhi rested her chin on her hand and looked at her with bright eyes: "With the mansion in such a mess, you still have the leisure to play the zither. The old master is so angry that he vomits blood. Now that you're playing the zither, I wonder how the Marquis will scold you."
Let him curse!
If she's unhappy, then nobody else should be happy. If she's uncomfortable, then nobody else should be comfortable.
I died in a daze in my previous life, and the person who poisoned me has never been found. It can only be someone from this mansion. If we can't find out who it is, then we'll just have to endure it.
Nobody will have an easy time.
She plucked the strings of her zither, her inner strength enveloping each note, and the sound of the zither could be heard throughout the entire household.
The sound was astonishing and traveled far.
The situation spiraled out of control, and in an attempt to save his second son, the Marquis of Yiyang mistakenly killed his eldest son.
Young Master Wei died with his eyes wide open in discontent.
Seeing the blood flowing from beneath him, the Second Young Master Wei's eyes rolled back, and he completely fainted.
Chaos is rampant and seems endless.
What does kinship matter when faced with personal gain?
Wei San looked at his nephew, who was wailing loudly, his eyes deep and unfathomable.
People's hearts can change in an instant.
"Ping Xi is playing 'Dancing Beauty' again."
Madam Wei opened the window and listened to the tender and poignant music playing outside.
The sword shadows in the mansion could not harm her, nor could the endless chaos disturb her; but the beautiful woman's dance at that time threw her into disarray.
"That sounds really nice."
Unconsciously, she followed the sound of the zither towards the Jingzhe Courtyard.
The gates of the Jingzhe Courtyard opened, and Madam Wei stepped inside as a light, first snow fell from the sky.
"Your playing of this piece is becoming more and more exquisite."
“Mother.” The music stopped, and Wei Pingxi spoke with a smile.
"Greetings, Mother." Yu Zhi bowed to her in greeting.
"Things have been turbulent in the manor lately, but I hope it hasn't dampened your spirits?"
"No, my daughter is in a very good mood."
Madam Wei was always a caring mother who looked after her daughter. After a moment of contemplation, she suddenly said, "This chaos isn't going to stop anytime soon. Would you like to go for a walk?"
Where to?
"The capital?"
"Go to the capital?" Wei Pingxi asked, his interest piqued. "Is the capital fun? If it is, I'll go; if not, I'll stay home."
"How old are you to still be acting like a child?" Madam Wei carefully straightened her clothes and said softly, "The capital is fun, you can play however you want."
Yuzhi listened intently.
"Zhizhi, do you want to go?"
"Huh? Me?"
"Yes," Wei Pingxi said, beaming. "Want to go to the capital? Have you ever been to the capital?"
I've always wanted to go, but I've never been in either of my two lifetimes combined.
Yu Zhi nodded: "I want to."
"Go if you want to!"
She looked at Madam Wei: "Mother, will Father agree to let us go?"
"Does it matter whether he agrees or not?" Madam Wei asked with a gentle smile.
“Mother is right. The chaos in this mansion won’t stop anytime soon, so going to the capital to take a look seems like a good idea.”
"Then it's settled. I'll go back and prepare."
"Alright, I'll see Mother off."
In front of her mother, the fourth young lady was like a tiger cub who had concealed her sharpness. When she smiled, she was gentle and elegant, not much different from a real fairy.
Yu Zhi stared, mesmerized.
Unbeknownst to them, Madam Wei, a mother herself, was also staring blankly at her daughter.
"Don't bother seeing her off." Madam Wei raised her hand and stroked her daughter's cheek. "Let Zhizhi keep you company."
Wei Pingxi watched her walk away.
After a long while, she turned around.
Yu Zhi lowered her head, lost in thought, a deep resentment bubbling in her chest. She frowned and remained silent.
"What's wrong? I taught those two two-faced beasts a lesson for you, and you're still not happy?"
Yu Zhi thought to herself: This isn't about the Fourth Miss teaching the two young masters a lesson; it's clearly about the Fourth Miss helping her vent her anger.
That's not what she's worried about right now.
But even when asked to specify which one it was, she still felt something was off.
"Your mother is so good to you."
“Of course. That’s my mother. If she doesn’t treat me well, who should?” Wei Pingxi continued playing the zither.
"Do you know the 'Nine-Finger Qin Demon'? I learned to play the qin from her. She asked me to paint a picture for her, and then she taught me how to control the qin."
"Painting?" Yu Zhi glanced at her, her heart filled with mixed feelings: "Is it another nude painting?"
"you guess."
Yu Zhi was too lazy to guess.
She gritted her teeth in anger, then suddenly her mind cleared.
She had an idea.
Something about it felt strange.
When Madam Wei stroked the fourth young lady's face just now, her expression didn't seem like she was looking at her daughter; it was more like...
Looking at her deeply adoring lover?
As she watched Wei Pingxi playing the zither with composure, doubts began to grow in her heart, and all sorts of good and bad guesses filled her mind. She absurdly wanted to ask the Fourth Miss: You wouldn't be having an affair with your mother, would you?
But she didn't dare ask.
She still wanted to live.