Yet this was also an opportunity for the children—whether grandsons or granddaughters. As an elder, Yu Chongshan naturally wished for them all to thrive.
His fourth son was no scholar but had managed the family’s enterprises well. Yu Chongshan had been considering finding him an official post in the coming years.
But if his granddaughter remained ill-mannered, he, as her father, bore responsibility.
If word got out—especially if the Emperor or his colleagues learned that his daughter dared to criticize the "Little Immortal Lord" Yue Fuguang while harboring resentment—no government office would ever take him.
Seething with anger, Yu Chongshan strode toward his study and said to his attendant Yu Dafu, "Dafu, send someone to summon Fourth Master to the study."
A daughter’s misbehavior was the father’s failing. If he couldn’t discipline his granddaughter, he could at least vent his frustration on his own son.
For the sake of his four sons, despite his good health, he had feigned illness to gradually withdraw from court and make way for them. His second son had been stationed away for years, striving for advancement.
Were it not for Yue Fuguang, he would have retired next year, and his second son would have had to endure more years in exile.
Now that the Yu family stood on the brink of glory, he would not tolerate anyone enjoying its privileges while resenting the very person who made it possible.
When Yu Mochun heard his father wanted to see him, he had a fair idea why—and his heart sank with dread.
Meanwhile, Yue Fuguang soon caught wind of the matter. Turning to her maid Lvzhu, she said, "Since the Eighth Young Miss Yu Ningrong scorns the gifts we sent, remember this: from now on, when delivering presents to each household, skip the Hibiscus Courtyard."
After all, sending gifts to Yu Ningrong had merely been a courtesy. Yue Fuguang lacked nothing, so she hadn’t minded the gesture. But if her kindness invited resentment, then she saw no reason to spare the girl’s dignity.
She was not one for magnanimity. She had no interest in forcing sisterly affection where none existed—nor would she pretend otherwise.
Otherwise, she might risk breaking character.
As an "Immortal Lord," she was the one entitled to disdain others. Who dared think themselves worthy of disdaining her?
Still, out of some semblance of "sisterly" duty, she felt obliged to let the family know their upbringing had failed. Their granddaughter would betray the nation, and their grandsons were no better.
It was time to raise the stakes for her so-called siblings.
When a girl misbehaved, the solution wasn’t just to enforce rules—rules weren’t a cure-all potion!
If she lacked sense, then she needed more books.
These people were her nominal blood relatives. If she ever needed labor in the future without dirtying her own hands, her siblings would be her ready-made workforce.
If they weren’t properly trained now, how could they be useful later?
Of course, raising children was the parents’ job. She need only wait to reap the rewards.
Useful ones would be kept; useless ones discarded. After all, it cost her nothing to try.
For some reason, the Yu siblings all felt an inexplicable chill down their spines—especially Yu Ningrong, who was still struggling through her copy of Lessons for Women. Her entire body felt icy.
She hated studying more than anything. Though she was only copying texts, her hand ached after just a few pages!
The thought of enduring such days indefinitely made her future seem darker than the night outside.
Little did she know, Yue Fuguang had already decided to expose her secrets—while conveniently completing a system task.
Well, as her "elder sister," Yue Fuguang still had a shred of "mercy." Out of "family" consideration, she wouldn’t announce it in court!
So the next day, while riding to court in her carriage, Yue Fuguang deliberately struck up a conversation with her system, steering it toward the Fourth Household.
The system chimed in: [Master, that Yu Ningrong actually complained that the gifts you sent her were the same as the others’, as if you were slighting her. What kind of logic is that?]
"Is that so? If she doesn’t appreciate them, then we’ll stop sending any."
[Master, did you know? That Yu Ningrong later married a man she thought was a good match, but he was actually a scheming wolf.
With the Yu family’s connections, her husband—a mere tong jinshi—not only secured a post in the capital but even entered the Ministry of Revenue.
Before the fall of Great Yan, he defected early to the Western Qiang. When they invaded the capital, he offered part of the national treasury as tribute and was rewarded as a "Dragon-Subduing Merit Official."]
"Who exactly did she marry? If he defected early, does that mean he’s already involved with the Western Qiang now?"
This was precisely what the Yu father and sons outside the carriage wanted to know. Though the man Yu Ningrong would marry was still young, now that they were aware, they had to take precautions.
Naturally, they would never let her marry such a man again.
[Yu Ningrong’s future in-laws were a military family. The father, Qu Tong, was a qianzong now but would later become a garrison commander. She married his fifth son, Qu Wenxin, a concubine-born child.
This future Commander Qu divided his resources among his three legitimate sons. The bastards either entered the military at the lowest ranks or studied for the imperial exams.
Qu Wenxin, Yu Ningrong’s husband-to-be, passed the tong jinshi exams nine years later—barely scraping by as the last-ranked candidate in the grace period after the new emperor’s ascension.]
"Sounds like he had some luck, barely passing by the skin of his teeth."
It was like those students who barely avoided failing with a sixty on their finals.
[Exactly. His scholarly merit was mediocre—half his success was pure luck. His ties to the Western Qiang came from his uncanny resemblance to someone.]
"Who? Someone from the Western Qiang?" Yue Fuguang played the perfect straight man.
[Qu Wenxin looked strikingly like his great-uncle—Qu Tong’s maternal uncle. And this uncle was a Western Qiang man. In fact, Qu Tong’s entire lineage had Qiang blood.
His mother had fled to Great Yan, assumed a false identity, and became a concubine to Qu Tong’s father.
Qu Wenxin’s resemblance to his great-uncle He Sheng was so strong that when He Dai—He Sheng’s son—came to the capital three years later to gather intelligence, he recognized Qu Wenxin immediately.
That was how Qu Wenxin learned why his grandmother had always favored him, despite his status as a bastard.]
"How much did Qu Tong know about Qu Wenxin’s collusion with the Western Qiang? Was he involved?"
[Shortly after Qu Wenxin and He Dai reunited, Qu Wenxin introduced him to his grandmother.
Once He Dai and his aunt recognized each other, he returned to the Western Qiang. The following year, when he came back, Qu Tong also learned of this cousin’s existence.
Later, after Emperor Mingxi’s death and the ensuing court faction wars, Qu Tong—persuaded by his mother and son—agreed to act as a Western Qiang spy.
This was less than two years before Great Yan’s fall.
With Qiang silver backing him, Qu Tong bribed his way to a garrison commander’s post while arranging for his son to marry Yu Ningrong—a legitimate daughter of the Yu family’s Fourth Household.
His goal? The Yu family’s influence among the civil officials.]
"And what became of Yu Ningrong? How much did she know?"
[Qu Wenxin kept it well-hidden at first. She remained oblivious until later, when she sensed something amiss and tried hinting to her parents.
To her horror, she discovered her two younger brothers had unwittingly boarded her husband’s treasonous ship. At that point, Yu Ningrong found herself trapped—unable to act without endangering them.]
Later, when Yu Ningrou schemed to seize the Yu family's fortune and the Yu household was on the verge of collapse, she saw no way to salvage the situation and decided to join in the plundering herself.
"If you can't beat 'em, join 'em?" Classic move—typical of her!
