As the Ghost Festival approached, the weather was still stuffy.
The maids standing in the room gently waved large feather fans, fanning the cool air from the ice basins around, making the room cool and pleasant.
But Yuxiu put down her pen again and looked toward another room.
"What's the matter?" Yunxiu asked.
This was the fourth time today that Yuxiu had been distracted.
She, who was always calm and composed, had never been like this before.
"Who exactly is the guest grandmother is meeting?" Yuxiu remarked, "Grandmother seems..."
Yunxiu quickly looked inside, seeing Old Lady Fang resting on the other side, leaning against the beauty chair, supposedly taking a nap but with her eyes open.
Grandmother seemed a bit out of it these past couple of days.
"Is she unhappy?" she asked in a low voice.
Yuxiu shook her head.
"It's a mix of joy and sorrow," she said, "more of a sense of longing. This guest must be an old acquaintance."
She was speaking softly when she saw Old Lady Fang sitting up on the other side.
"Someone come," she called out, "bring Manager Gao here."
Yuxiu nodded.
"It seems grandmother has made a decision," she said.
Yunxiu looked puzzled.
"What decision?" she asked.
........
"Madam, madam."
Concubine Yuan hurriedly rushed in, leaning close to Lady Fang's ear before she had even looked up.
Lady Fang raised her hand to push her away.
"Why are you being so sneaky?" she said, irritated, "Speak properly."
Concubine Yuan showed no sign of embarrassment or anger, remaining anxious.
"Old Lady Fang is going to open the Tianzi vault," she whispered, "She just summoned Manager Gao."
Lady Fang was startled and stood up.
Like all powerful merchant families, the Fang Mansion also had a silver vault. Rumors outside said that the entire Fang Mansion was full of vaults filled with mountains of gold and silver.
This kind of talk was, of course, exaggerated, but the Fang Family did indeed have several silver vaults, and the Tianzi vault was the most mysterious one.
Lady Fang had been married into the family for more than a decade, knowing there were three vaults named Heaven, Earth, and Man. She had been in the Earth and Man vaults, but she didn't even know where the entrance to the Tianzi vault was.
The silver in the vault was tied to the exchange notes and account books of the money business. Opening the vault meant opening the accounts, so the money business had to be set in motion as well.
"Old Lady Fang said years ago that the Tianzi vault is the foundation of the Fang Family and would never be opened unless times were at their hardest," Lady Fang said with a look of astonished uncertainty, "Could it be that the Fang Family business has reached its hardest times?"
"Impossible," Concubine Yuan said, "We've all seen the business; there's not a single problem."
Lady Fang clenched her hands.
"Then it must have something to do with that businessman," she said, "Maybe he wants to cash out, and his silver is stored there."
Opening a silver vault was not really a major event.
Lady Fang sat back down, feeling too tense from what Chengyu had said.
"Let's go check later. Opening the vault can be quite troublesome," she said, "The most important thing is to strengthen security to ensure there are no lapses with people coming and going during the transport of silver."
Indeed, perhaps hidden enemies were just waiting for chaos to erupt.
Concubine Yuan responded affirmatively, agreeing that Old Lady Fang's safety was paramount, the silver didn't matter as much.
.........
The news that Old Lady Fang was opening the vault was conveyed to Fang Chengyu at the same time by Concubine Yuan.
Fang Chengyu, like Lady Fang, was surprised,
"This actually isn't anything major. In our family, there are many businesses with long-term collaborations, but inevitably some partners pull back halfway and wish to withdraw all their silver," the attendant whispered, "The opening of the vault is a regular occurrence."
"At this very moment, what is most common is often what must be most vigilantly regarded," Fang Chengyu noted, clutching a simple message in his hand.
For the quickest transmission of news, the content is very brief.
A businessman came, and Old Lady Fang met him personally; then she was going to open the Tianzi vault.
For a family engaged in business, this really wasn't a major event.
But the Fang Family wasn't just any business family, and their dealings weren't as simple as just managing a money business.
"Besides the imperial decree, there's something else in there," Fang Chengyu said, looking at the attendant, "Speed up the return to Yangcheng."
Even faster?
This was already the fastest pace.
The attendant lowered his head and responded affirmatively.
And this news was not only sent to Fang Chengyu; it was also sent to Jiuling Hall in the capital on Fang Chengyu's instruction, so that any message meant for him must also go to Jiuling Hall.
"The items in the silver vault can't be moved," Miss Jun said, pressing the note onto the table, "The secrets of the Fang Family are the foundation of the Fang Family and certainly lie within the silver vault."
"What should we do then?" Jinxiu asked, "Even if we disregard the distance, upon rushing back, will Old Lady Fang listen? She knows things we do not, and your claims of danger have no evidence, all are just conjectures. How would she believe us?"
This indeed was a problem.
She couldn't even articulate what the danger was, let alone specify who posed the threat. Yuan Bao was nowhere to be found, and Old Lady Fang seemed utterly indifferent to the eunuch's presence.
Which meant that the secret of Old Lady Fang included the eunuch.
She couldn't just claim it was intuition.
Though her intuition was indeed correct.
Miss Jun remained silent.
"Old Lady is quite stubborn," Jinxiu remarked, "Back then, those families came to seek marriage, using insulting words, scheming over our dowry, suggesting that since there were no sons, all should just go to the daughters."
She seldom spoke of the past and smiled as she told it.
"Grandmother just said, then why do we need to marry the daughters off? We can invite a husband for our daughters. Our three daughters are like sons, meant to share the inheritance. You covet our family's wealth, then marry into our family and become wives, because we are going to be very selective about our daughters-in-law."
"What did you say?" Miss Jun suddenly interrupted to ask.
Jinxiu acknowledged.
"Wives were mentioned jokingly; Grandmother was shaming them. Inviting a husband was like taking a wife," she explained.
Miss Jun shook her head.
"The sentence before that," she said, "Inheritance?"
Oh, that, Jinxiu nodded.
"Yes, at that time, Little Brother wasn't... so since childhood, we were raised like sons, involved in the family's business, and prepared to invite a husband. As for the family wealth, of course, it could be shared," she explained, then felt a sense of longing.
She realized she remembered all this, remembered it clearly.
The next moment, a hand rest gently on her shoulder.
She came to and looked at a pair of bright eyes in front of her.
"What are you doing?" she asked guardedly, "Don't touch me carelessly. I'm not your little sister Hanqing."
Miss Jun chuckled.
"Would you help me with something as Hanqing would?" she asked.
Jinxiu snorted.
"That depends on what it is. I don't just do anything," she said.
Miss Jun looked at her with a smile.
"I want you to fight for the inheritance from the Fang Family," she said.
Fight for the inheritance? Me?
Jinxiu was stunned.
.........
.........
On the main road, Fang Chengyu's carriage sped along, and to travel quickly, they reduced the number of guards and carried sufficient spare horses.
In the midst of the rush, Fang Chengyu suddenly pulled back the curtain.
"Stop," he commanded.
This command caused panic among everyone as they halted urgently.
"Young Master, is it because you're feeling unwell?" the head guard asked tensely.
Fang Chengyu's face was a bit pale, but his eyes were bright.
"No need to rush now," he said, holding a note in his hand, "Slow down."
What? No rush anymore? Now even slow down?
The guards were bewildered.
What will happen at home then?
Fang Chengyu smiled faintly.
"At home, there are the sisters," he said, spreading his arms, reclining back into the carriage, and exhaling comfortably, "Having sisters is truly a blessing."
......
.....
Putting down the note in her hand, the young Miss sighed.
"What did she say?" Yunxiu asked nervously.
It was unexpected to suddenly receive a letter from Miss Jun, not addressed to Old Lady Fang, but secretly sent to Yuxiu.
Yuxiu turned her hands up.
"Big Sister, do you think I look like a villain?" she asked.
Yunxiu was taken aback.
"What do you mean?" she said, "Did she insult you?"
They hadn't interacted with Jun Zhenzhen for so long; could it be she still remembered their past quarrels?
Yuxiu tossed the note into the incense burner.
"Being a villain must feel quite satisfying," she said, raising her eyebrows.