Mrs. Du heard the old lady's words, which were clearly meant to be sarcastic, and secretly rejoiced in her heart. After a moment of silence, she spoke in a low voice: "Mother, today our daughter-in-law also came from Mrs. Yang, the wife of the imperial censor. She said that outside people are talking about what happened the other day, and it's not being spoken of kindly."

  The old lady became increasingly unhappy, heavily putting down the tea bowl in her hand, saying: "Hasn't it been made clear already? It's just a servant being mischievous, and what was thrown away wasn't even an imperial object. The things have all been retrieved and are being offered up. The Emperor didn't say anything, but the Imperial Censorate has something to say?"

  The old lady was quite angry about this matter. The thing was that she had called someone to maintain her unyielding image, but she hadn't expected there to be a gift inside, nor had she expected that after her words were sent out, it wouldn't be like usual when similar things happened and people would superficially agree with her while actually putting the seemingly improper matter on hold until she calmed down before reporting back. But instead, it was really thrown away!

  She never thought that there would be such a daring and presumptuous slave, who would take advantage of the situation to embezzle and privately occupy the imperial gifts and valuable things. Fortunately, this happened, so she could find a scapegoat, but mainly it was because of the emperor's old affection, turning a blind eye and sparing the Duke's mansion, otherwise, she would have had to enter the palace to apologize, which would have been even more humiliating. She also resented Madame Du for taking advantage of this opportunity to plot against Jiang Changyang through her hands. But what she hated most was Jiang Changyang, this small-minded, evil and poisonous person, who not only didn't tell her that there were imperial gifts inside but also provoked her into saying those words, with a sinister heart, truly detestable! Indeed, a wicked woman!

  Mrs. Du knew that Old Mrs. was most resentful and annoyed with Jiang Changyang at this moment, and she couldn't help but suspect and wonder about herself in her heart. However, since it was something she had said herself, she couldn't find a reason to blame herself. Therefore, she refused to say anything bad about Jiang Changyang, only carefully saying: "It's not that serious, people's words are scary, how many people in the imperial court envy the Duke's favor? If we let these rumors spread and intensify, it's really not good. We can endure some grievances and suffer a bit, but what I'm afraid of is that Big Brother will believe these rumors, think that we intentionally framed him, harbor resentment, and become even more estranged from us, that would be terrible."

  The old lady sneered: "He has long been resentful of us, and it's not just this point. I don't know how this rumor got out."

  Mrs. Du said in a low voice, "The eldest son's temperament is naturally stubborn, and it's not good to let things slide like this, or outsiders will laugh at us, and some misunderstandings need to be clarified so as not to let people take advantage of the situation. If we let people say that our mansion is infighting, never mind the eldest son, even if it affects the Duke, Zhong'er, Yi'er, and Yunqing, it's not good. Besides, blood is thicker than water, and he has cleared up misunderstandings and helped the mansion a bit, which is better than relying on outsiders."

  The old lady pondered for a moment, glanced at her sideways and said, "Then what do you think should be done?"

  Mrs. Du said, "Niangniang thinks that this matter was originally our family's business, but because it involved the imperial gift, it became a big deal. Since it has become a big deal, we can't resolve it privately anymore. We have to solve it nicely and beautifully in front of everyone, so that people won't be able to find anything to say."

  The old lady nodded: "How to solve it?"

  "Let's have a family banquet and invite many people, including the closest friends from the government and the elderly from our clan. Let Da Lang come, I will apologize to him in front of everyone." Madam Du saw Old Madam's face sink, and hastily said: "It was my fault for not managing the household well, allowing these slaves to take advantage of us and cause this scandal, I should be the one apologizing."

  Mrs. Du took the blame as soon as she realized her mistake, and this matter had nothing to do with Old Mrs. anymore. She was still a kind, gentle, fair, and strict old lady. With such a good daughter-in-law, Old Mrs. felt very relieved in her heart, and her expression softened. She said gratefully: "Good child, you're the one who's been wronged, letting others take advantage of you. It's clear that he had ill intentions and didn't care about family ties. He should be punished! But for the sake of the Guo Gong Fu, you still have to apologize and make amends to him. It's really unfair to you. This matter was also caused by my momentary thoughtlessness... I'm getting old, otherwise, I would definitely go to see the Emperor and explain the truth..."

  It's all just nonsense, after all. Madam Du knew that the old lady's virtues were not important, and the interests of the Guo Gong Fu came first. What she did and said at home was one thing, but if she went out, unless absolutely necessary, she would never give up her dignity or scold Jiang Changyang in front of outsiders. Madam Du smiled coldly to herself, and gratefully said: "Mother treats me like a biological daughter, we are a family, there's no need to mention scheming, punishment, or grievances, as long as the family is harmonious and prosperous, that's all that matters." She appropriately mentioned Jiang Changzhong: "Zhong'er is not filial, Yi'er is weak, I'm ashamed. In the future, the hope of the Guo Gong Fu will depend on Da Lang, as long as he calms down, puts the Guo Gong Fu first, and takes care of his younger siblings, what's the harm in me apologizing to him? Besides... " Madam Du's eyes reddened slightly, "I was the one who wronged them."

  The old lady's expression was still good before, but when she heard the words behind her, she immediately raised an eyebrow: "Who owes them? If you want to say who owes him, it is he who is selfish and self-interested, with a heart full of jealousy and only thinking of himself, without any consideration for his parents, family, or husband. What's this about the future of the Guo Gong Fu relying on him? It's still too early to talk about these things now. With behavior like this, even if he is currently favored by the Emperor, one day he will be seen through and his glory won't last long. Aren't Zhong Er and Yi Er good enough? Don't cheat the old man with a white beard, but don't cheat young poor men either. Didn't Zhong Er go to the army for training? After a few years, he'll definitely make something of himself! And as for Yi Er, everyone has their strengths and weaknesses, since you love him, don't listen to his father's words anymore, don't force him to practice riding and shooting, find him a good teacher, let him study hard, next spring let him take the exam! In the future, they'll have each other's backs, how can that be worse than others?

  Mrs. Du had been listening with a mixture of emotions, her heart growing heavier as the conversation went on, but her smile only grew brighter: "Mother's orders are to be obeyed. I was just thinking of discussing this matter with you, actually, I've long heard that the Western teacher hired by my brother's family is quite good, and I had planned to have Yi'er become his apprentice, but when I mentioned it to Guo Gongye once, he ignored me, so I didn't dare bring it up with Mother again."

  The old lady sighed: "You're good in every way, but you're not obedient! This is a big deal, you should have discussed it with me earlier! Your brother invited a Western teacher for his own child, and it's unlikely to be bad, besides being a close relative, knowing the roots and the bottom, I'm at ease, not afraid that the child will be bullied or led astray. I agree! When he comes back, if there's anything, let him come directly to me! You prepare the gift for Yier tomorrow and send it over." She thought for a moment, then called Hong'er: "Go open my trunk and take out two old ginseng, send them to the child's aunt."

  Mrs. Du hastily said: "Mother needn't, I'll take care of the preparations."

  "This is my intention." The old lady said with a smile: "Because of the thick and strange temper, you have not gone out for many years. Suddenly, something happened and you went to ask someone. It's already very rude. If I'm not more polite here, it's hard for you to do."

  Du's wife's nostrils suddenly turned sour, her eyes reddened slightly, and she lowered her head in silence.

  The old lady saw her daughter-in-law's wronged yet tolerant demeanor and couldn't help but think that if Wang had half of Du's cleverness, things wouldn't have ended up like this. She softly sighed: "These years have indeed been hard on you, but when you married into our household, you should have known what the situation was like. Thick virtue walks a thin line... You can rest assured, no matter what happens in the future, I won't treat Zhong'er poorly."

  Madam Du sniffled, lifted her head and said sincerely: "Mother, please don't say such things. Since I married into the Jiang family, I have been a Jiang family daughter-in-law, and everything should prioritize the Jiang family."

  The old lady nodded in approval: "You have a lot on your plate, go ahead and attend to it, no need to keep me company."

  Mrs. Du, however, did not leave and instead accompanied the old lady to discuss the family banquet for a while. Seeing that the old lady was tired, she finally retreated and went out of the courtyard gate, then whispered to Bai Xiang: "Go ask, why did the old lady suddenly remember Mr. Gong's examination?"

  Bai Xiang left with the order, and Madame Du returned to her daily routine in the side hall, calmly instructing people to prepare a heavy gift for Jiang Changyi. When everything was ready, Bai Xiang also came back: "To report to the madam, I heard that only the last time the old master mentioned it, since the master loves reading so much, why not let him take the exam? No one else has mentioned it again, although the master goes to pay respects to the old lady every day, he always leaves after staying for less than a cup of tea."

  Mrs. Du's face remained unchanged, but she clenched her teeth secretly, it seemed that Jiang Changyang was going to take action! After a long deliberation, she said calmly: "Go and invite the public over."

  After listening to Mrs. Du's words, Jiang Changyi stared at Mrs. Du foolishly and didn't speak.

  Mrs. Du smiled and said: "Hey, are you stupid? Don't you want to go?"

  "No, no." Jiang Changyi excitedly rubbed his hands and said in a flustered tone: "I'm just afraid that I won't be able to keep up with my older brothers' progress and bring shame to Mother." Then he suddenly slapped his own head and kowtowed to Madame Du, calling out: "Mother!" before becoming choked with emotion and unable to speak.

  Madam Du did not tell him to get up, but instead solemnly accepted his courtesy and said: "Listen well, since you've gone, it's no longer just your own personal matter, but also represents the face of the Guo Gong Fu, and also represents my face. I don't ask you to be successful, but you must not lose the way of being a gentleman."

  Jiang Changyi shed tears and said: "Son obediently follows mother's teachings. Son knows that he has no talent, cannot bring glory to the family, but son will definitely be a good person, absolutely not disappointing mother's painstaking efforts and care for him."

  "Alright, remember what you said today, don't disappoint me, go."

  Jiang Changyi gave her a deep bow, then stood up and exited. Madame Du watched him leave with an expressionless face, picked up the tea that had gone cold and drank it all in one gulp.