In less than half a day, the news of the Minister of Revenue's demotion spread like wildfire throughout the streets and alleys.

People in restaurants and teahouses were all talking about it, counting how many officials had been demoted.

At the same time, Jiang Jiaojiao's reputation as a jinx spread.

After returning from Wu Taiwei’s residence, the maid who had gone out to buy supplies went to Huo’s courtyard.

"Madam, Minister Jiang has been demoted, and the plaque at his residence has been taken down. There are rumors that Miss Jiang is a jinx."

"We have no connection with Minister Jiang's family, there's no need to make a fuss," Madam Huo said dismissively.

"Madam has forgotten, Miss Jiang almost ended up in our Grand Commandant's mansion. If that marriage had gone through, our Grand Commandant's mansion would have been the one to suffer," the maid kindly reminded her.

Having been living such a comfortable life lately, Mr. Huo had almost forgotten about this matter.

"That's all ancient history, let's not bring it up again."

When Huo heard the rumors, she was so frightened that she didn't dare to go to the old lady's courtyard to pay her respects.

An uninvited guest arrived at Madam Wu's courtyard.

In the flower hall, the eldest princess was dressed in plain clothes, and her face looked much more haggard than before. She picked up the tea lid and gently ran it across the surface of the teacup. The room was so quiet that only the sound of the tea lid clinking against the teacup could be heard.

Finally, Madam Wu could no longer contain herself and coughed lightly, saying, "The deceased is gone, and the situation is settled. Princess, please accept this and take good care of yourself. If your great-aunt is watching from heaven, she would not be able to bear seeing you degrade yourself like this."

When she was young, Madam Wu had to be mindful of the Empress Dowager's feelings quite a bit. Not long after she married Wu Taiwei's father, the Empress Dowager was still the Empress.

When Madam Wu was pregnant with her first child, the palace sent people to her backyard, saying it was to ensure the continuation of the Wu family line. She always held a grudge about this.

The Empress Dowager was domineering and powerful. When she was alive, people would address her as Empress Dowager or, like the younger generation, as "Grandma."

She was respectful but distant towards the Empress Dowager, and of course, she was not close to the eldest princess either.

"Aunt, please stop calling me princess. The Song family's empire is gone, so where is the princess now?"

Madam Wu nodded slightly, indicating her agreement with what she said.

Song Yunzhi didn't look at Madam Wu's expression. She took a sip of tea and said, "Xiao Jingzhao is ruthless. He has purged all the people from the previous dynasty. My cousin's position as Grand Commandant is still secure, which shows that he has won the Emperor's favor."

Madam Wu's face stiffened slightly.

Song Yunzhi's words were loaded with meaning; she was blaming the Wu family for their opportunistic behavior and their sycophancy towards the new emperor.

"Back then, it was the princess who led the officials to welcome the new emperor and personally called for the palace gates to be opened. Our Wu family was merely following the trend." Old Madam Wu's tone was neither warm nor cold, still referring to her as the princess. The name Yunzhi was too intimate for her to use.

Song Yunzhi, being astute as she was, quickly explained, "Yunzhi didn't mean to blame my aunt. I was just going along with the situation when she went to call for the palace gates to be opened, but..."

Song Yunzhi paused and turned her gaze to Old Madam Wu.

Seeing that the old lady did not intend to press the matter, he continued, "My brother's fate is such that he has no one to blame but his concubines in the harem, whose two young children have disappeared without a trace, neither alive nor dead."

Madam Wu frowned slightly. Of course she knew that Song Rui had two young children in his harem; she had even visited the palace for the full-moon celebration.

"With the change of dynasties, the princes left behind are a source of trouble. They are dead and their bodies are nowhere to be found. Perhaps the two children have been adopted. If they can live peacefully and peacefully as ordinary people, it may not be a bad thing."

“No! I want to find them to raise me personally, as a way of giving an account to the ancestors of the Song family.” Song Yunzhi said with deep emotion.

Madam Wu wasn't stupid. She knew Song Yunzhi was regretting her actions. Her ulterior motives were as clear as day.

Madam Wu sneered inwardly and picked up the teacup in front of her without expression.

The host serving tea was a gesture of sending the guest off, but Song Yunzhi seemed not to notice. She glanced sideways at the door and wondered, "Where is my cousin today?"

“Princess, please speak your mind. There have been many matters to attend to in the court lately, so I have exempted them from the morning and evening greetings.”

Old Madam Wu had already spent the time it takes to drink a cup of tea with her. It is said that no one visits the temple without a reason, and Song Yunzhi's visit without cause must not be anything good.

Song Yunzhi thought for a moment and said, "With my cousin's connections in the court, finding those two children shouldn't be difficult."

"Impossible! Guards, show them out!"

"Aunt, you..."

Song Yunzhi was shocked that Old Madam Wu would refuse so readily. She choked on her words and stared at Old Madam Wu for a long time without being able to say a word.

“Princess, please forgive us. The new emperor is the chosen one. The Wu family does not want to follow in the footsteps of the Wei family. We beg you to show mercy and spare the Wu family.”

A maidservant came in and walked to the door.

Madam Wu stood up and prepared to see the guests off with a serious expression.

She was once a noble princess, and she was the one who always gave others the cold shoulder; she never cared about other people's feelings.

She abruptly stood up from the carved nanmu chair, met Old Madam Wu's cold gaze, and said, barely suppressing her anger, "Excuse me."

Before the maidservant could even bow to see the guest off, she rushed out like a whirlwind.

After leaving the flower hall, Song Yunzhi waved to the maids waiting outside: "Return to the manor."

In the flower hall, after the person had gone far away, the maidservant beside Madam Wu sneered and said, "A plucked phoenix is ​​no better than a chicken. She's just a princess from a previous dynasty. What's she doing putting on airs in front of our matriarch?"

Just moments ago she was calling her "aunt" repeatedly, but when she left, she didn't even bother with basic manners.

Madam Wu relaxed, smiled and said, "I didn't give her any face today, so why should she be polite to me? I've wanted to end this marriage for a long time."

If she hadn't refused decisively, Song Yunzhi would have dragged the Wu family into an abyss of no return.

"Go and call the eldest daughter over," said Madam Wu to the maid beside her.

The maidservant obeyed and left.

A moment later, Mr. Huo arrived at the East Courtyard with a food box in hand and a heart full of trepidation.

After the ceremony, Madam Huo stepped forward and opened the food box. "Today, my daughter-in-law had someone from the courtyard go out of the mansion to buy thousand-layer Poria cocos cake. It's easy to digest, Mother, please try it."

Madam Wu took the handkerchief handed to her by the maid, wiped her hands, picked up a piece of pastry, and put it in her mouth.

After finishing a piece of pastry, he nodded and said, "Not bad, soft, chewy and sweet."

"Mother, you can eat a few more while the pastries are fresh, they'll get hard by tomorrow." Madam Huo quietly raised her eyes to observe the old lady's expression, and seeing that the old lady had no unusual expression, she felt relieved.

Madam Wu gestured to the maid to close the food box, and she rubbed her fingers together on the handkerchief.

"Eldest son, you are a filial son and a soft-hearted person, so you are bound to make some foolish mistakes. I called you over here because there is something I want to tell you."

"Mother, are you referring to the female doctor at Jishetang? I understand. Our family won't take that risk. There are so many noble ladies in the capital. Tomorrow, I'll send someone to invite a matchmaker to find good matches for my second and third sons."

Madam Wu shook her head. "I've heard about the Jiang family's affairs. There are many families with the surname Jiang in the world. I think that Jiang Shuyue is a lucky girl. I will ask the official matchmaker to propose marriage."

"Mother, is this not what you're talking about?"

Seeing her eldest daughter-in-law looking at her with clear eyes, Old Madam Wu said directly, "Song Yunzhi has ulterior motives. You are simple-minded. From now on, avoid her when you see her, lest you fall into her trap."