Never before had the Fourth Prince wanted to hold Lanqin tightly in his arms as much as he did now, and tell her not to worry about these things, just to wear beautiful jewelry every day, eat delicacies, and take good care of herself.

"My lord, I can hear your stomach rumbling. Are you hungry? Shall we have them bring in the food?" Lanqin nestled in the Fourth Prince's arms.

Fourth Master maintained his embrace of Lanqin without changing, and after a long while said, "Don't pawn those jewelry. You can sell the fabrics that don't have the Imperial Household Department's mark. Anyway, you have too many clothes, you can't even wear them all. Tell me how much silver you still need. I'll give it to you. However, I want to make three rules with you: First, you are not allowed to show your face in public. Let a reliable person manage the shop for you. Second, you are not allowed to have any thoughts of selling jewelry again. Third, you are not allowed to hide anything from me. If you encounter any problems, tell me immediately."

Lanqin thought it was something serious, but when she heard Fourth Master say that, she chuckled and nodded at him.

After the servants came in and set the dining table, Niu Baoquan had already prepared the dishes and was waiting to serve them.

That night, the Fourth Prince stayed at Lanqin's place, indulging in passionate lovemaking. Knowing that the Fourth Prince had gone to the South Courtyard again, Lady Nian felt even more determined to deal with Lanqin. Therefore, she hastily ordered Hongqiao to return to Lady Fucha's side and began instigating Lady Fucha to deal with Lanqin. Lady Fucha, naturally, deeply resented Lanqin for switching her fertility-enhancing soup, and she had already begun to devise a plan, but hadn't yet come up with a good one.

Lanqin was unaware that she had once again become the "public enemy" of those women; she was only busy preparing for the expansion of her branch. The Fourth Master actually gave her 50,000 taels of silver notes, and with her own stock of expensive fabrics, she sold them all at once, earning another 6,000 or 7,000 taels of silver. Lanqin suddenly felt like a rich woman, with 50,000 or 60,000 taels of silver at her disposal. Her ambition soared, and she decided to go all out.

She first chose a day, took her two maids, but left none of her children behind, and went back to her parents' home.

Lingzhu wasn't in the manor; he hadn't returned yet. Shi Shi came to greet Lanqin. Although Anjia's leg had healed, Shi Shi didn't let her move around much and she was still resting in her room.

"Sister-in-law, Mother is so grateful for your care. Let's go see Mother first!" Lanqin said.

“Taking care of my mother is my duty, there’s no need for you to thank me, Consort.” Shi was very respectful to Lanqin. She felt that this sister-in-law was very fortunate, unlike others.

"Sister-in-law, how many of our younger brothers are there now, and how old are they?" Lanqin asked as they walked.

“There are still three in the family. Yang’s eldest son has never had a proper job. He just stays at home. He got married, and Father gave them a separate courtyard to live in, but they make a ruckus. Alas, it’s a real misfortune for the family. Ma and Liu’s sons are sixteen and thirteen years old, respectively. Alas, they are both of marriageable age, which is making Father so worried that his hair has turned white,” said Shi.

Lanqin inwardly cursed Lingzhu. He was the one who gave birth to her child, yet she couldn't control him! This was how a large family was dragged down by so many offspring!

Anjia looked much better, and when she saw Lanqin return, she was so happy that she kept talking to her!

Lanqin didn't want to hide it from Anjia, so she vaguely conveyed her thoughts to her. Anjia and Shi were the last people who wanted to get involved, but they had no choice but to continue living like this.

“Lanqin, you don’t know what kind of temper they have. If they were to work at your shop, they wouldn’t do their jobs properly and would only cause you trouble!” Anjia said.

Shi Shi genuinely hoped that Lanqin could find jobs for her younger brothers-in-law, so they wouldn't just stay at home doing nothing. Now that Anjia Shi no longer managed the household, the power of household management had essentially been handed over to Shi Shi. She was now in charge of the entire family's food, clothing, and shelter. She knew everything about the concubines and their children. However, being a junior, there were some things she couldn't discuss with Lingzhu. For example, Yang Shi's eldest son, Qiu Gui, was almost thirty years old and still didn't have a proper job, just eating and drinking. That wasn't all; not only was he lazy and gluttonous, but he was also extremely lecherous. Even after getting married, he still had improper relations with the maids. Not long ago, he had slept with one of the maids, and the maid, unable to accept it, hanged herself. The maid's family came to make trouble, demanding two thousand taels of silver from Qiu Gui, or they would take him to the authorities. When Lingzhu learned of this, he was furious and had Qiu Gui tied up and severely beaten. But after he hit him, they still had to clean up his mess, and not wanting him to get into legal trouble, they had no choice but to agree to pay him money to settle the matter.

"Alas. What a tragedy! Such a fine girl, ruined by him, driven to suicide. And your father has to pay for it!" Anjia sighed as she spoke.

"When did this happen?" Lanqin was shocked; she hadn't heard a thing about it.

“Why should I tell you! It’s something that will happen after the New Year. Your father was so angry he almost fainted!” said Anjia.

Seeing that Anjia's expression was not good, Shi immediately said, "Mother, my aunt has finally returned, please don't tell her these things!"

"No, sister-in-law, don't hide these things from me! What else?" Lanqin frowned.

Anjia sighed, nodded to Shi, and gestured for her to speak.

“Little aunt, we want to separate the family, but Father won’t allow it! Mother argued with Father about this!” Shi said.

"I'm just so angry! I'm so old, and I still have to raise his illegitimate children. It's never going to end!" Anjia said, her face ashen.

Lanqin didn't care whether someone was born out of wedlock or legitimate, but she couldn't stand those noble children who were raised to be fat and bloated, unaware of their own struggles, who ultimately became like termites, hollowing out a towering tree.

“Mother! I support you! Separate the family!” Lanqin said.

Shi and Anjia were overjoyed. With Lanqin's support, Lingzhu's attitude might soften! After all, after what happened last time, Lingzhu knew that it was only because of Lanqin's connection that the Fourth Prince helped him like that! Otherwise, he, a fourth-rank official, might not have been able to keep his position!

“Qin’er, if you support it, your father will have agreed to it more than halfway!” said Madam Anjia.

“But Mother, we can’t deny them a way to live. We have to give them a way to live. If they don’t want to live well, then it’s none of our business! Father won’t blame you then!” Lanqin said.

“My sister-in-law is right!” said Madam Shi.