When Wei Changying returned to Grand Preceptor's mansion, Madam Su asked her about Song Yuwang's condition: “How is the minister of the public doing? Is he alright?”

“Mother, Miracle Doctor Ji said that uncle had overworked himself, so he needs to recuperate for a few days.” Wei Changying left one sentence unsaid. As quoted from Ji Qubing, “It might be something that was troubling him instead of a physical illness.”

Judging by the look of the three Song siblings, it was most probably something to do with Song Yuwang's late wife. She was Wei Changying’s aunt as well as Wei Changying’s father’s sister. It had been many years since she passed away, and Song Yuwang wasn’t someone who could care less about things like this. Hence, he couldn’t let go of his late wife. On top of that, it was common for people from the Song Family in Jiangnan to be very affectionate. Hence, the three siblings were at their wits' end, not to mention Wei Changying who was equally as helpless.

With Song Yuwang's status and power, it was inevitable that some people would look down upon him if he still dwelled on the memory of his late wife. Wei Changying felt that there was no need for her from the younger generation to talk about her elders' love affairs. Besides, it was impossible for all the families outside to be unaware of the painting in Song Yuwang's study.

Madam Su sighed and said, “The minister of the public works hard for our country all day long.” After asking a few more questions, she said, “Shuguang is with me. Since you have returned, I should let him go back with you. But since you oversee family affairs and often must go out for matters like this, I'm worried you don't have much time to take care of him. Why don't you leave him with me instead? I don't want you to let the servants neglect him when you're not paying attention. He is a child and won’t be able to speak up, so no one will know if he is being treated badly.”

Wei Changying was stunned for a moment and realized that her mother-in-law wanted to raise Shen Shuguang in the main hall. Her husband had gone to the frontier for war less than a year after they were married, and he would only return in three years if there were no accidents. Now that she had only one son and was a mother for the first time, she couldn't bear to see him leave her. Although she knew that she would offend her mother-in-law if she did not agree, she subconsciously said, “Shuguang is still young and often makes a fuss. I’m scared his cries would disturb you, Mother.”

Madam Su said, “What does this matter? What kind of child doesn't cry and fuss around? Cangfeng, Cangfeng’s siblings, Shujing, and Shuming all grow up under my care. I feel bad for them when I see them cry. How would I be annoyed at them?”

She implied, “Your sisters-in-law have done a lot of work for the family over the past ten years. Now that you are here, you should take over for them and let them take a break, right? But since you're so young, having to be in charge of all our family affairs will definitely wear you out. I don't think you have the energy to look after Shuguang well. Cangfeng is now far away in Western Liang, and Shuguang who is in Jintong Courtyard only relies on you as his mother. If you don't have the time to take care of him, and he’s neglected or even harmed by your servants, it’ll be too late for you to regret it. Why don't you leave him with me? I'm his biological grandmother. Do you think I won’t take good care of him?”

Wei Changying sighed in her heart and knew that it would be insensitive of her to not say yes, so she said, “Mother, how would I suspect you of not being capable to take good care of Shuguang? Just by looking at Cangfeng’s siblings, I can see how well you are in raising children. It is a blessing for Shuguang to be raised by you. I'm just ashamed as I've never helped you much ever since I married into the family, and now I even have to ask for your help to raise my own child. I’m ashamed!”

Seeing her agree, Madam Su smiled and said kindly, “You gave birth to Shuguang less than a year after you married into the family. Isn't that considered treating me well enough already? Dear child, don't think too much about it. It's only right for me as your mother-in-law to give you a hand. You must be tired from running around all day. Go back and take a rest. You still have family affairs to attend to tomorrow!”

Wei Changying excused herself with a stiff smile.

When she returned to Jintong Courtyard, Mrs. Huang and the others were surprised to see that Shen Shuguang hadn't returned with Wei Changying, so they reminded her, “Madam sent someone to bring little young master to her place shortly after you left. Is he still with her now?”

Wei Changying couldn't help but say sullenly after she entered the house, “Mother said I must not be able to take care of Shuguang as I am so busy with family matters. Hence, she would like to raise Shuguang instead.”

Mrs. Wan’s face showed a hint of disappointment at her words. She was an honest person who wasn’t keen on power. Before Wei Changying married into the family, Mrs. Wan had been in charge of Shen Cangfeng's close attendants. Ever since Wei Changying's arrival, Wei Changying had brought along many of her bridesmaids, especially Mrs. Huang and Mrs. He who were all very capable. Hence, these days Mrs. Wan was always free as if she had been an elder lady supported by her children.

Mrs. Wan was still in her prime, and it was unaccustomed for her who was used to being busy to rest all of a sudden. However, she was too embarrassed to compete with Mrs. Huang and Mrs. He. It wasn’t until the birth of Shen Shuguang that Wei Changying had to be in charge of the family affairs after her confinement in childbirth. Hence, Mrs. Huang and Mrs. He had to give her a helping hand. Hence, Shen Shuguang was taken care of by Mrs. Wan, who showered him with love and care, which made Mrs. Wan’s life fulfilling. Now that Madam Su had taken Shen Shuguang into her care, it was impossible for Mrs. Wan to follow her to the main hall. Hence, she would have to lose her job again.

Mrs. Huang and Mrs. He were not as disappointed as Mrs. Wan. For one thing, they both had things to do. For another, they thought it was not such a bad thing. So they persuaded Wei Changying, “Why are you so sad about it, young madam? Madam had a point. You’ve only taken over half of the family affairs. If first and second young madams were to hand it to you completely, young madam, you’d be much busier than you are now. Little young master is still so young. It would be impossible without someone keeping an eye on him.”

Mrs. Huang added, “Of course, I don’t mean to say that Sister Wan is not careful enough, but little young master is so young, and Sister Wan is so soft-hearted. What if there is a cunning person among the servants who has ill intentions and seizes the opportunity of Sister Wan being a nice person and treats little young master harshly when you aren’t paying attention?”

Mrs. Wan couldn't help but say, “That’s impossible. I always keep an eye on them!”

Mrs. Huang said with a smile, “Sister Wan, of course, there will be no mishaps when you are keeping an eye on them, but you are the only one in the courtyard who can reassure Madam and young madam. You see. I and Sister He have to work for young madam and I can’t be here. There were times when you can't cope with everything alone, right?”

Mrs. Wan thought about the fact that the person who had changed shifts with her was definitely not qualified enough to reassure Madam Su and Wei Changying completely, so she nodded her head.

“That's why it's most appropriate to let Madam raise little young master. All the masters in the household were raised by Madam. Look at them. Which one of them isn’t praised when they go out? You can see that Madam is good at raising boys up.” Mrs. Huang turned to Wei Changying and said, “With Madam personally watching over little young master, you can be at ease and can handle family affairs without any worries. What do you think?”

Wei Changying sighed, “Granny, I understand. It’s just that Shuguang is my only child. I already feel bad to only hold him when I'm free, which is rare. Now that he’s completely shifted to the main hall, I just feel a little reluctant to let go of him.”

Mrs. Huang smiled and said, “It is inevitable for you to feel this way, young madam. But remember he’s just being shifted to the main hall, not to another family. Young madam, don’t you have to go to the main hall to greet Madam every morning? Madam is only raising young master on your behalf. If you want to visit when you’re free, will she stop you?”

Mrs. He also said, “Young madam, you’ve just started to take charge of the family affairs, so it is inevitable to be busy. When you’re familiar with everything, I’m sure you’ll have much more free time. Perhaps Madam will send little young master back to you by then?”

Wei Changying thought to herself that her mother-in-law was so fond of her little grandson that she wanted to keep him in the main hall and raise him. Firstly, Wei Changying could focus entirely on family affairs. Secondly, Madam Su was really fond of her grandson. What if, after raising him for some time, the bond between them grew stronger and stronger? Even if Wei Changying could spare the time to raise Shen Shuguang up herself, her mother-in-law would be unwilling to return him to her.

Now that Shen Shuguang had gone to the main hall and Wei Changying had only just started to be in charge of the family affairs, how long would it take for her to free up herself? She could only sigh and comfort herself, “Mother would never treat Shuguang badly. As long as my son is well, I’ll just deal with it.”

It was a depressing night for her.

The next day when she arrived in the main hall to greet Madam Su, Shen Shuguang was nowhere to be seen. Madam Su instructed Ms. Liu, “Shuming is a little weak in his schoolwork. Perhaps the people around him can't control him and he's playing too much. You should pay more attention to him. After all, children are more important. If you are too busy with family affairs, let Changying help you a little.”

Mrs. Liu apologized immediately, “I’m so sorry. The last time when fourth sister-in-law offered tea, Shuming had been disobedient, and I had lectured him after you went back. I didn't know that he was playing again! Thanks Mother for reminding me. I will definitely teach him well when I go back so that he won't have the chance to slack off again. With a smile on her face, she thanked Wei Changying for sharing her burden with her.

Wei Changying replied humbly and said that she was young and would have to ask her sister-in-law for advice in many areas.

Madam Su was pleased with the harmony and thoughtfulness between them. She knew that Mrs. Liu might not have meant what she said and that her second daughter-in-law, Duanmu Yanyu, might have ill intentions, too. But no fish could be caught when the water was clear. After a few words of encouragement, Mrs. Su dismissed them.

When she left the main room, Duanmu Yanyu said that Miss Shen Shuyue had a cough for the past two days and had an appointment with a doctor who would be arriving soon. Worried, she wanted to go back early to keep an eye on things, so she said goodbye to the two of them and went back home.

Mrs. Liu invited Wei Changying to Xinyi Court so that she could hand over some of the matters at hand to her. On the way, they were chatting, and Mrs. Liu said, “I heard that Shuguang is now being raised by Mother?”

“Yes, I am ashamed to say that ever since I married into the family, I have never helped Mother a lot, let alone being filial. Now I’m bothering her once again instead.” Wei Changying said so, but in her heart she was a little defensive. The eldest grandson, Shen Shuming, had been brought up in the eldest branch, yet his grandparents had never mentioned anything about bringing him up.

This was because Shen Xuan and Madam Su were raising several young children at that time. The twelve-year-old eighth young master, Shen Lianheng, was merely three years older than his eldest nephew, Shen Shuming. There wasn’t a huge age gap between Shen Shuming and Shen Lianheng’s elder siblings when Shen Shuming was born. Hence, Shen Xuan and Madam Su could not spare any more time to raise their grandchildren.

But Shen Shuming, as the eldest grandson, was not personally raised by his grandparents. Instead, his cousin Shen Shuguang was the one appointed by his grandmother to the main hall and raised by her after only a few months. Although Wei Changying did not want to be separated from her son, perhaps Mrs. Liu felt that her son was mistreated.

So Wei Changying added, “This is also because I am not as good as you, sister-in-law. If I were half as capable as you, I don't think Mother would worry about me neglecting Shuguang because of family affairs so that she must give me a hand.”

Mrs. Liu smiled and said, “How can you compare the both of us? At that time, our younger siblings were still young, and I had lesser things to do. I just followed the rules handed down by Mother and did what I was told. Now not only are our siblings older but there are other nieces and nephews, too. The family has grown so large that there are more things to do. If I were in this position, I would be overwhelmed like you.”

Hearing her kind words, Wei Changying was relieved and laughed, “I would not be as good as you even if I were in your shoes. I'm not going to lie. Before I married into the family, my mother always taught me to learn more from you. Even if I can just learn a little from you, my mother would feel relieved.”

Mrs. Liu then raised her sleeve to cover her face and teased, “Oh, third sister-in-law, don't say that. I’m embarrassed! Your mother is from the Song Family in Jiangnan. From your grandmother, Old Madam Song, to your lineal cousin, Song Zaishui, the Song Family has been known for its discipline for generations. Your family is among the best in the gentlefolks. How can I deserve such a compliment from your mother and your grandmother?”

After exchanging a few words, Mrs. Liu took her to the small study where she usually used to deal with matters when they arrived at Xinyi Court. When they reached the porch in front of the small study, the door of the study opened before they did so. Shen Cangli came out with First Granddaughter Miss, Shen Shujing, followed by two servants who had some books in their hands.

Both parties were stunned to bump into each other like this, and Shen Shujing immediately greeted her aunt.

Wei Changying asked her to stand up while she greeted Shen Cangli as well.

Shen Cangli's face was a little pale, and he looked at his sister-in-law before averting his gaze. He clenched his fist against his lips and coughed twice, saying, “Third sister-in-law, there is no need to be formal.”

Mrs. Liu saw his face flushed when he coughed and wanted to say something, but finally, she said, “You are not well these two days. Why are you up? You didn't even put on extra clothes when you came out.”

Shen Cangli explained in a weak voice, “I was bored lying on the couch, so I asked the servants to come and look for some books I had read earlier. The servants couldn't find them, so I asked them to call Shujing. She found some books, but they weren’t the ones I wanted. I didn't know when you would be back, so I just came over myself.”

Shen Shujing hurriedly said, “Mother, it's all my fault. I should’ve reminded Father to add on a robe before leaving his room.”

Since Wei Changying was there, Mrs. Liu didn't say much, “Help your father to go back to his room.”