Wei Changying was a bit surprised, asking without thinking, "Is Cangfeng seriously injured?" Although she was worried, seeing her mother-in-law looking calm, she guessed that Madam Su didn't think his injury was serious, so Wei Changying was calm despite being surprised.

Seeing that she hadn't become flustered, Madam Su nodded slightly, thinking that daughters-in-law did need to be trained. When her third daughter-in-law had just become married into the family, she had been innocent and shy. At that time, she heard the people in the Jintong Courtyard privately say that Mrs. Huang and Mrs. He had had to teach her everything personally and give her advice so that she could make things happen. Now she had been in charge of the family for some days, so she was much more experienced. If her daughter-in-law was capable, her son wouldn't need to worry much in the future. This was what Madam Su was very pleased to see, so she didn't think that her daughter-in-law didn't care enough for her son because her daughter-in-law hadn't become distressed.

She deliberately sipped her tea. Seeing Wei Changying looking concerned but holding back from asking again, Madam Su then slowly said, "The person who sent the letter said he wasn't seriously injured but it wasn't a small wound either. Anyway, he is in Western Liang, recovering. Although Cangfeng didn't kill Muxiuer, he hurt Muxiuer a lot. There is infighting within the western tribes. Several of Muxiuer's brothers intend to usurp the throne. Muxiuer's position is in danger."

On hearing her mother-in-law's sudden description of the situation in the western tribes, Wei Changying realized something, asking, "Mother, are you asking me to go to Western Liang?"

"Correct." Madam Su squinted, took a letter out from her sleeve, and gave it to her, saying, "This is a letter to me from the last time when your grandmother wrote to you and your aunt. In fact, the main reason that your family delivered the gifts last time was to bring this letter." She gazed at her daughter-in-law, slowly saying, "It was for me and your father!"

Wei Changying stood respectfully and took the letter to read. She couldn't help but let out a low cry, saying, "Miracle Doctor Ji, he actually...?!"

The letter from Old Madam Song to Madam Su and Shen Xuan was very thick, but there was nothing redundant. She almost came straight to the point.

The first thing was that Ji Qubing had figured out a cure for Wei Zhenghong at the end of last year. Although this famous doctor refused to go to Fengzhou, he still had the hope of going to Western Liang if he could cure Wei Zhenghong. Thus, Old Madam Song had asked the doctor in Fengzhou to write a diagnostic report every once in a while. She then had used the excuse of giving things to her daughter and relatives in the capital to send things to the Ji Family so as to show the diagnosis to Ji Qubing.

This was why there were only a few servants in Ji Qubing's mansion, Ji Qubing never accepted servants given by others and the servants who served him were all Old Madam Song's close servants. This was all done out of the fear that Ji Qubing would be killed because he had been looking for the cure for Wei Zhenghong.

By the end of last year, Ji Qubing finally had enough confidence that he could cure Wei Zhenghong. Due to the misery of his family in the past, the famous doctor had wandered about in a desperate plight and had suffered a lot. So even though he had a bad temper, he was not naive. He knew that with his medical knowledge and the Wei Family's support, the powerful nobles couldn't do anything to him even if he looked down upon them.

However, Wei Zhenghong was a special person and the situation in Ruiyu Hall was complicated. The rise and fall of Ruiyu Hall were directly related to the situation in the Imperial Court. If they suddenly announced that Wei Zhenghong was completely recovered, he might be dead before the person who delivered the good news arrived at Fengzhou.

So Ji Qubing secretly put a special pill in the pills which would be delivered to Fengzhou every year to keep Wei Zhenghong alive. It looked the same as the others but inside of it, there was a little ball made of wax, containing a short message.

When the pills were used, they needed to be dissolved in water first. Therefore, no one could miss the secret of the wax ball inside.

Servants who served Wei Zhenghong were all Old Madam Song's loyal close servants. So how could Old Madam Song not receive the messages?

While Old Madam Song was overjoyed, she certainly understood why Ji Qubing used such a hidden way to inform her. Old Madam Song actually thought farther afield than Ji Qubing. Ji Qubing mainly considered his own life, but the Old Madam immediately thought of the consequences of the recovery of her lineal eldest son. This was a good thing for Ruiyu Hall, and for Wei Huan's first branch, but what about the others?

Therefore, the second thing the Old Madam spoke of was to discuss with her in-laws how to deal with this matter once it was exposed. As the in-laws of Ruiyu Hall, the family of the husband of the lineal granddaughter who was most favored in this generation, the Shen Family, which was already very powerful, must be affected by this matter.

While reading the letter, Wei Changying wondered whether there might be a similar letter for the family of her second aunt's husband, Su Pingzhan, Duke Kangle.

She also wondered whether there was one for the Minister of the Public, her uncle.

She calmed herself down and continued to read, but she could see that the advice Old Madam Song had given to her in-laws was not very clear.

First, tell Ji Qubing that he should just casually announce that he had cured Wei Zhenghong.

Of course, to make the speculation that Wei Xinyong had made about Wei Shengyi stand, the timing of the announcement should be well thought out. Fortunately, Wei Changying had given birth to Shen Shuguang, the lineal grandson of the Shen Family, and it was very normal for the Wei Family, Wei Changying's old family, to send many people over to deliver generous gifts to the capital to congratulate her.

Before these people had returned to Fengzhou, this news "happened" to come out.

Ji Qubing had said these words with great confidence. The news came out very suddenly. Except for people like Wei Shengyi who was involved, being panicked and desperate, the rest had all calmed down after being shocked and so would certainly recognize things that were suspicious.

At that time, the Shen Family had made a big move, sending three sons and nephews, among whom there was Madam Su's favorite youngest son, to Fengzhou in the name of furthering their studies but actually, they were to escort Ji Qubing! For anyone who believed them, they thought they had done that to ensure that their in-laws' family could get the treatment from the Miracle Doctor. However, for those who had doubts, it was so obvious that they wanted to cover up the truth.

Additionally, there was Wei Xinyong who had arrived in the capital before the news. If Wei Zhenghong could completely recover and there was Wei Changfeng in Ruiyu Hall, was Wei Xinyong still needed?

Therefore, things in Ruiyu Hall had become very complicated.

Apart from Ji Qubing and Old Madam Song, no one knew the real story behind this matter, so there were all sorts of speculations. This made people hesitate about making decisions.

Some people believed it while others were suspicious. Thus, whether it was the people who wanted to kill Ji Qubing, who wanted to undermine Ruiyu Hall, or who had other intentions, they all hesitated, had arguments or were afraid. Those who didn't want Wei Zhenghong to recover didn't know whom they should form an alliance with.

Ruiyu Hall had been weak for many years. If all the people united to suppress it, even if Wei Zhenghong immediately recovered, it would be incredibly hard for him to deal with everything and would slow down the revival of Ruiyu Hall. For the weak ones, sometimes if the situation was not that clear, it would be safer for them.

This drew a lot of attention to Ruiyu Hall and to the in-laws, including the Su Family in Qingzhou, the Song Family in Jiangnan, and the Shen Family in Western Liang which was the most prominent. Wei Zhenghong was Wei Changying's father. Compared to his children, his younger sister and wife's uncle were of course less important, especially as Wei Zhenghong had only two children. Even if Ji Qubing could cure him... Wei Zhenghong wasn't young, but even if he had more children, he would never neglect his grown-up lineal oldest daughter.

No matter what, destruction pursued the great, the Shen Family. After all, Ruiyu Hall was still weak! The revitalization was something that would happen in the future. This was why Duke Ji's title had been stripped away!

Wei Changying put down the letter, raised her head and asked her mother-in-law, "Earlier, Father and Mother asked the fifth, sixth and seventh brothers to escort Miracle Doctor Ji to Fengzhou because..."

"That is not true." Madam Su didn't hide the truth from her daughter-in-law, saying with a smile, "Your father had made the decision. When he calmed down, he also thought things were a little too coincidental. Having thought for a while, he asked me if your old family had given us anything special when they gave Shuguang gifts. So we took out the gift list to check and found a box containing ginseng honey. The honey was in a porcelain bottle in a brocade box. Your father said 'honey' in our language sounded like 'secret', so perhaps there was something hidden. In the end, we took the box apart and did find the letter under the brocade."

What a coincidence.

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law sighed at the tough situation and how difficult it was to deliver secret messages from far away. Madam Su then said, "The victory in Western Liang is a good thing, but now His Majesty is wary of our family, so this good news seems to have come at the wrong time. However, it is impossible to hide such big news. Perhaps if we had deliberately delayed the news, His Majesty would have thought that our family had bad intentions! Therefore, I have discussed it with your father and decided to say that Cangfeng has suffered a more serious injury."

After a pause, she said, "You should go to Western Liang to look after him, so it will look more real."

Wei Changying pondered for a moment and asked, "How long should I stay there?"

"It's hard to say." Madam Su frowned, saying, "Who knows what will happen next? Over the years, our family has been prosperous. Among the gentlefolks... Within the Imperial Court, many people are jealous of us and are happy to see our family being reduced in significance, especially the Liu Family. Cangfeng has achieved a great victory so even if he just stayed in Western Liang doing nothing and just recovering from his injury, it wouldn't be embarrassing when it's time to claim the accolades for his achievements."

Wei Changying quickly thought of the people who had gone to Western Liang. Besides her husband Shen Cangfeng, there were also Gu Yiran, Infanta Chengxian's husband, Gu Xinian, Gu Yiran's family brother, and Deng Zongqi, the child of the Deng Family. According to what Madam Su said, this great victory was all the credit of Shen Cangfeng. For the rest, whether they had actually participated or not, they couldn't take this credit.

So now Shen Cangfeng's being in recovery from his injury suggested that the Shen Family was trying to be modest. This was also they trying to give the others the opportunity to make achievements. They didn't want them to have made the trip to the border for nothing.

Reuniting with her husband would certainly be nice, but how long did they have to stay there? Wei Changying couldn't help but ask, "What about Shuguang?"

If the family asked Shen Cangfeng to stay in Western Liang for eight or ten years, what about their lineal eldest son? Should he stay with his grandparents all the time?

Madam Su frowned, "You are concerned about your injured husband and are determined to go to Western Liang to visit him personally. If you want to take your lineal eldest son, it will be fine, but have you thought about everything? It's so cold in Western Liang and Shuguang is so young. How would he cope with the rough journey?"

Wei Changying knew what her mother-in-law had said was true, asking anxiously, "Mother, you are right, but Cangfeng has not met Shuguang yet."

"You are being really childish." Madam Su couldn't help but laugh and kindly advised her, "When I say 'It's hard to say', I mean I don't know if I want you to be there for a year or two. Who said you would stay in Western Liang for the rest of your lives? Didn't they say they would be at the border for three years? By that time, no matter whether Cangfeng has recovered from his injury, he should come back to the capital. Either he recovers and returns, or he comes back to keep recovering from his injury. After all, everyone knows that Western Liang is cold and not a nice place to live!"

Seeing that her daughter-in-law frowned and did not say anything, knowing that it was difficult to choose between her husband and her son, Madam Su said in a deep voice, "Of course it is hard to leave your own child, especially when you only have this one son! Changying, have you thought about this? You are not only Shuguang's mother, but more importantly, you are Cangfeng's wife! You will be the future Family Mother of the Shen Family in Western Liang!"

Wei Changying was stunned and raised her head unconsciously.

Madam Su pointed to the outside of the door. There was no joy or sadness in her eyes. She said word by word, "Cangxiu's courtyard from her dowry is in that direction. Since Duke Ji had a mansion in the capital, we didn't intend to put a courtyard in her dowry. However, she didn't like the garden of Duke Ji's mansion, so your father bought that courtyard, decorated it according to her taste and put it in her dowry. Subsequently, not long after her marriage, Cangxiu followed Duke Ji to his fief and rarely came back. Even when she came back, she did not always have the time to go to her courtyard to stay for a couple of days. Even so, she would rather leave it empty than rent it out to someone else, because everything in it was personally selected and decorated by your father and me, together with her! Who would have thought that there would be one day when she and her husband would be kicked out from Duke Ji's mansion, and thankfully, there is a courtyard for them to stay in?"

"I think you know my name. Cangxiu... She is my and your father's lineal eldest daughter. Your father and I have always regarded her as the apple of our eye. Although she and Cangning are both my daughters, to be honest, I do like Cangxiu more than Cangning!" Madam Su spoke in a low voice, "However, now her husband has been stripped of his title and driven out of the mansion. Many servants took advantage of the chaos to steal things and run away. Some of them said nasty things. At such a difficult time, I couldn't go there to comfort her or even just send someone over to comfort her. Is it because I don't love Cangxiu? Is it because I'm afraid of His Majesty so I don't even dare to care about my own daughter? This is all because I have no choice! But doing good for the Shen Family is also doing good for Cangxiu! I can only act as if nothing had happened!"

"Being Family Mother of a family doesn't mean one only needs to look after the trivial things." Madam Su reached out her carefully manicured hand and gently pulled up her sleeve. Wei Changying glanced at her and let out a cry. She saw that on Madam Su's fair-skinned delicate arm there were four or five bloody scratches deep in the skin!

Looking down at the horrible wounds, Madam Su didn't even blink, saying without any expression, "After I heard about Cangxiu's bad news, I was so frustrated that I did it unknowingly." She rolled down her sleeve to cover the wounds, saying in an emotionless tone, "Changying, remember it. The most important thing for a Family Mother to do is to know when to do what! How do you know what to do? You need to understand what the priority is and don't deal with things using your personal feelings. You should consider the big picture for the whole family, the entire Imperial Court or even the whole world. If you don't have such a vision and do what ordinary women do, only caring about their husbands and children, you will be regarded as virtuous. However, there are hundreds and thousands of women like this. There are many monumental archways built for this kind of good woman. If a gentle and obedient woman could be a good match for our Shen Family's future Family Head, why do gentlefolks and aristocratic families place great importance on family status? What is important is not solely family status either. It is also about the temperament and vision that only noble families can produce!"

Wei Changying bit her lips hard. Madam Su pressed her hand on her shoulder, saying, "Remember, you are my son Cangfeng's wife, the one who will assist him to make achievements gradually, and the one who is powerful and will inherit our Shen Family's centuries of glory! You will be the Family Mother of the Shen Family! Shuguang is very important, but the entire Shen Family is more important! You are the daughter of the Wei Family, a prestigious literary family, so no matter how much you like martial arts and how much you hate literature, you have been living in such an environment since childhood that you should know the saying 'With the skin gone, to what can the hair attach itself'. I don't think I should repeat the meaning for you!"

She took her hand back from her shoulder, saying in a low voice, "When you are in Western Liang, there will be no one like me to say these things to you. In this world, there is no means by which you could be wealthy for your whole life without paying any price. You and I are the daughters of gentlefolks and married into the gentlefolks. Our families have given us superior family backgrounds and privileges, but if our ancestors hadn't maintained the glory of the family to sustain the family in prosperity, how could you and I have had the capital and confidence to live a prouder life? Since ancient time, there have been many people, but why are there only six gentlefolks in this world that have survived until now? Have there not been any amazing people from the common people? Why have their families always ended up in decline? All the gentlefolks and aristocratic families are not built by only a single person! Without the foresight of the ancestors, how could the descendants be proud of their family heritage? You have enjoyed the glory and wealth brought to you by the Wei and Shen families, and now it is time for you to maintain this glory and wealth!"

"I hope that when you come back with Cangfeng, I will be able to give you the Family Mother position of the Shen Family with peace of mind! Good girl, it's time to go!"