Quick Transmigration: Survive to the End

From that day on, Zhan Zheng suddenly had a lot of free time, and his daily shifts were very regular. However, the old master Zhan, who had said he would come to find him, never came to see him again.

After all, Old Master Zhan was powerless to do so at the moment.

From the outside, the Zhan family appears to be keeping its doors tightly shut to avoid gossip. But in reality, the second and third branches of the family are locked in a fierce power struggle. They just have a sense of shame, and with Old Master Zhan keeping things under control, they haven't let the news get out.

However, their control was no match for Zhan Zheng and Yu Miaoqi.

After all, the servants of the Zhan family have now seen things clearly. Even though Yu Miaoqi took Yinyin away, she still holds the mace and the key, and hasn't asked them to hand them over. Furthermore, with Old Master Zhan personally inquiring about Zhan Zheng's wedding under these circumstances, isn't it obvious who will be in charge from now on?

Therefore, whenever Zhan Zheng and Yu Miaoqi wanted to inquire about something, there were usually people willing to do so. In addition, the fifth branch of the family, for reasons unknown, often secretly passed them messages. As a result, although Yu Miaoqi and the others did not live in the Zhan residence, they were fully aware of what was happening inside.

Yinyin had just brewed a pot of tea with snow water from the plum blossoms when she saw Zhan Zheng enter with a smile. She poured him a cup first, then filled her own: "Is there something great happening today that makes you so happy, brother?"

“There is good news,” Zhan Zheng said without hiding it from her. “His Highness the Crown Prince told me today that His Majesty intends to have me transfer to one of the Six Ministries. However, the specific location has not yet been decided, but it will most likely be either the Ministry of Personnel or the Ministry of War.”

As Zhan Zheng spoke, he picked up the teacup and smelled a subtle fragrance: "My sister's tea-making skills have improved again. Now she can even make this tea with the fragrance of plum blossoms."

“It’s cold today, and it’s not good to go out, so I often think about these things,” Yin Yin replied first, before continuing, “Congratulations, brother. Once you enter the Six Ministries, you will surely have a smooth path ahead and become a high-ranking official.”

"Then I'll accept your kind words, sister," Zhan Zheng put down her teacup. "This tea is excellent. How many kilograms did you get?"

"I just thought I'd make some for my family, but I didn't know beforehand if it would be effective, so I didn't make much," Yinyin held up three fingers, "I only had about three ounces left after this batch."

"Does your brother want it for himself, or is he planning to give it away?"

Zhan Zheng thought for a moment and said, "Give them all to me. In a few days, I will use this tea to ask for a reward for you."

Asking for a reward? Given their current status, they could only use such a phrase when addressing royalty or elders. Excluding Old Master Zhan, and considering Zhan Zheng's vague remarks, the only people Yin Yin could think of were the Crown Prince and others.

Only they could prevent Zhan Zheng from fully explaining the purpose of the product to Yin Yin.

Yinyin glanced at him and instructed Dongxin, who was serving inside, to fetch it. After she left, she said, "Is that all? Big brother, don't promise me anything else. I'm not going to be a tea lady."

"Don't worry, would I make you work hard? If you don't want to, I won't let anyone else know that you did it."

Yinyin quickly nodded: "Then please don't tell anyone, brother. The capital is not like Yingzhou. I haven't figured out the situation yet, and I don't want to attract attention."

“It has to be you,” Zhan Zheng laughed. “If it were someone else, making something so elegant and profitable would only make them afraid that their reputation wouldn’t be loud enough or that it wouldn’t spread far enough.”

“Is having too much fame a good thing?” Yin Yin said dismissively. “The plum blossoms in Plum Garden are still quite abundant. I’ve asked people to make some more these past few days, but at most we can get another pound. If we want more, you’ll have to ask someone to make more, otherwise if we pluck all the plum trees at home, Mother won’t even have a place to admire the plum blossoms.”

“One pound is enough. If you make too much, it won’t be special,” Zhan Zheng said, before asking, “Where did Mother go? Why haven’t we seen her yet?”

“Just now, people suddenly came from Zhan Family Manor. They said they were originally going to Zhan Residence, but the old master said that Mother is now in charge of the household, so he sent them to come and tell Mother. Mother then went to the small flower hall to see them.”

Zhan Zheng raised an eyebrow slightly: "When the shop manager came to the manor earlier, why wasn't Mother summoned? But when the estate manager came to the manor, he was summoned?"

"The things that can enter the mansion from the shops are all silver and money. The things that are sent in from the estate are all kinds of grains and meats, several large carts full of all sorts of things," Yin Yin chuckled. "The old master of the house uses an open strategy. All these things are being moved around so that everyone can see them!"

“The second and third wives didn’t make a fuss enough,” Zhan Zheng frowned. “We need to add fuel to the fire so he won’t have time to scheme against us.”

Yinyin did the math and then advised, "Your wedding isn't far off, big brother. Don't let them interfere with your important event."

“It’s alright,” Zhan Zheng paused before continuing, “It’s better to clean the house before anyone comes in, isn’t it?”

Seeing that he understood, Yinyin naturally didn't bring it up again. But since the topic had turned to the second and third wives, she couldn't help but become interested: "These past few days, Mother and I have been busy with the accounts, and we haven't heard about what's going on in the other household for quite some time. Does Brother know what interesting things they've come up with that can make people laugh?"

“There are many,” Zhan Zheng poured himself a cup of tea. “Zhan Shu’er’s marriage is settled. The third branch of the family persuaded the old master to betroth her to a fifth-rank military officer stationed at the border. He is a widower in his thirties and currently has no children.”

"With such a choice, Zhan Shu'er will probably cause a huge uproar," Yin Yin thought to herself. Although this person is a fifth-rank military officer, the age difference is too great, and he is also a widower. Let alone Zhan Shu'er, which young girl wouldn't make a fuss if it were him?

Given Zhan Shuer's status, such a military officer would have to be at least ten years younger, praised as a young prodigy with a bright future, before being placed on her desk, or even ranked highly.

The gap between them now is enormous, and it's remarkable that the third branch of the family could find someone like this, and even the old master agreed.

“Of course she’s making a scene,” Zhan Zheng said indifferently. “As soon as she caused a scene, the old master immediately sent her to the estate and locked her up. He also ordered the third branch of the family to send people to keep an eye on her.”

"Hiss!" Yin Yin gasped. Letting the third branch of the family control Zhan Shu'er was like sending Zhan Shu'er directly into their hands to be tormented, while also helping them control the second branch of the family.

"The old master gave the order?"

Seeing Zhan Zheng nod, Yin Yin took a while to find her voice: "That's his granddaughter whom he's doted on for over ten years, and he can be so cruel!"

"Now I understand why the Second Master hates the Third Master so much. The Old Master always seemed so clever, so what good does it do to sow discord between the two families?"

"He is a cold-hearted and ruthless person who likes to control everything. He doesn't care about anything except the Zhan family, so he is capable of doing anything."

When Zhan Zheng said this, he didn't treat Old Master Zhan as his grandfather at all.

“When his father was alive, he favored his father the most. After his father passed away, he then raised three more families.”

"Seeing that these two sides are like fire and water, and neither of them can control their subordinates like Father did back then, and since I'm going to the capital, doesn't that give him another option?"

"It's also because I came to the capital at the wrong time. If I had come any later... look at the fifth branch of the family who are still living in the mansion. Don't they look like the next unjustly killed child?"