The cousin's family is extremely wealthy; she deserves to be a concubine.

He could never be Zhuzhu's husband in this lifetime. However, there were many daughters in their Marquis's mansion. If he was not a suitable match for the legitimate daughter, he could choose one from among the illegitimate daughters.

Even if things don't go well, there are always side branches.

Madam Shen had no idea that even her own son was now outwardly compliant but inwardly defiant. She continued, "However, Zhang-ge'er, regarding your sister's matter, it's between you and me, and no one else can know."

"And you must keep this a secret from my daughter-in-law, who's about to enter the house, understand?"

He Zhizhang nodded, "The fewer people who know about this, the better."

Also, tell Zhuzhu to keep her mouth shut and not to tell anyone else. And please ask Mother to send someone to keep an eye on Cousin Rong.

Since this concerns our Marquis's residence, we should take it more seriously.

Madam Shen nodded, "I almost forgot, Rong'er can go out to visit guests now, so we need to be careful. I'll use the excuse of sending the governess to send two more maids over later."

He Zhizhang smiled and nodded, "Mother, please make the arrangements. Actually, I have another idea that can solve the problem once and for all."

Shen gestured for He Zhizhang to speak.

He Zhizhang: "Cousin Rong has learned the biggest secret of our household; she is actually not suitable to get married."

Shen stood up abruptly. "How did it come to the point of silencing them?" After all, there was a blood relationship between them, and Shen couldn't bring herself to do it.

He Zhizhang, who had initially felt somewhat guilty, immediately smiled helplessly, "Mother, what are you thinking? In your eyes, is your son such a heartless person?"

Madam Shen realized she had misunderstood. But it was perfectly normal for a few people to die in the backyard of a wealthy family, so it was no wonder she had such thoughts.

She laughed it off, "Then tell me what a good idea is?"

He Zhizhang coughed lightly, quite embarrassed, "If she becomes my son's concubine, my mother can keep her by her side every day and set rules for her."

Madam Shen was startled. After a moment of silence, she asked, "Has Zhang-ge'er ever seen Rong-jie'er?"

He Zhizhang lowered his eyes, concealing his true feelings. "My son has always been respectful of etiquette and usually lives and eats in the outer courtyard. How could he possibly go to see Cousin Rong?"

If my mother hadn't mentioned it often, I wouldn't have known that I had a cousin living in this house.

Only then did Madam Shen begin to have doubts, fearing that Hua Sirong was using her beauty to seduce her own son, who had a promising future.

"To take care of Rong'er for the rest of her life, bringing her into our family is a good idea. But if you bring your cousin into the family, I'm afraid your household will be in turmoil."

With a legal wife and a cousin, if a conflict arises, it will be difficult to handle the situation on both sides.

Also, Rong'er is very beautiful, and I'm afraid your wife will be overshadowed and unhappy. If there's discord within the household, it will affect your activities outside as well.”

He Zhizhang wanted to try again, saying, "A man should marry a virtuous wife and take a concubine for beauty. Your future daughter-in-law won't be so lacking in magnanimity. Mother, you're overthinking it."

Madam Shen would never believe her own son's nonsense about never having seen Hua Sirong again. If he's already protecting her now, what will become of him in the future?

"I can't control what kind of celestial beauty you choose to take as a concubine in the future. As for what you just said about Rong-jie, I'll pretend I never heard of it."

As for Rong-jie, I will carefully find a suitable and easy-to-manage candidate for her. When she gets married, I will also provide her with several more families as part of her dowry. There will definitely be no trouble and no leaks will come out.”

He Zhizhang didn't necessarily need Hua Sirong. Seeing his mother's strong opposition, he gave up. He didn't need such a beauty.

He stroked the jade pendant he was wearing and asked Madam Shen another question, "Are we really not going to tell Father anything about what Zhuzhu dreamed about?"

Madam Shen: "Why tell him? He's not on the same page as us, mother and son. The ones he had with Madam Shui are the real family."

He Zhizhang said helplessly, "What Father did was also for the sake of the entire Marquis's Mansion to move forward."

At the same time, what he was doing was of great importance, and even if he couldn't tell his father everything, the son felt that there were some things he should reveal to his father appropriately.

Of course, there's no need to mention Zhuzhu's extraordinary adventures.

Madam Shen was still reluctant, "Wouldn't we be doing all this for someone else? I don't think Rui-ge'er is a peaceful person."

He Zhizhang's smile faltered slightly. He asked, "Zhuzhu only mentioned that Sixth Sister became the Fourth Prince's concubine. What about Third Brother? Was Third Brother a playboy his whole life?"

Ms. Shen was momentarily speechless. "I didn't ask about that."

She was more concerned about Shui's life or death. When she heard that Shui had died during childbirth along with her unborn child, she was overjoyed and completely forgot about Rui Ge'er.

"How about I call Zhuzhu over and you ask her yourself?" Although we'll be having dinner together tonight, there will be too many people around to discuss things properly.

He Zhizhang thought for a moment, "Never mind, supporting the Fourth Prince will inevitably require financial support."

The fourth prince's maternal family is practically nonexistent. Since his father intends to make his sixth sister the prince's principal wife, he must have considerable leverage.

It seems I've underestimated my third brother all these years. Mother also underestimated Aunt Shui, this woman from the inner quarters.

Shen was puzzled, but that didn't stop her from disliking Shui and her son. "I usually tell you and Zhuzhu not to get too close to the two children Shui had."

How could someone as shrewd as Madam Shui raise a son who is nothing but a playboy who only knows how to eat, drink, and have fun?

Your father didn't care at all. I used to think it was because of the Shui family background, but now I think they might have been pretending to be weak all along.

And then there's Sixth Sister He Zhisuo. She usually seems timid as a mouse, but now, looking at her, she's a cunning and scheming girl, just like her mother—always plotting something wicked."

He Zhizhang couldn't stand his dignified and virtuous mother saying such harsh words, so he directly interrupted, "I will secretly investigate my third brother, He Zhirui."

The son suspected that his third brother might be one of the fourth prince's money carriers.

As the head of the household, Shen was particularly sensitive to money, especially the "purse strings."

Upon further reflection on the places He Zhirui frequented, one might wonder, "Could it be that he's using the guise of having fun to secretly run those businesses?"

Good heavens, he frequents brothels and gambling dens, which are all lucrative businesses.

You, Lord He, and you, Lady Shui, you really kept it from me for a long time.

I'm meticulously calculating for the sake of the household, while your father has plenty of money to pave the way for a concubine's daughter. How clever of him!

"As a mother, I used to think that no matter how beautiful Sixth Sister was or what great family she married into, her own brother was useless and she still had to rely on you, the legitimate heir. Any benefits would fall on our main house."

But if it weren't for my brother Zhang discovering something today, we would still be kept in the dark.

Another day, Mother will definitely go to the temples inside and outside the city to offer incense, so as to thank all the Buddhas in the heavens for opening their eyes and allowing our Zhuzhu to glimpse the opportunity, giving the three of us, mother and son, a chance to see the true colors of this mansion.”