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

He Zhizhu was easily swayed by gentle persuasion but not by force. She threw herself into Shen's arms, wrapping her arms around her waist, her face flushed with embarrassment. "Mother~ I've wronged you. Please forgive me this time."

Only then did Madam Shen reveal a genuine smile, gently patting the girl in her arms, "You little rascal, I'm your own mother, how could I really be angry with you?"

“I used to spoil you, but this incident has made me realize that as children grow up, I can no longer teach them solely according to my own ideas.”

"Your wet nurse is right about something, and your thoughts are also important. Now that you're here, I must ask you carefully: you said before that you wanted to use the prestige of our Marquis's mansion to marry into the royal family, is that true?"

If He Zhizhu were to arrive, Madam Shen would argue with her, and she might really have no choice but to marry into the royal family.

But now, after the mother and son had a heart-to-heart talk, He Zhizhu no longer had the same strong desire as before.

"It's an arranged marriage by my parents and a matchmaker, I'm still young." He Zhizhu lowered her head, finally looking like a little girl.

Madam Shen gently stroked He Zhizhu's hair, "Yes, your mother is also reluctant to part with you and wants to keep you here for a few more years."

Although the position of Fourth Prince is desirable, it is ultimately extremely risky.

The Marquis's family is willing to sacrifice a concubine's daughter for wealth and status, in exchange for my legitimate daughter, but I am utterly unwilling. Fortunately, your father still has some conscience; his heart isn't entirely biased towards Lady Shui."

"Mother." He Zhizhu blinked. Is that so?

She changed the subject and brought up Hua Sirong, "I heard my cousin came today? How could Mother air our dirty laundry in front of outsiders?" She pouted. After all, she was her wet nurse. To interrogate her in front of outsiders was to embarrass her, a young lady.

Thinking about Hua Sirong's reaction, Shen said, "Who am I doing this for? Isn't it all for you and your brother?"

He Zhizhu was puzzled; what did this have to do with her and her brother?

Madam Shen tapped He Zhizhu's forehead and said irritably, "Your cousin is beautiful, not much less so than your sixth sister. Men are naturally attracted to beauty, I'm just making plans ahead of time."

He Zhizhu recalled her few meetings with Hua Sirong, and indeed, she was stunningly beautiful. But, "What does my cousin's good looks have to do with our family? Does Mother intend to marry her off to my eldest brother as a concubine?"

The reason she was called a concubine was because she was her own mother's niece; she couldn't just be left to fend for herself in the backyard.

"I told you you're stupid, but you still want to go to that place to compete for favor." Madam Shen was exasperated. If her own daughter hadn't been instigated by others to say those things about being a concubine or a wife, she would have pushed her daughter even further.

Sigh, what can I do? She's such a simple-minded person. "Should I find a beautiful cousin for your brother to marry into the family as a concubine? I'm not out of my mind. Why would I want to cause trouble for your sister-in-law who hasn't even married into the family yet?"

"Although your sister-in-law's mother is gone, she is, after all, the eldest daughter of the Duke of Li's family, and her maternal uncles have always taken good care of her."

"If your brother doesn't follow the family path and wants to take the imperial examination, your sister-in-law's maternal clan can definitely put in a good deal of effort. In the future, if your nephew wants to hire a great scholar, he won't have to worry about finding connections." Although mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law have always been at odds, this person hasn't even entered the family yet, so she wouldn't dislike her now.

There are countless ways to win over a daughter-in-law, but you must always place a good pawn in her life.

"The Meng family, which is related to my second sister by marriage, isn't it a family of scholars with a hundred-year history? They even have a headmaster in the family. How could they be inferior to my sister-in-law's maternal clan?" They have plenty of resources too.

“The Meng family is not bad, but your sister-in-law’s maternal clan has produced great Confucian scholars and even the Grand Tutor of the Crown Prince. The Meng family’s heritage has been accumulated over generations, but it is still far behind your sister-in-law’s maternal clan.”

He Zhizhu nodded, "So that's how it is."

"Since my cousin isn't going to be my elder brother's concubine, then why did Mother summon her here?"

Madam Shen glanced outside the hall, then said meaningfully to He Zhizhu, "If your sixth sister can become a concubine, why can't your cousin?"

He Zhizhu covered her mouth in surprise, "Mother means..." She pointed to that spot again.

Shen smiled but remained silent, leaving He Zhizhu to speculate on her own.

She asked softly, "Cousin agreed? But I remember when you first came here, the rumors in the manor were that you didn't want to be sent to be a concubine, which is why you came all the way to our family."

and so……

However, she quickly found an answer to her doubts: "Being a concubine for a member of the royal family is naturally different from being a concubine for anyone else."

Madam Shen nodded, "This child is teachable; that's exactly the point."

Even if the person sitting in that position is seventy or eighty years old, every three to five years, they will still send the youngest girl to the palace.

Without connections, you can't even get it in.

"But, Sixth Sister and Cousin, they can't both become concubines of the Fourth Prince, can they?" Although she had initially considered marrying the Fourth Prince as his principal wife, the thought of her two older sisters marrying the same man made her feel uneasy.

“Of course we can’t send them all to one residence,” Madam Shen replied. Otherwise, what would become of the Marquis’s reputation? It’s not a business to rush into things like this. The Marquis’s family also cares about its reputation.

"Alright, your father and I will take care of these matters. You can go back to your own courtyard and play. Also, Granny Xin has really crossed my line this time. To prevent you from having such an arrogant servant around you in the future, I will definitely send her to the estate to live a life of luxury."

He Zhizhu wanted to speak again, but Madam Shen stopped her with a gesture. "For the sake of serving you, your monthly salary will remain the same, and you will be given a managerial title on the estate. Just relax and enjoy your retirement."

If you miss her, whether you go to the estate to see her or bring her to stay at our residence for a couple of days, I will pretend I don't know.

Seeing her usually domineering mother making such a concession, how could He Zhizhu possibly disagree? She felt that she was also in the wrong.

After thanking her mother on behalf of Xin's mother, she returned home, pondering along the way what good things she could pack to give Xin's mother as a reward.

In Qingwu Courtyard, Hua Sirong, unlike her usual timid self, began to give Chunyan a large number of copper coins and also gave Wang Mama a lot of gold coins to carry with her.

"Miss, didn't you say before that we wouldn't be staying in this mansion for long and wouldn't need to pay money to get around it?"

"Times have changed. Before, I only thought about staying peacefully for three years and then finding a suitable family to marry into. But Mom, you know Aunt's plans best, so we have to be careful."