After the arranged marriage, I pampered the sickly regent.

"Yes."

After the servants left, Ye Qingzhu was even more puzzled. "Mother, why did you give them money for no reason? Did you want to use them to monitor Ye Yuanfeng?"

"With Ye Yuanfeng's limited abilities, he's neither good at literature nor martial arts. Even if Ye Qingwu instigates him, what trouble can he cause? There's absolutely no need to worry."

Ye Qingzhu scoffed. Now everyone knows that Ye Qingwu has severed ties with the Duke's Mansion. Even if Ye Qingwu wants to rely on Ye Yuanfeng to ease the tension, it's already too late.

She wouldn't allow that to happen.

Seeing that Ye Qingzhu didn't seem to care about these things at all, Madam Su sighed softly, "No matter what, it's always better to be careful."

“Qingzhu, you are now a married woman. You can’t live in the Duke’s mansion all the time. If you do that for too long, people will gossip about you.”

Su gave Ye Qingzhu earnest advice.

Ye Qingzhu snorted coldly, "Mother, are you saying that I'm in the way of the household and you want to kick me out?"

“What are you saying, child? I told you before that if you were not happy with this marriage, I would think of a way to talk to your father on your behalf, but you just insisted on it.”

“Since you think Jiang Wenjin will become the Grand Secretary in the future, then live a good life with him. No matter how good his future is, if he only has a title and no feelings, it will be of no use.”

“Jiang Wenjin is just a scholar now. We can still control him in terms of status, but in terms of feelings, Qingzhu, you have to rely on yourself. Your mother can only offer advice at most.”

Hearing what Su said, Ye Qingzhu was clearly persuaded and nodded, saying, "Mother, what you said seems to make sense."

"It's just that Jiang Wenjin's place is too dilapidated. Although he has a house, I don't want his mother to move in."

Ye Qingzhu's tone was full of disdain when she thought of Wang Shi.

"You."

Madam Su said helplessly, "I will talk to Wenjin about this properly when I have the chance. Listen to your mother, go back to that house first, and we can discuss it properly later."

"Wenjin is about to take the imperial examination. Do you still want to be the wife of the top scholar?"

"Mother, I'll do whatever you say."

Ye Qingzhu had no choice but to compromise.

Seeing that she had finally persuaded Ye Qingzhu, Madam Su breathed a sigh of relief, "That's more like it."

"Let's go, Mother will accompany you to buy some more things, and see if there's anything else you need in your house."

And the other side.

Ye Qingwu did not return to her residence at this time, but went to a nearby restaurant and ordered several dishes.

Just as they were about to start eating, a drunken old man entered the restaurant. His strong smell of alcohol immediately drew the attention of the staff.

The waiter, looking at the old man, took a few steps back and said, "Where did this drunkard come from? Get out of here."

"I came here to eat, do you think your restaurant has any right to kick people out?"

"Bring out all the good wines you have here."

The old man glanced around and finally sat down at the table next to Ye Qingwu.

"Girl, it's good to see you again."

Ye Qingwu glanced around and saw the old man looking at her. She asked, puzzled, "Do we know each other?"

"Young lady, have you forgotten? I was very impressed with your treatment of that child at the pharmacy."

After hearing this, Ye Qingwu realized that the old man must have been one of the bystanders who had been watching at the time.

She simply nodded politely, without paying any further attention.

Soon, the waiter brought several jars of wine as the old man had asked. Before putting them down, he said to the old man, "Old man, we have brought the wine you wanted, but given your situation, you need to pay first."

"Are you afraid I'll deny it? Tell me, though..."

The old man was somewhat delirious and, drunk, said, "Take a look and see if this is enough."

When the waiter saw the old man take out a bag, he quickly put down his wine. But when he opened it, he only poured out some loose silver coins. He was so angry that he slammed the bag on the table.

"Old man, you're deliberately messing with me. With this little bit of money, it's not even enough to pay for our most basic dishes, let alone drinks."

"Get out of here right now, or don't blame me for being impolite!"

"not enough?"

The old man paused for a moment, then looked in Ye Qingwu's direction. "I came with this young lady, and she has..."

The waiter glanced at Ye Qingwu's clothes, then at the old man. The two didn't seem to know each other at all. He approached Ye Qingwu and tentatively asked, "Young lady, do you really know this man?"

"What do you think?"

Ye Qingwu also felt confused. She should have gone to the private room upstairs. This old man looked like he was trying to scam her.

Upon hearing Ye Qingwu's words, the waiter immediately understood, "I understand."

"Leave quickly."

But when she turned around, the old man was already slumped on the table. "Young lady, since you know thirteen needles, do you know that there is one more needle in this world?"

"Ok?"

Ye Qingwu, who was originally uninterested in the old man, paused in his actions upon hearing the man's words.

The old man not only looked drunk but also insane; how could he know about the thirteen needles?

Moreover, even among the onlookers, one would have to be quite a distance away to clearly see the method of treatment being used.

Just from these facts, it's clear that this person is using thirteen needles, which is enough to show that he is no ordinary person.

Who exactly is this old man?

When she tried to ask him anything, the man was already fast asleep, drunk. Helpless, Ye Qingwu noticed a sign hanging from his waist with the name Lu on it.

So, this person's surname is Lu?

"Waiter, I'll leave this silver here. If he wants to drink, let him drink."

Although she was curious about the thirteenth needle and the remaining needle, she hadn't reached the point where she absolutely needed to know.

"Young lady, you are so kind."

The waiter glanced at the drunken old man, then reached out and took the silver from Ye Qingwu, sighing.

Ye Qingwu then left the restaurant and headed towards the Prince's Mansion.

When she returned to the palace, she went to the courtyard where Zhan Sijing was, only to find it empty.

Why is nobody here?

At this time of day, Zhan Sijing should not be here. If he is not in the courtyard, could he be in the study?

However, when they arrived at the study, the guards there still told them that Zhan Sijing was not there.

"Your Highness, the Prince went out with Leng Feng two hours ago."

"His Highness also instructed me to tell you not to worry, he will be back soon."

Hearing this, Ye Qingwu gave a soft hum. Although Zhan Sijing had only recently regained consciousness, with Leng Feng by his side, given his skills, nothing bad should happen to him.

She still needs to prepare an antidote for the Cold Shadow Poison as soon as possible, and that wisp of energy, if not handled carefully, could cause a great deal of trouble if something goes wrong.