Help! The cunning and treacherous minister and I were reborn together!

When Xiao Zong returned home, he was furious upon seeing the divorce papers and questioned his mother about why she had helped Yuan Zhi leave.

Qin pretended to be stupid and said that the handwriting on the document was his. Yuanzhi then mentioned Consort Zheng, and she thought that they had a bad relationship, so she asked the elders of the clan to mediate.

When the elders arrived and saw that the divorce papers had been written, they granted the divorce.

Xiao Zong clenched his fists, his eyes bloodshot, on the verge of exploding in rage. His teeth were clenched so tightly that his cheeks were deeply sunken, making him look sinister and terrifying.

Madam Qin had never seen her son like this before, and sat to the side, not daring to utter a sound. Only when he took the divorce papers and stormed off did her tense nerves finally relax.

Xiao Zong left home in the dead of night, rode his horse to Weiyan Tower, stood in front of the door, and pounded on the door panel with a deafening roar.

The night watchman cursed, "Damn it, who is it? The restaurant's closed, what are you banging on in the middle of the night for!"

As he fastened his belt, he opened the door and saw the man outside, his expression one of terror as if he had seen a ghost.

"Lord Xiao, what brings you here?"

Where is your employer?

The waiter was puzzled: "Shouldn't the boss be at home at this hour?"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Zong's face turned ashen, radiating an icy aura. He pushed aside the waiter and went straight inside.

He searched the front yard, back yard, upstairs and downstairs, but couldn't find Yuan Zhi. He sat in a chair in the lobby, wondering where else she could have gone.

As a married woman, it was impossible for her to return to her parents' home. After the eldest son of the Marquis of Changping returned home, the Marquis's mansion closed its doors to visitors, and Lan Yin could not help her. So there were only two possibilities: either the Princess of Pingyi County took her in, or she rented a house outside.

Xiao Zong glanced at the sky; it was already late. He decided to send his men from the Leopard Guard to investigate again the next day. The monk may run away, but the temple won't; Wei Yan Tower was Yuan Zhi's property, so why worry about her not coming?!

Seeing the waiter wrapped in a cotton-padded coat, standing there with his shoulders hunched and back shrugged, he said mercifully, "Go back to sleep."

Seeing that he had no intention of leaving, the waiter went back to the bedroom in the backyard and brought over a brazier.

"It's cold at night, this is for adults to keep warm."

"Thank you."

After the waiter left, Xiao Zong sat in the main hall all night. At midnight, he went home to change into his court robes and went to attend the court assembly without having breakfast.

Commander Xiao stood tall among the officials with a "fight me or die" expression on his face. Everyone could tell he was in a bad mood, so they all kept their distance.

Li Kai asked a question indirectly, but Xiao Zong cleverly deflected it.

After the court session ended, Xiao Zong ordered Dou Zhao to investigate the brokerage firms in Shengjing, but to no avail. Unconvinced, he then investigated the residences of the Princess of Pingyi and several other officials, but still found no trace of Yuan Zhi.

She didn't even go to Wei Yan Lou today; she's clearly avoiding him.

After thinking it over, Xiao Zong decided to retreat in order to advance. After finishing his shift, he went straight back to his residence instead of waiting at the restaurant.

Unexpectedly, news of their divorce spread throughout Shengjing that evening. The officials and civil servants, now knowing the reason for Xiao Zong's unhappiness, could finally sleep peacefully.

Poor Commander Xiao, all his scheming was useless, and because his wife ran away, he became the talk of the town.

Some say that Mrs. Xiao cheated on him; some say that he is cold-hearted and doesn't care about women; some even go so far as to say that he is impotent!

Upon hearing this, Yuan Zhi laughed so hard he couldn't straighten up. The next day, he went to Wei Yan Lou openly and honestly.

Luo Mei thought the young lady and her son-in-law were just having a minor argument, but she didn't expect them to actually get a divorce. She talked about it for a whole day and night, claiming that she regretted helping her move.

Upon arriving at the restaurant, Luo Mei didn't let Yuan Zhi off the hook either, repeating the same sentence over and over again like a mantra.

Yuan Zhi covered her ears, "It's already come to this, so stop nagging. I'm sick of hearing it!"

Luo Mei let out a long sigh and shut her mouth.

Seeing that she had finally calmed down, Yuanzhi had a maid bring the gift she had prepared in advance and handed it to her.

"The more you look at me, the angrier I get. Don't make trouble for yourself here! I'll trouble you to run an errand and deliver the gift to the Liang residence. Thank you, Madam Liang, for finding me a nice house!"

Luo Mei wrinkled her nose, took the gift, and went out.

*

Li Kai drafted the imperial edict conferring a title upon Xiao Zong, intending to send it to the Xiao residence along with the edict bestowing rewards upon Yuan Zhi. However, Eunuch Xu reminded him that the two had already divorced.

Li Kai paused for a moment, then stroked his beard and smiled meaningfully, instructing the eunuch to send Yuan Zhi's portion to the restaurant.

After receiving the imperial decree, Yuan Zhi prepared to visit the winery, but instead encountered an uninvited guest.

"Your Highness, it is an honor to have you here! I have not been able to greet you properly!"

"Mr. Yuan, you're too kind." Xu Muxin waved her fan. "Are you going out?"

Yuan Zhi stepped aside and invited her in.

"It's nothing important. Since the county princess is here, I naturally have to serve her."

"Mr. Yuan has quite the silver tongue!"

The two went upstairs, and Yuanzhi instructed the maid not to arrange any guests in the next room, and not to enter no matter what noise she heard, unless she summoned them.

The maid nodded blankly.

As soon as the door closed, Xu Muxin's fan swung at Yuan Zhi. Yuan Zhi touched her forehead, her smile extremely faint.

"Why is the county princess so angry?"

"You know perfectly well what I'm asking!" Xu Muxin glared at her. "Yuan Zhi, do you think you're so smart that you can fool everyone?"

His Majesty and the officials are caught up in the situation and cannot see it at the moment. But once they realize it, will they not guess that you orchestrated the murder of the King of Wu?

Yuan Zhi, too lazy to continue pretending, gracefully walked to the table, sat down, and drank a glass of strong liquor.

"Even if they know it was me, what does it have to do with the county princess?"

Xu Muxin retorted angrily, "Have you forgotten that we've already formed an alliance? Shouldn't you have discussed the matter of eliminating the King of Wu with me?"

Yuan Zhi leaned back, rested his arm on the armrest, and looked at her while pressing his temple.

"As allies, we must first and foremost benefit each other. Every brick and tile of Weiyan Tower is my private property. The county magistrate has contributed nothing, yet you expect me to obey you? That's wishful thinking!"

Xu Muxin glanced at her, "And what about you? What benefits have you ever given me?"

"Trust!" Yuan Zhi looked up. "I treated the county princess with complete honesty, yet you were always on guard against me. How could I possibly want such an ally?"

"What do you mean?"

Yuan Zhi clapped her hands, and a maid pushed open the door and came in, asking her what she needed.

"Bring Jiang Bai here!"

Jiang Bai was a "well-informed person." Ever since she sent him to the *** Mansion to fetch a doctor, and Xu Muxin came along, she had sensed something was wrong.

Afterwards, she sent her maid to secretly keep an eye on him and discovered that Jiang Bai frequently entered and left the *** residence, which completely confirmed her suspicions.

Xu Muxin's pupils darkened. "When did you find out?"

“When I asked you last time,” Yuan Zhi sneered, “I thought that after testing you, the county princess would do something to dispel my doubts. But when I found out that you did nothing, I thought that perhaps the county princess thought I was too stupid to be your ally!”

"So you killed the King of Wu just to make me think more highly of you?"

"That's only part of the reason. The King of Wu and I are sworn enemies; he must die!"

Xu Muxin was so angry that she saw stars. She opened the window and let the cold wind blow on her to calm herself down.

Yuan Zhi didn't indulge her. After Jiang Bai was brought in, he started to drive the guests away.

"Princess, take your people and leave!"