You're the one who wants to marry a mistress, and I'm marrying someone else, yet you still

"Dongzhu, take this box to Mo'er. It contains some loose silver that I prepared. I don't know when he will be back, so it's better to leave him some money."

Xie Wanru took a wooden box out of the cabinet and handed it to Dongzhu.

"I need to go to the palace to bid farewell to Her Majesty the Empress."

As Xie Wanru spoke, she walked out dressed in splendid clothes. Everything was so natural that even her personal attendant, Dongzhu, did not notice the explosion.

Dongzhu sneaked into the Shen residence with a bundle. Shen Mo happened to be returning from school, so Shen Cong'an asked her to stay and teach Shen Mo some martial arts.

And naturally, it was dinner time.

“Miss Dongzhu, Princess Yongchang should not return until after she has eaten in the palace. Why don’t you just have something to eat here?”

Shen Cong'an had a warm and composed expression.

Shen Mo, who was doing a horse stance, cast an expectant look at her, and Dongzhu gave in.

Who knew that she would faint after eating this meal.

"Father, what should we do if Aunt Dongzhu wakes up? We can't beat her."

Shen Mo raised her innocent little face.

Shen Cong'an scratched his head. This was still a problem. Xie Wanru wanted to sneak away under the cover of darkness. He had to keep Dongzhu occupied, at least until tomorrow morning, or even longer.

Shen Mo had a sudden inspiration, "How about... we tie him up?"

Looking at his son, whom he considered innocent and naive, Shen Cong'an suddenly realized that the child... wasn't so innocent after all.

Although he didn't agree with it, Shen Cong'an still did as Shen Mo said.

They only used soft strips of cloth so that Dongzhu wouldn't feel uncomfortable.

After Dongzhu left, Xie Wanru went back to her room, quickly changed out of her beautiful but useless clothes, took out her hidden bundle, and slipped out of the mansion.

She needed to get to the northern border as soon as possible to fight the enemy with her father and brothers.

She had already tried her best to change history and keep her distance from Shen Nian'an, and she could not afford to lose her family again because of the war.

Just before setting off, she realized she had forgotten to prepare food for the journey. After all, this kind of thing couldn't be packed in her bag beforehand, so she had to go to the market again.

Shen Nian'an had not expected that Shen Yanzhi would be expelled from the academy.

Fighting and insulting classmates at the academy were all done with remarkable ease and without hesitation by Shen Yanzhi.

Shen Nian'an had no choice but to bring Fu Rou along to pick them up.

As a result, the three of them, all so fresh and beautiful, bumped into Xie Wanru, who was buying dry food.

Upon noticing something amiss, Shen Nian'an wanted to hurry over. He didn't want to run into Xie Wanru; he felt ashamed of his current situation.

However, Xie Wanru lived a carefree and unrestrained life, which was in stark contrast to them. Even though Xie Wanru was dressed in a smart women's outfit, it was still hard to hide her temperament.

Fu Rou refused, and she shook off Shen Nian'an's hand and ran to Xie Wanru.

"Xie Wanru, you don't like Nianlang at all, so why pretend that we all owe you something?"

Fu Rou's gaze was sinister, as if she wanted to devour Xie Wanru whole.

In her opinion, Xie Wanru was Princess Yongchang, so why was she dressed so casually? Wasn't she just deliberately playing the victim to evoke pity from others?

“Madam, not everyone is as short-sighted as you. I may dislike Shen Nian’an, but is that an excuse for you to deceive me? When you adopted Shen Yanzhi into my family, hoping he would enjoy the blessings of my Xie family, didn’t you feel disgusted with yourselves then? Didn’t you owe me anything?”

Xie Wanru sneered. "Since when has having an affair become so acceptable?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Nian'an's face flushed slightly with anger. He wanted to leave and didn't want to hear Xie Wanru say another word.

He tried to pull Shen Yanzhi away, but Shen Yanzhi broke free from his hand.

"Mother!"

Shen Yanzhi shouted and rushed towards Fu Rou, but bypassed her and ran to Xie Wanru instead.

Xie Wanru's dashing and stylish outfit was very attractive to him. In a child's eyes, this kind of clothing was more appealing than anything luxurious.

"Where is Mother going?"

Shen Yanzhi asked ingratiatingly, completely ignoring Fu Rou's gritted teeth expression.

Xie Wanru was overjoyed. She had initially felt a little annoyed by Shen Yanzhi calling her "Mother," but upon seeing Fu Rou's expression, she suddenly found it quite pleasant.

"I'm not going there, I'm just wandering around because I'm bored. Look at you, why are there still holes in your clothes?"

Xie Wanru feigned concern, secretly plotting that since Shen Yanzhi liked her so much, she should continue to take advantage of his affection and cause Fu Rou as much trouble as possible.

She knelt down and straightened Shen Yanzhi's clothes, which had been torn during a fight at the academy. "Is it because I left that the servants in the manor are no longer as attentive to you? Sigh, it's all my fault. I was so angry that I forgot you're just a child, and none of this has anything to do with you."

As she spoke, Xie Wanru even pretended to be pitiful.

Seeing that she still had some feelings for him, Shen Yanzhi felt relieved.

“I know I didn’t mean to deceive you; I truly want to be your son.”

Shen Yanzhi looked serious.

His words kept Xie Wanru smiling, even moved, but in her heart, it was as if she had only heard something insignificant.

The Xie Wanru of today is not the fool she was in her past life.

"I know you're the best boy, and I wish you could be my son, but... sigh, never mind, just hope the three of you can be happy together from now on."

Xie Wanru's words carried a hint of grievance, yet also revealed a subtle tenderness.

Fu Rou, who was listening nearby, turned pale. She knew that Xie Wanru's words were meant for Shen Yanzhi, to sow discord between them.

Shen Nian'an clenched his fists, suppressing his anger, wanting to quickly leave this place that had made him lose face with Shen Yanzhi.

However, Fu Rou refused to give up. Her eyes narrowed and her voice sharp: "Xie Wanru, don't pretend to be virtuous here! Who do you think you are? A woman abandoned by her father's family, what right do you have to lecture me?"

Xie Wanru's aggrieved expression was still visible when she heard this, but when she stood up and looked at Fu Rou, a cold glint flashed in her eyes: "Qualifications? You've just usurped my place. I've already granted your wish, but do you know how Yan Zhi will fare after all this? He could have been under my protection."

These words were like a sharp knife, piercing Fu Rou's heart. Her face turned deathly pale instantly, her body trembled slightly, but she couldn't find any words to refute them.

Because what Xie Wanru said was indeed very correct.

Divorcing Xie Wanru not only deprives Shen Nian'an of her career path, but also makes it a hundred times more difficult for Shen Yanzhi to pursue that path in the future.