Divorced woman with child travels through time

Zhao Lue's face turned pale, but he held back his anger and said through gritted teeth, "Father is right, Xiao Qi doesn't need to worry about it!"

Zhao Qi almost burst out laughing, looking at him with a half-smile and saying, "Then I'll have to work hard from now on, brother~"

Zhao Lue poured himself a glass of wine and gulped it down in a fit of anger, coughing and choking as expected, spraying his clothes with it.

Zhao Lue seized the opportunity and said, "You guys eat first, I'll be right back!"

After saying that, he quickly left; he didn't want to stay in this godforsaken place for even a second longer.

Zhao Qi happily placed some food into Prince De's bowl, "Father, try this braised pork, it's perfect for you."

"Alright, alright, I'll try it." Prince De was delighted and his appetite was whetted. He ate several pieces in one go. "This meat is really good. Make more later. I want to eat this dish tomorrow too."

“Alright, I’ll have the chef make this dish for Dad every day.” Zhao Qi said with a smile, putting on a show of fatherly love and filial piety. But in his heart, his hand was secretly wiping the Prince’s clothes with disgust. He couldn’t help it; he was a germaphobe.

The group ate for a long time with ulterior motives, and Zhao Lue finally returned, wearing brand new clothes and seemingly having taken a bath.

Prince De looked displeased and coughed heavily, saying, "I'm not eating. Some people think I'm too old and unclean."

Zhao Lue's expression faltered, and he gave a bitter smile. "Father, I didn't. I just changed my clothes."

"Hmph, I know perfectly well whether you have it or not! Don't try to be all high and mighty in front of me. I'm not eating anymore! Take me back to my room!" The old prince gave the order, and the servants dared not disobey.

Zhao Lue remained silent and watched the old prince leave.

Zhao Qi chuckled, his smile bright and cheerful. "Dad, take care, I still want to eat some more."

The old prince nodded and left angrily.

After everyone left, Zhao Qi said with a grin, "How was it? My good brother, how did it feel to do all that work for nothing?"

Zhao Lue said with a livid face, "What does this have to do with you? You're just like that, we're both his sons, why am I the one who suffers!"

"Because you want his position! He's not dead yet! Do you think that old man can't see it? He wants a powerful minister. What you've been doing behind the scenes, helping the Crown Prince, how can he not hate you!" Zhao Qi picked up his chopsticks and poked at the dead fish eyes in the plate one by one out of boredom.

"Then aren't you the same? You're helping Consort He who's pregnant, sending her things and people every few days. Don't you have any other thoughts?" Now that the matter was out in the open, Zhao Lue didn't try to hide anything.

"I'm making money. If I don't make money, what will this huge Prince De's mansion eat and drink? Rely on you? Or rely on that old codger who keeps clinging to the treasury and won't let go of a single tael of silver!" Zhao Qi slapped the chopsticks into the fish's eye. The chopsticks stood straight up, and the bass stared at him with its eyes wide open in death.

"Come on, you know how much you spent yourself, don't put such a accusation on me!" Zhao Lue was too lazy to argue with him, and started eating a few dishes that the old prince had never touched before.

Cao Ruyu was not surprised and ate slowly.

This was Liang Rubing's first time eating with them. Seeing them arguing made her uneasy, so she stopped eating. But seeing Cao Ruyu's calm demeanor, she felt resentful and started eating like her.

The meal ended unhappily.

Zhao Lue was also in a bad mood and did not go to take care of the sick.

Cao Ruyu rarely came to see him. "You've endured it for so long, what's a little more patience? Why did you have to confront him?"

Zhao Lue didn't even look at her, poured himself a glass of wine, and said in a low voice, "His men disappeared after returning to the capital. Can you borrow a few people to help me investigate and see if they might be up to anything?"

"Oh, it's rare for you to ask me for a favor, so I'll grant your request!" Cao Ruyu smiled smugly, feeling a sense of superiority over him.

"You should try to avoid flirting with him in the future! Especially in public, although I don't mind!" Zhao Lue said stubbornly.

"Hmph, I can do whatever I want, mind your own business!" After spending time with him, Cao Ruyu knew he was stubborn and didn't take it to heart.

"It's better to be careful and avoid unnecessary trouble. The child is more important!" Zhao Lue couldn't help but ask with concern.

"Oh, I know!" It was rare for him to say something so gentle, so Cao Ruyu was in a good mood and didn't argue with him. "I'll keep an eye on him, don't worry."

"Yes." Although the couple sat on opposite sides, their shadows intertwined.

Zhao Lue looked at the swaying, indistinct shadows of the trees on the ground, and felt a sudden chill; a breeze had picked up.

"Snap!" A thin servant rushed in, holding a letter in his hand. "Master, someone just gave me a letter to give to you."

Zhao Lue didn't answer. "Could you see clearly who they are?"

The servant frowned slightly and said, "I didn't see his face clearly, but he's dressed like someone from the palace."

"Give it to me! Get down!" Zhao Lue quickly took it and stood up abruptly. "You need to go to the palace; the Empress Dowager has passed away!"

"What?" Cao Ruyu panicked and knocked over her teacup, immediately realizing the seriousness of the situation. "Then I'll go now!"

"Okay, be careful of yourself and the child!" Zhao Lue didn't say much more.

Cao Ruyu put on a cloak, took two people with her, and got into the palace in a small sedan chair.

Outside the secluded walls of the cold palace, Ah Xing, dressed in black, hid in the shadows of the trees, anxiously counting the time.

After a long wait, just as he was about to despair, A-Yue appeared. She was dressed in ordinary, low-class palace attire, concealing her face, and silently came to the tree.

"Meow!" She crouched down slightly.

Ah Xing couldn't wait any longer and jumped down, throwing her a bundle.

"Quick, put it on! I'll keep watch!"

"Okay!" A-Yue didn't say anything more, and naturally turned her back, took off her palace dress, and changed into night clothes.

Although Ah Xing didn't see it, he heard the rustling sounds and naturally knew what beautiful scenery lay beneath those ordinary clothes. He couldn't help but feel a little distracted. Thinking of this, he gave a self-deprecating smile. What time is it for me to be thinking about these things?

"All changed! Let's go!" Ah Yue urged.

"Wait a minute, you'll only make things worse!" Ah Xing grabbed the clothes, lit them with a tinderbox, opened the door to the Cold Palace, and threw them onto the pile of junk in the corner.

"Let's go!"

Ah Xing pulled Ah Yue along, quickly passing through countless hidden paths, until they reached a tall wall. They moved aside a rockery, parted the tall grass, and walked through the intertwined flower bushes. Finally, they found the dog hole at the end and escaped the palace.

In the distance, the chaotic sounds of firefighting could be heard from within the palace…

"How did it go? Did you get it done?" Ah Xing asked in a low voice.

"It's done!" A-Yue said, sounding a little downcast.

"What's wrong? What did you see? Did you do it in the end?" Ah Xing asked with concern.

"Before I could even make a move, her closest relatives did it. Come to think of it, I even helped her get revenge." A-Yue laughed self-deprecatingly.

"Then that's none of your business! This palace is a cannibalistic world."