May this scumbag husband, who favored his concubine over his wife, rest in peace.

Wen Jing and Wen Tianming also got up to say goodbye.

The three of them then walked outside together.

The old lady's legs went weak, and she slumped back into her chair.

Pei Zeyu's face also looked grim.

The remaining soldiers didn't care about anything else. They stood in front of the old lady, bowed respectfully, and said in unison, "Thank you for your care, Madam!"

Their voices were firm and resounding, and the old lady's body trembled instantly.

Pei Zeyu quickly stepped forward and said, "Please rise, everyone. I will need your continued support in the future."

The old lady snapped out of her daze and quickly replied, "Yes! I'll have someone arrange accommodations for everyone right away!"

Taking good care of him would make Pei Zhicheng feel better, so the old lady was very considerate and directly vacated two courtyards for them to live in, and also asked Xie Qianjiao to allocate a large sum of money for their food and drink.

Since it concerned her own son, Xie Qianjiao naturally didn't hold back and spent a great deal of money.

However, these people were well-fed and well-dressed, and when it came to work, they were very diligent. When they said they were confined, they wouldn't let Pei Zhicheng leave even a step. The old lady and Xie Qianjiao were furious, but they didn't dare to retaliate or mistreat him, so they could only silently endure it.

At first, they were worried that Pei Zhicheng would cry and make a fuss, so they simply stayed outside to watch over him. But to their surprise, Pei Zhicheng was able to stay calm. He did nothing but copy scriptures and rest every day, without showing any signs of irritability. He lived a very regular life.

Meanwhile, Pei Zeyu was also busy, putting all his effort into having a child with Bai Tong, and never stopping for a moment.

Thanks to his hard work during this period, Bai Tong has practically lived in the study now.

That day, Bai Tong came to pay his respects to Wen Yuanshu and talked about what he had gained in recent days: "I know where it has been turned into a secret compartment, but I haven't found the mechanism of the secret compartment yet."

Wen Yuanshu's eyebrows twitched slightly: "Found it so quickly?"

Bai Tong nodded: "Ever since Madam asked me to find a way into the study, I have memorized every detail of the study. The changes to the hidden compartment are obvious, but... I don't know where the mechanism is."

"I touched all the bottles, jars, and ornaments in the room, and none of them were traps."

That's how it's written in the storybooks: you can open the hidden compartment by twisting something, but Bai Tong twisted it one by one and there was no sound at all.

She was very distressed.

Wen Yuanshu frowned slightly.

Bai Tong remembered every detail, even noticing where the compartment had been modified into a hidden compartment, and the mechanism...

"I'll go over there tonight and take a look."

That evening, Wen Yuanshu asked the kitchen to cook a bowl of black chicken soup and personally delivered it to Pei Zeyu.

Seeing her suddenly arrive, Pei Zeyu seemed pleasantly surprised and quickly led her into the study. The two sat down on the daybed, separated by a small table. Wen Yuanshu personally brought out the black chicken soup and placed it next to Pei Zeyu.

"Your Excellency, you work so hard for the Marquis's mansion, you should also take care of your health."

Pei Zeyu sighed, looking very stressed: "In recent years, the General's Mansion has been a great help to the Marquis's Mansion. Since they are already dissatisfied with Zhicheng, I don't want to hurt their feelings, so I have no choice but to..."

A hint of coldness lurked in Wen Yuanshu's eyes: "My family is just feeling sorry for me, please don't blame them, Lord Marquis."

"How could that be? We're all family, what's so strange about it?" Pei Zeyu took a sip of soup, her eyes lighting up. "This must be from your little kitchen! I haven't tasted anything like it in ages!"

Wen Yuanshu nodded: "Yes, it was made by Mama Zheng. If Your Highness likes it, I will have someone deliver it to you tomorrow."

"That would be perfect." Pei Zeyu drank the chicken soup in one gulp.

He was really feeling a bit overwhelmed by all the hard work he had been doing day and night.

It seems I need to drink some tonics as well as chicken soup.

Wen Yuanshu rubbed her lower back, looking tired from sitting, and got up to pace around the study.

She seemed very curious about everything in the study, picking up and examining everything, and praising each item. Pei Zeyu had been watching her, but seeing her head towards the desk, he quickly got up, walked over to her, and subtly blocked her way: "What's wrong?"