Favoring a concubine and destroying the wife? I'll abandon my husband and children and wipe out

After several days of this, the Zhao family was thrown into chaos, causing headaches for Zhao Ye, Madam Zhao, and Ye Ruyue. Cheng Nanzhi, on the other hand, quietly stirred things up and watched the commotion unfold.

Zhao Ye was the most exhausted. He not only had to deal with Zhou Xiangru's doubts and dissatisfaction, but also had to spare some attention to urge Zhao Shize to study, and handle official business.

Just as the results of the imperial examinations were about to be released, he had more and more official duties and was busy until the middle of the night every day. After a few days, he lost a lot of weight.

Madam Zhao and Ye Ruyue were both heartbroken.

Cheng Nanzhi watched coldly from the sidelines, and finally, a few days later, she chose an opportunity when Zhao Ye was once again so angry with Zhao Shize that he was jumping up and down from reading. She went to find him and took the initiative to suggest, "Husband, you are busy with official duties and have no time to take care of Ze'er. I also have to prepare for the spring banquet the day after tomorrow and can't always pay attention to Ze'er. If no one is watching him, he will probably become more naughty and unable to change his nature."

"How about this? Last time you and Mother-in-law both said that Cousin Ye is quite talented. She doesn't have much to do at home, so why don't we ask her to tutor Ze-ge'er? I just don't know if Cousin Ye is willing, or if she still remembers the misunderstanding between us last time."

Zhao Ye was overjoyed upon hearing this.

He was just worried about not having a suitable opportunity to send Ye Ruyue to look after Zhao Shize!

With her talent and skill, Yue'er can surely fool Zhou Xiangru. Once Ze'er settles down and truly learns something, there's no need to worry about Zhou Xiangru seeing through him anymore.

“That’s settled then! Madam, you’re overthinking it. Yue’er is gentle and magnanimous; she won’t hold it against you. Besides, Ze’er is her nephew; how could she possibly object?” After saying this, Zhao Ye immediately left Guantang Courtyard to find Ye Ruyue.

Because he had a legitimate reason to meet, he walked quickly, his joy visibly evident.

"Pah! Gentle and magnanimous? What a load of rubbish. It should be you who doesn't hold it against her!" Lianruo said indignantly.

Qingdai and Jianlan also watched coldly in the direction Zhao Ye left.

Cheng Nanzhi didn't care; she deliberately sought out Ye Ruyue at this time.

"Jianlan, Sanmei's injuries should be healed enough for her to get out of bed and take care of her by now, right? Even if she can't be busy with other things, shouldn't she be able to show her face and see Ye Ruyue?"

Seeing Lan estimate, she nodded: "The medicine you gave me is excellent. The injury that day wasn't too serious. Even though you went out of the manor with Miss Biao once, you should be mostly healed by now."

"That's good. Tell her to go find Ye Ruyue. Make sure to take advantage of the opportunity when Ye Ruyue goes to Zhao Shize's side to help him, and see who Ye Ruyue is working for and how she will produce the same kind of article as before."

Since the apprenticeship ceremony, Cheng Nanzhi hasn't seen Ye Ruyue inquire about the Purple Bamboo Pavilion again. Perhaps seeing that Zhao Ye couldn't find her secretly, she's starting to feel more at ease about not giving herself away.

People are prone to making mistakes when they are relaxed; it's time to test Ye Ruyue again.

Lan accepted the order and left.

Cheng Nanzhi seemed to remember something and turned to Qingdai again.

"Go find Chen Wang later. Tomorrow is the day the results of the imperial examinations are announced. After the rankings are determined, Young Master Song may be in mourning... Make sure someone keeps a close watch on him. Don't let anything happen to him."

Qingdai nodded emphatically.

After Zhao Ye went to talk to Ye Ruyue about it, Ye Ruyue happily agreed.

But then she became a little suspicious: "Is Cheng Nanzhi really that kind-hearted? Would she really give me and Ze Ge'er a chance to get along? Or is she deliberately setting a trap for me?"

Zhao Ye might have doubts about other things, but he had no doubts about this.

"You think too much."

"Cheng Nanzhi truly cares about Ze Ge'er and genuinely wants to get along with you. She doesn't hold a grudge against you. Otherwise, why would she ask you to do such an important thing?"

Ye Ruyue was somewhat unhappy that Zhao Ye was protecting Cheng Nanzhi.

"You can know a person's face but not their heart; who knows if she actually holds a grudge against me!"

Zhao Ye didn't want to continue the conversation with her; he still had a lot of official business to attend to.

"In short, take good care of Ze'er. When he goes to the clan school tomorrow, you can go with him directly. If Zhou Xiangru asks Ze'er anything again, think of a way to handle it. Otherwise, if this continues, Zhou Xiangru will really start to suspect Ze'er." After saying that, he went back to his study.

Ye Ruyue was so excited to be able to go to the clan school with Zhao Shize that she temporarily put aside her dissatisfaction with Cheng Nanzhi and called Chunyu to prepare some things to take the next day.

"We'll be having lunch there. I don't know what the food is like there. Tomorrow morning, you should prepare some food to take with you. Make sure to prepare plenty of the pastries that Zege likes, so he can eat if he gets hungry while studying."

"I don't know if it's cold there. Well, I remember I have a pair of deer hair knee pads in my trunk. I'll take them to Zege's yard later."

"besides……"

Ye Ruyue muttered to herself as she counted on her fingers.

Chunyu was also very excited that Ye Ruyue could go to the clan school, and made all the necessary preparations.

Just then, Sanmei arrived: "Greetings, Miss Biao."

"Sanmei? You're better? You can get out of bed now?" Ye Ruyue was very happy to see her.

Spring rain instantly fell from the corner of her mouth.

Sanmei seemed not to see her and kowtowed to Ye Ruyue, saying, "I am much better now, thank you for your concern, Miss. I have no way to repay you and I want to serve you as soon as possible, so I came as soon as I could get out of bed."

Chunyu said, "There's no need for you. Miss Biao, I'll take care of things here. Since you're not fully recovered, you should continue to stay in bed."

Sanmei glanced at her, then turned to Ye Ruyue.

"What does Miss Biao think?"

Ye Ruyue naturally wanted Sanmei to come back to work as soon as possible, as more hands would mean more work could be done. Previously, she just didn't want Sanmei to come with her injuries.

She personally helped Sanmei up, saying, "I certainly can't do without you."

“Miss, I heard you’re going to the clan school tomorrow. May I go with you?” Sanmei immediately looked up. “I’m afraid I can’t do any heavy work right now, but I can run errands for you. As long as you don’t mind.”

Ye Ruyue didn't care who she brought along, so she readily agreed.

Chunyu's expression changed slightly: "Miss! Didn't you say you were bringing a servant?"

"Oh dear, it doesn't matter which of you follows me." Ye Ruyue took their hands. "From now on, you are both my confidants, so you must get along well."

Sanmei smiled and agreed.

Chunyu gritted her teeth, glanced at Sanmei, and reluctantly lowered her head in agreement.

Ye Ruyue nodded in satisfaction and told them to leave first.

"You've managed to win over Miss Biao as soon as you got back, aren't you very proud of yourself?!" Chunyu angrily called out to Sanmei.

Sanmei frowned, "I didn't."

"Ha, hypocrite! You wait, sooner or later Miss Biao will only have me by her side!" Chunyu flung her sleeves and left.

Sanmei sighed deeply.

The next morning, Sanmei got up early and went to the clan school with Ye Ruyue.

Zhao Shize was very happy that Ye Ruyue could accompany him, and kept calling her "Aunt Ye".

When they arrived at the clan school, Zhou Xiangru disliked having women in the main hall, so Ye Ruyue went to a side room to wait and listen to how Zhou Xiangru taught.

However, the more she listened, the more her expression darkened. Why couldn't Zhao Shize understand anything? He kept saying he didn't know anything when Zhou Xiangru asked him questions! No wonder Zhou Xiangru had such a bad temper and had complained to Zhao Ye several times, leaving Zhao Ye exhausted both physically and mentally!

Sanmei, standing nearby, quietly observed Ye Ruyue.

Ye Ruyue couldn't stand it anymore, so she asked Sanmei to bring tea and gave Zhao Shize a look, telling him to come over under the pretense of needing to use the restroom.

Sanmei accepted the order and left. Soon after, Zhao Shize came over and complained to Ye Ruyue that the classes were not good at all.

Ye Ruyue earnestly advised him to listen carefully to the lecture and to ask questions when he didn't understand, but not to ask anything too silly.

After thinking for a moment, Ye Ruyue asked Sanmei to leave.

Sanmei remembered Cheng Nanzhi's instructions and wanted to hide at the door to eavesdrop, but Ye Ruyue also chased away Zhao Shize's servant who was waiting at the door and told Sanmei to keep an eye on things and not let the servant or anyone else get close.

Sanmei and the servant boy went far away together, so they no longer had a chance to get close and eavesdrop.

After Zhao Shize came out, Sanmei hurried back and found Ye Ruyue alone.

Before long, Zhao Shize performed exceptionally well, which greatly pleased Zhou Xiangru.

Sanmei secretly kept a watchful eye on Ye Ruyue, looking for an opportunity to question her, but she didn't find one. Moreover, Ye Ruyue didn't ask Zhao Shize to be alone with her anymore. She only took advantage of Zhao Shize's rest time to explain the homework left by Zhou Xiangru to him, making sure he understood.

Upon returning home in the evening, Sanmei secretly delivered the results to Guantang Courtyard.

She received a reply that evening, telling her not to worry and that there would be plenty of time to find out the truth later.