After being reborn, her aloof ex-husband and her crazy deceased husband got into a fight.

Kyoto City, inside the Regent's Palace

Fan Sui, holding the intelligence report he had just received, hurriedly entered the study once again.

"Your Highness, our plan has failed."

Regent Gongsun Yi was practicing calligraphy when he heard this. He stopped writing, put his pen aside, and took the letter from Fan Sui.

Gongsun Yi's gaze swept quickly across the letter, then his brows furrowed slightly.

"What a coincidence, there are members of the Meng family on that ship too?"

“Meng Yu destroyed an Ak tribe spy at the Yanbo Ferry. He didn’t want the trouble of escorting the spy back to the capital, so he chose to travel by boat. And that boat was the ‘Fuqing’. It’s quite a coincidence,” Shen Sui replied.

"Even if Meng Yu's case was a coincidence, how come there were so many martial arts masters on the ship? Was that also a coincidence?" Gongsun Yi frowned.

“Well, it’s not exactly a coincidence,” Fan Sui replied. “Those people are all fellow disciples of Lan Tingzhou’s younger brother. They’re here specifically to escort Lan Tingzhou and his wife to the capital.”

"Hmph, a mere provincial graduate needs more than a dozen martial arts masters to escort him? Even princes and nobles don't have such a grand procession when they go on tour," Gongsun Yi sneered.

"Perhaps Lan Tingzhou's wife was once assassinated in Danzhou Prefecture, which is why she is so cautious," Fan Sui said.

"Assassinated?" Gongsun Yi was somewhat surprised. How could a mere woman be assassinated?

"Hehe, it's just some squabbles between women in the inner quarters." Fan Sui chuckled, a hint of disdain in his expression.

"It is said that General Wu's daughter took a fancy to Lan Tingzhou, but Lan Tingzhou was already married at that time. So, Miss Wu plotted to murder his wife, causing a lot of scandals. In the end, she failed to harm him and lost her own life instead."

"Madam Wu was furious and wanted to avenge her daughter, so she hired someone to assassinate Lan Tingzhou's wife."

Upon hearing this, Gongsun Yi frowned and said, "Wu Songping seems to be of little use, allowing the inner quarters to be in such a mess!"

"Moreover, he is a fourth-rank official of the imperial court, yet he cannot even handle a mere candidate for the imperial examination. His competence is truly worrying."

"It seems we'll need to find someone else to handle things in Danzhou in the future."

Fan Sui stroked his beard, pondered for a moment, and said, "If we're talking about ability, then only Du Chong is not bad."

Gongsun Yi picked up a cup of tea, sipped it slowly, and then asked in a low voice, "Have any secret reports come back from the people you planted next to Du Ke?"

“There are a few letters, but they all talk about trivial matters. According to the secret reports he sent back, Du Ke is not acting strangely. The people around him are no different from the servants in an ordinary official’s household, just ordinary maids and old women. So far, there are no flaws to be seen,” Fan Sui said.

"Yes, let him keep an eye on things. If there's really no problem with Du Ke, we can try contacting Du Zhong."

"However, due to the failure of this plan, that informant has been demoted to a menial job and will find it difficult to get close to Du Ke in the short term. It is feared that he will find it difficult to obtain any useful information in the future."

"Your Highness, how about we find someone else?" Fan Sui suggested.

After a moment's thought, Gongsun Yi nodded and said, "Alright, let's do it your way."

While Gongsun Yi and Fan Sui were discussing Du Ke's affairs in their study, the "Fuqing," carrying Du Ke and his entourage, was slowly docking. After more than half a month's voyage, the "Fuqing" finally arrived in the capital.

Watching Du Ke bow and bid farewell to Lan Tingzhou in a proper manner, Gan Cai'er felt very gratified. In this life, this child had at least not been burned into a fool again.

This was the first person she had saved since her rebirth. Suddenly, Gan Cai'er felt that her rebirth was very meaningful.

"Hehe, now there's no big oaf around. I wonder if he'll have such good luck in the future."

A lazy, teasing voice came from behind Gan Cai'er. Without turning around, she knew who was standing behind her.

"Who exactly is Du Ke?" Gan Cai'er asked.

"Tsk tsk, you're already calling him Du Ke, and you're still asking who he is?" Meng Yu shook his head, looking disgusted.

"He is none other than Du Keluo, the eighth young master of the Du family!"

Gan Cai'er rolled her eyes at him, giving him a "I'd be a fool to believe you" look. However, she also knew from this that Meng Yu would not tell her Du Ke's true identity.

It's better not to know, at least the two thousand taels of gold are already in her pocket. That's a full twenty thousand taels of silver! Just thinking about it makes Gan Cai'er beam with joy.

Meng Yu didn't care about Gan Cai'er's resentment. He laughed and teased, "Young lady of the Lan family, we'll meet again someday."

With that, he strode off the ship first, leading a group of Xuanying Guards.

Just as Meng Yu left, Granny Huang led Du Ke to disembark.

Before disembarking, Granny Huang bowed deeply to Lan Tingzhou, performing a full curtsy. Lan Tingzhou turned slightly to the side, accepting only a half-bow from her. He reached out and gently helped Granny Huang up.

"Such a generous gesture from you, Granny, is too much for me to accept."

“If it weren’t for Young Master Lan’s protection along the way, the Eighth Young Master would not have been able to arrive in the capital safely. This great gift is certainly worthy of the young master,” said Granny Huang respectfully.

"Upon arriving in Kyoto, the road ahead will be even more difficult and perilous for you, Eighth Prince. I am of limited knowledge and talent and there is nothing more I can do to help you. I can only wish you all the best in the future."

After Lan Tingzhou finished speaking, he was about to bow and bid farewell to Granny Huang.

Unexpectedly, Granny Huang suddenly smiled and said, "Young Master Lan, there is no need to be so modest. If you are called 'lacking in talent and learning,' then there are few people in the world who deserve to be called 'brilliant.'"

"Although Young Master Lan insisted on not accepting the Eighth Young Master's apprenticeship ceremony, he has benefited greatly from Young Master Lan's guidance along the way. If Young Master Lan has time in the future, I hope he can come to the manor to visit the Eighth Young Master and give him some more guidance."

"We live in the old Du family house in Baihua Lane."

Lan Tingzhou fell silent upon hearing this. Well, so she's planning to cling to him?

“Granny Huang, you flatter me. The Eighth Young Master has the bearing of a dragon and phoenix, and he is destined for greatness. He should seek a better teacher. My knowledge is far from sufficient,” Lan Tingzhou politely declined.

He didn't believe he was capable of dealing with the Regent at the moment.

"Young Master Lan, didn't you want to see my boss to discuss the matter of raising the salary?"

Granny Huang smiled kindly. At that moment, she became an ordinary, loving old woman once again.