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

With Fan Sui in power, the hidden forces that originally belonged to the regent were thoroughly purged.

Later, Gan Cai'er learned that Lan Tingzhou was able to approach Fan Sui because of a piece of gossip she had written for him. She had written that the future Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel had a particular fondness for peaches, to the point of being obsessed. Emperor Jinghe had once granted him a hundred acres of fertile land, which he used entirely to plant peach trees.

Lu Qingning had been lying low in the capital for over a decade, and had some understanding of officials of all ranks, but he had never heard of anyone with such a strange quirk. So, the two of them painstakingly unraveled the mystery and finally discovered the past of Fanjiacun Village, finding Fan Sui.

Fan Sui also became the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel earlier than in his previous life.

Du Ke was finally made crown prince, and Gan Cai'er was granted the title of First-Rank Imperial Lady for her meritorious service in saving the crown prince. Her rank was one level higher than Lan Tingzhou's.

Moreover, the Gan family was also designated as imperial merchants of the Dayong Dynasty by Emperor Jinghe.

In an instant, Gan Cai'er's value skyrocketed, and countless noble ladies and matriarchs flocked to her, with invitations to various banquets pouring in like snowflakes. But she showed little interest. She was no longer the person she was in her previous life, who had forced herself into a bizarre and grotesque shape in order to gain some recognition, only to become a laughingstock.

She grew up in the countryside, a village woman, and was not subject to strict rules from a young age. She did not understand the strict etiquette, nor could she learn the sweet talk and treacherous schemes of noble ladies. Everyone has eight hundred tricks up their sleeve.

If she can't afford to offend someone, she can always avoid them.

She no longer wanted to compromise herself by pretending to be friendly with these wealthy women; she just wanted to focus on doing her business properly.

The title of "Imperial Consort" was indeed prestigious and carried great weight. With this title, Gan Cai'er made her embroidery shop a resounding success. In just two years, Caiyun Pavilion became a household name in the capital.

Have you ever heard of a first-rank imperial consort personally overseeing a shop? Well, here's one!

Du Zhong was summoned back to the capital. He brought his entire family back with him, including Aunt Zhao.

In an inconspicuous corner of the palace, there is a small Buddhist shrine where incense burns year-round, and monks chant sutras daily without ceasing.

Aunt Zhao sat in that Buddhist hall for a long time, holding a small piece of clothing and crying for a long time.

Du Ke knelt before her and solemnly promised, "Mother, you will always be my mother. I will be filial to you for the rest of my life."

With tears in her eyes, Aunt Zhao helped Du Ke up: "Good child. Actually, I knew a long time ago that you were no longer my Ke'er."

Du Ke stared at her in shock.

Aunt Zhao smiled through her tears: "No matter how they dress you two up to look alike, how could a mother not recognize her own child?"

"I have always cherished and loved you as my own child, and I always thought that others could also cherish my child as their own."

Yao Ji's heart skipped a beat, and he said in a trembling voice, "Jiao Niang, I'm sorry."

"From now on, Zhao'er will treat you like her own mother!"

Finally, Zhao Jiao'er was granted the title of Lady Chonghua, a first-rank official, and was bestowed with a thousand acres of fertile land, a fief of ten thousand households, and the right to freely enter and leave the palace. On the very day she received the imperial edict, Zhao Jiao'er took it to Lady Du's room.

Madam Du gritted her teeth, but still had to bow respectfully to her: "Greetings, Madam."

Seeing Madam Du, who was usually so aloof, now swallowing her anger in front of her, Zhao Jiao'er felt a sense of satisfaction. She placed the imperial edict on the table and said, "Madam, from now on, Master will stay in my courtyard."

"Zhao Jiao'er, don't push your luck! No matter how much the Emperor favors you, you are still a concubine of the Du family!" Madam Du could no longer tolerate it.

Indeed, no matter how much Gongsun Rui rewarded her, she was still Du Zhong's concubine. Gongsun Rui could issue an edict for her to divorce and live independently, but he could not issue an edict for Du Zhong to elevate his concubine to the status of wife.

Zhao Jiao'er naturally understood this principle. She came from a family of prostitutes and never thought of becoming anyone's wife. However, she had fallen deeply in love with Du Zhong, so she could give up her reputation, but she had to have him.

So she smiled and said, "Madam should know Ke'er's current status, right? The young masters in the manor used to bully him quite a bit."

"What are you going to say?!"

"What I want to say is that I can advise Ke'er to be more magnanimous and not dwell on the suffering he endured in his childhood. A ruler, after all, should have a broad mind. However..."

"How I advise you depends on how you choose between the young master and the master."

"Can you really make the Crown Prince stop causing trouble for my son?" Madam Du looked at her warily.

"If you can keep all of the master's women from bothering him, I can certainly persuade Ke'er not to cause them any trouble."

After Zhao Jiao'er finished speaking, she took the imperial edict and left.

Du Zhong is a good person in every way, except that he has too many romantic entanglements.

Gan Cai'er didn't have many friends in Kyoto, besides Zhu Xiaoxiao, there was only Mei Wanqing. The group often visited each other.

Although Gan Cai'er never replied to Meng Yu's words, it didn't stop her from constantly offering advice to Mei Wanqing.

In his past life, Meng Yu had two concubines and two maids in the northern frontier, both of whom were exceptionally beautiful. Gan Cai'er wrote down their names and gave them to Mei Wanqing, thoughtfully telling her where to find them.

So, after following Meng Yan to the northern frontier, Mei Wanqing began searching for people all over the northern frontier, following the map.

Before long, Meng Yu found out about it. Holding the list and the detailed descriptions of the people in it, he couldn't help but laugh in anger.

She wouldn't feel at ease unless she forced him onto another woman.

"Ah Cai said that these women are all the women you love," Mei Wanqing whispered, glancing at Meng Yu secretly.

"Who do I love? How could I not know?!" Meng Yu's sharp gaze swept over them.

Mei Wanqing trembled in fright and hid behind Meng Yan.

"Ayu, how dare you speak to your sister-in-law like that? Don't you know any manners?" Meng Yan stood in front of Mei Wanqing and coldly reprimanded her.

"It's because your mother has been worried about your marriage that your sister-in-law went to so much trouble and time to find a solution for you. Not only are you ungrateful, but you even yelled at her?!"

"Ha, you want me to get married? That's easy! Go find Nannan, and I'll get married right away."

"You bastard! She's the wife of Grand Tutor Lan!" Meng Yan roared.

"Tsk, he's doing quite well in this life, becoming Grand Tutor so quickly." Meng Yu sneered sarcastically.

"I wonder if he'll die soon too."

"Meng Yu!" Meng Yan roared, his anger barely contained. "Grand Tutor Lan once saved your life!"

With a loud "smash!", Meng Yu slammed the teacup in his hand onto the ground.

Did I ask him to save me? Did I even need him to save me?

"If I didn't owe him this, would I have just stood by and watched him take Nannan away?!"

Meng Yan was speechless.

He had heard a lot about his past life from Meng Yu, but Meng Yu had always kept quiet about Gan Cai'er. He only knew that in his past life, Gan Cai'er had been Meng Yu's wife.

But in this life, she is still Lantingzhou's wife.

"Ah Yu, you should look forward."

Looking ahead, how far ahead?

Do you want to see her with white hair and beard, surrounded by children and grandchildren?

"Go back now. Don't worry about my affairs anymore."

Meng Yu waved his hand listlessly, sending Meng Yan back to the capital.

The winter of the twentieth year of the Keiwa era was exceptionally cold. On New Year's Eve, Kyoto was hit by a rare blizzard.

The next day, the sky cleared, and Lan Tingzhou awoke to the sound of firecrackers celebrating the New Year. After opening his eyes, he stared blankly at Gan Cai'er beside him, unable to look away for a long time.

"What's wrong with you?" Gan Cai'er rubbed her sleepy eyes and yawned widely.

"It's a day off today, why don't you sleep in a little longer?"

“Ah Cai, I have absolutely no romantic feelings for Shen Yunxi.”

"Huh?!" Gan Cai'er looked at him in confusion. This happened so many years ago, why is he suddenly bringing it up again?

"Ah Cai, I have absolutely no romantic feelings for Shen Yunxi," Lan Tingzhou repeated solemnly.

Gan Cai'er's eyes went from confusion to sudden surprise, and then to extreme shock!

"Ah Cai, after you left, I went crazy, really crazy." Lan Tingzhou hugged Gan Cai'er tightly, with all his might, as if he were holding a lost treasure that had been found again.

He buried his head in her neck and said with difficulty, "Ah Cai, thank you for not leaving in this life."

Gan Cai'er felt a slight chill on her neck, as if water had seeped into her hair and skin.

She raised her hand and hugged Lan Tingzhou back: "I will never leave again."

On the same day, Meng Yu, far away in the northern frontier, passed away peacefully in his sleep.

(End of the article)