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

Despite Gan Cai'er's confident demeanor in front of Zhu Xiaoxiao, she was actually quite insecure.

Although she had seen many storms and fallen into many pitfalls in her previous life, having experienced them did not mean she could handle them with ease.

After all, in her previous life, she had never won against those noble ladies from the capital. Every encounter ended in her utter defeat, leaving her humiliated and disgraced.

In the end, she lost all her reputation and was left with only a tarnished reputation.

In terms of fighting skills, Gan Cai'er is more than ten times stronger than them, but when it comes to scheming and using tricks... Gan Cai'er is completely defeated.

She didn't dare to be careless and felt that she should tell Lan Tingzhou about this as soon as possible so that he could be careful.

In particular, Wu Xin's statement, "Which family is more important, the Wu family or the Gan family? I think he should know. If he really doesn't know, then I might as well let him know."

This made her feel deeply uneasy.

Gan Cai'er has a quick temper and can't keep things to herself; she acts on whatever comes to mind. After the tea party, Zhu Xiaoxiao returned to the Lan family courtyard, while Gan Cai'er took a carriage directly to Luming Academy.

The provincial examination is scheduled for February of next year. Only by passing the provincial examination and obtaining the title of Xiucai can one officially embark on the path of the imperial examination. Therefore, all students attach great importance to the provincial examination, and Lantingzhou is no exception.

To prepare for the exam, he has been living at the academy and rarely goes home. Whenever he needs something, he sends Moyan and Moyun home to fetch it.

Gan Cai'er hasn't seen him for a long time.

The Luming Academy is strictly managed, and only teachers and students are allowed to enter or leave the academy. All visiting family members can only meet briefly in the reception courtyard at the entrance of the academy after being informed.

Lan Tingzhou was quite surprised to hear that someone from the Xie family had come to the academy looking for him.

The Xie family's ancestral home was far away in Chen County, more than 800 li from Danzhou. Since the Lan family's incident, they had even reduced their correspondence, let alone their meetings.

Lan Tingzhou thought something had happened to the Xie family and rushed over to see them. But when he saw that it was Gan Cai'er, he was furious.

Gan Cai'er previously used the name Xie Caiyun. So, has she become addicted to acting?

"What are you up to now?" Lan Tingzhou frowned slightly, his voice tinged with displeasure.

"Oh, I came directly from the Wu residence and haven't had time to remove my makeup yet. To avoid any trouble, I'm using the name of my cousin from the Xie family," Gan Cai'er explained.

"The Wu residence?"

"Yes, it's General Wu's residence. Today, Wu Xin invited Xiao Xiao to her tea party, and I went along."

Lan Tingzhou frowned even more deeply. She'd rushed all this way to see him just to tell him she'd gone to the tea party? Had she discovered something else?

Sure enough, Gan Cai'er then told him everything she had heard and seen in the Wu residence.

Lan Tingzhou's expression immediately turned serious.

He didn't care about Wu Xin's praise, nor did he care about her threatening words, "Let him know." He only keenly caught the words "Regent."

"General Wu wants to give his daughter to the Regent?"

Gan Cai'er was taken aback. Was this the main point she was going to make? She nodded.

"Yes, that's what Wu Xin said."

Lan Tingzhou rubbed his little finger, lowered his eyes and pondered for a moment, then said, "I understand, you can go back now."

Seeing Lan Tingzhou's nonchalant and calm expression, Gan Cai'er immediately became anxious: "What do you mean you know?"

"Do you know what drugs Wu Xin got? Do you know when she's going to use them on you? And how do you plan to avoid it?"

Gan Cai'er became more and more anxious as she spoke.

After a long silence, Lan Tingzhou slowly said, "Not just anyone can drug me."

Gan Cai'er choked, then suddenly remembered something, and her face instantly turned bright red.

"Well, I only... only after we got married did I give it to you..."

Lan Tingzhou glanced at her and sighed softly, "Alright, don't worry, I know what I'm doing."

How could Gan Cai'er be at ease!

In her mind, Lan Tingzhou had always been a virtuous gentleman, upright in his conduct, and of noble character, utterly disdainful of petty scheming. Yet, the more virtuous he was, the more easily he was plotted against by treacherous individuals.

Most importantly, Lan Tingzhou is easily swayed. Whenever she makes him angry, she usually only needs to plead a few times, act cute, or be a little unreasonable, and he will forgive her quickly.

If he weren't that kind of person, how could she have managed to scheme against him? Wu Xin's methods would only be more sophisticated than hers, and Wu Xin is also delicate and gentle, just the kind of person Lan Tingzhou likes. If she were to act coquettishly, she would probably be even better than her.

Therefore, she couldn't possibly feel at ease.

Moreover, there's still that huge false accusation case from my past life. Who knows what kind of trouble the other party will cause in this life?

"You must be very careful recently and never eat food given to you by strangers."

The worry in Gan Cai'er's eyes was almost tangible, and Lan Tingzhou felt a slight warmth in his heart, but also a sense of helplessness.

“I will do as you say, Madam. From now on, I will only eat the food and drink prepared by Moyan and Moyun, and I will not touch anything else. Now you can rest assured.”

"Hmm." Gan Cai'er nodded, but still looked worried.

Not wanting her to think any further, Lan Tingzhou changed the subject.

"I almost didn't recognize you today. Where did you learn this skill, Xiao Hong?"

"Really? You didn't even recognize me?" Gan Cai'er asked excitedly.

"This wasn't done by Xiao Hong, I did my own makeup," Gan Cai'er said happily, a smile playing on her lips.

"You alone?" Lan Tingzhou looked at her suspiciously.

"I learned it from a very skilled master."

So, Gan Cai'er told Lan Tingzhou in detail about her going to Aunt Zhao's place to become an apprentice.

"I remember you once said that Aunt Zhao was a courtesan?" Lan Tingzhou asked.

“Yes. Aunt Zhao was a gift from a wealthy merchant to Lord Du when he was still in the capital,” Gan Cai’er replied.

"How could a courtesan's nanny possess such superb disguise skills?" Lan Tingzhou frowned slightly.

"Disguise? Huang Mama taught me disguise?!" Gan Cai'er was shocked. She rubbed her cheeks vigorously. "I didn't disguise myself."

Lan Tingzhou glanced at her and said calmly, "Beginner disguise technique works on the skin; intermediate disguise technique works on the bones. The former involves changing one's appearance or using a mask, while the latter involves shrinking and deforming one's bones to change one's physical form."

"The highest level of sleight of hand involves no change to the skin or bones; it alters the appearance of others by confusing their vision. Without harming the body, it can make even old friends not recognize each other."

"You mean, what Granny Huang taught me was the most advanced face-changing technique?" Gan Cai'er touched her face, still not believing it.

“However, Granny Huang is not Aunt Zhao’s person.” Gan Cai’er suddenly remembered the information she had heard.

During her previous meetings with Zhao Jiao'er, Gan Cai'er always felt that there was something off about Huang Mama and Zhao Jiao'er being together, so she asked her out of curiosity in her spare time.

"When Du Ke was a child, he was seriously ill. In a fit of anger, Lord Du punished the servant who had taken care of Du Ke at the time, and then sent Granny Huang to take care of Aunt Zhao and her son."

"I heard from Aunt Zhao that Granny Huang is an old servant of the Du family and is very thoughtful and considerate. Since Granny Huang came, Aunt Zhao's life has become much easier."

Lan Tingzhou frowned; this was even more wrong.

Aunt Zhao was originally a courtesan, at most a lowly concubine. If she hadn't given birth to a son, she probably wouldn't have even been a concubine.

Eucommia ulmoides had many children; not counting daughters, he had more than ten sons alone.

In such a large and blessed family, why would he send his own old servant to take care of a concubine and her child?

Moreover, how could someone with such extraordinary skills be just an ordinary nanny?

Lan Tingzhou then remembered another matter that Lu Qingning had told him before leaving.

Lu Yu stayed in Danzhou for over a month before leaving. During this time, he resided at the Du residence, occasionally instructing the children there. He particularly favored two of them, taking them on as his disciples. Before departing, he instructed them that they could visit him in the capital once they turned seven.

If Lan Tingzhou remembers correctly, one of those two children was Aunt Zhao's son, Du Ke.

Who is Lu Yu? He now holds the title of Imperial Tutor, and countless people would do anything to become his disciple, but he has not accepted a single one.

Lu Yu was a man who devoted his life to calligraphy and painting, and almost never concerned himself with worldly affairs. It was already strange that he came out on inspection this time, but what was even stranger was that he actually took the initiative to accept the children of local officials as his students.

This is completely out of character for him.

There aren't that many coincidences in the world. If there are too many coincidences, then it must be intentional.

It seems that although Danzhou is located in a remote area, far from the imperial court, it is not simple.

The Wu family has ties to the Regent, but the Du family seems to have even bigger problems.

Lan Tingzhou looked at the fallen autumn leaf and thought to himself, "I wonder what kind of monsters lurk beneath the calm surface of Danzhou Prefecture."