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

Gan Cai'er found Lan Tingzhou's focus to be strange.

She clearly came to warn him to be wary of Wu Xin, warning him that she might drug him, but he ended up paying extra attention to Granny Huang.

Oh, and the regent.

Lan Tingzhou wasn't a gossipy person, but after thinking for a long time, she still couldn't figure out what connection these two people had with him.

In her past life, she and Lan Tingzhou had no idea who Granny Huang was, and had never even heard of her.

The Regent, holding a high position and wielding great power, was far beyond their reach. If one were to insist on drawing a connection, it would be that when the Regent was still in power, he and Lan Tingzhou served in the same court, and Lan Tingzhou could catch a glimpse of each other from afar during the grand court assembly every two weeks—that was all.

Gan Cai'er left, looking preoccupied.

Meanwhile, after returning to the academy, Lan Tingzhou immediately wrote a letter to Lu Qingning, asking him to find out as soon as possible about Du Zhong's situation when he was an official in the capital, especially the details related to Aunt Zhao.

"Mo Yun, take this letter to the capital and deliver it to Qing Ning personally. Do not entrust it to anyone else."

"Yes."

Mo Yun carefully put the letter away, left the academy, and rode a fast horse towards the capital city.

Gan Cai'er naturally noticed Lan Tingzhou's disdain for Wu Xin.

Lan Tingzhou didn't care, but she did.

In this life, there's definitely no way to manipulate Lan Tingzhou's identity anymore. But through Wu Xin's two slips of the tongue, Gan Cai'er clearly sensed that she was definitely going to do something.

Lan Tingzhou will not marry Wu Xin.

It wouldn't have happened in my past life, and it certainly won't happen in this one.

Therefore, Wu Xin will not give up easily.

Wu Xin was a sheltered young woman, and her contact with Lan Tingzhou was extremely limited. Moreover, once she left the inner quarters, the things she could accomplish were even more limited.

Therefore, Gan Cai'er felt that the focus should still be on Huang Tinghai. However, Huang Tinghai was in the academy, and she had no way to keep an eye on him.

These past few days, Gan Cai'er has been sighing and lamenting all day long because of this matter, so worried that she has no heart to think about the pattern of her new dress.

"If you keep going around like this every day, you'll wear a hole in the stone floor."

Zhu Xiaoxiao made Gan Cai'er dizzy from spinning around.

"Xiao Xiao, you're smart, can you help me think of a way?" Gan Cai'er pleaded.

"That's easy." Zhu Xiaoxiao continued drawing without looking up. "If it's inconvenient for you to keep an eye on Young Master Huang, then find someone else who can, right?"

"I don't know his friends either. Besides, even if I did, they wouldn't help me."

"Then you'll have to find someone you can keep an eye on."

Gan Cai'er fell into deep thought.

Zhu Xiaoxiao's words opened her mind. She searched through her memories for a long time and actually found someone.

Huang Tinghai's home was in Huangjiapo, outside the city of Danzhou. His family owned several acres of land, and apart from him studying, the rest of his family farmed at home.

He has two older sisters, two younger brothers, and one younger sister.

Huang Tinghai's second sister was named Huang Lanxiang. She was married for less than two years when her husband died unexpectedly, leaving her a widow at a young age. Because she was unable to give birth to any children, her husband's family sent her back to her parents' home, and she lived as a widow in the Huang family ever since.

Huang Lanxiang was thin and frail and couldn't do heavy work, so she took care of all the lighter chores around the house.

Gan Cai'er remembered that in her past life, when she went to the Huang family several times, she saw her sitting under the jujube tree in front of the Huang family making clothes. She was dark-skinned and thin, with quiet eyes and brows.

"Xiao Xiao, the shop's business is sure to get better and better. Why don't we hire a few embroiderers to keep on hand?"

Zhu Xiaoxiao put down her pen, raised an eyebrow, and asked, "You've come up with a solution?"

Gan Cai'er nodded with a smile.

Just as Gan Cai'er was worrying about getting closer to Huang Tinghai, Lu Qingning, far away in the capital, was also worried about a letter from Lan Tingzhou.

He served in the Imperial Guard, not the Court of Justice. Where was he supposed to investigate the past of an official sent to a remote post? And not only was he demanding an investigation of Du Zhong, but also of his concubine!

He just wanted to eavesdrop at someone's house, but it's too late now.

"That kid is always giving me difficult problems!"

Lu Qingning grumbled in dissatisfaction, threw Lan Tingzhou's letter aside, picked up the wine pot, and took a big gulp.

"Boss, I heard you invited Zhang Yuan to drink at Yingchunlou tonight?"

Just then, someone pushed open the door and entered. The newcomer was wearing the fish-scale armor of the Imperial Guard; it was none other than Qi Louming, Lu Qingning's deputy.

"You're quite the insider. How about we go together tonight?" Lu Qingning raised his head and smiled.

"No, thank you." Qi Louming shook his head and advised, "Boss, if you want to go out for drinks and entertainment, you can invite the brothers in the team who are not on duty. Zhang Yuan is a member of the Court of Justice, so it is not advisable to have too close contact with him."

"Do I need you to teach me? Get lost." Lu Qingning laughed and cursed, completely unconcerned.

As night fell, Lu Qingning changed into casual clothes and left home on time.