She mistakenly got into the bridal sedan chair and married a sickly but powerful minister, becoming

Zhu Yu stood there dumbfounded, staring at Zhao Yi in disbelief. She opened her mouth, but after a long while, she finally managed to utter, "Second Master, I...I have no money..."

The gambling debts were just an excuse she made up in hopes of staying by Zhao Yi's side.

Zhao Yi stopped looking at her and instead instructed Jiang Mu: "Take this IOU and take this Miss Zhu to the matchmaker. Sell her to get money to pay off this debt."

Zhu Yu exclaimed in horror, "No! Second Master, you can't do this!"

“Paying back debts is a matter of course, why can’t I do it?” Zhao Yi’s smile was cold and sneer: “Your father is a gambler. If you wait until he sells you to pay off your gambling debts, this debt in my hands will become a mess.”

Zhu Yu's face turned deathly pale: "Second...Second Master, I can sell myself to you to pay off my debts..."

“Alright.” Zhao Yi agreed to Zhu Yu’s request, and then instructed Jiang Mu: “Send her to Lord Jiang Wang’s residence and say that she is a congratulatory gift that I have carefully prepared for him.”

When Zhu Yu first saw Zhao Yi agree, she was overjoyed, but before she could even laugh, she was struck by a blow.

Jiang Wang was the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. He had a well-known fetish: he loved young, tender women. It was said that he was extremely cruel and that many women had died at his hands.

She turned pale with fright, seemingly never expecting Zhao Yi to be so cruel as to offer her up to Jiang Wang.

Zhu Yu wanted to say something, but when she saw Jiang Mu walking towards her, she was terrified and ran away.

At this moment, she was filled with remorse, regretting that she had listened to someone's instigation to come to Zhao Yi.

Fearing that Zhao Yi would not give up and would chase her to her home to arrest her and hand her over to Jiang Wang.

She longed to run home quickly, then pack her bags and leave the capital to seek refuge with her aunt who had married far away, hoping to lay low for a while before making any further plans.

Zhao Yi watched Zhu Yu's retreating figure and withdrew his cold gaze.

Jiang Mu asked, "Second Master, are we going to arrest someone?"

Zhao Yi pondered for a moment, then asked in return, "Have you found out who instructed her?"

“I found out. I was planning to tell you when I got back to the manor.” Jiang Mu said in a low voice, “The day after Zhao Jue had the incident at Longhua Temple, the Lady of Chengen Marquis went to see Zhu Yu.”

A chilling glint flashed in Zhao Yi's eyes as he said coldly, "There's no need to touch her for now."

He has other plans.

Jiang Mu replied, "Yes."

Zhao Yi boarded the carriage and saw Shen Qingtan leaning against the carriage wall, staring intently at the carriage curtain.

He slowly sat down beside her. She must have heard Jiang Mu's reply from the car window.

Madam Shen is scheming to arrange her marriage, and now she's even trying to put other women in her husband's room. She must be feeling very uncomfortable.

Zhao Yi didn't quite understand Madam Shen's actions. It seemed that after Shen Mingzhu was recognized by her ancestors, the Chengen Marquis's family's favor towards Shen Qingtan had suddenly shifted entirely to Shen Mingzhu.

He opened a small cabinet inside the carriage and said gently, "Reach out."

Shen Qingtan snapped out of her daze and looked at him with a puzzled expression.

Zhao Yi repeated: "Hand."

Shen Qingtan reached out her hand.

Zhao Yi placed a round object in her palm.

Shen Qingtan was slightly taken aback when she saw a piece of lactose in her palm, and looked at the man beside her with some surprise.

Why are you giving me candy?

Shen Qingtan was somewhat confused, and for some reason, her expression became rather strange.

Could it be that another woman came to his door, and he was afraid she would be unhappy, so he tried to appease her with candy?

With mixed feelings, Shen Qingtan silently put the lactose into her mouth.

Seeing that she had eaten the candy, Zhao Yi said in a low voice, "Your grandfather, grandmother, father, and mother all love you very much. If you have nothing to do, you should spend more time with them."

The Marquis of Chengen's mansion has mistreated you; in the future, the Duke of Zhao's mansion will be your protector.

Zhao Yi did not utter the last sentence.

Shen Qingtan instantly realized that he was awkwardly comforting her because Madam Shen had schemed against her and he was afraid that she would be sad.

Although she didn't need comforting, she still felt very appreciated when someone cared about her feelings.

"Okay." Shen Qingtan smiled and said, "The candy is very sweet."

Zhao Yi stared at her intently, and seeing that her smile was not forced but came from the heart, he unconsciously curved his lips slightly as well.

The carriage stopped at the entrance of the Duke of Zhao's mansion. Zhao Yi got off the carriage first, reached out to help Shen Qingtan down, and only withdrew his hand after she had stood firmly.

The distance between the couple seemed to have been shortened imperceptibly.

The two entered the mansion side by side, and Zhao Yi informed them, "I am going to see my grandfather; I have something to discuss with him."

Shen Qingtan asked, "Will you be having dinner at Lanxue Garden tonight?"

Zhao Yi wasn't quite sure: "You don't need to wait for me."

Shen Qingtan nodded and led Liuyue and Tingxue back to Lanxue Garden. As soon as they stepped into the backyard, they ran into the Second Madam and Shen Mingzhu.

"Niece-in-law, you're back." The Second Madam glanced at Shen Qingtan and the two maids behind her, noticing that they were empty-handed and had not brought any imperial gifts. She said in a friendly tone, "When His Majesty first met you, did he give you any good gifts? Don't keep them to yourself, quickly show them to your sister-in-law."

Shen Qingtan frowned.

"His Majesty only bestowed upon me a single gold hairpin back then." The Second Madam raised her hand to touch the gold hairpin in her hair and said with a smile, "Among the younger generation in our Duke's Mansion, His Majesty favors his eldest nephew the most. I suppose what His Majesty bestowed upon his nephew's wife must be something extraordinary."

Upon hearing this, Shen Mingzhu immediately understood the Second Madam's intentions; she had come specifically to see Shen Qingtan make a fool of herself.

She glanced at Shen Qingtan and indeed saw no reward, which brought her some comfort.

She even harbored a malicious suspicion that Shen Qingtan might have offended the Emperor, which was why he hadn't given her a reward earlier.

Shen Qingtan retorted, "According to Second Aunt's logic, if the Emperor doesn't give me any rewards, it means he doesn't favor Second Master, and his favor towards him is just an act?"

The second wife's expression immediately changed; once this accusation was leveled against her, she would be guilty of a serious crime.

“Niece-in-law, you can eat whatever you want, but you can’t say whatever you want. That’s not what I meant.”

The second wife vehemently denied it, looked Shen Qingtan up and down, and then put on a concerned expression: "When elders meet juniors for the first time, if they are very satisfied, they will give them a gift."

I found my nephew's wife to be very pleasing to the eye, and I thought the Emperor must be fond of her, but who would have thought..."

She paused deliberately and said in a fake tone, "Niece-in-law, don't be sad. Maybe the Emperor is very satisfied with you and has given you too many rewards. He's afraid you'll get tired, so he'll send someone to deliver the rewards to you after you return to your residence."

No sooner had the second madam finished speaking than a series of hurried footsteps approached, followed by the steward walking over with a joyful expression.

"Second Madam, a reward has arrived from the palace. Please go and collect it."