Lady Hou is reborn and, by pampering her illegitimate son, reclaims her life of wealth and privilege

Wei Fenghui never blamed his father for his romantic affairs on the frontier; what he resented was his father's cold attitude towards his stepmother and himself. However, because his father was stationed on the frontier for a long time, he could not truly hold him accountable.

At the same time, Wei Fenghui was surprised by Jiang Huaiyu's change.

This Lady Hou, who was always sharp-tongued and eccentric, was able to say such tolerant and understanding words. This made him wonder whether it was a genuine change of heart or an attempt to win over the family after her father's death.

Wei Fengyun is an open-minded person. Although Jiang Huaiyu used to scold him, he never held a grudge.

On the contrary, during his childhood, he often enjoyed playing with this older brother, and this pure friendship was deeply imprinted in his heart.

Wei Fenghui still harbors a unique warmth towards his younger brother, who is physically imposing but simple-minded.

“I have never harbored any resentment towards my father, and I will continue to take good care of my two younger brothers in the future.”

Jiang Huaiyu was quite pleased with Wei Fenghui's statement. Although he still had many grievances about his own perception, the fact that he could get along well with Wei Fengyun was enough to satisfy him.

He turned to Wei Fengyun and Wei Fengyao and instructed them: "Your eldest brother has endured many hardships since childhood. In the future, you must do your best to protect him and give him priority whenever you encounter anything good."

Wei Fengyao and Wei Fengyun replied in unison, "Yes, sir."

Wei Fenghui felt slightly embarrassed. As the eldest son, he actually needed his younger brothers' protection.

But upon closer reflection, perhaps Jiang Huaiyu was just trying to win people over, and he absolutely could not be fooled by her sweet talk.

So he pursed his lips and turned his face away.

Jiang Huaiyu was not angered by this. By this time, all the guests had arrived, and it was time to start the banquet.

She led her three sons out of the mourning hall and instructed the servants to set the food on the table.

At this moment, Lady Changtai deliberately came over to chat: "This must be the third young master who returned with the Marquis, right? Who knew that you would accept them so quickly, sister?"

Jiang Huaiyu thought to herself, "This is the dignified Seventh Prince. I really want to advise her to restrain herself a little and not to offend him. Unfortunately, she insists on courting death."

Worried that Wei Fengyao might not know who this woman who was teasing him was, he smiled and said, enunciating each word clearly, "Fengyao, she is Lady Pei, the wife of the Marquis of Changtai."

Wei Fengyao memorized the name. "Hello, Madam Pei."

Seeing that Jiang Huaiyu did not respond to her provocation, as if she had punched cotton, Pei felt bored and continued, "This must be the Crown Prince. He is truly exceptionally handsome and dashing."

Upon hearing the words "handsome and dashing," Jiang Huaiyu immediately guessed what she was about to say.

"He must have already captivated countless young women of the night."

No sooner had she finished speaking than Lady Jing'an, the Marquis of Jing'an, hurried over and said with a hint of sarcasm, "That's right. I heard that yesterday the heir was not at home keeping vigil. He couldn't wait to go to the brothel early this morning and indulged in sensual pleasures. You must give him a good talking-to, Madam. How can such behavior be allowed? The heir is destined to be a marquis!"

Jiang Huaiyu did not immediately refute him. She secretly thought that this was a perfect opportunity to teach Wei Fengyun a lesson. Therefore, she maintained a smile and a humble attitude throughout.

Seeing Jiang Huaiyu's humble posture, Pei and Liu felt quite relieved. They recalled how Jiang Huaiyu used to boss them around when the Marquis of Jiaxing was still alive. Now that the Marquis of Jiaxing was gone, she was like a bee without its stinger, or a tiger without its claws. She was nothing to fear!

They exchanged words, and Wei Fengyun became the biggest victim. He felt both remorse for his absurd behavior the previous night and endless shame and anger at being insulted.

He painfully realized that none of this would have happened if he had been powerless and unable to bring honor to his mother.

Pei and Liu continued their chatter, and the topic subtly shifted to Wei Fenghui.

"Oh, I wonder who this young master is?" Madam Pei looked at Wei Fenghui beside her and asked curiously.

“This is my eldest son,” Jiang Huaiyu replied calmly.

Upon hearing this, Madam Pei and Madam Liu quickly exchanged glances and deliberately emphasized their sarcastic tone, "Eldest son? Is that the eldest son born to a concubine before your marriage to the Marquis?"

Jiang Huaiyu nodded slightly, her expression calm and composed.

"We have never had the chance to see him. This eldest son of a concubine is quite handsome, but we don't know what he will achieve in the future."

"Indeed."

The two exchanged words, their tone revealing obvious contempt.

Wei Fenghui looked slightly embarrassed, but he didn't react, because he knew that as a scholar who admired Confucianism and Mencius, he was too lazy to argue with a gossipy woman, lest he lose face.

This time, Jiang Huaiyu did not continue to tolerate it. She straightened her back and said with great pride, "My eldest son is excellent in both character and academics, and is very talented. He never quarrels with others. He has now passed the imperial examination and achieved extraordinary fame." Her words were full of pride in her son and confidence in the future.

Upon hearing this, both Madam Pei and Madam Liu revealed a cold smile, saying sarcastically, "A mere Juren? In this capital city, even a small stone thrown at will can easily hit a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination). What value does a mere Juren have?"

Jiang Huaiyu smiled calmly and responded with ease, "That is indeed the case. However, my son Shang is only twenty years old, and he has a long road ahead with unlimited opportunities. This is still better than those who have not even achieved the slightest fame or success."

Marquis Pei of Changtai knew that what Jiang Huaiyu said was an indirect reference to her lord, who had accomplished nothing in his life, neither in learning nor in martial arts, and whose only hobby was cricket fighting.

Jiang Huaiyu continued, “It’s alright. Cricket fighting is a kind of fun, which is better than being addicted to gambling. At least it won’t cause wealth to flow away like water. Otherwise, with the meager wealth of Marquis Changtai, he would probably face bankruptcy soon and be struggling to make ends meet. If I’m not mistaken, the clothes that Madam Pei is wearing seem to be an old style from several years ago.”

Pei's expression was one of utter dismay. As the noblewoman of the Marquis's household, she didn't even have a decent new dress. Only she knew the hardships of life in the Changtai Marquis's mansion. Now that Jiang Huaiyu had exposed this to everyone, her face was naturally extremely ugly.

Seeing that Madam Pei's expression was unpleasant, Jiang Huaiyu immediately comforted her, "It's alright. I still have a few old clothes from last year. I will send them to your residence when I have some free time. Last year's clothes are always better than your old clothes from several years ago. Please do not refuse, Madam Pei."

Madam Pei rolled her eyes at her and immediately retorted, "Madam Wei, you should first teach your three sons well. You don't need to worry about my family's trivial matters." After saying that, she turned and left.

Seeing this, Lady Jing'an also made an excuse to leave in a huff.

Wei Fenghui was deeply moved by Jiang Huaiyu's act of stepping forward to help him out of a predicament, but deep down he still felt uneasy and strangely uncomfortable.