The Sickly Regent Prince Who Was Abandoned as a Substitute Bride

"I'll give you one day to consider it. If you don't, I'm free to burn these things..."

"Mother, let's go..." Dongfang Wan'er carefully helped Lu Wanning and slowly walked towards the room. Although Lu Wanning's physical condition had improved, the toxins in her body had not been completely cleared, so she still needed to rest more to recover her strength and spirit.

After the two left, Dongfang Zheng glared fiercely at Liu Qiqi, then turned and left. In reality, 30,000 taels of gold was not an unbearable amount for him, as several chests of gold were hidden in the secret room.

However, the thought of having to come up with such a large sum of money made his heart ache. He blamed it all on that hateful woman, Liu Qiqi, and also reprimanded Dongfang Wan'er for being so insensible.

After Dongfang Zheng left, Dongfang Mingzhu quickly ran to Liu Qiqi and said anxiously, "Auntie, you must help me!"

Liu Qiqi stared in the direction Dongfang Zheng had left, thinking to herself, "Fortunately, I was prepared in advance and accumulated some money during the years I managed the household affairs. Otherwise, if I had relied solely on Dongfang Zheng, that cold-blooded man, my later life would probably have been extremely difficult."

"Mingzhu, let's go back to our room first," Liu Qiqi said softly, a hint of helplessness in her voice...

"Mmm," Dongfang Mingzhu responded softly, seemingly sensing the heaviness in Liu Qiqi's heart.

The two silently returned to their room together. Liu Qiqi waved her hand, dismissing all the servants. She stood alone in the center of the empty room, looking around. A wave of sorrow washed over her, making her feel increasingly heavy.

Liu Qiqi took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. She slowly walked to the bedside, reached into a hidden compartment, and soon pulled out a box. She gently opened the lid, took out a thick stack of silver notes, counted them—a full ten thousand taels.

"Here you go, Mingzhu. Take your things back from Dongfang Wan'er tomorrow." Liu Qiqi handed the ten thousand taels of silver notes to Dongfang Mingzhu.

Dongfang Mingzhu took the silver notes, looked at Liu Qiqi in surprise, and asked, "Thank you, Auntie. Auntie, where did you get so much money?"

Liu Qiqi smiled slightly, gently stroking Dongfang Mingzhu's hair, and said, "Mingzhu, your aunt has managed the household affairs for so many years, so naturally she has a way to save up a sum of money. All of this is for your future! I hope you can live a happy and joyful life, and no longer suffer from the bullying of others."

Moved to tears, Dongfang Mingzhu held Liu Qiqi's hand tightly and said, "Thank you, Auntie."

However, Dongfang Mingzhu's face suddenly darkened. She frowned and asked, "Auntie, did you give the poison to Chunzhi? How come those two vile women, Lu Wanning and Dongfang Wan'er, are still alive..." Her voice was full of resentment and unwillingness.

"Mingzhu, shh!" Liu Qiqi made a shushing gesture in a panic, then hurriedly got up and went to the window to look around. After confirming that no one was around, she returned.

"Mingzhu, remember, you must never mention this again. The situation may have changed!"

"Auntie, could it be that that lowly maid Chunzhi betrayed us? Also, Auntie, that useless old hag Qiu has been arrested. Should we just..." Dongfang Mingzhu said, making a throat-slitting gesture.

“Mingzhu, you mustn’t! Your father already knows about Granny Qiu’s affair. You mustn’t act rashly, lest you expose your identity. Now your father has grown to dislike me. You absolutely cannot make any mistakes…” Liu Qiqi hurriedly dissuaded Dongfang Mingzhu.

"Perhaps Dongfang Wan'er noticed Chunzhi's presence... otherwise, Chunzhi would have succeeded long ago..."

A ruthless glint flashed in Liu Qiqi's eyes. She gritted her teeth and said, "Since that's the case, we have no choice but to find another way. Poisoning is no longer an option. We need to come up with a foolproof plan."

Dongfang Mingzhu's face was terribly gloomy. She roared furiously, "What should we do? Brother Jingchu is now bewitched by that vixen Dongfang Wan'er. I really don't understand what tricks she used to become so beautiful that Brother Jingchu insists on marrying her!"

Liu Qiqi quickly comforted her, "Don't worry, there will always be a way. Tomorrow, you should first get back what is rightfully yours, and I'll figure out the rest."

"That's all we can do." Dongfang Mingzhu nodded helplessly, then her eyes lit up and she said excitedly, "By the way, Aunt, the annual talent competition is in a few days. I finally have a chance to participate this year. That idiot Dongfang Wan'er is completely clueless. I'll see how she makes a fool of herself then."

Upon hearing this, Liu Qiqi smiled with satisfaction. She looked at Dongfang Mingzhu with admiration, then took out five hundred taels of silver from her bosom and handed it to her, saying gently, "Then, Zhu'er, go and make a few more beautiful outfits. You must show your most beautiful self in the competition."

Dongfang Mingzhu took the silver and happily replied, "Yes, Auntie, don't worry, I will definitely do my best!"

Afterwards, the mother and daughter talked for a while, discussing various plans to deal with Dongfang Wan'er and Lu Wanning... before finally returning to their respective rooms.

Meanwhile, Dongfang Wan'er carefully helped Lu Wanning back to Qingfeng Courtyard, where Lu Wanning lived.

"Wan'er, we will return to the Duke's Mansion tomorrow!" Lu Wanning said softly after being helped to sit down by the bed by Dongfang Wan'er.

"Qiuqin, quickly go and pour me a glass of water..."

"Yes, Miss..." Qiuqin hurriedly turned around to pour water upon hearing this.

"Mother, there's no need to rush back to the Duke's mansion!" Dongfang Wan'er took the water Qiuqin brought and handed it to Lu Wanning first, then continued, "After Mother takes the medicine, you can go back to the mansion for a while. Once Wan'er has settled things here, we can move back permanently!" In fact, Dongfang Wan'er had always wanted to persuade her mother to divorce her father, but she knew that in ancient times, it was not easy for a woman to take this step.

Lu Wanning took the pill, swallowed it, and immediately felt dizzy and lightheaded.

"Alright, Wan'er..."

"Mother, please rest well. Wan'er will come to visit again tomorrow..." Dongfang Wan'er helped Lu Wanning onto the bed again, and only left after seeing her sleeping peacefully.

Dongfang Wan'er and Qiuqin returned to her Tingyu Courtyard together.

However, just as they stepped into the yard, a man suddenly emerged from behind a tree...

"Who?" Dongfang Wan'er shouted angrily, her eyes sharp as she looked at the man. She quickly took out a red whip from her waist and lashed it at him without hesitation.