After transmigrating into the book, I helped my mother reconcile with her divorced husband.

"Yuan'er!" Xie Chaoyun rushed forward to check if Lu Zhiyuan was injured. She breathed a sigh of relief when she found that Lu Zhiyuan was unharmed. She then turned to Old Madam Lu and said, "Mother is really getting old. She doesn't love her own granddaughter and blindly trusts an outsider!"

Upon hearing the word "outsider," Lu Jinyao's eyes reddened, and she clutched the hem of her clothes as she looked at Old Madam Lu. This pitiful little face broke Old Madam Lu's heart, and she said angrily, "Jinyao is not an outsider. She is surnamed Lu, and she is a member of our Lu family. Lianxiang died at the hands of this little bastard, and you, as her mother, are to blame."

"Bastard?" Xie Chaoyun clenched his fist, a mocking smile playing on his lips as he looked at Lu Jinyao. "Mother knows perfectly well who the bastard is. As for the evidence, are you really not going to look at it?"

Madam Lu glanced at him and said, "What evidence? It's all fabricated by this little bastard to exonerate himself."

Xie Chaoyun smiled, picked up the evidence, and faced Lu Huai: "Does the Marquis think so too?"

Before he could speak, Xie Chaoyun handed the evidence to Liuying and asked her to read it aloud, word by word. The first document was a complaint accusing Lianxiang of abusing her power and being deliberately protected by the Marquis's mansion. The government had already accepted the case, but to save face for the Xie family, they had made a copy of the complaint and sent it to the Marquis's mansion, implying that the Marquis's mansion and the victim should settle the matter privately.

The aggrieved party was a vegetable farmer who delivered produce to the Marquis's residence. His toddler daughter accidentally bumped into Lianxiang's clothes, causing her to be blinded. When the aggrieved party's wife tried to seek justice from the Marquis's residence, Lianxiang instigated her servants to beat her to death.

"Grandmother, do you still remember the day you went to Hanshan Temple to pray for blessings?" Lu Zhiyuan said calmly, "The bloodstains in front of the Marquis's mansion that have not yet been cleaned up were left by the victim's wife. When Grandmother got out of the carriage, Lianxiang was standing next to that bloodstain. If Grandmother had asked her even one more question, she wouldn't have gotten away with it."

Madam Lu's face turned pale. She remembered what happened that day; Lianxiang said she had killed a vicious dog.

“The aggrieved woman, carrying her daughter and a corpse, cried out for justice. Her tragic scene was known throughout the streets and alleys, but you, Grandmother, did not care.”

The second document is a confession, given by a maid who was sold off in the household.

Like Lianxiang, she was a second-class maid serving in the old lady's courtyard. Just because she saw Lianxiang steal the old lady's earring, Lianxiang turned the tables on her, made her mute with a drug, and sold her off.

“Her name is Panyun, given to her by her grandmother. Those earrings are called Xiangyun Pendants, bestowed upon her by her grandfather when he was alive. Such precious items would never be sold by Lianxiang; these earrings should still be in Lianxiang’s room.”

Old Madam Lu gave a signal, and the nanny beside her immediately went to Lianxiang's room. After a short while, the nanny returned with a small bundle. Inside were not only the old madam's auspicious cloud pendant, but also stolen valuables from the old madam's room, Xie Chaoyun's room, and other people in the mansion, including Ji Wanwan's silver bracelet.

She wasn't just a thief in the house, she was a habitual thief.

Old Madam Lu, feeling embarrassed, asked with a long face, "How did you find out about this?"

Feeling a bit tired from standing, Lu Zhiyuan picked up a stool and sat down: "The aggrieved party filed a complaint with the county government, but the county government, after receiving the complaint, dared not rashly go to the door to arrest the person. They sent the complaint to the gatekeeper, but the gatekeeper did not tell Father, Mother, or Grandmother about this matter. When I passed by the gatekeeper, I heard the servants talking about it, so I sent someone to investigate."

"Did you find out from Liu Ying?"

“How could a mere maid like her find out so much?” Lu Zhiyuan looked towards the door: “She informed her mother and then asked the steward to investigate.”

The steward entered, wiping the cold sweat from his brow. "It was my fault for not informing the old lady of this matter. It concerns a life and is related to the Marquis's residence, so I, being nosy, went to the yamen. Luckily, I inquired; otherwise, the county magistrate would have come to our door with his yamen runners. This matter has spread far and wide; even the officials in the Censorate have heard of it. If it is not dealt with soon, they will submit a memorial impeaching the Marquis."

"A mere county magistrate dares to cause trouble for our Marquis's mansion!" Old Madam Lu slammed her hand on the table in anger. "This is outrageous!"

The butler pursed his lips, secretly gave Old Madam Lu a look, and explained, "That mere county magistrate is the husband of Princess Rongyang, and the son-in-law of His Highness Prince Qi."

Who is this Princess Rongyang? She is the Empress Dowager's darling.

Who is Prince Qi? He is the emperor's only surviving younger brother.

Once she came to her senses, Old Madam Lu quickly said, "It's all the gatekeeper's fault for making a mistake; he almost ruined our Marquis's mansion. Where's Lianxiang? Take her to the yamen. Do whatever you want with her; don't discuss this matter anymore."

From the moment the old nanny came out carrying the stolen goods, Madam Lu no longer cared about Lianxiang's life or death.

Seeing Lu Zhiyuan turn the tables against all odds, Lu Jinyao was seething with hatred. She had thought that the Lianxiang incident would teach Lu Zhiyuan a lesson, but unexpectedly... Lu Zhiyuan was truly lucky. Grabbing Ji Wanwan's hand, she gradually tightened her grip. Ji Wanwan winced in pain and glared at her. Lu Jinyao was startled and quickly let go.

Ji Wanwan found it strange.

In her dream, Lianxiang was not blamed and was Jinyao's right-hand woman.

“Lianxiang is indeed despicable, but according to the law, she should be sent to the yamen for punishment. Yuan’er, in the end, is too ruthless.”

Lu Zhiyuan lowered her eyelids: "It wasn't Yuan'er who did the dirty work, so what does the word 'ruthless' have to do with Yuan'er?"

The one who took action was Lu Yun, whose real name was Afu. He was recruited into the manor by the steward of the villa. The steward of the villa was appointed by Old Madam Lu, so ultimately, the blame should fall on Old Madam Lu. She only took Lu Yun into her life after the incident at the villa, which was only a few days at most.

Upon hearing Lu Zhiyuan mention the villa, the two guilty-looking people fell silent.

If Xie Chaoyun finds out that he bullied Xie Chaoyun's daughter in the villa that was part of Xie Chaoyun's dowry, he will probably never have a peaceful life.

Old Madam Lu glared at Ji Wanwan, and Ji Wanwan reluctantly shut her mouth.

Three days later was the palace's annual chrysanthemum appreciation banquet. Old Madam Lu once again brought up the matter of Lu Jinyao accompanying Xie Chaoyun to the palace. Having learned from her previous experience, Old Madam Lu did not mention adoption again, but instead allowed Lu Jinyao to enter as Lu Zhiyuan's cousin.

"Yuan'er's cousin?" Xie Chaoyun shook his head: "Yuan'er only has one cousin, surnamed Xie, who is my eldest brother's daughter. She often goes to the palace and has met the Empress and other ladies in the palace. My mother asked me to bring Jin Yao to the palace so that the Empress would punish our Marquis's family for deception."

Madam Lu couldn't help but roll her eyes: "Can she only have one cousin? Your cousin on your mother's side is a cousin, but your cousin on your husband's side isn't a cousin."

Xie Chaoyun sighed helplessly: "Mother, no matter which family her cousin is from, she needs to have a certain status to enter the palace and attend the chrysanthemum appreciation banquet hosted by the Empress. May I ask, Mother, what official position did Jin Yao's biological father or grandfather hold?"

"Jin Yao is—" Old Madam Lu looked at her son, hesitating to speak, "If she had any status, would she need you? You are, after all, the mistress of my Marquis's mansion, how come you can't even handle such a small matter? What use are you to our Marquis's mansion!"

"It's Yunniang's fault for being useless. Mother, you should ask someone else to handle the chrysanthemum appreciation banquet."

Seeing Xie Chaoyun about to leave, Ji Wanwan quickly called out "Aunt" and whispered a few words in her ear. Old Madam Lu frowned upon hearing this, rolled her eyes several times, and said reluctantly, "It would be alright to bring a maid into the palace, wouldn't it? If you keep making excuses, you don't need to call me Mother anymore."