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

Lu Huai was extremely distressed. He stared intently into Xie Chaoyun's eyes, and the more he looked, the more panicked he became.

"Does Yunniang still like me?"

"Is the Marquis short of money?"

A sense of powerlessness instantly overwhelmed Lu Huai. He quickly convinced himself that Xie Chaoyun was just being stubborn. His mother was right; women are all prone to jealousy and possessiveness. If he coaxed her properly, she would be back to how she always was, completely devoted to him.

"Yunniang, I've been bad these past few days. I've neglected you." Lu Huai stroked Xie Chaoyun's face, not noticing her resistance, and said in a self-righteous tone, "Since returning from my post, I've had many things to do, and with Mother unwell, it's inevitable that I've been a bit negligent. Yunniang has always been understanding, so she certainly won't blame me, will she?"

"My lord, what are you saying? We are husband and wife." Xie Chaoyun pushed Lu Huai away subtly. "My lord, please speak plainly. I will do my best to help with anything that is within my power."

Lu Huai breathed a sigh of relief.

He knew Xie Chaoyun had feelings for him; her tantrums and sulking were all expressions of jealousy.

“Mother’s medicine is gone, and Wanwan is still in the prison of the Commandant’s Mansion. I was thinking, Yunniang, could you take out the money for Mother’s medicine first? You know, I never worry about money matters, I’m too bothered by the nanny. You are my wife, and it is only right that you share my burdens.”

It really was about money.

He sneered inwardly, but remained outwardly calm. The time wasn't right; it wasn't time to cause a scene.

“Since my husband has asked, I will do everything I can to squeeze out this money.” She poured herself another cup of tea. “Business has been tough these past two years. Several of my shops have gone out of business, and the rest are barely surviving. I was hoping that with my cousin taking over the household management, I could free up my hands to manage the shops. But I never imagined that my cousin would run into this mess.”

"The Zhu family's affairs need to be investigated. I know Wanwan; she is kind-hearted and would never do something like murder."

Is Ji Wanwan kind-hearted?

If she were kind, why would she plot to harm the Xie family?

When Xie Chaoyun's gaze fell on Lu Huai's face, she suddenly realized that her husband was just like Ji Wanwan.

"I believe my cousin is kind; otherwise, she wouldn't have allowed her brother to run wild outside." Xie Chaoyun pulled out a stack of IOUs from under the ledger. "Your Excellency, you may not know, but my cousin has a brother who is addicted to gambling and has accumulated a lot of debt. Before Your Excellency returned to the capital, those gambling den owners would come to our door every few days. Those who didn't know the truth would think it was Your Excellency who had incurred the debt."

"So much?" After a rough calculation, it amounted to more than five thousand taels. Thinking of the four shops that were gone, Lu Huai wished he could tear Ji Yaozu into eight pieces. He crumpled the IOUs into a ball and explained, "Ji Yaozu did all these things behind Wanwan's back; Wanwan was unaware of them. Leave this matter to me; Yunniang, please don't interfere anymore."

Xie Chaoyun was too lazy to deal with these trivial matters. Bringing up Ji Yaozu at this time was just to introduce the next topic.

“With my husband here, I can leave it to him to handle. It’s just that this Ji Yaozu often uses the name of the Marquis’s mansion to do things outside, treating debts and credit as his business. My shops are all affected by him…”

"How could Yunniang's shop be affected by him?"

Xie Chaoyun sighed and looked at Lu Huai: "He said his sister was the Marquis's beloved, that his sister would definitely become the mistress of the Marquis's mansion in the future, and that his eldest nephew was the heir of the Marquis's mansion, the only one who could inherit the Pingnan Marquis's mansion. I didn't believe it at first, after all, the Marquis had no connection with his sister. It wasn't until the Marquis brought his cousin back, until I learned that my cousin's surname was Ji and that she was Ji Yaozu's sister, until the Marquis proposed that I adopt my cousin's two children, that I believed that Ji Yaozu wasn't talking nonsense."

Lu Huai hadn't expected that his relationship with Ji Wanwan had already been exposed by that idiot Ji Yaozu. No wonder Xie Chaoyun looked at Wanwan with that kind of gaze when they returned to the capital that day, and was full of resistance towards Jing Yuan.

Lu Huai slammed his hand on the table and angrily rebuked, "Where did this Ji Yaozu get the audacity to spout nonsense in front of my wife?"

If Xie Chaoyun hadn't witnessed his sordid affair with Ji Wanwan firsthand, she would have been completely fooled by his act. She lowered her head, wiped her eyes, and feigned grievance, saying, "It's a good thing that Lu Jinyao and Lu Jingyuan aren't the Marquis's biological children, otherwise my heart would have been broken by the Marquis."

Mentioning Lu Jinyao made Lu Huai feel as uncomfortable as if he had swallowed a fly.

As a father, he never hugged Lu Zhiyuan, yet he showered all his affection on Lu Jinyao. In the end, Lu Jinyao was not his biological daughter; they had no blood relation whatsoever.

His mood instantly plummeted, filled with an unprecedented sense of guilt: "From now on, I will treat you and Yuan'er well. I will make up for what I owe Yuan'er."

How do I make it up to her?

Yuan'er is already eight years old. How can we make up for the time we've missed?

Xie Chaoyun was filled with guilt when she talked about her daughter.

“It’s getting late, Your Excellency should go back and rest early. As for Mother’s medicine, I will have Qingzhi contact the pharmacy manager first thing tomorrow morning. However, I don’t have much cash on hand, so I’m afraid I won’t be able to prepare all of Mother’s medicine as I used to.”

"I trust Yunniang." Lu Huai whispered in Xie Chaoyun's ear, "Tonight, I will stay here with Yunniang and sleep peacefully with her."

Xie Chaoyun felt nauseous and was about to vomit, especially when she thought about what he had done with Ji Wanwan at Zuichunlou. She made an excuse that she was menstruating and couldn't serve him, so she asked Lu Huai to stay in the guest room. Lu Huai feigned concern for a few words, then went straight to the side room without lingering.

Qingzhi waited at the door and only came in after Lu Huai left.

"Does the lady not wish to be with the Marquis?"

"Don't mention him. How is Yuan'er doing?"

Qingzhi recounted what had happened, and upon hearing the tragic state of the two rats, Xie Chaoyun was filled with rage. She had thought Ji Wanwan was already vicious enough, but her daughter had surpassed her in cruelty. At such a young age, she had devised such a wicked scheme.

If it weren't for Yuan'er's intelligence in predicting that Lu Jinyao would sabotage the palace banquet, her Yuan'er would have been harmed by Lu Jinyao.

“This servant never expected such a thing to happen in the dignified Marquis’s mansion. I thought that no matter how scheming Lu Jinyao was, she would at most hide or tear up Miss’s clothes and accessories like a child.” Qingzhi hesitated, then asked, “Did the Commandant’s Mansion follow Miss’s instructions?”

"Trying to harm others will only backfire on you. It's time to teach Ji Wanwan a lesson." Xie Chaoyun rubbed his temples. "Since it's a drug used for interrogation, the Commandant's Office must know about it. No problem, just follow Yuan'er's instructions."

"What about Lu Jinyao..."

"Let's talk about it after the chrysanthemum appreciation banquet in the palace." Xie Chaoyun's gaze darkened. "Lu Huai and Ji Wanwan are determined to have Lu Jinyao replace Yuan'er at the banquet in the palace. I have a feeling they are plotting something. You will come to the palace with me and keep a close eye on Lu Jinyao."

Xie Chaoyun had many reasons and ways to keep Lu Jinyao out of the palace, but just as Yuan'er said, there seemed to be an unseen force pushing them forward. She had a feeling that even if she didn't bring Lu Jinyao, she would find a way to sneak into the palace.

Since we can't stop her, we should take the initiative. At least we can control Lu Jinyao's every move and prevent her from causing any trouble in the palace that would implicate the Marquis's mansion and the Xie family.