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

While Lu Jinyao was standing at attention, Lu Zhiyuan was dozing off while having her meal in Fangfei Courtyard, while Xie Chaoyun and Lu Huai boarded a carriage to Linxian County.

This was the first time in their ten years of marriage that Lu Huai had accompanied Xie Chaoyun on a long trip. Whether he had forgotten or not, after helping her into the car, he held her hand and never let go.

His hands remained the same as before, but her hands, which had been gripping a gun, were now fiddling with an abacus; even the calluses on her hands had moved to different places. Thinking of Ji Wanwan's hands—slender, fair, and boneless—if she were a man, she would also prefer to hold hands like those.

My heart was filled with confusion, my nose felt slightly sore, and I tried to pull my hand away with a little force.

The moment her finger twitched, Lu Huai gripped it tightly.

"Master Hou..."

“I know I have let you down, and my mother has already reprimanded me.” Lu Huai looked into her eyes. “From now on, I will treat you well and learn to be a good husband and father. Yunniang, can you forgive me? Can you give me another chance? I promise I will never let you and Yuan’er be sad again.”

"Master Hou..."

Lu Huai didn't give her a chance to speak, and continued talking to himself.

“I’ve neglected you all these years, and I haven’t been able to give you a reasonable explanation for Wanwan’s matter.” Lu Huai’s eyes were filled with panic. “I really didn’t know how to be a husband before. I only thought about going further in my career and making all the noble ladies in the capital envious of you. It was my mother who woke me up. She said that you married me not for those empty titles. Yunniang, I really know I was wrong. Please don’t blame me, please don’t be angry with me, okay?”

Seeing that Xie Chaoyun remained silent, Lu Huai raised his hand and swore an oath.

"If you don't like Wanwan and feel that keeping her in the mansion is a disturbance to us, I will immediately have someone send her to the old house after we return from the neighboring county."

He took Xie Chaoyun's hand and placed it on his heart: "Yunniang, you are the only one in my heart."

Xie Chaoyun wanted to laugh. Ten years had passed, and he was still using the same old tricks on her.

"It's not hard to see from what you just said that the Marquis knows that the existence of Ji Wanwan and her son is a thorn in Yunniang's side. If the Marquis really cared, he wouldn't have asked Yunniang if she liked them, but would have simply kicked them out. The Marquis is using a strategy of retreat to force Yunniang to compromise."

“Yunniang, how could you think of me like that?” Lu Huai frowned slightly. “Wanwan is my mother’s distant niece. She has encountered difficulties and is an orphan with no one to rely on. As her distant cousin, it is only right that I take care of her and her children at my mother’s request.”

Lu Huai looked misunderstood and sullen.

“Jin Yao and I had our blood tested in front of you. I have no relation to her whatsoever. Those people outside, unaware of the truth, are making baseless accusations, which has already caused me immense distress. You are my wife, and instead of helping me clear things up, you misunderstand me just like them. Do you know how much pain I'm in?”

“Yunniang, I brought Wanwan and her two children back only because I pitied her. You are a kind and understanding woman, you should have sympathized with them, pitied them, and even helped me take care of them, just like me. Yunniang, how did you become like this?”

"Does being understanding mean you have to suffer? Yunniang also has several cousins ​​with tragic pasts, no one to rely on, and who are still unmarried. According to the Marquis, shouldn't Yunniang also settle them in the manor?"

"That won't do. They are all men, and men and women should not touch each other."

"So even you, Lord Marquis, know that men and women should not touch each other. I thought you didn't."

"You're being unreasonable, you're really being unreasonable." Lu Huai let go of her hand: "You just can't stand Wanwan, right? Once we get back from Lin County, send her away immediately."

Xie Chaoyun closed her eyes and ignored him.

He had insisted on coming to the neighboring county this time because he was shameless.

She knew perfectly well what he was after.

Lu Huai looked at her suspiciously; she really did seem different from before.

However, her unwavering obedience over the past ten years was not feigned.

She loves him; he's all she sees and thinks about, and she listens to everything he says and does. Her recent strange temper must be because she's upset about neglecting Ji Wanwan and is trying to attract his attention.

Rushing Ji Wanwan out of the mansion is just a common tactic used in the jealousy and rivalry within the inner quarters.

Lu Huai's eyes revealed a hint of smugness. He and his mother had spent ten years training Xie Chaoyun in various ways, so how could she have any disloyalty to him?

“I’ve listened to everything you said, so why are you still angry? Yuan’er had someone hit Wanwan, but I wasn’t angry with Yuan’er, was I? I can tell what’s more important and who’s closer and who’s farther away.”

"Ji Wanwan brought that beating on herself." Xie Chaoyun glanced at Lu Huai. "But what about that hairpin? Aren't you going to explain it to Yunniang, my lord?"

Lu Huai rubbed his hands together.

"I secretly took the hairpin to Weinan, but it wasn't a gift from me to Ji Wanwan. She saw it herself and insisted on taking it."

Lu Huai sighed and took Xie Chaoyun's hand.

"I originally thought of Yunniang when I saw the object, but Wanwan misunderstood and thought it was a birthday gift from me. As an official stationed in the countryside, it would be embarrassing for me to carry something belonging to my wife. Since Wanwan really liked it, I decided to go with the flow and give it to her."

"I swear, I truly did not know that it was a gift from the palace. I thought it was just an ordinary hairpin. Wanwan also did not know the origin of the hairpin. It was Yunniang and Yuan'er who misunderstood. This matter was caused by me, and I will explain to Wanwan. Yunniang, please do not make things difficult for her anymore."

What a convenient excuse for reminiscing about someone upon seeing an object! What an unaware excuse! They really think she's a fool.

Having eaten and drunk her fill, Lu Zhiyuan didn't go to Fulin Courtyard to watch Lu Jinyao learn etiquette. Instead, she went to the rouge shop, which was under renovation. Manager Lu was efficient and made the entire shop look brand new in just a few days.

"These are all made by the best carpenters in the city. Everything is made according to the blueprints drawn by Miss." Manager Lu pointed to the newly built cabinets in the shop. "There are two places that have been modified. I don't think it will have much of an impact, but Miss, you still need to take a look."

"Who was the craftsman who made these two changes?"

Manager Lu glanced around and called over a thin, dark-skinned man with a troubled expression. The man thought he had done something wrong and, ignoring the crumbs on the ground, tried to kneel down and kowtow, but was stopped by Liu Ying.

The man panicked, his eyes red, and said, "I'll accept whatever punishment the master gives me, I just beg you not to kick me out. I have a seventy-year-old mother, a sick wife, and a baby crying for milk at home. I need this job. I... I only want half the wages, as long as the master lets me stay."

"You've revised it very well. Here's a reward for you." Lu Zhiyuan took out a silver ingot and stuffed it into the man's hand. "I called you here not to punish you, but to see which master craftsman has such an ingenious idea and such excellent craftsmanship."

After saying that, he raised his voice and said, "Those are just sketches. How to make them depends on the skills of you masters. As long as the shape and function meet my requirements, the details are up to you. If you do a good job, I will give you a reward. If you do a bad job, I will not make things difficult for you. I will pay you the wages you are owed. But I will not use you again from now on."

"Do we get the same reward money?" the uncle who was repairing the railing on the second floor asked, leaning forward.

Lu Zhiyuan looked up, gave an "OK" sign, and replied, "Of course, and it will only be more, not less."

The master chuckled and gave Lu Zhiyuan a clumsy "OK" sign.