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

It was late at night, and the candlelight flickered in the small study. Through the window, one could see Xie Chaoyun and Qingzhi organizing account books. The master and servant did not deliberately lower their voices, chatting casually as if they were talking normally. When they heard Xie Chaoyun say that they were moving the organized account books back to the General's Mansion, Lu Huai couldn't help but push open the door and go in.

Qingzhi instinctively stepped in the middle, her mouth moving faster than her brain, and said, "My young lady and the Marquis have already divorced. Please, Marquis, show some respect and come during the day if you have something to discuss."

With his gaze fixed on Xie Chaoyun, Lu Huai suppressed his anger and said, "There is no divorce!"

The moment Xie Chaoyun saw the imperial eunuch during the day, she knew that the matter of divorce would still have some twists and turns. Lu Huai didn't love her, but he loved the power and wealth of the Xie family. Now that the Xie family still existed and she had been granted the title of a third-rank noblewoman by the emperor, even if they disliked each other, he would find a way to keep her in the Marquis's mansion.

Xie Chaoyun put down the account book in her hand and gestured for Qingzhi to leave. Some things are better left unsaid.

The incense burner was filled with calming sandalwood fragrance. Xie Chaoyun lifted her skirt and sat down in the chair opposite Lu Huai: "My lord, please sit down!"

Her attire seemed different from usual; perhaps it was because she was about to retire for the night. She had removed her hairpins and washed off her rouge, and even her clothes were plain. Yet, it was precisely this plainness that gave her a kind of aloof, ethereal beauty, as if she were a banished immortal.

"My lord!" Xie Chaoyun spoke first, looking directly at Lu Huai: "I urge you to reconsider the matter of divorce. We are no longer husband and wife, and for Yuan'er's sake, I don't want things to get too tense. I know the current situation of the Marquis's manor, and as a former daughter-in-law of the Marquis's manor, I will also do my part for the manor. This is the Lu family's estate, and all the account books have been sorted out. The grain stolen from the neighboring county is on my head. I have asked my brother to make up for it in the next few days."

Xie Chaoyun's eyes were clear and bright, and there was no longer any love in her eyes when she looked at Lu Huai. It was more like she was sitting there discussing business with him.

"The shops left by the old Marquis were gambled away by Sister Ji's younger brother. If the old Marquis knew this in the afterlife, he would probably not be able to rest in peace. These four shops are my dowry from my elder brother. Although they are not as good as the shops left by the old Marquis, they are still profitable. If the Marquis manages them well, it will not be difficult to maintain the daily expenses of the Marquis's mansion."

After saying that, he took out the land deed for Chaoyun Villa.

"This villa will also be reserved for the Marquis."

Lu Huai looked at her: "I was wrong about Jin Yao, but I was only thinking of the Marquis's mansion. When Yuan'er was born, her face was bluish-purple, and the imperial physician said she wouldn't live to adulthood. Your body is damaged, and you can no longer continue to produce offspring for the Marquis's mansion. I don't want you to be gossiped about, and I don't want the Marquis's mansion to be without an heir. Yun Niang, I don't want a divorce."

Xie Chaoyun dodged his hand, her eyes turning cold: "It's the Mid-Autumn Festival, the Marquis should have already returned to the capital."

Lu Huai was taken aback, wondering why she brought this up. Then, remembering how her attitude towards him had completely changed since the Mid-Autumn Festival, he understood and asked softly, "Yunniang, have you heard any rumors?"

Xie Chaoyun looked at Lu Huai and said in a low voice, "I didn't hear it."

Lu Huai felt a pang of guilt and thought carefully. On the day he returned to the capital, he took a back road, and after entering the city gate, he deliberately chose a secluded, narrow alley. Even the inn he stayed at was carefully selected. He knew Xie Chaoyun; he knew she would never go there. But what if she did? What if she saw him and Wanwan?

With a change of heart, he knelt down in front of her and said, "It's not that I meant to hide it from you, but Wanwan insisted on coming back with me. I thought that since you are the mistress of the Marquis's mansion, I should talk to you first, so I found an inn for her in the city."

“However, the Marquis did not inform me.” Xie Chaoyun pulled her leg back, afraid that Lu Huai would touch her. “The Marquis does not need to go to great lengths to find excuses for himself. There are some things that Yunniang will not say, in order to save face for the Marquis.”

Xie Chaoyun stared into his eyes: "I know everything that the Marquis and Sister Ji said and did at Zuichun Pavilion. I didn't just hear it from others, but I saw and heard it with my own eyes and ears. Not only me, but Yuan'er was also there at Zuichun Pavilion that day."

“She framed me. She put something in my drink. Yunniang, you know that you are the only one in my heart.”

"Doesn't Your Excellency find these words laughable? Didn't Your Excellency marry Yunniang for the power of my General's Mansion, for Yunniang's background, and for the dowry she brought?" Xie Chaoyun stood up and looked down at him. "We're about to get a divorce, and Yunniang didn't want to say such hurtful things, but Your Excellency insists on treating Yunniang like a fool."

"Yes, I admit that I married you because of your background and the power of the General's Mansion. But Xie Chaoyun, what makes you think I married you for your dowry? Do I know what you will bring when you get married? On the contrary, our Pingnan Marquis's Mansion has done everything we can to prepare the best betrothal gifts for you so as not to wrong you."

Lu Huai looked at Xie Chaoyun with some annoyance.

"Is it wrong for me to want to find a mistress of good family background for the Marquis's mansion? Which family in the entire capital doesn't think the same way? Even the royal family's marriages are based on interests. Xie Chaoyun, tell me, am I wrong?"

Xie Chaoyun looked at him but did not answer.

Seeing that Xie Chaoyun did not refute, Lu Huai continued, "Let alone the Marquis's mansion, even ordinary families can have three wives and four concubines. I have guarded you for ten years, so it's normal for me to have something going on with Wanwan. I am a man, and I am all alone in Weinan. What's wrong with me finding someone to rely on? Xie Chaoyun, I did not take her as a concubine. I kept my promise to you. To this day, you are still the only mistress of this Marquis's mansion. What more do you want?"

Xie Chaoyun took a deep breath. "It's not wrong to want to find a mistress from a good family. If our marriage was arranged by our parents and a matchmaker, I would not hate or resent you, and I would not divorce you at this moment. But, my lord, you lied to me. You made Yunniang mistakenly believe that your approach to Yunniang was out of your own good intentions."

Lu Huai shamelessly said, "Is coveting power not my true nature? I haven't taken any concubines or had any mistresses, isn't that true? Do you dare say I haven't kept my promise to you?"

Sure enough, men can be utterly shameless. Xie Chaoyun didn't know how to argue with him, so she simply said, "We have different paths, so we cannot work together. What Yunniang wants—a lifelong, monogamous relationship—is not the same as what the Marquis thinks. Yunniang respects the Marquis's choice, and please let Yunniang go. After the divorce, whether the Marquis marries, takes a concubine, or finds a maidservant, it is none of Yunniang's business."

"Xie Chaoyun, don't think that just because you are the legitimate daughter of the General's Mansion, or that just because your second brother became the Minister of Revenue, you are different from others. Once you are divorced, you will be no different from those abandoned wives outside. You will have no chance to re-enter my Pingnan Marquis's Mansion."

"Does Lord Marquis think Yunniang needs a chance?" Xie Chaoyun looked out the window: "Yunniang is giving Lord Marquis a chance, she wants the General's Mansion and the Marquis's Mansion to end things gracefully. Whether Lord Marquis signs the divorce papers or not, Yunniang and Lord Marquis are going to divorce."

Suddenly, Lu Huai thought of Physician Jiang and the rumors circulating outside. He grabbed her arm and asked, "Are you in such a hurry to divorce me because of him?"