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

The letter was full of his complaints.

He said his marriage to his mother was a mistake from the start, that he shouldn't have forced himself on her to protect the reputation of the Marquis's mansion, that his mother was jealous and shouldn't have become the mistress of the mansion, that they had been estranged for a long time, and that his illness was all caused by his mother. He also said he had found Lu Huai an excellent wife, that he didn't want Lu Huai to follow in his footsteps, and that if Lu Huai cherished his wife, the Marquis's mansion would definitely be different.

The paper was full of trivial details, and there were some errors in the wording, but I didn't have any of the things Lu Zhiyuan mentioned in my mind.

Seeing her father's anger, Lu Zhiyuan took the letter, first shining it against the lantern in the courtyard, then folding it into a strange shape. The folded letter contained only one sentence: "Father was murdered by Mother, and most of the missing persons in the mansion were killed by your mother."

Lu Huai laughed and pointed at Lu Zhiyuan, saying, "You are just like your mother, actually coming up with this method to frame your grandmother."

Lu Zhiyuan sighed: "Why is Father pretending to be stupid? When you were reading the letter just now, you noticed that the ink color of these words was the same, and the ink color was darker than the words next to them. Grandfather used a lot of force when he wrote these words, deliberately distinguishing them from the words next to them."

Lu Huai still didn't believe it and asked, "Why can't you say it to my face? Why do you have to do it this way? Don't forget, I'm his son, his own flesh and blood."

Lu Zhiyuan said calmly, "Grandfather would like to ask you, will you give Grandfather this chance? During the days when Grandfather was seriously ill, Father used the excuse of studying to linger in the academy, and only returned after marrying Mother. Was Father really studying?"

No, he wasn't studying. He just didn't want to go back to the Marquis's mansion and didn't want to see what was happening there.

"When my grandfather was seriously ill, my father was traveling and enjoying himself with his classmates. He only returned home three days after my grandfather's death, and he didn't even get to see his grandfather one last time. My mother, who was not yet married into the family, helped with the funeral arrangements. Because of this, my father was praised for his filial piety. But was it my father who was filial? It was my mother who was filial to my father."

Lu Huai scratched his head.

When my father passed away, the Marquis's mansion was in chaos. It was Xie Chaoyun who stepped forward and, as his future daughter-in-law, took care of everything. The Marquis's mansion was poor, and the funeral was rather simple, but most of the officials from the court came, out of respect for the Xie family. That was the most glorious moment of my father's life!

He should have remembered Xie Chaoyun's good qualities and treated her well after she married into the Marquis's family, but what did he do? He listened to what his classmates said and thought that Xie Chaoyun had overstepped her bounds, that she had taken advantage of her status as the eldest daughter of the General's family and did not respect her as her future husband, and that she was disrespectful to her father by holding such a frugal funeral.

He blamed her for this and that, but never considered that she didn't have to do these things in the first place. If it weren't for her, the Marquis's mansion would have become the biggest laughing stock in the capital because of this funeral, since his mother had absolutely no idea how to handle such matters.

Lu Huai slapped himself twice.

The two slaps were crisp and clear, making Lu Zhiyuan feel very comfortable.

"With Father away from home and Grandmother having people watching Grandfather every day, even the coachman whom Grandfather trusted most was not allowed to get close. Under these circumstances, Grandfather could only reveal all the inside information by writing a letter. However, Father did not read this letter, or rather, he read only the beginning and then threw it aside. He only found this letter by chance while helping Mother sort through her letters."

Lu Zhiyuan turned the letter over; on the back was a limerick, even more awkward than the letter itself, and its meaning was unreadable. Lu Zhiyuan folded the letter and handed it to Lu Huai.

"This is……"

"The last character of the driver's name, 'zhi,' means 'to know.'"

Lu Huai looked at Lu Zhiyuan: "How did you know that was the coachman's name? Did you go to see that coachman?"

“Father is so stupid!” Lu Zhiyuan rolled her eyes at him. “Mother has managed the household affairs for many years. She remembers the names of all the servants in the mansion who are still alive, especially the coachman who was by Grandfather’s side. When Grandfather passed away, he helped Mother with the funeral arrangements. He never married and spent most of his life in the Marquis’s mansion. He even volunteered to keep vigil for the old Marquis. Mother appreciated his loyalty and specially bought him two acres of land and built him a house near Grandfather’s mausoleum. During festivals, whenever there were any rewards in the mansion, Mother would instruct the steward to prepare a portion for him.”

Xie Chaoyun is a qualified matriarch.

"The land, the houses, and all the rewards bestowed upon the manor were all given by Mother in Father's name. If Father doesn't believe me, he can ask anyone." Lu Zhiyuan pressed the letter into his hand: "The truth is not important. If Yuan'er and Mother really wanted to do something, they would never have chosen to take out this letter at this time. Murdering one's own husband is enough to plunge the Marquis's manor into utter ruin."

Lu Huai's heart skipped a beat.

He understood that even if the letter was fake, if Xie Chaoyun and the Xie family wanted to deal with him, they could easily make it real. Not to mention anything else, just now, when Commander Ma was still around, if Yuan'er had shown him this letter, the Lu family and he would have been doomed.

“Yuan’er—” He looked up at his daughter, a hint of guilt rising in his eyes: “It is your father who has failed you and your mother! For the past ten years, I have been bewitched, spoiling the wrong people and trusting the wrong people.”

"Has Father truly come to his senses?" Lu Zhiyuan tilted her head, as if judging the truth of those words: "Grandfather's death is over. As for Grandmother, she should pay the price for what she did. Father should be glad that the capital is still under lockdown, and Grandmother's affairs will not be known to outsiders."

Lu Huai took a deep breath: "Your father would never do anything detrimental to the Xie family again! Although that letter was presented to the Emperor by your father, I was also deceived and mistakenly believed that the Xie family was really plotting a rebellion. I lost my judgment because I wanted to protect you and your mother. Yuan'er, framing the Xie family was not my intention. After ten years of marriage, your mother and I still have feelings for each other. I never thought of letting anyone take her place as the mistress of the house. It was she who could not tolerate anyone else in this mansion."

Lu Zhiyuan clicked her tongue twice and asked Lu Huai, "If my mother is willing to use her dowry to support the family and pave the way for my father's future, as long as my father agrees to let her keep a few male concubines in the Marquis's mansion, would my father agree?"

"Absurd! How could the mistress of a noble household keep male concubines?"

"If Father can keep a mistress, why can't Mother keep a male concubine? Is it because men and women are different?" Lu Zhiyuan asked, feigning confusion. "Compared to Father, I think Mother is more qualified. Mother didn't do that not because she was incapable, but because she respected Father, respected her feelings for him, and respected her own choice. What she wanted has never changed; it has always been to be with one person for life."

"One life, one love, one partner—how many people in this world can truly achieve that?" Lu Huai waved his hands. "For ten years, I've only had Wanwan, and she's just an unnamed concubine. For her, as the mistress of the house, isn't that what one life, one love, one partner is all about?"

“How can I allow others to sleep soundly beside my bed?” Lu Zhiyuan looked him straight in the eye: “Those who become mistresses, like Ji Wanwan, do so not because they want to be mistresses or share the same man with others, but because they are incompetent and need to depend on men. My mother is not like that! If that is the kind of mistress you want, you should not have provoked her in the first place.”