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

Lu Huai didn't think he was wrong. As the young master of the Pingnan Marquis's mansion, what was wrong with him considering the mansion's interests and, under his father's arrangement, attaching himself to the powerful Xie family? He had promised Xie Chaoyun a lifetime of monogamy, vowing not to take concubines or keep mistresses, and he had kept his word. He had only secretly kept a mistress; why couldn't Xie Chaoyun understand? Why did she insist on divorcing him?

From a minor marquis to a marquis, which nobleman in the capital is as pathetic as him?

He didn't like Xie Chaoyun because her existence constantly reminded him that she was someone he had climbed up to, yet he gave her all the respect that belonged to the mistress of the Marquis's mansion.

While it's true that Yuan'er was born sick and her mother was at fault for bringing her medicine, she was still the mistress of the Marquis's mansion. Was it really so difficult for her to adopt a child to continue the bloodline of the Marquis's mansion? If Yuan'er were a boy, why would he bother to go through all that trouble?

After much thought, it all came down to Xie Chaoyun being intolerant of others and not being able to win over her husband's heart like Ji Wanwan did.

Lu Zhiyuan could tell what he was thinking just by watching the changing expressions on his face. Men have always been the same. If his wife loves him and he doesn't love her, it's her fault. If he loves his wife and she doesn't love him, it's also her fault. As a man, he can be fickle, he can have multiple women, but as a woman, she can only give her heart and eyes to one man. Are men promiscuous, and women unfaithful?

Who defined the so-called "virtues of womanhood"? Men!

Lu Zhiyuan was too lazy to argue with him; arguing about something that had no result was futile.

"Lu Jinyao is back. Has Father asked him about the strange man?"

"Jin Yao is young and has been deceived!"

"Deceived? Did Father ask her who deceived her?" Lu Zhiyuan looked up at the moon, rubbing her fingers. "As far as I know, she and her son were inseparable from Father in Weinan. After returning to the capital, Father took care of them in every way. Because of all the busyness, the three of them never even left the Marquis's mansion. Where did Ji Wanwan get the poison? And when was Lu Jinyao deceived?"

"I don't know! I don't want to know!" Lu Huai subconsciously evaded the question: "It's getting late, I need to go back and rest, you should rest early too."

“Father!” Lu Zhiyuan called out to him, “Father didn’t come to Fangfei Courtyard because of Grandmother, did you? Father came with Lu Jinyao! She left just now, she sneaked away.”

"Jin Yao told me that you took Ji Wanwan away."

Lu Zhiyuan hummed in agreement and asked Lu Huai, "Did she tell you where her maid went?"

"A maid? What maid?" Lu Huai looked bewildered. "You mean that spy from Southern Chu? Jin Yao was kidnapped by her; they wanted to lure her to the dungeon. Unexpectedly, I had already imprisoned Ji Wanwan, who had made a mistake, in the dungeon. The spy, realizing she'd been tricked, tried to kill the mother and daughter, but was killed by Ji Wanwan. Jin Yao escaped death and went to find me. When we returned to the dungeon, the spy was gone, and Ji Wanwan was gone too."

"Was it Lu Jinyao who told Father that I, Lu Zhiyuan, took her mother away?"

Lu Huai nodded.

"Father has been deceived by her!" Lu Zhiyuan felt increasingly that Lu Huai was foolish. How could he have believed such a crude lie? "The maidservant with her is not a spy from Southern Chu. Father, you should trust my second uncle's abilities rather than her. With the capital under strict security, would the Commandant's Office and the garrison allow her to return to the Marquis of Ping'an's residence with a spy so openly?"

Lu Huai was stumped by the question.

The capital city remained under lockdown. Apart from the Commandant's Office and the Garrison Battalion, only the Xie family and Lu Zhiyuan were allowed free movement. On the night the strange man entered the city, Lu Jinyao disappeared without a trace. She didn't return to the Marquis's residence; who took her away?

If, as she claims, she was taken away by spies from Southern Chu, how did she manage to evade the city's search? Even if she did evade them, why did she bring that spy back to the manor? Could it be that this impoverished Pingnan Marquis's manor still possesses something that the people of Southern Chu covet?

"If that maid wasn't a spy from Southern Chu, then who was she?"

"Lu Jinyao said the maid from the Wei family in the capital is named Wei Linglan. Whether it's true or not, I don't know. Once the capital is unsealed, Father can go to the Wei family to inquire."

The Wei family of the capital? In the capital, only Grand Tutor Wei dares to call them that.

Grand Tutor Wei left the capital years ago to live in seclusion, but suddenly returned half a year ago. The Wei family, which had been silent for a long time, was beginning to show signs of resurgence, and many people speculated that Grand Tutor Wei's move was for the sake of the imperial succession.

How could Lu Jinyao, an orphan girl raised by him in Weinan whose biological father is unknown, be involved with the Wei family in the capital? Could it be Ji Wanwan...? No, Wanwan doesn't know Grand Tutor Wei and has no connection with the Wei family whatsoever.

Why did Yuan'er say that?

My gaze fell on my daughter's eyes, and the more I looked, the less she seemed like an eight-year-old child.

"The news that Lu Jinyao has recognized Grand Tutor Wei as her godfather will soon spread throughout the capital. If Father does not want to get involved with the Xie family, he can use his kindness in raising Lu Jinyao to establish a relationship with the Wei family."

"Godfather? Jin Yao has recognized Grand Tutor Wei as her godfather?" Lu Huai smiled but not smiled. "How is that possible? Although I have never met Grand Tutor Wei, I have heard my father mention him. This man has a strange temper and is arrogant. He doesn't even respect the princess, let alone Jin Yao."

"Grand Tutor Wei acknowledged Lu Jinyao, but he wasn't interested in Lu Jinyao herself," Lu Zhiyuan reminded her. "Grand Tutor Wei was interested in the person behind Lu Jinyao."

"Your Highness Prince Yue?" Lu Huai raised an eyebrow. "Prince Yue and His Highness the Crown Prince are of the same ilk. Jin Yao is a concubine bestowed upon Prince Yue by the Empress. Is Grand Tutor Wei going to side with the Crown Prince?"

“The Empress’s maternal family is powerful and has long been feared by the Emperor. If it weren’t for that, it wouldn’t have been you, Father, who married Mother back then.” Lu Zhiyuan leaned closer and stared at his eyebrows and eyes: “If I were born to Mother and Physician Jiang, I would not be suffering from illness like this today.”

Lu Huai clenched his fist, wanting to ask Lu Zhiyuan if her mother had a prior connection with Imperial Physician Jiang, and whether her divorce from him was for the purpose of marrying him. But the words caught in his throat. The divorce was already a foregone conclusion; asking now would only be humiliating.

“If nothing unexpected happens, the position of Crown Prince will not be shaken. The Emperor is greedy for imperial power, but he also understands who should be handed over to.” Lu Zhiyuan smiled, like an adult, with her hands behind her back: “The Crown Prince can wait, the Empress can wait, but the group that supports the Crown Prince and the Empress cannot wait. The Emperor knows this, so as long as he is on the throne, he must be on guard every day.”

"His Majesty will never allow the Jiang family to be involved with the Wei family; that's Grand Tutor Wei..."

“Even Yuan’er understands this principle, so why doesn’t Grand Tutor Wei understand it?” Lu Zhiyuan squatted down in front of Lu Huai, resting her chin on her hand. “Grand Tutor Wei’s actions have two meanings. One is, as Father thought, to make people mistakenly believe that he has chosen the Empress and the Crown Prince’s faction.”

Lu Huai continued, "If the Emperor thinks the same way, he will inevitably take action against the Empress, the Crown Prince, and the Jiang family."

Lu Zhiyuan nodded: "Father has become smarter!"