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

"Manager Cheng has wronged Meiniang. Meiniang had no choice." Lu Zhiyuan sat down at the table at some point, where a pile of freshly peeled chestnut shells lay. "Based on my experience listening to so many stories, Meiniang was arrested after killing the wine merchant and that Pig Manager and Sheep Manager. Although Tingzhou is not under Lord Zhang Qi's jurisdiction, the one who governs Tingzhou must have been Lord Zhang's former subordinate, and he must have had special feelings for Lord Zhang."

Cheng Xiaoan said, "That's right. The prefect of Tingzhou at that time was the county magistrate when Lord Zhang was in office, and he regarded Lord Zhang as a god."

Li Meiniang also said, "Miss is very clever, but Miss is wrong about something. Meiniang was not arrested. Meiniang went to the prefectural government office to turn herself in, wearing her blood-stained wedding dress. Meiniang was imprisoned in the death row, awaiting execution in the autumn. After a few days, the prison door opened, and Meiniang was brought before a man. Through the curtain, Meiniang did not know who he was, but she knew he was the Empress Dowager's man. He asked Meiniang to do something, and if she succeeded, he would give her a new identity and set her free."

Li Meiniang looked at Lu Zhiyuan: "When I killed someone, Meiniang wasn't afraid. When I surrendered, Meiniang wasn't afraid either. When I stepped into that death row cell, Meiniang was prepared to be beheaded. But Meiniang came out of that death row cell. You wouldn't understand that feeling. It was like returning from the underworld to the human world. Meiniang wanted to live, wanted to live well, just like those people standing in the sunlight. To live, Meiniang was willing to become a pawn."

"Is the name Meiniang fake? What was your original name?" Lu Zhiyuan swung her bound feet: "Your mother was a maid in the Zhang family, and your father was most likely also from the Zhang family. Your original surname was Zhang, not Li."

Li Meiniang shook her head, remaining silent for a long time before finally speaking: "Meiniang's biological father's surname is Li. He was a groom hired by Lord Zhang after he came to Tingzhou. Meiniang is the daughter of the groom and a maid. Meiniang's biological father and her stepfather, that wine merchant, are both wicked. He knows horses, is knowledgeable about them, and is an excellent driver, but he is a terrible person. He took a fancy to Meiniang's mother, feigned madness while drunk, stole her virginity, and forced her to marry him. He is addicted to alcohol, constantly beating and scolding her, especially after Meiniang's mother gave birth to Meiniang, he treated her even worse."

Lu Zhiyuan opened her eyes wide, her voice filled with excitement, and asked, "Is your father's death related to you?"

Li Meiniang looked at her, not understanding why she was so agitated: "He died in a carriage accident after drinking. There was no one else in the carriage except him, and even the horse only suffered minor injuries."

Lu Zhiyuan looked slightly disappointed, gave a soft "oh," and continued, "What's your name, Li something?"

Li Meiniang lowered her head and looked into those excessively beautiful eyes: "Li Duoyu, my original name was Li Duoyu."

Lu Zhiyuan asked curiously, "Is 'Yu' the same as 'Yu' in 'the rest'?"

Li Meiniang shook her head: "Meiniang is illiterate and doesn't know which 'Yu' it is, but Meiniang knows that the 'Yu' must be the 'Yu' that is superfluous."

Lu Zhiyuan shook her head, dipped her finger in tea, and wrote the two characters "多鱼" (meaning "many fish") on the table.

"多" means "many".

"多鱼" means "many fish".

In a poor family, many fish represent wealth and a hopeful expectation for a better future.

Li Meiniang's eyes reddened. She knew her biological father hadn't meant this by giving her the name, but she liked the two characters, and she liked Lu Zhiyuan's interpretation of them. She covered her mouth and nodded gently. Duoyu, Li Duoyu—if she had been born into an ordinary family, perhaps she really could have become an ordinary Li Duoyu.

Mei Niang was the name given to her by that mysterious figure, and the little tunes she sang were also taught to her by someone hired by that figure. Her singing at the Wen family tavern and her chance encounter with Cheng Xiao'an were all arranged by that figure. She was merely following his instructions, sowing discord between Cheng Xiao'an and the Wen family, and using Cheng Xiao'an to solidify the Wen family's crimes.

The one thing she hadn't anticipated was Cheng Xiaoan's genuine affection for her.

Cheng Xiaoan was on the verge of tears, and finally asked the question that had been lingering in his heart for many years: "Was that child mine? Did his departure have anything to do with my brother Wen and sister-in-law Wen?"

"There is no child." Li Meiniang finally revealed the truth: "The drunkenness was fake. Before leaving Tingzhou, you and I had no relationship, and Meiniang was still innocent. If I was innocent, how could there be a child? It was just a dirty trick I learned in the inner quarters. Manager Wen and his wife did not blame me; they just gave me some money to leave you. What you saw and heard were all methods to make you brothers turn against each other."

"Li Meiniang!" Cheng Xiaoan stood up and grabbed her by the neck: "I shouldn't have trusted you, and I shouldn't have liked you."

"It's all Meiniang's fault, kill Meiniang!"

Cheng Xiaoan roared and released her. He knew better than anyone that the one who truly deserved to die wasn't Li Meiniang, but him, Cheng Xiaoan. If he had trusted his sworn brother, he wouldn't have been manipulated by those with ulterior motives. If he hadn't been manipulated, the Wen family wouldn't have been wiped out, and the last surviving members of the Wen family wouldn't have become a minor official in the palace. He deserved to die, but he dared not die; he feared he would have no face to face the dozens of members of the Wen family in the underworld.

He slapped his head hard, and was tightly hugged by Li Meiniang, who was heartbroken.

“Kill me, Cheng Xiaoan, kill me! It’s all because of me that you’ve suffered so much. I’ve wanted to tell you the truth for a long time, but I didn’t dare. I was afraid that you would be like you are today, refusing to forgive me and even more so to forgive yourself.”

Li Meiniang continued, "The Wen family still has members. I bribed the young master's servant to bring him out. I also bought the body of a sick beggar and had the old servant dress him in the young master's clothes to deceive everyone. Cheng Xiaoan, I was just a pawn, I did my best. You can not let me go, but please let yourself go. Even without you, the Wen family will perish. Your Majesty will not let them go."

Lu Zhiyuan and Xie Yubai exchanged a glance.

Okay, the case is solved.

The old servant of the Wen family did not betray his master or run away. Instead, he carried the sick little beggar back to the mansion and was beheaded as the young master of the Wen family. Therefore, when Wen Liangyu left the city, he did not see the wanted notice for him.

Upon hearing Wen Liangyu's name, Cheng Xiaoan stopped hammering and looked at her with bloodshot eyes: "You're the one who tricked little Liangyu into coming to the capital and becoming a eunuch in the palace? Li Meiniang, you might as well kill me!"

Li Meiniang was in a daze, but she quickly realized that she had been used by that mysterious man.

Her every move was under that man's surveillance; she was the mantis stalking the cicada, while he was the oriole lurking behind. But what was his purpose in doing this? If he wanted the young master of the Cheng family dead, he could have simply exposed her and stopped the old servant.

Li Meiniang couldn't understand. She only wanted to prove that she had never harmed Wen Liangyu, and that she knew he had left Tingzhou for the capital. But how could she prove she didn't know? She had told too many lies; Cheng Xiaoan no longer believed her.

Lu Zhiyuan slowly raised her hand: "I believe in Meiniang, and I believe that she was not the one who harmed Wen Liangyu!"

Xie Yubai followed closely: "It's that Eunuch Cheng from the Empress Dowager's side. His aim is to use Wen Liangyu as a new pawn, to blackmail, control, or eliminate the Empress Dowager. Cheng Xiaoan, it's time to reveal his true identity."