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

Grabbing the old woman's wrist and twisting it forcefully, the old woman cried out in pain.

"Are you still going to endure this, Granny?" Grabbing her other hand, she bent it backward as before. Granny closed her eyes in fear and cried out, "In my arms, there's a small paper packet containing the poison she gave me. I was forced into this; I never intended to poison you, Miss. I'm just a servant; I had no choice."

Lu Zhiyuan let go and took the small paper packet from the nanny's arms.

This Lu Jinyao is truly incorrigible, repeatedly using such despicable methods to harm her. Fortunately, she's incredibly lucky and hasn't fallen for it even once. She tossed the paper packet to Lu Yun, telling him to keep it safe for future use. Poison, and a purified one at that, is practically rarer than gold and silver in this deep palace.

Xiao Yebai looked at the old woman with a dark expression, "How dare you poison A Yuan? I think you're tired of living."

With a flick of his right hand, a bolt of lightning flashed across the darkness, followed by the old woman's heart-wrenching scream. Upon closer inspection, it was a trail of dense, numerous wounds, as if inflicted by thorns.

The old woman didn't see what it was clearly; she only felt pain and itching all over her body, as if hundreds of worms were crawling on her, gnawing at her bones and blood. She scratched incessantly with her only remaining hand, but the more she scratched, the more painful and itchy it became. In just a few moments, she had scratched herself until she was covered in blood, looking neither human nor ghost.

Seeing the old woman rolling on the ground, Lu Yun looked at Xiao Yebai in bewilderment, not understanding how he had attacked and how he had injured the old woman so badly. He must have used some kind of hidden weapon that he didn't know about, and that the weapon was coated with poison.

Noticing the wariness in his eyes, Xiao Yebai rolled up the sleeve of his right arm, revealing a section of his pale arm. Lu Yun glanced at it, and just as he was about to look away, he saw the purple bracelet on Xiao Yebai's wrist.

Xiao Yebai was already fairer than the average man, and with the black satin and purple bracelet, he looked even more like a ghost crawling out of the underworld.

“A grown man wearing a bracelet, and a purple one at that. The customs of you Southern Chu people are indeed different from those of our Northern Liang. We Northern Liang men don’t wear such effeminate things.”

“Ah Yuan, Young Master Lu said that the things you make are too girly.” Xiao Yebai complained to his face, and after complaining, he didn’t forget to show off: “Ah Yuan makes everything, no matter what it is, I will keep it with me at all times.”

"You're saying this bracelet was made by my young lady?" Lu Yun tried to snatch the bracelet back, but Xiao Yebai protected him. "You, surnamed Xiao, have no shame? You eat my young lady's food, live in my young lady's house, and still want to take my young lady's things. Do you think you're my young lady's live-in son-in-law?"

“If A-Yuan is willing, then becoming a son-in-law is also acceptable.”

"Xiao Yebai, you're really shameless." Lu Yun couldn't hold back any longer and pointed at him: "You, a hostage from Southern Chu, are you even worthy of being our young lady's husband? Give me back the bracelet and go cool off somewhere else."

"Ah Yuan, he stole my bracelet, and you didn't do anything about it?" Xiao Yebai complained, moving behind Lu Zhiyuan.

"Shut up. If you want to argue, then argue. If you want to fight, then fight. Don't block my light."

The old woman fainted and lay on the ground, while Lu Zhiyuan examined the wounds with a lantern. The wound on her shoulder was left by Xiao Yebai, and the wounds on her abdomen and back were left by Lu Jinyao. She cut open the torn clothing with scissors, revealing the entire wound. The wound was triangular in shape and looked quite familiar.

Lu Jinyao has grown up; she actually knows to ask her master to improve her hairpin, turning it into a weapon that can kill... no, a better and more convenient weapon to kill.

"Judging from A-Yuan's expression, she seems to know what this dangerous hidden weapon is."

“Of course I know, I invented this thing.” Lu Zhiyuan took off the plain hairpin from her hair. “I never thought that it would become a murder weapon in Lu Jinyao’s hands. It seems that she has not had a moment of peace during her time in the Wei family, and she has used Grand Tutor Wei to gain a lot of benefits for herself.”

Yin Shisan once said that modifying such a hairpin would cost at least twenty taels of gold, and ordinary jewelry shops would not make such a thing; only craftsmen in the Ghost Market would take the order.

The fact that the Ghost Market could be found indicates that Grand Tutor Wei was still managing the Wei family's influence even after being away from the capital for many years.

Xiao Yebai examined the plain hairpin. The shaft was neither round nor flat, but a triangle with grooves. These grooves weren't straight; they had unusual spacing. Wearing this hairpin would definitely cause his hair to ache. He tested it in his hand; the tip was very sharp, comparable to any small concealed weapon he had ever heard of or seen.

Compared to the two wounds on the old woman's body, Lu Zhiyuan's plain hairpin looked delicate.

“Not delicate, but small.” Lu Zhiyuan played with the plain hairpin in her hand: “At my age, it is not convenient to wear overly heavy ornaments. Whether it is a hairpin or a hair ornament, it needs to be appropriate for my age. A plain hairpin is the best choice. It is neither abrupt nor does it fit my status as an unfavored legitimate daughter of a marquis’s family.”

"Is A-Yuan having a hard time in the Marquis's mansion?" Xiao Yebai took the hairpin: "Let me put the hairpin on A-Yuan."

“Okay!” Lu Zhiyuan turned her head to let Xiao Yebai see the bun on her head.

The bun on her head wasn't real hair, but an exquisitely crafted hair pouch. Hidden inside the pouch were hairpin sheaths, which is why the hairpins didn't entangle the hair. Besides the plain hairpins, the pouch also contained several silver needles. These needles were different from the ones she used for acupuncture; they were harder and their color was similar to her hair, making them almost invisible without close inspection.

Xiao Yebai felt very sorry for him.

What could have happened to a young lady from a noble family to make her so cautious, even sleeping with these weapons?

"Is Your Highness worried about me?"

“You don’t need to carry these with you all the time, at least not in Ronghua Palace.” She put the hairpin back into its sheath and only let go after confirming that everything was in order: “Young Master Lu and I will protect you and will never let anyone else hurt you.”

“I’m used to it.” Lu Zhiyuan smiled and said, “Other people’s lives are lives too. They don’t need to die for me. If I have the ability to protect myself, they can save their own lives when they encounter danger.”

After Ye Bai's death, she often wondered if she had been more capable back then, if she had been able to escape unscathed, could he have lived a good life? That was her last mission; once completed, she could retire from the martial world and live a simple life with Ye Bai.

She looked up, her eyes filled with laughter, and tiptoed to touch Xiao Yebai's face: "Don't make promises you can't keep. After New Year's Eve, His Highness the hostage will return to Southern Chu."

“I can stay!” Xiao Yebai grabbed her hand: “I can stay with A Yuan as she grows up, and then…”

“Your Highness, you can’t do it.” Lu Zhiyuan broke free: “You can’t choose until you have absolute power. The Southern Chu royal family is in turmoil. The Emperor will not allow his child to become a sacrifice for the Southern Chu regime. The prince will return to Northern Liang, and the hostage will return to Southern Chu. You are destined to go back. You can’t stay with A-Yuan as she grows up.”

Xiao Yebai clenched his fist tightly, still smiling: "A Yuan is right, I shouldn't have made promises so easily."