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

What Liu Ying couldn't understand, Lu Zhiyuan did.

Miss Li Er's first banging against the wall was because she was traumatized. She thought she was different in the eyes of the Duke of Rui, at least in her opinion, the Duke of Rui wouldn't treat anyone else specially.

Upon hearing of the Duke of Rui's accident, she rushed to his side, only to find him trying to leave with Liniang. Liniang, holding her child, hid behind him, while he, like a husband, firmly protected them both.

At that moment, Miss Li's belief collapsed.

She must have questioned the Duke of Rui, but he either ignored her or told her that she was just like the other women in the inner quarters, a plaything he could easily obtain.

Miss Li Er broke down.

She forgot her family's vendetta, betrayed her fiancé, and gave herself to her enemy, the Duke of Rui. She had initially believed there was genuine affection between them, but in the end, she was nothing more than an object to be played with by her enemy. Enraged by the Duke of Rui, and unable to face her parents in the afterlife, she smashed her head against a wall in a fit of rage.

She didn't die because she harbored illusions; she wanted to see if the Duke of Rui truly cared about her.

The answer is obvious: the Duke of Rui doesn't care.

At this moment, Imperial Physician An arrived. Faced with Imperial Physician An's explanation and Duke Rui's mockery, Miss Li was overwhelmed with shame and indignation, and banged her head against the wall again.

This time, she was determined to die.

"If only you had known then what you know now." Liu Ying leaned against the bed. "If she had died to prove her innocence when she was kidnapped, at least she could have preserved her purity. If I were Physician An, I would have buried her as her fiancé, giving her a proper resting place. Now look what's happened. If the An family acknowledges her, they would be letting down their ancestors. Burying her back in the Li family is not an option for a girl who hasn't even married yet, has been kidnapped, lost her purity, and has no parents to protect her. The Li family will definitely not agree to this. This Second Miss Li will probably be a wandering ghost."

Lu Zhiyuan said, "What's wrong with her just wanting to live? Living a life of ignominy is living, and enduring humiliation is also living. Her mistake wasn't wanting to live, but misplaced her affections. She shouldn't have placed her heart and all her hopes on the Duke of Rui."

Liu Ying shook her head: "This servant still thinks that innocence is more important."

Liu Ying told Lu Zhiyuan a story about a woman's innocence, a story that was related to the royal family and the Crown Prince.

The year His Highness the Crown Prince underwent his coming-of-age ceremony, all the civil and military officials and their families attended. Lu Zhiyuan did not go; she was ill and resting in Ronghua Palace at the time and knew nothing of what happened at the ceremony.

The Crown Prince, being the heir apparent and handsome, inevitably attracted the attention of noble ladies. Yes, the Emperor and Empress chose Lu Zhiyuan as his Crown Princess, but everyone in the capital knew that Lu Zhiyuan was terminally ill and wouldn't live to adulthood. Even if she did, she wouldn't be able to produce an heir for the royal family. To put it nicely, she was the Crown Princess; to put it bluntly, she was just a mascot for the royal family.

At the coming-of-age ceremony, young ladies from various noble families were eager to try their luck, all hoping to become the Crown Prince's concubine. Among them, Miss Li and Miss Ruan attracted the most attention.

This Miss Li has no relation to Physician An's fiancée; they just happen to share the same surname, Li.

Miss Li represents the newly rich, while Miss Ruan represents the old guard. It is said that everyone favors Miss Li more because her brother is closer to the Xie family and is one of the civil officials Xie Yubai values.

After the coming-of-age ceremony, the noble ladies of each family left the palace with their fathers and brothers. For some reason, Miss Li disappeared and didn't return all night. The next morning, someone found Miss Li disheveled outside the Li family's gate. Although the Li family reported it to the authorities, and Miss Li's brother had a palace matron examine her to prove her innocence, rumors still began to circulate throughout the capital.

Beset by rumors, Miss Li was unlikely to marry into the Eastern Palace, let alone marry an ordinary man, and it would also tarnish the reputation of the Li family. In order to prove her innocence, and for the sake of the Li family's reputation and the bright future of her father and brothers, Miss Li resolutely chose to die.

"Is Miss Li truly innocent?"

"No, she was just kidnapped and locked up outside the city for one night." Liu Ying picked at the embroidery on her clothes. "I heard that Miss Li's clothes were all in good condition, just a little wrinkled and dirty. Her hair was messy, but her hair bun was still intact, except that she was missing a hairpin. The person who kidnapped Miss Li did it on purpose. She made people think that something had happened to Miss Li and that she was not innocent."

"Is it Miss Ruan?"

"Although there is no direct evidence, everyone's speculation points to her." Liu Ying pursed her lips: "As soon as Miss Li died, those conservatives suggested to His Highness the Crown Prince that he take her as a concubine so that she could have children for the royal family, but the Crown Prince rejected the suggestion. A few days later, Miss Ruan was forcibly kissed while shopping."

"A forced kiss? Who did it?" Lu Zhiyuan's eyes widened. "Don't tell me it was His Highness who orchestrated it."

“It wasn’t His Highness’s design, but he definitely tacitly approved of it.” Liu Ying raised her chin. “It wasn’t exactly a forced kiss, though. Miss Ruan was shopping when a little beggar bumped into her, and by sheer coincidence, she bumped into a young gentleman. The gentleman was drunk and a bit tipsy when he was bumped into. He was trying to see what had hit him when he was pushed, and he and Miss Ruan fell to the ground together. Miss Ruan’s lips landed right on the corner of the gentleman’s lips. With everyone watching, it was impossible for Miss Ruan to pretend nothing had happened.”

"And then?" Lu Zhiyuan's eyes sparkled with gossip.

"And then?" Liu Ying frowned. "Then that young master went to the Ruan family to propose marriage. Madam, can you guess what his surname was?"

"His surname is Li, and he belongs to the family of that Miss Li who was framed."

"How did you know, Madam? You don't seem surprised at all."

“I don’t know what the Li family is like, but I know my second uncle very well. Anyone who can be valued by my second uncle is no ordinary person. How can an older brother tolerate his younger sister being framed and having her reputation ruined? Even if it weren’t for his younger sister, he would have to think about his family’s reputation and would not allow someone to trample on him without saying a word. Without evidence, we can’t hold the Ruan family accountable. The only way we can think of and the best way to do this is to ruin Miss Ruan’s reputation.”

“This servant doesn’t understand.” Liu Ying shook her head: “Even if you want to ruin Miss Ruan’s reputation, there’s no need to do it this way, is there? At worst, you can learn from Miss Ruan, find a few beggars to tie her up, throw her at the gate of the Ruan mansion the next day, and let a few beggars tell her the story vividly. Even if Miss Ruan’s reputation is still intact, she will be so ashamed that she will want to bang her head against the wall. Only in this way can she understand the pain that Miss Li suffered that day.”

"If the Li family really does that, wouldn't that be writing the words 'I'm the murderer' all over my face?" She glared at Liu Ying and continued, "At that time, the Ruan family, together with those old factions, will use the Li family as an opportunity to beat up the new elites. What will happen to the Crown Prince? What will happen to the Eastern Palace? When it comes to the court, nothing is simple. On the contrary, if the Li family gets involved, even if the Ruan family knows that the Li family is behind this, they can only swallow their bitterness and admit defeat."

Liu Ying said with a bitter face, "So troublesome? I thought... never mind, I don't have the brains for that! No wonder you're a madam and I'm just a servant."