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

“To live for a thousand years…” Lu Zhiyuan let go: “To become a monster like you? I don’t care for such a thousand years, you should enjoy it all by yourself, Lord Marquis.”

"That's because there's a problem with my medicine." Marquis Yongchang said urgently, "I know that person is here. The two of you working together will definitely be able to overcome the shortcomings of the prescription. You are the Crown Princess, the future Empress of Beiliang. Are you willing to give up your Crown Prince, your husband, and the Empress's position that you are about to obtain to someone else?"

"Of course I can't bear to part with it." Lu Zhiyuan circled around him twice: "Have you ever heard the saying that the living can never win against the dead, and if the dead are a white moonlight, they can't win even more?"

"what do you mean?"

"It means that even if I die, my brother, the Crown Prince, will always remember me and cherish my memory, no matter how many concubines or beauties he takes in the future. I, Lu Zhiyuan, will always be the only one in his heart. Even if I die..."

He will always remember my kindness and will appreciate my treatment of my family. Conversely, if I live on for eternity, the Emperor's favor will surely fade when I grow old and lose my beauty. At that time, my brother, the Crown Prince, may not treat my family well. You, Marquis, were born and raised in the royal family; how could you not understand this principle?”

The Crown Prince tried to explain, but Lu Zhiyuan covered his mouth.

"I'm not interested in living to be a hundred years old. Let's talk about supplies."

"Haven't you already found out?"

"The investigation has been completed, but we still need your confession, Lord Marquis."

"You want to kill me?" Marquis Yongchang narrowed his eyes. "You don't want me to die, you want to sentence me."

“Your Excellency is indeed clever. Why don’t you tell us?” Lu Zhiyuan casually sat down next to Marquis Yongchang. “It’s fine if Your Excellency doesn’t want to say anything. I can forge evidence and have Your Excellency’s fingerprints put on it. With General Gu and those trusted men that Your Excellency’s husband kept in the mountains that General Gu has captured, Your Excellency’s crime is a sure thing and you can’t escape it.”

Marquis Yongchang was angered by Lu Zhiyuan and glared at her with his captivating eyes.

"Did Your Highness hear that? The Crown Princess is trying to fabricate evidence and force a confession out of her."

"I didn't sleep well last night, and I'm suffering from deafness and tinnitus. It's only just gotten better, and I happened to overhear what the Marquis said." The Crown Prince adopted a protective stance: "Although I don't know what my beloved concubine said to the Marquis, I know perfectly well what the Marquis did in Ganzhou. There are witnesses, physical evidence, and the victim is all there. Even if the Marquis doesn't confess..."

"I can still charge you with deceiving your superiors, embezzling supplies, and plotting rebellion!"

Marquis Yongchang laughed, feeling utterly confident.

"I confess. Does Your Highness dare to arrest my accomplice?"

"Who is the Marquis's accomplice? The Emperor?" Lu Zhiyuan slowly took out a letter: "The Marquis has been living in Ganzhou for a long time and may not be aware of some things. The Emperor is seriously injured and unconscious, and has entrusted all matters of the court, large and small, to my husband, who is also the Crown Prince of Beiliang."

Marquis Yongchang raised an eyebrow: "So what? You dare to arrest the Emperor?"

Lu Zhiyuan clicked her tongue twice: "Such a clever person, and after living for so many years, how come you become so confused at crucial moments? Whether the Emperor is your accomplice or not is unimportant; what matters is what we say, what we tell the world. The Emperor is seriously ill, kept alive only by ginseng soup. Why is he kept alive? Because the Crown Prince has not yet returned to the capital. As soon as the Crown Prince sets foot in the capital..."

He is the retired emperor. Who would bother to investigate his past?

From a distance, Lu Zhiyuan traced the shape of Yongchang Marquis's eyes with her hand: "The Marquis's crimes are undeniable, and his death is inevitable. All we want to know is the truth that the Marquis will tell us."

"What difference is there between what others say and what I say?" Marquis Yongchang closed his eyes: "It's just superfluous."

“What others say is just what others say; there will always be some differences in the details compared to what the Marquis says.” Lu Zhiyuan stretched: “Will the Marquis tell us or not? If he does, we’ll listen. If he doesn’t, we’ll leave.”

"You are probably aware of my relationship with the Emperor." Marquis Yongchang opened his eyes. "I am a royal descendant, but my status is not something that should be publicized. The late Emperor felt guilty and found an excuse to raise me in the palace. When I first met the Emperor, we were both children. He was dressed in fine silks and satins, while I was dressed in coarse linen. I saw nobility in his face, and he saw destitution in mine. Neither of us was happy."

“You’re jealous of the Emperor’s privileged birth, where he has no worries about food or clothing. He envies your freedom, free from the constraints of palace rules.” Gu An found a sweet potato somewhere; it was raw, crunchy, and sweet.

Marquis Yongchang smiled enigmatically: “That’s an adult’s thought, not a child’s. Children don’t have that many thoughts. I’m unhappy because I was forcibly brought into the palace. The moment I saw the Emperor, I knew that my life would be just as conventional as his. I’m naturally free-spirited and don’t want to be bound, but I’m too young and have no choice. The Emperor is unhappy because he was just scolded by the Empress Dowager, so he was already unhappy.”

Marquis Yongchang entered the palace as a study companion, and initially did not get along well with the Emperor. The Emperor valued rules and etiquette, while he was unruly and disrespectful. The Emperor studied all the arts—music, chess, calligraphy, and painting—while he was proficient in none of them. The Emperor couldn't understand why the Retired Emperor had chosen such a person as his study companion. He also couldn't understand why this young man didn't want to play. Wasn't studying all day tiring?

They spent more than half a year in this mutual loathing, until the emperor was murdered and pushed into the pond in the back garden. He could swim and pulled the emperor out of the pond.

The Empress Dowager believed he was the culprit, plotting to murder the Emperor and seize his throne. He was beaten half to death and locked in a dark room. The first thing the Emperor did upon waking was to find him. Upon learning of the Empress Dowager's punishment, he first went to explain the facts to her, then, avoiding the palace servants, dragged his ailing body to the dark room to find him.

Gu An brought over a sweet potato: "I know what happened next! The Marquis saved the Emperor, but was beaten up by the Empress Dowager instead. The Marquis will definitely resent the Emperor from the bottom of his heart."

Marquis Yongchang gave a soft snort.

"You people have such complicated thoughts." He opened his eyes, his originally dark pupils turning red: "A child was pushed into the water, choked on the water and fell into a coma. His mother was furious and it is understandable that she took her anger out on me. Even if I resent the Empress Dowager for being unable to distinguish right from wrong, I will not attribute this anger to the Emperor."

Gu An chuckled.

"You are right, my lord. I was judging you by my own petty standards."

"After that incident, my relationship with the Emperor improved a lot. I learned about the difficulties of being the Crown Prince, and he also learned about my difficult situation as an illegitimate son of the royal family. We became close friends who could talk about anything. He started teaching me to read and write, and taught me the etiquette and rules that a prince should know. I taught him what children should eat and play."

Later, we became true brothers, sharing everything. He knew I didn't covet his throne, and I knew he would set me free, granting my wish to travel the Northern Liang and live a carefree life.

"How did the Marquis transform from a carefree recluse into someone who seeks immortality?" Lu Zhiyuan asked.

What happened here? This change should be the key reason why the Marquis coveted that batch of grain.