She remarried a cold-faced, powerful man, and the scumbag regretted it and cried his heart out.

Under the cover of darkness, Fu Zijin quietly made his way to the Prince Jing's residence.

Mo Yun led him into the study, but didn't even offer him a glass of water.

Wen Huaiqing was deeply troubled by the repeated failures of his schemes and the loss of many loyal followers. His trusted confidants in the manor also blamed Fu Zijin for all of this, and naturally, they didn't treat him well.

He sat there for nearly an hour before Wen Huaiqing slowly appeared.

Wen Huaiqing's expression was gloomy as he said, "Young Master Fu, you once confidently claimed that you could control the Pingyang Marquis's Mansion and Yangzhou, but now you've made such a mess of things. How are you going to explain this to me?"

Fu Zijin lowered his head. "Your Highness, I have said before that Jiang Jin'an must not be allowed to live."

Wen Huaiqing sneered and mocked, "If you can't keep him, then go and kill him. I admit defeat; I really don't have the ability." He stepped forward and suddenly pinched Fu Zijin's wound on the side hard. "Do you think I don't know your little schemes?"

Fu Zijin seemed oblivious to the pain, raised his eyes, and smiled, "Your Highness still has the position of a concubine."

"You can't take the person yourself, so you want me to take them for you?"

Wen Huaiqing released his grip, and the wound reopened, blood seeping out and staining his green robe red.

"Your Highness is mistaken. Shen Jingshu will either die or die in the Fu family."

"Is that Xie Wanqing who's always around you?"

Fu Zijin chuckled twice, shook his head repeatedly, and a hint of madness gradually crept into his dark eyes.

He said, enunciating each word clearly, "Wen Yin, the legitimate daughter of Minister Wen."

Wen Huaiqing frowned.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

The next day, Lin Yu knocked on the gate of the Duke of Dingguo's mansion. When the gatekeeper saw that it was Jiang Jin'an's man, he quickly pulled him aside and said with a troubled expression, "Sir, the madam has ordered that no one from the Commandant's family is allowed to enter the mansion."

The palace banquet was a royal banquet, and servants and maids were naturally not allowed to accompany the guests. Therefore, Lin Yu had no idea how his young master had angered the Duke of Dingguo's mansion.

"If you won't let me, then don't. Go tell the second young master that something urgent has happened to him."

The gatekeeper responded, turned and hurried away, then returned a moment later and said to Lin Yu, "The Second Young Master wants you to go to the back gate."

Lin Yu rushed over immediately, only to see Gu Changyi leaping out from behind the wall.

"Anyone who didn't know better would think that Young Master Gu had turned to thievery."

Gu Changyi rolled her eyes at him and asked irritably, "What's the urgent matter?"

Lin Yu chuckled and kept everyone in suspense: "You'll find out when we get there."

When Lin Yu led him to stop at the entrance of the beaded curtain, he expressionlessly pushed aside the flower maid hanging on his body, raised his long leg and kicked Lin Yu.

He dragged Lin Yu a little further away, cursing, "Where's Jiang Jin'an? That bastard! Get him out here!"

Lin Yu quickly covered his mouth, "My dear Second Master Gu, this is an extremely urgent matter, please don't shout!"

The two were exchanging blows when suddenly a clear female voice rang out, "I told you he couldn't do it."

Gu Changyi looked closely and saw that it was Shen Jingshu, who was dressed as a man, with Jiang Jin'an and Wuchen by her side.

He shook off Lin Yu's hand and exclaimed in surprise, "Sister-in-law! Why are you dressed like this?"

Shen Jingshu beckoned to him and whispered, "I want to redeem someone."

"Redeem her?" He turned around and looked at the signboard with the beaded curtain, then at Shen Jingshu and Jiang Jin'an, his expression strange: "You... want to redeem Hua Niang?"

Jiang Jin'an could tell what he was thinking just by looking at his expression, and said indifferently, "This person is useful."

Gu Changyi pondered for a moment, but still firmly refused, "No, Jin'an, you know I swore an oath to my mother."

Shen Jingshu didn't know anything about the Duke of Dingguo's mansion, so she nodded and didn't press him. "It's alright, I have other options."

The four of them looked at Shen Jingshu.

Less than half an hour later, Cheng Wenhao was dragged over by Wuchen with a look of resignation to his fate.

Gu Changyi was silent for a moment, then asked her, "This is your alternative?"

Shen Jingshu nodded.

Cheng Wenhao laughed angrily, "You had me dragged here without even a word. Am I just a backup option?"

Jiang Jin'an looked up and said, "Hmm. How is it?"

"It's nothing, I'm honored. I'll write it in my diary when I get back, and it will be passed down for generations."

Shen Jingshu asked him, "Have you ever redeemed a courtesan?"

Cheng Wenhao rolled his eyes, his tone quite proud: "Nonsense, Ying'er, Yunyun, Tianqing, which one of them wasn't redeemed by me?"

"Then why don't you redeem another one?"

Cheng Wenhao objected, "Grandma, you just told me to send them away, and they're still crying in the backyard. Now you want me to redeem them? If I go back, they'll tear me apart!"

Jiang Jin'an said, "Redeem the descendants and hand them over to me."

"Then why don't you redeem it yourself?"

Cheng Wenhao curled his lips. He was a bit of a reckless person, and since Shen Jingshu still needed him, he wasn't afraid of what Jiang Jin'an would do to him.

Shen Jingshu said helplessly, "My marriage to him was arranged by the Emperor. Asking him to redeem Hua Niang is probably like asking if he has too long a life ahead of him."

Upon hearing this, Cheng Wenhao thought it made sense, but then he turned his eyes to the three people squatting next to him and said, "Then let the three of them go."

Gu Changyi looked up, her eyes wide, and exclaimed in surprise, "What are you babbling about? I'm a perfectly respectable person."

Lin Yu and Wu Chen nodded in agreement.

Cheng Wenhao: "..."

Okay, so he's the one who's not serious.

Shen Jingshu stopped teasing him and said seriously, "Young Master Cheng, this matter is of great importance and is by no means a trivial matter. I hope you can lend a helping hand."

Cheng Wenhao sighed deeply, "What's your name?"

"Chu Xiangling".

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

The five of them were waiting in the restaurant when Gu Changyi asked Jiang Jin'an, "I heard that Chu Xiangling is the number one courtesan in the capital. Did you see her yesterday?"

"Ah."

Gu Changyi smiled and asked, "How do I look?"

"It's okay."

Jiang Jin'an glanced at Shen Jingshu out of the corner of his eye, and seeing that she didn't seem to react, he felt a little uneasy.

Gu Changyi laughed and said, "Sigh, it's like casting pearls before swine. With such a beautiful woman by your side, no one else can catch your eye."

Shen Jingshu blushed and quickly pinched a piece of cloud cake to shut his mouth, "Eat your cake!"

They waited until late afternoon before Cheng Wenhao finally appeared with Chu Xiangling.

Chu Xiangling was in the prime of her life, with a face that could topple kingdoms, truly deserving of the title of the most beautiful courtesan.

Having entered this industry, and managed to establish a foothold in the capital, opening the largest brothel, the madam had seen all sorts of storms and waves.

Chu Xiangling ran away on her own yesterday and was questioned by the Commandery. Today, the Cheng family came to redeem her, which means she is likely to be in grave danger.

The madam, unwilling to cause trouble, simply agreed. After all, if she could make one Chu Xiangling, she could make a second or a third.

Cheng Wenhao was a regular at the beaded curtain shop. He was generous and eloquent, and with this connection, he eventually spent five thousand taels of silver to redeem the person.

Upon entering the private room, Chu Xiangling knelt down and kowtowed to Shen Jingshu, saying, "Thank you for saving me, Miss. From now on, Xiangling belongs to you."

Shen Jingshu was stunned.

No wonder Gu Changyi said it was like playing the lute to a cow.

What does it mean to be "more than just beautiful, stunningly beautiful, capable of breaking the hearts of thousands with a single glance"?

At this moment, she finally understood completely.