How could I possibly be confined in a cage?

Yan Ru was almost asleep from waiting, but Song Yuanliang still hadn't appeared. The family quietly returned to their old house, not daring to light any lamps.

"Dad, why don't you two go back first? I think it's going to be tough for you today. Let's think of another way." Qingru saw that Yanru looked exhausted and felt sorry for her, so she wanted her to go back and rest.

After pondering for a while, Lü Peijun also felt that Song Yuanliang might not be able to accomplish this task.

"Forget it, let's all go back. I was naive. Who expected him to get anything done?" Thinking of the person by the prison, it was time to put him to use.

The family was walking out when Song Yuanliang, with someone in tow, hurried over, his head bowed.

Qingru glanced at Yanru in surprise. Yanru shook her head slightly, pretending not to want to leave, and then retreated.

Song Yuanliang was so focused on getting there that he didn't pay attention to his surroundings. He rushed towards the Lü family's house and was about to knock on the door when Lü Peijun, quick-witted and agile, pulled him inside.

Du Juan came in along with them.

As soon as Du Juan saw Yan Ruzheng about to kneel down, Lü Peijun raised a finger and shushed her, "Don't speak."

He peeked through the crack in the door and saw a shadow flash by in the alley.

A thoughtful look flashed in Lü Peijun's eyes, and she quietly asked Song Yuanliang, "Were there people following you when you came?"

Song Yuanliang was puzzled. "There shouldn't be."

"Don't say anything yet, follow me."

Lu Peijun led his men into the room and instructed them, "Don't go out until I'm back."

"Dad," Qingru was about to persuade him when Lü Peijun stopped her with a look.

After settling the four people in properly, Lü Peijun went to the courtyard, jumped over the wall, and peered out.

So it turns out that Lü Peijun wasn't a weak scholar after all?

Fortunately, no one else saw it, otherwise they would have doubted whether this was still the gentle and refined scholar Lü Peijun they knew.

The Lu family compound had high walls and was shaded by trees, so unless one was deliberately looking up, Lu Peijun was very well hidden.

Song Yi stood hesitantly at the alley entrance. He had been here before and knew all too well the master's possessiveness towards Lü Yanru. Now, the young master had shown up at her door in the middle of the night...

Lu Peijun noticed that the man below seemed to be a close attendant of Master Song, acting suspiciously and hesitantly, and wondered what kind of evil intentions he was harboring.

So he covered his face, secretly crept to the neighbor's wall, and forcefully threw a small stone he had picked up at the acupoint.

"Ugh," Song Yi groaned and collapsed to the ground.

This was a fairly lively street, and with her two daughters with her, Lü Peijun didn't want to kill anyone, nor did she want to expose herself, which is why she spared his life.

After finishing these tasks, he quietly returned to the courtyard, clapped his hands, and went to pick up his daughter, now completely clean.

Song Yuanliang was filled with unease, wondering what his father-in-law was up to.

To everyone's surprise, Lü Peijun didn't say anything, but simply gagged the man and half-dragged him back to their new home.

Inside the main room, Lü Peijun disdainfully tossed Song Yuanliang aside, "Tell me, did you get the things back?"

"I brought it back." Song Yuanliang said respectfully. Although he didn't know where Uncle Lü got his strength from, he was very obedient and acted like a good son-in-law.

Lu Peijun told Yan Ru to go see for herself, then asked Du Juan, "What happened to you?"

Du Juan knelt down without saying a word, only tearing open her clothes to reveal the shocking wounds inside.

Yan Ru closed her eyes in fright, but then came over and hugged Du Juan to apologize, "I'm sorry, I didn't know they would treat you like this. I thought you were from the Song family and they wouldn't take their anger out on you."

Du Juan then burst into tears, "Don't you know? The little one is dead, and you're gone too. Of course, the master will take his anger out on me! I serve you, and the second concubine won't care about me either, so...so..."

Du Juan couldn't continue speaking, and Yan Ru couldn't listen to her anymore. She only promised, "Good sister, I'm sorry to have wronged you. You should stay in my Lü family and recover well. Once you've recovered, I'll find you a good family and give you a generous dowry so you can live a good life."

Du Juan was at her wit's end. She knew Yan Ru was soft-hearted, and now that he was willing to compensate her, what else could she say?

Ultimately, it's because the Song family didn't treat her like a human being. Now that Yanru can accept her, that's better than anything else.

“Alright, I have no parents or siblings, so I’ll have to rely on you for my livelihood from now on,” Du Juan readily agreed.

After settling Du Juan's affairs, Lü Peijun asked Yan Ru to take her downstairs to settle her in. As for Song Yuanliang, he would personally come to make contact with him.

"Thank you, Young Master Song."

Song Yuanliang was extremely humbled and said, "You're too kind. This is what I should do."

"There's no question of whether you should or shouldn't do this. My entire Lü family is grateful for your help. By the way, do you know why I asked you to bring Yanru's things back?"

Song Yuanliang replied after careful consideration, "Because I don't want Yanru's things to remain in the Song family, which would give people something to talk about?"

"Yes, it's good that you know. We scholars value our reputation the most. My daughter was deceived first, and we really can't afford to lose face as well. I hope Mr. Song can understand."

"Of course I understand," Song Yuanliang said hastily, expressing his sincerity. He certainly hoped that Yanru could live a good life, so why would he spread rumors about her?

"Yes, Yanru has told me about how you treated her. Thank you for your care, but she is still young. I hope she finishes her studies before we talk about marriage. Do you understand?"

"I understand, of course I understand," Song Yuanliang said excitedly. Did Uncle Lü's speaking to him in person mean that he approved of him?

Lu Peijun didn't really want to see him; if it weren't for Yanru, he would have said an extra word.

"Okay, then you should go home early so your parents won't worry."

After thinking it over, Song Yuanliang realized there was no reason to stay any longer, especially since Uncle Lü had hinted at something... so he took his leave.

Only then did Lü Peijun reveal her true colors, showing no joy whatsoever as she looked at Song Yuanliang's retreating figure.

Now that we've retrieved everything, it's time to make a trip to Qingdai Mountain.