Transmigrating into a book to save her best friend, her sickly husband vies for her affections every

Tingyao listened quietly to Zhao Siwei's words.

In the days without her, Zhao Siwei probably did not have a good time, with no one he could trust by his side.

"When I looked at Zhang Zhan and my aunt at that time, I felt more anger than longing."

“I am furious with Zhang Zhan. I raised him as my younger brother, and he turned around and bit me. I kept him alive without telling any of you, and kept him confined in the imperial mausoleum. I fed and cared for him well, but in the end, he burned himself to death in front of me!”

As he spoke, Zhao Siwei exerted force and broke off all the small branches, throwing them into the fire.

Tingyao then said, "In your previous life, your mother was also imprisoned outside the capital by Zhang Zhan. Was the death of Zhang Zhan's grandparents in your previous life related to your mother?"

Zhao Siwei wanted to say no, but having just gone through everything, he told her that maybe not.

"But let's make an assumption: it was your mother who did it, but Zhang Zhan didn't choose to kill Consort Xian. Why? There are three reasons. First, he didn't want to really break ties with you, since Consort Xian is your birth mother."

Zhao Siwei felt as if a large hand was squeezing his heart, making it hard to breathe, and even causing him some pain.

Isn't this Zhang Zhan from just now?

"Secondly, Zhang Zhan knew about his identity as a prince. To put it bluntly, Old Madam Zhang and Old Master Zhang were just his adoptive parents. If it were found out that these two knew about his identity all along, they would deserve to die. Therefore, Zhang Zhan dared not make a big fuss."

"Third, I think the proportion is not large, because I am afraid of implicating the Marquis's mansion."

After Tingyao finished stating her guesses, she finally brought up Consort Xian, "In your past life, your mother hated Zhang Zhan very much, didn't she?"

Zhao Siwei was naturally aware of this, but his father's will clearly stated that none of the princes should be killed.

Tingyao slowly said, "This is just a bold guess. There's no way to verify it. Think about it, Zhang Zhan is trapped in the imperial mausoleum by you. If you're angry enough and he's willing to back down, you'll probably let him go, right?"

This was also Tingyao's test; she stopped talking and observed Zhao Siwei's micro-expressions.

Zhao Siwei said he didn't know.

"I don't know, but doesn't that mean I won't kill?" Tingyao already had the answer in her heart.

Tingyao continued, "So, in your past life, your mother was afraid that Zhang Zhan might make a comeback. However, even though she could have killed him directly, she humiliated him in this way to avoid bloodshed."

Those who were specially confined by the emperor could only be killed by the emperor; killing anyone else would be considered going against the emperor.

Consort Xian won in the end thanks to Zhao Siwei, so she would never do anything that would harm the relationship between mother and son.

“Zhang Zhan is absolutely incapable of such humiliation, especially since you have inflicted this kind of humiliation on him. For him, being imprisoned and not killed by you is already a form of psychological trauma, and yet you still want to treat him like this.”

Zhao Siwei shook his head and immediately denied it, "I didn't..."

Tingyao lifted the lid of the pot and saw that the water had boiled, with white steam drifting through the room. "You said it yourself, it's Uncle Fan. I remember you said that Zhang Zhan was also coveted by him when he was a child, right? I remember you mentioned this, that you led people to warn Uncle Fan."

It was supposed to be a warning, though Zhao Siwei didn't elaborate. However, the original novel devoted a lot of ink to it, describing Zhao Siwei wielding a knife to kill someone. It was this act of protection that made Zhang Zhan so loyal to him.

Tingyao dared not speak ill of Consort Xian, but felt she should give Zhao Siwei some pointers, "Have you ever thought about why Prince Fan would have dealings with Zhang Zhan? Zhang Zhan was only ten years old when the accident happened, wasn't he?"

“He’s not even ten yet. I’m ten. He’s nine.” Zhao Siwei remembered something and then said, “Prince Fan saw Zhang Zhan at the palace banquet.”

"That connection with Prince Fan, it was given to us by your mother, do you remember?" Tingyao prompted Zhao Siwei repeatedly, "Was that palace banquet a big event?"

Zhao Siwei's heart stopped beating.

Nine years old.

—When you were nine years old, you and Xiao Jiu were coming back in the rain. I noticed something was off about you when we were catching cats outside in the yard.

The words of Consort Xian's roar echoed in his mind.

Consort Xian noticed something was wrong with Zhang Zhan when he was nine years old, and Prince Fan also took a liking to Zhang Zhan when he was nine years old. Consort Xian was in charge of most of the palace banquets.

Zhao Siwei gripped the branch in his hand tightly.

If Consort Xian had really intended to do anything underhanded, neither he nor Zhang Zhan would have noticed.

Seeing his thoughtful expression, Tingyao knew that she had understood what he meant.

“Zhao Siwei, you’d better ask Prince Fan. It’s possible that your mother did something in the middle, such as sending Zhang Zhan to Prince Fan in exchange for your help.”

Tingyao lowered her voice considerably after making this bold statement.

really.

[Ding! Zhao Siwei's current emotional state is: Shock 100%]

[Ding! Zhao Siwei's current emotional state is: 100% distressed]

[Ding! Zhao Siwei's current emotional state is: Pain 100%. Players, please stop any actions that might provoke the character and immediately soothe him!]

Tingyao gritted her teeth and endured the throbbing pain in her head.

Zhao Siwei felt a chill in his heart.

After that, she didn't say anything more and waited for the food to be prepared. Then Tingyao said, "You have to take me back to the hot spring villa. I can't be too exposed to people right now."

Zhao Siwei returned alone. If we were to mobilize someone else, it would either be impossible or troublesome, and it would also easily make Tingyao memorable.

Zhao Siwei told Tingyao to wait a moment and went back into the dark room.

Zhang Zhan squatted motionless in front of Old Master Zhang, tilting his head to look at him.

There was no sunlight around, only a small lamp that cast Zhang Zhan's shadow into a ball, making him look pitiful.

"Zhang Zhan, can you find someone to take Tingyao back to the hot spring estate now?"

Zhang Zhan flipped through the pages for a while before finally raising his head.

Tingyao, who was behind, said, "Eat something. Once you're full, your mind will clear up."

The wind and snow outside seemed to have subsided a bit, and the four of them each had a bowl of hot noodles.

Zhang Zhan didn't touch his chopsticks, and neither did anyone else.

"Eat up." Tingyao put the poached egg from her bowl into Zhang Zhan's bowl. "I'm not a very good cook, but this will do. It's still edible."

Zhong Youling also placed a poached egg into Zhang Zhan's bowl, saying, "Young Master, you haven't fully recovered yet. You need to take good care of yourself and avoid any major emotional fluctuations."

Zhao Siwei reached out and patted Zhang Zhan, "Eat it, it's not poisoned."

Zhang Zhan took a bite, then ate the rest of the bowl very quickly.

Zhao Siwei simply patted his back, put his bowl down, and pushed his own bowl over to him, saying, "You need to eat your fill." Then he looked at Tingyao and Zhong Youling, saying, "You two eat too. Two bowls should be enough for him. I'm not hungry."

Tingyao and Zhonglingyou then picked up their own food and started eating.

Zhang Zhan took off the ring from his hand and gave it to Zhong Youling, giving him a few instructions.

The three sat facing each other, and Tingyao took the initiative to say, "Young Master, let me help you take care of the Old Master and the Old Madam."

Rather than letting Zhao Siwei annoy Zhang Zhan, she'd rather do it herself.

"Why should I trust you?"

“If you don’t trust me, why do you eat my cooking?” Tingyao retorted simply, a smile on her face. “Your brother trusts me too.”

Zhang Zhan's expression changed slightly. He picked up his teacup, took a small sip, and glanced at the two people in front of him.

"I know quite a lot."

Tingyao did not argue, "So, Your Highness, please give me a chance."

Zhang Zhan: "How could I not know? Are you going to threaten me with my grandparents?"

"Could it be that the young master is about to do something that could threaten your brother?"

"How do I know if what I do will threaten my brother? I'll leave that to you to judge. Who knows the standard?"

"It's not for me to judge, but your brother himself can feel it, so it can be counted."

"Whether my brother can sense it or not, I don't know. How long have you and my brother known each other?"

He kept saying "your brother" and "my brother," making even the usually volatile Zhao Siwei afraid he'd be blown up.

"Alright," Zhao Siwei said, "You two just leave it alone."

If Tingyao lets Zhang Zhan handle it himself, she'll think he's too stupid. Old Mrs. Zhang and Old Master Zhang are the two people who can completely control Zhang Zhan.

If Tingyao handles it, Zhang Zhan will explode tonight and won't even cooperate. He doesn't trust Tingyao at all, and is probably still very angry with him. Tingyao actually knew about his brother's matter earlier than he did.

Therefore, he takes the middle ground and handles the situation.

Upon hearing this, Tingyao chuckled. Sure enough, the system's big data analysis was incredibly accurate.

It may seem that by not handing the person over to Zhang Zhan, she was accepting his wishes and keeping Old Madam Zhang and Old Master Zhang in her grasp. In reality, however, she was simply going along with Zhang Zhan's wishes.

A shout startled Zhao Siwei half to death. He sat down in two seats, and Zhang Zhan said, "There are only three people. What are you two whispering about? You want to hand over my grandfather and grandmother to Ji Tingyao? Fine, so you're just playing hostage games. How about giving me Meng**?"

Tingyao's bottom line is Meng**, "You dare touch her and see what happens!"

"You dare try touching my grandparents?" Zhang Zhan said bluntly. He couldn't kill Consort Xian in a short time, but he couldn't possibly defeat Ji Tingyao either. That would mean all his efforts over the past ten years had been in vain. "Otherwise, I have younger siblings, and you have younger siblings too, right?"

Tingyao slammed her hand on the table and stood up, spilling some tea from the teacup beside her.

Zhang Zhan was angry with someone, but his mood improved a bit, so he lowered his head and drank his tea.

"What are you doing? What do you want?" Zhao Siwei slammed her hand on the table in front of Zhang Zhan. "How dare you talk to your future sister-in-law like that?"

“Sister-in-law? What kind of sister-in-law? I don’t want a sister-in-law like that. Find someone else.”

Zhao Siwei said coldly, "How about I change it to Meng**?"

Zhang Zhan fell silent.

"What do you mean?" Tingyao stared coldly at Zhao Siwei.

Zhang Zhan, always eager for drama, said, "What do you mean? You're saying you're no good, but Meng** is even worse."

"Can you just shut up?" Zhao Siwei looked at Zhang Zhan. "Are you done eating and drinking and now you're starting to cause trouble again?"

Zhao Siwei looked at Tingyao: "No, no, I meant that Meng** is a very good person, more than enough to be the principal wife of a prince."

Zhang Zhan: "Look, he can't even say what's so good about Meng**. She became a royal consort because the Meng family was a family that the princes all wanted to win over, not because Meng** was good."

“You tell me, didn’t you hear your brother tell you to shut up?” Tingyao said again. “Now you feel energized, huh?”

"Shut up!" Zhao Siwei pointed at Zhang Zhan, "You shut up." Then he looked at Ting Yao, "He's not right in the head today, don't take it to heart."

Tingyao: ...

She really did come to join this family, and she doesn't have the protagonist's halo at all.

"Today, His Highness the Ninth Prince helped you. No matter what happens in the future, Your Highness, please remember everything that His Highness the Ninth Prince and I did for you today."

Zhang Zhan touched the wound on his head and said, "Consider the rudeness your Ji family showed me last time as atonement for your sins today."

"That was Xu Tutu who hit him."

"How do I know if you're lying to me? Anyway, it happened at your second sister's shop."

"Zhang Zhan, how come I didn't realize you were such a petty person?"

"Miss Ji, how about I open up your brain, and then I'll scold you for being petty?"

Zhao Siwei wiped his face. "I think it's about time. You should go and give your grandfather his medicine."

Zhong Youling was still brewing medicine when he left, so Zhang Zhan immediately got up and left.

Tingyao then asked, "What will you do with Zhang Zhan in the future? Will you continue to let him be the heir apparent, or what?"

Zhao Siwei: "Since things have come to this, it's better to let him go to disaster relief and leave for a while."

Tingyao nodded. "You also need to make things clear about Zhao Fu'er's side."

We need to be honest right now, otherwise things could easily go wrong.

Zhao Siwei hummed in agreement; in any case, Zhao Fu'er had already guessed a great deal.

Zhong Youling took the ring and went out. Less than half an hour later, someone came to visit.

Zhong Youling volunteered to escort them.

Zhao Siwei adjusted Tingyao's cloak and covered her hands. "Thank you for today. I, I also thank you on behalf of Zhang Zhan. Zhang Zhan will remember your kindness. He's just very sarcastic and only dares to offend you, which is why he speaks so recklessly."

Tingyao shook her head. "It's alright. Have you thought about how you're going to get along with your mother?"

Zhao Siwei also shook his head.

I haven't decided yet.

Zhong Youling urged Tingyao to hurry up and leave.

After arranging everything, Zhao Siwei returned to the room. The dark room was much warmer than the outside, and Zhang Zhan was sleeping next to Old Master Zhang's bed.

Zhang Zhan felt Zhao Siwei pat him, lift him up, and put him into the bedding next to him.

"Go to sleep, this place is secluded." Zhao Siwei sat on the edge of the bed.

This place was once the stronghold of traitors. After being strangled, it was abandoned and later discovered by Tingyao by chance, and became the place where he secretly plotted important things.

This basement can accommodate no more than a hundred people, and it also has a secret passage.

I really don't know how a place like this wasn't destroyed.

It also helped him a lot when he registered in his previous life.

He hadn't even thought to take precautions against this. He always felt that as long as there was a doctor around and Zhang Zhan was careful, the same mistake wouldn't happen again.

It's all thanks to Tingyao.

It's very well organized; it's fine to hide it for a while.

This also gave Zhang Zhan time to accept it.

After the deaths of Old Master Zhang and Old Madam Zhang, the power of the Marquis's mansion was redistributed. Zhang Zhan, who had already contributed to disaster relief, was then restored to his status as a prince. It was obvious that the Pingyang Marquis's mansion was now in his grasp.

He was also implicitly in control of the military power in the suburbs of Beijing.

In the quiet, Zhao Siwei was finally able to relax his mind and think about what was to come.

Zhao Siwei confirmed several things.

First, Zhang Zhan must not betray us.

Secondly, Zhao Fu'er cannot be married off.

Thirdly, Tingyao cannot leave him suddenly like she did in his previous life.