Lu Wanning held Zhen Yan's hand, her eyes tinged with sadness.
Zhen Yan patted her hand. "You don't have to worry about me. I'll come back to visit you often in the future. As for you, after your last incident, I've been swamped with things and haven't had the chance to see you. I heard you let He Chan and the others off so easily?"
Lu Wanning gave a mysterious smile. "My target has never been her. Don't worry. After this, only worse awaits her. There's no need for me to deal with her."
Zhen Yan felt relieved. "I've noticed that after leaving Fu Rongxuan, you've become the smart and wise person you used to be. It just goes to show that one should stay away from matters of the heart."
Lu Wanning was stunned for a moment. "Smart and wise? That was me in the past?"
Zhen Yan nodded. "Yes, you've been smart and wise since childhood. In fact, I think if you hadn't been bewitched by Fu Rongxuan's sweet talk and been so foolish in those years, you'd be even smarter than you are now."
Although Lu Wanning had the memories of the original owner, those memories were like a trance. The original owner's mind was filled with the thought of loving Fu Rongxuan whole - heartedly, and she didn't remember how she had fallen head - over - heels in love with him. Hearing Zhen Yan say this, she began to have a faint recollection.
In the past, Fu Rongxuan was gentle and jade - like, treating all women well, but the original owner most of all. A polite man praised by everyone, treating only her the best. Which young girl with spring in her heart wouldn't be moved?
So from beginning to end, the original owner only hated the women around Fu Rongxuan. She thought that Fu Rongxuan's diminishing affection for her was all because of those women. Later in the book, even when Fu Rongxuan treated the original owner so badly, the original owner only hated Shi Aohan whole - heartedly.
Lu Wanning felt a twinge of sadness. Tomorrow, her second brother and sister - in - law would return to Luocheng, Zhen Yan would go to Daihe, and she would enter the palace. It seemed that those who had been together were bound to part.
The He family was far from peaceful. The Duke of He was fuming with anger all day long. First, he sent someone to fetch He Nanfeng back, but He Nanfeng had gone to live in his mansion in the city on his own accord. Moreover, he had replaced all the guards and servants with those from the Yu and Qishan Princely Mansions.
Wasn't this clearly telling everyone that He Nanfeng was on guard against him, fearing that if he returned to the mansion, the Duke would harm him?
And He Chan was extremely childish. She made a ruckus at home every day, demanding that the Duke release her mother and stubbornly refusing to marry into the Fu family.
He Chan finally got the chance to visit her mother in the courtyard. She immediately threw herself into Lady He's arms, sobbing. "Mother, you have to stand up for me. I don't want to marry that bastard son. I'm the legitimate daughter of the Duke's mansion and the niece of the Queen. I don't want to marry, I don't want to!"
After being imprisoned for a few days, Lady He had become much more listless. She hugged He Chan to comfort her. "Chan'er, you've lost your reputation. Who else could you marry if not him?"
He Chan choked with sobs. "Mother, I have a man I like. I don't want to marry Fu Rongli."
Lady He gave a bitter smile. "Chan'er, be obedient. You've lost your reputation. Do you still expect others to like you? Be good. You're the legitimate daughter of the He family. The Fu family won't bully you."
He Chan suddenly pushed Lady He away and stared blankly at her. "Mother, do you really love me?"
Lady He tried to hug He Chan again, but He Chan pushed her away once more and stood up, glaring at her fiercely.
"You're my own mother. Why do you make me compromise? You've always said this to me since I was a child. I'm the niece of the Queen and the legitimate daughter of the Duke's mansion, but you always tell me to yield to Lu Wanning. Why? Why?"
Lady He was also enraged. "I don't love you? Let me ask you, every time you yielded to Lu Wanning, did you ever suffer a loss? Chan'er, you're my daughter. I love you the most. Some things can only be obtained through detours..."
He Chan suddenly swept the teacups off the table. "You love me? How did Lu Wanning's mother love her? Everyone knows about her chasing after Fu Rongxuan. Where's her reputation? But she didn't marry, and the Southern - Pacifying Princely Mansion withdrew the engagement without a second thought. What about you? You only force me to marry someone I don't want to."
Lady He was heartbroken and pressed her chest tightly. "If you insist on seeing it this way, Chan'er, let me ask you, who made you collude with Fu Rongli to frame Lu Wanning?"
He Chan was stunned and felt a bit guilty. She turned her face away and remained silent.
Lady He said, "The matter of the embroidered purse and silk handkerchief last time. Was it really Lu Wanning framing you, or did you and Fu Rongli plan to frame her together? And this time, you even tried to take your life to harm her!"
"She deserved to die, she deserved to die. She ruined my reputation. I just didn't want her to be well. I wanted her to be disgraced and never recover!"
"But in the end, it's you who's disgraced," Lady He said, tears streaming down her face as she sat on the couch, leaning against the bed. "Chan'er, I regret it. I regret taking in your cousin, and I regret even more letting her stay with you..."
He Chan's eyes flickered, and she quickly said, "What does my cousin have to do with this? My cousin is the one who protects me the most. You don't love me, not at all!"
She flung her sleeves and ran out. Lady He tried to grab her but failed.
"Nanny, look at her, look at her..." Lady He sat on the ground and cried loudly without any regard for her image. "She's my daughter, but she's never thought about me. What kind of life am I living now? The master has locked me up. He says he's making me suffer, but where's the slightest sign of his pity for me? To avoid arousing suspicion, I'm now... I'm now worse than the lowest - ranking servant."
The nanny hugged Lady He. "Don't be impatient, madam. If you can't endure the small things, you'll spoil the big plan. The master did this for the future of the He family. As long as the Crown Prince succeeds to the throne smoothly, everything will be fine."
Lady He covered her face despairingly. "So what? Nanny, did you see? Chan'er was here for so long, but she didn't show the slightest concern for me. She didn't notice that my quilt was cold and hard, didn't see that the food over there was unfit for pigs. Even when she knocked over the teapot, did she notice that there wasn't even a trace of tea leaves in it?"
The nanny also shed tears. "Miss is still young..."
Lady He's lips trembled. "Nanny, did I do something wrong? For the sake of the Crown Prince, I treated Shi Aohan like my own daughter, but what did Shi Aohan do? Wen Bo only has eyes for her, not even caring about his own future and official career. And Chan'er always thinks she's the best person in the world. Nanny, this must be Shi Aohan's doing. Chan'er is timid. How could she have taken such a risk? It must be Shi Aohan who persuaded Chan'er to jump off the cliff..."
The nanny patted Lady He gently, feeling sad and not knowing how to console her.
"Nanny, did you hear what others said? If Lu Wanning hadn't been soft - hearted and tried to save Chan'er, Chan'er would have been in trouble. Shi Aohan, it must be her. How could she be so cruel? I treated her so well. I regarded her as my own daughter..."