After the divorce, I was adorned in a phoenix robe, while my ex-husband's entire family dug up

Wei Zhaoning remained silent, only sipping her tea. "You say you support me no matter what I do, so how about having a drink with me?"

Her frustration grew, and she could no longer suppress it, feeling as if the dam she had painstakingly built was about to crumble.

Are you really not going to regret it?

Are you really going to lie to the Regent like this, make him disgusted with you, give up on you, and then get along well with someone else?

His arms are open to others, are you really willing to do that?

You've brought this situation to where it is today entirely your fault. Don't you really regret it?

Ever since she heard Shen Shu say, "Don't go to the point of no return," her mind had been in turmoil. No matter how rational she tried to think of things, she couldn't suppress the turmoil.

Shen Shu sighed. "Drink up, I'll keep you company. You..."

She has already finished her postpartum confinement period, and her body has almost fully recovered these days, even better than before. Drinking a little alcohol is not a difficult thing for her.

Perfect timing! Let's drink more. Wei Zhaoning doesn't drink easily, but when she does, she becomes incredibly wild. Maybe we can get some crucial information out of her then.

In fact, she had always had a gut feeling that Wei Zhaoning did not return to the Marquis's mansion and stay by Lu Zhufeng's side because of the love and reluctance she talked about. This was too unlike her. Her claim that she went back to kill Lu Zhufeng was more believable than this.

Even after the wine was served, Wei Zhaoning was still in a daze. She rested her chin on her hand, staring at the table as if trying to stare a hole through it. Her brows were tightly furrowed, her expression intense and seemingly unyielding.

Shen Shu didn't disturb her thinking, but quietly poured the wine into the cup.

At this moment, Wei Zhaoning awoke as if from a dream. Downstairs, a waiter's loud voice called out, "Your Highness, Miss Xiao, please take care!"

Wei Zhaoning's soul finally found its home. She snapped back to reality, downed a glass of wine that wasn't exactly cheap, and poured herself another.

She was truly heartbroken; the mere thought of the Regent walking side by side with that woman had thrown her into a state of utter disarray.

But all she could do was indulge herself and vent her frustrations here.

Get yourself drunk, tough it out, get through this, and everything will be alright.

The current situation is not something that can be improved simply by her going back and explaining. What good would it do if she did? Would the Regent believe her?

After she returned, she had no way of knowing what the Crown Prince intended to do, or what would happen if the Regent was injured. Or perhaps something had truly happened, and was that the kind of consequence she wanted to see?

She couldn't be so selfish for her own benefit. Besides feelings, the Regent had also shown her a great deal of kindness. If it weren't for him, she wouldn't have been able to escape danger on many occasions.

Even for this reason, she would stay in the Marquis's residence to help the Regent gather information and find a way to deal with the Crown Prince.

As long as her benefactor survives and is alive, she will have no regrets even if he marries another woman and has children. This ending may just be a part of fate, something she cannot control.

After indulging today, remember who you are and what you should do, and don't let irrelevant emotions affect your mood anymore.

Shen Shu kept Wei Zhaoning company as she drank glass after glass, both of their faces flushed. "Ningning, why are you drinking so fast today? Are you in a bad mood?"

Wei Zhaoning tapped Shen Shu on the head. "Don't bother trying to get information out of me. Even if I'm drunk to death, you won't be able to find out what I don't want to say."

Shen Shu sighed heavily. "Fine, you're so opinionated. I won't say anything more or ask any more questions, okay? Just come find me anytime you want to talk."

Wei Zhaoning tugged at the corners of her mouth and smiled, "It's good that you understand me."

For the next few hours, neither of them mentioned the matter again; they just kept drinking and didn't talk much.

*

The Yongxin Marquis's Residence.

Lu Ze's business is getting better and better. Since his elder brother was promoted, many people have come to curry favor with him, and he has made a lot of money these days.

He now smiles and nods at Bai Yunxiao when he encounters him on the street, which is a very good sign. If he can maintain this, Bai Yunxiao will definitely return to his side when he truly becomes the richest man.

He was counting money in the yard, and as he did so, a barely perceptible, natural smile curved his face.

After counting, he smiled and said to the servant, "Go and get the spices. It's a method I learned in Qiongzhou. I don't think I've tried it yet. Anyway, I have nothing to do tonight, so I'll give it a try."

"Second Young Master, you should rest. There are plenty of people trying to curry favor with the Yongxin Marquis's mansion these days. The Marquis is riding high, so you don't need to worry so much. Your health is the most important thing," the servant said.

Actually, he said this to curry favor with Lu Ze. It was just flattery, making Lu Ze think that he was amazing without having to do anything. Generally speaking, everyone likes to hear such things. Who doesn't want to be a chosen one, preferably lying in bed until the sun is high in the sky every day, making a fortune and counting money for a lifetime?

To his surprise, Lu Ze glanced at him sideways and said, "You're unreliable. I said I'd do it, so just go and get the spices as instructed."

All that we have today has not come easily. If we don't keep our feet on the ground and become complacent, we will eventually fall hard.

The servant wasn't the one who used to serve Lu Ze; the one who had broken his leg had been released from the Marquis's residence a few days ago. This servant had no idea that such flattery would earn him a scolding, so he didn't dare utter a word and immediately slunk off to fetch the spices.

Lu Ze has truly learned his lesson. He knows that to succeed, he cannot be impatient, so he is willing to patiently seek out a master to learn from. He doesn't do it for anything else, but simply to prove to Wei Zhaoning that he can do very well without her help in this life, and also win over Bai Yunxiao.

He knew that the reason his business was booming was simply because Lu Zhufeng had been promoted, but he wouldn't let his guard down. This was just a stepping stone. To see if his business could truly stand on its own, the most important thing was to see how good its quality was.

If the quality is poor, even if he is a relative of the emperor, this thing will at most break even. Some people will buy it from time to time to curry favor, but they won't really like it, and it will definitely not reach the level he wants.

If we let our guard down at this critical juncture, it will be a loss that outweighs the gains.

He was ready. Now that he had this status, as long as he could guarantee the quality, he was able to win over those partners he hadn't dared to face before.

Take it one step at a time, he will do it.

He could rise to prominence without the help of that self-degrading concubine.