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

"What are you two doing here!"

Wei Zhaoning suddenly breathed a sigh of relief, a huge weight lifted from her heart. This awkward situation...

Someone arrived, and when Wei Zhaoning looked at the person's face, she fell silent once again.

It is the young Prince Rong.

"Brother Xiao, you came back without telling me. If I hadn't heard them say you were at your residence today, I would have thought you weren't in the capital."

The oblivious Rong Wang didn't think much of it, while Bai Yunxiao naturally moved his hand away, straightened his body, and adopted a very natural posture.

Xiao He said, "Who knew you were also in the capital? I thought you were still in Meishan."

Little Rongwang snorted and didn't say anything more, but kept pestering Xiao He with a lot of words.

Wei Zhaoning could tell that the young Prince Rong liked Xiao He very much, and respected him greatly.

"Alright, you guys chat, I'll go over there first, I'll come back later." Bai Yunxiao probably felt that he shouldn't stay here any longer, so he made an excuse to leave first.

The young Prince Rong kept talking to Xiao He, but Xiao He interrupted him many times with coughs, and finally even coughed up blood. The young Prince Rong stared wide-eyed at the smear of blood on the white handkerchief, and asked tremblingly, "You... your body... what happened to you?"

"Is it still not better? Haven't you called the imperial physician? It's gotten this serious. No, you wait here, I'll go find the imperial physician right away."

Xiao He coughed again in his excitement. He covered his lips with a handkerchief with one hand and quickly pulled the young Prince Rong with the other.

"It's alright, I know my own body."

Wei Zhaoning pursed her lips, watching this scene, and understood Lu Ze's words, "Don't worry, he was a man who deserved to die anyway, you're just sending him on his way a little earlier."

Dongxu's eyes widened, and she stammered, "Miss... the Second Young Master ordered you to kill... it was... it was..."

Who else could it be but Xiao He, the young master Bai's new love?

Lu Ze is still the same as before, he really doesn't understand why he loves or what love is.

But he was right about one thing: as long as Xiao He's death had nothing to do with him, Bai Yun and Xiao Hen wouldn't hate him. So he asked Wei Zhaoning to do it.

Xiao He was the eldest grandson of General Xiao, of noble birth and good character, and was favored by the emperor. No one dared to do this.

Lu Ze thought he had Wei Zhaoning under his control, so he forced her to commit heinous crimes.

She had indeed checked, and Xiao He's physical condition was probably not good enough to survive the winter, and he might not even be able to celebrate the New Year.

He has been frail since childhood, a congenital weakness. In addition, he was injured while traveling to remote areas. Even if Hua Tuo were alive now, he could not save his life. Whether he lives or dies depends on fate.

Wei Zhaoning frowned more and more. After the young Prince Rong was sent away, she slowly came out from behind the artificial hill and walked up to Xiao He.

"Young Master Xiao, I have long admired your name."

*

The banquet began soon afterward.

Wei Zhaoning returned to sit down next to Lu Zhufeng. Wei Jiaruo originally did not want Wei Zhaoning to sit down. She felt that Wei Zhaoning was only fit to stand, just like in the Marquis's mansion, serving food to the master. It would be the same outside. But Lu Zhufeng dared not.

If this were inside the Marquis's residence, it wouldn't be a problem, but this is an outside banquet after all. Everyone in the capital knows about their family's affairs. He had just seen several officials who were acquainted with General Wei. If Wei Zhaoning were to stand and serve the dishes, and General Wei found out, he would be in big trouble.

This action infuriated Wei Jiaruo.

"The Regent has arrived—"

The chopsticks that Wei Zhaoning was holding fell to the ground with a clatter.

Lu Zhufeng squinted at Wei Zhaoning, "What's wrong? Are you nervous?"

Wei Zhaoning's heart leaped into her throat. "No, I was just suddenly touched, and that's why..."

Wei Zhaoning maintained her composure, picked up the chopsticks, and had a servant bring a new pair. The whole process was calm and unhurried, without any blushing or skipping of her heart, and without any extra expression.

After watching suspiciously for a while, Lu Zhufeng looked away, because he found that the Regent seemed not to have noticed Wei Zhaoning at all, as if she didn't exist, and didn't even glance at her.

This reduced the threat to him significantly.

That's true, he'll soon be winning the heart of his beloved, so who would care about Wei Zhaoning anymore?

Thinking this way, Wei Zhaoning's importance in his mind decreased even more.

"Reckless and ill-mannered," he said impatiently.

It took Wei Zhaoning a long time before she dared to look up. She was facing the direction of General Xiao, but actually she was looking at the Regent out of the corner of her eye.

The regent's face was expressionless, and he didn't even glance at her; the two of them truly acted as if they were complete strangers.

Xiao Mengxi sat next to the Regent, smiling as he spoke to him. The Regent's gaze was calm, and he nodded occasionally. The two seemed to have a lot to talk about.

Wei Zhaoning had to admit that he was extremely jealous of that girl.

So she only looked for a short while, until her eyes were almost sore, then she looked away, lowered her head and ate her food without looking up again.

But what she didn't know was that after she lowered her head, the Regent also glanced back and forth across the table, out of the corner of his eye tracing Wei Zhaoning's outline.

However, he glanced at it once and then stopped looking.

He dared not look any longer. If he looked any longer, he might not be able to control himself and do something he would regret.

The atmosphere at the banquet was lively, with toasts and laughter filling the air, but in an instant, everything fell silent.

After Wei Zhaoning came to her senses, she heard General Xiao ask at the table, "Where is Ahe? Why isn't he here yet? We've already had three rounds of drinks."

A servant explained, "General, the eldest son said he was going to the back garden to relax and would come as soon as the banquet started. When I went to call him again, he was no longer there. I went to his bedroom and searched for him several times, but I couldn't find him."

General Xiao's heart sank. This shouldn't be. He'er is a well-behaved child. He has never been late before. What happened today?

Just then, someone said, "I think I just saw Miss Wei talking to Young Master Xiao in the back garden. Miss Wei, you were the last person to see Young Master Xiao. Do you know which direction he went?"

Bai Yunxiao's tense gaze was fixed on Wei Zhaoning, and everyone at the banquet, including the young Prince Rong, was looking at Wei Zhaoning.

Wei Zhaoning put down her chopsticks, slowly raised her head, and the first thing she saw was Pei Yi's eyes, which held many emotions and were unfathomable.

She gave a slight curtsy and bowed to Master Xiao. "Replying to the old general, I was unaware that I exchanged a few pleasantries with Young Master Xiao before leaving. When I left, Young Master Xiao was still in the back garden."