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

"Mother, you've made me kneel in the ancestral hall as punishment. Who will plead for me with the Prime Minister's wife?" Wei Zhaoning's voice was icy cold.

The old lady's face turned pale instantly, and her confidence diminished considerably.

Lu Zhufeng frowned. "What, the Prime Minister's wife?"

The old lady panicked, "Don't listen to her nonsense!"

"Don't you know? A few days ago, when Mother went to visit relatives at the old house in Youzhou, she suddenly had a headache. Coincidentally, the Prime Minister's wife, Madam Tang, was also in Youzhou and also suddenly fell ill."

The mother had all the doctors in Youzhou detained at the old house and not allowed to leave, which caused Madam Tang to be unable to find a doctor and almost didn't recover. She was sent back to the capital overnight and is still unconscious.

The Tang family sent people to cause trouble, but you weren't there at the time.

Wei Zhaoning curled her lips into a smile, looking quite intrigued.

The old lady's pupils contracted slightly, but her peripheral vision kept darting around.

The man's shoulders slumped, and his once straight back bent slightly. He raised his hand to press his brow, his fingertips gently massaging his temples, as if trying to relieve the sudden throbbing pain.

His eyes blazed with barely suppressed rage. "Mother! Why didn't you tell me about something this important? The Prime Minister is not someone our Marquis's mansion can afford to offend!"

Perhaps feeling embarrassed by being lectured by her son, the old lady suddenly became righteous and said, "Who knew that was Mrs. Tang? What's the use of blaming this old man now?"

"I also have a headache, why don't you show any concern for me? You're always concerned about others first! What use is it for me to raise an unfilial son like you?"

"Fine, go ahead and kill this old bone of mine to pay with your life. Anyway, I'm practically half-buried!"

Lu Zhufeng's fingers trembled slightly with anger. "Mother! There's a limit to nonsense! You... you're simply unreasonable!"

The two started arguing.

Wei Zhaoning watched the show from the sidelines. The relationship between this mother and son was quite peculiar. When something happened, they would shirk responsibility and neither would give in to the other.

After arguing for a while, the old lady got tired of arguing and, probably fearing that the Prime Minister would get angry and punish her, said to Wei Zhaoning in a gentle tone, "Ningning, as the mistress of the household, you must go and plead for the Marquis's family when they are in trouble."

Wei Zhaoning remained unmoved, raising an eyebrow. "Didn't Mother just want to punish her daughter-in-law by making her kneel in the ancestral hall? The mother-in-law is like heaven, and the daughter-in-law dares not disobey. Let's just follow the mother-in-law's request for now."

The old lady frowned impatiently, her whole demeanor becoming uneasy.

She looked left and right and saw the bright red handprint on Wei Zhaoning's face.

Hardening her heart, she steeled herself, mustered all her strength, and slapped Lu Zhufeng hard across the face.

When the slap swept over with a gust of wind, Lu Zhufeng didn't even see the movement clearly. He only felt a burning pain on his left cheek, as if he had been scalded by a red-hot iron. His body staggered half a step to the right uncontrollably.

After a brief moment of stunned silence, Lu Zhufeng roared, "Mother! You hit me?!"

The old lady glanced sideways at Wei Zhaoning, and seeing that her complexion had improved, she scolded Lu Zhufeng: "I'm your mother! I'm going to hit you! You think I can't hit you?!"

"How have I taught you? Bringing a daughter-in-law home is a blessing, what do you mean by hitting her? Are you even a man?"

"I, as Ningning's mother, am the first to object to you beating her like this!"

Lu Zhufeng was speechless.

The old lady quickly smiled and looked at Wei Zhaoning, "Ningning, Zhufeng has a bad temper. He hit you just now, and I hit him back. You see..."

Wei Zhaoning sniffed and covered her face, saying, "Mother, it still hurts a lot."

The old lady gritted her teeth, turned around, and slapped Lu Zhufeng hard across the face again.

Enraged by the slap, Lu Zhufeng roared, "Enough!"

Unable to bear it any longer, he covered his face and went to Wei Jiaruo.

For a moment, only the old lady and Wei Zhaoning remained.

"Ningning, the beating has already happened, and there's no need for her to kneel in the ancestral hall. What Mother said before was just an angry outburst. As for the Prime Minister's residence..."

Wei Zhaoning nodded, "Mother, don't worry, your daughter-in-law will handle it well."

The old lady breathed a sigh of relief and then let Wei Zhaoning go.

After she left, the old lady cursed Wei Zhaoning in her heart.

You little bitch, wait until things at the Prime Minister's residence are over, then I'll see how I deal with you!

"Miss, are you really going to plead for the old lady? She's always been so domineering. In my opinion, it would be good to teach her a lesson!" Dongxu said.

In fact, Wei Zhaoning had sent someone to retrieve the family's heirloom elixir as soon as the incident occurred, which allowed Madam Tang to return to the capital on her last breath.

In her previous life, Madam Tang lost her life in Youzhou. The incident caused a great uproar, and the old lady almost paid with her life to help her, simply because Madam Tang was a rare good person.

He shouldn't have died so hastily because of someone like the old lady.

As for whether the Prime Minister will cause trouble for the old lady, that's another matter.

"Get ready, let's set off early tomorrow. This Marquis's residence feels filthy even if we stay just one more day!"

"yes!"

*

The next day, Wei Zhaoning set off early.

This time, she brought two ships of personal guards to protect her, and she also hid a lot of self-defense items in her cuffs.

The strange thing is that the waterway is too calm.

For three whole days, not a single assassin was seen.

There were only a few boats on the entire lake, and very few families had gone to Jiangnan in advance to celebrate the Water Music Festival.

"Miss, we're hearing strange noises again from behind." Dongxu pointed to the cruise ship far behind them.

I've been hearing it from time to time these past few days, but the sound is too far away to hear clearly.

It sounds a bit like fighting, but not quite.

"Don't worry about it," Wei Zhaoning said.

In the early morning, the waters of Jiangnan seem veiled by a thin gauze. The surface of Chenghu Lake is so still that it seems lazy, and the bluish-gray ripples are so light that they are almost invisible, as if the moonlight from last night has not yet faded.

Leaving the Marquis's residence, I felt the air was fresher, and the complicated emotions in my heart subsided considerably.

After disembarking, Wei Zhaoning took Dongxu to an inn. His Majesty's journey to Jiangnan would likely take several more days, so they would stay for the time being, wander around, and relax.

The scenery in her memory hadn't changed, but Wei Zhaoning felt a sense of disorientation as she looked at it again after a lifetime.

I walked into a silver jewelry shop that I used to visit every time I came here, and the designs inside were getting more and more beautiful.

Wei Zhaoning picked out several items. "Winter flutes, go pick some out, and remember to pick out a few for Liuxiang too."

Dongxu pouted and chuckled, "Miss, Liuxiang definitely won't accept it. Let's just take it to her younger brother and have him give it to her."

"You're so opinionated." Wei Zhaoning chuckled and rubbed her nose, which was covered in winter fuzz.

The master and servant laughed and chatted, as if they had returned to their carefree boudoir.

Good times are always fleeting. After returning to the capital, there are still various things to worry about.

What worried her most was He Mi's matter.

If she could get a divorce, she would bring Dongxu to Jiangnan and live a carefree life there.

Suddenly, a woman's voice came from behind her.

"Your Highness."