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

Those words were like needles chilled to ice, densely piercing Lu Jieshuang's heart. At first, it was numb, followed by an overwhelming chill that spread from her feet all the way to her eyes.

She had always thought her family was a safe haven, a shore she could always turn back to, but she never expected that she would become a stain they would avoid at all costs.

Those two words were like heavy hammer blows, repeatedly striking her self-esteem, leaving her teetering on the brink of collapse.

My eyes suddenly welled up with tears, blurring my vision and making the scene before me hazy.

Great joy?

Her body was barely cold when the Marquis's mansion was already planning a wedding banquet!

He was bursting with anger and could hardly contain it.

Why should Lu Jieyue get married?! Why is Lu Jieshuang's love life such a disaster, always ending up with the wrong person or missing out on her lover?

Why should Lu Jieyue be able to stay with the one she loves forever?

She suddenly remembered that in her previous life, Lu Jieyue's marriage to Meng Yun was prevented by Wei Zhaoning, and she became a countess.

In this life, Wei Zhaoning did not take any action, so it seems that Lu Jieyue marrying Meng Yun probably did not end well.

But she was unwilling and worried. Her sister's body was barely cold, and she couldn't bear to leave her family behind. How could she let her beloved sister truly walk the path to happiness?!

Seeing Meng Yun's behavior become more polite made her even more uncomfortable, fearing that Lu Jieyue had truly obtained the happiness she wanted in this life.

Even if Wei Zhaoning never helps Lu Jieyue again in this lifetime, she will still be worried. She doesn't want Lu Jieyue to have even the slightest possibility of happiness.

Thinking this, she slowly disappeared into the night, her fingertips gripping the hem of her skirt gradually turning white.

Isn't the Marquis's mansion getting better and better? So good that they've forgotten about her. Then let the Marquis's mansion get even better.

*

The meal lasted until late at night, and Wei Zhaoning couldn't stand it any longer, so she went home first.

She rubbed her temples. "Dongxu, have you found anything?"

Dongxu said, "Miss, I just heard you look around the Marquis's residence. There was indeed a person acting suspiciously, but he looked like a beggar and was a stranger."

Wei Zhaoning seemed to be deep in thought.

"Miss, do you suspect that the Third Miss didn't die at all? But so many people saw it at the execution ground that day. Besides, I saw the beggar's face clearly; it wasn't the Third Miss."

Wei Zhaoning curled her lips into a smile. "So what if it is, so what if it isn't? It's just speculation."

"Even if she wants to come back, she'll most likely seek revenge on the Marquis's mansion. What does that have to do with me?"

At this point, Wei Zhaoning paused, took out a handkerchief from his pocket, and wiped his lips, which were stained with some tea.

Only when I put it down did I realize it was that Du Ruo handkerchief.

Wei Zhaoning got goosebumps and repeatedly rubbed the clumsy Du Ruo pattern on it with her fingers, lost in thought.

After a long while, she put it back into her arms.

"Oh, right, Miss... there's one more thing."

Dongxu looked rather unwell and spoke cautiously.

Wei Zhaoning looked up: "What?"

Dongxu stammered for a long time without getting a clear answer, "It's just... it's just..."

"Just say it, it's no big deal."

Dongxu closed her eyes, as if she had made a great decision.

"Miss, Liuxiang has sent a message."

"These past few days, Wei Jiaruo and the Marquis have had a bad relationship, and she's been focusing more on those businesses. Liuxiang said... said... she found traces of forgery in the account books, and the person who handled them... was the master's man."

Wei Zhaoning's back stiffened instantly. "What did you say? My...my father?!"

A chill ran through Wei Zhaoning's heart, and her fingertips trembled uncontrollably.

Actually, she had always harbored a suspicion she dared not delve into.

She was unwilling to think about it deeply, nor dared to.

Wei Jiaruo and her mother had no power base, so they shouldn't have had the ability to pull so many tricks.

In her previous life, the general's mansion fell into decline, her mother died, and her father elevated Wei Jiaruo's mother to the title of Duchess of the State, which also brought her maternal family, the Earl of Dongyang, to prominence.

When Wei Zhaoning saw Lu Zhufeng bring Wei Jiaruo back, she was actually devastated. She even made a scene and wanted a divorce.

But there was no one behind her, so she could only return to the Duke's mansion to ask her father for help.

At that time, she wasn't actually thinking that her father would pity her plight and help her.

She pleaded, "Father, since Jia Ruo and Lu Zhufeng are in love, I shouldn't take this place for myself. I beg you to put pressure on Lu Zhufeng and allow me to divorce him. I know you care about my sister, and this is not to fulfill my wishes, but to fulfill my sister's."

Wei Xiao looked at her coldly, a cold smile escaping his lips.

"You've been married for five years, whose face are you losing if you get a divorce now?"

"If you really care about your sister, you should have agreed to let Lu Zhufeng take a concubine back then. Otherwise, why would she have had to hide for five years?"

"Divorce means dividing the inheritance. Your sister has suffered enough these past five years, and now you want to take the money and leave as soon as she comes back? You're truly a vicious woman cut from the same cloth as your mother!"

Wei Zhaoning pleaded tearfully, "I can leave with nothing, I don't want anything, as long as Father helps me, I can stay away from the Duke's mansion, I can do it myself..."

"Shut up! You beast!"

"What will people think of me if you do this? What will they think of Zhu Feng and Jia Ruo? Have you thought about that? You're selfish, narrow-minded, and petty."

"Guards, show her out! Now that she's married, she's like water spilled from a cup. I have no obligation to care about her. Don't bother me again."

Wei Zhaoning's heart sank to freezing point at that moment, as if it overlapped with her feelings when she was young and begged for that piece of Du Ruo handkerchief, feeling so powerless, helpless, and heartbroken.

Just recalling it like this made me so upset that I started trembling all over.

This is also why she hasn't returned to the Duke's Mansion since her rebirth. She misses her mother very much, but she doesn't dare to face Wei Xiao. As soon as she sees that face, the walls she has built up in her heart over the years will be shattered.

It was a stark warning to her, mercilessly tearing away the cocoon that had bound her for so many years.

To make her confront the fact that her father doesn't love her, that she is that weak, helpless, pitiful child abandoned by her father.

Even after experiencing major life changes, I've come to terms with many things.

This was the only thing she couldn't get over; every time she thought about it, her heart ached.

If the most primal desires are not satisfied, this life is destined to be damp.

She clutched the handkerchief tightly, her shoulders heaving, tears welling in her eyes, as if she had been completely defeated.

She felt like she was that pitiful creature who wanted nothing but couldn't get anything, with no one to help her and no one to pull her out of the darkness.

I feel so helpless and vulnerable.

Did Father really participate in the downfall of the General's Mansion?

This shattered the last shred of stubbornness in her heart.

Her father truly never cared about her or her mother.

They even wished they were all dead.

"Miss..." Dongxu frowned and gently stroked Wei Zhaoning's back.