After getting married, she spent every night alone in her room; when she asked for a divorce, he kne

Liu Jingyuan's pupils twitched, and he almost jumped out of bed in anger at Liu Yuansheng's words.

"You! You just want me dead!" Liu Jingyuan pointed a finger at Liu Yuansheng, "Go kneel down in the ancestral hall, go!"

Liu Yuansheng remained motionless. Liu Nianxi wiped away her tears and looked at her sarcastically, "I was wondering why things weren't peaceful in the manor today. It turns out it's because my sister has returned."

She glanced at Xiao Jinghan again and saw that he was always by Liu Yuansheng's side. She felt extremely uncomfortable. "You're here, so why did you have to argue with Father and make him so angry?"

The moment she spoke, she immediately portrayed Liu Yuansheng and Xiao Jinghan as a daughter and son-in-law returning to their parents' home to cause trouble, making it seem as if she were incredibly filial and sensible.

When Liu Yuansheng was still in the Prime Minister's residence, she watched this kind of drama almost every day until she was tired of it. It was only much later that she realized that the reason she had suffered so many losses in the Prime Minister's residence was not because Liu Nianxi's acting was so good, but because there were people willing to accompany her in performing and watch her perform, which is why her performance could continue.

Otherwise, how could her clumsy performance have fooled Liu Jingyuan, who had been immersed in officialdom for decades?

Liu Yuansheng gasped, no longer wanting to play along with these people's act. But Xiao Jinghan suddenly said, "Hey? That's not right. We were perfectly fine at home. You were the ones who insisted on bringing Yuansheng back. Now that she's back, you won't let her leave. I went through all that trouble to find her, and my father-in-law even made us both come to see him. How can you say that we came back to upset my father-in-law?"

Liu Nianxi was just making excuses, and after being rebuffed by Xiao Jinghan, she obediently shut her mouth and looked at Su Tinglan with teary eyes.

Having finally managed to trap Liu Yuansheng in the Prime Minister's residence, Su Tinglan was naturally not going to let it go. She said with a fake smile, "Alright, we're all family, let's stop arguing."

She greeted Xiao Jinghan warmly, "Let's all sit down and talk."

Xiao Jinghan readily sat down, as standing was indeed uncomfortable. He turned his head and saw Liu Yuansheng still standing, so he pulled her to sit down next to him. "Sit down, what's wrong? In a hurry to go home for dinner?"

Liu Yuansheng glanced at Xiao Jinghan.

Xiao Jinghan: "There's roasted lamb leg today! Forget about you, I'm eager to go home for dinner too!"

He smiled at Su Tinglan and said, "Speak quickly, we're in a hurry to go back for dinner."

Su Tinglan's lips twitched a few times. Knowing that Xiao Jinghan was not easy to deal with, she simply cut to the chase, "The Prime Minister summoned Yuan Sheng back this time because of Nianxi's matter. She..."

"Let me explain," Liu Yunheng stepped forward and said. "Everyone probably knows about what happened to Nianxi at the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion. Nianxi is truly innocent in this matter. That Wang Hanxuan is despicable and lewd. If Nianxi marries him, I don't know how much grievance and torment she will suffer."

"Originally, Father decided to marry Nianxi off to him, but after getting to know Wang Hanxuan's character better, he changed his mind. The problem now is that the Wang family refuses to break off the engagement. Father's influence in the court is not what it used to be, and he can't persuade Lord Wang. So he wants to ask you two to help him come up with a way to cancel the engagement between the two of them."

Liu Yunheng's words were quite polite.

But Xiao Jinghan refused him quite rudely, "We didn't act as matchmakers for Liu Nianxi and Wang Hanxuan, so what are you doing here?"

He glanced at Liu Nianxi with disdain. "She doesn't want to get married? If she doesn't want to, she should figure it out herself."

"That's why I'm begging you!" Su Tinglan said shamelessly, "Nianxi is Yuansheng's sister after all. She can't ignore her sister's troubles."

"Alright, we can manage her, but before we do, we'd like Aunt Su to answer one or two questions for us," Xiao Jinghan said.

Upon hearing that Xiao Jinghan had relented, Su Tinglan was overjoyed, but also somewhat cautious.

She looked Xiao Jinghan up and down a few times, thought for a moment, and said, "Problem? What problem?"

"Simple," Xiao Jinghan said. "Who is Wu Zifan?"

Upon hearing this, Su Tinglan froze on the spot.

She stared blankly at Xiao Jinghan, as if the name Wu Zifan held some kind of magic, frightening her completely. Liu Yunheng noticed Su Tinglan's unusual expression and asked, "Auntie, do you know this Wu Zifan?"

Su Tinglan swallowed hard, and after a long while, she said, "No, I don't know him."

"Don't you know them?" Xiao Jinghan crossed his legs and continued, "Then who are Xiang'er and Ronglang?"

Upon hearing this, Su Tinglan's knees buckled, and she almost knelt on the ground.

Liu Jingyuan and Liu Nianxi looked over in confusion, but Su Tinglan frantically avoided their gazes, not daring to meet their eyes at all.

"You, I don't know any of these people you're talking about." Su Tinglan tried to remain calm. "Yuansheng, your father called you back to ask you to help resolve your sister's matter. He has no other purpose. It would be best if you were willing to help, but if you really are not, then we'll accept our fate."

"It's getting late, so we won't keep you any longer. You can leave whenever you want."

Su Tinglan inexplicably gave them the order to leave. Liu Nianxi and Liu Yunze looked at each other, completely bewildered.

Liu Yuansheng understood why Su Tinglan was acting this way.

Xiang'er and Ronglang were the names of people in a letter that Xiao Jinghan had shown her.

She remembered how much Xiang'er hated her, her words filled with hostility and humiliation towards her and her mother, and how she wanted Ronglang to arrange for Wu Zifan to infiltrate the Princess's residence and ruin her reputation.

The contents of the letter perfectly reflected what happened later at the Princess's residence.

Liu Yuansheng had reason to suspect that Xiang'er in the letter was the person who wanted to harm him back then. This person could only be Su Tinglan. Therefore, Xiang'er was Su Tinglan!

"You really don't recognize him?" Realizing what Xiao Jinghan was about to do, Liu Yuansheng could no longer sit still. She took out a newly made heart-protecting pill from her sleeve, swallowed it, and stood up, saying, "Perhaps, I can remind you."

Su Tinglan stared blankly at Liu Yuansheng, who had stood up.

She knew from the beginning that Liu Yuansheng was not easy to handle.

The reason she was able to bully her so easily for so long was simply because Liu Jingyuan disliked her, and even hated her because of her mother. That's why he tacitly allowed her to torment Liu Yuansheng. Otherwise, how could a second wife possibly control the legitimate daughter?

Ultimately, it's because Liu Yuansheng has no powerful backers.

But things are different now. Liu Yuansheng not only has a powerful backer, but her backer is also very strong and has been helping her settle her previous debts one by one.

Thinking about what she had done to Liu Yuansheng, Su Tinglan felt a pang of unease. She had heard that Cao Tong's entire family was dead...

Su Tinglan couldn't help but shudder. She looked Liu Yuansheng up and down several times, her mind racing as she thought of a way to deal with him.

"They're all acquaintances, there's no need to make Aunt Su think about it for so long."

Seeing Su Tinglan's eagerness to defend herself, Xiao Jinghan said, "Xiang'er, Ronglang, Wu Zifan, aren't you a happy family of three?"

Su Tinglan seemed to have been struck by lightning; her face turned pale instantly, and she stared blankly at Xiao Jinghan, unable to utter a single word.

Her unusual reaction naturally drew Liu Jingyuan's attention. "What Xiang'er, Ronglang? Who are they talking about?"

Su Tinglan clutched her chest, her heart pounding with panic. She desperately wanted to shut Xiao Jinghan up. "I...I don't know who they are, sir. It's fine if Xiao Jinghan and Yuan Sheng don't like Nianxi and don't want to help her. Let them go. If you keep them around, they might cause even more trouble!"

As she spoke, Su Tinglan knelt down before Liu Jingyuan, pleading, "Master, please let them go. I accept my fate, and Nianxi accepts her fate too. Let Nianxi marry Wang Hanxuan!"

"Auntie!" Liu Nianxi was extremely surprised to hear Su Tinglan suddenly change her mind and suggest that she marry Wang Hanxuan. She questioned Su Tinglan in disbelief, "Didn't you say before that a woman's marriage is more important than anything else, that it's better not to marry at all than to marry the wrong person! You also said that Wang Hanxuan isn't even a real man, that he has no virtue and no future, and that marrying him would ruin my life? Why are you suddenly suggesting that I marry him?"

After wiping away her tears, she looked at Xiao Jinghan with lingering reluctance and said, "You told me to give up on the young master, fine, I agreed. That's because you admitted to telling me you would find a way to get the young master to choose a better marriage for me, even better than Liu Yuansheng's, but in the end..."

"Shut up!" Su Tinglan said, desperate to protect herself. "I did promise you, but they're unwilling to help. What can I do? Now you'd better just obediently get into the Wang family's bridal sedan chair."

After Su Tinglan finished speaking, she grabbed Liu Nianxi and was about to leave. How could Xiao Jinghan let the two of them go? With a wave of his hand, two guards rushed in and blocked their way.

Su Tinglan panicked. "Your Highness, what are you doing?"

Xiao Jinghan glanced at Liu Yuansheng beside him, tugged at her sleeve, and said, "Sit down."

Liu Yuansheng's attention was entirely on Su Tinglan. He was quite nervous when he saw her trying to leave under some pretext, but fortunately, Xiao Jinghan sent someone to stop her.

She let out a long sigh and sat down. Xiao Jinghan immediately loosened his grip on her sleeve, leaned back in his chair, and said lazily, "Aunt Su, we're not in a hurry to leave, why are you in such a rush?"

Su Tinglan stared at Xiao Jinghan's retreating figure, remaining silent.

Xiao Jinghan: "If you're unwilling to answer your father-in-law's question, fine, I will."

"Su Tinglan, your real name is Zhang Xiang'er. When you were five years old, you were sold to the Su family by your biological parents. At the age of fifteen, you changed your name to Su Tinglan. Later, you went to the capital with the Su family and met Bai Yinzhu, Yuan Sheng's mother."

"When you were in the Su family, you seduced Su Rong, the eldest son of the Su family, and called him Rong Lang. But Su Rong was already engaged. After the marriage, Su Rong maintained an entangled relationship with you, and even after you married into the Prime Minister's mansion, the relationship was not completely severed."

"Of course, your affair with Su Rong is a closely guarded secret. After you met Bai Yinzhu, you always wanted to change your fate through your talent, just like Bai Yinzhu. Unfortunately, you are not Bai Yinzhu. You have neither Bai Yinzhu's beauty nor her ability to bring the dead back to life, nor are you as likable as Bai Yinzhu."

"You watched helplessly as Bai Yinzhu was betrothed to Prime Minister Liu, and you were filled with such jealousy. You were determined to take everything that belonged to Bai Yinzhu from her, so you stayed at the Prime Minister's residence under the pretense of illness, while secretly trying to seduce Prime Minister Liu. In the end, Prime Minister Liu couldn't resist the temptation and got on your pirate ship..."

Upon hearing this, Liu Jingyuan coughed a few times.

"Xiao Jinghan..."

Xiao Jinghan smiled. "Father-in-law, please don't interrupt me. I'm not making this up. That's exactly how things were back then!"

Liu Jingyuan curled his lip and could only turn his face away. Xiao Jinghan continued, "Although you got on my pirate ship, Prime Minister Liu cared about his reputation and didn't take you as his concubine. You were so angry, so you went to find your Ronglang, and that's how she came to be..."

Xiao Jinghan pointed at Liu Nianxi, "You..."

"Stop talking!" Before Xiao Jinghan could finish speaking, Su Tinglan said emotionally, "What nonsense are you spouting?"

"I'm talking nonsense?" Xiao Jinghan raised his voice, interrupting Su Tinglan as well. "Are you sure I'm talking nonsense? Su Rong and her parents are in the capital. Do I need to bring them here right now?"

Upon hearing this, Su Tinglan completely gave up resisting and fell to the ground.

"Auntie!" Liu Nianxi looked at Su Tinglan in surprise. "Auntie, are you alright?"

Su Tinglan supported herself on her arms, trembling uncontrollably. Xiao Jinghan chuckled and said to Liu Nianxi, "Stop calling me Auntie, start calling me Mother."

"Today is a good day. I've come to help you and your daughter reunite."

Upon hearing this, everyone, including Liu Yuansheng, was stunned.

"Mother, mother and daughter?" Liu Yunheng stared blankly at Su Tinglan, who was slumped on the ground, and Liu Nianxi, who was standing beside her in a daze, and asked, "Does the young master mean that Aunt Su and Fourth Sister are biological mother and daughter?"

"No, that's impossible!" Now, Liu Nianxi panicked. "How could I be my aunt's child!"

"Master, Nianxi, don't listen to his nonsense, I..."

Su Tinglan tried to argue, but the guards Xiao Jinghan brought suddenly stepped forward and covered her mouth tightly, preventing her from making a sound. She could only listen obediently.

Xiao Jinghan glanced coldly at Su Tinglan, then looked at Liu Nianxi, whose face was ashen.

"Liu Nianxi, you are indeed Su Tinglan's biological daughter." Xiao Jinghan said calmly, "Back then, Su Tinglan had an affair with Su Rong and gave birth to Liu Yunxi, whom she secretly raised by her side. Later, she found an opportunity to switch Liu Yunxi with Yuan Sheng."

"After you took Yuansheng away, you left her outside to fend for herself. Fortunately, Yuansheng was lucky and was adopted by Abbess Jing'an of Shuiyue Nunnery."

"Later, Bai Yinzhu passed away, and you successfully took over. First, you became Liu Xiang's concubine, and then Liu Xiang made you his second wife, reuniting with your biological daughter."

"But no matter how well you plan, you can't escape the arrangement of fate. Soon, Yuan Sheng returned to Liu Xiang's side. For Liu Nianxi's sake, you once again had the idea of ​​getting rid of Yuan Sheng. This time, you ordered your Rong Lang to order her nephew Wu Zifan to ruin Yuan Sheng's reputation, because Wu Zifan was in the capital at the time, working as a servant in the Princess's mansion."