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

Xiao Jinghan stopped. "What did she say?"

Ying'er scratched her head. "It seems to be ginger juice or something..." A thought suddenly struck her. "Does Miss want to drink ginger juice?"

"Then tell the kitchen to cook her a bowl," Xiao Jinghan said.

"Yes."

Ying'er ran off to relay the order, while Xiao Jinghan sat down in the outer room on a rosewood armchair and snapped his fingers towards the window.

Then, he picked up the teacup and poured himself a cup of tea. Just as the tea flowed into the cup, a snow-white figure flashed before him, causing the candlelight by the window to flicker.

Jiang Yue, holding the sword, bowed to Xiao Jinghan and said, "My lord."

Xiao Jinghan didn't even lift his eyelids, took a sip of tea, and asked, "Did Prime Minister Liu take the person back?"

"Yeah," Jiang Yue said, "I'm furious."

"Who's gone mad?"

"Prime Minister."

"What about Liu Yunze?"

"Their buttocks are rotten." Jiang Yue thought for a moment, then added, "The other two were killed by the Prime Minister."

"Alright, stop talking." Xiao Jinghan raised his hand to stop Jiang Yue, afraid that he would describe some more disgusting scenes. "How's the search for the person I asked you to find going?"

Jiang Yue: "Couldn't find it."

Xiao Jinghan: "Didn't find it?"

"Yes." Jiang Yue said calmly, "That person ran away."

Xiao Jinghan rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Why would I ask you to look for him if you weren't going to run away?"

He slammed the teacup down on the table. "What about Lu Wei? How's your investigation going with him?"

"It's alright," Jiang Yue said. "We found some evidence, but it's too heavy to bring all at once."

"Then bring it to me little by little," Xiao Jinghan said. "Anyway, I'm not sleepy, so you might as well not sleep either, okay?"

Just as Jiang Yue was about to reply, Ying'er returned with ginger soup.

She tiptoed into the room and quietly closed it. But when she turned around, she was almost scared to death by Jiang Yue, who was dressed in pure white with a deathly pale face.

"When did you come in?" Ying'er protected the ginger soup on the tray. "How come I didn't notice anyone coming into the courtyard?"

Jiang Yue looked at Ying'er without saying a word.

"Alright, go get your things."

Xiao Jinghan dismissed Jiang Yue, then waved to Ying'er, "Go do your thing."

"oh."

-

The night is long, and the cold moon hangs in the sky.

Ying'er propped her head up and kept trying until late at night, but finally couldn't stay awake any longer.

Just as she was about to take a nap by Liu Yuansheng's bedside, she suddenly felt a cold wind. She opened her eyes to look, but only saw a white shadow flash by. The doors and windows were tightly closed and showed no signs of being opened.

She assumed she was imagining things and continued sleeping, cupping her face in her hands.

As she slept, she noticed shadowy figures moving around again, but when she opened her eyes, she couldn't see anything.

After this was repeated three or four times, Ying'er was starting to break down.

The last time, she not only saw that graceful white figure again, but also watched as he darted out of the window and disappeared without a trace.

Ying'er stared blankly out the window, dumbfounded.

With her eyes still heavy with sleep, she patted Liu Yuansheng on the bed: "Miss, get up and see a ghost."

-

Liu Yuansheng slept until the sun was high in the sky. After waking up, he obediently drank his medicine.

Although he drank the medicine, he remained listless and didn't respond to anything Ying'er said. Ying'er's voice became hoarse from talking, and she grabbed a ladle of water and gulped it down.

After finishing his drink, he came over to cleanse Liu Yuansheng's ears.

"Miss, do you know? Sui'er is dead, and that Granny Zhao has been sent to the dark dungeon. Do you think the young master sent people to deal with them to avenge you?"

"And also, Miss, we need to invite a Taoist priest to perform a ritual! There's a ghost in our house! Really, it's huge! It looks like a starving ghost that came to steal food from the house."

Liu Yuansheng sat leaning against the headboard of the canopy bed, her eyes downcast, her expression weary and dejected. Ying'er couldn't help but tear up. "Miss, what happened to you again? How can you get better?"

"You'd been getting better since you came to the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, but the Second Young Master's outburst has made you discouraged again! The Second Young Master deserves to die!"

Ying'er muttered to herself. Suddenly, the sound of a baby crying came from the study. A short while later, the wet nurse Li brought Yan'er into the bedroom and looked at Liu Yuansheng, who was sitting blankly on the bed, and asked, "Is Madam feeling better?"

Ying'er shook her head at Nanny Li with red eyes, "It's still the same."

The wet nurse remained silent, only carrying Yan'er forward and gently sitting beside Liu Yuansheng. "Madam, the young master misses you and has been crying. Please look at him, is he alright?"

As he spoke, he carefully handed Yan'er over.

Ying'er's heart leaped into her throat at Li Nanny's movement. She had witnessed Liu Yuansheng's loss of control the night before and was terrified that Liu Yuansheng would suddenly lash out, hurting Yan'er and angering Xiao Jinghan. However, Liu Yuansheng simply sat quietly, ignoring Yan'er's pleading gaze.

"Madam, I don't know what has happened to you, but I know you are a good person. I really don't want to see you so depressed." The wet nurse, Li, earnestly advised Liu Yuansheng, "Madam, torturing yourself like this will only hurt your loved ones and please your enemies. You are the wife of the Duke of Zhenguo's heir, and you still have Yan'er. You must pull yourself together and not let others laugh at you!"

Li, the wet nurse, was older and stronger. Her voice was booming, which frightened Yan'er so much that she cried loudly, grabbing at Liu Yuansheng's clothes as she cried.

The sound of crying was so close to her ears that Liu Yuansheng finally came to her senses. She lowered her head, stared at Yan'er in the swaddling clothes, and silently shed two tears.

"Madam, please hug Yan'er. Yan'er misses you very much."

The wet nurse Li then placed Yan'er into Liu Yuansheng's arms. Liu Yuansheng held Yan'er firmly, his lips trembling, but he couldn't utter a single word.

Seeing this, Yan'er cried even harder in her arms.

The little baby threw a tantrum, kicking and thrashing about in the warm swaddling clothes. Liu Yuansheng swayed precariously, but her body inexplicably became hot, as if a force was taking root and sprouting within her, supporting her to lift her head and straighten her back.

"Miss, the young master's face is all red from holding back his tears. Please comfort him and stop him from crying!"

"Yes, Madam, you should try to appease the young master."

Seeing that Liu Yuansheng was reacting to Yan'er, the two of them egged her on. Liu Yuansheng looked down at the pitiful Yan'er, her numb heart aching as if stabbed by a knife. She finally opened her mouth, "Good Yan'er, be good, don't cry!"

As soon as she spoke, Ying'er and Nanny Li breathed a sigh of relief.

"Miss, you haven't eaten for a whole day and night. I'll go get you some food!"

Ying'er dashed out in a flash, while Nanny Li helped Liu Yuansheng comfort Yan'er, "Young Master, don't cry, look, your stepmother is holding you!"

Liu Yuansheng felt weak all over, but she held Yan'er tightly. "Why is he crying so hard? Is he still gassy?"

As she spoke, she placed Yan'er on the bed, gently pressing his belly with one hand and tapping the back of her hand that was pressing his belly with the other.

"It's rock hard, and I have severe bloating."

"Young Master hasn't been eating well these past two days, and he's not sleeping well either. The family physician has prescribed medicine, but the young master is too small to be fed properly," said Nanny Li.

Upon hearing this, Liu Yuansheng immediately got off the bed and took out a medicine box from the cabinet.

The medicine box contained the pills she had made for Yan'er. She took one out, placed it on Yan'er's navel, secured it with a soft cloth, and wrapped it around Yan'er's waist and abdomen.

The wet nurse asked curiously, "Madam, what is this?"

"These are the pills I made for Yan'er." Liu Yuansheng helped Yan'er get dressed and instructed, "Remember to take the pills off him in three hours."

The wet nurse nodded, "Yes!"

Liu Yuansheng sat down, supporting himself on the headboard, and picked up Yan'er again. Yan'er had stopped crying and was now staring at Liu Yuansheng with a smile.

A baby's face, a June day.

Liu Yuansheng smiled as she looked at Yan'er, feeling an unprecedented calm in her heart, as if those dirty things had never happened and the world had been purified.

The three were enjoying this moment of peace and warmth when the door was suddenly opened, and then Madam Yuan walked in with two maids.

"I heard Yan'er crying from afar, what's wrong?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Yuansheng was taken aback and quickly stood up with Granny Li.

Nurse Li: "This servant greets Madam."

Liu Yuansheng handed Yan'er to the wet nurse Li and bowed slightly to Madam Yuan, saying, "Mother."

Madam Yuan smiled faintly, looking Liu Yuansheng up and down, and said, "I heard you were ill, so I came to see you. How are you? Are you feeling better?"

As she spoke, she sat down on the daybed. Liu Yuan and Sheng had no choice but to turn around and respectfully say to Madam Yuan, "Thank you for your concern, Mother. Your wife is alright now."

"Oh? You're alright? But you still don't look too good." Madam Yuan pressed a handkerchief to her lips. "I heard you were kidnapped yesterday. Who was so bold? And have you caught the thief?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Yuansheng's mind went blank for a moment, and she almost fainted.