The legitimate daughter returns to the capital and embarks on a splendid life, tearing apart the fak

At the same time, Yun Heting returned from the yamen. As soon as he entered the mansion, the gatekeeper came up to him and bowed, saying, "Master, Madam invites you to have a meal."

Yunheting paused, somewhat surprised.

Chu Wanqing hadn't invited him over for a meal for quite some time, so why did she suddenly change her mind today?

He stood at the doorway for a moment, then, instead of leaving immediately, asked the gatekeeper, "When did Madam return?"

The gatekeeper replied, "Sir, Madam returned to the manor at the end of the 11 PM to 3 PM."

Yun Heting hummed in agreement, then asked, "How did Madam look when she returned to the manor?"

The doorman hesitated for a moment, then cautiously replied, "He looks quite...normal."

Normal? Just neither happy nor sad? Then why did you suddenly invite me to dinner?

Yun Heting frowned, thought for a moment, and then asked, "Has anything happened at your residence today?"

The gatekeeper thought for a moment and said, "I heard that Granny Jin from the Second Miss's courtyard has gone missing. They've searched the whole mansion but haven't found her. The Second Miss is so anxious that she's sent people everywhere to look for her, but it seems they still haven't found her."

Yunheting nodded and walked towards Qingshuiyuan.

An old woman we found, let her go, it's not a big deal.

Chu Wanqing's sudden invitation to dine with him made him feel somewhat uneasy.

He walked and pondered, his pace unconsciously slowing down.

Upon hearing the old woman in the corridor call out "Master is here!", Bitao quickly opened the door and went out to greet him, saying, "Master is here, Madam has been waiting for you."

Yunheting nodded and followed Bitao into the house.

Chu Wanqing was sitting on the kang (a heated brick bed) drinking tea. When she saw him come in, she put down her teacup and said to Bitao, "Set the table."

His tone was neither hurried nor slow, revealing neither joy nor anger.

Bitao responded and turned to go out to instruct the servants to prepare the meal.

Yun Heting's gaze lingered on Chu Wanqing's face for a moment.

Today, her hair was loosely tied in a bun, with a white jade hairpin inserted at an angle. Her face was without makeup, making her look softer than usual, yet with an indescribable sense of aloofness.

He glanced at it a few times, but couldn't see anything amiss, so he looked away and sat down at the table opposite him.

"Madam, how are your parents-in-law?" he asked with a smile, his tone tinged with a hint of probing.

Chu Wanqing glanced at him and forced a smile: "It's fine. Father was saying that you haven't visited them in a long time and wants you to come over for a visit when you have time."

Yun Heting felt a slight sense of relief. His father-in-law still cared about him, which meant that the General's Mansion had not suspected anything.

He nodded, his tone relaxing a bit: "It has indeed been a while since I last went. I'll go and pay my respects to my parents-in-law as soon as I'm done with this busy period."

Chu Wanqing hummed in agreement and was about to speak when Bitao brought in dinner with her entourage.

She waved her hand: "Let's eat first."

Yun Heting agreed, got up to wash his hands, and returned to sit down at the table.

Chu Wanqing waved to Bitao, who understood and left, closing the door behind her.

Only the couple remained in the house. Yun Heting glanced at the dishes on the table and was slightly taken aback, as they were all his favorite dishes.

He looked up at Chu Wanqing, a hint of surprise in his eyes, and tentatively said, "My wife... I thought you were still angry with me."

Chu Wanqing suppressed her nausea, forced a smile, and said gently, "How could that be, sir? We've been married for over ten years; there's nothing we can't let go of."

Yun Heting felt a surge of warmth in his heart and reached out to take her hand: "Madam..."

Chu Wanqing cleverly dodged it.

She withdrew her hand, picked up her chopsticks, and placed a piece of chicken in Yun Heting's bowl: "Master, please eat."

Yun Heting's outstretched hand missed its target, pausing for a moment on the table. He paused, stunned, then saw the food Chu Wanqing had placed on his plate. His face immediately lit up with a smile, and he picked up his chopsticks to put a piece of beef in Chu Wanqing's bowl as well: "Thank you, Madam. Madam, you should eat too."

Chu Wanqing hummed in agreement, picked up her bowl to eat, but never touched the piece of beef that Yun Heting had picked up.

Yunheting ate with great relish, probably because he was in a good mood and his appetite had improved considerably.

The meal was finished in a superficially harmonious atmosphere.

The maids cleared away the bowls and plates and brought out tea.

Chu Wanqing picked up her teacup, took a sip, and then dismissed Bitao and the others, closing the door behind her.

The room fell silent.

Yun Heting held his teacup, looking at Chu Wanqing, waiting for her to speak.

Chu Wanqing put down her teacup, looked up at Yunheting, and solemnly said, "Master, what I want to talk about today is Xiu'er's matter."

Yun Heting paused slightly, then put down his teacup: "What about Xiu'er? What happened to Xiu'er?"

Chu Wanqing didn't answer directly, but instead asked, "Master, you must already know that Master Yuxu divined that Xiu'er has a phoenix destiny, right? Do you still remember those two lines of poetry—'Weicheng has lofty ambitions, and with benevolence comes a heart to save the world'?"

Yun Heting's heart skipped a beat, but his face remained impassive: "I remember. Why did Madam suddenly bring this up?"

Seeing that he was feigning ignorance, Chu Wanqing didn't beat around the bush and said directly, "These two sentences should be a veiled reference to the Fifth Prince. Master, I know that Xiu'er is fond of the Fifth Prince. But is the Fifth Prince willing to marry Xiu'er?"

Yun Heting's eyes darted around, and he took a sip of tea before speaking slowly: "Madam, you've probably noticed that the Fifth Prince really wants to ascend to that position. That fake Taoist priest on the street was probably arranged by him. He should already know that Xiu'er is destined to be a phoenix. In principle, he is willing to marry Xiu'er."

He paused for a moment and then said, "But I'm afraid our Xiu'er's offer isn't enough to marry him."

Chu Wanqing naturally knew what he meant; wasn't it just the support from the General's Mansion?

She lowered her eyes, her fingers gently tracing the rim of the teacup before raising her head again: "Master, today I went back to the General's Mansion and told Mother that Xiu'er is destined to be a phoenix."

Yun Heting was taken aback and quickly asked, "What did my mother-in-law say? Does she believe it?"

Chu Wanqing said, "My mother didn't quite believe it at first, but I told her the details of what happened, and she also analyzed that the fake Taoist priest later was probably the Fifth Prince's doing to cover up the matter."

My mother said, "If Xiu'er truly has the destiny of a phoenix, we should make plans for her and not delay her."

Yun Heting's eyes lit up, and his tone became more impatient: "Did my mother-in-law really say that?"

Chu Wanqing looked at him and nodded: "Of course. If Xiu'er is truly destined for greatness, it will not only be an honor for our Yun family, but also for the Chu family. Mother will be overjoyed."

Yun Heting was secretly pleased with himself.

Sure enough, upon hearing that Yunxiu was destined to be a phoenix, Chu Wanqing and the Chu family's attitude changed.

What is kinship or blood ties? They are all worthless in the face of self-interest.

Even if Yun Jin really is their daughter, so what?

Blood ties cannot withstand the fate of a phoenix.

He suppressed his excitement and feigned composure: "What plans does Mother-in-law intend to make for Xiu'er?"