She refused to marry.

After the three of them had their meal, Xiao Xuanjing escorted Su Wanwan back to the Su residence.

Jian Qingshan watched Su Wanwan's retreating figure and asked, puzzled, "My lord, why did you have to vomit blood and put on an act in front of Miss Su?"

Xiao Xuanjing took out a handkerchief from his hand, glanced at the fresh bloodstains,

"Lu Huai'an is close to her. If Lu Huai'an finds out about this, he will definitely do everything in his power to deal with the Crown Prince. We can just watch the tigers fight from the mountains and rivers. Who wins and who loses is not up to them."

"My lord, we've been lying low all this time just for this?" Jian Qingshan was even more puzzled.

This is not the way the Lord does things.

With the Lord's abilities, he is fully confident that he can sow discord, eliminate the Crown Prince Changxin, and overthrow the Crown Prince.

"While my mother was being held captive by His Majesty, I was being tortured in prison. During that time, no one came to inquire about my whereabouts, and I was left to be tormented by the Crown Prince."

"In His Majesty's eyes, my life is not worth as much as that of the Ying family. If that's the case, why bother going to great lengths to risk my life for him?" Xiao Xuanjing's eyes held a hint of disappointment.

Jian Qingshan remained silent. With the emperor being tortured, those who had previously been protected by him all remained silent in the court, not daring to utter a single word.

"Go back," Xiao Xuanjing said.

"Yes."

As Su Wanwan walked to the entrance of the Su residence, she could hear her third aunt cursing from afar.

Then Lu Huai'an was kicked out of the house by his third aunt.

"You heartless bastard! Who gave you the right to meddle? I finally managed to snag this son-in-law, and you've ruined it all! Who do you think you are? A stinking businessman, daring to interfere in the affairs of the Su family?"

Aunt Zhao stood on the steps with her hands on her hips, her fingers almost poking Lu Huai'an's nose.

Lu Huai'an, dressed in a blue robe, stood at the bottom of the steps, his expression calm, and he slightly turned his body to avoid her fingers.

Yuan Zijin stood aside, looking indignant, as if he were standing up for his master.

Su Jinse stood behind the door with her head down, her eyes slightly red, constantly wiping her face with a handkerchief.

Zhao cursed more and more fiercely, her voice growing louder and louder, attracting the servants to peek out and watch the spectacle.

"What kind of status does the Prince of Huai have? For him to take our Jinse to his villa for a visit is an immense honor! And you, taking advantage of the Prince changing his clothes, secretly brought her back. What are you up to? Are you just jealous of others' success because you can't climb the social ladder yourself?"

Lu Huai'an finally spoke, "The Prince of Huai's heir is not a good match. Miss Jinse will only suffer if she goes."

"Pooh!"

Zhao spat on the ground, "Who do you think you are? How dare you say that the Crown Prince is not a good match?"

You're just jealous! Jealous that they're royalty, while you're just a lowly businessman with no connection whatsoever!

I'm telling you, Jinse's affairs are none of your business. Stay away from my daughter from now on!

Su Jinse finally raised her head, "Mother, please stop scolding me..."

"Shut up!" Zhao glared at her, turning around. "What do you know? He ruined everything, and you're still defending him?"

Su Jinse's face flushed red, tears streamed down her face, and she turned and ran into the courtyard.

Zhao then turned to Lu Huai'an, hands on her hips, her voice rising even higher.

"Listen to me! From this day forward, you are not allowed to set foot in the Su family home again! Nor are you allowed to speak a single word to Jinse!"

Lu Huai'an nodded slightly and cupped his hands, saying, "Don't worry, Madam Zhao, I will not bother Miss Jinse again."

He turned to leave, but when he looked up, he saw Su Wanwan walking towards him.

Her expression was somewhat complicated.

Zhao was still cursing on the steps.

Su Wanwan walked up to Lu Huai'an and bowed to her third aunt. "Third aunt, the Prince of Huai is indeed an unsuitable match. You have no idea how bad his reputation is outside... I'll take you to hear about it another day."

Upon hearing this, Zhao calmed down a bit, glared at Lu Huai'an, shook off Su Wanwan's hand, and left.

"Third Miss is going too far. Young Master was clearly saving people, yet he was scolded like this. My young master has never suffered such injustice..." Yuan Zijin said indignantly.

Su Wanwan looked tired and turned around to ask, "What happened today?"

"Your maid Chunhua rushed to the manor today to find you, saying that Jinse was being bullied. My young master heard this and dropped what he was doing to go. Who would have thought that Third Miss would be so ungrateful?" Yuan Zijin said.

"Where's Chunhua?" Su Wanwan looked around but didn't see Chunhua anywhere.

"He's being forced to kneel by Third Mistress, and he's kneeling in the front yard." Lu Huai'an stepped forward, lowered his eyes, and asked, "Why do you look so tired today? Did she make things difficult for you?"

Su Wanwan shook her head, looked at Lu Huai'an, hesitated, and finally sighed.

"Why are you looking at me like that today, Wanwan?" Lu Huai'an asked, looking down.

"Lu Huai'an..." Su Wanwan hesitated, wanting to say something but stopping herself.

"Why are you speaking so hesitantly today, Wanwan?" Lu Huai'an asked.

"Are you hiding something from me?" Su Wanwan asked.

Lu Huai'an pondered for a moment, then lowered his eyes and asked, "Which one does Wanwan want to ask about?"

"The account books that the Crown Prince presented to me involve the Su family. Was it the work of the Prince of Changxin's heir?" Su Wanwan pressed. "Did you approach me because of the Su family's account books?"

Lu Huai'an tightened his grip on the fan. "The young master does have one. It was given to him by the Shen family, but I kept it. Later, when the crown prince interrogated the Shen family, he implicated the Su family."

However, since Feng Chenjun took the blame, the Su family was not implicated.

He didn't want to lie to her, nor did he want to lie to himself.

Su Wanwan breathed a long sigh of relief. "I knew you were loyal."

She doesn't want to fall out with Lu Huai'an right now.

"Lord Fengchen's actions are quite unexpected," Lu Huai'an said, his fingertips slowly stroking the fan ribs.

"Over the years, the Crown Prince has been incompetent, and the Empress, not content with controlling the inner palace, has extended her reach into the court. If it weren't for Prince Fengchen keeping things in check, the court would have been in complete chaos long ago."

"It's no secret that he's both literate and skilled in martial arts. But he chose the most foolish way: to take the blame for everyone else."

"The dumbest way, what do you mean?" Su Wanwan asked, puzzled.

"He did it on purpose, distancing himself and letting the Crown Prince and Prince Changxin fight it out. Whoever wins, he'll come out and clean up the mess," Lu Huai'an chuckled.

"He's been dismissed from his post, he has no troops and no power, how is he going to clean up this mess?" Su Wanwan frowned.

"Dismissed? If he really wanted to keep that official position, he had a hundred ways to do it. He just didn't want to wear it anymore." Lu Huai'an's expression changed slightly. "Only he can bear these charges. Anyone else would have been dead eight hundred times over."

He suddenly felt a bit of admiration for Xiao Xuanjing.

It's not that I admire his talent or methods, but rather that he can even use himself as a pawn.

Such a person is either a saint or a madman.

Lu Huai'an felt that Xiao Xuanjing was the latter.

But madmen are often harder to deal with than saints.

"I went to see Lord Fengchen today. He was unwell and vomited blood. His injuries must be quite serious," Su Wanwan said, recalling the events of the day.

Lu Huai'an frowned, spitting out blood?

It seems that Lord Fengchen is seriously injured.

The crown prince is ruthless, but unfortunately, not ruthless enough.