Listening to her daughter's heartfelt words, the pregnant Lady Hou went on a killing spree.

When Lu Li's servants on the pleasure boat saw that his attire was not right, they were all alarmed and quickly jumped into the water. It took them a lot of effort to pull Lu Li out of the water.

Only after the painted boat had gone far away did Ji Yueru turn her gaze away.

[It's a pity he didn't die. That Lu Li guy seems like a narrow-minded person. We ruined his plans today; will he come after us later?]

"Don't worry, if he wants to settle scores, he won't do it to a pregnant woman like me. People will just think he's beneath himself. He'll only go after Marquis Anshun."

An'an thought about what her mother had said and realized that offending Lu Li today wasn't such a bad thing.

On the first floor of the pleasure boat, just as Mo Da was carrying the eldest daughter of the Feng family onto the boat, Zhiyi and Shuyi went down to meet her with cloaks.

Almost as soon as the person boarded the pleasure boat, a cloak was draped over the eldest daughter of the Feng family, and the two of them worked together to drag her into the cabin. Many people saw this at the time, and although it damaged the eldest daughter of the Feng family's reputation, it was already minimized.

The two men tidied the person up and helped the eldest daughter of the Feng family upstairs to the second floor.

"Madam, the eldest daughter of the Feng family insisted on coming up to thank you, and we servants really couldn't stop her."

"Thank you for saving our lives, Madam Hou. The Feng family will owe you a favor from now on."

Ji Yueru was in a good mood; it wasn't easy to owe favors to the Feng family.

"It is only right that I save you, since I am also a woman. Please, Miss Feng."

Feng Rubing sat down on the chair next to Ji Yueru, with a charcoal fire burning brightly in front of them.

"If I remember correctly, Miss Feng doesn't seem to like boating on the lake, so why is she out with someone today?"

Feng Rubing gave a bitter smile.

"I couldn't refuse my sisters' invitation."

"Oh, then Miss Feng should investigate this carefully. After you were rescued, the young master of the Wuwei Marquis's mansion jumped into the water."

It seemed like he was planning to play the hero and save the damsel in distress, but I beat him to it.

Young Master Lu probably hates me now; I still can't forget the look he gave me just now.

Feng Rubing fell into deep thought.

She was not a dull person; on the contrary, she was quite clever and naturally understood the meaning behind Ji Yueru's words.

"Thank you for the reminder, Madam. I will have someone investigate when I get back."

She had already given a heads-up, and what the other party would do after that was no longer her concern.

Once the painted boat docked, the Feng family's servants were already waiting by the lake.

"Madam Hou, take your leave. I will certainly visit you another day to express my gratitude."

After saying goodbye by the lake, the two boarded their respective carriages.

If we're talking about shrewdness and strategy, the old Marquis of Wuwei's mansion has to be mentioned. His scheme to have his grandson Lu Li marry Feng Rubing was arguably the best move the Marquis of Wuwei's mansion ever made.

In the previous life, it was exactly the same. Regardless of the young couple's feelings for each other, a declining military family, with the help of the Feng family, directly abandoned martial arts for literature in the next generation.

With the help of the Feng family fortune, the great-grandson Congwen was able to avoid decades of struggle compared to others.

The Feng family is no ordinary family. The current headmaster of Wangshan Academy, located twenty miles outside the capital, is Feng Rubing's father.

For three generations, the headmaster of Wangshan Academy has been a member of the Feng family. The key is that they didn't rely on connections, but on their genuine abilities.

Each successive headmaster competes in literary talent, and the Feng family produces extraordinary geniuses in every generation.

Most of the men of Feng Rubing's generation were of mediocre talent, except for Feng Rubing.

Although she was a woman, her literary skills were comparable to her father's. When people talked about this extraordinary woman of the Feng family, they would always end with a word of regret.

The world's opinion of her can be glimpsed from the word "pity".

A woman like the eldest daughter of the Feng family could easily become the Crown Prince's consort. If the sickly young man from the Marquis of Wuwei's mansion were to propose marriage to the Feng family, it's highly unlikely they would agree.

[Mother, why do most men in this world look down on women, yet so many still try to use women to climb the social ladder?]

An'an, who has lived from her previous life to the present, still can't understand why someone would take advantage of someone they despise. Isn't that a contradiction?

Is it something to be proud of to let someone you despise rise to power?

"When a woman marries into her husband's family, her surname will be preceded by her husband's surname. In the eyes of others, his wife is his private property."

They don't see anything wrong with using what's theirs, so for most men in this world who covet a woman's possessions, the best way is to marry her and make her their own, thus making it seem reasonable to use her to climb the social ladder.

Having lived another lifetime, Ji Yue Ru has come to see many things clearly. Wasn't her previous life the most realistic portrayal of herself, having been exploited to the last drop of value by the people of the Marquis of Anshun's mansion?

"Mother, I understand. Then I don't want to get married."

"Your mother will follow your lead. If you meet someone you like in the future, you can marry him. If you don't like him anymore, you can just walk away in time."

If you don't want to get married, that's fine with me. I just hope you'll be happy for the rest of your life.

The mother and daughter chatted as they arrived at the gate of the Marquis of Anshun's mansion. As soon as they got off the carriage, they saw Steward Zhao waiting anxiously at the gate.

"Madam, you're finally back! The young lady said she had an upset stomach this morning."

"Have you called a doctor yet?"

"We've called a doctor, but he couldn't find anything wrong. The young lady has been complaining of pain all day. Madam, do you think we should take her to see a doctor?"

"If you can't get better, just hire more doctors. I'm not a doctor, so what can I do?"

"Zhiyi, help me back to rest."

Butler Zhao was truly surprised that Madam had said she wouldn't care about the young lady and young master, and now even when the young lady was sick, she acted as if nothing had happened.

Now that the Marquis can't be found, the old lady can't say anything, and there's even less to do about the eldest daughter.

Steward Zhao was so anxious that he paced back and forth, and finally had no choice but to run to the Yu residence.

Although the Yu family and the Marquis had a very unpleasant argument in court, she was still the granddaughter of the Yu family. They couldn't just watch their young lady get sick and do nothing about it.

You know, Madam Yu used to dote on her youngest daughter the most. We can't just abandon her now because the two families have a conflict.

As a result, when Steward Zhao arrived at the Yu residence, he was not only denied entry but was also beaten out by the guards.

If he hadn't run fast, he probably would have been injured even more badly. The steward had no choice but to lead his men back to the mansion, limping along.

"Butler, what should we do now? If something really happens to the young lady, the Marquis will skin us alive when he returns to the manor."

How could Steward Zhao not know this?

"Go and invite more doctors. There are so many famous doctors in the capital, surely someone can cure the young lady's illness."

In less than half a day, the rumor that the young lady of the Marquis of Anshun's mansion was sick and had consulted countless doctors spread. By sheer coincidence, the rumor reached the ears of Ji Chunjiao, who was locked in the courtyard of the Prince of Qingyang's mansion.

Ji Chun is so spoiled. What is Marquis Anshun good for? He doesn't even care when his child is sick. And that bitch Ji Yueru, just you wait.