"But you haven't married yet, so don't cause any trouble." The emperor laughed mischievously. Duke Du and his son were really...

ah?

Prince Du was stunned on the spot.

Xie Qing suppressed his laughter and kicked him in the back of the leg: "Father allowed you to live with your sweetheart and fly together, why don't you thank him quickly!"

"Oh, oh, oh! Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace!" Prince Du reacted and kowtowed quickly. He felt bitter. How could he have known whether Miss Ding was round or flat? He had only heard people mention it twice, and today he used it as an excuse. Who knew that it would backfire on him?

Whenever he thought about the storm he would face when he returned home, Prince Du wanted to cry.

Prince Du wanted to cry, and Lu Yan wanted to hit someone. He rushed all the way back home and didn't even go to pick up Wu Ziya, but he didn't see Bai Wanyi at home.

"Where is the lady?!"

Lu Yan suppressed her anger. She should have been under house arrest. Where had she gone?

The maid shrank her neck and said, "The Fourth Prince's wife invites Madam to come to the house for a chat."

The fourth prince's consort?

Lu Yan frowned. Why did the Fourth Prince's wife want to see her?

On second thought, it should be the Fourth Prince looking for her.

"When did you leave?" Lu Yan couldn't be angry with the Fourth Prince, so he asked again.

The maid looked at Lu Yan cautiously: "After the Marquis and Madam Yu left, Madam left."

?

Lu Yan was a little suspicious. Was it just a coincidence? Moreover, today was the second day of the Lunar New Year, and the Fourth Prince's wife was returning to her parents' home. Why was the Fourth Prince not accompanying her? What was he looking for Bai Wanyi for? Such an important matter, did he have to discuss it during the Lunar New Year?

Lu Yan was unhappy and couldn't figure it out, so he could only ask someone to go to the Fourth Prince's Mansion to find Bai Wanyi and ask her to come back.

It was the second day of the Chinese New Year, and she was an orphan who didn't have to go back to her parents' home. She was also under house arrest, but she ran out instead of staying at home. How unruly!

Not long after, the person sent came back and said, "The person is not in the prince's mansion."

"Then where did you go?" Lu Yan took a deep breath and asked.

"The people from the Fourth Prince's Mansion didn't say anything."

That’s right, how can the prince’s whereabouts be revealed at will?

Lu Yan thought for a moment and asked, "Have you ever gone to the Fourth Prince's wife's family to ask?"

The servant was silent. Who would go back to her parents' home with someone else's wife?

Seeing that he didn't say anything, Lu Yan waved his hand to let him go, went into the inner room, and began to rummage through the things on Bai Wanyi's dressing table.

Sure enough, he found the magnifying glass in the drawer of the dressing table.

Lu Yan was playing with the magnifying glass and for a moment he forgot about time.

"You rummaged through my things?" Bai Wanyi saw someone vaguely sitting in front of the dressing table as she entered the room. She hurried over and was about to get angry when she realized it was Lu Yan. "Why are you here?"

"I shouldn't be here?" Lu Yan came to his senses and realized that it was already dark. His face darkened even more. "You're back just now?"

Bai Wanyi had the lamps lit and, while changing his clothes, he said, "The Fourth Prince has summoned me, so I must go. But you, eager to accompany Wu back to her parents' home early in the morning, are truly a filial and good son-in-law."

Lu Yan suppressed his anger and said, "I promised you that I wouldn't go looking for the Wu family. I'm going to keep my word. What about you? You've been running away every day since the New Year, and now you're still running away during the New Year!"

"Who am I running away for!" Bai Wanyi yelled. She had been holding her breath since New Year's Eve. "But you, with all your nice words, say that not looking for them is a favor to me? A charity? That's what you should do! You promised to be with me for the rest of my life, so you should be devoted to me! You have one, you have two, three! You're so comfortable with your three wives and four concubines! And now you think you're doing me a charity?"

"Haha! I'm still working so hard for your future! And you're here blaming me?"

Lu Yan slammed the table and said, "Running for my future? You know, today Qin presented me with a magnifying glass, just like this one!"

Lu Yan waved the magnifying glass, "What did you get for running around outside? You were grounded! And she, Qin, relied on a magnifying glass like this! She was granted the title of County Lady! A Second Rank County Lady! From now on, I will have to greet her with courtesy every time I see her!"

Bai Wanyi was surprised, and the focus was instantly lost: "Aren't you a marquis of the first rank?"

Lu Yan sneered, "I told you to learn the rules, but you didn't! Who told you that a marquis is a super-first-class title? In our dynasty, there are only five titles: duke, marquis, earl, viscount, and baron, but there are multiple ranks! And my Pingyang Marquisate is a third-class title!"

Bai Wanyi asked blankly, "What about the Marquis Xuanwu?"

"Second rank!" Lu Yan replied angrily. It was because his grandfather passed away early, otherwise he would have been a Duke by now. He took a deep breath and looked at Bai Wanyi intently: "In our dynasty, there are only a few people who have achieved the title of Super First Rank besides the Prince. If the Marquis is considered Super First Rank, then the entire capital is full of Super First Rank nobles."

"Wanyi, you should stay in the mansion and learn the rules properly, and don't run around. Even Qin can exchange this magnifying glass for a title, so why can't you?"

Bai Wanyi only just realized what was happening. She recalled what Lu Yan had just said and her eyes widened. "You just said that Qin Wan presented a magnifying glass to His Majesty and was granted the title of County Princess?"

"To you." Lu Yan nodded.

Bai Wan was so angry that he jumped up and down: "She's plagiarizing! This is what I made! She must have planted spies in my workshop! What a thief! What a plagiarist!"

Lu Yan handed the magnifying glass to her and said, "Do you know the design principle of this thing? Call the craftsmen who made it, and we will go to the palace to ask His Majesty for an explanation."

Bai Wanyi immediately reacted to the word "craftsman" and said, "I can just enter the palace, why do I need a craftsman to come in?"

Lu Yan said, "How can you be convincing without a craftsman? When did you hire someone to make this magnifying glass? Don't you want someone to verify it?"

Bai Wanyi agreed and immediately asked someone to help him change into palace clothes. He then asked someone to find a craftsman and went into the palace together.

Unfortunately, the craftsmen lived a little far away, outside the capital, so they rushed into the city before the capital closed.

Lu Yan and Bai Wanyi were waiting for them at the city gate. After picking them up, they went straight to the palace, but they met the Fourth Prince who was waiting for them at the palace gate.

When the Fourth Prince saw them, he said, "No need to waste time talking. I already know the whole story. I have sent someone to the palace to ask to see my father. Please follow me into the palace first."

Lu Yan and Bai Wanyi bowed hurriedly and followed the Fourth Prince into the palace.

Bai Wanyi continued to ramble indignantly along the way: "I made this magnifying glass, so how did it become Qin Wan's? Does she know the principle of a convex lens? Can she explain it in detail?"

The fourth prince sighed and said, "Do you know that the title is hers now?"

Bai Wanyi's face twisted instantly. "I'm going to beat this plagiarist to pieces! She copied everything from me: the milk tea shop, the glass, the mirror, the cake shop. I didn't pursue it, but now she's taking it too far. I'm going to teach her a lesson! Let her know why flowers are so red!"