Zhao Yun sat there for a long time before finally hearing a muffled groan from Li Huai'an and a suppressed, blissful moan from Zhao Rou.

She breathed a sigh of relief; the two of them were finally done.

Just then, a series of footsteps approached from outside.

Zhao Yun felt as if she had been granted a pardon. She pulled open the door and saw that it was Lady Bai Wei, the Duchess of the State. She immediately threw herself on her and burst into tears.

"Mother, you must stand up for Yun'er!"

Upon hearing the word "mother," a flash of disgust crossed Bai Wei's eyes.

She gestured to an older nanny beside her to pull Zhao Yun away from her and hurried into the house.

The others waited outside with their heads down, keeping their eyes down and not daring to look around.

"Granny Li," Bai Wei called out. Her eyes turned toward the bed.

Li Mama understood, stepped forward and pulled Zhao Rou, who had just put on a high-waisted ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), off the bed. She reached down, her eyes darkened, and she nodded to Bai Wei with a gloomy face.

Bai Wei looked at Zhao Rou with a cold gaze, "Are you Zhao Yun's third younger sister?"

Zhao Rou knelt on the ground, sobbing and whimpering, looking just like a frightened rabbit, her eyes red and swollen, a perfect victim.

Zhao Yun strode forward, draped her cloak over Zhao Rou, and cried, "In the end, it's all my fault that today happened."

Bai Wei looked at Zhao Yun with a scrutinizing gaze, signaling her to continue.

Zhao Yun explained that she went out with her third sister today and happened to run into Li Huai'an. Seeing that he was in a bad mood, and since her third sister happened to be asking for drunken duck from Hongyunlou Restaurant, they sat down and had a meal together.

Who knew that while she was in the outhouse, Li Huai'an was sleeping with his third sister.

"You just came back from the outhouse?"

Zhao Yun nodded guiltily.

"Yes, Mother."

"Miss Zhao is not yet married into the family, so please address her as Madam Duchess!" Bai Wei said.

"The Duchess, Yun'er doesn't know why the Duchess is suddenly here?"

"I had arranged to meet Miss Zhao at Baozhenlou in Huai'an, but she didn't show up for a long time. Upon investigation, I learned about this whole affair..."

While explaining, Bai Wei secretly observed Zhao Yun's expression.

Seeing that Zhao Yun showed no sign of grief, she pondered for a moment and guessed that this was probably a way for Zhao Yun to break off the engagement.

Li Huai'an grew up with the three Zhao sisters, but he was in love with Zhao Zhi and did not like Zhao Yun, who had the airs of a well-bred young lady.

However, due to a series of unforeseen circumstances, Zhao Yun was betrothed to Li Huai'an by the emperor. Li Huai'an felt utterly helpless and could only swallow his bitterness.

Judging from today's situation, Zhao Yun actually looks down on Li Huai'an and has his half-sister plot against him!

Bai Wei sneered inwardly. "You little brat, you dare to use such despicable methods on my son Huai'an. Just wait and see what happens!"

“My family’s Huai’an has always been law-abiding and not a reckless person. Our Duke’s Mansion will definitely give the Zhao family an explanation for this matter.”

Bai Wei left her own sedan chair behind, while having Zhao Yun and Zhao Rou sent back. She also had another sedan chair carried to take Li Huai'an back to his residence.

When Zhang Wan saw Zhao Yun and Zhao Rou returning in the Duke's sedan chair, and noticed that Zhao Rou's clothes were disheveled, she knew something was wrong.

She gave the sedan chair bearers some loose silver to send them away, then ordered the gates of the mansion to be closed and led Zhao Yun and Zhao Rou to her own courtyard. She then sent someone to fetch Liu Yun.

"Tell me, what happened today?"

Zhang Wan exuded an imposing aura without anger, which frightened Zhao Rou so much that she knelt down on the ground and kept giving Zhao Yun meaningful glances.

Zhao Yun slowly recounted what had happened that day.

Zhang Wan glared at her fiercely, "We'll talk about your business later."

The person who went to invite Liu Yun returned quickly, saying that Baoqing Courtyard was closed and that Yin Huan said her master was not feeling well.

Zhang Wan smiled meaningfully.

Just then, the gatekeeper came to report that the Duchess of the State had come to visit.

Zhang Wan hurriedly went out to greet them.

After exchanging pleasantries, the two got straight to the point.

“I watched Yun’er grow up. She is virtuous and generous. She shouldn’t mind marrying into the Duke’s mansion at the same time as her third sister, right?” Bai Wei suggested with a smile.

"Rou'er and Yun'er just told me about what happened today. Rou'er is young and timid. After drinking a little, she couldn't control herself and did such a ridiculous thing. If word gets out, it will indeed damage the reputation of our two families. If we break off the engagement, I won't be able to bear to part with Huai'an. What do you think?"

Bai Wei looked at Zhang Wan and tentatively said, "To avoid any unforeseen complications, why don't we move up the children's wedding date?"

Zhang Wan grasped Bai Wei's hand and said with a smile, "Sister Bai, we're on the same page." She glanced outside and whispered, "Sister, have you already chosen a date?"

"There's no time like the present, let's do it on the sixth of next month!" Bai Wei whispered. "After Huai'an got home and found out he had done something wrong, he tried to kill himself, saying he was sorry to the Second Miss. Let Yun'er and Rou'er marry into the Duke's mansion as soon as possible to distract Huai'an, and maybe he'll settle down."

Zhang Wan pinched the bridge of her nose, sighed, and said, "Sigh, look at these kids, not one of them is easy to deal with."

Bai Wei said, "That's right! Sister, it's settled then!"

After seeing Bai Wei off, Zhang Wan turned back into the house and slapped Zhao Yun so hard that he stumbled.

"Mother, you hit me! You've never hit me before, not since I was a child!" Zhao Yun sobbed.

"Zhao Yun!" Zhang Wan called out her name directly, saying with great distress, "A doting mother spoils her son! Don't think I don't know what you're up to! You deliberately let Zhao Rou sleep with Li Huai'an, and then had Bai Wei catch them in the act, so you could use that as an excuse to break off the engagement!"

Zhao Yun covered her burning face, which had been slapped by her mother, and protested, "I didn't!"

"You didn't?! Let me tell you, Zhao Yun, this engagement can't be called off! Unless you're dead! Don't you like Zhao Rou? I'll grant your wish!"

"What do you mean? What do you mean, Mother?" Zhao Yun cried out in despair.

Zhang Wan ignored her and clutched her chest, panting heavily.

Seeing that the situation was not good, Baozhu hurriedly advised Zhao Yun to leave, telling her not to upset the mistress and make her sick, otherwise it would be bad if the master took disciplinary action when he returned.

Upon hearing the mention of her father, Zhao Yun hurriedly left with Yu Ming.

Zhao Rou returned to Baoqing Courtyard and saw Yin Huan guarding the gate, so she told her to open it quickly.

Yin Huan saw that it was her young mistress, glanced at Liu Yun's room, and hesitated whether to open the door.

"Is Auntie in the room with that bald monk?" Zhao Rou asked in a low voice.

Silver Ring, her small face pale, nodded, then quickly shook her head.

"Alright, I know everything Auntie has done. Open the door."

Silver Ring blinked a few times before opening the door.

Zhao Rou went straight back to her room, and after washing up again, she sat in front of the bronze mirror and carefully examined her radiant self, muttering to herself, "That kind of thing really does nourish the body."

Unlike her radiant smile, Zhao Yun went back into the house and smashed everything she could find.

According to her mother, the Duke's mansion wanted her and Zhao Rou to enter at the same time.

After all that trouble, she ended up doing all the work for Zhao Rou!