After Zhu Yu escorted Lu Xiaoyun back to her residence, he didn't go inside. Instead, he took Qi Yu, who had caught up with him, back to the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion.

It was getting dark.

Lu Yucheng didn't get to get the bricklayers to fix the big holes in the examination hall until midnight.

The hole looks quite fresh, like it was recently smashed open.

After all, the mud and ash on the ground were still there.

The servants at Haitang Courtyard had already packed up Madam Fang's belongings, preparing to send her to the estate at daybreak tomorrow.

The dowry that my mother had taken out of the secret room in that courtyard has all been moved back to Tongjia Courtyard.

The box containing two hundred thousand taels of silver notes was placed on the dressing table in Zhu Yu's room.

Zhu Yu handed the box to Lu Yucheng: "Brother, take this money and use it to get married."

Lu Yucheng chuckled and placed the box in a hidden compartment beside the bed: "You keep it. Your brother doesn't need this money. Your brother is very powerful. I'm the young general of the Lu family army and the heir of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion. I can receive two salaries from the imperial court."

Zhu Yu laughed along, and said, "Fine, I'll prepare the betrothal gifts for my brother when he gets married."

Lu Yucheng's face fell as soon as he came out of Zhu Yu's room.

The reason he and his father stayed in Shengjing for half a year, and why the emperor so quickly agreed to let his sister and Prince An divorce, was because he used his marriage as a bargaining chip.

He never told his sister.

The emperor wanted to marry the eldest daughter of the Marquis of Nanyang to him.

Marquis of Nanyang was the eldest son of the former King of Liang, who was also the first member of the royal family of the former dynasty to surrender to the Great Zhou.

After the fall of the previous dynasty, the late emperor enfeoffed the Prince of Liang as the Marquis of Nanyang. He was a wealthy and idle marquis with no real power and was not even required to attend the morning court sessions.

After the death of the King of Liang, his eldest son inherited the title, and the Marquis of Nanyang's mansion declined further.

In Shengjing City, almost no one mentioned it.

It is said that this new Marquis only liked to tend to flowers and plants all day long, and the entire Nanyang Marquis's mansion was filled with orchids of all kinds.

But now, the emperor actually wants to marry the eldest daughter of the Marquis of Nanyang to him.

Their Zhenguo Duke's Mansion commands 200,000 Lu Family Army soldiers.

The emperor's suspicions were obvious.

Lu Yucheng felt both pathetic and ridiculous.

But for his sister's sake and to dispel the emperor's suspicions, he and his father had no choice but to agree to the marriage.

Originally, the emperor was supposed to issue the imperial decree to bestow the marriage after the Lantern Festival, but due to the assassination attempt, the emperor was unable to attend to it for the time being.

But the emperor could not forget this matter, and the imperial edict is expected to be issued in the next few days.

Nothing was said that night.

The next morning, Zhu Yu had just finished washing up and was preparing to practice martial arts with Qi Yu.

Qi Yu's martial arts skills were indeed as good as Lu Xiaoyun had said; now the two of them were evenly matched.

Another reason why Zhu Yu was in such a hurry to learn martial arts was that he couldn't very well let Lu Xiaoyun climb over the wall to see him every time she missed him.

The Zhenguo Duke's secret guards might get away with it two or three times, but it will be difficult to deal with in the long run.

But after he regained his martial arts skills, things changed. He could easily sneak into Prince An's mansion in the dead of night.

"Young Miss, the Old Madam requests your presence at the Longevity Home," an elderly nanny said at the doorway.

Li Feng stepped out, smiling, and said, "Alright, please tell the old lady, I will come after helping Miss change her clothes."

Granny He nodded and left first.

He was supposed to go and pay his respects to Old Madam Lu, but it was only past dawn, so why was he in such a hurry to have a servant come and urge him?

When he arrived with Li Feng and Qi Yu, the Duke of Zhenguo and Lu Yucheng had just arrived as well.

Fang knelt under the eaves, choking back sobs and wiping away tears.

Upon seeing Madam Fang, the Duke of Zhenguo's face darkened: "What's going on? Didn't we send Madam Fang to the estate early this morning? Why are you disturbing the old lady's rest so early in the morning!"

Fang lowered her head and wiped away her tears.

Zhu Yu frowned slightly; this matter was likely to change.

"Nonsense!" A deep, old voice came from the inner room, and the dragon-headed cane was slammed heavily onto the bluestone floor, making a crisp sound.

Zhu Yu looked up and saw an old lady with a full head of silver hair, leaning on a shiny ebony dragon-head cane with one hand and holding Lu Jinmi's hand with the other, standing up and walking towards them.

This dragon-headed walking stick was a gift from the late emperor.

All eyes were on the elderly woman dressed in her finest attire. Her head of silver hair was meticulously combed, and her face was taut.

She was old, and the face powder could no longer conceal the deep lines on her face, but she stood tall and dignified. Because she had been eating vegetarian food and chanting Buddhist scriptures at Ganlu Temple for many years, although she was angry at this moment, her eyes and brows revealed a kind and benevolent look.

Lu Jinmi, supporting Old Madam Lu, raised her head at Zhu Yu, her expression full of provocation.

Zhu Yu glanced at her indifferently; she had actually come out of her own courtyard.

“Mother, why aren’t you resting inside? It’s still early and quite cold outside. Let me help you inside.” The Duke of Zhenguo hurriedly stepped forward to help her, but was slapped away by Old Madam Lu.

Zhu Yu and Lu Yucheng bowed to Madam Lu in unison, saying, "Greetings to Grandmother."

Madam Lu's gaze swept across everyone's faces.

"Rest? After such a huge incident, how can I sleep? Yi'er, are you really going to deal with Fang Shi like this? Where do you think Fang Shi's face is now? Don't you care about the reputation of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion? A perfectly good mistress of the family has been sent to the estate. What will outsiders think of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion!"

"You're even abandoning the marriages of your two young masters and two young ladies?!"

Old Madam Lu slammed her cane on the ground with a thud: "Don't forget, all three of them are of marriageable age!"

Zhu Yu pursed his lips.

Madam Lu meant that Lu Xiaoyun was already ruined and she would no longer care about her, but she couldn't let her cause delays in the marriages of the other two young masters and ladies in the mansion.

Although Lu Yuyi is still young.

The Duke of Zhenguo said helplessly, “Mother, how can we let such a serious mistake by Fang Shi be easily forgiven? What I have done is already a lenient punishment.”

According to the law, a second wife who covets the first wife's dowry, beats and scolds the children left by the first wife, and even instructs the servants in the household to poison her, is guilty of a capital offense.

He gave her another chance only because Fang's father had died protecting his father.

Furthermore, the Fang family had managed the Zhenguo Duke's Mansion for over a decade, which could be considered a form of compensation.

However, I feel somewhat sorry for Ah Cheng and Xiao Yun.

"A big mistake? Hmph, she's just a mother thinking of her daughter and son. What big mistake could she have that warrants such a big fuss?"

The Duke of Zhenguo stood there, bowing, not daring to speak.

He spent many years on the southern border, exposed to the wind and sun, his temples were already gray, and his face was covered with wrinkles.

In recent years, Madam Lu has devoted herself to Buddhist practice at Ganlu Temple. Although her hair is completely white, her complexion is rosy, and she doesn't look much older than the Duke of Zhenguo.

Her gaze swept across Zhu Yu's face: "What? I heard that His Majesty has decreed that you and Prince An should divorce?"

Zhu Yu obediently lowered his head and said, "Yes."