Fang was startled. This Prince An was indeed eccentric and ruthless. What kind of things were he saying?

"Your Highness, this is also..."

"What?" Lu Xiaoyun's frosty eyes shot towards Fang Shi.

Fang's legs went weak with fright, and she immediately bowed and took her leave: "Your Majesty, I dare not, I dare not. Now that Lu Xiaoyun has entered the Prince An's residence, she is Your Highness's person. How could I dare to make decisions for her?"

Lu Xiaoyun's lips curled into a cold smile as she calmly dusted off her clothes and said slowly, "Fang, from this day forward, you are not allowed to set foot in the Prince An's residence. Otherwise, you may blame me for not showing any mercy to the Duke of Zhenguo's residence!"

"You!" Fang was so angry that her lips trembled. When had she ever been so humiliated?

"Your Highness, I know you are the high and mighty Prince An, but I am still a First-Rank Imperial Lady personally bestowed by the Emperor. Although Xiaoyun acted without thinking, causing you to lose face in front of others, what does that have to do with me? It's one thing if you don't address me as Mother-in-Law, but you are far too polite!"

Lu Xiaoyun gave a mocking smile, disdaining to engage in a verbal argument with a gossipy old woman.

Jiang Chuan coldly said, "The stepmother of the Duke of Zhenguo, let alone the fact that you are not the legitimate mother-in-law of our Prince An, even if you were, His Highness Prince An is a member of the royal family, the emperor. You are merely a subject's wife, and a second wife at that. How dare you speak to His Highness Prince An like this? Aren't you afraid of bringing trouble to the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion!"

Fang's face turned pale. She had wanted to take advantage of her seniority and act superior, but she never expected that a servant of Prince An would not even leave her a shred of decency.

Feeling embarrassed, Fang hurriedly left with the help of her old woman.

Lu Xiaoyun had no idea why she had come here today.

Zhu Yu looked at Lu Xiaoyun with cold eyes. From the time Fang Shi entered to the time she left, only two incense sticks' worth of time had passed. Lu Xiaoyun first punished her by making her perform the rituals for the duration of one incense stick's worth of time, and then she began to press Fang Shi aggressively.

This made Fang Shi never dare to set foot on the gates of Prince An's mansion again.

If the rumors are true, then what happened to Lu Xiaoyun today?

Zhu Yu's eyes darkened, and a hint of doubt flashed across his gaze as he looked at Lu Xiaoyun, but he quickly concealed it.

This woman was vastly different from the rumors he had heard about her. Judging from the fact that she immediately told him she wanted to hand over the tiger tally, she clearly knew the pros and cons.

Such insights far surpass those of ordinary young women confined to their chambers, so how could she possibly be as ignorant and mindless as the outside world claims?

Can a person really change so much?

Recalling the bizarre body swap that had happened to the two of them, Zhu Yu firmly grasped the image of Ying Cai that flashed through his mind.

"You're not Lu Xiaoyun at all! Who are you?!"

Despite saying that, Zhu Yu still had a lingering doubt.

After the palace banquet, he had An Yi investigate and found that no one had infiltrated the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion to switch Lu Xiaoyun with another woman during that period.

Furthermore, the person in the dream also said that he had swapped bodies with Lu Xiaoyun, the eldest daughter of the Duke of Zhenguo's family, and was not someone else.

Upon hearing this, Lu Xiaoyun's heart skipped a beat. Holy crap, is Zhu Yu even human? He realized something was wrong so quickly?

Just a few words!

She took a deep breath, slowly turned around, and looked at Zhu Yu, who was half-lying on the bed, noticing a slight flicker in his eyes.

Lu Xiaoyun suddenly realized that Zhu Yu was bluffing her!

If he was certain that she wasn't the original Lu Xiaoyun, Zhu Yu wouldn't have had that expression during the short time they'd spent together, and he certainly wouldn't have kept calling her stupid.

They certainly wouldn't have remained completely silent during the time Fang was inside.

Therefore, Zhu Yu has not made a decision yet.

Considering that Zhu Yu had only been back in Sheng for a little over a month, he didn't know much about the real Lu Xiaoyun.

She steadied herself and gave a cold laugh: "Zhu Yu, are you out of your mind? Who else am I but Lu Xiaoyun? If I weren't Lu Xiaoyun, would that little figure in my dream have told you who I am? You've only been back in Shengjing City for a month, and you already know me so well? Ha, you're far too arrogant."

Zhu Yu stared intently at the person before him, trying to discern a clue from her: "Ha, sophistry! Although I haven't been back in Shengjing for long, the reputation of 'Miss Lu of the Duke of Zhenguo' is so great that it's hard for me not to know!"

Lu Xiaoyun rolled her eyes: "Don't you understand the concept of 'playing dumb to fool others'?" But her hands, hidden in her sleeves, were already clenched into fists.

A slight look of surprise flashed across Zhu Yu's eyes. Is that really the case?

He immediately concealed the surprise in his eyes, gave a cold smile, and gave Lu Xiaoyun an expression that said, "You think I would believe your nonsense?"

Lu Xiaoyun pursed her lips. In any case, she needed to dispel Zhu Yu's suspicions immediately. Otherwise, if he were to conclude that she was not the real Lu Xiaoyun, the consequences would be truly unpredictable.

"You think I didn't know you sent your secret guards to the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion to investigate me?" Lu Xiaoyun knew in her heart that the original owner could not possibly have discovered that someone was investigating her, but as far as Zhu Yu was concerned, it was impossible for him not to do these things.

Zhu Yu scrutinized Lu Xiaoyun, only to discover that An Yi was investigating her?

Impossible. Lu Xiaoyun has no martial arts skills at all, while An Yi is his head bodyguard, whose martial arts skills are second only to his. There are few people in the entire Great Zhou who can match him. It is absolutely impossible for him to have been discovered by a woman.

Unless, when An Yi was rummaging through her things, he didn't put them in the right place, and she noticed something amiss.

Is Lu Xiaoyun really that vigilant?

A person with such vigilance cannot be stupid or brainless.

Zhu Yu was no longer so sure.

Lu Xiaoyun continued, "You just saw what kind of person Fang is. My mother died in childbirth because of me. Although I am the eldest daughter of the Duke of Zhenguo, everyone in the large Lu family regards me as a jinx."

"Furthermore, my father and brother are stationed in the southern border region year-round, only returning once every three years. Even if they wanted to manage me, they couldn't. If I acted like your white moonlight, Ren Yong'an, always dominating my stepmother's children and becoming famous throughout Shengjing, do you think I would still be alive in the inner quarters?"

"My stepmother is being so 'good' to me now. If I don't act like an idiot, will my younger siblings in the mansion let me have a good life?"

A mocking smile played on her lips: "Zhu Yu, you come from the royal family, surely you understand something as simple as this?"

Zhu Yu's gaze deepened, and for a moment he was unsure whether he should believe her. He had lived in the harem for thirteen years, and those women had used every means possible for their children.

If he hadn't been abandoned by his father and mother so early on, those people wouldn't have even noticed him. In that ruthless palace, he wouldn't have survived to this day.

Zhu Yu took a deep breath. If the two of them hadn't swapped bodies, he could have had his guards secretly investigate this woman.

But now...

Seeing Zhu Yu's reaction, Lu Xiaoyun knew that he had temporarily believed her. To prevent him from discovering anything further, she turned and left.

Zhu Yu raised his eyes and stared intently at Lu Xiaoyun's receding figure. Could it be that this woman had been faking it all these years?

It is because of this body that I dare to treat that Fang family member like this.

Perhaps. If the inner quarters of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion were full of fat women like Lu Xiaoyun, she certainly wouldn't have survived this long if she hadn't put on an act.

Pretending to be weak to fool others, ha, Lu Xiaoyun, well done!