Zhu Jiayu turned her head, looked up blankly, and was about to curtsy when she was stopped by the Duchess.

She carefully examined the girl's appearance and quickly matched her with the portrait on the Xuan paper.

Her expression grew even more amiable as she asked, "You must be a young lady from the Zhu family? I heard from Yan He that your nickname is A-Yu, so I'll call you A-Yu, shall I?"

Seeing Zhu Jiayu nod, the Duchess smiled and said, "How long have you been standing here? Are you here to see Yan He? Why don't you go in?"

Zhu Jiayu's expression was slightly bitter: "He's angry with me, and I'm afraid he won't see me. But he said he wanted to read the 'Mathematical Classic' and eat the savory pastries from Xiangfenglou, so I went and bought them for him... I wonder if Madam could pass them on to Ayu? Ayu would be extremely grateful..."

The Duchess frowned, her tone not very pleasant: "He told you he wanted to read the 'Mathematical Classic' and wanted to eat some savory snacks?"

She knew her son; Wei Qinglou was clearly making things difficult for the girl. He had no interest in reading books on mathematics. As for snacks, he only ever ate from Ruixiangzhai.

"Yes." Zhu Jiayu nodded.

"Come, come in with me." Madam Wang took her hand and led her inside. The maidservant beside her had already received her instructions to invite the Third Young Master to the flower hall.

Just as Wang led Zhu Jiayu into the flower hall, Wei Qinglou arrived as well.

"Mother, what do you want to see me about—" He was taken aback when he saw the young girl beside his mother. "Ayu...?"

Kneel down!

Zhu Jiayu quickly stood up: "Madam, I don't know what he did wrong. It's alright if you scold him, but please don't upset yourself."

"Daughters are so sweet, unlike this brat who makes my heart ache all the time." The Duchess sighed slowly and glared at her son.

Wei Qinglou: ...?

Is there any justice left in this world?