Chapter 318 I've never heard of such a good relationship.

If a relationship between a man and a woman is merely ambiguous and lacks any substantial physical intimacy, it's not difficult to end. Offering some material or other forms of compensation will suffice.

However, things become complicated once there's a deeper physical intimacy. First, regardless of gender, once this relationship begins, feelings towards each other change psychologically. Second, women are generally very clear-headed, and only the most despicable people can be so heartless after sex.

Clearly, while Ding Shaojie wasn't a good person, he wasn't the worst kind either. Moreover, he genuinely liked Zhu Weiyu. Afterwards, Zhu Weiyu cried and said she would follow him from then on, asking for no recognition or commitment.

Even if the Marquis of Qiyang's mansion had fallen on hard times, it was still a marquis's mansion. While Ding Shaojie held a fourth-rank official position, it wasn't particularly prominent in the capital, and the Ding family was a clan from outside the capital. In comparison, Ding Shaojie felt it was a great injustice to have Zhu Weiyu, a young and beautiful daughter of a marquis, as his mistress.

Therefore, in the days that followed, Ding Shaojie showed Zhu Weiyu a great deal of pity. In the six months since they met, he acquired numerous properties for her. As for Ding Shaojie's promise to divorce his wife and marry Zhu Weiyu as his legal wife, only he himself knows whether he truly meant it.

However, just as the two were deeply in love and their affection was growing stronger, Marquis Qiyang suddenly burst into the room and trapped them on the bed. This led to the incident where Ding Shaojie wrote a memorial to the throne.

After recounting the entire incident, Ding Shaojie looked remorseful and couldn't help but say, "I suspect that when I first met Zhu Weiyu, it was already a trap. I really had no choice. Marquis Qiyang threatened me that if I didn't write that memorial, he would report me to the Prefect of the Capital. I was afraid of being dismissed from my post if people found out, so I agreed. I never expected... I never expected the result to be like this..."

In the end, Ding Shaojie burst into tears. He had also achieved fame at a young age and had a reputation for excellence since childhood. Whether in the imperial examinations or in his official career, everything had gone smoothly. He never expected that he would be ruined by a woman in the end.

Seeing him sobbing uncontrollably, Ding Taiming and Ding Yuxi were naturally heartbroken. This was the pride of their Ding family, someone they had raised with all their might to bring glory to their clan. They had even imagined that if Ding Shaojie established himself in the capital and even rose to the rank of a first-grade official, their Ding family would become the Ding family of the capital, a change of social standing.

but.....

The expressions on their faces were a mixture of disappointment and hatred.

Jiang Yu, of course, didn't care about their feelings. After looking at Ding Shaojie in silence for a while, she asked, "What do you want?"

Upon hearing this, the three members of the Ding family's eyes lit up. Ding Shaojie wiped away his tears, turned to look at his father and grandfather, and then looked at Jiang Yu and said, "I beg the Duke of Chu to help me through this crisis. If I can overcome this danger, I will follow your lead from now on."

“Our entire Ding family follows the lead of Duke Ma of Chu,” Ding Taiming immediately added.

"Heh!" Jiang Yu glanced at the three members of the Ding family and chuckled. The three members of the Ding family all lowered their heads. They were of no use to the Duke of Chu.

"I've come here today to find out who's behind the Marquis of Qiyang," Jiang Yu said, looking at Ding Shaojie. "That's your only value."

Her expression and voice were extremely calm, yet they exerted immense pressure on the three members of the Ding family. Their eyes met, and for a moment they didn't know how to respond. None of them were fools; they knew that what Jiang Yu was about to ask them to do was definitely not simple. It could even destroy their entire family.

Seeing their hesitation, Jiang Yu lowered her gaze, picked up her cup, and drank her tea, giving them time to think. The tea at Tingfeng Pavilion was excellent, with a sweet, orchid-like fragrance.

"This tea is quite good." At this moment, Prince Rui turned slightly to the side, closing the distance between the two of them, and said in a low voice.

Jiang Yu glanced at him. He hadn't said a word before, but now he was commenting on the tea. But that was just his personality, and she didn't like others interfering in her work.

"It's really nice, with a faint orchid fragrance," Jiang Yu said softly.

Prince Rui nodded, glanced at the steaming tea in his cup, and said, "It must be a new brewing method. If you like it, take some back with you when you leave."

"Um."

The two spoke in hushed tones, one no longer lost in thought, and the other no longer feeling the oppressive aura of a superior, making the atmosphere in the room much more relaxed. The three members of the Ding family, however, were even more uneasy.

They had never heard of such a good relationship between the Chu Kingdom Palace and Prince Rui, and Ding Shaojie's memorial was aimed at harming Prince Rui. How could this not make them even more uneasy?

The three of them dared not exchange too many words. After a while, Ding Taiming saw that Jiang Yu and Prince Rui had reached a point in their conversation, so he stood up, cupped his hands, and said, "To be honest, Duke of Chu, we also want to know who is behind Marquis Qiyang. If it weren't for that person, our family wouldn't have suffered such a disaster."

This means that you have agreed.

Of course, at this point, they had no choice but to agree. Jiang Yu gave them time to hesitate simply because she didn't want to push things too far and wanted them to willingly do what followed.

"Hmm." Jiang Yu gave a light "hmm," sat up straight, and once again displayed the aura of a superior. "If you want to know who is behind Marquis Qiyang, Marquis Qiyang has to reveal his true colors, or make Marquis Qiyang turn against the person behind him."

Ding Taiming glanced at Prince Rui, who was lost in thought again, and knew that he really didn't care about anything. He then looked at Jiang Yu and respectfully asked, "What does the Duke of Chu want us to do?"

Jiang Yu smiled, "Such a thing, I don't think I need to teach you, Confucian Master Ding."

"This..." Ding Taiming looked troubled, but Jiang Yu seemed not to notice. She turned to Prince Rui and said, "Your Highness, do you have any further questions?"

"No." He stood up as he said this.

Jiang Yu also stood up, and the two walked out side by side. Ding Taiming opened his mouth as if to say something, but ultimately swallowed his words. He wanted Jiang Yu to teach him the specifics of how to do things, because he didn't want to bear the responsibility if things went wrong.

But now, Jiang Yu clearly didn't want to reveal everything. If he asked again, it would displease the other party. Neither the Duke of Chu nor Prince Rui were people they couldn't afford to offend.

"Sigh!" Ding Taiming sighed heavily and slumped into his chair.

Ding Yuxi and Ding Shaojie both looked at him with pained expressions, their eyes asking him what to do next. Ding Taiming looked at the two of them and said weakly, "Let's talk about it when we get back."

“Father,” Ding Yuxi leaned closer to Ding Taiming and whispered, “Don’t you know Tang Daru? Why don’t you visit the Tang family and ask Tang Daru to say a few words to us in front of the Duke of Chu? After all, the Duke of Chu’s grandmother came from the Tang family.”