She knew that the only person in the family who loved her the most was Old Madam Zhu.

"Grandmother, save me, sob sob sob... Your granddaughter-in-law knows she was wrong."

"Grandma, save me! Baozhu will never do it again."

When Old Zhu heard her call her "Grandma," she recalled the bitter days when she and her younger brother depended on each other for survival in their childhood.

Baozhu is her brother's most beloved granddaughter. If she is beaten to death, how can she explain it to her brother?

Old Madam Zhu was anxious, but she couldn't say anything. After all, Baozhu was a daughter of the Zhu family, and it would be easy for her to give others cause for criticism if she spoke out.

She could only give Wang a meaningful look, and although Wang was unwilling, she dared not disobey her mother-in-law.

Wang could only come out and say a few words symbolically, mainly saying that Xiao Zhu was weak and could not withstand twenty strokes of the cane.

It's a human life, after all. Even if we're going to kill him, we have to wait for the Zhu family to arrive.

If the Zhu family hadn't sent anyone yet, and Little Zhu had died at the Lu family's house, then the General's Mansion would be in the wrong.

The old clan chief remained unmoved. After ten strokes of the cane, Little Zhu fainted, and only then did the old clan chief order the beating to stop.

The Zhu family sent people over very quickly.

The Zhu family originally farmed, but they came to the capital with the help of the old Zhu family and started doing business. In recent years, they have lived a relatively prosperous life.

When Grandpa Zhu learned that his granddaughter had committed such a heinous act and had been caught red-handed, he knew that there was no point in saying anything.

"Since this rebellious daughter has already married into your Lu family and committed such a grave mistake, you may divorce her or kill her as you see fit."

The old patriarch said directly, "Take her back and discipline her yourselves. Our Lu family dares not keep a daughter-in-law like that."

"If you have the money, give her a letter of divorce."

Lu Youcai couldn't wait to go back and write a letter of divorce, then have the Zhu family take him away with them.

After finishing the business, it was almost dawn, and everyone went back to rest, looking sleepy.

Su Yujiao didn't wait for the outcome and went to bed early. Little Zhu's health was no more important than her own.

The next day at noon, when Zhou returned and heard that Xiao Zhu had cursed her grandson, she was so angry that she gave Xiao Zhu a good scolding.

"Jiaojiao, why do I feel like these two kids look a bit like Lao Qi?"

"Could it be that this child is truly destined for you?"

Mrs. Zhou held the child and looked at him from left to right, and the more she looked, the more he resembled the child.

Su Yujiao felt a little uneasy. She was really afraid that Lu Ziqian's genes were strong and the child looked too much like him, which would arouse their suspicion.

"It doesn't look like it at all, Mother, please don't try to comfort me."

"It doesn't look like it at all to me. A newborn baby who is only one or two days old is all wrinkled and can't even open their eyes. What can you tell from that?"

Zhou smiled and said, "That's true, but I just feel it's somewhat similar."

"It's good that the child looks like you, so that people won't gossip about him in the future."

"You sleep a little longer, I'll take them to the wet nurse."

"Even though you don't actually need to observe postpartum confinement, you should still pretend to, and take the opportunity to nourish yourself properly, you're too thin."

"Eat more brown sugar and egg soup, you'll look better if you gain some weight."

Su Yujiao nodded: "I'll listen to you, Mother. I have a good appetite lately."

She definitely needs to replenish her energy, and she plans to stay in bed for sixty days. Although it wasn't a C-section, it was twins, and her body is indeed very weak.

Two months have passed in the blink of an eye. The two children are fair-skinned and chubby, growing more and more adorable, and their features are becoming more and more like Lu Ziqian's.

This led to Zhou being very fond of the two children, even though she knew in her heart that they were not her biological grandchildren, but she couldn't help it because the two children looked like her son.

Moreover, she felt an inexplicable sense of closeness when she saw the two children, as if she were even closer to them than to her own grandchildren.

Therefore, Su Yujiao hasn't held the baby much in the past two months; it's either Xiao Tao or Zhou Shi who holds the baby, and the two sisters-in-law also adore the baby.

In addition, the two children are really well-behaved. They don't cry or fuss at night, and they don't tire us out during the day. They are well-behaved when someone holds them, and they babble and suck their hands when no one holds them.

In short, Su Yujiao rarely heard the two children cry, and she couldn't help but sigh again that they were truly two grateful babies.

The New Year is just around the corner. Lu Ziqian has been away for almost a year and there is still no news of his return. Moreover, he is sending fewer and fewer letters home.

They used to send a letter every two weeks, but recently they haven't sent one for two or three months.

Although Su Yujiao neither read his letter nor replied to it.

But the decreasing number of letters is not a good sign.

She guessed that he might be in danger, or that the battle situation was not good and he was unable to attend to other matters.

On the eve of the Lunar New Year, a palace banquet was held. Zhou received an invitation from the Empress, asking her to bring Su Yujiao to the palace to attend the banquet.

After all, Lu Ziqian risked his life on the battlefield, and the imperial court should treat his wife, children, and elderly parents well.

Moreover, the Lu family is the Empress's maternal family, so they should be invited even more.

“Jiaojiao, if you don’t want to go, you don’t have to. The Empress won’t mind.” Madam Zhou knew that she had never liked attending these banquets.

However, this time was an exception. Su Yujiao said, "Mother, the Empress has invited me, how can I not go?"

"What's more, I've also prepared a gift for the Emperor and Empress."

Zhou smiled and said, "It's good that you're willing to go."

"Then pack your things and let's leave early. Dress up nicely so that all the ladies will envy me for having such a good daughter-in-law."

Zhou smiled with pride.

Su Yujiao nodded, not wanting to spoil her mother-in-law's happy mood, but she didn't dress up.

Instead, she dressed very modestly, in a light red pleated ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), with only a magnolia flower in her hair and an antique, lustrous mutton-fat jade pendant around her waist. As she walked, the pendants jingled, making her look like a lotus emerging from the water. With just a little dressing up, she surpassed countless women.

Seeing that she was dressed so simply, Zhou asked, "Jiaojiao, why aren't you wearing that set of twelve ruby ​​headdresses?"

Su Yujiao smiled shyly: "That set is too expensive, your daughter-in-law is reluctant to wear it."

Mrs. Zhou scolded, "What's so valuable about it? Things are bought to be worn."

"Besides, if you don't wear it tonight, when will you ever have another chance to wear it?"

"Go put it on quickly, or people will think that our General's Mansion has mistreated our daughter-in-law."

Su Yujiao stood still: "Mother, I don't want to be too flashy. I think this outfit is fine."

“Besides, my husband isn’t home. Who am I dressing up for? It would only invite gossip.”

Mrs. Zhou was taken aback; Jiao Jiao's consideration was indeed more thoughtful.

She had oversimplified things; she only thought about making her daughter-in-law look beautiful, but she didn't realize that it might bring her trouble.

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law arrived at the palace early, and before the banquet even started, the Empress called them over for a chat.

The Empress held Su Yujiao's hand and kept criticizing the Crown Prince, saying that the Crown Prince had handled that matter very unfairly.

Then she said she had sent people to secretly protect Su Yujing, and told her not to worry too much.

The Empress was very approachable, and her eyes were full of pity and heartache when she looked at Su Yujiao.

Soon, the banquet began, and after several rounds of drinks, ministers began to present New Year's gifts to the Emperor and Empress.

"Your Majesty, I would also like to present you with a congratulatory gift."