As she was thinking, her eyes caught sight of a group of young noblemen walking towards Merlin, led by Yan Beimo, Xie Xuan, Cui Linyuan, and Wang Hezhan.

Perhaps her gaze was too intense, for the man glanced at her, and upon seeing that it was her, a hint of mockery seemed to flash in his eyes.

Xie Rongyue tightened her grip on the handkerchief and looked away.

In order to avoid marrying that old man, she privately talked with several young men from prominent families. The circle of prominent families is only so big, so the rumors must have spread.

She couldn't help but sigh inwardly. The main family was too powerful, and she couldn't afford to offend any of the young masters she could talk to.

After much deliberation, she decided that it would be better to secure her position once and for all by attaching herself to the most powerful eldest son of the Wang family, thus freeing her from the constraints of her master's household.

But this Wang Hezhan seems to really dislike her.

Chu Changning noticed Xie Rongyue's absent-mindedness and followed her gaze to look behind her, where he saw Yan Beimo.

She immediately looked away, not wanting to see.

"Sister-in-law, the flowers over there in the plum grove are blooming beautifully. Let's go take a look together."

Chu Changning remained noncommittal and followed.

The three of them went to the plum grove to admire the flowers for a while, and then drank tea and chatted under the pavilion.

Wang Wan was in poor health and couldn't stand the wind after being exposed to it for a while.

Xie Rongyue said, "I'll go get you your cloak."

Wang Wan, who was just trying to get rid of the person, smiled and agreed.

As soon as everyone left, Wang Wan took Chu Changning's hand.

Her hands were cold, and felt almost lifeless.

"My sister-in-law seems to dislike me?"

Chu Changning was slightly taken aback, then smiled and said, "You flatter me."

“I can tell, my sister-in-law doesn’t want to be close to me.”

Wang Wan smiled mischievously and winked at her.

But the next second, her face turned deathly pale, and she coughed violently a few times.

Chu Changning noticed the faint bloodstains on her handkerchief and frowned.

"Let me take you home."

Wang Wan shook her head weakly, "It's okay, I'm used to it."

She was frail and sickly from childhood, living in that desolate, hellish place, and she had a great fondness for vibrant and cheerful people.

She knew that Xie Rongyue approached her because of her elder brother, but she liked Xie Rongyue's vivacity.

Just like how she liked Chu Changning.

In the few times they met, she was like the bright and dazzling sunshine, making her heart feel warm and passionate.

“My relationship with my cousin is only that of brother and sister. The rumors are just rumors. He treats me well because he is my brother. Please don’t misunderstand me, sister-in-law.”

To be honest, Chu Changning really didn't care about any of this. Who Yan Beimo was nice to was none of her business.

Seeing that she remained silent, Wang Wan said frankly, "My mother has found me another marriage, the second son of the Xie family. I will be getting married soon."

Marriages between powerful families are often based on power and influence, and they don't care about the lives of the members. As long as the man's surname is Xie and the woman's surname is Wang, and they are from the legitimate branches of both families, that's all that matters.

Xie Erlang married a wife in his early years, but she died not long after. He was also crippled from fighting on the battlefield many times and never remarried.

Ever since her marriage to the Yan family was called off, the eldest wife of the main branch of the family had been trying to send her to a northern lord to consolidate the Jiangdong regime.

But she was unwilling to become a puppet in the war, so she secretly sought out Xie Erlang.

Since both of them were near death anyway, they hit it off immediately. He stepped forward to propose marriage to the Wang family, and the First Madam dared not disagree.

The couple's marriage is about to be finalized.

Chu Changning said, "A perfect match is made in heaven."

She was not very familiar with the complex and intertwined relationships among the prominent families of Yandu, nor did she know who Xie Erlang was, so she simply offered a few words of congratulations.

Hearing her words, Wang Wan chuckled self-deprecatingly, "A perfect match, indeed a perfect match."

After saying that, she looked at the blue sky and clear clouds outside, her beautiful eyes shimmering.

"Women in this world suffer greatly, and who can truly be their own master?"

Her voice was soft, and Chu Changning didn't hear her clearly.

At this moment, Xie Rongyue returned with the cloak. Before they could exchange more than a few words, the maid behind them spoke up to remind them.

"Girl, it's time to go back and take your medicine."

When the topic of taking medicine came up, a barely perceptible look of disgust flashed in Wang Wan's eyes, but she still got up and said goodbye to the two of them.

"I spend my free time at home. Sister-in-law, you can come visit me whenever you have time."

"good."

The maid helped her back to drink her medicine.

Once she left, Xie Rongyue also made an excuse to leave.

Chu Changning shook the teacup in his hand, and when he heard the noble ladies not far away gossiping about Xie Rongyue's back, he lowered his eyes.

These upper-class nobles have so many romantic escapades; every time I attend a banquet, I hear a lot of gossip.

Not wanting to stay any longer, she decided to sneak away.

Unexpectedly, just as they rounded the corridor, they bumped into someone.

The maidservant was so frightened that she immediately knelt down on the ground, crying, "Madam, spare me! Madam, spare me!"

Chu Changning frowned. "It's alright, get up."

She walked straight to the outer courtyard, but before she had taken more than a few steps, she suddenly felt dizzy and her body was filled with heat.

An alarm bell rang in my mind.

Chu Changning quickly looked at her skirt but found nothing. She then rummaged through her purse and discovered that it contained pills.

She was slightly annoyed; it must have been that maid who did it.

She wasn't a doctor and didn't know what kind of pill it was, so she quickly threw it away, clutching her forehead as she ran outside.

"Princess, why are you running? We've been waiting for you for ages."

A group of people suddenly appeared behind the artificial hill and blocked her way.

Yan Liangyu!

Chu Changning's palms suddenly tightened, and he took a few steps back.

"He actually dared to lay a hand on me for your sake. Today, I'll make him taste what pain really means."

Yan Liangyu's face was contorted, and her ears were wrapped in gauze, covering most of her face.

The guards rushed forward, and Chu Changning cried for help, but no sound came out.

She was shocked and immediately dodged away, kicked the attacking guard away, snatched the knife from his hand, and stabbed it into his body.

Yan Liangyu's eyes were filled with malice.

He wanted to ruin this woman, to make Yan Beimo lose face in his family, and to make him a laughingstock in Yandu.

"Go, drag her inside."

There is enough space inside the artificial hill for three to five people to play.

Chu Changning retreated while dealing with the attacking guards.

The turbulent heat in her stomach grew increasingly intense, causing her cheeks to flush and burn with discomfort.

It's mimosa powder.

Jinling was illiterate and had never heard of anyone being skilled in martial arts.

A hint of doubt flashed in Yan Liangyu's eyes, but he couldn't care less about such suspicions; the thought of destroying Yan Beimo had taken over.

"Don't worry about her, she's dead, so be it."

Upon hearing this, the guards stopped dodging and immediately attacked with ruthless force.

Chu Changning had never dared to reveal his true skills, fearing suspicion, but now he could no longer hide his abilities and used all his strength to deal with these guards.

Fortunately, they didn't bring any expert assassins or secret guards, so she could barely handle them.

However, the effects of the medicine were taking hold of her, making it difficult for her to bear.

She ran as fast as she could, because the area was quite remote and there hadn't been many people around.

There was a pavilion ahead, and she quickly rushed inside to hide.

"Go catch them!"

Yan Liangyu chased after him in a fit of rage.

"General, that looks like Xie Sanlang's attic."

Xie Xuan?!

Yan Liangyu angrily kicked the guard away, "Idiot, how could you let her get away?"