No longer having to face the temple keeper every day, even though it was torturous, made Zhao Wan feel lighter. At the same time, she had more time to appreciate the Bodhi flower in her heart.

Song Huiru was the second daughter of the prime minister. Her older brother was the eldest son of the legitimate wife, and she also had an older sister who was born out of wedlock. The difference between legitimate and illegitimate children meant that they were treated differently.

She was a pampered flower, never having seen the evil in the world. She was innocent and naive. Because she was spoiled since childhood, she was spoiled, but she never did anything bad.

Her two maids had served her since childhood. If it weren't for Zhu Zhenghe's suggestion, they would never have considered becoming concubines. Compared to Zhu Zhenghe, they had deeper feelings for Song Huiru.

However, they also knew that it would be better for Song Huiru to become concubines, rather than for others to come and cause trouble in the home.

When Zhao Wan entered the room, they had tried to test whether she would pose a threat to Song Huiru, but found that Zhao Wan was very well-behaved and even seemed to have no feelings for Zhu Zhenghe at all.

Upon hearing their description, Song Huiru guessed that perhaps Zhu Zhenghe had simply found a figurehead to silence others.

Thinking this, she couldn't help but feel happy and a little shy. She felt that she was the happiest girl, whether at home or here.

She had heard of many new brides who suffered at the hands of their mothers-in-law, but she was in charge of the household from the moment she entered the family. No one disrespected her, and her husband doted on her. She felt very fortunate.

However, she also became somewhat curious about Zhao Wan because of this. Logically speaking, someone like her, an ordinary person who had suddenly become rich and married into a newly wealthy family, shouldn't be so indifferent to worldly desires.

Every day, the concubines had to pay their respects to her, the principal wife, and she had once glanced at Zhao Wan.

With a thin and frail body, pale cheeks, and a pair of narrow, almond-shaped eyes that were always drooping, she was so quiet that sometimes Song Huiru would forget her existence when talking to others.

However, Song Huiru would often see her in the mansion. When they suddenly met, she could see her reflection reflected in those bright and joyful eyes that were always lowered. But in just a moment, those eyes would lower again, and her expression would no longer be clear.

She always wanted to say something to Zhao Wan, but when she opened her mouth, she didn't know what to say.

She felt that Zhao Wan was too humble. Even though her status was low, she was not a vicious mistress and had never made things difficult for her. Why was she so subservient to her?

Furthermore, she really liked those eyes—slightly narrow, almond-shaped eyes, very beautiful, but they were rarely seen.

Zhu Zhenghe was too busy, always occupied with official duties during the day, and had to attend social events when she had free time, so she was unable to conceive in the early days of her marriage.

It was only after he took a concubine at home that he had fewer unnecessary social engagements and more free time to be intimate with her. He did not touch any of the concubines, which made Song Huiru feel both happy and guilty.

Little did she know, Zhu Zhenghe was simply annoyed; dealing with one was enough for him, and he had no interest in coaxing another.

As a result, Song Huiru became pregnant.

Unfortunately, even so, Zhu Zhenghe couldn't spend much time with him.

Zhu Zhenghe was a born general. He only began to learn military strategy when he studied martial arts under a famous master. In just over a month, he was equivalent to others in a year, which is why he was able to become the top scholar in the imperial examination.

Therefore, Zhu Zhenghe's promotion made him even busier, and he often stayed at his office.

While Song Huiru was resting at home alone during her pregnancy, she often encountered Zhao Wan, who was secretly watching her from a corner in the yard.

She felt that she looked just like a little kitten, looking at her pitifully.

Song Huiru recalled Zhu Zhenghe's warning to be careful of Zhao Wan, and she also noticed that she seemed to be seeing Zhao Wan more and more often after she became pregnant.

She carefully had someone keep an eye on her to see if Zhao Wan had done anything to harm her, but she found nothing. Zhao Wan hadn't done anything; she had just been watching her often.

Song Huiru was puzzled and did not understand Zhao Wan's intentions, but since Zhao Wan had no hostility towards her, she was happy to befriend her. When they met, they would chat for a while or share some snacks.

Zhao Wan remained quiet, but she responded to every word Song Huiru said, and she ate the snacks that were given to her without any suspicion.

Such behavior made Song Huiru feel a little embarrassed. Zhao Wan trusted her too much, and if she intended to harm her, she probably wouldn't have enough lives to spare.

After several visits, Song Huiru and Zhao Wan became quite familiar with each other. Although they were still not close even when they were face to face, and Zhao Wan still spoke very little, Song Huiru felt that they had become closer.

Unbeknownst to her, Zhao Wan both wanted to be close to her and wanted to stay away from her.

She longed to be close to beauty and couldn't help but want to touch it, but she was afraid, afraid that one day she would go mad.

At first, she only observed Song Huiru from afar, but as she slowly got closer, a longing arose in her heart—a longing to possess beauty, but she didn't deserve it!

She was too dirty, while Song Huiru was too clean. She refused to get any closer; she didn't want to defile or taint her.

But thinking about it, as long as things stay like this, she can keep watching her, which is the kind of peaceful life she wants, quietly watching her live her wonderful life.

Zhao Wan knew that Zhu Zhenghe did not love Song Huiru, and she also knew that if Zhu Zhenghe needed to abandon Song Huiru, he would do so without hesitation.

So she tried to do something so that Song Huiru would always be like this, living the life she wanted, keeping her clean and undisturbed for the rest of her life, unaware of the evils of the world.

However, Zhao Wan learned something by chance.

She had no intention of doing what Zhu Zhenghe did, but that day she bumped into someone who came out of Zhu Zhenghe's study.

As I passed by her, I chuckled and called her name, and asked her a question.

Do you really think you've escaped?

Zhao Wan froze, her fierce gaze fixed on that person.

He was a man without hair or beard, and his voice was high-pitched and soft, so he was a eunuch, and he came from the palace.

After saying that, the man ignored Zhao Wan and left.

Zhao Wan became suspicious of Zhu Zhenghe. If he was also involved... she would definitely kill him!

Inside the Zhuangyuan Mansion, within the array set up by Bai Hao, Qin Nan watched the man leave, feeling somewhat uneasy.

Qin Nan: "Is that the person we're looking for behind the scenes?"

Bai Hao: "Yes and no. It is indeed him, but that is not his real body, it is just an illusion. Just like we spent several months inside this painting, but only two or three days outside the painting."

Qin Nan: "How much longer do we have to wait? Luo Lin shows no signs of waking up at all. According to you, the Song family is about to be destroyed, and Song Huiru..."

Bai Hao patted Qin Nan's head: "All of this happened a long, long time ago. Even if something changes here, it won't make any difference."

Qin Nan fell silent upon hearing this.