The next day, when Qingyou woke up, the swelling in her eyes had gone down.

After washing up, they went to the main courtyard, where the mother and daughter had breakfast together.

After putting down her chopsticks, Liu Yiyi looked at her daughter and said, "Your father has agreed to let you go see your brother, but you need to prepare for a few days before you go."

Qingyou smiled and said, "My parents are the best."

Liu Yiyi said, "Tomorrow you will come with me to the palace to see the Empress Dowager and tell her about your trip to Qinan Mountain."

Qingyou nodded: "Of course, the Empress Dowager dotes on her daughter the most. I originally wanted to go to the palace."

The original owner's father once went to fight on the frontier, and her mother took her eldest son with her to the frontier because the original owner was too young to travel long distances.

Therefore, the Empress Dowager took the original owner into the palace and raised her until she was eleven years old, and she returned to the Duke's mansion only after her parents returned to the capital.

That's why he and Fei Yu grew up together since childhood.

After returning home, the original owner would often visit the Empress Dowager in the palace, so she still had a token bestowed by the Empress Dowager, which allowed her to enter the palace whenever she wanted.

Liu Yiyi added, "Go and tell your grandmother as well."

When this was brought up, Qingyou thought for a moment and said, "Mother, didn't you investigate her and the second wife?"

"I feel that this grandmother is too fake, and the second wife's politeness and enthusiasm towards us are also particularly fake."

“They are all ambitious. Father, be careful not to let the second wife scheme against you.”

Her current grandmother was the second wife of the old Duke, her father was the son of the first wife, and the second master was the son of this second wife.

The third and fourth wives were born out of wedlock.

After the old Duke passed away, his second wife was unwilling to let her biological son separate from the family.

Moreover, if the family doesn't separate, the second branch can inherit the title if something happens to the eldest branch in the future.

She asked her father to promise that they wouldn't separate from the family while she was still alive.

In ancient times, there was a tradition that the parents did not separate their households. Even a second wife was still her father's mother in name only.

The Duke's mansion didn't lack the money to support several households, so it never divided its property.

On the surface, the step-grandmother and second aunt doted on the original owner, but after her backers passed away one after another, the two revealed their true colors.

After the second wife inherited the Duke's mansion, the original owner of this body was confined to the courtyard, and her food, clothing and daily necessities were not even as good as those of the maids around the second wife.

Liu Yiyi was taken aback. "Your father was wary before, but they've always been pretty honest."

Because the other party had never been a demon, and her second sister-in-law got along well with her, she hadn't thought about anything else.

Second Master was a fifth-rank civil official with no real power. He usually enjoyed socializing with scholars and often went out to compose poems. He didn't seem to have any ambition.

The couple gradually lowered their guard and began to take good care of the second wife.

Qingyou whispered in her ear, "You can know a person's face but not their heart."

"Mom, I just found out yesterday that my second cousin and that Lou Kui are also very close."

"I also overheard Fei Yu and Lou Kui talking. It turns out that my second cousin has been working for Fei Yu behind the scenes."

"And my second uncle, who keeps in touch with officials in Jiangnan in private."

"Would they do something like this if they had no ambition?"

Qingyou sighed, "I never thought Feiyu was that kind of person."

"So you and Father should be wary of the second wife, and it would be best to investigate her thoroughly."

The stepmother and the second wife were both very good at acting, which is why the original owner's parents were not wary of them.

The original owner's father died in battle, not by accident, but by someone.

The fact that her mother accidentally fell into the lake was orchestrated by the old lady and the second wife.

Therefore, Qingyou needs to remind them that the second wife's situation is not as simple as it seems.

In reality, he had always harbored the ambition to seize the Duke's mansion, but he had been patiently plotting in secret.

If someone else said that, Liu Yiyi would think it was an attempt to sow discord between them and the second wife.

The person who spoke to her was her daughter, and she listened to it.

Liu Yiyi is not a naive and innocent girl. She was originally a legitimate daughter raised by a powerful family and had been exposed to a lot of dark and shady things.

She nodded solemnly, "Okay, I'll have your father investigate."

If the second wife is engaging in so many underhanded tactics, it means that the couple has misjudged her all these years.

So, the ability to conceal one's ambition without deliberately revealing it indicates that one must have great ambition and goals.

What else could it be? Only the title of Duke Zhenguo and the entire Duke's Mansion.

Qingyou didn't go out that day; she stayed in her room and aged more than a dozen identical collections of poems.

It includes all the classic Tang and Song poems, along with their sources, the artistic conception at the time, and who wrote them.

According to the timeline, there will be a literary gathering three months later, which will not only be attended by prominent Confucian scholars of the time, but also by many scions of noble families and scholars with official titles.

Lou Kui was taken by Fei Yu to participate.

He immediately transformed into a plagiarist, reciting numerous classic Tang and Song poems, which amazed everyone.

He also wrote a brilliant article.

On the spot, a great scholar felt that Lou Kui had a special talent and wanted to take her as his student.

Lou Kui's identity prevented her from participating in the imperial examinations, but she could disguise herself as a man and mingle among scholars and merchants. Her purpose in attending the literary gathering was to gain fame and increase her luck value, so she agreed to become an apprentice without hesitation.

Because of this literary gathering, Lou Kui became famous in Beijing's literary circles.

She also presented herself as indifferent to fame and fortune, which made her even more admired by many literati who pursued a carefree lifestyle.

Afterwards, Lou Kui also copied various excellent articles and model texts left by ancient celebrities provided by the system and used them as his own, thus completely establishing his reputation in literary circles.

She also used this opportunity to befriend many influential scions of prominent families and scholars, which elevated her status.

Qingyou would naturally not allow Lou Kuiwen to become famous for plagiarism.

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