Upon hearing the servant's report, Madam Wang hurriedly comforted her daughter with a few words and then left.

Shi Lan rubbed her chin. If there were no accidents, the news of her falling into the water would have spread throughout the entire capital circle. At this time, someone would actually come to visit the Wang family. Shi Lan began to be curious about this Grand Scholar Longtu.

Inside Qixia Courtyard, Madam Wang sat upright in a chair. After reading the letter presented to her, she sighed and said to the elderly woman bowing below, "I am grateful for your understanding, sister-in-law. This matter has not yet been resolved, so I cannot come to your door. I will come to apologize after everything is settled."

The old woman replied respectfully, "My mistress was worried you would do this, which is why she sent me. I've heard that the lady of that Marquis's mansion is not easy to deal with. My mistress said this matter isn't so simple. We'll have to wait and see in the next day or two. If there's no news from them, they must have other plans. Please make your plans early and don't waste time, lest you ruin your young lady's life." The old woman glanced at Madam Wang, whose face had clearly darkened, and said, "Before coming here, my mistress repeatedly told me to tell you to relax, that nothing is insurmountable. Our two families have always been close. Although Madam Wang isn't your sister-in-law, she's closer than a sister-in-law. Even if we can't become related by marriage, we're still blood relatives. We can't let anyone bully you like this. As for the Zhou family, my master sent someone to handle it last night, and we expect to have results in the next day or two. Please don't get upset, and don't let this upset you."

The old woman spoke softly and sincerely, her words filled with the warmth of family, which made Wang's eyes redden and her voice choke with emotion.

"Everything was going so well, but then this unexpected turn of events happened. My sister-in-law isn't angry with me at all; she's even made plans for me so thoughtfully. I'm truly..."

Wang's heart was filled with turmoil, and she covered her eyes with a handkerchief, tears streaming down her face.

The old woman quickly said, "Please don't be sad. If anything happens because of this, my mistress will be very worried."

Wang took a breath and tried to calm herself down.

The old woman continued, "Madam planned to come early this morning, but Master said that your matter is still undecided and asked her to wait a while. Those people have always had the habit of making wild accusations. If they knew about the relationship between our two families, and Master were to interfere, his words would already raise suspicions, and the effect would be much less significant."

Wang nodded, her expression softening slightly.

Her senior brother was extremely cunning. From childhood to adulthood, she had never seen anyone gain an advantage from him. As long as he was willing to lend a helping hand, Wang Shi had nothing to worry about.

After the old woman finished delivering her message, she saw that Wang Shi was calm and no longer so agitated, so she didn't keep her any longer.

Wang originally ordered the old woman to take those Huainan local products back with her, but before she could finish speaking, she remembered what her senior brother had told his sister-in-law, so she changed her mind and had the old woman, Huang, who was serving her, give her a good beating before personally seeing her off at the second gate.

The brocade curtain opened and closed again. Wang Shi, feeling somewhat exhausted, got up and went to the side room. She sat slumped in a day chair, slowly rubbing her forehead, pondering how to deal with the sisters-in-law of the Earl's mansion in the next two days, especially the trouble caused by her second uncle's family.

Two days have passed in the blink of an eye. The Earl's mansion is quiet. The apology and explanation that Wang Shi was looking forward to have not arrived yet. When she went to pay her respects to the old lady in the morning, Liu Shi's sarcastic words made Wang Shi feel even more suffocated.

The Marquis's family's attitude, as if nothing had happened, began to make Madam Wang panic. If things continued like this, she worried that the old lady would really disregard sentiment and send her daughter to the family temple.

Wang was extremely anxious, and worried that her daughter would also become anxious and upset, so she could only force herself to come to Qingxi Courtyard to comfort Shi Lan.

Seeing her elegant and dignified mother grow thinner and thinner at an alarming rate, Shi Lan felt a pang of pity. In addition, she suspected that Haoze's clone was this prince, so Shi Lan wanted to say some good things about her mother to prevent her from having any bad thoughts about him in the future.

“Mother, don’t worry. Just look at how that young master was able to leave quietly after saving people. I know he’s a reasonable and sensible person. I believe he will give us an explanation eventually. Right now, the most important thing is for us to stay calm and not let those gossips throw us off balance. We can’t let the Marquis’s family look down on us before they even come to visit. Otherwise, even if I marry into the family, they will still look down on me. Rather than living like that for the rest of my life, I might as well go to the family temple and live a peaceful life.”

Wang was startled and quickly hugged Shi Lan, saying, "Don't talk nonsense. Do you think it's easy to enter the family temple? If you go there, your mother will never see you again. Do you want your mother to cry herself to death?"

Shi Lan nestled softly into Wang Shi's arms and said coquettishly, "Okay, I know, I won't say it again."

Wang gently patted her shoulder, realizing that she had been too hasty, and the anger that had been building up inside her dissipated considerably with her daughter's comforting words.

In the imperial court, Zhou Yunli, the Vice Minister of Works, knelt on the ground, covered in sweat. Several newspapers were thrown down from the golden throne to accuse him of using false invoices to obtain public funds and embezzling public money.

Taking advantage of the opportunity to kowtow and admit his mistakes, Zhou Yunli quickly glanced at the memorials thrown in front of him, and found that he was indeed responsible for half of the things mentioned.

Zhou Yunli's clothes were completely see-through from the back. He cursed inwardly. It was a common practice in the court to exaggerate the facts. He was just following the trend. How did he end up being reported in the open?

Above, the emperor was still shouting and cursing angrily.

Zhou Yunli glanced at the people standing to his left and right, secretly wondering who had done the dirty work.

The people standing on either side of the throne all lowered their eyes and clasped their hands, their faces solemn and righteous.

Zhou Yunli sighed silently, knowing that no one would say a good word for him after this incident. So he simply prostrated himself on the ground, kowtowed repeatedly, and took the initiative to admit his mistake, begging the emperor to give him a severe punishment.

The emperor was kind-hearted and saw that he was sincere in admitting his mistake and that the amount he had falsely reported was not large. So he ordered him to be dismissed from his post. After the false reports were investigated and all the money was paid back, he and his family left the capital and were never employed again.

Upon hearing the verdict, Zhou Yunli remained prostrate on the ground for a long time, unable to get up.

As the emperor left, the officials gradually dispersed, leaving the empty hall looking much older. Zhou Yunli, who was more than ten years old, stood up with blank eyes.

The eunuch stepped forward and removed his official robes, letting him stagger out of the palace gate.

Outside the palace gates, Marquis Zhu Xian of Changqing sighed to the Grand Master of the Palace beside him.

People passed by one after another, each glancing at him with a puzzled expression, but when he turned his gaze towards them, they turned away as if they had never seen him before.

At first, Zhu Xian didn't pay attention and thought it was unintentional when people looked at him. But as more and more people looked at him, the doctor also realized something was wrong and quickly made an excuse to leave.

With no one around to talk to, Zhu Xian focused his attention and noticed the strange glances he was receiving from those around him. Zhu Xian felt a pang of unease.

Having served as an official in the court for over twenty years, he was not slow to sense changes within the court.

Looking around, he noticed that everyone around him was looking at him. His eyes flashed, and he subconsciously took a half-step back, as if afraid of approaching them.

Zhu Xian's heart skipped a beat, realizing that something was wrong. His mind raced, trying to figure out if he had unintentionally offended anyone or done something he was unaware of.