Unexpectedly, Xu Yunci did not return; instead, the prefectural governor's office sent someone over.

He Lianniang was beautiful with delicate features, especially when she was dressed in white and holding a pipa, her tearful eyes seemed to hold unspoken words.

"This is He Lianniang, who is now Zhou Langjun's woman. I am here on the orders of the Prefect to bring He Lianniang here to serve tea to the Madam."

Li Shiyue slightly raised her eyes, glanced at the pitiful-looking He Lianniang, and then looked at the subordinate of the prefectural governor's office who had spoken.

"Really? When did my husband get such a beautiful woman by his side? I haven't even seen my husband's face yet."

“He dares to take a concubine but doesn’t dare to show his face? Go back to where you came from. My family doesn’t accept lowly people of unknown origin.”

Before the subordinate could say anything more, he looked up with a "thud".

The lid of the teacup in Li Shiyue's hand was made of porcelain, and it made a crisp clinking sound when it fell from her hand and hit the teacup.

A faint smile played on her lips, but her eyes held a glint of anger as she stared silently at her subordinate. For some reason, the subordinate felt an urge to back away.

“If Madam does not wish to acknowledge me, she should simply say so. Why must she say that I am a lowly person of unknown status?”

"Although Lianniang's background is not as noble as Madam's, I am fortunate to have been appreciated by my husband and have only been his companion for a few days. Because of my plight, the Prefect took it upon himself to bestow me upon my husband."

As she spoke, He Lianniang raised her hand to cover her face, as if she was about to cry from extreme grievance.

"Since you know that you were given this life, do you have the right to speak here?"

Li Shiyue glanced at her sideways; she wasn't entirely unprepared today. Although she hadn't seen Xu Yunci, it didn't mean she knew nothing.

Before the servant and He Lianniang could react to what Li Shiyue meant, a young man in a black robe walked in from outside the door. Who else could it be but Xu Yunci?

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at the prefectural governor's residence?"

The servant seemed quite surprised, and even Xu Yunci's appearance seemed different from before. He seemed to have lost the air of a spoiled merchant and looked more like a nobleman's son.

"If you're thinking about your prefectural governor's mansion and the prefect, then go to the prison to keep him company."

Before he could finish speaking, someone came in, grabbed the servant, and dragged him out.

Xu Yunci had not returned for several days, and it was unknown what he had gone through; his face showed signs of weariness.

He walked straight to Li Shiyue's side, took her hand, and his eyes were filled with undisguised love and tenderness.

"My dear wife, you've had a hard time these past few days. Please wait for me at home."

Li Shiyue withdrew her hand and glanced indifferently at He Lianniang, who was still kneeling on the ground. Clearly, she had not yet recovered from what had happened.

Indeed, the prefect's informant suddenly realized that her master had fallen from power and the mastermind was right in front of her. She had just been acting and crying.

Li Shiyue didn't even glance at Xu Yunci, and went straight to the backyard.

What a joke! She's been missing for several days, and if Chang Shun hadn't relayed the news back, she wouldn't have known that Xu Yunci had such a backup plan.

So all that showing me around earlier was just for show. He deliberately stayed at the prefectural governor's mansion, drinking and behaving himself every day to distract others, and then, taking advantage of their momentary lapse in attention, led his men to raid the mansion.

Sure enough, the prefectural governor's office contained many things related to the King of Zhao, as well as account books of previous embezzlement.

Xu Yunci touched his nose, and without even glancing at He Lianniang kneeling on the ground, he chased after her.

"Sir, what should we do with this living person?"

"Lock him up, and send the case of suspected embezzlement to the capital." Xu Yunci said as he chased after Li Shiyue, until Chang Shun could no longer see him.

Chang Shun curled his lip, glanced at He Lianniang kneeling on the ground, and dragged her out without any politeness.

To "apologize," Xu Yunci and his companion leisurely strolled back to the capital, only ordering that those people be escorted back first.

When they returned to the capital, it was already close to New Year's Eve. Although they had prepared to wear winter clothes, they still felt extremely cold as soon as they got off the carriage.

The gate of the Rongguo Mansion was so familiar. And with the New Year approaching, there was more than one piece of good news: Xu Lingzi gave birth to a big, healthy boy at the beginning of the month.

Xu Lingzi was already pregnant before Li Shiyue and Xu Yunci left the capital, but it was early in the pregnancy and they didn't find out until she was four months pregnant.

The child was too young to be taken out, and it was too cold to go out, so we were unable to visit Xu Lingzi.

As the New Year approached, perhaps due to the Emperor's worsening illness, the New Year celebrations in the capital were even more lively than in previous years.

Even the palace banquet proceeded as scheduled. Surprisingly, the Emperor's complexion improved considerably after just one night. He even invited the Crown Prince to stay with him for a long time, but the Crown Prince stopped them, preventing the grandfather and grandson from freezing in the snow for too long.

Li Shiyue couldn't help but laugh when she heard Xu Yunci say these things: "Even the Emperor, who is usually so dignified, can be childish at times."

"His Majesty's illness came on fiercely this time, and Your Highness's actions were intended to bring him some good fortune. Fortunately, the method was effective."

Xu Yunci held a handful of melon seeds in his hand. After Li Shiyue sat down, he simply lay down and put his head on Li Shiyue's lap.

"Home is still the best."

Li Shiyue smiled, put down the booklet in her hand, gently pushed his shoulder, and looked helpless.

"Get up. I still have things to do. How can I do anything if I'm like this?"

Xu Yunci pursed his lips, but still sat up, resting his chin on Li Shiyue's shoulder and wrapping his arms around her from behind, his tone slightly dissatisfied.

"I just got home, and this has already happened. Mother has had it so much easier since you came into her life."

Li Shiyue looked at the stack of booklets in front of her. These were the items to be sent to various families on New Year's Eve and Lantern Festival this year. These were only a part of the items; Yang Shi was in charge of much more complicated matters.

“I really admire my mother. These things look so easy for her to do, but she gets exhausted doing them herself.”

Putting down the booklet in her hand, Li Shiyue suddenly seemed to remember something: "Oh right, how's the gold lock I asked you to make coming along? I need to be back in the capital in time for my cousin Azi's child's first birthday, and I absolutely have to give those gold locks to her."

"Don't worry, Madam, I have people keeping an eye on things."

It's no wonder Li Shiyue valued it so much. Not only was it the first gift she and her husband had given to their nephew, but the gold lock was a gold hairpin that Li Shiyue had found in her dowry and had reshaped.

That was pure gold, but Li Shiyue didn't like the pair of gold hairpins. Xu Yunci suggested melting them down to make a gold lock, which would be perfect as a first birthday gift for his newborn nephew.

However, she was also impatient, as the first birthday gift was still a year away, and Li Shiyue couldn't wait to give it away.

Xu Yunci didn't want to discourage her, so he let her do it. If she messed it up, he could just give his wife more money, even though all his money was currently in Li Shiyue's hands.