This is even more pitiful than the Lan family back then.

Although Lady Lan was also plotted to her death, at least her irresponsible husband loved her and did not kill her himself.

But the Li family... sigh...

After rinsing his mouth with the drink, Yan Nangui said, "It's just bad luck."

Jiangxiang didn't want to annoy her, so she changed the subject: "This Aunt Lu is a capable person. Since she came, Consort Ye hasn't caused any trouble."

"It should have been done a long time ago. She is, after all, the legitimate daughter of the Ye family. Is it appropriate for her to grow up like that?" Yan Nangui was not surprised.

Even if the elders of the Ye family don't care, Ye Liangdi still has parents. Can they just ignore her?

Things will be different if you don't do anything about it.

Chaos broke out again on the Meng family's estate in the outskirts of Beijing.

The reason is that Li has disappeared.

To be precise, she and her maid disappeared together.

Although one cannot leave the manor at will, the Meng family manor is not as wealthy as other wealthy families, and there are not many people.

If someone was willing to help, they would naturally leave.

The main problem was that nobody cared about a sickly, out-of-favor woman named Li.

The old lady of the Meng family came to her senses at this moment, after all, Chanyi had said those things not long ago.

This led her to suspect that Li Shi was also a traitor to the Meng family.

However, upon closer reflection, Li was also a victim, so it seems that's not the case.

But regardless of whether it is true or not, she will no longer believe Li Shi.

At the end of the year, Meng Jianghe finally returned. He was originally supposed to return in March of the following year, but with the family in such a mess, he had no choice but to submit a memorial to return to the capital ahead of schedule.

The old lady of the Meng family was taken back to the mansion by Qiaoqiao.

But now, Yan Jinsi is in charge of the household.

Meng Jianghe didn't want to interfere in matters in the inner quarters; now, he felt disgusted just looking at Old Madam Li.

The days of her birth were unfortunate; she herself entered the palace and caused such a disgusting mess.

Now look what's happened! Li actually ran away right under his nose!

And that azalea!

Every single thing she did was a result of her incompetence as the mistress of the house. Since she was incompetent, she should have been more careful.

If she and her niece hadn't acted recklessly together, they wouldn't have been able to force Yan Nangui to leave.

If Yan Nangui were still Meng's daughter-in-law, things wouldn't have turned out this way.

Now things are really messed up; having a daughter from the Yan family in the family has brought no benefits, but rather all sorts of disadvantages.

And she even became a princess...

The whole family must respect them.

Originally, matters in the inner courtyard should be mediated by the mistress of the house. Those with some ability can even get along well with princesses.

The more he thought about Li's current state, the angrier he became.

All his anger was directed at Meng Junxian.

On his first day back, he received a solid sixty strokes of the cane. It seemed that Meng Junxian would have to spend the New Year lying on his stomach.

Although she was brought back, Madam Li now lives in the main courtyard and has completely lost her status.

They dared not mention their niece again. They could only let this person disappear from the household.

In the front yard, inside Meng Junxian's house.

The maidservant helped him change his dressing. After the doctor left, the maidservant, Hu, wiped away her tears: "At least we served you something to eat. What else could you do if you didn't eat..."

Ms. Hu is exactly twenty years old this year, the same age as Meng Junxian. She is even two months older.

She was the first person to serve Meng Junxian, but she was ostracized by Yan Nangui back then, then by Li Shi later, and now Yan Jinsi is even worse.

This person is unlucky; he's never had a good time.

To this day, she remains without official status, serving in the front yard.

Meng Junxian shook his head. How could he possibly eat that?

“My mother said it was Yan Nangui’s maid who went to the estate and said those things.” He felt like his heart was being fried in oil.

"I don't dare tell my dad, and I don't dare ask my mom to tell her either." He knew in his heart how heartless his father was. If he found out, he and his mother might be ruined.

"Sigh... what can we do now? Let's focus on recovering first. After the New Year, try to find a post outside the capital, perhaps in another region." Madam Hu was quite shrewd. She knew that life in the capital wasn't easy.

“Master, you have more than one son. You will have to rely on yourself in the future. As for the princess… it’s hard to say what she’s thinking. From what I’ve seen, the eldest princess doesn’t value the princess anymore.”

"Sigh... Where can I go if I leave the capital?" Meng Junxian sighed. "Wouldn't that be a mistake? Yan Nangui was in the manor back then. If he had been more attentive... I might not have..."

He thought back to when Yan Nangui was all he knew—to shout and be jealous…

"If it weren't for her targeting Qiang'er at every turn..."

“Young Master, what kind of good-natured is Aunt Li? Although the young mistress hit me before... but... but at least she got what she deserved, right? And now she’s saying this. If it weren’t for Aunt Li and the others... even if the young mistress had a bad temper before, at least you would have a legitimate son and a complete family.”

"Look at how the General treated his former wife, and how he treats his current one?"

Meng Junxian fell silent.

Madam Hu knew she had gone too far. Of course, from her perspective, she disliked Yan Nangui and Yan Jinsi.

He disliked the Li family even more.

But that's fair enough.

Meng Junxian thought of the child Yan Nangui had miscarried...

Yes, if... if he hadn't miscarried, he would have a legitimate heir now.

Even if I disliked the geese returning south, life wouldn't be the way it is now.

Unfortunately, there are no "what ifs" in this world.

He recalled the last time he saw Yan Nangui in the palace...

That woman is in high spirits now; I wonder if she misses the child she miscarried?

Yan Nangui certainly wouldn't. Not only would he not, but upon learning that Meng Junxian had been beaten, he happily ate an extra bowl of rice.

As a result, I felt a bit full.

While asking someone to get some hawthorn pills to aid digestion from the physician, he strolled around the room.

When Shu Chengfeng came over, he met her helpless and sorrowful eyes and smiled: "What's wrong?"

"You've eaten too much, you spineless coward. Ouch..."

As she walked, she ate a hawthorn dumpling: "Other pregnant women crave sour foods, but I'm eating sour foods to aid digestion."

Just as Shu Chengfeng was thinking of comforting her, she jumped aside and said, "There are some really beautiful pieces in that box of jewelry His Highness sent a few days ago. I had them sorted out and I'm waiting to wear them for the New Year."

"The cat's-eye bracelets His Highness gave me have such perfect lines. Jiangxiang, go get them so I can wear them for His Highness to see."

The incense has been offered.

Shu Chengfeng didn't bother to appease him; he simply sat down and asked, "Is that so?"

Yan Nangui smiled and quickly brought out the incense.

She wore it on her wrist.

The emerald green cat's eye stone is worn on the wrist, and the line in the middle is exactly in the middle.

It is indeed extremely beautiful.

"Yes, it's quite good. Cat's-eye stones of this quality are rare." Shu Chengfeng nodded.

He had the eunuchs choose this for him, which shows that they had selected an excellent one for her.

There are probably only a handful of cat's-eye stone bracelets of this quality in the palace.

The fact that the wild geese are now returning south clearly shows that the household knows she is important.

Shu Chengfeng thought to himself, then reached out and pinched her cheek, thinking that this woman who had married into the family twice had the ability to stand firm.