Liu cursed these words countless times in her heart, but right now she was more concerned about whether the man could save her from her misery.

Therefore, he asked this question.

The man reassured her, "The old lady will arrive tonight. I was worried about you, so I rode over here as fast as I could to see her."

He then asked, "Who exactly killed Yunzhou?"

Lady Liu then told him about what had happened on the estate, as well as what had recently happened at the Marquis's residence.

The man's eyes were sinister. "Are you saying that all of this was caused by Yunzhou, that country bumpkin?"

That beast Xie Bang actually sent our Yao'er to be a stable boy just to protect her?

Lady Liu nodded with tears in her eyes.

"The cloud boat is gone. You can't abandon Yao'er. You must find a way to rescue her. She's your daughter. She has a bright future and can help you..."

Despite his resentment, he still cared deeply for his daughter.

The man patted her back gently, signaling her not to rush.

“I’m not that beast Xie Bang. Of course I’ll take care of my daughter.”

"And the revenge for Yunzhou, and the grievances you and Yao'er suffered, I will avenge you all."

Thinking of something, he asked again, "Why did Xie Tingzhou suddenly come back? Hasn't he been staying away from the capital for so many years? Could he be here to steal the title?"

The title of Marquis of Zhongyong belongs to his son; no one can covet it.

Madam Liu shook her head, "That jinx, if it weren't for his interference, Ye Zhen would have already been dealt with by me."

She worriedly asked, "If he's after the title, what if he tries to harm Lan'er?"

Back then, when we discovered Yunzhou's penchant for men, he became hostile towards us. That's why I risked my advanced age to give birth to Lan'er for you, so that the Marquis's mansion would have a proper heir.

Now that Yunzhou is gone, Lan'er is our only son; he absolutely cannot be harmed.

"Don't worry, Xie Bang is such a fool. He doesn't know that the three children you gave birth to are not his. Now he's very fond of Lan'er."

It's also because our Lan'er is clever that she won his favor. I heard that whenever he's in the manor, no matter how busy he is, he always makes sure to spend time with Lan'er.

Because of his attention, Xie Tingzhou dared not act rashly.

Besides, the old lady has never liked Xie Tingzhou. Once she returns to the capital, she'll be there to protect Lan'er, so you can rest assured.

Thinking of something, he changed the subject, "However, Xie Tingzhou is ultimately a threat; we must find a way to get rid of him..."

Liu couldn't agree more with this statement, as she disliked Xie Tingzhou. After talking about Xie Tingzhou, she became worried about the account books.

The man didn't seem to care much. "Let's not even talk about whether Ye Zhen, with his dull personality, can discover the secret accounts."

Even if she finds out, I've already made arrangements over there; Xie Bang won't be able to find anything.

Xie Yunzhou was his and Liu's eldest son. When Liu arranged for Xie Yunzhou to marry Ye Zhen, he was worried and even sent someone to investigate the estate where Ye Zhen grew up.

The findings matched what the Ye family said: Ye Zhen was just a typical country girl who, apart from learning a few words, had not received any of the education expected of a noblewoman.

She couldn't even control the estate where she grew up; instead, she was guarded by the estate manager for over a decade. How could she possibly know how to manage a household? And how could she possibly uncover problems with the accounts?

However, it cannot be ruled out that someone might help her.

Therefore, he said to Liu, "If you really find out, just say that all that money was used to subsidize Yunzhou."

In Xie Bang's heart, Yunzhou was his son. His son was already dead. So what if he knew that he had spent a little more money? Could he hold his dead son accountable?

Besides, the Marquis's family is so wealthy and powerful, what's a little money to them?

Seeing his composure, Madam Liu felt much more at ease, and just waited for the old lady to arrive soon so she could take her back to the capital.

She missed the warm, soft bed and the delicacies of the Marquis's mansion.

Little did she know that the person stepping into the manor at that moment was not the old lady, but the Marquis of Zhongyong.