The flowing water murmurs as spring fades away, while the falling blossoms whisper as summer begins.
A month passed quietly, and everyone in the Duke's mansion gradually accepted the fact that Bai Wei had run away from home.
Because the household had too many servants and the expenses were too high, Zhao Yun had no choice but to go to Li Zan to ask him to open the storeroom and sell some items to make ends meet.
Li Zan naturally raised his hand in agreement.
But when Yu Ming led her servants to break open the lock of the storeroom, she was stunned. All the valuables inside had been taken away, and what remained were only some worthless belongings.
She turned pale with fright.
The old lady has run away from home, and now the young mistress is the mistress of the Duke's mansion. So many things have mysteriously disappeared from the family storeroom. As the mistress, she must be implicated.
Yu Ming returned to the Lotus Courtyard with trepidation, intending to report the matter to Zhao Yun, but found Li Huai'an there as well.
"Yun'er, I have good news for you." Li Huai'an couldn't hide the smile on his face. He held Zhao Yun's hand and said happily, "Before the New Year, there was a big fire at the Prince Rui's mansion! Her Highness the Eldest Princess also went missing for a while because of this. Prince Rui caused trouble while searching for the Eldest Princess, and the court officials jointly petitioned the emperor, forcing him to strip the emperor of his title of prince."
Zhao Yun nodded: "The young master told me all this. I remember it!"
Li Huai'an gently patted his hand. "At the morning court session this day, His Majesty restored Prince Rui of Shenhan Mountain to his former status as a prince. I also heard something else: it turns out that when the Eldest Princess was still a commoner, she knew Prince Rui. When they got married, the Eldest Princess was already pregnant with Prince Rui's child."
Zhao Yun frowned slightly, thinking to herself, "No wonder Shen Hanshan wanted to break off his engagement with my second sister. It turns out he had been in cahoots with the Princess all along." But when she thought of how the Princess had sent her a congratulatory gift on her wedding day, making her the envy of all the noble ladies in Lingyang City, she couldn't bring herself to say anything bad about her. She simply said, "The Princess is unpretentious and has a very genuine personality."
Seeing that Zhao Yun did not show much surprise or dissatisfaction, Li Huai'an breathed a sigh of relief and continued, "Actually, after the court session today, the Emperor specially summoned me to the Imperial Study, saying that he had heard about my mother and father's situation and asked if I had any difficulties."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Yun's heart skipped a beat, and she quickly asked, "Then how did the young master answer?"
Li Huai'an smiled slightly and said, "What I meant was that although Mother is temporarily away from the residence, my wife Zhao Yun manages the household well, and everyone in the household is diligent and self-sufficient, so Your Majesty need not worry. However..."
He just didn't know where his mother was now. His father insisted that he not report it to the authorities.
As the two were talking, Yu Ming couldn't wait any longer and came in. She tried to calm herself down outside, but her face was still pale. She whispered, "Young Madam, Young Master, the storeroom has been robbed..."
Upon hearing Yu Ming's words, Li Huai'an and Zhao Yun exchanged a glance, their expressions turning serious.
Li Huai'an gestured for her to speak slowly and clearly, without rushing.
Yu Ming then recounted what she had witnessed in the warehouse. After speaking, she glanced nervously at the absent-minded Zhao Yun, before finally fixing her gaze on Li Huai'an.
The key point Li Huai'an heard wasn't the theft from the warehouse, but that Zhao Yun was going to touch his mother's dowry.
He suppressed his anger and asked in a deep voice, "Who gave you the audacity to touch my mother's dowry?!"
"Huai'an!"
Seeing Li Huai'an's menacing expression, Zhao Yun felt a surge of anxiety. "It was my father who discussed this with me. As you know, my mother-in-law usually manages the household expenses. Now that she's not home, and my dowry has already been pawned, so many people in the household are waiting for food and drink. What am I supposed to do?"
When Li Huai'an heard Zhao Yun say that even her dowry had been pawned, his anger subsided slightly. He softened his tone and said, "Yun'er, I misunderstood you about this." Then, he changed the subject, rubbing his forehead, and said, "I'm afraid the storeroom wasn't simply stolen, but rather that Mother had moved her dowry out beforehand."
Thinking of this, Li Huai'an felt an intense headache.
He couldn't understand it. If his mother was just arguing with his father and said she wanted a divorce, she would never have been so resolute.
First, she sold the shop, and then she almost emptied the family's storeroom. All of these actions demonstrated the mother's determination to divorce the father.
But he was his mother's only child! If his mother hated his father, did she also hate him and leave him no way to survive?!
Li Huai'an was completely baffled and extremely distressed.
He hated his father's betrayal of his mother, and he also began to feel a growing resentment towards his mother's cruelty towards him.
"Don't make this public for now." After a long while, he raised his head again and whispered, "This time, Mother is probably determined to divorce Father. We need to be prepared."
Upon hearing his words, Zhao Yun suddenly looked up at him and asked nervously, "Young Master, do you already have other plans?"
“Yun’er, without your mother’s help, I won’t be able to survive. We won’t be able to survive either,” Li Huai’an said dejectedly.
But with his and his father's meager salaries, it was impossible to support the entire Duke's family. Moreover, Zhao Yun and Zhao Rou were both pregnant, and Zhao Yun would be having a baby in a few months. With expenses flowing like water, how could he possibly afford it?
Zhao Yun stared intently into Li Huai'an's eyes, not daring to interrupt, for fear of missing some important information.
He continued, "The people I sent to my maternal grandparents' house should be back soon, and my mother has most likely returned to her maternal grandparents' house in Chaoyang County. I've decided to go find her. As for my father, he's the one who created this mess, so let him clean it up himself!"
"You...you're going to break with your father? Don't you want your status as the heir apparent anymore? Your mother has worked so hard for you for so many years, are you just going to let that little hussy in red's belly have it all? Young Master, don't act rashly!"
Zhao Yun was extremely anxious when she heard Li Huai'an say this.
“The household expenses are high, so we can dismiss some unnecessary servants.” She bit her lip, thought for a moment, and immediately analyzed the situation. “Or, I can ask the Princess to consider my mother’s relationship with the late Empress Dowager and ask her to provide us with some more support. In short, there are always more solutions than problems, so please don’t act impulsively, Your Highness.” Zhao Yun held Li Huai’an’s hand and said sincerely.
This impulsive act resulted in Li Huai'an relinquishing his status as heir to that little prostitute in red, and the children in Zhao Yun's household would also lose their status.
Li Huai'an grasped her hand in return and sighed, "I just don't want to sit idly by and wait for our fate. If we wait until Father really divorces Mother, we'll be at a disadvantage."
Zhao Yun looked at him with firm eyes, "No, it won't happen. With me here, I won't let that happen. Don't worry, Your Highness."
At this moment, Li Huai'an felt slightly relieved.
He looked at Zhao Yun, his heart filled with emotion.
"Okay. I'll do whatever you say," Li Huai'an said softly.
But Li Huai'an's words came true. Not long after, Li Zan wrote a letter of divorce to Bai Wei and prepared to marry Hongyi.
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