She suppressed the hatred in her heart and hugged Lady Wei’s legs, crying, "I know you favor Sister Zhi Wan, Aunt. Please don’t be angry with me. Just pretend everything I said was nonsense. I’ll take my leave now."

Looking at the young woman crying so pitifully before her, Lady Wei felt not a shred of sympathy. Just as Lu Lan was about to step out of the pavilion, she suddenly said, "Lu Lan, Wan’er has never offended you, has she?"

Lu Lan froze, and her fingers, hidden in her sleeves, dug into her palms.

’Zhi Wan hadn’t offended her?’

’If it weren’t for Zhi Wan, how could she have been plotted against by Lu Xin and lost her purity?’

’Although no one said anything to her face, she knew they were all laughing behind her back, calling her a ruined woman.’

’She hated Zhi Wan.’

’If Zhi Wan had gone to Lu Xin’s room that day, she wouldn’t have been the one to suffer.’

’She had suffered in Zhi Wan’s place.’

Lu Lan blinked back her tears and said softly, "You must be joking, Aunt. Sister Zhi Wan always takes good care of me. How could she possibly offend me?"

After she left, the more Lady Wei thought about it, the more unsettled she felt. She sent for Nanny Fang.

"You accompanied Wan’er last time when she returned to her hometown for tomb-sweeping. Did you notice..." Lady Wei trailed off, hesitating.

’How could I not see through Lu Lan’s petty tricks?’

’On the surface, Lu Lan was worried about Wan’er, but every word she spoke was meant to imply that Wan’er had seduced Ah Zhan. She wanted me to be disappointed in Wan’er, to despise her.’

’But even though I knew it was a ploy, Lu Lan’s words still got to me.’

’It was because of my son’s strange behavior after returning from Jiangnan. He actually said something as absurd as wanting to marry into a bride’s family.’

’My son is usually so busy; he has no time to meet young women.’

’I know my son’s temperament better than anyone.’

’He’s practically as ascetic as a monk.’

’Then, out of the blue, he suddenly wants to marry into the family of a woman he fancies.’

’I went through every eligible young woman in the Capital and came up with nothing, so I assumed he must have met someone in Jiangnan.’

’But now, after hearing Lu Lan, I can’t help but think of Wan’er.’

’Because when Wan’er went back to Yangzhou for the tomb-sweeping, she traveled with my son. And coincidentally, Wan’er was also looking to take on a live-in husband.’

’Furthermore, Wan’er left yesterday without a word. Afterward, my son told me something had happened to Wan’er’s nanny, which was why she had to return to Yangzhou. He said that since he was also going to Jiangnan, he would escort her to Yangzhou to visit the nanny.’

’I didn’t think much of it yesterday, but now that I do, my son’s story is riddled with holes.’

’Even if something did happen to Wan’er’s nanny, and she had to go back to Yangzhou, there was no need to leave without a word. Besides, in the letter Wan’er left me, she implied she would never return to the Capital City.’

The more Lady Wei thought, the more alarmed she became.

’Could there really be something between my son and Wan’er?’

’Don’t tell me my son forced her?’

"My Lady, what are you referring to?" Nanny Fang asked, seeing that she had stopped mid-sentence.

Lady Wei snapped back to reality, clutching her handkerchief tightly. "Nanny Fang, last time in Yangzhou, did you notice anything... amiss between Ah Zhan and Wan’er?"

Nanny Fang was taken aback.

’What could be amiss between the Princely Heir and the Miss?’

After racking her brain, she shook her head. "No, nothing at all. But the Princely Heir did take very good care of the Miss. Once, we ran into pirates, and the Miss was thrown into the river. The Princely Heir jumped in without a moment’s hesitation and saved the Miss."

’That’s just a cousin caring for his cousin. There’s nothing amiss about that.’

"What? Wan’er went through something like that? Why didn’t you tell me?" Lady Wei was aghast.

Nanny Fang said apologetically, "I forgot."

"Are you getting senile? How could you forget something so crucial?" Lady Wei was displeased and began to doubt Nanny Fang’s competence.

’If Nanny Fang could forget to tell me something this important, she probably wouldn’t have noticed even if there was something going on between Ah Zhan and Wan’er.’

With this in mind, she told Nanny Fang what Lu Lan had said.

When Nanny Fang heard this, her expression changed dramatically. "How could the Fourth Miss slander the Princely Heir and the Miss like that? Their relationship is completely innocent."

"Where there’s smoke, there’s fire! Lu Lan’s motives may be impure, but the fact that she dared to bring this to my attention suggests there might be some truth to it. Think again, carefully. Was there anything unusual between the two cousins?" Lady Wei said gravely.

Nanny Fang frowned. "Speaking of unusual... there was one thing. I’m not sure if it counts?"

"What was it?" Lady Wei pressed her.

"At the villa in Yangzhou, the Miss and Miss Ouyang were sharing a courtyard. The Princely Heir’s courtyard was just a wall away, and he did come over to the young ladies’ courtyard, but only twice.

One time, it was morning. The Princely Heir suddenly entered the courtyard before either of the young ladies had woken up.

The Princely Heir waited in the courtyard for a long time.

When the Miss finally woke up, the Princely Heir picked a begonia from the courtyard and placed it in her hair.

He said the flower suited the Miss perfectly."

Hearing this, Lady Wei clutched her chest, looking as if she couldn’t breathe. This gave Nanny Fang a terrible fright, and she rushed forward to pat her back, asking anxiously, "My Lady, what’s wrong?"

Lady Wei glared at her, her teeth clenched. "Nanny Fang, you’ll be the death of me!" ’How could she not see that something was wrong with such obviously unusual behavior?’

’What kind of cousin puts a flower in his cousin’s hair?’

’It’s so intimate, even a blind man could see that it’s improper!’

Nanny Fang looked terrified. "My Lady, don’t frighten me!"

Lady Wei took a deep breath, composing herself.

’Her precious son... he certainly knows how to hide his true colors!’

’And here I was, thinking he was truly ascetic. I never imagined he was lusting after his own little cousin.’

’Excellent, excellent. What a refined beast!’

’No wonder Wan’er suddenly left without a word. My son must have scared her away.’

’And my son actually concocted such a noble-sounding excuse, and I fell for it.’

’Taking Wan’er to Yangzhou to see her nanny? As I see it, my son has clearly taken the poor girl captive.’

Realizing this, Lady Wei could not sit still a moment longer. She ordered in a grave voice, "Nanny Fang, pack our luggage at once. I’m going to Yangzhou!"

...

Zhi Wan had no idea what was happening back at the Duke Dingguo Mansion.

She stood on the deck for a while until a heavy rain began to fall, forcing her to take shelter back in her cabin.

She had slept for half the day yesterday and had also slept well last night, so she wasn’t the least bit tired. She asked Shuang’er to fetch her paper and a brush, then began to paint.

She painted for the entire afternoon.

Just as her neck was beginning to feel sore and she was about to get up to stretch, a slender hand reached over her shoulder and picked up the painting she had placed to the side.

Zhi Wan froze for a second. When a thought struck her, her body immediately tensed up.

"You must have earned quite a bit of Silver painting these, Cousin?"

The next moment, a man’s low voice sounded from above her.

Zhi Wan’s expression changed. She shot up, trying to snatch the painting from his hand, but he was ready for her. He raised the painting high, and not only did she fail to retrieve it, but she also lost her balance and stumbled into his arms.

Lu Zhan paused for a moment before his hands naturally went to the girl’s waist, steadying her.