Within a few days, the news that Ruyue Jùnzhǔ was living in the Prime Minister’s Mansion had quietly spread in the capital.

Because it was earlier than originally planned, the palace banquet was scheduled for a few days later, so everyone spread the news privately.

The first person to arrive at the Prime Minister’s Mansion was Jiang Wu’s mother-in-law.

The wife of the Duke would only set foot in the Prime Minister’s Residence a few times throughout the year, and this time Jiang Wu was also benefiting from Chu Yan’s help.

Chu Ye was not there, so Nian Yin waited with her. Because her granddaughter was there, the old lady’s attitude was not too bad.

“Where does Yan live?”

When they entered, the old lady asked Jiang Wu.

Jiang Wu only remembered that Chu Ling mentioned the East Courtyard, so she answered honestly. As soon as she said it, the old lady’s brows were already frowned, and accusatory words came out one after another.

“Ayan grew up in my mansion. She is Chu Ling’s biological sister. She has suffered a lot over the years. Now she is finally back. As her sister-in-law, you must be very concerned about her.”

Generally speaking, Jiang Wu was the type who wanted to win an argument, so she responded softly, “My Lord ordered me not to interfere.”

This silenced the Duke’s wife for a moment, but only for a moment, and she soon came up with a new line of speech: “Chu Ling doesn’t want you to work too hard, don’t you understand him?”

It was not that he didn’t want me to work hard, but he was afraid that I would harm his sweetheart.

However, Jiang Wu did not say this. She had lost the mood to argue with her mother-in-law, who believed that “whatever her son does is right.”

When she lowered my head, her little finger was hooked.

Jiang Wu looked over in surprise. It was Nian Yin. She hooked her fingers and smiled softly at her.

The daughter was comforting her because she was afraid that she was in a bad mood.

Realizing this, Jiang Wu’s heart instantly warmed up and she smiled back.

The Duke’s wife, who was eager to see her daughter, did not care about the deep affection between mother and daughter. The East Courtyard was indeed a bit remote. The group walked for a long time. Once they entered the courtyard, the Duke’s wife did not care about anything else and walked in quickly.
Jiang Wu was not in a hurry. She followed slowly behind, but it was undeniable that she was indeed a little curious.

She was curious about what this woman looked like now… the woman who made her a substitute and whom Chu Ling and Zhang Xiu had been thinking about for so many years.

The room was filled with the smell of medicine. When Jiang Wu entered, the Duke’s wife was howling in tears.

“Oh, my daughter.”

“You suffered.”

And so on.

Jiang Wu also saw the woman on the bed at the same time.

The woman, who was already a young woman, was still as pretty as a flower and as graceful as a fairy. Perhaps because she was ill, she lay on the couch, with dark clouds falling slightly, revealing a kind of fragility that made people pity her. She was beautiful, of course, but it seemed different from what she remembered.

Jiang Wu couldn’t describe specifically where this sense of disharmony came from, but she felt that after Chu Ling saw the current Chu Yan, he would definitely fall into self-doubt about finding a substitute like herself.

They really were nothing alike.

But then again, it had been over ten years; and it was impossible for them always to look the same.

Compared to the Duke’s wife, who was extremely excited at this moment, the expression on Ruyue Jùnzhǔ’s face was somewhat forced.

Although she was smiling, the smile did not reach her eyes and seemed more like a hypocritical, perfunctory response.

“Old lady, don’t cry and hurt yourself.”

“Are you blaming me? Is that why you don’t even want to call me mother?”

For some reason, Jiang Wu felt that every word these two people said was falser than the last. When she turned her gaze away with a dull look, he saw a familiar figure.

He was a skinny old man.

Jiang Wu knew this man; he was a doctor.

Although he was called a doctor, he always gave Jiang Wu a creepy feeling. His face was originally without much flesh, and his eye sockets were deeply sunken. His cloudy eyes made people subconsciously feel that he was not a good person.

So when Chu Ling asked him to treat her, Jiang Wu was scared and cried the moment she saw him stretch out his hand.

It was not like she hadn’t seen old people before, and it was also like she had seen people with shrivelled skin, but it was only when she faced this man that she felt an obvious sense of fear.

Chu Ling didn’t say anything at the time, but from then on he never appeared in front of her again.

She didn’t expect to meet him again.

Chu Yan was injured, so it was normal to have a doctor in the mansion, but she couldn’t understand why Chu Ling called such a strange person.

Before she could turn away, the person over there saw her.

The old man smiled at her.

Sun Ke seemed to be trying hard to show kindness, but there was no way to make the person in front of him reduce the disgust in her eyes.

Jiang Wu turned her eyes away without hesitation, not hiding her disgust and dislike.

But this time, her eyes met Chu Yan’s.

She didn’t know if the woman was tired of acting with the old lady, but when she looked at her, she actually looked like she was asking for help.

It looked as if the two of them were very familiar with each other and close friends, so the secret code she used to ask for help came naturally.

But it was clear that the two of them were not familiar with each other, okay?

Jiang Wu clearly thought so, but her feet seemed to have their own consciousness and had already walked forward.

“Mother, Sister Yan is tired after the long journey; let her have a good rest.”

Jiang Wu wanted to bite her tongue. She didn’t understand why she should follow Chu Yan’s hint.

Even when Chu Yan secretly smiled at her to express her gratitude, she found that she didn’t hate this person at all.

Her mother-in-law glared at her to express her dissatisfaction, then agreed with her.

“That’s right, Ayan, why don’t you move to the Duke’s Mansion to recuperate?”

That won’t work?

“No need, old lady. The palace banquet will be held in a few days. Lord Chu has also invited a doctor. I will just recuperate here.”

Jiang Wu breathed a sigh of relief when she heard Chu Yan refuse.

She didn’t know if the Duke’s wife was sincere, but she didn’t insist. After saying a few more words, when she was about to get up and leave, a young man walked in from outside, attracting everyone’s attention.

He was a young man of about the same age as Chu Ye, also handsome, but unlike the self-confidence and composure that naturally emanated from Chu Ye, he seemed more silent, and there was a calmness in his eyes that only came from having experienced many hardships.

The boy saw so many people in the room, and after a moment of hesitation, he called out, “Mother.”

Mother? Jiang Wu was too stunned to react. Who was he calling mother?

She soon got the answer, because Chu Yan had already responded with a smile: “Ji Sheng, come and meet the old lady and the Prime Minister’s wife.”

Everyone was stunned for a moment, and Jiang Wu’s mind seemed to explode in an instant.

Was this Chu Yan’s child?

It was not surprising that Chu Yan had a child. But who did she marry? It was the king of Beiyao.

The appearances of the people from the two countries were very different. Even if Chu Jisheng looked like his mother, there should be some differences between him and the people of Daqi, right?

But this little bastard was a pure Daqi citizen.

“Oh my,” the old lady was the first to react, “Is this my grandson? He’s so handsome. His name is Ji Sheng, right?”

“Yes,” Chu Yan smiled, “Chu Jisheng, he has my last name.”

These words completely made Jiang Wu explode.

Sure enough, Chu Yan was still the second person she hated in this world.

And the first one was Chu Ling.