The Marquis of Xiangyang, Li Suifeng, was thirty-five this year—right in the prime of a man’s life.

Madam Zhen looked at the man across from her, her heart already burning with desire.

She swayed her waist as she stood up, then leaned forward, collapsing into Li Suifeng’s arms.

Li Suifeng instinctively reached out to steady her, but as if realizing something, he quickly stepped back to avoid contact.

Madam Zhen gritted her teeth in frustration.

This man really didn’t understand a woman’s feelings.

Taking advantage of the moment, she let herself fall to the floor with a delicate cry, “My lord… I can’t get up…”

Ever since her husband died, the Marquis’s household had looked after her.

To be honest, life these past few years had been far more comfortable than when her husband was alive.

She had long hoped that if she could enter the Marquis’s residence and become his woman, she would finally have real security for life.

She extended her slender hand, biting her lip with a soft, charming voice, “My lord…”

Just then, a figure rushed over.

A pair of hands lifted Madam Zhen up.

She looked up—it was Bai Ruzhu.

Her mind exploded like thunder.

Cold sweat broke out all over her body.

Her legs went weak.

She could barely stand, grabbing the edge of the table for support.

“Madam? Yueniang? What brings you here?” Li Suifeng asked in surprise. “It’s so hot outside—you might get heatstroke.”

Bai Ruzhu’s voice was frosty. “Didn’t you say the child was sick? Yueniang and I came to check.”

Seeing her cold expression, Madam Zhen knew things had gone terribly wrong.

The Marchioness had always been kind and accommodating to her.

But now she was icy cold.

It must’ve been her overly bold move just now that had aroused the Marchioness’s suspicion.

Madam Zhen choked up, “My lady, this morning Shitou had a high fever and lost consciousness. I took him to the doctor and gave him medicine, but he didn’t get better.

There’s no head in the household, so I went to the Marquis’s manor for help. I happened to run into the Marquis—he was kind enough to bring a divine physician from the East City. After treatment, the fever finally broke.”

Li Suifeng nodded. “The physician said that if we’d been even a bit later, the child might not have made it. Lucky boy.”

Bai Ruzhu could smell the heavy scent of medicine.

She walked into the room and saw the child lying on the bed, pale and clearly gravely ill.

She was a mother too—she knew how frantic a mother could be when her child was sick. She thought perhaps she had been overly suspicious.

Maybe this whole situation really was a misunderstanding.

Seeing Bai Ruzhu’s face gradually soften, Madam Zhen breathed a heavy sigh of relief.

There was still time.

She could take her time to plan.

The opportunity would come eventually.

At that moment, Li Zhiyue suddenly spoke:

“Aunt Zhen’s hairpin—it’s exactly the same as Mother’s.”

Bai Ruzhu lifted her gaze.

It was a pear blossom hairpin made of tortoiseshell.

The Marquis had given it to her as a birthday gift when the pear blossoms were in bloom.

It was worth at least a hundred taels of silver.

Madam Zhen could never afford it on her own, so it must have been a gift.

Bai Ruzhu instantly understood.

Her eyes turned red with fury.

If Yueniang hadn’t noticed the hairpin, she really might have believed today’s event was just a coincidence.

She and the Marquis had a deep bond.

He didn’t even keep a concubine in the house.

She never imagined a widowed woman would find a way in.

The Marquis came to Osmanthus Lane four or five times a month—who knew how far things had gone?

Her voice turned cold. “My lord?”

Li Suifeng scratched the back of his head, confused about why his wife’s mood had suddenly changed.

Madam Zhen’s fingers tensed.

She had worn that hairpin today to entice the Marquis.

Who could have guessed the Marchioness would come?

If she didn’t explain things clearly now, her relationship with the Marquis’s household might be over.

“My lady, I suffer so…” Madam Zhen covered her face and began to cry. “The day my husband left home, he promised to bring back a hairpin for me. Who would’ve thought he’d die on the road, leaving me and our son behind… The Marquis only gave me this hairpin to fulfill my husband’s final wish… Seeing the hairpin reminds me of him… It’s all I have to hold on to…”

Bai Ruzhu’s heart clenched.

The man she mentioned had once saved someone in the Marquis’s household—an unrepayable debt.

No matter how furious she was, she couldn’t lash out.

Li Zhiyue sneered.

Classic emotional blackmail.

If one lacks morals, they won’t fall victim to moral blackmail—but the Marquis’s household had a name to protect.

They couldn’t afford a reputation for ingratitude.

She spoke slowly: “Father made a mistake. Aunt Zhen lives such a hard life, yet he gifted such an extravagant item. This pear blossom hairpin is made of solid gold and mutton-fat jade—only nobles are allowed to wear it. A commoner using such an item is a breach of etiquette. It could lead to execution!”

Li Suifeng was shocked. “Really?”

For the first time, Bai Ruzhu felt how clever her daughter was.

She straightened up and said, “Yueniang is right. And not just the hairpin. The silks and satin we sent earlier must also be retrieved. Not because our family is stingy, but because we can’t harm our dear sister-in-law. Someone!”

Madam Zhou from outside the door came in immediately.

Bai Ruzhu said coolly, “Take back everything that violates the regulations.”

Madam Zhou had long disliked this widow—always summoning the Marquis like some mistress.

The Madam couldn’t see through her tricks and even sent her gifts from time to time.

Now the fox’s tail had finally shown.

Madam Zhou yanked the hairpin from Madam Zhen’s head, went into the inner room to fetch the silk, picked out the expensive jewelry from the dressing box, and even took the vase off the desk.

A widow living in such a grand courtyard, with all kinds of jewelry, silks, and satin—look at the ice blocks in every corner!

Her living standards were no less than those of a noblewoman.

Madam Zhou took everything she could—what she couldn’t take, she had no choice but to leave.

Madam Zhen’s eyes widened in shock.

Can gifts be taken back like this?

The dignified Marchioness actually did such a thing—wasn’t she afraid of shaming the Marquis’s household?

She hadn’t even done anything with the Marquis yet—was all this really necessary?

She looked tearfully at Li Suifeng.

Li Suifeng coughed awkwardly, “I really didn’t think it through. I almost got Sister-in-law into trouble.”

Madam Zhen watched helplessly as all the expensive items in the room were cleared out.

Her heart ached.

But with the Marchioness so firm, she had no way to resist.

Li Zhiyue applauded silently.

Now that Bai Ruzhu had shown her decisiveness, she had nothing to worry about.

“Sister-in-law, I’m doing this for your own good,” Bai Ruzhu said. “I’ll have someone send over some linen and other necessities another day.”

Madam Zhen nearly fainted from anger.

The family gathered their things and left.

Just as they reached the door, Li Zhiyue saw a young girl in a white dress step out from a side room and gently support Madam Zhen, comforting her in a soft voice.

Li Zhiyue narrowed her eyes.

Piecing together her memories, she instantly realized who this girl was—Lu Jingxue, Madam Zhen’s daughter, and the female lead of the original novel.

She was about the same age as her.

Once Madam Zhen successfully married into the Marquis’s household, Lu Jingxue became a noble lady of the house.

Before the downfall of the Marquis’s household, Madam Zhen secured a good marriage for Lu Jingxue—she became a consort to a prince.

Later, Lu Jingxue sought to become the prince’s main wife and went so far as to falsely accuse the Marquis’s household of treason.

At that time, the Marquis’s house was already in decline.

Lu Jingxue’s accusation sealed their fate—they were exiled as a whole clan.

Madam Zhen, on the other hand, became a national heroine who had “endured humiliation for justice,” and was granted the title of titled lady.

In short, the Marquis’s household had been nothing more than a stepping stone for this mother and daughter to climb higher.