Lady Wei swayed, staring at her son in disbelief.

After a long moment, she recovered, scolding through gritted teeth, "Lu Zhan, don’t you dare spout such nonsense and ruin your cousin’s reputation!"

Lu Zhan glanced at the girl frozen by his side. A flash of apology crossed his eyes, but he remained firm. "Every word I’ve said is true. My conduct was improper, and I took liberties with my cousin. I implore you, Mother, to make this right for us and set a wedding date as soon as possible."

Lady Wei was so furious she couldn’t speak. "You... you... you... you rebellious son!"

’Her son, whom she had always been so proud of, a man of such fine character, had acted so immorally. He had ruined the sweet girl she had raised with her own hands...’

’She had originally thought that when her son spoke of ’crossing the line,’ he meant he had merely confessed his feelings to Wan’er, brought her into his room, or perhaps held her hand.’

’She never imagined it was... physical intimacy. Doesn’t that mean...’

Lady Wei didn’t dare to let her thoughts go any further.

’She had been so confident that she was protecting Wan’er well, never realizing something like this could happen right under her nose.’

’She had taken every precaution, yet the real danger was in her own house!’

’It must have been when Wan’er went back to Yangzhou to pay respects at the graves. That must have been when she gave him the opportunity.’

At this thought, Lady Wei was filled with regret.

’If she had known her son was such a wolf, she would never have let Wan’er travel with him, no matter what.’

But it was too late for regrets now.

’What’s done is done...’

Just thinking about it gave Lady Wei a splitting headache.

’Still, it was a good thing she had followed them to Jiangning. Otherwise, who knew what other beastly things her son might have done to Wan’er.’

’So, when her son hid Wan’er in the inner chamber just now, he must have been planning something improper, and her arrival had foiled him.’

The image of a sweet, timid girl like Wan’er being forced to submit to her son made Lady Wei want to strangle him.

She roared, "Lu Zhan, you have ruined Wan’er’s innocence! You must take full responsibility for her. I’m taking Wan’er back with me now. Once a date is chosen, you two will be married immediately. There will be no delays!"

"Yes, I will obey your arrangements, Mother," Lu Zhan said, lowering his eyes as the corner of his mouth curved into a faint smile.

Zhi Wan still hadn’t recovered from her cousin’s shocking words. Now, hearing her aunt’s decision, she was completely stunned.

’How did things get to this point?’

Coming to her senses, she quickly blurted out, "Aunt, my cousin and I didn’t—"

"Didn’t what?" Lu Zhan cut her off calmly, turning his head to look at her. "Does my dear cousin have a poor memory? Shall I help you recall?"

Zhi Wan stared at him, astonished. But when she met her cousin’s eyes, which held a smile that wasn’t a smile, all her rebuttals stuck in her throat. She couldn’t utter a single word.

Afraid he would throw caution to the wind and say something even more outrageous, she finally lowered her head, her face beet red. ’My cousin is so treacherous,’ she fumed internally, utterly frustrated.

Seeing the frustration on her small face, Lu Zhan paused, then suddenly reached out and took her hand. "I know what you’re worried about," he said gently. "But your fears are unnecessary. Even if we marry, it won’t affect your duty to continue the Zhi family line. Didn’t Mother say before that our first child can take the surname Zhi, and any subsequent children can take the surname Lu?"

When Lady Wei saw her son take Wan’er’s hand right in front of her, her eyes nearly popped out of her head.

’How could she and Lu Zhenbei, such reserved people, have produced such a shameless rogue!’

’She truly couldn’t bear to watch.’

She was still cursing her son internally when she heard what he said next, and her expression instantly soured.

She sneered.

’No wonder he was so agreeable on the way back from Qingyin Pavilion when she had proposed adopting Wan’er and letting her first child take the Zhi surname!’

’It played right into his hands!’

"You absolute scoundrel, you even dare to plot against your own mother!" Enraged, Lady Wei kicked her son.

Lu Zhan wasn’t the least bit angry. Instead, he said with utmost sincerity, "Thank you, Mother, for granting our wish!"

Lady Wei choked, then suddenly yanked his hand away from Zhi Wan’s. "You heartless beast!" she cursed. "Kneel here properly, and don’t you dare get up without my command!"

"Yes," Lu Zhan replied without objection.

"Wan’er, let’s go!" Lady Wei took Zhi Wan’s hand and stormed out the door. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Chen Jiu had been standing guard outside the entire time, so he had naturally heard the commotion inside.

’Well, I’ll be,’ he thought. ’As expected of the Princely Heir. He completely ran circles around Her Ladyship and even got her to promise the Miss to him.’

’As the Princely Heir’s personal guard, he knew better than anyone that while his master had feelings for the Miss, he had absolutely not done anything improper.’

’Physical intimacy? What physical intimacy?’

’The Princely Heir would truly stop at nothing to marry the Miss. He could even spout lies like that without batting an eye!’

’Truly impressive!’

"Chen Jiu, escort Her Ladyship and the Miss to the adjacent courtyard to settle in."

Just as Chen Jiu was marveling at his master’s schemes, he suddenly heard the Princely Heir’s command. The door opened, and Lady Wei and the Miss walked out, each with a different expression on her face.

"Your Ladyship, Miss, the Post House Manager just reported that the adjacent courtyard has been prepared. I’ll escort you over to get settled," Chen Jiu said attentively.

Although Lady Wei was in a foul mood, the long days of travel by boat had left her body aching. Combined with one shock after another from her son today, she felt completely drained.

Even if she wanted to return to the capital immediately, her body wouldn’t be able to handle it.

Seeing Chen Jiu’s beaming face only soured her mood further. She kicked out at him. "You wretched servant! How dare you help the Princely Heir hide things from me!"

Chen Jiu didn’t dare to dodge. He even moved forward to take the kick, saying with an apologetic smile, "It was my failure of duty."

Lady Wei sneered. "I was thinking you’re getting on in years, and I was planning to find you a nice girl to marry. But now, I’ve changed my mind. I’ll make sure to marry you off to a real battle-ax!"

"Your Ladyship, please don’t..." Chen Jiu shivered in fear and quickly begged for mercy. "Next time the Princely Heir does anything, I will report every single detail to you, no matter how small."

"Too late," Lady Wei snorted, leading Zhi Wan out of the courtyard gate.

Chen Jiu: "..."

He couldn’t help but glance back at the room, where the Princely Heir was still kneeling. He suddenly felt a bit of satisfaction.

’It was all the Princely Heir’s fault for dragging him into this.’

’Her Ladyship was right. The Princely Heir deserved to be left there kneeling.’

But then again, the Princely Heir was going to marry the angelic Miss, while he was stuck with a future battle-ax. His heart sank with despair.

’Why was he the one who ended up getting hurt?’

「In the adjacent courtyard.」

The moment Lady Wei entered the room, she finally allowed herself to relax.

Seeing her aunt’s pale and utterly exhausted expression, Zhi Wan pushed all her own worries to the back of her mind. After washing her hands, she moved behind her aunt and began to massage her shoulders.

After drinking the tea Nanny Fang brought her, Lady Wei felt much better. Seeing how considerate Zhi Wan was, she felt a great sense of comfort.

She patted Zhi Wan’s hand and said kindly, "Wan’er, that’s enough. Come and sit down."

Zhi Wan had no choice but to stop and sit down beside her.

"You silly girl," Lady Wei said, taking her hand with great affection. "To be bullied by your cousin like that and not say a word. If I hadn’t followed you here, were you planning to hide this from me forever?"