Your Highness, your wife has had her virginity mark applied and married someone else.

Shen Mingshu didn't know if God was playing a trick on her or punishing Lu Youyou.

The medicine was a lie she made up on the spot, but it didn't end up on her; instead, it completely extinguished Zhang Yu's hopes.

This also completely severed any possibility between her and Wei Yuan.

So that's why he came home late.

Shen Mingshu's eyelashes drooped rapidly, desperately concealing the surging soreness in her eyes, and she dared not meet Wei Yuan's gaze again.

"Ah-Yuan, you should go."

"Ming Shu—"

Even though he was prepared, Wei Yuan was still struck by Shen Mingshu's decisive choice. He tried to climb in through the window, but Shen Mingshu stopped him with tears in her eyes.

"Ah Yuan, you have done me a favor, and Miss Lu is fond of you. She will surely not tolerate my existence if she behaves like this."

"I... I can't be ungrateful. I'm sorry, please pretend I didn't say anything, I'm sorry—"

Within a family, if only class value matters, then the mistress and the concubines can still get along harmoniously.

But if emotions get involved, it will only lead to chaos and unrest.

This is absolutely not what the Lu family wanted Lu Youyou to experience, nor is it what Lu Yanzhi wanted.

"He did me a favor? And what about me?"

Wei Yuan felt a lump in his throat, and the redness at the corners of his eyes looked extremely fragile under the moonlight: "Ming Shu, you can't do this to me."

Is the pain of a sunny day more painful than hatred, or is the pain of being destined to be apart more painful? Shen Mingshu couldn't tell, she really couldn't tell...

Her lips pressed into a stubborn arc, and she even deliberately held her breath away, refusing to let him get any closer.

"A-Yuan, I'm sorry."

If Shen Mingshu had known that Lu Youyou was so obsessed with Wei Yuan, she would never have sent him any more letters.

The most fatal thing is a relationship that can't be broken off. The matter between her and Wei Yuan is no longer something that the two of them can decide.

Wei Yuan closed his eyes in disappointment, his shoulders slumping slowly, as if he had been defeated, or as if he had given in.

After a long while, he slowly opened his eyes, his eyes bloodshot, and looked at Shen Mingshu.

Without saying a word, he clearly expressed his meaning, then silently turned and left.

"A-Yuan..."

Watching Wei Yuan disappear around the corner of the corridor, Shen Mingshu felt a sharp pain in her heart, and a feeling of suffocation instantly swept over her.

She staggered and barely managed to stand by the windowsill, tears streaming down her face, clear and bright.

But it's eye-catching.

Wei Ziye tightened his grip. He had clearly seen what he wanted to see, but he still felt like he had lost everything.

He couldn't tell whether he came here tonight because of Wei Xu's words or because of the coldness at home.

All she knew was that when she came to her senses, she had already left Shen Mingshu's room, but in this vast mansion, she couldn't find anywhere to go.

Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks, turned around, and came face to face with Wei Yuan, who was waiting there.

Their eyes met suddenly, and there was no trace of tenderness left in them.

"Big brother, are you still hung up on Ming Shu, or are you deliberately targeting me?"

Wei Yuan spoke first, his eyes filled with resentment as he pressed on: "You knew it was an accident, so why didn't you stop Lu Youyou from taking the Yanyu Pill?"

"Why are you trying to stop me?" Wei Ziye's eyes flashed with a mocking, half-smile. "Aren't you satisfied with everything the Lu family has given you?"

"This is not what I want!"

Wei Yuan stepped forward angrily, gripping Wei Ziye's collar tightly: "You know perfectly well why I made this choice! Ming Shu was willing to back down for me, which is already quite an achievement. As my elder brother, why did you deliberately ruin all of this!"

"..."

Looking at the resentment and anger in Wei Yuan's eyes, Wei Ziye suddenly felt very bored.

"Wei Yuan, did you ever truly consider me your older brother?"

Wei Yuan is indeed very good at manipulating people's hearts.

He saw the abnormality in this family and kept trying to use kinship to bind them, attempting to get various concessions from him.

"He entered the Wei residence, met his grandmother, used the Lu family as a pretext to re-enter the academy, and greedily took Shen Mingshu with him."

Wei Ziye's dark eyes seemed to see through people's hearts. His tone was gentle, yet it was a fatal blow: "Wei Yuan, you're thinking too much."

"But have you ever considered that all of this comes at a price?"

Wei Ziye raised his hand and pointed to his heart: "Your desires keep expanding, and now you can still use 'having no choice' as an excuse to numb yourself and force others to back down."

"When you enter officialdom and gain real power in the future, you will be constantly greedy for the new power that new people bring you."

"Shen Mingshu is not as simple as you think. If you can't see through her, stay away as soon as possible to avoid future chaos."

Wei Yuan listened to Wei Ziye's earnest words, but he was dismissive of them.

"Wei Ziye, I agree with what you said, but an outsider's perspective is clearer. Are you really sure your arrogance is justified?"

Wei Yuan released Wei Ziye, took two steps back, and sneered dismissively, "You're so clingy to Ming Shu, yet you deceive yourself and refuse to admit you still love her. Why don't you go and find out the truth of the past?"

"For example, who could have been secretly poisoning Grandmother in the backyard of the Wei residence over time? And what's missing and what's added to your backyard?"

Wei Zi's eyes turned cold: "What did Shen Mingshu tell you again?"

"Heh." Wei Yuan sneered, "Wei Ziye, there are some things that only you in the entire Wei family can't understand."

"If you had shared even a fraction of your suspicions about Ming Shu with that woman, you wouldn't have been kept in the dark like a fool."

Having said all he wanted to say, Wei Yuan gave him a deep look, then turned and left.

……

Although Wei Yuan's words sounded more like a provocation after being brainwashed by Shen Mingshu, Wei Ziye still stopped at the housekeeper's place before leaving home early in the morning.

"Give me the account books from three years ago, from the inner quarters."

The butler thought for a moment and replied, "Young Master, the old lady was in charge of the household three years ago. The account books are all in the old lady's storeroom. You need to ask the old lady for the key."

Wei Ziye paused for a moment, then scoffed at Wei Yuan's words even more.

Madam Wei's illness began three years ago, and all the medicinal herbs she purchased were managed by her own family.

How could Zhang Yu have been using drugs for an extended period of time?

Wei Ziye scoffed at himself for being swayed by such a low-class lie, a mocking smile playing on his lips, and was about to leave.

The steward, as if struck by a sudden thought, added, "Does the young master want the account books from after the Fifth Miss left the manor?"

Wei Ziye paused, "Is there a difference?"

Butler: "Young Master, have you forgotten that after Fifth Miss caused a scandal, she made the Old Madam ill, so the management of the household was handed over to the Lady of the Marquis?"

With a loud crash, a piece of Wei Ziye's heart shattered.

After Shen Mingshu jumped into the river, the first person to be affected was Old Madam Wei.

After spitting out that mouthful of blood, her body and her entire being seemed to have been drained of all their energy. From then on, her condition collapsed instantly, like mud and sand falling together.

At the time, Wei Ziye thought that Shen Mingshu's overly attentive service had upset the old lady.

Looking back now, how could such a shrewd old lady have truly opened her heart to someone like Shen Mingshu?

Unless, of course, the life-saving medicine has turned into a deadly one.

His voice was hoarse: "Give it to me."

……

That night, a group of people suddenly broke into a farmer's house.

Finding nothing after searching high and low, he killed the witness to cover his tracks.

The news quickly reached the Zhang family.

Zhang Yu's older brother, Zhang Songping, arrived at the Wei residence before dawn and went straight into Zhang Yu's study.

"Sister! Something terrible has happened! Someone is checking the pharmacy's accounts!"