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

The red marks on Zhang Yu's face suddenly stung with excruciating pain.

That was the first time Wei Xu laid a hand on her. The man who once wished he could give her all the stars in the sky had become unrecognizable under the erosion of time.

It is clear that he was in just as much pain when he took Yuan Shi as his concubine.

What do you mean by exclusive love, family responsibility, or responsibility to offspring? They're all just excuses he's made up!

They are completely blind to how outstanding her son is!

When the heavy burden of the family suddenly fell upon her, her son had just come of age. The old woman couldn't bear to leave the Night Domain, so he stormed into the Heavenly Pavilion, took several stabs, killed the Pavilion Master, and devoted himself to securing his position in the Heavenly Pavilion!

Even so, they were still not satisfied and preferred to hand over the Night Domain to a bastard rather than let her Aye become the head of the Wei family!

All of this is simply because Ah Ye is her child, so he was disliked by the old hag from birth!

Bathed in sunlight and shadow, Zhang Yu's eyes held a sinister and unreadable expression: "Whose people?"

Zhang Songping swallowed hard: "From the Wei family."

"..."

"Sister, could it be that the old lady has noticed something?" Zhang Songping asked anxiously.

If Old Madam Wei were to find out about the poisoning incident from back then, Zhang Yu, and indeed the entire Zhang family, would be finished.

These past few days, a series of shocks have struck Zhang Yu's heart. After a long silence, she finally looked up at Zhang Songping with determination.

"Brother, we can't wait any longer; we must strike first!"

Zhang Songping remained somewhat cautious, after all, the Zhang family's success was ultimately due to their reliance on the Wei family.

If this matter is truly resolved by violence, it will certainly not end well. At that time, all the peace and prosperity of the Zhang family will be gone.

"Mei, do you want to discuss this matter again? Where is Ah Shi?"

"Brother!" Seeing that Zhang Songping still wanted to discuss things with Wei Ziye, Zhang Yu frowned in disappointment and got up.

"If I hadn't taken the opportunity to drug the old woman and seized control of the family, do you really think the Zhang family could have turned things around so quickly!"

Zhang Yu gripped Zhang Songping's collar tightly, his eyes bloodshot with resentment: "Don't forget how that old hag stood by and watched when the Zhang family was at its lowest point!"

Back then, the Wei family didn't need to form marriage alliances, so the Zhang family, which was neither as good nor as bad as the Zhang family, relied entirely on the friendship between Zhang Yu and Wei Xu to gradually climb into the top circle.

However, lacking sufficient strength, relying solely on the Wei family's forced growth only disrupted the Zhang family's stability, plunging them into a crisis they could not withstand.

Madam Wei looked down on the Zhang family, a small and insignificant family, and even more so on the mediocre talents who were greedy and unworthy of their positions.

Wei Xu chose these people himself; if he can keep them in check, that's his skill; if he can't, then the Zhang family deserves it.

Therefore, during the construction of water conservancy projects, the bridge collapsed due to embezzlement, resulting in countless deaths and injuries. The emperor was furious, and no matter how Wei Xu and Zhang Yu pleaded, Old Madam Wei just watched coldly.

Ultimately, the main culprit, Zhang's father, took full responsibility for the crime and was forced to commit suicide in prison.

Zhang Yu remembered this incident for the rest of his life.

After that, whatever Madam Wei asked for, she would do the opposite and destroy it.

Having fought to this point, the two were now locked in a life-or-death struggle, and Zhang Yu had no time to hesitate any longer.

Zhang Songping opened his mouth, but in the end he just sighed in silence.

……

night.

A figure moved through the Wei residence, arrived at the storeroom, and was about to unlock it.

Another person appeared silently behind them, like a ghost: "The old lady has decreed that anyone who unlocks the lock shall die."

Wei Zi clenched his hands and turned around to look: "People from the Night Territory?"

Perhaps not expecting Wei Ziye to come in person, the guard paused, then knelt on one knee and bowed, saying, "This subordinate deserves to die; I did not know it was the Crown Prince who was visiting."

Wei Ziye looked at him, then glanced at the storeroom door. "Grandmother's order?"

Guard: "Yes, Your Highness. The old lady said that if there are any problems with the account books, you can ask her directly."

The ledgers were known to be flawless, yet the accountants kept changing.

Being overly cautious and striving for perfection is itself a problem.

But without seeing it with his own eyes, Wei Ziye could never accept the answer.

Looking at the gate in front of him, he knew that no matter how cautious Zhang Yu was, he couldn't make a move here.

If someone truly bought something they shouldn't have, the problem would become clear if they compared it with the account books kept by Old Madam Wei.

Wei Ziye stood silently outside the old man's quarters until dawn.

Dew dripped from the petals, and the door to Madam Wei's room slowly opened.

Wei Ziye's brows and eyes were shrouded in frost. He slowly raised his eyes, finally flicked his robe to shake off the dew, and then resolutely stepped into her room.

"grandmother."

Wei Ziye knelt down on both knees and bowed respectfully.

Madam Wei did not speak. After being helped to wash up, she slowly ate breakfast and drank her medicine before someone called her into the inner room.

"I haven't slept all night, and I'm still so restless."

Old Madam Wei lay on the soft couch, covered with fine silk, her eyes closed peacefully.

Wei Ziye glanced at her withered face, then knelt down on both knees: "I have disturbed Grandmother, please punish me."

"If Zhang Yu can still raise a family head for the Wei family who is filial, fraternal, loyal, and trustworthy, then his crime does not warrant death."

Old Madam Wei slowly opened her eyes and looked at Wei Ziye: "There's no need for you to come here to atone for her sins."

"..."

Realizing something, Wei Ziye felt a chill run down his spine and looked up at Old Madam Wei in astonishment: "Grandmother, you...you already knew?"

"Know."

Old Madam Wei gazed into the void, seemingly lost in thought, reminiscing: "When did I find out?"

"Oh well, never mind."

As if lightly brushing aside the dust of the world, Madam Wei easily turned the page on this life-threatening matter, as if turning the page of a book.

"I had that warehouse burned down. Don't mention it again."

Wei Ziye's eyes flickered, unsure how to react.

Yes.

The fact that Madam Wei, such a shrewd person, has survived to this day, even though Zhang Yu tried to kill her while she was ill, is enough to prove everything.

However, Wei Ziye was puzzled. Old Madam Wei was not the kind of person who repaid evil with kindness, so how could she accept being hurt like this?

As for him... the victims spoke lightly, while the perpetrators went to great lengths to harm him. He was caught in the middle, neither up nor down, unsure of whether to stay or leave.

"Grandmother, I'm sorry..." Wei Ziye's eyes were red, and she lowered her head in defeat.

"Ah." Madam Wei extended her hand to him lovingly.

Wei Ziye knelt down and gently took her hand.

"The Wei family can't afford any more trouble. Let bygones be bygones."

"Some things happen, and you either have to accept them or reject them from the beginning. If you accept them but then feel resentful, it's easy to develop an obsession."

Wei Ziye's Adam's apple bobbed as he immediately thought of Shen Mingshu.

Obsession—who can escape obsession?

Isn't all of this caused by obsession...?

"Ah Ye, you are the older brother, and you understand better what Ah Yuan has suffered in the past. I hope you will set an example by letting go of the past and forgiving yourself."

Old Madam Wei pulled Wei Ziye tightly, her eyes filled with worry.

"Grandmother is getting old. The Wei family will have to rely on you two brothers in the future. Grandmother hopes that all the descendants of the Wei family will take the rise and fall of the Wei family as their own responsibility."

Do you understand?