Going Mad

"Oh dear! Young master, be careful!"

A maid from the Duke's mansion brought a bowl of milk to Qi Zaijun, but accidentally knocked it over.

It all splashed onto his clothes.

Cuiqin walked over, took Qi Zaijun's hand and helped him down from the chair, continuing, "Young Master, please give me your hand first."

The palms were sticky and gooey.

Lin Yunwan also got up; Qi Zaijun's clothes were no longer wearable.

Madam Chen had been very uneasy since she entered. Hearing the commotion, she immediately came over and nervously scolded the maid, "How dare you serve a guest like this!"

The maid was trembling with fear.

Lin Yunwan said, "Madam Chen, please don't scold this girl. It was my Jun'er suddenly reached out, startling her."

That's true.

Madam Chen, seizing the opportunity, instructed one of her favored Stewardess: "Hurry and take the Young Heir Apparent to wash and change."

Rumors have already spread about the matter of bestowing Heir Apparent.

Madam Chen knew she had offended Lin Yunwan, so this respectful address carried a hint of flattery.

Lin Yunwan smiled faintly, took Qi Zaijun's hand, and said, "He's shy around strangers, I'll take him."

The Stewardess walked to the side, bowing as she said, "Your Princess Consort, Your Heir Apparent, please come with me."

Lin Yunwan, along with Cuiqin and the maids serving Qi Zaijun, went to the guest rooms in the inner courtyard of the Duke's mansion.

To get from the banquet hall to the guest rooms, one must pass through the Second Gate of the mansion.

There was a Through Hall behind the Second Gate, and it was here that Ge Bao'er and Lu Zhengliu.

A maid first took Ge Bao'er to see her sister-in-law.

The maidservant lowered her head, not daring to be disrespectful, but she also looked down on Ge Bao'er.

"It's been so long, sister-in-law. How have you been? Are your son Little Miss doing well?"

The maid, dowry maid was part of Heir's Wife Lady Liu's dowry, said calmly, "Our Young Madam is doing well."

It's impossible for the Duke Xingguo's Residence to openly acknowledge Ge Bao'er back.

Every time Ge Bao'er and Lu Zhengliu came to visit, they did so under the guise of being relatives of the Heir's Wife Lady Liu.

Lady Liu was a daughter-in-law, and her mother-in -Madam Chen, was extremely domineering and autocratic. Moreover, her father-in-law hadn't said anything about it, so she had no choice but to bite the bullet and accept this relationship.

Whenever someone asked about Ge Bao'er's background, Lady Liu would have to say, "She's a distant relative of mine who happened to be a concubine in the Wuding Marquis Residence. I was lonely in the Inner Residence, and she often came over to keep me entertained."

Which of the most respected servants in the Duke's mansion didn't know that Ge Bao'er was actually the Great-Aunt of the Chen family?

Following beside Lady Liu's maid, Ge Bao'er asked with great curiosity, "I heard that the manor invited Prince Huan Consort today. Does sister-in-law know the Princess Consort?"

The maidservant Lady Liu glanced at her, remained silent for a long time, and then said, "I don't recognize her."

Ge Bao'er smiled, pursing her lips. "Just because I don't know you today doesn't mean I won't tomorrow. Since the Princess Consort is willing to visit the Duke's residence, it means she's willing to befriend Mother and Sister-in-law, so I will—"

"I wonder if I'll have the honor of meeting the Princess Consort."

She was too embarrassed to be too explicit about her feelings.

What didn't Lady Liu's maid know?

The Chen family hasn't even gotten to know Prince Huan Consort yet, and this Concubine from a Marquis's Residence's household is already trying to climb the social ladder!

She sneered inwardly, then calmly asked, "What does my Great-Aunt want to see the Princess Consort for? And when Princess Consort does, how will my Young Madam mention Great-Aunt to the Princess Consort?"

Ge Bao'er knew that the maid's words had another meaning.

She sneered, "Who doesn't know I'm my sister-in-law's distant cousin? Just tell the Princess Consort that."

"Or is it that your sister-in-law doesn't want to acknowledge me as her sister?"

Ge Bao'er pressed Lady Liu's maid, "Is this your idea, or my sister-in-law's?"

She frowned and said sadly, "I know I've wronged my sister-in-law. If she's unwilling, I can just talk to my mother. Why send a maid like you to make me suffer?"

Lady Liu's maid bit her lip.

If Ge Bao'er really complains to the Duchess, who knows what kind of torment her Young Madam will suffer!

The maid forced a smile, "Great-Aunt, you're overthinking it. How could my Young Madam possibly mean that? It's just..."

"The Princess Consort is of such high status that even our Young Madam herself might not be worthy of Princess Consort attention. How can we bring relatives along?"

Ge Bao'er said confidently, "Whether or not you catch the eye of a powerful person depends on your own abilities."

The maidservant surnamed Lady Liu choked, speechless.

Ge Bao'er knew that this maidservant definitely didn't approve of her.

But that's only because the maid was just a servant; what could a servant possibly understand?

She taught Lady Liu's maid, "People strive for higher positions, water flows downhill. How will you know if something will succeed if you don't try?"

If she hadn't been so bold as to have Lu Zhengliu's child back then, how could she have gotten to where she is today?

She had no chance to reunite with her parents.

She might not necessarily be unable to marry into the Prince Huan's Residence.

The maidservant Lady Liu, lowered her head and said, "This servant is ignorant and does not understand these principles."

Ge Bao'er ignored the maid.

After all, she was her sister-in-law's dowry maid, so she couldn't just discipline her.

Meanwhile, Lu Zhengliu and the servant boy beside the Chen family's heir also entered the inner courtyard.

He was still puzzled. "Why would the Heir Apparent meet me in the inner courtyard?"

Today, the Duke's Residence is hosting a banquet; his brother-in-law should be greeting guests in the Front Courtyard.

The servant replied, "Reporting to you, sir, the Heir Apparent has broken his leg and is recuperating in the backyard. He is currently in the study."

Lu Zhengliu casually asked, "The Heir Apparent broke his leg, why didn't you send someone to tell me?"

The two families have many business dealings behind the scenes. He doesn't see Chen Heir Apparent often, but he has some dealings with people around Chen Heir Apparent.

But he hadn't heard about it.

The servant seemed to smile, then bowed his head and said, "I don't know about that; I'm only in charge of relaying messages within the household."

Lu Zhengliu felt uncomfortable.

He suddenly remembered that one day when he came to see Madam Chen, he overheard the servants of the Duke's mansion gossiping, "They really think they're relatives of the Duke's mansion!"

The servant looked up and saw him, as if he had seen a ghost.

Lu Zhengliu's face was grim.

He never normally comes to the Duke's Residence!

But today, Prince Huan and his wife were coming... He gritted his teeth and endured it silently.

As Lu Zhengliu spotted a familiar figure near the Second Gate.

"It's her?"

That woman had the exact same figure as the woman he had seen at the Red Elephant Temple that day!

But today, she wasn't wearing a veil.

Lu Zhengliu's eyes widened as he stared intently at the woman's profile. It was a face he knew all too well! The face he had longed for day and night!

"Yun Wan..."

She was his first wife, Lin Yunwan.

He wouldn't admit his mistake, he absolutely wouldn't admit it! That woman was his wife, Lin Yunwan.

Lu Zhengliu ran towards that direction like a madman.

The servant turned around and, not seeing him, panicked. "Master Lu, that's the women's quarters! You... you can't wander off like that!"

He took off chasing after it.

Lin Yunwan had just handed Qi Zaijun over to a maid when she saw a branch of June Snow extending from the neighboring courtyard, so she came out herself.

She sensed a dark shadow approaching her, and when she turned her head, she saw a man rushing towards her.

Lu Zhengliu was almost beside her when he suddenly stopped. He approached slowly, flustered, his eyes reddening, his hoarse voice trembling, "Yun Wan... Yun Wan... you're not dead... you're not dead..."

Lin Yunwan looked at the man in front of her. After not seeing him for several years, she realized that she had almost forgotten what he looked like.

She asked indifferently, "Who are you?"

Lu Zhengliu stunned, a lump of air stuck in his throat, and tears streamed down his face.

"Yun Wan, I... I am..."

He suddenly realized that he didn't know how to tell her his identity.