Zhou Xu returned to her room and sat down.
As I was thinking about something, I suddenly felt a breeze coming in.
Looking up, he froze, exclaiming in disbelief, "You, why are you here so early?"
It is the Prince of Jin.
It was still early; the sounds of the maids washing up next door and the young maids running around outside delivering messages were still lively. Then, Prince of Jin unexpectedly entered.
"Don't believe his nonsense," said the Prince of Jin. "What phoenix coronet and embroidered robes? They're all fake until they're presented to you."
It turns out he was worried about her.
Zhou Xu laughed and said obediently, "I didn't believe a single word he said; I was just playing along!"
Let's put a period to the past.
Wu Zhenhai didn't actually owe her anything; what she owed Wu Zhenhai, she repaid with her body.
So, let's part ways amicably.
However, now that she's "dead," Wu Zhenhai's reputation as a "wife-killer" will probably spread.
I'm sorry.
"There's no need for pretense anymore." The Prince of Jin sat down in his chair.
He was originally supposed to arrive late at night, but he couldn't rest easy.
He felt fortunate to have arrived first; otherwise, he wouldn't have known about Wu Zhenhai's many sweet words and flattery.
Fortunately, Zhou Xu's will was quite firm, but she wasn't entirely unmoved, so the Prince of Jin still spoke up to remind her.
"I know we won't recognize each other anymore," Zhou Xu said. "Don't worry, I can let it go."
Instead of enjoying a wonderful life and a loving family, she's thinking about Old Cabbage Stalk —that's just plain stupid.
"Yes," said the Prince of Jin, "From now on... your sister-in-law and I will help you settle in."
"Okay, I'll be good."
"If you have any thoughts of your own, you should speak them out."
"Yes."
After saying this, the brother and sister looked at each other in silence.
After all, it feels somewhat unfamiliar.
Zhou Xu wasn't usually tongue-tied, but now she just didn't know what to say and felt a little awkward.
Finally, the Prince of Jin awkwardly tried to start a conversation. "Pack up the things you want to take with you."
"I'm not taking anything with me," Zhou Xu said.
She wanted to say goodbye to the past completely and didn't want to leave any flaws.
Old Cabbage Stalk, very clever.
It's not that the other members of the Zhou Family weren't smart, it's just that nobody cared about her.
Perhaps only Old Cabbage Stalk would look at her, and might even shed a couple of tears for her...
I wonder if Lady Lu can get lucky this time and go directly from concubine to wife.
You're welcome. Best wishes.
The brother and sister killed their conversation again.
This time, Zhou Xu struggled to find a topic to talk about.
"If I do anything wrong in the future, please tell me directly. As for my mother, I will keep an eye on her; she's easily influenced and easily deceived."
Before, we had to take care of her; now we have to keep an eye on her so she doesn't become a burden to her brother.
The mother and daughter were already extremely grateful to have a place to stay, and they absolutely must not cause any trouble.
"That was my responsibility," said the Prince of Jin. "Just take care of yourself. Consider the past as a dog bite; you have a bright future ahead of you."
Zhou Xu's eyes reddened.
So this is the real elder brother.
She's not afraid of being mistreated; she has a body full of thorns to protect herself.
But she really can't stand it when others are kind to her, especially when that kindness is selfless.
"Your sister-in-law will be giving birth in the next year or two, so please help her out."
Only when she feels needed can she feel at ease.
Zhou Xu nodded vigorously. "I will!"
Give it your all.
"Once you're family, friction is inevitable. If you've been wronged, let your sister-in-law and me know."
"Uh-huh."
Zhou Xu could only nod; she couldn't say anything else.
She was afraid of saying the wrong thing, afraid that Prince of Jin would misunderstand—she had such high expectations for the Prince's residence, and so wanted to be a part of their community.
Seeing that her eyes were getting redder and redder, the Prince of Jin fell silent.
After a long pause, he said, "They'll have to wait until late at night, when there are fewer people, to make it easier to bring the body in..."
"Woof woof woof woof!" Four barks came from outside.
The Prince of Jin stood up. "Someone's here; it's very likely Wu Zhenhai."
On the way there, he told Dog Meat to bark three times when the guards arrived, and he even imitated it, "Woof woof woof." Unexpectedly, Dog Meat understood.
Not only do they understand, but they also look down on it?
The Prince of Jin then tentatively asked, "If it's Wu Zhenhai, woof woof woof woof!"
Have you memorized the four tones?
Qu Nian: Damn it, I'm just a dog, and I want to speak like a human; you're a perfectly normal person, and you're barking like a dog.
Who are you insulting?!
Damn you, God, why are you blind?
Let's appease the Prince of Jin and have him switch places with Prince of Jin!
System: Don't even think about changing the female lead, Tang Zhuyun isn't yours!
Qu Nian: Holy crap, he doesn't even care about being a dad!
He called out four times, and as he had hoped, he saw the Prince of Jin's shocked expression.
What an ignorant fool!
Prince of Jin: This dog has become a spirit.
Zhou Xu stood up and said, "It's alright if it's Wu Zhenhai. Please have a seat, I'll go out and deal with him!"
The Prince of Jin nodded, but still got up and hid behind the screen.
Zhou Xu went out to greet him, blocking Wu Zhenhai at the courtyard gate.
"Missing me again so soon?" she said with a forced smile. "Or regretting not getting some sleep before leaving?"
Wu Zhenhai handed her a package wrapped in oil paper, saying irritably, "I know you've had a bad day, so I brought you a box of snacks!"
"You did this?"
"That still has to be in time."
For some reason, he felt uneasy after leaving her, so he wandered around, got a box of pastries, and sneaked back in to see her.
"Thank you."
"Wait!" Wu Zhenhai cursed as Zhou Xu turned to go inside, "Hidden with some bastard, why are you in such a hurry!"
"So what if you hide it? You're not the only one who can come and go as you please."
"My brother's here!" she thought proudly.
Wu Zhenhai didn't take it seriously at all, and even thought about saying a few more words before leaving, otherwise he wouldn't feel at ease.
Zhou Xu said, "I saw Wu Chanjuan today and noticed a bruise near her eye. I suspect her husband hit her. You should go and take a look when you have time."
Wu Zhenhai's expression changed instantly. "Why didn't you say so sooner!"
Zhou Xu wasn't angry. "Go ahead."
"I'll go right away."
Wu Zhenhai turned and left.
Zhou Xu took the snacks back with her.
Wu Zhenhai went to find Wu Chanjuan.
At that time, her son-in-law Che Yun, was talking to Wu Chanjuan in her room.
"Your father is truly amazing, managing to have both sisters. Why don't you have any sisters so I can enjoy this blessing of having multiple wives?"
Wu Chanjuan blushed with anger, twisting her handkerchief, unable to speak.
If she talks back, Che Yun will say even more offensive things.
Wu Zhenhai stormed in, just in time to hear this, and immediately raised his fist and beat Che Yun so badly that even his own mother wouldn't recognize him.
What's infuriating is that Wu Chanjuan actually grabbed him and cried as she pleaded for Che Yun's life.
Wu Zhenhai was almost driven mad with anger.
But when he saw that Wu Chanjuan had been wiping away tears for a long time but there was no injury around her eye, he immediately had a bad feeling.
Zhou Xu is lying to him!
She wasn't even afraid of being exposed; she told him to leave. Surely she couldn't be keeping a lover and be so eager to have an affair?
That's impossible.
So why did she do that?
Just as they realized something was wrong, Wu Guang chased after them in a panic.
"My lord, something terrible has happened! Zhou Xu's courtyard is on fire!"