Liang Zhe replied, “I only know that she has been married twice. Other than that, I know nothing else.”

Liang Yunshan took a deep breath.

Liang Zhe stood there for a while, puzzled, then said again, “Father, I have only recently returned. Why doesn’t Father ask Second Brother and Third Brother instead? They have been residing in the capital for a long time and are most familiar with these matters.”

Liang Yunshan suddenly understood. “You’re right. Go, go, go fetch them here.”

“Yes, Father.” After withdrawing from the outer study, Liang Zhe suppressed his laughter and headed toward the courtyards where Liang Jie and Liang Yuan lived.

Princess Qin’an—he knew her all too well. Otherwise, how would he dare to be so filial to Father? Otherwise, why would he trouble the Marquis’s wife?

Liang Jie and Liang Yuan lived in two adjacent courtyards.

At this moment, Liang Jie was in Liang Yuan’s courtyard, and the two brothers were drinking tea to aid their digestion.

Liang Zhe’s arrival surprised them both—this was one of the rare times Liang Zhe had visited since returning to the capital.

Liang Jie came forward to greet him. “Oh, Big Brother, what a rare guest! What wind has blown you here?”

Liang Yuan remained seated without moving. After that incident where he was tricked into jumping into a pit, how could he possibly like Liang Zhe? Though he had never liked him before either.

Liang Zhe stopped in his tracks. “Second Brother, Third Brother, Father requests your presence in the outer study to speak.”

The brothers Liang Jie exchanged glances, and Liang Jie asked, “Big Brother, do you know what this is about?”

“Father just returned and wants to inquire about some matters concerning wealthy families in the capital.”

Liang Jie instinctively didn’t believe this, but Liang Zhe had no reason to lie, as it would be easily exposed.

“Second Brother, Third Brother, please go quickly. Don’t keep Father waiting.”

The two stood up and followed Liang Zhe out.

After the three parted ways, Liang Zhe leisurely returned to Pine Wave Residence.

From a distance, he could see the hazy lamplight of Pine Wave Residence. Unexpectedly, a woman emerged from beneath the trees by the roadside, her fragrance assaulting his senses, her voice coquettish and alluring: “Oh my!”

Liang Zhe’s steps didn’t falter as he continued walking forward.

“Oh my, it hurts so much!”

The woman’s voice was extremely soft and tender, inspiring pity.

Yet Liang Zhe was like a wooden man, quickly walking several steps away.

Finally, the woman’s voice changed: “Master, please help this servant…”

Liang Zhe seemed like a deaf man. In the blink of an eye, he turned around a cluster of trees and instantly disappeared from sight.

“Master, Master…”

The woman called out, but where could Liang Zhe’s shadow still be seen?

Liu’er angrily twisted her handkerchief. The master truly had a heart of stone—she had acted like this, yet he showed not the slightest bit of tender compassion.

She had inadvertently seen him go out and knew he would surely return, so she waited here. She had eaten her fill of cold wind, yet the master didn’t even spare her a glance.

Just as she was feeling resentful, she suddenly heard a “pfft” of mocking laughter—it was Miao Zhilan.

Liu’er swayed her snake-like waist, snorted, and without looking at Miao Zhilan, walked past her.

“Not even considering what kind of thing she is, daring to flaunt herself here—truly disgusting!”

Miao Zhilan was both gloating and somewhat jealous.

It had to be said that Liu’er’s alluring charm was indeed enviable. After all, she was a thoroughbred courtesan who had undergone training—she was different indeed.

As a woman herself, Miao Zhilan was quite envious.

Returning to Pine Wave Residence, Liang Zhe saw that Qin Shuying had already changed clothes and was sitting on the couch reading. He approached her: “What is Madam reading?”

Under the flickering candlelight, Qin Shuying caught the fresh, pleasant scent emanating from Liang Zhe’s body. Her face felt somewhat flushed—what did it mean for a grown man to smell so fragrant?

“Nothing much, it’s a book of foreign language that Father left behind.”

“May I take a look as well?”

Qin Shuying’s face reddened as she shifted her body, then changed the subject: “What did the Marquis summon you to ask about?”

Liang Zhe sat across from her and picked up the book. “Mm… he asked me about Princess Qin’an.”

Qin Shuying looked surprised. “Princess Qin’an?”

“Does Madam know of her?”

Of course Qin Shuying knew. Princess Qin’an was also unique among noble ladies—she had once spent considerable effort memorizing Princess Qin’an’s anecdotes.

“Princess Qin’an is the daughter of Prince Huai’an. She should be about thirty years old now. I remember she married someone in her teens, but later His Majesty granted them a divorce. She had only been married for three years and bore no children. Later, she married again, but her husband passed away, and she had no children from that marriage either.”

The first person Princess Qin’an married was someone she had chosen herself—a third-place imperial examination graduate named Cao Furong. Cao Furong was brilliantly talented and handsome, but his family background was very ordinary. He came from a common scholarly family in an impoverished town in the southwest. His family owned a few acres of thin farmland and several shops, and his elderly father was an old rural gentleman who had also read some books.

After marrying the princess, Cao Furong didn’t need to return to his hometown thousands of miles away. He settled and took office in the capital.

Two years later, Cao Furong’s elderly parents came to the capital. The Cao family had two older sons before him, and when Old Madam Cao saw that her youngest daughter-in-law didn’t show her the same filial respect as her first and second daughters-in-law, she began making trouble.

When Old Madam Cao put on her mother-in-law airs, Cao Furong found himself caught in the middle, facing difficulties from both sides. Over time, he also developed dissatisfaction with Princess Qin’an, believing she wasn’t sufficiently filial.

Although Princess Qin’an wasn’t a willful princess, as a golden branch and jade leaf, how could she possibly humble herself like an ordinary family’s daughter-in-law?

In any case, the household was in constant turmoil. After a year of chaos, the matter reached the imperial court.

When Emperor Delong saw that a dignified princess was being bullied by a country old woman, he flew into a rage. With a grand gesture, he granted the divorce and dismissed Cao Furong from office.

The entire Cao family slunk back to continue being country folk, while Princess Qin’an rarely ventured out from then on.

Several years later, Prince Huai’an’s residence took a fancy to Shi Yuan, the youngest son of the then Minister of Rites. The two families formed a century-long alliance, and Princess Qin’an married into the Shi family.

This time, Princess Qin’an’s married life was reportedly quite fulfilling, with the couple having an excellent relationship.

Once, the Shi family hosted a banquet, inviting many noble ladies. Although she wasn’t the main hostess, Princess Qin’an also entertained some female guests.

Unexpectedly, Luo Meixiang accidentally pushed Princess Qin’an, causing her to fall immediately. Later, it was said she was two months pregnant at the time, but since it wasn’t time to announce it publicly, no one knew. However, because of that push, she miscarried.

From then on, Princess Qin’an never conceived again.

A few years later, Shi Yuan died of illness, and Princess Qin’an became a childless widow.

Now, if Princess Qin’an were to enter their household, the one with a headache would be either Old Madam Liang or Luo Meixiang.

Qin Shuying asked curiously, “Ziyu, I’m very curious—how did you manage this?”

Liang Zhe smiled mischievously. “Shuying, try to guess.”

Qin Shuying shook her head. “I really can’t guess. I only know that Princess Qin’an’s miscarriage back then was related to the Marquis’s wife, but the Marquis’s wife probably didn’t do it intentionally at the time. Even if Princess Qin’an holds a grudge, there are other ways to trouble the Marquis’s wife. To set aside her dignity and become the Marquis’s concubine for the purpose of getting close to the Marquis’s wife for revenge—that’s simply too incomprehensible.”

Liang Zhe said, “Your guess is half correct. Princess Qin’an would naturally hold a grudge. Her first marriage was to the wrong person, but her second marriage had genuine affection with Shi Yuan. When she lost the child and injured her body, Shi Yuan’s death might not have been unrelated to her miscarriage. How could she not hate Luo Meixiang? However, she is a princess after all—even racking her brains, she would never conceive of becoming a concubine to the Marquis. Unable to exact great revenge, she lost all vitality and became like an old woman.”