The trial results were quickly presented to Emperor Yong’an.

Emperor Yong’an’s good mood had been rising day by day, when suddenly this vexing matter came up, making him greatly annoyed.

Were they trying to ruin his good mood?

With a wave of his imperial brush, the punishment for the Marquis of Changchun was quickly decided: strip him of his title and exile him to the frontier.

The marquis manor’s property would first make up for the shortfall in Princess Huayang’s dowry and be given to the eldest daughter Xu Fang, with the remaining property confiscated by the imperial treasury.

The second wife Yang Shi had vile conduct and, combining multiple crimes, would be sent to the Bureau of Music.

As for Yang Shi’s three children, since the Marquis of Changchun’s crime was murdering his wife, the disaster did not extend to the children—they were merely reduced to commoner status.

When the decree came down and the Marquis of Changchun, who had been imprisoned in a cell, was brought out, he encountered Yang Shi being brought out from another cell.

When this formerly married couple met, it was like enemies meeting—their eyes turned especially red.

“You vile woman! You caused me to lose my title—what good does this do you!” The Marquis of Changchun roared hoarsely with reddened eyes.

Yang Shi looked coldly at the Marquis of Changchun and didn’t speak.

“Say something! Now my title is gone, you’ve been sent to the Bureau of Music—what good have Nan’er and the others gained?” The Marquis of Changchun struggled to charge at Yang Shi.

This was what he couldn’t understand no matter what.

As a divorced woman, Yang Shi’s life wasn’t as good as before, but didn’t she think about their three children?

Dragging him down to mutual destruction—only a madwoman could do such a thing.

Yang Shi spoke: “If Cousin remained the Marquis of Changchun, Nan’er and the others would be even worse off.”

Now at least Nan’er and the others still had their lives, but if Cousin remained his marquis, under Xu Fang’s pressure, he might very well try to kill Nan’er and the others.

Cousin was capable of doing such things.

Princess Huayang was Cousin’s wedded wife who bore him a pair of children, yet once she threatened Cousin’s interests, wasn’t she smothered to death alive?

Cousin had even thought several times of killing Xu Fang.

She had seen it with her own eyes. Back then she wasn’t afraid, even felt pleased, but when it was her turn, she trembled with fear.

So afraid that she would rather drag this man to die together, as long as it preserved the children’s lives.

Madness surged in Yang Shi’s reddened eyes.

Months of continuously ingesting drugs had numbed her thoughts, keeping her at the edge of madness, making her unable to escape once she got stuck on something.

The Marquis of Changchun only felt Yang Shi was speaking nonsense and asked incredulously: “Have you gone mad? Nan’er and the others are now reduced to commoners—what good have they gained?”

Had he known this madwoman would ruin everything, he should have taken her life after divorcing her.

The Marquis of Changchun felt regret once again.

Having been married for many years, Yang Shi understood this man before her all too well. The killing intent that flashed through the Marquis of Changchun’s eyes stimulated her extremely sensitive nerves.

Yang Shi laughed madly: “That’s still better than losing their lives! I know everything—you were going to send Nan’er and the others back to the ancestral home, and the next step would be taking their lives, wouldn’t it?”

The Marquis of Changchun froze: “What sending back to the ancestral home? What nonsense are you spouting?”

“You’re still putting on an act!” Yang Shi raised her hand to claw at the Marquis of Changchun’s face.

Having just struggled forward, the Marquis of Changchun had closed the distance between them. With a ripping sound, a bloody scratch appeared on the Marquis of Changchun’s face.

The Marquis of Changchun screamed and reached out to slap Yang Shi.

The bailiffs held the Marquis of Changchun down firmly, warning: “Don’t act rashly!”

Unable to struggle free, the Marquis of Changchun glared furiously at Yang Shi: “What exactly are you talking about? When did I ever plan to send Nan’er and the others away?”

“It was that vile woman Xu Fang—she used the dowry to force you—”

The Marquis of Changchun became even more bewildered: “What mad talk are you spouting? That unfilial daughter did ask about the dowry her mother left behind, but how could she do something like forcing me to send Nan’er and the others away? She’s a daughter-in-law of the General’s Manor. Wouldn’t she fear being criticized behind her back and unable to establish herself in her in-laws’ home if she did such a thing?”

Yang Shi fell silent for a moment, staring intently at the Marquis of Changchun.

“You foolish woman, where did you hear such gossip? You’re simply a madwoman—”

At this moment, Yang Shi’s muddled mind seemed to be split open by lightning, regaining a moment of clarity.

Her facial expression froze, but her heart finally reacted: She had fallen into a trap!

There had never been any plan to send Nan’er and the others back to the ancestral home. Making her hear these things was just to make her drag Cousin down with her.

She had done exactly that. Cousin lost his title, and the children became commoners without parental protection.

It was Xu Fang—it must have been a trap Xu Fang set to avenge her mother.

But she had fallen for it!

“Ahhh—” The string called rationality in Yang Shi’s mind completely snapped, and she let out a shrill scream.

Yang Shi went completely mad. Rumors in the streets said she couldn’t bear the shock of being sent to the Bureau of Music and went insane.

Supposedly, Yang Shi kept muttering about killing Miss Xu.

While people sighed in sympathy for the pair of children Princess Huayang left behind and their experiences, they expressed great satisfaction with Yang Shi’s fate.

Of course, the Marquis of Changchun’s fate was even more satisfying.

Exile to the frontier was almost equivalent to waiting for death—he might not even make it to his destination and die on the road.

After confiscating the Marquis of Changchun’s manor and reporting the situation to Emperor Yong’an, he became angry again.

He had thought that confiscating the Marquis of Changchun’s manor would bring some revenue to the imperial treasury, but it turned out all the property of the Marquis of Changchun’s manor combined still couldn’t make up for the shortfall in Princess Huayang’s dowry.

This was too poor!

No—this showed that over the years, the Marquis of Changchun’s manor had relied on the dowry Princess Huayang left behind to get by. What an ugly sight.

Emperor Yong’an, in his anger, added additional punishment: the Marquis of Changchun’s second son Xu Nan and third son Xu Dong’s descendants within three generations were forbidden from entering government service.

When the news reached Xu Fang’s ears, she cried hard, then changed into outdoor clothes and went to Youjian Tavern.

The dates on the jujube tree in front of Youjian Tavern had been eaten by people coming and going from the tavern until only a sparse few red dates remained hidden among the branches and leaves.

The tavern during the day was quiet and leisurely, with only the sound of wood chopping continuing without pause.

Xu Fang was led by Hong Dou into the back courtyard, where she saw Luo Sheng standing by the persimmon tree, and her younger brother focused on chopping wood.

Xu Fang paused for a moment, then walked over.

“Miss Luo, today I’ve come to thank you.” Xu Fang looked at the young woman with calm features, her emotions surging intensely.

That day, when she heard the stepmother had been divorced, Miss Luo told her everything was just beginning, and she didn’t dare believe it.

And now everything that had happened told her that at the time it really was just the beginning.

Father and stepmother’s fates were even more satisfying than she could have imagined—results she wouldn’t have dared dream of.

And all of this was thanks to Miss Luo.

Xu Fang looked at Luo Sheng as tears streamed down her face.

The wood chopping stopped.

Xu Xi, holding the axe, looked at Xu Fang with surprise.

Why was Elder Sister crying in front of Miss Luo?

“Don’t cry anymore. From now on, all your days will be good.” Luo Sheng smiled comfortingly.

Xu Fang came to her senses and hurriedly wiped away her tears, calling out to Xu Xi: “Younger Brother, come here.”

Xu Xi obediently walked over: “Elder Sister, what is it? I haven’t finished chopping today’s wood yet.”

“Kneel down and kowtow to Miss Luo.”

Xu Xi was startled but very obediently knelt down.

Luo Sheng pulled him up, looking at the youth who was now a head taller than her, her lips curving with gratification.

Wei Han stepped into the courtyard and raised his eyebrows slightly.