Before meeting Miss Chen, Lin Hao decided to investigate Zhao Jincai, the Heir of Marquis Pingjia.

She knew little about this man who had once been her brother-in-law.

In that dark period of her previous life, she had only seen Zhao Jincai twice. Once on her elder sister’s wedding day, and once when her elder sister returned home three days after the wedding.

Not long after, she fled Wen Mansion. When she returned to the capital three years later, she learned of her elder sister’s death.

Lin Hao went to the front courtyard.

In front of the woodshed, a man in his early forties was chopping wood.

He was slightly plump with a kindly, benevolent appearance, occasionally picking up a short log with movements that seemed completely leisurely.

“Uncle Liu,” Lin Hao called out as she approached.

Uncle Liu set his axe on the ground and asked with a smile, “It’s dirty here—what brings Second Miss here?”

Lin Hao pulled over a small stool and sat down, propping her chin on her hand. “I came to watch Uncle Liu chop wood.”

Uncle Liu laughed. “Then Second Miss, watch closely.”

A short log was placed before him. The axe turned once in his hand, and with a swift motion, the log became neatly split strips of wood.

Lin Hao clapped her hands. “Uncle Liu, what excellent skill!”

Uncle Liu stared at the scattered wood strips and sighed inwardly.

These days, all he could do was chop wood.

“Would Second Miss like to try?” Uncle Liu suddenly offered her the axe.

Lin Hao smiled and said yes, taking the axe. Imitating Uncle Liu’s earlier movements, she turned the axe and brought it down on the short log.

With several cracking sounds, the log split into evenly-sized pieces.

Uncle Liu nodded approvingly. “Second Miss hasn’t forgotten what the old general taught you.”

“What Grandfather taught me, I naturally cannot forget.” Lin Hao set down the axe and looked at Uncle Liu hopefully. “Uncle Liu, I want to ask you to help me with something.”

Uncle Liu smiled. “What is it?”

When Second Miss came to find him, it naturally couldn’t be simply to watch him chop wood.

“I need to verify a woman’s identity.”

Hearing this, Uncle Liu’s smile faded. “Who does Second Miss want to investigate?”

Could that dog Wen Rugui possibly have another affair?

Just thinking of Wen Rugui made everyone in the General’s mansion grind their teeth in hatred.

“I only know that this woman is called Hanfang, and she’s someone the Heir of Marquis Pingjia likes.”

“Who?” Uncle Liu thought he’d misheard.

Not Wen Rugui?

“The Heir of Marquis Pingjia.”

Uncle Liu’s expression immediately became peculiar. “The Heir of Marquis Pingjia… sounds like a young man.”

“Yes, he just became engaged to the eldest miss of Earl Huai’an’s mansion.”

Uncle Liu’s expression grew even more strange.

Engaged to the young lady of Earl Huai’an’s mansion?

What did this have to do with Second Miss?

“I’m friends with the eldest miss of Earl Huai’an’s mansion. I happened to hear that the Heir of Marquis Pingjia likes a woman called Hanfang, and I’m worried my friend will suffer in the future, so I’m asking Uncle Liu to investigate,” Lin Hao explained.

Uncle Liu’s expression relaxed slightly. “So that’s how it is.”

As long as Second Miss wasn’t getting mixed up in messy affairs.

“Is this Hanfang a personal name, or is the woman’s surname ‘Han’?”

Lin Hao shook her head. “I don’t know. I only happened to learn this name.”

On the day her elder sister returned home three days after the wedding, she had been full of smiles, sweetness showing in her brows and eyes. Zhao Jincai was refined and courteous, showing consideration for her elder sister in every way.

Her happiness for her elder sister lasted only until her elder sister and Zhao Jincai prepared to leave.

Her elder sister held her hand in reluctant farewell while Zhao Jincai waited with a smile. Suddenly she heard a thought from Zhao Jincai’s mind: “How annoying—Hanfang must be getting impatient.”

She abruptly looked at him, unable to see the slightest trace of impatience on that faintly smiling face.

At that moment, she felt chilled to the bone and gripped her sister’s hand painfully.

She pulled at her sister, refusing to let her go, but couldn’t speak a single word, crying tears of anxiety.

What had Chang Shi said then?

She still remembered the curve of her lips and the meaningful smile in her eyes.

“A’Hao is truly a little girl, shedding tears because she can’t bear to part with Elder Sister.”

Hearing Chang Shi’s words, her elder sister worried about appearing immature before outsiders and released her hand.

With that release, they were parted by death.

Hatred surged in her heart, but Lin Hao silently suppressed it.

Without high official positions and wealth, fine mansions and beautiful clothes, Chang Shi wouldn’t fare well following Father. And the Heir of Marquis Pingjia who caused Elder Sister’s tragic death hadn’t yet received his retribution.

“Don’t worry, Second Miss. I’ll investigate this for you right away.” Seeing Lin Hao’s melancholy expression, Uncle Liu readily agreed.

“Thank you, Uncle Liu.”

Uncle Liu chuckled. “I just can’t guarantee I’ll find anything.”

Lin Hao waved her hand. “If even Uncle Liu can’t find out, I’ll give up.”

Uncle Liu had once been a scout under her grandfather’s command. After being injured, he returned to the General’s mansion to retire. Lin Hao had no one she could use. Trying to find someone based solely on a name in just a few days would be like searching for a needle in a haystack. Asking Uncle Liu for help might yield results.

Lin Hao had made the right move. Just the day before Little Princess Qi Qiong’s birthday banquet, Uncle Liu had news.

“The person Second Miss wanted investigated is definitely called ‘Hanfang,’ correct?” Uncle Liu’s expression was somewhat strange.

Lin Hao confirmed, “Definitely.”

She couldn’t be wrong.

“The Heir of Marquis Pingjia does know someone called Hanfang, but this Hanfang… isn’t a woman.”

Lin Hao’s eyes widened, unable to hide her shock. “Not a woman?”

Uncle Liu nodded. “It’s a man.”

A man…

This result shocked Lin Hao dizzy.

“Could it be—” After a long while, Lin Hao recovered. “The Heir of Marquis Pingjia likes men?”

Uncle Liu fell silent.

He had been thinking the information he’d uncovered would be difficult to tell Second Miss, yet how could Second Miss say such things with an unchanged expression?

“Uncle Liu, is it like this?”

Uncle Liu nodded with difficulty. “It seems to be so.”

Lin Hao wasn’t satisfied. “Uncle Liu, this concerns my friend’s entire life. You can’t say ‘it seems.'”

Seeing Lin Hao showed not the slightest embarrassment, Uncle Liu became more direct in his speech. “This person’s surname is Miao, named Miao Hanfang. He’s the owner of a bookshop. The Heir of Marquis Pingjia frequently visits that bookshop. Yesterday I personally saw them behaving somewhat… intimately.”

Saying this, Uncle Liu sighed deeply. “Second Miss, if your friend marries him, I’m afraid her days will be difficult.”

Back when he was in the military camp, when a female fly flew in, a whole group of grown men would take extra looks. Now these young masters actually didn’t care for delicate young ladies but preferred men instead.

What kind of world was this?

“Her days will indeed be difficult…” Lin Hao pressed her lips together, her face cold as frost.

No wonder Lian Xiang said that after Elder Sister’s miscarriage, Zhao Jincai became increasingly cold toward her. No wonder as a husband he would present his wife as a plaything to other men.

He had never regarded Elder Sister as a wife, but merely as an object to continue the Marquis Pingjia’s bloodline.

With such a son, the Marquis and Marchioness of Pingjia undoubtedly knew full well.

It was even clearer why in her previous life he sought to marry Elder Sister, and in this life sought to marry Miss Chen—he targeted them precisely because they had no mothers to protect them. When they discovered the truth, they could only swallow their broken teeth with blood.

She dared not imagine what kind of life Elder Sister had lived at the Marquis Pingjia’s mansion.

“Uncle Liu.” Lin Hao called out.

Uncle Liu looked at her.

The young woman’s eyes were deep, her tone calm. “I want the Heir of Marquis Pingjia to be utterly ruined. Please lend me your assistance.”