The cousin is beautiful but ruthless.

Chapter 182 Pei Du is back

Xu Ying suddenly turned to look at Granny Song: "Tell me, where did Yan'er get the information that the Third Prince would be coming? The Yang family only invited Princess Yongning, and the Third Prince has been staying in the mansion for many days. Isn't this a bit too much of a coincidence?"

After the incident, Xu Ying started to think about these things instead.

“What you say makes sense, Madam. Our eldest daughter doesn’t seem like someone with such powerful connections to know the prince’s whereabouts. Who is behind this?

Granny Song racked her brains but couldn't think of anyone to suspect. Xu Ying remained silent, but she began to suspect Shen Hanyu.

With such great abilities, it's most likely that it's Shen Hanyu.

It was thanks to Shen Hanyu that Liang Ruoxue had the opportunity to come into contact with Li Jun.

"Isn't she harming my child?" Xu Ying said softly, clearly harboring more resentment towards Shen Hanyu.

Granny Song didn't understand and left with Xu Ying, completely bewildered.

After Liang Ruochu graduated from the girls' school, the Marquis's carriage came to pick her up, and she clearly sensed that something was different.

She glanced at Qiuyue sitting outside; Qiuyue was serving the old lady.

"Aunt Qiuyue, why are you the one picking me up today?"

Such treatment was unusual on ordinary days. Something was definitely amiss. Liang Ruochu thought about it carefully and realized that she hadn't done anything bad to the Marquis's mansion.

On the contrary, Liang Ruoyan made such a mess of things at General Weiyuan's mansion yesterday that she was ridiculed by others.

Qiuyue smiled kindly: "The old lady wants to see the young lady."

Liang Ruochu blinked rapidly.

"The third young lady is almost seventeen years old now, isn't she?"

Liang Ruochu gave a soft "hmm," and her expression gradually relaxed as if she had thought of something.

Qiu Yue turned to look at Liang Ruochu, "The Second Madam has just lost her child and is not interested in caring about the Third Miss's affairs. The Old Ancestor thought that since the Third Miss is of age, she should take a closer look at her."

Liang Ruochu understood; the family had given up on the first two daughters and were now pinning their hopes on her.

Xu Ying was busy with Liang Ruoyan's affairs, while Lin Lihua was still heartbroken over Liang Ruoxue, who was locked in the bedroom by Liang Chengli and hadn't been released yet, so he wouldn't care about her. Only the old lady could take action.

Liang Ruochu subtly curled the corners of her lips; her efforts hadn't been in vain.

After returning to the mansion, Liang Ruochu was summoned to Fu'an Hall.

"Chu'er, come here."

Several plates of delicate pastries were placed in front of the old lady.

“Look at these, your older brother brought them back from Zhenxinfang, you should try them too.”

Liang Ruochu sat down opposite the old lady, picked up a pastry and ate it obediently.

"Why did Grandma ask Aunt Qiuyue to pick me up?"

The old lady chuckled and said, "You're getting on in years. Are you settling in well at the girls' school? Are you keeping up with your studies?"

The old lady must have already known that Liang Ruochu was not outstanding at the girls' school, so Liang Ruochu answered truthfully.

"The coursework at the girls' school was quite difficult for me. Unlike my two older sisters, I wasn't very talented, so I found it quite challenging."

Liang Ruochu lowered her head in embarrassment.

The old lady held Liang Ruochu's hand: "It's alright, it's alright. It's not bad that you know a little bit. I was thinking, why don't I arrange a marriage for you? What do you think?"

Liang Ruochu was overjoyed but didn't show it. The old lady was going to arrange a marriage for her, which was definitely much better than what Xu Ying had promised her.

After realizing that Xu Ying was unreliable, Liang Ruochu took a lot of work to deal with the matter.

"It's all up to Grandma," Liang Ruochu agreed.

The old lady was even more satisfied. Although Liang Ruochu was not outstanding, she was obedient, which was a good point.

"Okay, I'll choose carefully. You can go and take a look then."

Liang Ruochu stayed at Fu'an Hall for a while, and left after getting the result she wanted.

With the day of Pei Du's return drawing ever closer, Han Yueru has been feeling uneasy lately. Pei Du's return will surely bring about some changes.

"Mother, stop swaying around, it's annoying."

Pei Xingzhi put down his brush; he had lost all interest in practicing calligraphy.

"You still have the mood to write and draw here? Pei Du has already achieved fame and is about to return to Chang'an. I've managed to keep your father in check, but the clan elders are sure to cause trouble."

Last time, I offended a lot of people in order to get Pei Xingzhi's household registration transferred in, so this time it's even worse.

“With people protecting him, Pei Du will definitely be able to return to Chang’an safely. Instead of worrying, we should think about how to deal with him after he comes back. Mother, don’t always think about making a move on the way. That will only give Pei Du something to use against you.”

Han Yueru sat down. Her previous cooperation with Xu Ying was no longer possible. She heard that Liang Ruoyan had gone mad and Liang Ruoxue was dead, leaving only the useless Liang Ruochu. Moreover, Liang Ruochu was not Xu Ying's child.

As for the wedding, they haven't made any progress either.

Because of Pei Xingzhi's status, few people are willing to marry their daughters to him, and the addition of this girls' school makes things even more complicated.

Apart from Xu Ying, who chose to work with her last time, Han Yueru was not satisfied with any of the others.

"Your marriage is still undecided, what are we going to do?"

Pei Xingzhi looked up: "Isn't there another young lady in the Marquis's mansion? Her grades at the girls' school don't seem to be particularly good, but she's registered under Madam Lin's name, so her background is not bad."

Coming from a noble family, they certainly had a very good family background to choose from.

Han Yueru was deep in thought.

"Then I'll go and find out. If it really works out, it'll be good for you too."

Pei Xingzhi nodded, without refusing.

He didn't have many requirements for his future wife, but her family background couldn't be low.

"Are we really going to let Pei Du come back unharmed without making any preparations?" Han Yueru hesitated for a moment before asking.

"Even the Emperor values ​​him, Mother. Don't do anything unnecessary. You just need to keep Father calm."

Han Yueru was confident in keeping Pei Mingjian and Pei Mingjian in check; given Pei Mingjian's feelings for her, it wouldn't be difficult.

"Alright, let me first inquire about the Third Miss from the Marquis's residence."

After seeing Han Yueru off, Pei Xingzhi's face turned gloomy.

He took out the portrait.

"How come Pei Du is so lucky? Everything he gets is pretty good."

The portrait shows Pei Du as a teenager. It was commissioned by Pei Mingjian for his birthday.

Before he and Han Yueru appeared, Pei Du did indeed live a good life.

Pei Du possessed the life that Pei Xingzhi had been cautiously living for so many years and had longed for.

Pei Xingzhi knew about his relationship with Pei Du when Pei Du was the only son of a famous duke in Chang'an.

Looking at the portrait, Pei Xingzhi picked up a candle and burned it to ashes.

The portrait was found in Pei Mingjian's study, and Pei Xingzhi didn't want Pei Mingjian to see it again.

With him and Han Yueru, this Duke's mansion is already enough.

Pei Mingjian's attitude is quite clear now. Even though Pei Du has achieved fame and success, Pei Mingjian doesn't care much about it and has no intention of letting Pei Du come back.