The letter from Prince Huai arrived; Chen Mo carefully checked it, the wax seal was untouched, and it had not been opened before.

Chen Mo opened and began to read it; Prince Huai had agreed to his request, consenting to a blood oath by the Huai River, but also made a request to Chen Mo.

That request was to announce to the world that Lady Liang had already passed away before April in the eighth year of Xuanhe.

It meant that Chen Mo should tell the world that Lady Liang was not captured; among those captured, there was only Liang Xue and a group of household servants.

After reading, Chen Mo was somewhat stunned; he had returned Ning Wan to them, didn't ask for any ransom, even personally escorted her to the Huai River, yet they refused her.

Moreover, not only refused her, though the letter did not explicitly say so, the implication between the lines was for him to kill Ning Wan.

...

Ning Wan was not having a pleasant time in the backyard, and ever since a few days ago when Chen Mo mentioned requesting Prince Huai to take her over, she had felt a constant unease in her heart.

The surrounding environment and unfamiliar people made her feel out of place.

In this backyard, she could no longer wander around freely as she did before; even at meal times, when called to eat together, sitting there, she felt utterly uncomfortable.

Today, she had her menstrual period, lacking the maid's care, feeling sickly and lying in bed, covered by a blanket, her eyelids heavy, gently rubbing her lower abdomen with her hand.

The dim light in the room shone upon her face, fair as jade, white and smooth as snow, fragile and distressed, as if suffering from severe illness, urgently requiring a remedy for relief.

Time was uncertain; Ning Wan's eyelids gradually grew heavy, a wave of sleepiness hit, when she woke feeling discomfort, she suddenly shivered, seeing a tall silhouette in a daze, with some concern on the face.

"Aunt Ning, what's wrong, why is your complexion so pale?" Chen Mo asked.

After receiving the letter, Chen Mo walked towards the backyard, planning to discuss the matter with Ning Wan, arriving at the courtyard, finding it empty, calling out twice without response.

Chen Mo thought something was wrong and privately entered the house to check, only to see Ning Wan lying in bed, looking unwell, eyebrows harboring a hint of distress.

"Marquis..." Ning Wan, slightly dizzy, initially thought she was mistaken; upon seeing it was indeed Chen Mo, she immediately woke up and struggled to sit up.

Chen Mo, unaware that she was merely uncomfortable due to her menstrual period, thought she was ill; seeing her discomfort, he personally helped support her fragrant shoulder, softly saying: "Take it easy."

Ning Wan was Liang Song's second wife; young, with tight skin, her figure was curvy and sensual, different from the slender Xia sisters, with a touch of plumpness. When his fingertips touched her skin, there was a gentle resilience, a faint orchid scent wafted to his nostrils, stirring an irresistible desire for possession.

Since resting earlier, Ning Wan wasn't dressed heavily; those pair of beautiful moons were like white jade discs described in poetry.

Besides being held by her father when young, and touched by Liang Song after marriage, her body hasn't been touched by other men; looking at the close figure, Ning Wan felt both ashamed and annoyed, but the person was helping her, harsh words were inappropriate, she instead uttered a "Thank you."

"Are you sick? I'll fetch the doctor to check." Seeing Ning Wan not responding to his words, Chen Mo said.

Ning Wan shook her head; as Chen Mo asked again, she had to blush and say: "I... have my period."

After speaking, her heart swelled with embarrassment.

Chen Mo also felt somewhat awkward, let go of Ning Wan, turned around, poured a cup of tea for her, using innate spiritual qi to heat the tea, handed it to Ning Wan: "Be careful, it's hot."

Upon hearing, Ning Wan was momentarily stunned, feeling a bit overwhelmed; she hadn't been taken care of for several months, and was accustomed to servants offering tea and water. With Chen Mo now taking care, a peculiar feeling arose in her heart.

She held the teacup, took a sip, then looked up at Chen Mo: "Marquis... did you come for something?"

Chen Mo handed Prince Huai's letter to Ning Wan, softly saying: "This is from Huai State."

Seeing Chen Mo's odd expression, Ning Wan paused, freeing a hand to take the letter; Chen Mo took Ning Wan's teacup, placed it aside to give her a better view.

After reading it, Ning Wan seemed as though her spirit had been stripped away; her already pale complexion turned even whiter, her entire being like a willow swaying by the river, muttering: "As expected, as expected..."

Ning Wan was intelligent; she understood the letter's implication clearly.

Since Liang Song left, she had contemplated this outcome, but truly reaching this point, Ning Wan's heart still throbbed painfully, even causing breathing difficulty.

Her eyes reddened, tears soon welled in her sockets.

She married someone old enough to be her father for her family's benefit, came to adapt, even grew fond of Liang Song, yet in the end, she was first abandoned by him, now by the Ning Family.

Though the letter didn't write that the Ning Family abandoned her, she could see that without communication between Prince Huai and the Ning Family, the letter wouldn't be written this way, as it would needlessly offend the Ning Family, without a grudge between Prince Huai and Ning Family to justify it.

But since it's written this way, it signifies the Ning Family's stance.

She was simply a chess piece, discarded once useless.

Tears flowed from her eyes, tracing her cheeks, falling onto the letter; the feeling of being abandoned by the entire world robbed her of living meaning.

She looked up at Chen Mo: "So, have you come to do it now?"

Before Chen Mo could speak, she continued: "If possible, give me quick-acting poison, I... fear pain, it's more comforting this way."

Ning Wan forced a wry smile, as tears mingled with her lips.

However, Chen Mo handed her a handkerchief: "If I wanted to kill you, I wouldn't have come personally."

Ning Wan: "???"

"I was declared dead in April, and now my existence is just an obstacle, isn't it?"

"That's just an excuse to deceive the world; only the identity of Ning Wan is gone, it doesn't mean you really have to die."

Chen Mo waved the handkerchief: "Wipe your tears, from today on, Ning Wan is dead. You are just someone with the same surname."

Ning Wan stared at Chen Mo, understanding his meaning, and then unconsciously asked a silly question: "Then how will you report to Prince Huai?"

"Report?"

Chen Mo sneered: "I'm not a subordinate of Prince Huai, why should I report to him? Besides, he never directly said to kill you. If I say I've killed you, does he expect me to present your body for verification?"

Ning Wan's delicate body shivered, feeling a strange sense of security, she said: "Wouldn't this cause trouble for you? Besides, I'm no longer Xue'Er's aunt-in-law, you...you don't have to help me like this."

Ning Wan bowed her head, thinking of the burning gaze Chen Mo had sneaked at her several times before, she suddenly felt somewhat flustered and confused.

"It's not a trouble, just an extra pair of chopsticks, and I've promised Xue'Er to take care of you, I can't break my promise, take it." Chen Mo said.

Ning Wan was no naive young girl, how could she believe Chen Mo's rhetoric.

If Liang Xue and Chen Mo were childhood sweethearts, she might believe it, but Liang Xue had only been with him for a short time and was a captured trophy, how deep could their feelings be.

But Ning Wan had become accustomed to feigning ignorance, took the handkerchief, and while wiping her tears, said: "Thank you, Marquis, forgive me for not being able to salute you now."

"No problem." Chen Mo waved his hand, then said: "Alright, I mainly came to tell you this, hoping you wouldn't think too much, life is long, you can live here at ease, no one will bully you with me around."

Upon hearing this, Ning Wan's heart trembled, but it was just a tremor, she no longer believed in verbal promises.

After all, they were neither family nor acquainted, why would he take care of her.

Indeed, she believed these words, but even married couples could divorce. If one day they, as a young couple, quarreled and had a falling out, who would care for an outsider like her?

Unless she established a relationship with him...

She understood that he was certainly interested in her body, otherwise he wouldn't have secretly glanced at her several times.

But these were just her assumptions, since he hadn't said anything directly or taken action, she naturally couldn't say she wanted to offer herself, what would that make her?

Moreover, that would be too degrading, she was after all a well-bred young lady.

And if she guessed wrong, what would others think?

She managed a smile: "Thank you, Marquis."

Chen Mo nodded and said: "You seem quite unwell, I'll get a servant to take care of you later."

Ning Wan did not refuse.

After Chen Mo finished speaking, he left.

...

After Chen Mo left, Ning Wan hugged her knees and cried again, the incident was too big a blow to her.

In the corridor, when Chen Mo passed by, Xia Zhining suddenly walked out from behind a pillar with arms crossed, a mocking smile on her lips: "How was Aunt Ning's taste?"

Chen Mo's face darkened: "You women, what do you have in your heads every day."

Xia Zhining sneered: "Pretend, you stayed in her room for over a quarter of an hour, if it was to talk, would it take that long?"

Chen Mo's face was full of black lines: "A quarter of an hour, who are you looking down on?"

"Even if you didn't do it, I don't believe you didn't take advantage of her. I knew you've been interested in her for a long time, and now you've finally taken action."

"..."

Seeing Xia Zhining so convinced, Chen Mo was too lazy to explain and went to meet that Advanced Scholar.

This Advanced Scholar's name was Ling Li, from Jiapin County, Yu state.

He passed the Scholar level at the age of 23 and became an Advanced Scholar at 27.

Later, he went to the Capital to take the examination, but kept failing, yet refused to give up, continuously trying and failing. The Ling family was quite wealthy, and to become an Advanced Scholar, in the Third Year of Xuanhe, he simply lived in the Capital.

But until the examination was suspended, he hadn't achieved his wish.

But he feared being ridiculed by his townsfolk and kin upon returning home. If Xu Guozhong hadn't moved the capital, if the Loyalist Army hadn't come and thrown Celestial River into chaos, he might never have returned.

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