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After the Third Day Bath Ceremony ended, the news of Liu Wan Wan’s brazen and open attempt to murder the Wen Family’s second branch’s legitimate eldest grandson during the Third Day Bath Ceremony spread outwards. It caused a public uproar as everyone discussed it heatedly.
The reputation of the Liu Family was greatly disturbed in the span of one night.
However, it was a bad reputation.
The married ladies of Liu Family were impacted badly as well.
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Inside the imperial palace, Ruan san niang felt a wave of pity in her heart once she learned about what happened during the Third Day Bath Ceremony.
Why didn’t it succeed?
Liu Wan Wan was truly rubbish.
There were quite a number of people who had the same thought as Ruan san niang, and they rued over the fact that Liu Wan Wan was too stupid.
That evening, Ruan Xi told Wen Ting Zhou about her conjecture.
“Ting Zhou, I heard about the incident that occurred during the Third Day Bath Ceremony from Su Yu, I keep getting the sense that Liu Wan Wan had been used by someone else.”
Wen Ting Zhou extended his hand to brush the scattered hair strands to the back of her ear as he nodded lightly, “Ruan Ruan, your intuition is correct. I already have a few suspects in mind, I’m merely lacking the evidence right now.”
Wen Ting Zhou was once the commander of the power and influence that Emperor Shengde possessed in the dark, and he was cognizant of many things; Liu Wan Wan’s changes could not escape his sights.
“However, if Liu Wan Wan herself did not have such evil and poisonous thoughts, she would not have fallen for it.
“She is not innocent either!”
Since it involved a son and heir, Wen Ting Zhou and Wen furen would never be merciful when dealing with Liu Wan Wan.
Wen Ting Zhou carefully recounted the proceedings of the Third Day Bath Ceremony to Ruan Xi, who felt endless lingering fears again.
Fortunately, it was fortunate that Wen Ting Zhou had discovered Liu Wan Wan’s abnormality in advance.
With Wen Ting Zhou supplementing more details, Ruan Xi dimly suspected that Liu Wan Wan had been hypnotised someone else, except the vestiges of hypnotism were very shallow, though it was unknown if it was on purpose, or the other party was not very skilled in hypnotism.
Ruan Xi felt another burst of lingering fears when that thought occurred to her, and she verbalised her guess.
“Hypnotism?”
Wen Ting Zhou was slightly surprised; he did not expect that Ruan Ruan was so intelligent, to the extent where her thoughts would travel in the same trajectory as his.
“Mn, but this is just my suspicion. I’ve read quite a number of prompt-books, and it has mentions of people using hypnotism to harm others. I suspect that Liu Wan Wan had been hypnotised, except the perpetrator’s methods are rather superficial, in addition to how Liu Wan Wan was in a despondent mood herself, which made it quite easy for her to fall for it.”
As a matter of fact, not every person could learn hypnotism, and hypnotism required the assistance of external objects.
Wen Ting Zhou stared at Ruan Xi and praised: “Ruan Ruan, your suspicion isn’t wrong.”
This sentence confirmed Ruan Xi’s conjecture.
Ruan Xi: “

”
It looks like Wen Ting Zhou had already guessed that Liu Wan Wan had been hypnotised by someone else, and it was more than likely that he had locked in on the culprit behind the scenes.
Ruan Xi gazed at Wen Ting Zhou’s handsome countenance, suddenly remembering that Wen Ting Zhou had seated himself in the position of the Minister of the Board of Punishments at the end of the novel. His ability to investigate and solve cases need not be doubted.
The culprit behind the scenes should be discovered very soon and dealt with.
Reality conformed with what Ruan Xi predicted; on the second day, Wen Ting Zhou managed to gather the evidence.
The perpetrators behind the scenes were Zhao yiniang and Wen Yu Wei.
Minister Wen was furious.
He did not concern himself over the infighting among the women in the back courtyards, but Zhao yiniang had touched his reverse scale.
Ruan Xi was not surprised in the least.
However, that bit was enough to make her hair stand on its end. Zhao yiniang actually possessed hypnotism skills, even if it was superficial, it was still very frightening.
It was no wonder why she could mingle the back courtyards and cause winds and water to rise, while managing to give birth to and raise her son and daughter safely to adulthood, to the point where she was nearly pressing down Wen furen by a head.
Wen furen had the same thought as Ruan Xi. She had never imagined that Zhao yiniang  was a hidden poisonous snake in the back courtyards, and that Wen Yu Wei, this concubine-born daughter who appeared pampered and bullying, would not be simple either.
Towards the handling of this mother-daughter pair and Liu Wan Wan, Wen furen and Minister Wen came to a resolute decision.
After Liu Wan Wan was divorced, she was sent to the imperial prison to be imprisoned for half a year.
As for Zhao yiniang and her daughter, family scandals could not be aired outwards. They would be put aside for the time being first, then dealt with once the disturbance had settled.
“Xiao Xi, you can set your mind at ease, Zhao yiniang and her daughter will disappear one month later.” Wen furen was cognizant of her son’s personality. Her daughter-in-law should be aware of the culprit behind the scenes. She was afraid that Ruan Xi would feel uncomfortable in her heart, so she quickly came over to comfort her.
“Mn, I understand, popo.”
Ruan Xi promptly replied. In truth, she did not mind postponing the dealing of Zhao yiniang and her daughter, but after she heard the meaning in Wen furen’s words, her heart lurched with fear and trepidation.
When Wen furen said that they were going to disappear, she didn’t mean it literally, did she?
However, considering the many lives that stained the hands of Zhao yiniang and her daughter, their deaths was not worth pitying.
Then, Ruan Xi recalled the information that Wen Ting Zhou had shown her, chilliness oozing out from the bottom of her heart. Zhao yiniang’s hands were completely stained with blood, was incomparably ruthless and poisonous, and having at least a dozen innocent lives on her hands were not at all surprising. However, Wen Yu Wei unexpectedly had more than a dozen innocent lives on her hands as well, three of whom were taken when she was just seven or eight years old. They were her younger brothers and sisters of the same father and different mother, the inciting reason being simple jealousy. In the end, she had shifted the blame to the other concubines, which was honestly too frightening.
Towards this mother-daughter pair, Ruan Xi was exceedingly disgusted.
Presently, both of them were being rigorously monitored, and they would be eliminated after the Full Month Ceremony.
Upon seeing that Ruan Xi did not have any complaints, Wen furen secretly sighed in relief in her heart.
Similarly, she loathed the fact that she could not hack the mother-daughter pair into pieces, but now was not the time, and Lao Furen also approved of postponement of this matter.
After Liu Wan Wan was sent to the government office, the discussion regarding this topic gradually lessened.
Having to squat in the large prison for half a year after being divorced, Liu Wan Wan’s ending could be well-imagined.
Zhao yiniang and her daughter were still unaware that they had been exposed, and they continued to act as they usually would, even going as far as arranging Wen Ting Yi’s next marriage with great fanfare.
Wen furen watched her stir up havoc with cold eyes.
She was just a person that was about to die, that’s all.
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Meanwhile, Ruan Xi quietly sat through her postpartum month and raised her baby in Harmonious Dwelling.
Under the meticulously feeding and raising of the wetnurses and Mamas, Ah Yu changed in appearance every single day, becoming fair and tender very quickly, inciting a great deal of delight and fondness in everyone.
Wen furen and Minister Wen could not cherish him more.
Wen lao-furen absolutely adored this little great-grandson as well, and her entire spirit became a lot better.
Indeed, when people encounter happy occasions, their spirits would be invigorated.
Wen Ting Zhou was extremely happy to see it.
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In a blink of an eye, a month passed. Having reached the day of her child’s full month, Ruan Xi finally took a long bath happily.
Although she had been staying in the room for the entire month, it was currently early spring; with the spring chill pervading the air, Ruan Xi had been rather comfortable during her postpartum month. With Wen Ting Zhou’s warm-hearted company, Wen furen visiting her once every few days, and her cute boy, Ruan Xi did not feel stifled at all, and she was very happy in fact.
The Full Month Ceremony was incredibly grand and majestic. After Ruan Xi was outfitted in a luxurious fashion, she carried the child to make an appearance.
Wen Ting Zhou stayed by her side. The man was handsome, the woman was pretty; the pair looked just like a golden boy and jade maiden, and this jade-like couple were the most dazzling and eye-catching people in the entire Full Month Ceremony.
金竄玉愳 (pinyin: jin tong yu nu) — fig. a golden couple, a lovely young couple.
Especially Ruan Xi, who was draped in a crimson luoqun, her skin fairer than snow, a hint of maturity and elegance added to her countenance. Her beauty was more flourishing than before, becoming all the more dazzling and beautiful, which drew the gazes of the crowd.
By her side stood the peerlessly handsome Wen Ting Zhou.
His purple-red brocade robe made him appear even more handsome and tall.
At this moment, Wen Ting Zhou low-browed and smiling faintly as he conversed intimately with Ruan Xi, palpable affection flowing between the pair.
Wen furen harboured a smile as she watched on.
The Fourth Prince Consort Li Xiang Xiang gritted her clenched teeth, a smear of jealousy flickering past the bottom of her eyes.
Wen Jing Ru’s eyes were teeming with awe and amazement. Xiao Xi had become prettier after giving birth to a child, and even as a woman, her breath had been completely stolen. Her paternal older cousin’s luck with women honestly wasn’t shallow.
In the distance, Mu Qing Ci, who had tagged along with the Fourth Prince Consort in this rare opportunity, felt secretly envious in her heart as she looked at the dazzling and beautiful Ruan Xi with an outstandingly graceful bearing and the gentle and deeply in love husband at her side.
Her husband was doting, clean-living, and honest, her mother-in-law was fair and reasonable, and she managed to gain a son in one move.
Wen shao-furen was truly the winner in life.
This was the internal voice of the majority of the women.
Unfortunately, it was useless no matter how envious or jealous they were; they were not Ruan Xi, they did not have her good fate.
Everyone surrounded Ruan Xi and Wen furen, praising the child as much as their imaginations could stretch.
ć€©äžŠæœ‰ćœ°äž‹æ—  — it literally means ‘available in heaven, none on the ground’.
In the middle of the Full Month Ceremony, Ruan san niang arrived.
With her attendants crowding around, her delegation was extremely huge, thus forcibly snatching away the limelight from the child.
Mu Qing Ci tried her best to minimise her sense of existence.
This fellow transmigrator was actually here.
Terrifying.
Everyone’s lips twitched.
This Ruan fei niangniang did not arrive early or arrive late, and yet she specifically chose to arrive at this time

Was she here to smash the venue or something?
Ruan Xi: “

”
Ruan san niang was coming out to squander just after she stabilised her foetus, she had to cede to her.
“Congratulating si mei on gaining a precious son!” When Ruan san niang saw that her fourth sister’s beauty was flourishing even more despite giving birth to a child, she lowered her lashes to conceal the turbulent jealousy at the bottom of her eyes, silently gritting her teeth. After she calmed down, she plastered a smiling expression to step forward and congratulate her.
Her gaze landed on the child in the swaddling clothes, unable to stop herself from feeling a wave of disappointment when she saw him.
He actually inherited Wen Ting Zhou’s looks.
“This child’s appearance looked truly handsome, and is very similar to meifu. Just one look is enough to know it’s meifu’s child.”
ćŠč怫 (mei fu) — the husband of a younger sister, used by the wife’s older siblings.
Ruan san niang offered a line of praise without the slightest mindfulness, before the topic of her discourse turned.
“It’s a pity that it doesn’t really look like si mei, if someone was unaware, they would have assumed that si mei used a surrogate to give birth to the child.”
“Aiya, si mei, you couldn’t have possibly used a surrogate to give birth to the child, right?”
Ruan san niang looked at Ruan Xi with a crinkle-eyed smile, secretly admiring her own intelligence in her heart.
It would be good if she could splash a bit of dirty water on her fourth sister’s person, it didn’t matter if she couldn’t.
Everyone was visibly dumbstruck: “

”
Dimly, Mu Qing Ci sucked in a mouthful of cold air.
Wen furen’s expression changed, a smear of anger emerging on her visage.
Ruan Xi’s smiling expression abruptly disappeared, her gaze turning ice-cold instantaneously.
As expected, Ruan san niang had come over to smash the venue and splash cold water, and the words coming out from her mouth were truly repulsive and infuriating.
Ruan Xi could not help but be glad about the fact that her child’s appearance followed Wen Ting Zhou. If the child looked like her or did not look like Wen Ting Zhou either, it was unknown what kind of shocking words Ruan san niang would utter.
“Niangniang, speak cautiously. The child coming out from my womb was witnessed by many, borrowing a surrogate to give birth to a child is an unfounded statement.”
Ruan Xi retorted coldly.
“Furthermore, isn’t it very normal for a son’s appearance to take after his father? Once Niangniang delivers a little imperial son, his countenance will definitely follow His Majesty. If he takes after Niangniang, perhaps someone might suspect that Niangniang borrowed a surrogate to give birth to a child or mix up the bloodline of the imperial clan. It is best if Niangniang remains vigilant, what is going to happen if someone splashes dirty water [on you]?”
Once Ruan san niang heard that, she inwardly loathed her fourth sister for digging a pit for her, and she could not resist glaring at her.
“Si mei, what do you mean by those words?”
Ruan Xi coldly stared at Ruan san niang without making a single utterance, her eyes completely frosting over.
“Si mei, let us wait and see.”
Swallowing a mouthful of anger, Ruan san niang gnashed her teeth and threw down that vicious sentence in a low voice before she returned to the imperial palace in a fit of anger.
Truly, she had arrived hastily and left hastily.
The surrounding womenfolk who had their ears perked up for the gossip felt their mouth corners twitch.
This Ruan fei niangniang was honestly hard to describe.
Cough cough, Wen shao-furen was not a pushover either.
A smudge of disappointment flashed past Li Xiang Xiang’s eyes.
Wen Jing Ru was extremely happy.
Zhao yiniang and her daughter secretly pursed their lips. Ruan fei niangniang’s measures was actually so clumsy. Truly, she was so stupid it was hard to bear witness, and she allowed everyone present to watch a spectacle.
Mu Qing Ci breathed out in relief.
Her fellow transmigrator finally left.
Without Ruan san niang interfering, the Full Month Ceremony came to a fulfilling end.
Ruan Xi carried the child back to Harmonious Dwelling.
Once Wen Ting Zhou learned about Ruan san niang spitting groundless statements and splashing dirty water after the incident occurred, the bottom of his eyes were filled with restrained wrath.
If it were not for her harbouring a dragon’s descendant

However, it was better to get rid of Zhan yiniang and her daughter first right now.
He and Ruan Ruan had already tolerated them long enough.
That night, after the child had fallen asleep, Wen Ting Zhou and Ruan Xi laid on bed and murmured in soft voices.
“Ting Zhou, when you have a resting day in the next few days, let’s make a trip to Yunhua Temple.”
Ruan Xi said in a low voice.
She wanted to meet Great Master Hui Yuan.
“Sure. Speaking of which, our first encounter was in Yunhua Temple, except you’ve already forgotten that memory.”
Wen Ting Zhou slanted his body, gaze trained on Ruan Xi’s pretty face as he laughed softly.
Ruan Xi’s gaze shimmered, unconsciously avoiding his line of sight as her cheeks silently heated up.
Strike two.
This was the second time Ruan Ruan evaded his gaze.
Wen Ting Zhou’s pupils dilated, a bold conjecture emerging from his heart.