Splendid Twins

Prince Li lowered his eyes and drank his tea, feeling relieved:

I hope this idiot doesn't screw up!

There was no sign of abnormality on her face, and she pretended to be chatting casually. Zhou Wan was completely immersed in the gentleness and affection of Prince Li. She couldn't help but feel overjoyed when she looked at him for a second. How could she have known that she would bring a devastating disaster to the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion!

The two chatted about Zhou Yu's marriage, and Zhou Wan was full of resentment:

"It's just a marriage, why is there such a fuss..."

Prince Li smiled but said nothing. These country people really had no rules. Not to mention that this was the wedding of the eldest son of the Duke of Zhenguo, any marriage of people with a bit of wealth would be done according to complicated etiquette to show their sincerity.

"I wonder if His Highness is married..."

Zhou Wan opened her mouth to test the waters, expecting Prince Li to immediately admit that she was the Princess. However, her eager eyes made Prince Li shake his head instinctively:

"My father has already given my mother full authority to decide my marriage. She has always had a discerning eye, and I am satisfied with the girl that my mother has chosen."

Zhou Wan was stunned when she heard this. Don't men marry the one they love?

"what happened?"

Prince Li saw that she hadn't spoken for a long time, so he pretended to be concerned.

"Nothing. Right now the palace is busy with my brother's wedding. I will go back first."

Zhou Wan felt as if a bucket of cold water had been poured on her. Her enthusiasm faded a lot and she stood up and acted like the legitimate daughter of the Duke of Zhenguo.

She originally wanted to rely on her own advantages to make Prince Li fall at her feet, but now it seems that she has to use some tricks...

Because Zhou Yu's wedding date was set on the Zhengyang Festival, although the wedding had been prepared for a year, it was still busy and tiring. The Duke's Mansion was a busy and orderly scene.

The servants were busy cleaning the courtyard and decorating the pavilions. The Duke's wife was so busy that she took the time to ask Madam Zhou:

"Where's the girl?"

Madam Zhou saw someone around and came closer to cover her eyes with her hands:

"Leaving the house."

The Duke's wife took a deep breath when she heard this. Her daughter had suffered a lot in the first half of her life, so she protected her everywhere. But this girl was too wild. She would lose her temper at the slightest thing that didn't go her way. She didn't have the slightest bit of reserve and grace of a noble lady.

As if remembering something, he asked:

"How's the investigation going on?"

Nanny Zhou knew that her mistress was asking about the jade pendant, so she took advantage of the New Year holidays to contact some of the elderly people who had served her in the past and asked a few tentative questions. After combining their statements, she now had some clues.

This is not the place to talk, so I'll just keep it brief:

"I will get back to you after I personally collect the evidence."

The Duke's wife knew that this was a clue and nodded immediately:

"Be careful to alert the enemy."

"Yes."

In a pavilion in the Duke's Mansion, the Duke of Zhenguo explained things to the people around him:

"The wedding is imminent, and the prince is on his way back to the capital. Send someone to welcome him."

"You are afraid of the prince..."

"All forces are keeping an eye on the Duke's Mansion. We must ensure that the wedding goes smoothly."

"Yes."

At this moment, Wei's figure appeared at the other end of the attic. The Duke of Zhenguo inadvertently raised his eyes and saw her, and said in a deep tone:

"Go do it."

Wei waited for everyone to leave and walked over here, bowing in a formal manner:

"Big brother."

The Duke of Zhenguo stood tall, put one hand behind his back and walked around her. After a few steps, he heard Wei's questioning voice:

"Brother, have you ever regretted it?"

The Duke of Zhenguo paused and looked at Wei with sharp eyes. His posture was as straight and solid as a mountain, exuding awe-inspiring majesty.

"What nonsense are you talking about!"

Wei was extremely unwilling to hear this, hatred flashed across his eyes, and he took two steps forward:

"I only regret that I was too cowardly back then. If I had insisted..."

"presumptuous!"

The Duke of Zhenguo interrupted Wei's madness with a deep voice and said coldly:

"I will propose to my mother that we split up the family!"

Wei was anxious and yelled:

"No! I won't agree!"

The Duke of Zhenguo remained unmoved, his face full of indifference:

"The thing that this Duke regrets the most is giving the Third Brother a big gift. If it weren't for the brotherly love, you wouldn't be here today!"

Wei showed a painful expression, tears flashing in her eyes:

"Do you know what kind of life I have been living these years? Why didn't you tell me that you came here to replace him?"

The Duke of Zhenguo was amused by Wei's nonsense and started to sneer:

"You don't know how to check the background of the man you choose? I didn't know you had such a dirty mind. If you can bear it, why do you make it clear today?"

Wei was instantly embarrassed and angry, her face flushed red. Yes, she had hidden her feelings for so many years, why couldn't she bear it now?

Festive red lanterns were hung on the eaves of every pavilion in the Duke's Mansion. Looking around, the red tassels were dancing in the breeze, which was just a sign to everyone that a big happy event was about to take place in the Duke's Mansion. On the wedding day, all the lanterns would be replaced with bright and warm red satin lanterns embroidered with various auspicious patterns and words.

Tears rolled down silently, Wei was deeply moved. She had been guarding an empty room for many years, and she could not hold back at all when she saw this scene again.

"Put aside those shameful thoughts. If you dare to cause trouble, this prince will never forgive you!"

The Duke of Zhenguo gave a stern warning and turned to leave. It was not that he was unaware of Wei's intentions, but he was busy with government affairs and trivial matters, so he tried not to go to the inner house, and pretended not to see it when he occasionally ran into her.

The third brother is already unfortunate, and any more trouble will only make him lose face. His mother is in her retirement years, and he can't bear to let such a shameless thing disturb the peace of the family!

Because of Concubine Wei, all the dignitaries who came to the capital looked up to the Wei Taifu Mansion. This made the Wei family even more rampant. In the past, the Wei family did not dare to act so blatantly. When the Duke of Zhenguo thought of the coercion of Prince Li, his brows frowned!

The other princes knew how to use roundabout tactics, but Concubine Wei and her son, taking advantage of His Majesty's favor, pressed on step by step, testing them every few days in an annoying way.

Wait, maybe he was investigating in the wrong direction.

The matter that had troubled him for a long time finally had a clue. Wei had been hiding her ulterior motives since she married into the mansion. With such a person hiding in the dark in the mansion, it would be hard to guard against.

If she wanted to do something evil, the first person to bear the brunt of it would be Zhang. She might not have done a thorough and meticulous job in exchanging the child, but what if someone else had helped?

The Duke of Zhenguo stood still, thinking with his eyes slightly narrowed, carefully recalling what happened that year. When Wanwan was born, Wei seemed to be recuperating in the villa, and he was away on business. His mother was afraid that her third brother would be left unattended, so she wrote to urge him to return to Beijing as soon as possible. In addition, with Zhang's birth, he hastily finished the government affairs at hand.

When he returned home, Yaoyao was already lying in bed. Zhang was frightened during childbirth at Huafa Temple and was ill, so he went to the palace to ask the imperial physician to see her...

No wonder the secret guards couldn't find any clues in Huafa Temple. As soon as Wanwan came back, he asked the secret guards to investigate Huafa Temple. Everything seemed to be prepared in advance. It went too smoothly.

At that time, Concubine Wei had already won the favor of the emperor and had no shortage of either money or manpower.

I ask you, who in this world has the power to cover up the investigation of the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion?