Flip the table! The reborn villainous woman takes down her entire family and seizes her life.

Chapter 179 The Duke's Worries

Jiang Zhi smiled.

My cousin doesn't like autumn. In her memory, she always felt that autumn was cold and chilly. She prefers spring, which is warm.

Jiang Zhi asked, "Cousin, do you like autumn?"

"Hmm?" Lu Nianqiu said guiltily, "I like it."

Lu Nianqiu's maid, Yunzhong, glanced at the future son-in-law.

Jiang Zhi saw through her lie but didn't intend to expose her. Since she said she liked autumn, she must have her reasons.

Gu Liang, standing to the side, smiled and leaned closer to Jiang Zhi, whispering, "Zhu Tao, I have something to discuss with Madam Pei later. You can go now."

Jiang Zhi nodded.

Madam Pei noticed this and quickly lowered her head, glancing at Pei Shangdao out of the corner of her eye.

Upon closer inspection, Gu Liang and Pei Shangdao do share some similarities in their features.

Especially Pei Shangdao's eyebrows and eyes, which really made people imagine the late Empress.

Madam Jiang wanted them to stay for dinner, but the Pei family, being polite, declined.

Before leaving, Gu Liang stepped over the threshold and called out to Madam Pei.

"Lady Pei, may I speak with you alone?"

Madam Pei's expression suddenly stiffened, her hands clenched tightly under her sleeves, and she looked at Gu Liang.

"What does Your Highness Liang wish to ask? There's no need to go elsewhere alone."

Gu Liang felt a gaze fixed intently on her.

Pei Shangdao walked to Madam Pei's side, "Mother, since His Highness the Prince of Liang wishes to speak with you privately, please go."

"My son also wants to go find Nianqiu."

Unable to keep her son, Madam Pei had no choice but to nod in agreement. As she did so, she noticed the jade pendant at Gu Liang's waist.

She concealed her gaze and followed Gu Liang to a corner.

"Does Your Highness have any questions you wish to know?"

Gu Liang nodded and smiled, "Madam Pei, there's no need to be nervous. I won't make things difficult for you."

"I have some doubts, and I hope Madam can answer them."

"go ahead."

“My mother was your close friend. I was only five years old when she passed away, and I was still in the Northern Barbarians and had not yet returned. I heard that on the day my mother gave birth, she gave birth to a stillborn child, and it was a girl. Do you know where that girl was buried?”

"And where did the other half of the jade pendant my mother left behind go?"

Madam Pei's eyes darted away, her voice deep, "Your Highness, these things happened so long ago, why dwell on them?"

“I was not present when the late Empress gave birth, and I do not know where the little princess is buried now. Your mother did not tell me about the jade pendant, and I did not know that there was another half of the jade pendant.”

Gu Liang, of course, did not believe it. "It seems that Madam Pei is still unwilling to tell me the truth she knows."

"Oh, has Marquis Guangde been busy lately?"

"Hmm?" Madam Pei didn't react to Gu Liang's change of topic. "Lord Marquis?"

Why did the Prince of Liang mention my lord?

Gu Liang said, "It was just out of concern."

Madam Pei was taken aback.

Concern? Would he care about someone he doesn't care about? Or is it that the Liang King after marriage is no longer the same Liang King he once was?

"Since the lady is unwilling, I will not force her."

After saying that, he turned around and left.

Watching Gu Liang's retreating figure, Madam Pei pursed her lips.

“Mother?” Pei Shangdao walked over.

"Is the Prince of Liang asking about the late Empress?"

"You know?" Madam Pei asked in surprise, as she had never mentioned anything about the royal family to Shang Dao.

“Oh,” Pei Shangdao explained, “The King of Liang asked me, so I guessed he was asking my mother about the late Empress.”

In fact, Gu Liang hadn't asked him anything. If he didn't say that, how could he keep it from his mother?

She patted the back of his hand. "It's nothing serious, let's go."

She also wanted to tell Gu Liang this secret, but she didn't dare. There were many moments when she wanted to tell Gu Liang the truth, after all, Gu Liang wasn't a bad child.

Inside the carriage at the Marquis of Guangde's residence, Madam Pei's expression remained grim.

Madam Pei slowly said, "Just now in the front hall of the Marquis of Zhenyuan's residence, I saw that the Prince of Liang bore a striking resemblance to our family in their discussions."

Madam Pei retorted, "Perhaps all handsome young men look the same."

Pei Shangdao continued, "Grandmother, you flatter me so much! How could I possibly compare to the Prince of Liang? His Highness possesses extraordinary bearing and is incredibly brave; he is truly incomparable."

Madam Pei smiled kindly, looking at Pei Shangdao, "Nonsense, I think our Shangdao is better than him in every way. He's so young to hold a position in the palace, and he's also the legitimate son of our Marquis's mansion."

"Now that the marriage is settled, are you at ease?"

Pei Shangdao smiled with satisfaction, "Of course I feel at ease, Grandmother."

He caught a glimpse of his mother's somber expression out of the corner of his eye. "What's wrong, Mother? Why does she look so grave?"

Madam Pei shook her head. "It's alright."

The Duke's Mansion at this moment.

The Duke looked anxious and paced back and forth.

"master."

"Where is King Jing?" he asked the guard.

“Prince Jing left the city on the day the Imperial Noble Consort was placed under house arrest, and it seems he went to the north.”