Terrifying Realizations

Lily Evans was momentarily stunned. As someone from the modern era, she knew that at twenty, people were still considered young—many hadn't even graduated from college yet.

But in ancient times, a woman who wasn't married by twenty was a rare creature—almost unheard of.

Take Lily Evans, for example—she was only seventeen, and her son was already almost a year old. That was the norm for women in the Jin Dynasty.

Lily thought about it and agreed—Lucy Li still being unmarried at twenty was definitely a bit odd.

April pondered for a moment, then said, "But Uncle George’s family always says Mr. Li is just a rough, uncultured man who’s held up his daughter’s marriage. Maybe he’s just too busy with military duties. Maybe I’m just overthinking it."

Lily nodded. "Yeah, you’re probably just overthinking it. If Lucy Li has won Uncle George’s family’s approval, she must be quite special. Besides, even though we’re relatives, there should still be boundaries. If I meddle in everything, even my cousin’s marriage, people will get annoyed."

April quickly lowered her head. "Princess Consort, I was overthinking it."

Lily smiled and gently patted April’s hair. "Being thoughtful is a good thing. For example, I didn’t even notice Lucy Li’s age today, but you did. It shows you’re observant and think things through."

April blushed slightly. "I—I’m still far behind Belle. I need to keep learning from you, Princess Consort."

When Lily returned to the Prince of Qin's Manor, she had a gift prepared and sent to Uncle George’s family.

Now that Uncle George’s family had grown wealthy alongside Lily Evans, they no longer lacked those small silver gifts, but etiquette among relatives still had to be observed.

Once Lily finished her tasks, she went back to her room to check on her son.

As she entered, she found Alex already inside, holding their son, Alex Jr., and making him laugh.

Lily walked over with a smile and sat down with the father and son. Alex Jr.’s big, dark grape-like eyes were wide and sparkling—he was absolutely adorable.

"I just visited the Su residence. Winter has already arranged his engagement and will be married next month," Lily said casually to Alex.

Alex listened quietly, appearing much less withdrawn than usual.

Lily sighed, took her son into her arms, and asked Alex, "Are you still worrying about what Sophie White said?"

Alex sighed and nodded lightly. "Her words always make me uneasy. It’s like someone is watching me from the shadows."

"Maybe you’re just overthinking, Alex. When the market on the other side of the pass opens, all sorts of people gather there. Some have permanent stalls, some are just passing through. That old medicine seller is a traveling merchant—he just sets up shop wherever he goes and moves on when the market closes, so the managers never really know him," Lily said, bouncing Alex Jr. as she spoke.

"But how do you explain the medicine turning into poison?" Alex frowned.

Lily thought for a moment. "Maybe that old man was just selling fake medicine and never had any real remedies. He could’ve sold anything, and whoever took it got poisoned. Or maybe Sophie White was just making things up—she wanted to poison you, but when she was in prison, she didn’t dare tell the truth, so she invented the story about the medicine seller."

Alex’s brow furrowed deeply. These days, he’d been following Sophie White’s clues and had uncovered some unexpected things. Thinking about it in detail made his skin crawl—the more he thought, the more terrifying it seemed...