Compared to the clumsy Li Youran, Ajiu walked effortlessly along the mountain path, always leading the way.

"You Ran, hang in there a little longer, we'll be there soon."

Ajiu turned around and looked at Li Youran. She saw Li Youran holding a stick in one hand and, with Tang Lei's help, struggling to climb up like a tortoise.

"How many times have I told you to call me 'sister'? You're not allowed to call me by my name. You're so disrespectful."

Li Youran, panting heavily, looked up at Ajiu, thinking to herself how strange it was that the child was so thin, yet seemed to have boundless strength.

Unlike her, who couldn't stand it after just a few steps. If it weren't for saving face, she would have liked to sit down on the ground and never get up again.

"Sister, is there a snake under your feet?"

Upon hearing Ajiu's words, Li Youran didn't have time to think. She hurriedly broke free from Tang Lei's support and, as if wound up, suddenly jumped up and rushed straight towards Ajiu.

Tang Lei looked around but couldn't find a snake. Then he glanced at Ajiu, who was covering her mouth and chuckling, and realized what was going on.

Li Youran's face turned red with anger. She glared at Ajiu, then used her cane to support herself as she walked forward, ignoring Ajiu.

Li Youran walked ahead in a huff, heading up the mountain along the path. After walking for some time, she found the path much easier to walk on.

"Judging from the road surface here, people must come and go frequently."

As Li Youran spoke, she turned to look at Ajiu. Ajiu, who had just teased and angered Li Youran, felt ashamed and hurriedly followed after her.

“Sister, the person who saved my mother back then lives in this temple. He often goes out to chop wood and fetch water on weekdays.”

As Ajiu spoke, she walked forward. Li Youran looked in the direction Ajiu pointed, but saw nothing.

"Turn left at the end of this road and you'll reach the temple soon."

In the darkness, Tang Lei saw a glint in Ajiu's eyes. He thought to himself that Ajiu must have grown up here, otherwise how could he be so familiar with this place? Moreover, his eyes were full of expectation, which meant that he must have a very good relationship with his benefactor.

This shows that Ajiu wasn't lying when she said it before. Tang Lei analyzed and judged as he followed Li Youran and Ajiu's steps towards the temple.

"I never expected that the Fourth Prince's wife would even have her eye on You Ran's little shop."

As the Crown Princess spoke, she waved her hand to dismiss the palace maids standing to the side. The maids blew out the candles, leaving only a few for illumination, before leaving and closing the door behind them.

According to palace rules, even when the Crown Princess was sleeping, many palace maids would remain by her side to serve her.

However, the Crown Prince and Crown Princess were not used to such a rule, so they changed it. Whenever the two of them had private matters or went to sleep, they would dismiss all the palace maids and eunuchs around them and close the door.

"His Highness the Fourth Prince has no assets; his only income is the monthly allowance he receives from the palace."

As His Highness spoke, he reached out and pulled the Crown Princess over, carefully helping her to lie down on the bed to continue.

"Although the monthly allowance is not much, it is enough to cover all the expenses of the Fourth Prince's residence. The fact that the Fourth Prince's wife is doing this undoubtedly means that the Fourth Prince's residence is in dire need of funds. This shows that the Fourth Prince has secretly spent a lot of money."

The Crown Prince said that in the future, the Crown Princess mentioned that the Fourth Prince's wife had taken over Li Youran's shop and secretly opened a hot pot restaurant and a milk tea shop in the capital.

"Let her be. The money she wins is only enough to bribe officials at all levels. It's far from enough to secretly raise an army."

His Highness the Crown Prince believed that the Fourth Prince's underhanded actions were nothing to worry about; on the contrary, the Third Prince, who had remained silent all along, was the real danger.

Especially during this period, His Highness the Third Prince has been unusually quiet. You know, just a few days ago he secretly sent someone to his residence to assassinate Ajiu. His actions are undoubtedly self-deception.

"That makes sense, but if You Ran comes back and sees her hard-earned shop being ostracized, she will definitely be unhappy."

As the Crown Princess spoke, she rubbed her temples, clearly suffering from a severe headache.

It's worth noting that compared to You Ran, she, as the older sister, is completely clueless when it comes to business.

But watching helplessly as You Ran's painstakingly built shop was sabotaged by the Fourth Prince's Consort was something she simply couldn't swallow.

"Aren't the Li family good at business? Why don't you invest some capital in them and let them do this for you?"

His Highness the Crown Prince knows the Crown Princess very well; even if she doesn't say it, he knows what's troubling her.

Upon hearing the Crown Prince's words, the Crown Princess's eyes lit up, thinking that this was indeed a great idea.

If the Crown Princess's love for Li Youran could be measured in money, then the capital she gave to Li Youran's brother and sister-in-law this time was a huge sum of money. Under the arrangement of Li Youran's brother and sister-in-law, a shop that could be seen everywhere in the capital would soon appear overnight.

"Uncle Zhang, Mother...Auntie."

After overcoming numerous hardships, they finally arrived at the temple. Ah Jiu excitedly shouted to the two people in the temple, and Ah Jiu's gaze lingered on the woman for a long time.

Tang Lei found this woman very strange. Judging from her figure, she wasn't very old, only in her thirties, but her face looked very old.

Not only that, there were also knife marks, clearly indicating that she had been disfigured. However, she was wearing a veil and kept her head down, so you could only vaguely see her face and not clearly see her features.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!