Chapter 23 is interesting.

Erfeng said, "Our people were mixed in with the crowd, and Miss Li's voice was so low that we could only vaguely hear a few words."

It seems like they're pretending to be ugly, or trying to keep an eye on their money.

Shen Cong leaned back in his recliner, his hand stroking the hand warmer, and paused slightly.

Erfeng continued, "I've heard that escorting exiled prisoners is a tough job, so it's usually done by yamen runners with no connections."

The journey to exile was arduous, so these yamen runners vented their resentment on the exiled prisoners, often beating and verbally abusing them.

The main problem is the abuse of women. I've heard that some beasts don't even spare little girls, which is why Miss Li reminded the Jiang family's young lady to dress ugly and keep a close eye on the money.

Shen Congrui raised his phoenix eyes, a hint of interest appearing at the corner of his mouth.

How could an eight-year-old girl understand the filth of the exile journey and teach people how to protect themselves?

"That's interesting."

It was rare to see Erfeng show interest in anyone or anything, so he immediately decided that from now on, he would report every little thing about that little girl Li Nanke to the prince.

"The little girl probably intervened because she saw the constables were about to beat someone to death. She's a kind little girl."

Shen Cong glanced at him sideways.

"What? Didn't you get enough of the whipping this afternoon? You still want to plead for her?"

Erfeng's expression changed.

"Your subordinate wouldn't dare. Your subordinate will send someone to bring her back immediately."

"Need not."

Erfeng looked puzzled.

Shen Cong chuckled coldly.

"Since she dares to use my power, she must be able to pay the price."

Little girl, I have already continued this other favor, but I don't know if she can repay it this time.

"That snow eagle..."

"Since it dares to run away from home and go out to find food on its own, then it doesn't need to come back."

The Marquis of Anping's residence.

Achoo!

"Pfft."

A person and a dog sneezed loudly at the same time.

Li Nanke and Xueying exchanged a glance. Xueying let out a pitiful whimper, then picked up the chicken leg she had just nibbled on and quickly ran towards the door.

"Ah, Snow Eagle..."

Li Nanke chased after the eagle out of the courtyard and saw that the eagle's figure had already run far away in the setting sun.

It looks like they're going to run back to Prince Xuan's residence.

She didn't chase after them anymore, and turned to go to the main courtyard.

Song Yi was wiping away tears in the main room; her eyes were swollen like peaches.

"What's wrong, Mother? Weren't you going to see Father? Are you worried about him?"

She held Song Yi's arm and asked with concern.

This question caused Song Yi's tears to fall even more rapidly.

"Sister Zilan, you tell us."

Li Nanke turned to look at Zilan standing next to him.

Zilan spoke quickly and clearly, explaining the matter in just a few words.

"This servant accompanied the young master's wife to the dowry shops to withdraw silver. The two shops combined only had a thousand taels of silver available."

We bought some medicine for the heir apparent, but now we don't even have a thousand taels left. The Censorate has given us three days to pay a fine of five thousand taels.

Zilan pointed to a small wooden box on the table.

"This was just delivered by the head maid of the Marquis's household. It's all her personal savings, totaling one thousand taels."

"All the silver added up was only two thousand taels. When the young master's wife saw that there was such a large shortfall, she went to ask the second young mistress to withdraw three thousand taels from the manor's accounts."

The second young mistress said that this matter required the Marquis's approval, and besides, the household's expenses were already tight, making it difficult to come up with three thousand taels of silver in a short time.

"The young master's wife had no choice but to plead with the marquis again, but the marquis refused and even cursed at her."

Zilan's face was full of anger.

"The Marquis said that the young master spends all his time buying books and paintings every month, and his salary is not even enough to cover his own expenses. Now that he has caused such a big disaster, how can he still have the nerve to spend the family's money?"

Song Yi cried very sadly.

"What should we do, Ke'er? We only have one day left. If we can't pay the fine, your father will continue to be caned."

I went to visit your father this afternoon. He had just been beaten thirty times and was covered in blood. He was almost unconscious.

"If I get hit again, I won't be able to take it."

Song Yi's mind was filled with the image of her husband on the verge of death after being beaten. She cried uncontrollably, staring longingly at Li Nanke.

Completely unaware that in just two short days, she had already made her daughter her pillar of support.

Li Nanke was not surprised that his grandfather refused to pay.

In fact, even if the grandfather were willing to spend the money, the Marquis of Anping's mansion couldn't come up with three thousand taels of silver.

The Anping Marquis's mansion had been in decline since the time of my grandfather.

Although it still retains the title of a marquis's mansion, it can only be described in one word: poor!

She lifted her sleeve to wipe away Song Yi's tears.

"Mother, don't cry. Ke'er will think of a way to raise money to pay Father's fine."

Song Yi's eyes were blurry with tears.

“You’re still a child, where are you going to get the money?”

"I......"

Just as Li Nanke opened his mouth, an urgent voice rang out from outside.

"This servant has a way to help the young master raise the fine."

Mrs. Qian poked her head in, her face still covered with red blisters from the burn she had suffered that morning.

Song Yi's eyes lit up.

“Mother Qian, come in and have a word.”

Qian's mother didn't come in immediately; she first glanced at Li Nanke.

Li Nanke's eyes darted around, then she smiled sweetly.

"Mom, do you have any ideas?"

A smug glint flashed in Mrs. Qian's eyes as she walked in, chin held high.

The Crown Prince's wife can only cry; what can a little kid like Li Nanke do?

In crucial moments, we still have to rely on her.

When Mrs. Qian smiled, it aggravated the bubbles on her face, causing her to gasp in pain and her smile to vanish.

He suggested, "Why don't you sell the dowry shop, Lady Heir, to raise some money?"

"Selling dowry shops? Oh right, how come I didn't think of that?"

Song Yi's eyes lit up, but then she looked somewhat dejected.

"But these two shops were my dowry left to me by my mother. Although they don't make much money, at least they provide some income."

If we sell them all, won't we really be living off our savings forever?

Mrs. Qian sighed and tried to persuade her.

"Right now, saving the young master is the most important thing, to prevent him from being punished. What do you think, young master's wife?"

Song Yi strongly agreed.

“That makes sense. Saving my husband is the most important thing.”

"Then this servant will go out and discuss with Manager Liu how to find a buyer as soon as possible?"

Song Yi did not agree directly, but subconsciously looked at Li Nanke.

"Does Ke'er think this is feasible?"

Although my daughter is young, she seems to have become much more capable since being guided by the fairy grandmother.

Song Yi felt that it was always right to ask her daughter's opinion.

Li Nanke sat in the chair next to Song Yi, her round eyes staring intently at Qian's mother.

"I remember Mother had a stationery shop and a grain and oil shop. Which shop do you think should be sold, Mother Qian?"

Without hesitation, Madam Qian said, "I estimate that even if we sell both shops, we can only barely get three thousand taels."

Song Yi looked disappointed.

"So little?"

"Business is tough these days, and the Crown Prince's wife's two shops aren't making any money, so naturally they won't fetch a good price."

"Oh, really?"

Li Nanke blinked her grape-like eyes and beckoned to her mother with her little hand.

“Mom Qian, come here to me and repeat what you just said. I didn’t hear you clearly.”

Mrs. Qian subconsciously twitched her face.

She hadn't forgotten that this morning, Li Nanke had hooked her little hand around and beckoned her over, then poured a pot of hot tea on her face.

That brat is calling her over, is she going to scald her with hot tea again?

Or did she figure something out?

Mrs. Qian felt a little uneasy.