Chapter 80 Two Points of Expectation

Prince Xuan's residence.

Wei Yan skillfully tossed a segment of orange into the air and then caught it in his mouth.

He chewed and swallowed with satisfaction, then couldn't help but laugh out loud again.

"...It's a real shame you weren't there. You didn't see how angry Song Cheng's face turned a deep green."

He, a man who had served as Vice Minister of Rites for over a decade, was actually fooled by an eight-year-old girl with a stack of blank paper.

Tsk tsk, all I can say is that people should never do anything that goes against their conscience, because once you do something wrong, you're prone to feeling guilty.

He ate another segment of orange and moved closer to Chen Cong.

"Oh, what's wrong with this little girl from the Li family? Is her heart made of lotus root? She's full of cunning."

At such a young age, she's already helping her mother get her dowry back. Wow, given time, this girl will be extraordinary.

"Hey, I'm talking to you, can't you hear me?"

Shen Cong rubbed the hand warmer with one hand and held a chess piece in the other. After placing a piece, he slowly looked up.

A faint smile played on his pale face.

"It just shows how stupid Song Cheng is. It's just a little trick, and you're praising him like this?"

Wei Yan picked up a black piece and placed it down, then rolled his eyes upon hearing this.

"In your eyes, everyone in the world is a fool except you."

Shen Cong chuckled, neither agreeing nor disagreeing, and simply tapped the chessboard with his chin.

"You lost."

Wei Yan stared intently, and couldn't help but feel a vein throbbing on his forehead, cursing under his breath.

On the chessboard, his black pieces had been completely surrounded by white pieces, and he had no chance of survival.

"You're really cunning, aren't you? You managed to set a trap for me while we were chatting."

"You'll fall into my trap?"

Wei Yan...

And then indirectly insult him as stupid?

Angrily picked up another segment of orange, then suddenly remembered something and eagerly moved forward again.

"I heard you gave Huang Sheng to that little girl from the Li family? Weren't you planning to use Huang Sheng to do some business in secret?"

"You don't need it anymore?"

Shen Cong: "I haven't figured out how to use it yet."

Wei Yan curled his lip and sneered.

"I think it's not that you haven't thought it through, but that you're intentionally helping that little girl from the Li family, right?"

He looked at Shen Cong with a curious expression.

"I don't understand. You're usually so cold to everyone, so why would you help that little girl?"

"Which eye of yours saw me helping her?"

Wei Yan pointed to his left eye, then to his right eye.

"Both eyes saw it. We've known each other for a long time. You've led the Imperial Guards to confiscate quite a few homes."

"Which household didn't kneel and beg you when their property was confiscated? Yet you've never shown any mercy."

"You not only saved Li Mu, but also let the Li family's little girl go several times, and now you've even given Huang Sheng to her."

Something's not right. You're acting very strangely.

Wei Yan stroked his chin. "Tell me, why did you help her?"

Why help Li Nanke?

Shen Cong picked up the chess pieces one by one from the chessboard and put them into the chess box, a look of daze flashing across his narrow eyes.

I vaguely recalled Li Nanke's bright, grape-like eyes, which were clearly afraid, yet also filled with a desperate courage.

Just like him in the past...

Unpleasant memories flashed through his mind, and Chen Cong slammed the chess piece onto the chessboard.

She quickly shook off the memory, her voice even colder than before.

"I'm just doing one good deed a day; you're overthinking it."

"Cough cough!"

Wei Yan choked on the orange in his mouth, patted his chest hard, and then swallowed it.

He stared at Chen Cong in disbelief.

"Do you want to hear what outrageous things you've said? Doing a good deed every day? Do you even know how to write the word 'good'?"

Shen Cong raised an eyebrow, snorted, and turned to look at the door.

Erfeng lifted the curtain and came in.

"Your Highness, everything is proceeding according to your instructions. I had someone deliberately mention to several officials in the Ministry of Works that His Majesty might send people to inspect the dikes soon."

This news was immediately relayed to the Minister of Works, who then wrote a letter to the central government.

Our people have gone to investigate, and the county magistrate of Chixian will arrange to raise the protective dike tonight.

Officials from the Ministry of Works also wrote letters to other counties, instructing them to raise the dikes in all the counties under Bianjing's jurisdiction within the next two days.

Shen Cong nodded slightly, indicating that he understood.

Wei Yan looked on with curiosity.

"The rainy season is long over this year, so isn't raising the dikes now pointless?"

A hint of interest flashed in Shen Cong's eyes.

"What if I said that there would be a sudden downpour in a few days, which might cause the dam to burst?"

Wei Yan: "How is that possible? Are you blind? Didn't you see how bright the sun is outside? Even the Imperial Astronomical Bureau said that it's been sunny lately."

"Over the years, the Imperial Observatory has never made a mistake. You're talking about torrential rain? You might as well say a storm. Who are you trying to fool?"

Shen Cong remained indifferent.

Believe it or not.

"Haha, if there really is a sudden downpour, I'll twist my head off and let you kick it like a ball."

"Then wash your head clean and wait."

"Even if you wash it clean, you can't kick it, hahaha... ha..."

Wei Yan glanced at Shen Cong's expression, his laughter growing softer and softer until finally only a smile remained frozen on his face.

"Holy crap, you can't be serious, can you?"

Shen Cong remained silent.

Wei Yan cursed again, then suddenly jumped up and ran towards the door.

He took a couple of steps, then turned back, grabbed two oranges from the table, and ran quickly outside.

"Torrential rain, my goodness! If this is real, there's so much to do."

Shen Cong watched him disappear through the door like the wind, then turned to look at Er Feng.

"How is Huang Sheng doing?"

"Miss Ke'er gave Huang Sheng another 100,000 taels of silver after leaving the Bianjing government office today."

Huang Sheng now has a total of 210,000 taels of silver notes, and he says it's no problem for him to buy up all the grain reserves in the prefectures and counties near Bianjing.

As Erfeng spoke, he couldn't help but scratch his bushy beard.

Shen Cong: "Is there anything else?"

Erfeng: "Huang Sheng asked his subordinates to inquire with the prince when he would be able to return, as he does not want to work alongside a mere maid."

"Your Highness, it seems Huang Sheng isn't convinced by Miss Ke'er. Should I speak to him again?"

Shen Cong shook his head.

"No need. If she can't subdue Huang Sheng, then it means she's incompetent, and I don't need to worry about anything else."

"But she's only an eight-year-old child..."

What was I doing when I was eight years old?

Erfeng stared in disbelief, and after a long while, he muttered something under his breath.

"Who can compare to you? You can't expect all the children in the world to be as intelligent as you, can you?"

Shen Cong lowered his eyes, concealing the emotions within them.

Can that little girl do it?

He secretly felt a sense of anticipation.

The Marquis of Anping's residence.

Li Nanke gave all 100,000 taels of silver to Huang Sheng, only instructing him to collect the grain as soon as possible before returning home.

She didn't hide the fact that she was collecting grain from Song Yi.

Song Yi was very supportive, so she readily gave her the silver notes.

It was already evening when they returned to the Marquis's residence.

The maid said that Song Yi was in the main courtyard, so Li Nanke went directly to the main courtyard.

Lady He, the wife of the Marquis, had just finished listening to Song Yi's account of how she retrieved her dowry when she saw Li Nanke, and her eyes narrowed with delight.

He hugged her and kissed her again and again.

“Our Ke’er is really amazing. At such a young age, she can already help her mother come up with ideas and get her dowry back.”

Li Nanke nestled in her grandmother's arms, swinging her legs, her eyes crinkling with laughter.

"It was Mother who was more capable. Mother insisted and did not back down an inch, which allowed her to successfully retrieve the dowry."

Song Yi was embarrassed by the praise and smiled with her lips pursed.

"Our Ke'er is still the best."

Madam He smiled and said, "Alright, you two stop praising each other. Today is a good day. I've already instructed Granny Sun to prepare the meal in the small kitchen."

Let's have something nice to celebrate tonight.

Li Nanke's eyes lit up.

"Grandma, I want to eat sticky rice chicken."

"Little glutton, I know you love sticky rice chicken, so Grandma told Aunt Sun to make it a long time ago."

"Grandma is so kind."

Li Nanke and Song Yi helped Madam He up with a smile, and then Mama Sun led people in to set out the meal.

Unfortunately, just as the food was being served, an uninvited guest arrived.