"Sigh, everyone's getting married like this..." the Empress sighed peacefully, sitting on the marble floor. "My black jade..."

She was going crazy missing him.

Her elder sister and that Wen Su were always so lovey-dovey, which made her extremely jealous.

"Your Majesty the Empress, the King of the Kingdom requests an audience," a servant reported as he entered with his head bowed.

Wei Xinpian straightened her posture, shaking off her languid demeanor and regaining the dignity befitting an empress, and solemnly said, "Summon them."

After the king of the neighboring country entered and bowed, he explained the purpose of his visit.

"I hope Your Majesty will keep a close eye on this child, since he has never been out of the palace for so long before."

This time, it truly seemed that Heaven intended to spare her son; even the king of the neighboring kingdom looked somewhat forlorn.

Her Majesty the Empress readily agreed, "This young prince will surely be my eldest son's rightful heir. I hope Your Majesty will set aside your anxiety; my son will certainly treat him well."

This statement was a promise that even if the couple fell out in the future, her little prince would still be the eldest princess's rightful husband.

After the king of the neighboring country finished speaking, he brought up the matter of leaving.

Her Majesty the Empress could not linger any longer, for matters of national importance were far more pressing.

"Next year, we will definitely arrange for the eldest princess to return to the neighboring country with the princes to stay for a while."

The king of the neighboring country nodded with a smile, and then Her Majesty the Empress prepared a farewell banquet for him.

…

While Dou Shiliu was in the Prince's mansion, he was reviewing the accounts from the past few years and discovered that there was a deficit.

"Go and call the butler."

His eyes turned cold. How dare he steal her dowry?

"Your Highness, may you be well?" The steward, his face flushed, asked with a hint of confusion in his eyes, "When do you have any instructions?"

Dou Shiliu tapped the ledger and threw the contents on the ground: "Take a look."

The steward felt a pang of panic and unease, sensing the prince's coldness and getting goosebumps.

He picked it up shakily, carefully examined it, and discovered that he was short tens of thousands of taels of silver.

Terrified, he crawled on the ground, kowtowing desperately: "Your Highness, please investigate!" The thuds of his kowtows were deafening.

As Dou Shiliu looked closely at her, the housekeeper felt as if she were about to collapse from exhaustion, breaking out in a cold sweat. She had no idea when the money had gone missing...

"It was found out on the 3rd," Dou Shiliu said, getting up and picking up his teacup. He slowly walked to the butler's side, then raised his hand and poured it out.

Water dripped from his mouth like tiny springs, and in Dou Shiliu's eyes was an appalling coldness.

"If you can't find out in three days, you can come to me with your head."

The steward felt as if the tea had been poured over him from head to toe, his heart turning cold, but he still kowtowed at Dou Shiliu's feet.

"Yes! I will definitely find out the deficit!"

Dou Shiliu's eyes remained indifferent as he casually slammed the teacup to the ground with a loud thud, as if he hadn't heard it, and walked away.

The housekeeper ignored the broken glass shards and continued to bang his head, causing it to bleed profusely.

The servants trembled silently, too afraid to look.

Dou Shiliu is never one to show mercy; he embezzled so much money, yet the steward knew absolutely nothing about it—was he blind?

Wen Su was unaware of this matter, because under Dou Shiliu's watchful eye, nothing bad could reach his ears.

"You like grapes. These are foreign grapes that the envoy from the neighboring country gave you last time. Try some," Dou Shiliu said, gently peeling the grapes and feeding them to Wen Su's lips with affection.

A hint of helplessness flashed in Wen Su's eyes as she opened her mouth and ate it.

After peeling a few beans, Dou Shiliu took a handkerchief and wiped her slender fingers before casually lying back in Wen Su's arms.

"In a few days, you'll have to wait for me at the Prime Minister's residence to come and fetch you."

This is a rule of the matriarchal society. Although Dou Shiliu didn't care about it, weddings are supposed to be complicated to have a sense of ceremony.

Wen Su nodded obediently, his eyelashes fluttering as he carefully observed the woman's silhouette, which made him even more intoxicated.

Dou Shiliu wrapped his arms around his neck.

The woman slowly released her, and Wen Su felt as if she were in a dream.

…

The next day, Wen Su stayed in his room and wouldn't come out. After Dou Shiliu fed him, he went to the main hall to deal with the previous day's events.

This butler was no pushover either; he had a ruthless streak.

“Your Highness, it was the wet nurse who did it,” the steward immediately produced the evidence he had collected overnight.

Dou Shiliu glanced unhurriedly at the wet nurse kneeling at her feet; she didn't need to know who the murderer was.

She just needs someone to fill in the money.

"Where's the money?"

His calm tone instilled great resentment in the wet nurse.

"It's gone..."

The housekeeper laughed, then grabbed her in a fit of anger.

"You said it's over? Ha!" The butler took a thick stack of papers from his briefcase and threw it in her face.

"This is where every penny of yours goes; whether you save it or use it, it's all recorded here!"

She almost got her into serious trouble this time!

The wet nurse was dumbfounded. She frantically picked it up and glanced at it; the contents were even clearer than her own filthy notebook. What... what was going on?

Dou Shiliu smiled and looked at the two of them. "Steward, if this debt is not settled before the Empress marries into the mansion..." He paused, then gave a handsome smile.

"Then you can feed it to the dog."

With that said, the steward had no choice but to accept his fate. Looking at the paralyzed wet nurse on the ground, he felt like strangling her.

"How will the prince deal with the wet nurse?"

She was, after all, a woman who had given birth to the prince.

"It's up to you. Just fill in the bill, everything else is fine."

Dou Shiliu calmly decided the fate of the wet nurse.

She had no interest in knowing why the wet nurse had done it; she didn't care.

…

"Firstly, His Highness the Prince has sent someone over," Jia'er said, eating peach-filled pastries while sitting in front of a bronze mirror, watching her wet nurse comb her hair.

Her mouth tasted slightly sweet. "Lingyi, I want some water."

One thought was still wandering

“Ling Yi?” Jia’er looked at him strangely. Ling Yi came back to his senses and poured her a cup of tea.

After Jia'er took a big gulp, her wet nurse tied her hair into double buns, making her look incredibly clever and playful.

"Hahaha, the wet nurse's skills are truly amazing!"

Jia'er held the bronze mirror and looked at herself from left to right, finding her more and more adorable.

"Let's go see the new little guest." He put down the bronze mirror, got off the stool, and hopped away.

The wet nurse hurriedly chased after her, saying, "Miss, the person who came today is the second young master of the manor, who is also your younger brother."

"My brother?"

"You had a fever that day and did not attend the ceremony for the adoption of a son presided over by the Prime Minister."

“Then we should definitely go and see what this little brother looks like,” Jia’er said with a smile, not forgetting to call on Ling Yi as well.

In the courtyard of Fan, Wen Su had just parted ways with Dou Shiliu when he started missing her.

He sat in the courtyard for a while, letting the wind disturb his thoughts…