“Little princess, you are so young, yet you act like a seventy or eighty-year-old woman, talking about protecting your father. Is that something you should be doing? What you should be doing now is calling your father to talk to me.”

Huo Baichuan always felt that there was something wrong with Zhao Shu. After thinking for a long time, he realized that it was because the girl in front of him did not have the vitality that a girl should have. She looked like an old woman, which was too incongruous with her tender face.

She didn't mind not seeing the person behind her, but looking at such a young girl with those eyes that seemed to have experienced the vicissitudes of life and were full of worries, he felt very uncomfortable.

“Mr. Huo, if you don’t agree, Aunt Huo will never get better.” Zhao Shu met his eyes calmly.

"Aunt?" Huo Baichuan looked Zhao Shu up and down for a long time. "You really have some skill, you even call her aunt." Whether he was mocking or admiring, Zhao Shu could no longer see his face. He had already passed by her, leaving only the words, "I will send people to protect your father and fulfill your filial duty."

The huge weight that had been hanging over Zhao Shu's heart was lifted, and tears were almost in her eyes. No one knew how nervous she was when facing Huo Baichuan. What should she do if he refused to agree?

Moreover, although he was much younger than she had imagined, and he didn't play word games with her in a literary style, nor did he threaten her fiercely, but just said some irrelevant things in a light and casual manner, she still couldn't help but think that he was the influential Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, the head of all officials, whose anger could make the princes tremble, and whose peace could bring tranquility to the world.

"Princess, Princess, Mr. Huo looks so handsome when he smiles." Green Ivy and Xiao Guozi walked over.

Zhao Shu ignored her and said, "Go to the study and call Xiao Zhuzi over."

Green Ivy shut up. How is the princess different from others? Now everyone in the mansion is talking about Mr. Huo. Some of the older sisters are even hiding in the shadows to peek. Just one glance makes them blush and their hearts race.

When they arrived at the small study, Xiao Zhu was already waiting there. He knew that Zhao Shuding had many questions to ask, so he gave her some money and waited in the study early.

"Let's start with the Wang family," Zhao Shu said, sitting down and gesturing to Xiao Zhu.

Xiao Zhuzi hurriedly reported: "Princess, after you entered the palace, the Wang family dispersed. The eldest and second sons of the Wang family went to the Shen family for help, but so far the Shen family has not made any move. However, this servant discovered that Prince Duan has been in contact with the Shen family, and they are always acting mysteriously."

"Find a way to force Prince Duan to take desperate measures and summon Mo Qin. He is going to leave the capital with his father tomorrow. I wonder how the matter I asked him to handle is going."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Guozi turned around and went downstairs to instruct someone to call Mo Qin. Xiao Zhuzi continued, "Lord Wang, with a petition from the Fan family, has imprisoned Wang Kuanqi in the imperial jail. The Wang family is in chaos. The nine branches, both inner and outer, are fighting each other multiple times for the right to manage the household. A large part of the inner nine branches have already pledged allegiance to Lord Wang, while the outer nine branches want to split up. However, at this time, the Sun family opened many shops overnight, robbing the outer nine branches of the Wang family of all their business and poaching many employees and managers. Now the Wang family is a mess."

Zhao Shu recalled her bet with Sun Yun, realizing that Sun Yun hadn't been idle these past two days. She decided to leave it for another day and said with a smile, "Go on."

"The Wang family's in-laws, such as Yang, Zhang, and Jiang, have all come to break off their engagements. Even the Wang family daughters who have just married into the family and haven't yet had children have been returned by their husbands." As he said this, he secretly glanced at his own princess, unsure whether he should mention the rumors circulating that people would rather marry the daughter of the Prince of Yong than have a daughter-in-law from the Wang family.

The annulment of the engagement was part of her initial plan. She originally only wanted to keep the Wang family busy and accelerate their internal strife, so as not to pressure her uncle and give him time to wait for her father and Xie Yun to return. She didn't expect to find the Fan family and send Wang Kuanqi to prison in one fell swoop. "Make a note of those families that annuled their engagements. When the Wang family was at its peak, they begged and pleaded to marry Wang family daughters. Now that the Wang family is in trouble, they can't wait to annul their engagements. Such families should never be associated with."

"Yes," Xiao Zhuzi replied meekly.

"How did you discover the Fan family?" She had wanted to ask this question for a long time, and only now did she have the time to ask it.

Speaking of Fan Shi, Xiao Zhu Zi still felt lingering fear. After organizing his thoughts, he said, "It was Zhang Liu who discovered her. At that time, I saw that it was getting late, so I ordered the Wang family temple to be burned down. Unexpectedly, we found Fan Shi, who was on the verge of death, in a servant's room on the outer perimeter. She had just been tortured and was covered in blood. Although she was still breathing, she had already fainted. Zhang Liu took pity on her and carried her out."

"Yes, send a hundred taels of silver to Zhang Liu's family so that his parents can buy some land." Among the regulations for the soldiers established by Zhao Shu were prohibitions against gambling and drinking at brothels. In order to get rid of those bad habits, large rewards were directly distributed to their homes.

Xiao Zhu was delighted. It was two hundred taels of silver directly. Although it wasn't for him, Zhang Liu had received the reward for following him on a mission, so he felt honored. It was a pity that Zhang Liu was Mo Qin's man.

Little Guo secretly resolved that he would give those lambs a good scolding when he got back; they were really embarrassing him!

"What about the Yang family?" After asking about the Wang family, Zhao Shucai remembered Yang Zhong, who was a troublesome person. Yang Zhong was smarter and more flexible than Wang Kuanqi.

Xiao Zhu Zi composed himself and reported, "The Yang family is still kneeling at the East Gate. Their disciples have gathered thousands of people to petition the Emperor to release Young Master Yang."

"That's it?" Zhao Shu was somewhat incredulous. Such a grand gesture was only to release people; it seemed a bit pointless. However, Wang Kuanqi had already lost everything, and Yang Zhongding was probably afraid of going too far and humiliating himself.

"It's gone."

Zhao Shu chuckled. The Yang family would be dealt with by Qiu Tang. They were political enemies, and she didn't need to waste her energy on their affairs. She only needed to guard her own little corner of the world.

Has Lord Xie returned?

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