"Chaos?" Shen Weiwan blinked her innocent eyes and turned to the old housekeeper behind her. "Grandpa Housekeeper, didn't you say that the accounts were recorded according to the ancestral system? Could it be that a mouse got into the warehouse and gnawed the account book?"

The old butler stepped forward, leaning on a dragon-headed cane, his gray beard trembling violently. "My dear Miss, ever since I took over the storeroom, the account books have been locked in a camphorwood box. Not even a cockroach can get in, let alone a mouse. If Master Zhou doesn't believe me, you can check every entry."

Beads of sweat trickled down Zhou Mingyuan's temples. He was about to open his mouth to argue when Chuntao stumbled over, her hair half loose. "Miss! This is bad! Accountant Qin from Xiefangyuan... he's escaped through the dog hole with his bag!"

Shen Weiwan raised her eyebrows: "He ran away? He owed gambling debts or something?"

Chuntao slumped to her knees and pulled out a blue cloth-bound account book from her bosom. The cover was still stained with mud. "I found this under his bed! It contains a detailed account of how Madam Liu has withheld monthly payments from various courtyards and sold off silk from the treasury over the past three years!"

Liu screamed and rushed over to grab the account book. The golden armor almost scratched Chuntao's face: "How dare you frame me, you little bitch! This account book is fake! It was Shen Weiwan who taught you to do it!"

"Fake?" Chen Weiwan snatched the account book and deliberately held it high when she opened a certain page. "Oh, it's still recorded here that 'Minister Zhou received a gift on Dragon Boat Festival: a pair of jade snuff bottles and three hundred taels of silver'! Lord Zhou, when did you change to accepting snuff bottles?"

Zhou Mingyuan swallowed hard, sweat staining the back of his official uniform. He stumbled back a half step, his finger trembling as he pointed at Liu. "It's her! It was Shen Liu who gave me five hundred taels of silver to fabricate evidence of the General's Mansion withholding military pay!"

"Zhou Mingyuan, how dare you sell me out!" Liu was so angry that she was shaking all over. The red gold hairpin on her head tilted to one side and the beads fell to the ground with a crackling sound.

Shen Weiwan stepped forward, looking down at Liu who was lying on the ground, her voice as sweet as honey: "Aunt, you said that you are not a good housekeeper, but you have to collude with foreign officials to frame your own family? Now, not only did you fail to bring down the general's mansion, but you also delivered your own evidence to the door."

At this moment, the sound of horse hooves could be heard outside the hanging flower gate, followed by the eunuch's sharp announcement: "His Royal Highness the Seventh Prince has arrived—"

Xiao Yu walked in, his dark blue brocade robe lifted, the jade belt buckle at his waist gleaming coldly in the sunlight. He glanced at the mess on the floor, his gaze finally landing on Zhou Mingyuan. A hint of a smile played on his lips. "Minister Zhou, you're so powerful that you've even brought your case to the residence of a noble? Did you know that trespassing on a general's residence is punishable by eighty strokes of the cane?"

Zhou Mingyuan fell to his knees with a thud, his forehead clattering against the bricks. "Your Highness, spare me! It was Shen Liu who bewitched me! I beg Your Highness to show mercy!"

Xiao Yu didn't bother to look at him anymore. He said coldly to the guards behind him, "Drag her away and send her to the Dali Temple. As for Shen Liu..." He paused, his eyes sweeping over her pale face, "She colluded with foreign officials and intended to frame loyal officials. Her crime deserves death. However, considering that she is a relative of the General's Mansion, I will hand her over to the Imperial Clan Court for custody and await her fate."

Liu screamed and tried to grab Xiao Yu's clothes, but was kicked away by the guard: "Seventh Prince! I am innocent! This is a trap set by Shen Weiwan!"

"A trap?" Xiao Yu finally looked at Shen Weiwan, a barely perceptible smile flashing in his eyes, "I think Miss Shen is just doing justice for the heavens." He turned to Shen Weiwan, his tone unconsciously softened, "Miss Shen, can you take back the key to the warehouse?"

Chen Weiwan bowed, a cunning glint in her eyes. "Your Highness, not only have we recovered the key, but we've also found the private account book that my aunt hid in the wall. Oh, by the way," she seemed to suddenly remember something and took the blue cloth account book from Chuntao's hand. "There are a lot of interesting things recorded in it. Maybe it can help Your Highness... uh, understand the people's sentiments?"

Xiao Yu took the account book and flipped through two pages, then suddenly chuckled. He handed the book to the guard and said to Shen Weiwan, "Miss Shen is indeed intelligent. But I have a suggestion—" He took a half step closer, his warm breath brushing against her ear as he lowered his voice. "How about we join forces and take care of these clowns once and for all?"

Shen Weiwan’s heart skipped a beat, but she deliberately tilted her head and pretended to be stupid: “Join forces? Your Highness, please don’t lie to me. I’m stupid and take it seriously.”

"I never lie." Xiao Yu stood up straight, the smile in his eyes was too strong to dissipate. "Tomorrow at the poetry meeting in the south of the city, I hope to be able to sit at the same table with Miss Shen."

Watching Xiao Yu's departing figure, Shen Ruorou hid behind the pillars and gritted her teeth. When Liu was carried by the guards past her, she suddenly turned her head and roared, "Ruorou! Go find Li Xiu! Let him find a solution!"

As dusk fell, Shen Weiwan sat by the window, watching Chuntao place a bowl of bird's nest porridge on the pearwood table. The golden dates in the porridge shone in the candlelight, but she had no appetite. "Chuntao, you said Liu asked Shen Ruorou to go find Li Xiu... What else can that cripple do?"

Chun Tao gathered her shawl and whispered, "Miss, although Li Xiu has become a laughing stock, he is still the legitimate son of the Li family. He might use some shady tactics..."

"Dirty tricks?" Chen Weiwan picked up a golden date and spun it quickly between her fingertips. "That's perfect. I want to see what tricks this couple can come up with." She suddenly laughed, the candlelight reflected in her eyes, like broken stars falling. "Chun Tao, just wait and see. There will be something interesting to watch at tomorrow's poetry gathering."

The moon outside the window quietly climbed over the eaves, casting bamboo shadows on the window paper. Chen Weiwan chewed a golden jujube, remembering Xiao Yu's meaningful smile as he left. The corners of her mouth couldn't help but curl up. In this life, she not only had to protect the General's Mansion, but also make all those who had harmed her feel the pain of falling from the clouds. As for the Seventh Prince... She licked the jujube juice from the corner of her lips. Perhaps, he would be a good "ally."