After the envoy from that vassal state returned home, word somehow spread that this place really liked red coral, so they hurriedly sent over an even larger one, which is now placed in the Zhaoling Palace.

Xie Qianzhong's jealousy subsided somewhat after the red coral didn't end up in Song Tangxue's hands, and Song Tangxue found it amusing when she thought about it.

Seeing Song Tangxue's smile, Song Tangli thought her words had worked and felt secretly pleased.

She casually turned the bracelet on her wrist: "This was forged by a skilled craftsman five years ago by the Crown Prince, who was waiting to give it to me on our wedding day. It's just a pity that it was delayed for some reason."

The two of them knew the reason perfectly well.

Song Tangxue didn't even glance at it. The string of beads was forged in her shop, and she hadn't paid for it back then. She didn't know what the chances were of getting it back now.

Song Tangli talked for almost half an hour until her mouth was dry. Song Tangxue finally finished reading the account book in her hand. As if no one else was around, she pushed the account book aside and said to Cuixi, "Take it inside and put it away. Keep it separate from last month's revenue."

Cui Xi nodded in agreement, and Song Tangxue turned her head in surprise: "Look at me, I had forgotten that you were still here."

The person who was just smug shut up, her words choked back, and could only give an awkward smile: "Sister has important matters to attend to, how dare I say more?"

She picked up the teacup beside her and took a small sip. The tea was fragrant and of excellent quality, a Longjing tea. Song Tangxue felt a little regretful. If there wasn't a tea worse than this in Chang Le Palace, she definitely wouldn't have let Song Tangli drink it.

It seems I still need to find some aged tea, just in case.

Song Tangli's eyes darted around, her heart filled with jealousy. Everything she was so proud of seemed ordinary to Song Tangxue.

Indeed, Song Tangxue's shops were a money-making machine, making her one of the wealthiest women in the capital. How could Song Tangli not be jealous?

This gave rise to the desire to possess it all, even though it was rightfully hers. As the principal wife, wasn't it only natural for her to manage the finances for the concubine?

Song Tangli put down her teacup and turned to face Song Tangxue. Song Tangxue looked at her calmly. She had seen this kind of probing gaze on every member of the Song family before, and it was very familiar to her.

"May I take a look at your account book, sister? I want to learn how to do accounting in the future." Song Tangli asked tentatively, smiling brightly like a small white flower adorned with dewdrops in spring, but her smile was full of calculation.

"It's not right for my sister to keep working so hard for me."

“The Crown Prince’s household accounts are taught by the head nanny. It’s much better for you to learn from her than from my low-class methods.” How could Song Tangxue not see through her little trick?

"There are some things I don't know whether I should say or not." Song Tangli's eyes slowly swept over the various furnishings in Song Tangxue's room. Although she couldn't understand them, she could tell that they contained something special and were not ordinary objects.

What she didn't know was that most of these were sent by Xie Qianzhong.

"Then there's no need to say anything more." Song Tangxue hated all this dawdling and immediately got up to go inside.

Caught off guard by these words, Song Tangli's face twisted for a moment, but remembering her purpose, she held back and sighed almost imperceptibly: "Maintaining such a large Crown Prince's residence is already difficult enough, and there's not much we women can do. I was just thinking that you have many shops, right? It's said that a woman should follow her husband after marriage. When will you hand over your shops to His Highness the Crown Prince?"

Song Tangli's blatant covetousness was repulsive. As the mistress of the Crown Prince's mansion, wouldn't all this money end up in her hands anyway?

“These shops belong to the Shen family, not to the Song family as part of their dowry.” Song Tangxue used the excuse she had prepared long ago. Song Tangli’s ambitions were quite considerable.

That's practically a bottomless pit.

"You're in charge of the Crown Prince's residence, what does it have to do with me? Does the Crown Prince's residence have to go hungry just because he married two masters?" Song Tangxue glared at her coldly.

"Sister, have you forgotten that I am now the legal wife? Taking your things is for the good of the Crown Prince's residence. Do you want to disappear without a trace like those concubines?" Song Tangli leaned closer and threatened in a low voice.

"You know about those concubines who were sold off by Mother, right?" Song Tangli's eyes crinkled with a smile. The palace servants were all a step behind, so only Song Tangli and Song Tangxue could hear her.

Song Tangli couldn't very well expose this shameless behavior in public, as it would damage her reputation as the Crown Princess.

Although the outside world doesn't have a good opinion of the Crown Princess's reputation, Song Tangli still cares, almost obsessively.

"Who are those concubines? Who am I? How can you compare me to them?" Song Tangxue looked at Song Tangli with a disdainful gaze. Those unfortunate women were nothing more than duckweed adrift in the sea of ​​fate, but she, Song Tangxue, was not.

"In other words, do you dare to betray me?" Song Tangxue stared intently at Song Tangli. Their eyes were only an inch apart, yet the oppressive feeling in them seemed real as it pressed down on Song Tangli.

The pressure was so intense that Song Tangli could hardly breathe. She took a step back, and a summer breeze blew by, leaving her forehead feeling cool. Only then did Song Tangli realize that she was covered in a cold sweat.

In that instant, she saw the killing intent in Song Tangxue's eyes. If given a chance, Song Tangxue would really kill her.

No, perhaps she always could have, but she didn't act because she wanted to see her own dying struggle.

Song Tangli slowly shook her head, shaking off this absurd thought. Song Tangxue was the one at a disadvantage now, and Song Tangxue should be the one who was afraid!

Song Tangxue concealed the murderous intent in her eyes, and smiled slowly when Song Tangli looked over, as unfathomable and enigmatic as ever.

"The Crown Prince's residence is not as important as the Song residence, sister, you must be careful!" Song Tangli was at her wits' end. No matter what she said, Song Tangxue held onto what she was holding tightly, making it impossible for anyone to pry it open. Even though Song Tangli was unwilling, she was powerless to do anything about it.

Saying those harsh words was just a way to avoid making myself look too bad.

Song Tangxue sat down lazily, leaning back in her recliner, and replied irrelevantly, "It seems my sister isn't feeling well. She should go back and rest early, lest she fail to serve the Crown Prince properly."

Song Tangli flung her sleeves and left in a hurry. Lin Mama followed carefully beside her, observing Song Tangli's expression and cautiously saying, "No matter how arrogant the Crown Princess is, she is just a concubine. She will never surpass you. There will be plenty of time to torment her in the future. Your Highness, there is no need to get so angry."

Song Tangli stopped in her tracks, her gaze falling on the white roses blooming by the roadside. They were as white as paper, like Song Tangxue's skin, fair and tender, making one feel pity for them.

She reached out and grasped the base of the rose, but to her surprise, the stem was covered in thorns, invisible to the naked eye. The thorns pierced Song Tangli's finger deeply.