Despite her reluctance, Madam Su could only nod under her daughter's determined gaze, "Alright, Mother will wait for you for three days!"

Zhao's mother was quick-witted and pushed Suyue over, saying, "Young Miss, let Suyue come with you to serve you!"

Xiao Youran shook her head and said, "No need. I'm sure Grandmother has already prepared maids and servants to serve me, right?"

The last question was directed at Jiang Mingyi.

Jiang Mingyi nodded, "Of course, it's up to you. You can bring Suyue along if you want."

Xiao Youran winked at Su Yue, "No need, Su Yue, just make some afternoon tea for me every day and send it to the Earl's mansion."

She turned to Jiang Mingyi, "Father, is it alright to have Suyue send me some good food every day?"

Jiang Mingyi stared intently at his strange daughter, feeling that something was amiss.

Even if he had Su Yue deliver food to the Earl's mansion every day, could that really stop him from taking action?

Once this girl enters the Earl's mansion, her life or death will be entirely up to him.

Even if Su Yue noticed something was wrong while delivering food every day and reported it to the Su family, how could the guards of the Xuanwang Mansion possibly break into the Earl's Mansion?

Seeing that Jiang Mingyi didn't speak, Xiao Youran said to Suyue with a grin, "If Father doesn't object, then he agrees. You can bring me afternoon tea every day at Shenshi (3-5 PM). It has to be freshly made that afternoon, that's the best!"

Jiang Mingyi didn't know what afternoon tea was, but he figured it was tea anyway, so he might as well let her deliver it.

So he gave a stiff smile, flicked his sleeves, and got into the carriage.

Xiao Youran also got into the carriage.

Su Shi, Zhao Mama, and Su Yue watched Xiao Youran walk away with worried expressions.

Su asked Suyue, "What is afternoon tea?"

Su Yue said, "It's just the afternoon snacks and tea. A few days ago, Miss taught me how to make bubble tea, red bean milk tea, and a sweet cake."

Zhao's mother's eyes lit up. "Do you have the recipe?"

Su Yue:……

...

Xiao Youran sat in the carriage, facing her scumbag father, and resumed her expressionless demeanor.

Jiang Mingyi looked at his daughter with exasperation, "Why did you come back to the capital?"

Xiao Youran was exasperated, "Why did you abandon your wife and children?"

Jiang Mingyi paused, then softened his tone, "If you don't return to the capital, you can still live a peaceful life."

"Oh, what if we go back to Dingzhou?" Xiao Youran sneered inwardly. "I bet Uncle Quan is either guarding the road back to the capital or the road to Dingzhou, right?"

Jiang Mingyi's eyes widened. "So Jiang Quan was really killed by you?"

Xiao Youran shook her head, "How could that be? My daughter and I are weak and helpless. How could we possibly deal with your highly skilled first-class guards?"

Jiang Mingyi was furious, but he couldn't refute it. After all, it was the Xuanwang Mansion's business if the guards wanted to stop Jiang Quan.

He asked, "What is your relationship with the Xuanwang Mansion?"

Xiao Youran's eyes widened. "Would you believe me if I said it's okay?"

Jiang Mingyi closed his eyes, not wanting to talk to her.

He had never been close to this girl since childhood. In the past year, he divorced Su Shi and repeatedly harmed them, which can be considered as completely severing his father-son and father-daughter relationship with Jiang Youchen and his sister.

Not to mention what he's doing right now.

He glanced at the bustling traffic outside and suddenly thought, if he were to send her back to the county princess's mansion from here... what excuse would he have to tell his mother when he got back?

Xiao Youran smiled and leaned closer. "Father, the guards from the Xuanwang Mansion told me that we encountered two assassination attempts and one attempted kidnapping along the way. Were they all related to you? Don't you feel guilty when you're dreaming about it?"

Jiang Mingyi was startled. "Little Youran, don't talk nonsense!"

How does this girl know everything?

Xiao Youran seemed to see right through his thoughts, "I know everything. And I also know... your scheme with Prince Rong's Mansion won't succeed!"

Jiang Mingyi's expression changed drastically. "What do you know?"

Xiao Youran chuckled, "Hiss...tsk tsk, I also know that the Yong'an Marquis's Mansion is about to be in big trouble."

Jiang Mingyi laughed in fury, "You!"

At this moment, the carriage stopped, and the slight reluctance that had just welled up in his heart completely disappeared.

He jumped off the carriage with a cold face and walked towards the gate of the mansion without looking back.

However, he only thought of Xiao Youran as a five-year-old child, wondering what she could really know.

Xiao Youran didn't care. She lightly jumped off the carriage, looked up, and saw the four brand-new, gleaming golden characters: "Yong'an Marquis's Residence".

Hehe, here I come to the Yong'an Marquis's Mansion!

As they entered the mansion, they encountered many familiar faces, who all greeted Xiao Youran with surprise but also respect.

Little You Ran skipped and hopped, completely oblivious to the sympathy that inadvertently showed in their eyes.

She knew what they were sympathizing with.

She couldn't let Jiang Mingyi's scheme succeed, so their sympathy meant nothing to her.

As soon as you enter, you see the screen wall.

Originally, at the very center of the screen wall was a stele inscribed with the character "勤" (diligence) by Zhou Songfa, a great Confucian scholar from a century ago, which fully demonstrated the demeanor of a master.

Today, this spot has been replaced with a new, ordinary "Fu" (福, meaning good fortune) character stele, which complements the pine and crane stone carvings on both sides, except for some difference in color.

She curled the corners of her lips into a smile and feigned surprise, "Oh dear, when I came here last time, I saw the 'Diligence' stele at our old house in Dingzhou. How come it's gone now?"

Jiang Mingyi's face darkened, and he did not reply.

Don't you know why I haven't seen you?

If your mother hadn't impulsively sold her dowry to the Jingzhao Prefecture for ten taels of silver, would the Jingzhao Prefecture have sent people to pry off this "Diligence" stele?

I heard that this "Diligence" stele alone was pawned for 30,000 taels of silver!

Because it was a dead pawn, it was quickly bought by a wealthy merchant and later sold for a high price of 160,000 taels of silver, and was sent to the Rong Prince's Mansion.

He nearly vomited blood upon hearing this; these were originally his own belongings...

Princess Qingping was furious when she saw the Diligence Stele when she returned to her parents' home. Without saying a word, she ordered it to be smashed.

By the time Prince Rong came out to stop them after hearing the commotion, it was too late.

Princess Qingping angrily berated the person who sent the gift, asking, "What are you up to? Who are you trying to disgust by using the dowry of the divorced wife of the Commandant of the County?"

Prince Rong was so angry he nearly fainted. This was the perfect opportunity for him to win over the literati! And his daughter had ruined it all!

Xiao Youran remembered that in her previous life, the Diligence Stele was presented to Prince Rong by the Yong'an Earl's Mansion. Prince Rong then opened a small garden next to the mansion and displayed Zhou Songfa's Diligence Stele separately, allowing scholars and students to admire and copy it for free. He also set up elegant seats for distinguished guests and provided tea and snacks free of charge.

Later, this small garden became a lively place for scholars and literati in Kyoto to debate, laugh, and discuss current affairs. Prince Rong also gained a good reputation because of this, and perhaps he even secretly bribed many civil officials and scholars.

Well, in her previous life, Princess Qingping didn't know this was her mother's dowry. Perhaps she did know, but her mother had already passed away and didn't care. Unexpectedly, in this life, Princess Qingping directly smashed this rare treasure—what a divine intervention!

Hehe, not bad, not bad!