Chapter 5, "She is already his wife."...

==Chapter 5: Liquidation==

A beautiful woman bathes, her skin soft and fragrant.

Xiao Yu was not interested in women, but she was already his wife, and there was no part of her body that he could not look at.

Xiao Yurui's phoenix eyes were somewhat deep, and he walked slowly toward her.

Su Wanyue was lost in her thoughts when she suddenly heard footsteps. Startled, she opened her eyes and, steadying herself, called out, "Your Highness."

Why did he come at this time?

During her month at Prince Cheng's residence, she had come to understand Prince Cheng's character. He was shrewd and meticulous in his actions; all he wanted was the throne.

Xiao Yu walked up to her. The woman's cheeks were flushed, as beautiful as peach blossoms in April. Only her almond-shaped eyes were slightly moist. The man raised an eyebrow. "Did you cry?"

Su Wanyue never liked to show weakness in front of others. She smiled and her eyes curved slightly. "It's probably from the heat."

Xiao Yu saw through her insincerity but didn't want to expose her. Her brother had left the capital, and they wouldn't see each other again until the end of the year at the earliest. It was only natural for her to feel reluctant to part with him.

Xiao Yu bent down and picked her up in his arms. The woman's slender body curled up in his arms. Even though they had been married for a month, Su Wanyue was still not used to being close to him. She closed her eyes slightly and pretended to be shy, burying her head in his chest.

Xiao Yu paused, and the arm around her waist tightened slightly.

The pink soft gauze curtains draped down, and Su Wanyue lay on the brocade quilt with twin flowers, her lips slightly parted, her delicate eyebrows slightly furrowed, her pupils unfocused, unable to find a foothold. Xiao Yu was not much better off than her, beads of sweat sliding down his fair face, his strong waist swaying, his picturesque face tinged with desire.

Like countless springs converging together, Su Wanyue stared nervously at her feet, her small, white hands gripping the brocade quilt tightly. Xiao Yu pinched her slender waist, bringing their bodies closer together, and he reminded her in a hoarse voice, "Relax."

The more he reminded her, the more uneasy Su Wanyue became. Her fair fingers even unconsciously scratched his back. Xiao Yu groaned and looked down at her. The woman seemed startled as well, her shimmering eyes fixed on him, creating a tense atmosphere. Xiao Yu closed his eyes and said in a comforting tone, "It's alright."

Red waves rolled, and the palace was filled with a beautiful atmosphere.

Four maids and Qing, a close attendant of King Cheng, were guarding outside the palace. They were all trained people and could naturally keep their eyes focused on the front, pretending not to hear anything.

When I woke up again, it was already late afternoon. A light purple sunset was rising on the horizon, shining like a brilliant light over the entire Prince Cheng's Mansion.

Hearing the commotion, the maidservant guarding outside the palace hurriedly bypassed the screen and entered, helping Su Wanyue sit up. "Your Highness, are you feeling unwell anywhere?"

Because of the urgency of the situation, Su Wanyue only brought one maid, Qin'er, with her when she married into the family. On the second day after the wedding, the steward of the manor sent her four maids: Chunzhi, Xiatang, Qiuling, and Dongmei. When Su Wanyue woke up and didn't see Qin'er, she asked her about it. Chunzhi smiled and said, "Sister Qin'er went to invite Manager Li and Granny Sun from Pearl Pavilion. Judging by the time, they should be arriving soon. This servant will help Your Highness to get up first."

Su Wanyue hugged the gold-threaded quilt to recover. Her lower back was still a little sore, but her lower body felt cool and refreshing, so she guessed that the person had probably applied medicine to her.

Chunzhi helped Su Wanyue sit down in front of the mirror. Looking at the princess's delicate features and captivating eyes in the mirror, she smiled and asked, "What hairstyle would the princess like to wear today?"

Su Wanyue said "either is fine," and while combing her hair, she subtly asked Chunzhi, "Are Manager Li and Granny Sun, who are in charge of Pearl Pavilion, both old employees of the Prince's Mansion?"

When Chunzhi was assigned by the steward to serve the Princess, the steward instructed her that since she was now serving the Princess, she was now the Princess's person and should naturally be on the Princess's side in everything. Therefore, Chunzhi thought for a moment and smiled and said, "Your Highness, Manager Li was initially in charge of our Prince's mansion's procurement, and later became the manager of Pearl Pavilion. Granny Sun was originally the Imperial Concubine's dowry maid. Later, when His Highness was able to establish his own Prince's mansion, the Imperial Concubine sent Granny Sun to the Prince's mansion to help the steward manage affairs. Because Granny Sun was the Imperial Concubine's person, the servants in the mansion all respected Granny Sun."

Su Wanyue seemed to be deep in thought.

Chunzhi was skilled and quickly styled Su Wanyue's hair into a fairy bun. Twin begonia hairpins were inserted on both sides of the bun, making her look radiant. Just as she finished dressing, Qin'er lifted the curtain and came in. "Your Highness, Manager Li from Pearl Pavilion and Granny Sun have arrived."

"Please invite them to the main hall."

Chunzhi and Qin'er followed Su Wanyue to the main hall, where Manager Li and Granny Sun were already waiting. Manager Li, dressed in black cloth, looked like an honest man. He didn't even dare to raise his head when he saw the princess. "This humble servant greets Your Highness."

Sun's mother was over forty years old and had a plump figure. The fabric of her clothes was the most fashionable material in the capital this year. When she saw Su Wanyue, she showed no fear at all. She just gave a slight curtsy and then stood arrogantly in front of Su Wanyue.

Chunzhi frowned slightly at this disrespectful behavior towards her master.

But since Zhang Mama had served the Imperial Concubine before, no one dared to say anything even if she went too far.

Qin'er brought up the account book and stood quietly beside Su Wanyue. Su Wanyue flipped through the account book with her slender fingers while sipping the Biluochun tea she had prepared in advance, seemingly unaware of the two people standing in front of her.

Manager Li was alright, standing there like a statue, but Granny Sun was impatient. She spoke with a forced smile, "I wonder why the Princess summoned me?"

The silence was broken when Su Wanyue closed the ledger and said slowly, "I invited Manager Li and Granny Sun here because I have something I would like to ask you."

"Please speak, Your Highness."

Madam Sun didn't take the princess in front of her very seriously. After all, she had served the Imperial Concubine before. The husband is the head of the household, and no matter how glorious the princess was when she was in Nanqiong, now that she has married into the Prince Cheng's mansion, the prince still calls the shots. The prince certainly wouldn't embarrass the Imperial Concubine for her sake.

Thinking of this, Madam Sun straightened her back, unaware that Su Wanyue's next words would instantly change Madam Sun's expression. "A month ago, the steward handed over the manor's accounts to me, the Princess Consort, for management. I noticed that there were some discrepancies in Pearl Pavilion's accounts, so I checked all of Pearl Pavilion's previous accounts and found that since the third year of Shaoning, Pearl Pavilion's monthly accounts had all matched. Initially, there was only a loss of a few taels of silver per month, but this year, there has been a loss of a hundred taels of silver per month. Therefore, I would like to ask Manager Li and Madam Sun, where has all this silver gone?"

Sun Mama's face turned pale, and she forced a smile, changing the subject, "How would this servant know? This servant has no knowledge of this at all. Could it be that the Princess is deliberately framing us servants?"

Seeing that she was still accusing someone, Qin'er raised her eyebrows and said, "You're making false accusations! Why would the Princess accuse you for no reason? The Princess has already circled all the accounts that don't match up, and the evidence is right here."

Back in Nanqiong, no one would have treated the princess so rudely.

Su Wanyue's face was calm, and her voice was soft and gentle: "Manager Li, do you have something to say?"

this……

Manager Li was an honest man who had never seen anything like this before. He stammered and couldn't get the words out, "This servant, this servant..."

In a short while, Madam Sun had already decided to deny it to the death. Anyway, she had gambled away all the money, so even if the princess sent people to search, they wouldn't find anything.

Seeing that Granny Sun was fearless, Su Wanyue was even more composed. She had bright eyes and raised her eyebrows slightly. "Granny Sun, do you know that one hundred taels of silver is enough for an ordinary family of five to live on for ten years? If we can't find out who is embezzling this money today, then we will have no choice but to report it to the authorities."

Report to the authorities...

Sun's mother and Manager Lin were dumbfounded.

Qin'er was somewhat smug. She should be properly punished for those two stubborn servants who refused to admit their wrongdoing. The accounts had only passed through their hands; how could the money just disappear into thin air? "This servant will go right away."

Mother Sun realized what was happening and immediately reached for Qin'er's clothes, saying, "You can't go."

"Your Highness, we cannot report this to the authorities." Manager Lin's face looked even paler than Granny Sun's, and he confessed without hesitation, "Your Highness, this servant confesses."

Madam Sun pointed at him tremblingly, watching as he laid everything out on the table, "This money was all because my wife was confused for a moment, that's why..."

Su Wanyue: "Aunt Sun, is there anything else you want to say?"

Seeing that her scheme had been exposed, Granny Sun was no longer flustered. At worst, she would go and beg the Imperial Concubine. What were a few thousand taels of silver in the eyes of the Imperial Concubine, who was the most favored concubine in the palace? "It is true that I took this silver, but I am the Imperial Concubine's person. Even if I made a mistake, it should be the Imperial Concubine who deals with it. The Princess Consort has no right to deal with me."

Perhaps it was because the servants in the manor respected her over the years that gave her some confidence, and she retorted in a gruff voice: "If Your Highness insists on punishing me today, aren't you afraid that the Imperial Concubine and His Highness in the palace will be displeased?"

Qin'er frowned and asked in return, "Our mistress is Princess Nanqiong Weiyang, His Highness's principal wife. What matters in this mansion are beyond our mistress's control?"

Just then, Xia Tang entered from outside the main hall and said respectfully, "Your Highness, the steward requests an audience."

"Please." Could it be that the person really intended to protect these two? Su Wanyue frowned slightly.

The steward entered with a friendly demeanor. When Sun Mama saw him, she thought things might have taken a turn for the better. However, the steward went straight to Su Wanyue and said with a smile, "This old servant greets Your Highness. His Highness heard that Your Highness is punishing a wicked servant, so he specially sent this old servant to tell Your Highness that Your Highness is the mistress of the Prince Cheng's mansion, and Your Highness can make decisions on matters within the mansion."

The Prince's Mansion needed a capable female head of the household. Although the Princess Consort was gentle and kind, she was decisive and efficient in her actions, which was quite unexpected.

Sun Mama's face turned ashen, her previous arrogance completely gone. She prostrated herself on the ground, kowtowing frantically, "Your Highness, spare me! I was just confused for a moment. Please forgive me, Your Highness."