Su Wenyuan provocatively said, "Don't be a coward. Here's what we'll do: have everyone go out and shout. If anyone doesn't know, I'll whisper in their ear and tell them what's wrong with it."

Sheng Yuanhe couldn't reason with her, and in a fit of rage, he shouted, "You! You lent money to your own brother! You're letting him gamble!"

Which one is appropriate? Putting them together only makes her seem more cunning.

Do I really need to explain this to her in such detail?

Su Wenyuan shrugged and said, "I could have just found out he was a gambler, or I could have just found out that I lent him the money. Is there a problem?"

Only a fool would readily admit to something that is detrimental to them.

Sheng Yuanhe's vision went black; he was in trouble. His chest felt tight. Should he call a royal physician first?

Su Yuan, also covered in sweat, asked in a flustered manner, "Is Your Highness alright?"

Sheng Yuanhe gritted his teeth and said, "I'm fine, but Su Wenyuan, aren't you afraid of embarrassing Prince Chen?"

"Who's going to lose face is still uncertain!" Su Wenyuan sat back down, looking completely indifferent. "Even if someone really does lose face, so what?"

Seeing her arrogance, Sheng Yuanhe actually began to feel envious.

As the crown prince, his every move was being watched, yet Lu Wanying alone subjected him to endless ridicule.

Sheng Jingyu wasn't afraid at all; he dared to release such an absurd princess!

Seeing that Sheng Yuanhe was defeated by just one sentence, Su Yuan gritted his teeth and completely lowered his pride.

"Wen Yuan..."

"Please call me Princess Consort." Su Wenyuan's attitude was firm.

Su Yuan took a deep breath and calmed himself down before saying, "Your Highness, no matter what, you still have the surname Su. Su Xian is your younger brother, and you have a generous dowry. You don't need to worry about a little money."

He definitely hoped that Su Wenyuan would stop asking for it and that the matter would just end there.

Su Wenyuan said sarcastically, "That's not what you said before, and that wasn't your attitude either."

As soon as he finished speaking, a burst of laughter came from the side.

Su Wenyuan turned her head and looked over; it was two of Su Xian's friends.

They couldn't hold back any longer and witnessed Su Yuan's change in attitude firsthand, feeling like it was something out of a theatrical performance.

Upon hearing this laughter, Su Yuan's face turned bright red, almost as if it were dripping blood.

Sheng Yuanhe glared at them and said, "You lot, don't meddle in other people's family affairs. Go back now."

Su Wenyuan said, "I never said this was a family matter. If you gentlemen don't want to leave, then you can be witnesses, so that if Su Xian runs away tomorrow or the day after, they won't deny this matter."

"Okay, okay!" The group nodded repeatedly.

Su Lin'er's description of them was quite accurate; they were gluttonous, drunk, gambled, and prostituted, and could hardly be considered friends.

At this point, they were more interested in watching the spectacle than in figuring out how to resolve the issue.

They had never witnessed Su Wenyuan's abilities; they had only heard about them.

As long as they have this curiosity, they won't leave.

Sheng Yuanhe felt an even greater tightness in his chest.

I can't leave even if I want to, and there's a group of people who won't leave even if we tell them to.

Su Yuan glanced at the IOU again and asked, "So what do you want to do?"

"You want him to pay back the money, right?" Su Wenyuan's answer was simple. "I didn't come here to see him get beaten up. Even a three-year-old knows that debts must be repaid."

Suddenly, Sheng Yuanhe remembered something and said excitedly, "You arrange for someone to lend money at exorbitant interest rates. Officials' wives are not allowed to lend money at exorbitant interest rates privately."

He felt that he had forgotten something because he was frightened by Su Wenyuan, and now he remembered.

Su Yuan also remembered that if a princess lends money at exorbitant interest rates and the matter goes to the emperor, she wouldn't have to repay the money.

Su Yuan, who had been speaking in a humble tone, changed his expression again and said angrily, "We'll go to the palace right now. Su Xian is a gambler, but he hasn't entered the court as an official. The Emperor won't blame him. At worst... he can forget about being an official in the future."

Su Xian was never good enough to begin with, so whether or not he gambled, the outcome would have been the same.

It would be better to show your face to the Emperor and settle the debt issue first.

Su Wenyuan laughed and said, "Your attitude has changed again. Will it change again?"

She looked somewhat expectant after she finished speaking.

Sheng Yuanhe advised, "Princess Consort Chen, it's best to resolve this matter at the Su residence. Bringing it to the Emperor's doorstep won't do you any good."

Su Wenyuan asked, "So how do you plan to resolve this?"

Su Yuan coughed lightly, feeling somewhat embarrassed.

"You don't need this money, but I can give you some compensation. If Su Xian becomes successful in the future, he will definitely pay it all back." After saying that, Su Yuan wanted to find a crack in the ground to crawl into.

He couldn't understand how he could say those words so confidently.

This is no small sum of money. You think you can just tell Su Wenyuan to give up on it with a few words?

The onlookers nearby sneered, their faces full of disdain.

So this was the former prime minister? He's nothing special.

This despicable behavior is no different from that of a group of dissolute young masters.

Fortunately, Su Yuan used to let Su Xianbie play with them, and at that time we thought he was a decent person.

Su Yuan was mocked for the second time, so he simply ignored it and looked up at Su Wenyuan, asking, "Do you think it's okay?"

"No way. If I wait for him to become successful, I might as well wait for him to die. At least then I'd have something to look forward to." Su Wenyuan rolled her eyes.

Su Yuan has no intention of repaying a single penny; it's all empty talk.

Sheng Yuanhe pretended to be fair in the middle, wanting to persuade Su Yuan again, hoping to come up with a solution that both sides could agree on.

Su Wenyuan asked casually, "Does the law say that officials' families are not allowed to lend money?"

"How could that be?" Sheng Yuanhe looked at her warily. "Don't talk nonsense. You can lend money, but you can't lend money at exorbitant interest rates."

"How do you distinguish between the two?" Su Wenyuan asked, puzzled.

Sheng Yuanhe said, "Interest rates are different. We are not allowed to lend money at exorbitant interest rates because those rates are too high and often lead to people going bankrupt and dying."

Su Wenyuan suddenly realized and said, "Then look at the IOU, does mine count?"

After these words were spoken, everyone's expression changed.

Su Yuansheng and Yuan He hurriedly went to look, but Su Xian weakly said, "Don't look, it doesn't count."

The loans taken out later had low interest rates, and were all large sums.

"What's going on?" Su Yuan looked at each bill one by one, and the interest rates were not high.

He doesn't even need to pay back a portion every day; he just needs to pay back all the money within the deadline.

There was no trace of usury in the evidence; Su Wenyuan was simply lending money to Su Xian.

The law doesn't say that officials' families can't borrow money, and even such low interest rates are considered charity.

Su Xian explained in a low voice, "The interest is higher when I borrow a small amount, but the interest is just this much when I borrow a large amount."

Now Sheng Yuanhe understood that Su Xian had been tricked.

"Su Wenyuan!" Sheng Yuanhe angrily rebuked, "Even if you've paid back the previous amount, it still counts as you lending money at exorbitant interest rates."

Su Wenyuan pretended to be ignorant and asked, "Who told you that I put those there before? You're slandering me without evidence."