Gan Qiongying was shocked by Duanrong's plan. This was indeed Duanrong's style. She had joined forces with officials from various places... It turned out that she was going to deal with the Kou family. Gan Qiongying now understood that she was planning to fight to the death.

Because she did not respond to the two for a long time, and the two dared not speak again, their eyes were already red with anxiety, they really thought they were going to be abandoned.

Gu Qing, who had been barely maintaining her composure, suddenly kowtowed to the ground, her voice trembling as she said, "Princess, believe in us! We will definitely satisfy you!"

Gan Qiongying snapped out of her reverie upon hearing the noise. She put down the tea that had gone cold and said, “Don’t worry about your home. I have already promised to protect them, and I will certainly not break my promise.”

Upon hearing this, the two looked up in surprise, and Gan Qiongying then noticed the tear stains on their faces.

"Full moon!"

Although Man Yue did not know the specifics, she did know that the two young masters had forced their way into the princess's main courtyard and needed money.

Although the princess never favored the two young men, ever since they entered the palace, she had been sending them a constant stream of the finest herbs to help them improve their health. She also hired teachers to teach them music and dance, and had been very meticulous in their upbringing, never shortchanging them on money.

If it weren't for the recent change in the prince consort's household management, which cut off their allowances, these young masters wouldn't have dared to force their way in.

Manyue had prepared the money in advance, and when she heard Gan Qiongying call her, she took the money and went into the house.

Holding the silver coins, the two men wept uncontrollably.

“The plans have changed, and we’ll tentatively go to Zhangzhou in two months,” Gan Qiongying said. “You should also take some time to recover and spend more time with your families.”

“Someone will take you to meet your family first thing tomorrow morning,” Gan Qiongying said, rubbing her forehead with her hand. Her mind was in turmoil. “Follow-up matters still need to be discussed. You should go ahead now.”

The two of them couldn't believe it, but after a brief moment of surprise, all that remained was fear.

Gu Ming couldn't help but ask, "Isn't the princess afraid that we'll just run away after she lets us reunite with our families?"

“Princess… my brother and I only need one of us to go back and deliver some money.”

They simply couldn't believe such a good thing had happened to them; the only explanation was that they had become pawns, and Princess Duanrong was trying to get rid of them.

Gan Qiongying understood his doubts and, even more so, his fears.

Previously, Princess Duanrong forbade them from meeting with their families, and all communication was done through letters, because only by having leverage in her hands would Princess Duanrong believe in their unwavering loyalty.

Gan Qiongying felt a pang of sympathy, but she also fully understood that Duanrong was struggling in dire straits, having already risked her life and reputation, so naturally she would stop at nothing.

Princess Duanrong was, after all, a member of the royal family by birth. Her ideas and beliefs might be somewhat extreme in another peaceful and equal world, but everything she did was out of necessity. She never intended to harm the innocent.

Gu Ming looked at Gu Qing, then nervously swallowed. He rubbed his face, broke into a smile, and then crawled toward Gan Qiongying.

He crawled up to Gan Qiongying, held her shoes in his hands, rested his head on them, and gently stroked them upwards with his hands: "Princess, I have studied singing and dancing for half a year, and my waist is extremely flexible. I have also practiced martial arts since I was a child, so although my waist is flexible, it is strong."

His eyes were still red, but they added a touch of tenderness without being overly delicate. The combination of strength and gentleness was very impactful.

He said, "Princess, you can test how well I've learned tonight."

Gan Qiongying was dumbfounded.

How did we suddenly get on the highway?!

She quickly moved her feet away, but there was no disgust or disdain in her eyes. She just sighed and didn't even bother with the self-reference of "I am the Empress." She complained, "Don't get me into trouble. I'm already angry that I came to see your consort. You two are smelling so sweet. If I dare to smell even a little bit of that on me, I'm afraid I won't be able to get into bed tonight."

Gan Qiongying was joking, of course, to ease the tense atmosphere. But the two of them dared not speak after hearing this. Gu Ming's hand froze in mid-air, and he didn't even dare to blink.

Seeing that the two of them were stiff, Gan Qiongying smiled again and comforted them, saying, "Go see your families without worry. You two will be of great use later."

After thinking for a moment, he added some words that were in line with Duan Rong's style: "I have trained you two for so long, so naturally I will not waste my financial and human resources. Your families are all under my surveillance. If you dare to run away, I guarantee that all of your dozens of family members will be killed without a complete corpse, and they will not even be able to be buried in a mass grave."

These words were extremely harsh, but after hearing them, the two brothers suddenly relaxed. Gu Qing collapsed to the ground, breathing heavily, as if he had just come back to life.

Gan Qiongying wasn't afraid they would run away; they were all pitiful people, and the despicable old hag and her clan were all utterly inhuman.

The two of them ran away anyway; Gan Qiongying didn't want them to go there and die.

Kou Ningyu lived like a local tyrant in Zhangzhou for many years. With deep roots and powerful connections, how could he possibly collect any evidence so easily?

Therefore, Gan Qiongying told the two to go home first and discuss the matter further at a later time.

Gan Qiongying looked outside the hall and saw that it was already completely dark. After asking Manyue, she realized that she had been there for more than an hour.

Damn! I need to get back right now!

Otherwise, it will be impossible to explain later!

With the matter finally settled, Gan Qiongying and Manyue headed towards the sleeping quarters. As they walked, Gan Qiongying asked Manyue, "Do I smell nice?"

Full Moon leaned closer to Gan Qiongying and smelled her from head to toe. "No, Princess, don't worry."

Gan Qiongying was still worried and said to Manyue, "Gu Ming touched my shoes, go and get me a new pair."

Gan Qiongying was thinking about how to coax her later. Manyue responded and sent her maid to find the shoes. However, when the two of them passed through the corridor and arrived at the gate of the main courtyard, they suddenly stopped.

The room was dark, the door was open, and it was empty. Full Moon quickly went to the candlestick, and the room was soon brightly lit.

There wasn't a single person there.

Gan Qiongying was surprised that Li Hua hadn't finished his official business by now, but upon reflection, it made sense, since the God of Wealth was indeed very busy.

She sat down, leaning on the table, thinking that she would have a maid serve her a bowl of sweet soup and then personally take it to coax Li Hua. Li Hua was very soft-hearted and would forgive her as long as she ate the sweet soup.

She had the twins sent away, which could be considered making amends for her mistakes.

At this moment, a maid came to report from outside the door.

“Princess,” the maid said with a deep bow, “just now Sanjiu said that the Prince Consort went out to inspect the shops and is estimated to return around midnight. At that time, fearing that he might disturb the Princess’s rest, he went directly back to the Prince Consort’s residence.”

Full Moon was bringing over the shoes when the master and servant exchanged a glance, their expressions changing in perfect unison.

Things have gotten out of hand; the prince consort has gone back to his wife's home... ugh, he's run away from home!

Gan Qiongying stood up immediately.

She was as anxious as an ant spinning on a hot pan, and the full moon spun around with her, but they ended up colliding in the wrong circles.

The shoe fell to the ground.

Gan Qiongying said, "Prepare the car!"

The conflict couldn't be left unresolved overnight; she had to go and coax the God of Wealth home.