"besides."

Shang Changge casually summoned two guards, his face full of regret as he instructed them:

"To prevent Luo Zhang from making the same mistake again and drawing hatred to me, the two of you will start following him from now on."

He continued this practice until he sold his own property to cover the debts.

Objective achieved

Shang Changge didn't linger any longer. He made up an excuse that he needed to check the accounts at other shops and left with his men without stopping.

Others can simply wave their sleeves and leave without a trace, but she used her cunning to take away a thick wad of silver notes.

And they took it and left without bothering to put on even the slightest bit of pretense.

He didn't do the good deed of casually telling the onlookers to leave, and pretended not to see the extremely unpleasant expressions on Yun Xiangrong and her group's faces.

“Miss…” Ping’er said cautiously.

Yun Xiangrong: "Let's go back to the manor."

Yun Xiangrong, clinging to her last shred of reason, maintained the last vestige of her refined demeanor as a lady of high birth, and, with Ping'er's help, returned to the carriage.

Upon seeing this, the other three noble ladies who had disembarked from the carriage to pay their respects to Shang Changge also returned to the carriage.

"Xiangrong, don't take what just happened to heart..."

"Yes..." "The princess..."

The three of them comforted each other, and the carriage slowly started moving after Ping'er and the others had asked the onlookers to disperse.

Yun Xiangrong didn't listen to a word the three noble ladies said. She felt resentment and worry towards Shang Changge.

Even when the princess looked down on him in the past, she had never allowed him to find himself in such an embarrassing situation.

Did the princess find out something? Or did the Empress speak with the princess? ...

My thoughts are in complete disarray.

Finally, Yun Xiangrong felt a pang of sadness, but she managed to hold back her tears because of the three friends still inside the carriage.

Everything she's done with such forbearance has been for her cousin, but when will he finally be willing to return to the capital...?

On the other side,

Inside the luxurious and spacious carriage, Shang Changge, supporting his temples, couldn't help but chuckle as he watched Qingyao, who was clutching silver notes and grinning foolishly.

"You like money?"

Qingyao nodded vigorously, her eyes, which had been cold and icy when she killed, now sparkling:

"like!"

Silver can solve many of the troubles in this world. Even she was originally bought by the princess from her father with silver.

If the princess hadn't bought her, she would be a girl in a brothel now.

They wouldn't be living such a good life now, and they wouldn't have had the chance to learn martial arts to protect the princess and themselves.

Shang Changge: "What a coincidence, I like it too."

Shang Changge had no idea that Qingyao had thought of so much in such a short time, and said lazily,

"However, I prefer power to money now."

In dynasties where imperial power was supreme, power meant immense wealth and status.

Time flies, dusk falls.

As the sunset painted the sky with vibrant colors, the palace servants bustled about in the magnificent Fengyi Palace.

Empress summoned Shang Changge to the palace for dinner. The mother and daughter had already finished eating and began their post-dinner chat.

The Empress spoke first: "Yun Xiangrong did a good job."

Shang Changge raised an eyebrow in surprise, only then realizing that her stepmother, who was always so quick to scold, could also say things that praised people.

On second thought, considering that the Yun family was the maternal family of the Imperial Concubine and the open and covert struggles between the concubines, she was able to respond smoothly.

“My daughter thinks so too.”

Empress: ...

Unable to tolerate her daughter's smug expression, she wanted to scold her.

Thinking of the important matter of summoning people to the palace today, he held back and brought up another matter.

"Aze will be back in three days. Remember to bring some tonics to his residence then."

He must have suffered a lot while traveling around during this time, and his health must be..."

Speaking of Empress Shang Changze, her eyebrows and eyes were noticeably more relaxed, and her expression carried the loving kindness of an elderly mother.

As someone who holds the script, Shang Changge is all too aware of how much of the Empress's maternal love is genuine.

This kind of maternal love requires one prerequisite: excellence.

If her children are outstanding enough to solidify her position as empress and bring glory to her family, then her maternal love will flow endlessly.

To put it bluntly, the Empress only loved herself.

Shang Changge neither criticized nor felt anything about it, because she was the same, only loving herself.