Princess Zhao was slightly taken aback, then suddenly realized.

After all, the lychees came from her former estate, and Fu'an was probably afraid of being implicated.

She pursed her lips slightly, "Some of the underhanded methods used in the manor have indeed implicated the princess. Please forgive me, I will handle this matter as soon as possible."

Princess Fu'an was her junior, and her rank was lower than hers.

But the other party was of noble birth and was the Empress Dowager's favorite.

She didn't want to make more enemies.

Upon hearing this, Princess Fu'an thought for a moment and realized that it was probably a power struggle within the Prince's residence, and not directed at her.

That's good.

Her brow relaxed. "Your Highness need not worry. My lychees were a gift from a friend, and they also came from Lufeng City. I happened to send some to the palace a while ago. The Empress Dowager and various empresses liked them very much, and His Majesty also praised them many times. It's just a pity that the quantity was small. I wonder if Your Highness has any extra, so you can share some with Fu'an?"

Princess Zhao quickly grasped the meaning behind her words.

I looked at her with some surprise.

This sentence contains three layers of meaning.

First, the other party has confirmed the origin of the lychees and the location of her son.

Secondly, they are willing to cooperate and help her out of her predicament.

After all, she had already sent out the lychees, and she must have made sure that the source of the lychees was clear.

Therefore, there is no question of embezzling the tribute.

Thirdly, it was a reminder that His Majesty should also be aware of this matter, yet he still continued the investigation, presumably to put pressure on the Duke's Mansion.

The method was indeed excellent; it instantly cleared the path that had been blocked.

As long as Princess Fu'an is willing to help, there is no need to reveal the origin of the lychees; simply say they are fruits from her estate.

With the Empress Dowager's endorsement, no one will doubt it anymore.

But why would Princess Fu'an help her?

She pursed her lips tightly and asked directly, "What does the princess want me to do?"

Princess Fu'an chuckled, "Your Highness, there's no need to be so tense. To be honest, I want to calm things down as soon as possible. Firstly, I don't want to implicate my friends, and secondly... it's fate. In the capital, you and I are probably the only ones who have this treasure. And the young master happens to be in Lufeng City. If he can get lychees, he must have some connection with my roommate. Besides, I'm just talking about it; it's nothing."

Princess Zhao heard her mention her friend on several occasions, which seemed to indicate that she valued her highly.

Thinking about the relationship between Yun Zhiyi and her son, it is indeed very close.

She was unsure whether she should tell Princess Fu'an about this.

After much deliberation, she still held back.

"Then thank you very much, sister-in-law. Yu'er sent quite a lot of lychees. If you like them, I will send some over later. Please don't refuse."

Princess Fu'an smiled slightly, "Then I shall respectfully comply."

The two exchanged a knowing smile, their understanding unspoken.

Hurried to attend to matters, Princess Zhao did not linger for long and soon returned to the Zhao Prince's residence.

He immediately ordered several servants to personally carry lychees in small wicker baskets to the Duke's mansion.

The small wicker basket was only covered by a thin veil, yet passersby could see it clearly.

In the capital, even a single stone thrown down could hit a high-ranking official.

You'll meet people with a certain level of sophistication everywhere you go on the street.

Many people couldn't help but stare in surprise when they saw the quality of those lychees.

Someone even sent a servant to inquire where the lychees were purchased.

Granny Zhou then said, "These lychees are from the estate of Princess Fu'an. Our Princess Consort received some as a gift from the Princess, and she is now planning to send some to the Rongguo Duke's Mansion to try. They cannot be bought."

Yesterday, the news about the embezzlement of tribute fruit only circulated to a small extent, giving the censors a pretext to launch an attack.

Therefore, many people are still unaware of the lychee controversy.

Upon hearing this, they could only regretfully give up.

The items were delivered to the Rongguo Duke's Mansion, and the nanny briefly explained the situation.

He also told the Duke and the old lady that the young master's health had greatly improved.

It also implies that their young master has recovered, and everyone can still work together as one.

They even brought out Princess Fu'an, creating a time gap so she could act as a witness.

Upon learning the whole story, the Rongguo Duke's Mansion felt guilty and ashamed.

After all, it's simply not right to leave such a child out of sight.

Then they were pleasantly surprised to learn that their child had recovered.

They then realized that Fu Zishu was the one causing trouble.

The items are indeed related to Princess Fu'an, and their safety can be guaranteed.

Duke Rongguo knew what to do instantly.

That very day, someone was sent to accompany Granny Zhou back to the Prince's Mansion to take all the lychees with them.

The next morning, they were all brought into the palace and presented to His Majesty in the main hall.

"Your Majesty, my grandson received lychees as a gift from Princess Fu'an. Thinking that his mother should try them, he sent some to Prince Zhao's residence. It was just a filial son's gesture, but I didn't expect it to fall into the eyes of some people and become a case of embezzlement. I didn't know about this matter until yesterday, and I was unaware of it. I only realized the strangeness of the matter yesterday. Now I dare not use such good lychees alone, lest I give people something to say."

He made a series of veiled and sarcastic remarks.

Emperor Kang found this both amusing and frustrating.

Some people had a mixture of pale and flushed faces.

Emperor Kang also knew about the lychee.

I just didn't know if there was any conspiracy involved the day before, so I played along.

Of course, there was also the intention of taking this opportunity to put pressure on the Rongguo Duke's Mansion.

The courtiers were quite surprised to see the lychees on the ground.

With such high-quality lychees, it's no wonder that people mistake them for tribute.

Of course, they were all shrewd people and knew there must be something fishy going on.

As for whether the Duke of Rong was lying, that's unlikely.

After all, this lie is too easy to be exposed.

Princess Fu'an was also involved.

This person is the Empress Dowager's darling.

If anyone tries to harm her, the Empress Dowager will not let it go.

Now they are more interested in whether there are still lychees at Princess Fu'an's estate.

The lychees have arrived this year, but we probably won't be able to eat them until the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!