Chapter 34 I've got my eye on it
Zhang's expression changed.
Indeed, there was more than just that box of banknotes in the house.
She patted her chest, and her frustration dissipated somewhat.
"Luckily, that idiot Song Yi had no idea that the dowry her mother left her was much more than just two small shops. If she had known, there would have been estates, mountain strongholds, and prime shops..."
Madam Zhang shuddered and said in a deep voice, "No, we absolutely cannot let her know about this."
Seeing that she had figured it out herself, Song Hui breathed a slight sigh of relief.
"It's good that Mother understands. Although half of the dowry was given to me, the other half was left for my younger brother. If Song Yi finds out, she will definitely try to make a scene."
Zhang nodded, a smug look appearing on her face.
"Don't worry, we handled what happened back then very discreetly, and Song Yi's maternal uncle's family hasn't had much contact with us over the years."
Song Yi would never know any of this.
Song Hui looked stunned.
If it were before, Song Hui would definitely have thought the same way.
But now she doesn't dare to think that way anymore.
From the moment the Marquis of Anping's family was not exiled, things began to deviate from the course of her previous life.
This made her, who was usually calm and composed, feel inexplicably uneasy.
"Mother, don't you think Song Yi seems different from before? With her brains and courage, she wouldn't dare to go to the yamen to file a complaint."
She couldn't even think of going to the government office.
Zhang's brows were furrowed.
"You mean someone is instigating Song Yi behind the scenes? With the state of the Anping Marquis's mansion, who would give her advice?"
Could it be her mother-in-law?
She then denied it, saying, "That's unlikely. Her mother-in-law has been unwell lately and probably doesn't have the energy."
Could it be that brat Li Nanke?
"How is that possible?"
Song Hui categorically denied it.
"Li Nanke usually only knows how to eat, drink and play, and he doesn't even know how to read a few proper characters."
My Qing'er is so much smarter than her, yet she couldn't come up with these ideas. That little girl Li Nanke would never do it.
Zhang: "Then who else could it be?"
Song Hui pursed her lips and remained silent.
She had a vague guess in her heart: Could it be that Song Yi had also been suddenly reborn like her?
It seems I need to find a time to test the waters.
In a daze, she heard Madam Zhang muttering again: "You should still try to get your son-in-law to do some work with Lord Wei of Bianjing Prefecture."
"Don't let him gossip about what happened today; it will damage our family's reputation."
Song Hui nodded.
"I know, but Wei Yan is stubborn and not easy to deal with. I don't know if he will agree."
Wei Yan had just alighted from his carriage at the entrance of Prince Xuan's residence.
It started to rain outside. The raindrops wove a curtain under the eaves, wetting the copper bells hanging from the corners of the eaves. The tinkling sound carried a few wisps of autumn chill.
Wei Yan, holding an umbrella, walked through the passageway and entered Chen Cong's main room.
He put the umbrella down on the porch, patted the raindrops off his clothes, and then stepped inside.
As soon as I entered, I couldn't help but blurt it out.
"It's so hot! It's only a few months old and you're already using a brazier?"
Shen Cong sat cross-legged in front of the brazier, one hand stroking the small hand warmer on his lap, the other holding a book.
Wei Yan felt hot, so he chose a seat near the door and casually picked an orange from the ones Er Feng had brought in.
He parted the pieces, tossed them upwards, and then caught them precisely with his mouth.
While chewing, he mumbled "sweet" and tossed the other half of the orange to Chen Cong.
"Want to try some?"
Shen Cong took the orange, then tossed it back to him.
"I won't eat."
Wei Yan didn't mind and put the orange in his mouth again.
"Tsk tsk, you're so young, yet you live like a seventy or eighty-year-old man. It's one thing to not eat raw or cold food."
You stay cooped up in the house all day, holding a hand warmer. Can't you go out for a walk?
My son runs around outside all day; that's how kids should be.
Shen Cong's gaze remained fixed on the book. Upon hearing this, he merely raised an eyebrow and chuckled.
"Are you insulting me by comparing your son to me?"
Wei Yan...
That kid's mouth is as sharp as ever.
Sometimes I really wonder if you could poison yourself by licking your own lips?
Wei Yan muttered.
Shen Cong turned a page of his book. "Just say what you need to say. Doesn't Bianjing Prefecture have any cases? You seem to have a lot of free time."
Wei Yan chuckled and leaned back casually.
"Who said that? There are so many cases in Bianjing Prefecture that they could stretch all the way to the south city wall. I've been doing free labor all morning."
Shen Cong continued reading, seemingly uninterested.
Wei Yan was already used to his behavior and didn't care.
Erfeng, however, curiously pressed on, "Who would dare to trouble you, Lord Wei, to be free labor?"
Wei Yan shrugged.
"I was also caught up in it, and only later did I realize I'd been doing all the work for free—that little maid from the Marquis of Anping's mansion..."
Erfeng's eyes lit up.
"That little girl named Li Nanke?"
Wei Yan nodded. "It's her."
Shen Cong, who was engrossed in reading, twitched his ears slightly.
Wei Yan recounted what had happened that morning.
"...Judging from the way that little girl and her mother look, they probably can't read the ledger, so even if they know they've been cheated, they don't know how much money they've been cheated out of."
But they were in a hurry to get the money, so the young maidservant took matters into her own hands and orchestrated this whole scheme.
"Tsk tsk, they managed to use our Bianjing Prefecture's accounting department to clear out the accounts in just one morning, even had the wicked servant beaten to death, sounded an alarm for the Song family, and finally got the silver to save the prefecture."
"Tsk, this morning was efficient and effective, achieving four goals at once, truly ingenious."
Erfeng looked puzzled.
"How did you determine, Lord Wei, that it was that little girl's idea?"
Wei Yan rolled his eyes.
"My eyes have seen hundreds of cases and all sorts of people."
The little girl seemed to be nestled in her mother's arms the whole time, but her mother could only cry and couldn't even speak properly.
At every crucial turning point, it was the little girl who was secretly pushing things forward.
Wei Yan concluded.
"In short, that little girl is very intelligent despite her young age. The last person I met who was so smart was him."
"At such a young age, he already has a pair of sharp eyes, oh, and an even sharper mouth."
He pointed at Chen Cong.
Shen Cong put down the book in his hand at some point and began to rub the hand warmer with both hands.
He scoffed at those words.
"Placing my hopes on an official I don't know is too risky. I won't do something so foolish."
Wei Yan: "It's really hard to hear anything nice from you. Anyway, I think that little girl is very cute. She even praised me as a good person."
Is she blind?
Wei Yan...
Don't get angry, don't get angry, getting angry will easily lead to a bad meal.
"I noticed that the little girl's eyes were very clear and bright. She was calm and composed, and even her surprise seemed to be an act, as if she had known everything all along."
"It's strange. How could an eight-year-old girl possibly know about the sordid aspects of this?"
Wei Yan stroked his chin and muttered to himself.
"Is there really anyone in this world who can predict the future?"
Shen Cong paused slightly as he touched the hand warmer, recalling Li Nanke's words about the eldest prince's time in Taizhou.
He asked her how she knew, and she said it was her secret, and even if she told him, he wouldn't believe her.
Could it be that she really has the ability to foresee the future?
Shen Cong tapped the hand warmer unconsciously with his hand.
Wei Yan eagerly came over.
"I came here to ask Your Highness, that young lady named Li Nanke is really quite good, and I've taken a liking to her."
She's about the same age as my son, and I'd like to arrange a marriage between her and the Marquis of Anping's family. What does Your Highness think?
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