Qian Ruoyu then took Aunt Zhou out of the alley, calculating the price she had spent.

Meat costs twenty taels of silver per month, and vegetables, fruits and melons cost one hundred and fifty taels of silver per month.

The total amount for a month was only one hundred and seventy taels of silver, which was much cheaper than the previous six hundred or seven hundred taels of silver.

This made Qian Ruoyu feel even more puzzled, so she felt that she must ask Zhang Ma and Wang Po clearly.

Although he would indeed have to have some small private communications with Zhang Ma and Wang Po in the future, Qian Ruoyu felt that this matter was more important. Zhang Ma and Wang Po had been in the palace for so many years, and the amount of money they had accumulated was probably more than just a few dozen taels!

There is only one possibility, that is, they are lying to her!

It would be fine if they explained everything properly, but what Qian Ruoyu could not tolerate the most was deception.

If these two are so troublesome as to deceive me, I will definitely not let them off easily!

Afterwards, Qian Ruoyu took Aunt Zhou back to the alley, while Yan'er was waiting there anxiously.

After seeing Qian Ruoyu coming, Yan'er hurried over.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty... You are finally here. I was so worried!"

Qian Ruoyu smiled lightly, then pointed at Aunt Zhou and said.

"This is Boss Zhou. We will cooperate with our palace in the future. You will be the one to handle the cooperation."

Yan'er nodded quickly.

Qian Ruoyu turned to Aunt Zhou again.

"This one is my personal maid, her name is Yan'er. Yan'er is very capable and she is the person closest to me in this world."

After hearing these words, Yan'er was extremely excited.

Qian Ruoyu still spoke lightly.

"So if you have any problems in the future, just look for Yan'er. Yan'er can take my place!"

Qian Ruoyu naturally believed Yan'er.

Yan'er had been with the original owner for more than ten years. The feelings between them could not be exchanged for any gold, silver or treasures. Moreover, Yan'er herself was loyal and honest, and had some wisdom in her head.

If Qian Ruoyu doesn't trust Yan'er, who can she trust?

Aunt Zhou naturally smiled at Yan'er quickly.

"Okay, okay... got it."

Qian Ruoyu then nodded and said something.

"In that case, I hope you can go with Wang the Butcher tomorrow and leave all the things you need in the back. Yan'er will be waiting for you there."

After Aunt Zhou nodded, Qian Ruoyu took Yan'er away.

But Yan'er noticed Qian Ruoyu's expression changed, and immediately asked with some confusion.

"What's wrong, Madam? What happened? Did Boss Zhou cheat you?"

Qian Ruoyu shook her head and said.

"No, there is someone else who deceived me!"

Qian Ruoyu didn't say much, but went straight back to the back door, while Zhang Ma and Wang Po were still waiting there.

The two of them leaned against the door. After all, they didn't have to do anything at the moment, so naturally they didn't need to worry about anything.

But when they saw Qian Ruoyu's face darken and he walked over, the two of them were immediately startled and quickly turned their relaxed bodies back to their serious posture.

"Welcome back, Madam."

Qian Ruoyu nodded slightly, but didn't say anything along the way. Instead, she followed everyone else, closed the back door, and came to the inner courtyard of the palace.

The inner courtyard of the palace is located at the back door, so almost no servants would come here. At this moment, Qian Ruoyu's face changed immediately.

"Mrs. Zhang! Mrs. Wang!"

After hearing what Qian Ruoyu said, the two were immediately startled and shook their bodies.

“Yes… yes!”

The two of them said this word almost in unison.

But Qian Ruoyu said it slightly coldly.

"Auntie Zhang and Auntie Wang, I have treated you well, and I didn't even expose your affair to anyone. But why are you lying to me at this moment?"

The two of them knelt down immediately when they heard these words, as if Qian Ruoyu had exposed something.

Qian Ruoyu still looked at the two of them calmly and then asked.

"I don't care about other things now. You only have one chance to confess all your crimes. Otherwise, you will be thrown into death row!"

This was the cruelest thing Qian Ruoyu had ever said since he came to this world.

Even Yan'er who was standing by was a little stunned after seeing this scene, but she didn't dare to speak at this time.

Although Yan'er didn't know what had happened, she was very clear that Qian Ruoyu's words must have some deeper meaning.

As expected, after Qian Ruoyu finished speaking, Zhang Ma and Wang Po looked at each other at the same time.

Qian Ruoyu was naturally not afraid. The two of them were trying to arrange something at this time. Although there were only four people at the scene, it was almost like a trial.

Finally, Aunt Zhang said.

"I...I'd better tell you, Wang Po. I won't hide it anymore."

Aunt Zhang raised her head.

"Please forgive me, Madam. I really didn't tell you the truth before... Actually, a close relative of mine is ill and has been bedridden for a long time..."

When hearing this, Qian Ruoyu just sneered.

He said two words lightly, "Continue."

Aunt Zhang said.

"I acted on my own initiative in this matter. It has nothing to do with Wang Po. Wang Po helped me conceal this matter out of kindness..."

"My son was sixteen when he was assigned to labor service, helping the government build city walls and dig canals. The government promised to pay him five hundred coins a month."

"But in the end, my son only got a hundred coins. That would have been fine. After three years, my son suddenly fell ill... I don't know what caused this strange disease. I consulted more than a dozen quack doctors but none of them could cure him..."

"In the end, I had no choice but to buy all kinds of high-quality supplements for my son. These high-quality supplements really have different effects. After taking them, my son's condition has improved a lot...but our family doesn't have that much money..."

"So I had no choice but to slowly steal a little from the money given by the palace. When Grandmother Wang found out about this, she didn't blame me and was even willing to help me keep it secret. That's how I ended up like this..."

After saying this, Aunt Zhang knelt down again and kowtowed to Qian Ruoyu.

She said heavily.

"This matter is all about me. It has nothing to do with Wang Po. Please forgive Wang Po. If you want to punish me, please punish me!"

But after Aunt Zhang said this, Qian Ruoyu was completely shocked.

It turned out that he bought the supplements to treat his son's illness. This kind of thing...