Chapter 6
When Fu'er arrived at Wenxuan Pavilion after Zhuang woke up, she saw Ning Shiyu with a cold face again.
Upon entering the study, Ning Shiyu immediately asked, "Do you know your mistake?"
Fu'er thought about how he had been disliking her lately, and realized that no matter what she did, she was wrong.
When they saw Yunyou, they were all all smiles.
She said sullenly, "This servant does not know, please enlighten me, young master."
Ning Shiyu put down the wolf-hair brush in his hand, saw the anger in her eyes, and snorted coldly, "You're acting all wronged yourself."
"Think carefully, where exactly did we go wrong?"
"If you can't figure it out, stand here tonight and figure it out."
After saying that, he continued with the things he was doing.
Fu'er stared at the instep of her foot, thinking for a long time, but she still couldn't figure out what she had done wrong.
I've been busy all day and I'm completely exhausted right now.
I just want to get back to my own bed as soon as possible.
"Young master, this servant is foolish and truly does not know where I went wrong?"
"Please enlighten me, sir."
Ning Shiyu said decisively, "If you can't figure it out without being explicitly told, then stand there all night."
Fu'er just had her period today.
Judging from his cold and hard tone, I knew that if I didn't back down tonight, I might really have to stand there until dawn.
I won't be able to deliver charcoal to her sister tomorrow.
She whispered, "Young master, I was wrong. I'm not feeling well today, and my mind is a bit foggy, so I can't think of anything."
"Young master, could you please punish me tomorrow?"
He looked at her with a pitiful expression, clutching his lower abdomen.
Ning Shiyu was stunned for a moment, her cheeks flushing slightly.
With a soft sigh, she said, "Why should someone else do your own work?"
"If he commits the same offense again in the future, he will not be spared."
Fu'er suddenly understood, referring to the matter of Yun You serving him meals, which Ning Shiyu was referring to.
Puzzled, she said, "I didn't ask you to do it for me, Miss. I just didn't dare to disturb you two."
"Young master, since you like Miss Yunyou so much, it would be too rude of me to come in and serve you."
"Young master, didn't you always say that those who serve you need to be observant?"
Ning Shiyu, seeing her getting more and more excited, felt a surge of anger rising within him and immediately interrupted her.
"It seems you've gotten your head all muddled from doing the accounting. If I don't remind you, you might not even know who your master is tomorrow."
"Whose orders should we listen to?"
"Go back and think about it carefully."
Fu'er dared not say another word and obediently withdrew.
Before they even left the door, Ning Shiyu said again, "Come back and finish the ginseng soup in the food box before you leave."
Fu'er opened the food box and saw that it contained abalone soup, which was still hot. She said happily, "Thank you, young master, for remembering your servant."
Seeing her greedy look, Ning Shiyu's expression softened.
*
The next day, before Fu'er could finish what she was doing, her father came to the mansion.
"Stop fooling around. Where did you hide your sister and the others?"
"Quickly tell Father."
“Returning Le Ge’er to the Xu family is good for your sister too; she’s still young and will remarry.”
“Keeping Brother Le by my side would be a burden.”
Fu'er knew what her father was thinking, and casually retorted, "Even if she remarries, she can't give her unborn child to that despicable couple to raise."
"Now Le Ge'er is highly sought after. But once they have their own sons, Le Ge'er will become a nuisance."
"Father, go back. I won't tell you no matter what."
Fu'er's father, Luo Xunchun, also became anxious. Seeing Fu'er's stubborn appearance, he immediately raised his hand, but hesitated to strike.
Fu'er was his youngest child, and also his most doted-on child.
From childhood to adulthood, Luo Xunchun couldn't bear to touch even a single finger.
Finally, having no other choice, he coaxed, "Good child, Daddy knows you feel sorry for your sister."
“But if we don’t return Le’er to the Xu family, they will sue us in court.”
"Since ancient times, there has never been a precedent for a woman to take her husband's children with her when she divorces."
Fu'er retorted, "That Brother Le is a precedent."
“When we divorced, the Xu family said they didn’t want the child in my sister’s womb.”
No matter what Luo Xunchun said, Fu'er remained unmoved.
Finally, citing her busy schedule, she left her father behind and returned to the Ning residence alone.
Luo Xunchun was so angry that he jumped up and down on the spot for a long time.
After finishing her work, Fu'er changed into men's clothes and left the mansion. Her father had already returned home.
She went to the market again and bought charcoal and some ingredients.
She rented a mule cart and headed to her sister's place.
Just as they left the city, they noticed a carriage following behind them.
At first, Fu'er didn't pay much attention and thought it was just on the way.
I deliberately stopped to let them go first.
Unexpectedly, as soon as Fu'er stopped, the carriage also stopped.
As the mule cart sped up, the horse-drawn carriage also picked up speed.
After several repetitions, Fu'er realized that the carriage was deliberately following her.
Without even thinking, she knew that the people sitting in the carriage were from the Xu family.
In her haste, Fu'er suddenly had a brilliant idea.
Indeed, the person sitting in the carriage was Fu'er's brother-in-law and one of his shop's employees.
The mule cart stopped at a crossroads outside the city.
Fu'er got off the mule cart first and followed the winding path to the villa halfway up the mountain.
Xu Yuan, who was in the carriage, couldn't wait any longer. He jumped off the carriage with his servants and jogged to catch up with Fu'er.
Fu'er was so frightened that she froze on the spot, her eyes wide open. "So it really was you."
Xu Yuan smiled smugly, "I didn't expect you to be so capable, knowing such a wealthy family and managing to hide your sister here."
This villa halfway up the mountain was built by the Cao family, a wealthy household in Lingyang.
The purpose was to provide a place for the women of the household to rest after they went to the temple on the mountaintop to burn incense and pray to Buddha.
The courtyard wasn't large, but it was quite impressive.
Xu Yuan pushed Fu'er to the side of the road and rushed straight to the other courtyard.
The door was opened by a burly man, which immediately extinguished Xu Yuan's arrogant demeanor.
After he explained his purpose, the man coldly replied, "The person you are looking for is not here."
"Hurry up and leave, you'll be in deep trouble if you disturb our master."
Then he closed the gate.
Xu Yuan didn't dare to knock on the door again.
When they returned to the foot of the mountain, they discovered that Fu'er and the mule cart had already disappeared.
There were three forks in the road, each leading to a main road to another county. He didn't know which road to take.
Xu Yuanqi shouted at the empty intersection, "Your Luo family is going to be sued!"
Weiyang Palace in Chang'an.
After finishing her lunch, Empress Cui moved to her bedchamber, leaving only her trusted confidants to serve her.
After the head palace maid removed the phoenix robe for her, she helped Cui to the bedside. "Your Majesty," she said, "the Minister of Rites just reported that the banquet for the Crown Prince's birthday will probably have to be scaled down."
"He said the Ministry of Revenue simply couldn't allocate that much silver, if Your Majesty insisted on holding the banquet as usual."
"I'm afraid Her Majesty will have to take some from the Imperial Treasury."
Upon hearing this, Cui showed no displeasure whatsoever.
He simply said coldly, "Tell Minister Cui that this year is the Crown Prince's coming of age, so it must be a grand occasion."
"Many foreign princes and nobles were also invited."
"Being too shabby will only make people laugh at the poverty of Western Chu."
"Proceed with the pomp and circumstance I have instructed."
"I will find a way to deal with the money."
After the head palace maid left the palace to receive her orders, her attendant, Granny Lian, said worriedly, "Your Highness, your private treasury isn't very rich either."
"This time, we will try to get the money from the imperial treasury."
Cui rested her cheek on one hand, a sharp glint in her eyes. "I also manage the Imperial Treasury. They're both my flesh and blood."
"We need to think of other solutions."
The old woman's worries were not unfounded. Since the Cui family seized control of the government, the wealth of Western Chu had been declining day by day.
The Cui family occupied many important official positions in the imperial court, and much of the tax revenue went into their own pockets.
No one in the court dared to speak out.
As a woman, the Empress could only manage the inner palace at most.
His brother, Prime Minister Cui, had almost completely controlled the previous dynasty.
The national treasury was running low on silver, and correspondingly, the imperial palace's treasury was becoming increasingly empty.
"Is there really no way to deal with Princess Zhaoyang's prime shops in Chang'an?"
Granny Lian looked guilty. "Your Highness, I've tried many methods, but I really don't know where to begin."
"It can only be said that Prince Ning is far more cunning than we imagined."
Ning Shiyu's mother, Princess Zhaoyang, was favored by the late emperor, and her dowry was said to have emptied half of the imperial treasury.
Princess Zhaoyang followed her husband in a suicide pact many years ago.
The Empress had long wanted to get her dowry back.
But she couldn't show it openly because she was the empress.
They then wanted to use the Ning family, the husband's family of Princess Zhaoyang, as a means to help.
The second and third branches of the Ning family, along with the old lady, disregarded the death of Ning Shiyu's father and had already submitted to the Cui family.
Unfortunately, even when they joined forces, they were no match for Ning Shiyu.
No matter how many underhanded tricks he used, he couldn't get a single penny.
He was so angry he wanted to grind his teeth.
Princess Zhaoyang's most valuable possessions were her numerous shops.
Most of them were engaged in businesses that made a fortune, such as spices, silk, and porcelain.
The Ning family was useless, so the Empress had to take matters into her own hands in secret.
But once she started, she realized that even though Ning Shiyu was not in Chang'an, things were far more difficult than she had imagined.
The story of Princess Zhaoyang and General Ning is deeply ingrained in people's minds, and the shops she left behind have become famous.
The same goods, but the business is much better than other shops.
Therefore, Ning Shiyu allowed others to open branch shops using his family's name.
These shops that opened under Princess Zhaoyang's name were not ordinary merchants; they were all prominent families in Chang'an.
Many of them are still people the Cui family cannot touch at the moment.
Even the Empress's own sister used the name of Princess Zhaoyang to earn money.
The shops were numerous, like a spider's web, making it impossible to distinguish which shops originally belonged to Princess Zhaoyang.
Ning Shiyu carefully protected the shop left by his mother.
For a time, even the Cui family found it difficult to make a move.
Knowing that it would be the Crown Prince's birthday, Ning Shiyu would definitely go to Chang'an.
Cui said with a determined expression, "So what if he's cunning? This time, I will make sure he doesn't leave alive."
The Prince of Qin's Mansion.
Besides the Empress wanting to get rid of Ning Shiyu, this year's birthday celebration for the Crown Prince was also a time for celebration.
Prime Minister Cui also wanted to get rid of the King of Qin, this major threat.
Ten days later, the King of Qin received the imperial edict from the post station.
His face was full of worry.
His elder brother is still alive; it's not time to break ties with the Cui family yet.
If you don't go, you'll only be accused of disobeying imperial orders.
This gave Prime Minister Cui a reason to be punished.
If he went, it would be a trap for him.
The King of Qin summoned his four sons and his advisors to discuss the matter.
Everyone had different opinions, but no perfect solution could be found.
King Qin's youngest son, Huiqing, volunteered, saying, "Father, let me go in your place."
Everyone was astonished.
"Absolutely not! If the young master goes there, he will become a hostage of the Cui family."
"It became a reason to blackmail the prince."
The event was so sudden that everyone was caught off guard.
None of the proposed solutions satisfied the King of Qin.
He had other important matters to attend to, so he simply waved for everyone to leave.
At Shen Shi (3-5 PM), Ning Shiyu returned to the Prince of Qin's residence.
What he held in his hand was the city defense map that Ouyang Yi had given him.
The King of Qin was delighted to see him return.
"How is Yu'er? Has Ouyang Yi truly submitted to me?"
Ning Shiyu handed the city defense map to the King of Qin and replied, "I compared it with the refined map on my way back, and it is basically correct."
“Ouyang Yi is usable.”
"With your words, your uncle can rest assured."
"There is a more important matter at hand that requires my decision."
Subsequently, the King of Qin informed Ning Shiyu about the Crown Prince's birthday celebration.
Upon hearing this, Ning Shiyu guessed that the news had probably already reached his residence.
Although the Crown Prince's birthday is still a month away, they have to set off half a month in advance.
Therefore, the King of Qin had to plan ahead.
"Yu'er, do you have a solution?"
After a moment of silence, Ning Shiyu replied firmly, "Yes."
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