Song Hongshen stared at Su Zhilan with burning eyes. Su Zhilan subconsciously looked over his shoulder and felt a little guilty for some reason. What was going on?
Didn't she have the intention of taking advantage of him when she met him several times before?
But these words must never be said out loud.
Su Zhilan immediately said, "It's not about taking advantage of me. I admire your talent."
Song Hongshen looked at her with a half-smile. After these few encounters, he had gotten to know her a little better. He knew that her expression and tone were clearly a perfunctory response.
He didn't point it out, but walked to the chair, sat down, and leaned lazily against the back.
"The Fifth Miss doesn't want to get married. She likes shipbuilding and even wants to go to sea, right?"
His casual question actually frightened Su Zhilan. To her, this was a huge secret.
She quickly looked outside the door and made a gesture to Song Hongshen to keep quiet.
"Lord, please keep your voice down."
Song Hongshen jokingly said, "Are you scared now? Why weren't you scared when you were thinking about it?"
Although he said this, the volume was still too low.
Su Zhilan knew him well, so she sat down on the chair next to him, resting her chin on one hand. She thought, since her parents had already decided to cancel the engagement, King Zhongyong had come to end the relationship, right?
While he was lost in thought, he heard Song Hongshen ask, "When I came in, I saw your eyes were swollen. Did your family scold you?"
Su Zhilan shook her head and said, "No, I just feel a little guilty. Because of me, I have caused trouble for my parents and my brothers and sisters."
Song Hongshen frowned and said disapprovingly, "What does this have to do with you? It all came to this because Wang Jinyao was deliberately targeting you."
Su Zhilan didn't say anything. She was humiliated because of Wang Jinyao, but her family members were worried and running around for her.
After a long while, Song Hongshen said again: "You help me build a boat, and I will give you the life you want, how about it?"
Su Zhilan didn't understand what was going on, and asked him nervously, "What does Your Majesty mean?"
Song Hongshen continued, "If you break off your engagement with me, you'll be trapped in the inner chambers no matter who you marry."
"But marrying me is different. Not only will I support you in building the ship, I can also take you to the sea to test the ship myself."
He spoke softly, and moved closer to her for fear that she couldn't hear him clearly. There was a hint of seduction in his tone.
Su Zhilan asked back, "You said if I help you build a boat, you'll give me the life I want and let me go to sea with my fourth sister?"
Song Hong nodded confidently, "Of course."
"What did my father say?" Su Zhilan asked again.
Song Hongshen said, "I have already made an agreement with Uncle Su, and he said the wedding will go on as planned."
Su Zhilan pondered it carefully for a long time before nodding and saying, "Then it's settled."
Upon hearing this, Song Hongshen stood up with satisfaction and walked out.
Su Yuanzhou, who was waiting by the door frame at the door, saw him come out and followed him to the outer courtyard.
"You refuse to cancel the engagement. Are you taking advantage of my fifth sister?" Su Yuanzhou suddenly asked.
Song Hongshen's expression remained unchanged. "It's not exploitation, it's fate."
After saying that, he quickened his pace, waved his hand and said, "No need to see me off, I can walk on my own."
Su Yuanzhou shook his head helplessly and turned to find Su Qingyu. He needed to talk to his sister about what had happened today. If he told Su Qingyu, it would mean that Shen Zhixiu also knew about it.
In the evening, everyone left Prince Ning's Mansion. Su Chengxun took his wife and daughter back to the Su family, while Su Qingyu returned to the Shen family.
When Su Qingyu returned home, Shen Zhixiu had not yet returned. She went into the bathroom first, took a shower, and changed into casual clothes.
When she was taking off her hairpins and rings, Chun Tao reported, "Madam, today the princess went to Qingyuan Residence to cry to the old lady again."
Su Qingyu raised her eyebrows, "Oh? What's the reason today?"
Ever since Li Chaoyun returned home to take care of her pregnancy, she had been keeping an eye on Xiangdong. Every two or three days, she would go to Qingyuan Residence to complain, and her excuses were endless.
In Li Chaoyun's words, Xiangdong is a person who can't manage his servants, can't manage the property well, and has no rules.
The old lady doesn't care much about the trivial matters of the various courtyards now, so she just said a few perfunctory words of comfort.
Chun Tao replied, "Today it was because of the Fifth Young Master. They said that the Fifth Young Master was playing in the garden and ran into the Princess. Not only did he not say hello, he even threw some mud on her."
"The princess went to the old lady and complained bitterly, saying that Madam Xiang was almost turning her child into a bandit."
Su Qingyu hummed, then asked, "What did the old lady say?"
Chun Tao smiled and said, "The old lady sent someone to call the fifth young master over. I don't know what they said, but when the fifth young master left Qingyuan Residence, he took some fun things and food with him."
"Doesn't this mean that the Fifth Young Master didn't get punished, but instead got some benefits?"
Su Qingyu shook her head. "It doesn't necessarily mean he wasn't punished. Maybe after the old lady disciplined him, she felt sorry for her grandson again."
However, it is not a good idea to let Li Chaoyun cause trouble like this. The old lady might already have some opinions about Xiangdong.
After Shen Zhiheng and his family of three passed away, the eldest wife had to observe mourning and started to work alone, calculating the accounts separately. All these matters were handed over to Xiangdong.
Including Hanshuiyuan where Li Chaoyun lives, it is also Xiangdong who is in charge, so Li Chaoyun can cause trouble for Xiangdong.
In the final analysis, it was to make the old lady dislike Xiangdong, so she took the opportunity to regain the power of the housekeeper and director of the first house.
Su Qingyu thought for a moment and instructed Chuntao, "Go and tell them that from now on, all expenses for Hanshuiyuan's food, clothing, and other expenses will be paid through the public office. Just tell them that the princess is pregnant and I'm worried."
"If the princess has any dissatisfaction, please come and talk to me."
She wanted to see how Li Chaoyun would cause trouble for Xiangdong again.
When Shen Zhixiu came back, Su Qingyu had already wrung out her hair and was leaning against the headboard reading a book.
Seeing him come in, she put down the book in her hand and stood up to get out of bed.
But Shen Zhixiu stopped him, "Just watch your own thing, I'll go take a shower myself."
Not long after, Shen Zhixiu also changed into pajamas and came out of the bathroom, and Su Qingyu moved inside.
He sat down beside her, leaning against the headboard and putting his arm around her shoulders.
Without saying anything, he bent down and kissed her forehead. "Did you go to Guangfulou for dinner? How about the new chef you found?"
Su Qingyu immediately perked up, sat up straight, and told Shen Zhixiu what happened today.
When Shen Zhixiu first heard this, he thought it was just a jealous argument between two girls. But when Su Qingyu mentioned Su Zhilan's drawings and Song Hongshen's explanation, he sat up straighter.
After Su Qingyu finished speaking, Shen Zhixiu got out of bed and said, "I'm going to look for Song Hongshen. You rest first."
"Why are you in such a hurry?" Su Qingyu also got out of bed and helped him get clothes.
Shen Zhixiu explained, "The Emperor had previously proposed reorganizing the Fujian navy, but Song Hongshen refused. The Crown Prince then bypassed the Ministry of Personnel and recommended someone to the Emperor. The Emperor agreed, and the Ministry of Personnel will issue a written document tomorrow."
"If Song Hongshen is willing to take over the Fujian navy, that would be the best. I'll go find him and then go to the palace to see the emperor that night."
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