Chen Weiwan wiped her mouth slowly: "Don't bother, I sent a letter to Black Wind Village, saying that Liu has hidden ten thousand taels of gold in the Sky Prison. They are probably having a 'friendly exchange' with the Imperial Guards at this moment."
Sure enough, half an hour later, the detectives brought in a group of bandits with bruised faces and noses. The leader was still crying out for justice: "It's unfair, sir! It was a woman named Liu who said there was gold..."
The prefect looked at the scene of the criminals being caught red-handed, and then looked at the box full of evidence, and suddenly bowed to Shen Weiwan: "Miss Shen is really a god! This time, the Liu case, even if I want to suppress it, I can't suppress it!"
Shen Weiwan waved her hand: "Don't thank me, thank His Highness the Seventh Prince for borrowing the box." She blinked, "By the way, when you judge the case, remember to include Shen Ruorou's testimony of false pregnancy and hiring a killer to hurt people, so that she won't have too much time to eat cabbage in Jingxin Temple."
When leaving Shuntian Mansion, Chun Tao looked at the jelly juice on Shen Weiwan's cuffs and asked, "Miss, you were eating in the teahouse just now. Aren't you afraid that the prefect will see you and make fun of you?"
"A joke?" Shen Weiwan jumped onto the carriage, lifted the curtain and looked at the sunset. "When Liu's dog head falls to the ground, everyone in the capital will praise me, Shen Weiwan—" She deliberately dragged out the tone, "for both wisdom and courage, and superb cooking skills!"
Chuntao burst into laughter, but the carriage suddenly stopped. The Seventh Prince, Xiao Yu, rode a white horse and stopped in the middle of the road, carrying a food box. "I heard you were eating jelly in Shuntian Prefecture, so I bought some sweet-scented osmanthus cake from the south of the city."
Shen Weiwan raised her eyebrows: "How did your highness know that I like sweet things?"
Xiao Yu dismounted and handed the food box through the carriage curtain, his fingertips brushing the back of her hand. "I also know that you put the evidence of Liu's crime in the dowry box to remind me that it's time to propose."
Chun Tao was trying to hold back her laughter until her face turned red, but Chen Weiwan suddenly put the food box on Xiao Yu's head and said, "Nonsense! I want you to use these boxes to store your betrothal gifts, and each one must be filled with gold!"
Xiao Yu took off the food box from his head, looked at the intact osmanthus cake inside, and suddenly smiled: "Okay, when Liu is executed, I will come to marry you in a sedan chair carried by eight people and eight boxes of gold."
The setting sun stretched their shadows far out. Chuntao looked at the blush on the tips of her young lady's ears and secretly pinched her arm. Who could have imagined that the foolish legitimate daughter who had been bullied and cried under the quilt back then could now have the Seventh Prince willingly holding osmanthus cake and waiting for her to close the trap?
Meanwhile, in the Sky Prison, Liu was banging her head against the wall. The message in the wax pill couldn't be delivered, the people of Black Wind Village were rounded up, and when the Shuntian prefect personally interrogated her, he threw the account book, leaving her face covered in ink.
"Liu, you embezzled military funds, colluded with bandits, and hired assassins to kill people. You are guilty of multiple crimes—" the prefect's voice came through the iron bars. "You are sentenced to beheaded immediately and executed in the autumn!"
"No!" Liu rushed to the iron fence, only to see Shen Weiwan standing next to the Seventh Prince, smiling at her. That smile was very similar to the one she had seen fifteen years ago when she had first tricked Shen Weiwan into handing over her hairpin. The innocent light in the little girl's eyes was now a bit sharper, though poisoned.
"Chen Weiwan! You will not die a good death--!" Liu's scream was interrupted by the jailer's stick. She watched the couple turn around and leave. The sunlight shone on them, and the warmth was dazzling.
In the carriage, Shen Weiwan picked up a piece of osmanthus cake and stuffed it into her mouth. Suddenly, she remembered the night when she died in the snow in her previous life. At that time, she also cried out "I can't die well" like Liu, but in return, she was only mocked by the snow and wind.
"What are you thinking about?" Xiao Yu held her hand, his fingertips warm.
Shen Weiwan looked up at him, the coldness in her eyes slowly dissipated: "I was thinking, when Liu is beheaded on that day, I will make the biggest sugar cake and go to the execution ground to watch the show."
Xiao Yu was amused by her and chuckled softly. As the carriage passed through Zhuque Street, he happened to hear a storyteller on the street telling a new story: "...It's said that the general's daughter, Chen Weiwan, outsmarted her aunt, cleverly tricked a scumbag, and now, she's put the evidence of the Liu family's crimes in her dowry and sent it to the authorities. It's really satisfying!"
Chun Tao couldn't help but stick her head out: "Storyteller! What do you know? My young lady has something even more amazing!"
Shen Weiwan dragged her back into the car, but she smiled while lifting the curtain. The golden light of the setting sun fell on her face, and the eyes that had once reflected the blood on the snow were now filled with only a rosy glow and a hint of cunning.
"Chun Tao," she whispered, "Go tell the kitchen to add an extra dish tonight."
"Add what?"
Shen Weiwan tilted her head and looked into the Seventh Prince's smiling eyes: "Braised dog head, add more chili."
The carriage rumbled across the bluestone pavement of the capital, leaving behind the sound of crisp laughter. In the distant prison, Liu's wails gradually faded, and Shen Weiwan's new life had just begun its most refreshing prelude.
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