The late spring sunlight, like molten honey, filtered through the carved window lattices, casting coin-like specks of light on the blue brick floor of Tinglan Courtyard. Chen Weiwan sat cross-legged in a Xiangfei bamboo rocking chair, her fingertips pinching a piece of freshly baked peach blossom pastry, the pink and white crumbs falling onto the hem of her lilac-colored, gold-embroidered skirt. She glanced sideways at Xiao Yu, who was flipping through the account book under the grape trellis. She watched the silver cloud patterns on his dark brocade robe shimmer in the light and shadow. As his long fingers twisted the yellowed account pages, his nails glowed a soft pink and white, like the finest mutton-fat jade.
"Your Highness," she suddenly spoke, the sweet fragrance of peach blossom cakes mingling with the fragrant scent of jasmine from the corridor, "Do you think Liu is crying over the croton fields in Lingnan now?"
Xiao Yu paused as he flipped through the pages of his account book, his fingertips tapping the ledger recording the Lingnan tribute. "Yesterday, a postman brought word that she smashed the nanmu sign that read 'Croton Fairy Experimental Field' in the middle of the night. The patrol officer whipped her twenty times, and she's still lying on the edge of the field, groaning." He looked up at her, a smile glittering in his dark jade eyes. "But your cousin, Chen Ruorou, I heard she composed a new tune for 'Itchy Song' at the laundry bureau and even won the quarterly 'Best Stain Remover' plaque."
"Puff!" Chen Weiwan laughed so hard she nearly choked on her pastry. Chuntao quickly handed over the celadon teacup, her shoulders shaking from trying to contain her laughter. "Miss, you didn't see, the storytellers in West Market have made up a story about this, 'The Mismatched Marriage in the Croton Field.' Yesterday, when I went to buy osmanthus candy, I heard a circus troupe singing 'The Croton Flowers Are Sweet and Fragrant, the Itchy Grasses Are Busy Washing Washes!'"
Shen Weiwan took the teacup, the warm porcelain wall ironing her fingertips, and suddenly sighed softly. The sun fell on her long eyelashes, casting a shadow like a butterfly's wing. "It's finally over." She tilted her head to look at Xiao Yu, the pearl hairpin on her temples flickering with tiny glints. "I always thought the general's estate was like a branding iron, burning in my hands. Now I realize that watching over it and watching Liu's account books molder is actually quite interesting."
Xiao Yu put down the account book and walked over to her. As he squatted, the hem of his dark robe brushed against the green bricks. He reached out and brushed away the debris from her skirt. His fingertips gently brushed against her nose, carrying the crisp scent of cedar. "The twelve storerooms in the General's Mansion are yours," he paused, his fingertips rubbing the calloused skin on her palm. "My thirty hectares of fertile land outside the capital and the twelve silk shops in the West Market will also be yours from now on."
Chen Weiwan's eyes were as bright as falling stars, and she came forward like a little animal that had found a honey pot: "Really? What about the mutton-fat jade tea set in your warehouse, the white fox fur coat you got last winter, and the shop selling glassware on West Street..."
"They're all yours." Xiao Yu shook his head helplessly, letting her count on her fingers. Seeing her beaming with joy, the doting in his eyes almost overflowed, "But in exchange..."
"What in exchange?" Shen Weiwan narrowed her eyes immediately, but the corners of her mouth couldn't help but rise, revealing a cunning dimple.
Xiao Yu leaned close to her ear, his warm breath brushing against her reddened earlobe. "In exchange, you'll be tied to me for the rest of your life. You'll continue to be my 'Queen of Stupid Counterattacks.' No matter who you try to trick, I'll hold you back."
"Who asked you to lift the edge of the pit!" Chen Weiwan pushed him away with a red face. The pearl hairpin in her hair hit the bamboo chair, making a crisp "ding" sound. "I can dig a three-meter-deep pit by myself and bury all the bad guys in the capital!"
"Yes, yes, yes," Xiao Yu smiled, holding her hand and looking at the calluses on her palm from her martial arts training. "You're the best! Even my father has learned the art of 'judging cases from a field of croton seeds'. Yesterday, he even asked me if I should send a few carts of croton seeds to the Censorate as a stipend."
As the commotion unfolded, the old butler coughed softly at the entrance to the moonlit cave, holding a gilded lacquer box. A gratified smile crossed his white-bearded face. "My Lady, Your Highness the Seventh Prince, here are the twelve keys to the General's Mansion's treasury, complete with inventory, and three stacks of copies of the Liu family's embezzled account books."
Shen Weiwan took the lacquer box, feeling it heavy in her hand. The moment she opened the lid, the twelve brass keys gleamed in the sunlight, their ancient sheen. The key rings still retained the patina left by Liu's years of playing with them. The account book lay spread out on the stone table, its vermilion annotations etched like blood, recording every piece of brocade and every box of jewelry Liu had removed from the warehouse.
"Old housekeeper," Shen Weiwan's fingertips brushed across the cold key, and she recalled herself kneeling in the snow in her previous life to hand over the key. Her voice trembled slightly, "From now on, the warehouse will be managed by you and Chuntao. If anyone dares to tiptoe to look into the warehouse again..."
"That's all for you, old servant!" The old butler's white hair trembled as he bowed. "I changed all the locks in the storeroom yesterday. The new lock cores are mechanical locks specially found by His Highness the Seventh Prince. Without your jade pendant, they can't be opened at all!" He looked at the radiant young lady in front of him, then at the smiling Xiao Yu beside him, and suddenly his eyes were red. "If the general is still alive, seeing you in your current state, he will surely be smiling in his grave."
Chen Weiwan's nose was sore, but she quickly smiled and said, "Don't worry, old housekeeper, the general's mansion will only become more and more lively in the future. By the way, send these twelve keys to the 'Museum of Fraud' for me and hang them in the most conspicuous place. Put up a sign next to it saying 'The spoils of Liu's half-life struggle'. I guarantee that people who come to see them will trample down the threshold!"
Xiao Yu rubbed her hair helplessly, seeing the cunning light in her eyes: "You, you can't stop talking about your museum."
"Of course!" Chen Weiwan raised her chin, the coral bead hairpin in her hair swaying slightly with her movements. "I'm also going to set up a 'Sweet Love Zone' in the museum and put the phoenix hairpin and warm jade hand warmer you gave me there. I'll also have an artist paint a series of pictures of you being tricked by me, so that the whole capital can see how His Highness the Seventh Prince became a 'Wife-Looking Stone'!"
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