Chen Weiwan stood in the shadows, looking at Liu's brand new gold-woven skirt and said with a smile, "Aunt, you're joking. Everyone in the mansion knows how hard you work in managing the household. I'd also like to take a look at the Western Region carpets left by my father and the brocade that my mother gave me as a dowry. After all... this storehouse will eventually be handed over to me."
"Handover?" Liu turned around abruptly, the powder on her face falling off. "What do you mean, young lady?"
"It's nothing," Shen Weiwan shrugged and walked to the rusty copper lock, "I just heard that my aunt is short of money recently, and I'm afraid you took something you shouldn't have."
"You are slandering me!" Liu was so angry that her whole body was shaking, and her fat body blocked the warehouse door tightly.
"Whether you are slandering me or not, you will know when you open the door." Shen Weiwan winked at the old housekeeper, who stepped forward and inserted the spare key into the keyhole.
With a click, the warehouse door slowly opened. In the dim light, the shelf where the Western Region carpets should have been placed was completely empty. Of the twelve boxes of Suzhou embroidery and brocade that had been her mother's dowry, only three remained. Seeing this, Liu's face drained of color, but she forced herself to remain calm. "Maybe... maybe I misremembered the location..."
Shen Weiwan walked to the empty shelf, her fingertips brushing across the dusty wooden boards. "This used to be where my father's Persian carpets, captured during his expedition to the West, were placed. Over there should have been my mother's 'Phoenix in Peony' brocade. Aunt, where did these things go?"
Liu hesitated and was unable to speak. Suddenly, Nanny Zhou beside her knelt down and kowtowed profusely: "Miss, spare me! It was Madam who asked me to transport these things and sell them! Every account is recorded...in Madam's dowry box!"
"You're talking nonsense!" Liu screamed and kicked towards Madam Zhou, but was stopped by Shen Weiwan's eyes.
"Where is the account book?" Shen Weiwan squatted down, her voice cold.
"It's... on the third layer of Madam's rosewood dressing box!" Madam Zhou cried. "Madam also said that the Minister of Personnel would protect her..."
Shen Weiwan sneered, stood up and looked at Liu, who looked ashen: "Aunt, you have nothing to say now, right?"
Liu slumped on the ground, her obese body blocking the door to the storeroom. "I...I'm doing this for the expenses of the mansion...The general's mansion has a lot of expenses..."
"Did you sell all your father's spoils and mother's dowry to cover your expenses?" Shen Weiwan pressed on, "Aunt, come with me to see the official."
At this moment, a voice came from outside the door: "His Royal Highness the Seventh Prince is here——!"
Xiao Yu walked into the warehouse with his guards. He glanced at the mess on the floor and the slumped Liu, and said to Shen Weiwan with a smile: "It seems that I am still a step late."
Chen Weiwan bowed and said, "Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. It's just a family matter, so I dare not trouble you..."
"A family matter?" Xiao Yu interrupted her, looking at Liu with a cold gaze. "The private sale of the general's property is about to become a national issue." He ordered the guards behind him, "Take Liu and Nanny Zhou back to the prince's residence and await their punishment."
Liu screamed and was dragged away by the guards. Her hair was disheveled and her golden hairpin fell to the ground with a harsh sound. Shen Ruoruo hid behind the pillar, trembling with fear, and her eyes were full of fear when she looked at Shen Weiwan.
Xiao Yu walked to Shen Weiwan and looked at her calm profile: "Now, the general's family property is saved."
"Thank you, Your Highness, for your help." Shen Weiwan thanked him sincerely, her eyes falling on her father's spirit tablet deep in the warehouse, her heart filled with mixed feelings.
"No need to thank me," Xiao Yu suddenly leaned in, his warm breath brushing against her ear, "If you want to thank someone, thank yourself—" He paused, his tone tinged with laughter, "You're even better at spreading rumors than I am."
Shen Weiwan couldn't help but smile, and turned to look at him: "Your Highness is too kind."
"However," Xiao Yu changed the subject, a hint of mischief flashing in his eyes, "I have a question."
"Your Highness, please speak."
"You call Li Xiu a homosexual, aren't you afraid that no one will dare to marry you in the future?"
Shen Weiwan was startled for a moment, then looked out the window at the setting sun, a confident smile on her lips: "What are you afraid of? Anyway..." She raised her eyes to look at Xiao Yu, a cunning light flashing in her eyes, "Isn't there still His Highness?"
Xiao Yu was startled at first, then burst into laughter, echoing throughout the empty warehouse. The golden glow of the setting sun shone through the window lattice, elongating the two figures and casting a shadow on the dusty stone road. Looking at the Seventh Prince's hearty smile, Shen Weiwan suddenly felt that perhaps the path of this life could truly lead to a different landscape.
【Prince's Thoughts】
That night, in the Seventh Prince's study, Xiao Yu played with a silver hairpin that Shen Weiwan had accidentally dropped on the stone table. The pearl on the hairpin shone softly in the candlelight. A guard entered with a report: "Your Highness, Miss Shen has taken over the general's household. Liu is being held in the firewood room, and the Minister of Personnel is claiming illness and cannot leave."
Xiao Yu hummed, his eyes fixed on the direction of the General's Mansion outside the window: "Did you receive the pregnancy-maintaining medicine sent to Chen Weiwan?"
The guard was stunned: "Your Highness, Miss Shen did not..."
"I know." Xiao Yu put down the silver hairpin, a meaningful smile on his face. "I just wanted to see how she would react when she received the 'pregnancy-preserving medicine.'" He remembered what Chen Weiwan had said during the day, "After all, there's still His Highness," and couldn't help but shake his head and laugh. "This girl... is even smarter than the monkey I keep in my garden."
The guard whispered, "His Highness seems to be particularly... concerned about Miss Shen."
Xiao Yu picked up the military book on the table, but had no intention of reading it. His mind was filled with Shen Weiwan's cunning smile: "Have you ever seen someone spread rumors so confidently and force their opponents into a desperate situation?" He paused, his eyes flashing with admiration, "I want to see what new tricks she can come up with."
Meanwhile, in the Qinghui Courtyard of the General's Mansion, Shen Weiwan looked at the brocade box Chuntao had brought, which contained a box of supplements for "pregnancy protection and qi nourishment." She raised an eyebrow and looked at the Seventh Prince's guard who was delivering the gift: "What does this mean, Seventh Prince?"
The guard said respectfully, "His Highness said that Miss Shen has been working hard recently and needs to be taken care of."
Chen Weiwan chuckled and said to Chuntao, "Keep it. Stew it and send it to Liu later. She's old and needs nourishment."
Chun Tao covered her mouth and giggled, watching the gleam in her young lady's eyes. She suddenly felt that following a young lady like her would make her future life as exciting as the ones in the opera. Meanwhile, in the study of the Seventh Prince's Mansion, Xiao Yu heard the guards' response to Shen Weiwan's "return gift" and finally burst into laughter, startling the parrots under the eaves and chirping, "Interesting! Interesting!"
Shen Weiwan's path to revenge becomes more complex with the intervention of the Seventh Prince. But she knows that no matter what lies ahead, she will live this life to the fullest, settling accounts with all those who wronged her. And whether the Seventh Prince, who "admired" her, is friend or foe will likely only be revealed at the end.
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