Jiang Wan returned to the general's mansion, and that very night she heard news from the main courtyard.
Consort Yun's attendant came to the General's Mansion, bringing Gu Yurong many gifts. He also mentioned that Pei Tang's birthday banquet was in a few days and asked her to bring Song Lin along to join in the fun.
The General's Mansion naturally dared not disobey the Imperial Concubine's command.
Song Ziyu saw the person off politely, but threw a huge tantrum after returning home.
"They think they can escape this by currying favor with the Imperial Concubine? Just wait until after the palace banquet, I'll make them pay!"
Even so, he dared not cause any more trouble for Gu Yurong.
After all, he was to enter the palace in a few days, and if Gu Yurong had wounds on her face and body, even he wouldn't be able to explain it.
Family scandals should not be aired in public, but besides, the General's Mansion is now in decline, and he doesn't want to cause any more trouble.
Song Ziyu swallowed his anger and found several doctors to treat Gu Yurong.
He then turned and went to Luhe Hall.
Consort Yun's men arrived too suddenly.
Gu Yurong was merely the daughter of a merchant, her mother's family had been exiled, and she had no connections in the capital. Song Lin was even less significant.
Why did Consort Yun intervene to save the mother and son?
There must be something he doesn't know.
Unable to come up with a solution, Song Ziyu turned to the elder's wife.
"Consort Yun?" The old lady was also somewhat bewildered upon hearing his words.
However, one thing she was certain of was that Consort Yun had enjoyed the emperor's favor in the harem for many years and was a person who would not act without self-interest.
She must have obtained valuable leverage to extend a helping hand to Gu Yurong.
"This matter is indeed strange. The Gu family is quite cunning and may have come up with another way to save themselves," the matriarch of the family analyzed.
"Whatever her intentions, they're definitely detrimental to us!"
Song Ziyu said with a stern face.
"It's a pity that my grandson just handed over the tiger tally and military power, and is now unemployed at home. Unless His Majesty summons him, he can't attend the palace banquet. Otherwise, I should really go to the banquet and keep an eye on her to see what kind of tricks she's up to!"
"That's not difficult."
The matriarch, holding her prayer beads, spoke slowly.
"At worst, I'll just go there myself. She won't be able to pull anything under my nose."
She gestured to Granny Wu: "Go to the storeroom and pick out something valuable to present to Princess Zhaohua as a birthday gift."
Song Ziyu was somewhat worried: "If Grandmother goes to the palace personally, what if His Majesty asks about the money..."
There's still no explanation for the shortfall of 15,000 taels.
But now, all they can do is scrape together the silver and hand it over to the national treasury, hoping to at least appease Emperor Jingyuan's anger.
As for where he spent the money, Emperor Jingyuan only suspected it, but had no concrete evidence. He would eventually find a way to explain it.
In any case, the tiger tally has already been handed over, and the royal family will understand that the Song family has no ulterior motives.
The matriarch sighed and instructed Song Ziyu to open the wooden box on the table.
"Grandmother, this is..." Song Ziyu looked at the thick stack of silver notes in the box and asked in surprise, "Where did you get so much money?"
"Due to the emergency, I sold several properties in my hometown." The matriarch pressed her forehead, looking somewhat tired.
Song Ziyu paused for a moment.
"The property in my hometown is... in Youzhou?"
He only knew that the matriarch's family was in Youzhou, and she had never mentioned anything about her hometown over the years. Song Ziyu naturally did not know how much private property she owned in Youzhou.
“You don’t need to worry about these trivial matters,” said the matriarch. “Take this money tomorrow to settle your score, and you’ll have weathered this storm.”
Song Ziyu silently accepted the money, feeling somewhat ashamed. He gritted his teeth and thought to himself, "It was my carelessness that led me to fall into Jiang's trap. I will make her pay a hundredfold in the future!"
Mentioning Jiang Wan, the old lady's expression turned stern, and her eyes flashed with coldness.
She still can't understand why the assassins she sent last time failed to eliminate Jiang Wan, even though the Ministry of Justice had already arranged everything.
Was she really just lucky?
But it doesn't matter. She's not the same as before. If she wants to make a move on Jiang Wan, she'll have plenty of opportunities.
"You don't need to worry about the affairs of the inner quarters. I have a way to deal with Jiang Shi."
"The elder's wife said."
"However, this time when I enter the palace, I will inevitably have to pay my respects to His Majesty. Please tell me in detail what happened when you met with the Emperor a few days ago, without missing a single detail, so that I may not make any mistakes when I answer in front of the Emperor."
Song Ziyu nodded, recalling the scene in the palace that day, and began to recount his experience.
The matriarch's expression was originally calm, but when she heard about the book scroll that Ji Huaichuan took out, her face suddenly changed and she stood up abruptly.
"What?"
She said urgently.
"What's the name of that book?"
Song Ziyu was startled by her overreaction. After thinking for a moment, he said, "It seems to be called 'Strange Tales of Miao Territory'."
The matriarch gasped, her face turning ashen.
After catching her breath, she pointed at Song Ziyu and scolded him harshly: "Why didn't you tell me about something so important sooner!"
"This..." Song Ziyu paused, "Grandson believes that this is all fabricated by Ji Huaichuan. What Miao secret techniques? There haven't been any Miao people in the capital for many years. In my opinion, he's just spouting these mysterious things to deceive His Majesty and to find an excuse for Ji Rong's loss of composure!"
He argued.
"Besides, His Majesty doesn't believe it either. In the past two days, news has gradually spread from the palace, saying that Ji Rong has hysteria and has nothing to do with the Miao people."
The matriarch collapsed onto the stool, her mind in turmoil.
Ji Huaichuan... How could he have just happened to read that book, "Strange Tales of Miao Territory"?
She absolutely refused to believe that this could be a coincidence!
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