Madam Qian was merely a minor figure, not to be feared.
Song Zhaoyu asked Tiaohong, "What about Madam Han?"
Tiaohong shrugged. "It seems there's nothing. But I heard that Madam Han's brother is planning to move out of the Han manor. I wonder if it's related to this matter."
Song Zhaoyu nodded. "I understand."
"Creak—"
While they were speaking, Mu Changxi also returned from outside.
The wind had picked up these past two days, and Mu Changxi had a thin blanket covering his legs.
Before entering, he had seen Liuli. Huahong was incapacitated, but Liuli had not left.
However, Liuli was not as bold as Huahong and seemed hesitant to provoke Mu Changxi.
After entering, Song Zhaoyu felt the wind outside was quite strong and asked Tiaohong to close the window.
Mu Changxi looked up at Song Zhaoyu. "I heard about today's banquet."
Song Zhaoyu was stunned for a moment, then said, "You don't blame me for giving those pearls to them, do you? They were your betrothal gifts to me, precious items."
In fact, those pearls were already in Song Zhaoyu's hands, and not much was left.
Mu Changxi chuckled. "Since they were given to you, how you dispose of them is your business. Why would I be angry? Moreover, you handled today's matter well. Ayu, I underestimated you. I'm afraid Madam Han is not happy right now. With your own efforts, you've stirred up the waters in Yuezhou City!"
He never hesitated to praise Song Zhaoyu.
Song Zhaoyu also felt a little relieved. "Actually, Yuezhou City is quite interesting. And among women, it's always the same old things. What about you? How is the disaster relief going?"
Mu Changxi nodded. "My father has entrusted me with the full authority to investigate the lost silver during the disaster relief. However, I heard that Prince Ning opposed it in court, but the Crown Prince blocked it entirely. My father is displeased with the Crown Prince, but he didn't say anything in the end. Ayu, we need to resolve matters here quickly and return to the capital. I fear the Crown Prince alone cannot deal with Mu Hansu."
Indeed, the Crown Prince lacked the cunning and schemes. Otherwise, in his previous life, his power and status would not have been so easily seized by Mu Hansu.
Song Zhaoyu's eyes became even more serious. "Then what do you plan to do?"
Mu Changxi, however, dismissed everyone and then pulled Song Zhaoyu into his arms, his tone ambiguous. "We'll think about tomorrow's matters tomorrow. Ayu, today... I only want to focus on us!"
This man, how could his face change so quickly?
But before Song Zhaoyu could react, she was completely consumed by him!
—
The next morning, Mu Changxi was full of vigor, his eyes seeming brighter.
Song Zhaoyu, however, was lying in bed, feeling the soreness in her waist, not wanting to get up at all!
When Tiaohong brought in hot water, she looked at Song Zhaoyu with a smile. "My dear Princess Consort, the sun is already high in the sky, and you're still sleeping in? Hurry and get up! Someone is waiting to see you outside!"
Song Zhaoyu sighed, then stretched. "Who wants to see me?"
Tiaohong smiled. "Madam Han!"
Song Zhaoyu knew she would come, but she didn't expect her to be so impatient.
The more anxious Madam Han was, the more unhurried Song Zhaoyu became. "There's no rush. I'm hungry too. After I eat, I'll go see Madam Han."
Thus, Madam Han waited for a full half hour before seeing Song Zhaoyu slowly approach from behind.
Madam Han's expression was very displeased. Upon seeing Song Zhaoyu, she immediately questioned her. "What does this Princess Consort mean? Are you trying to sow discord among the ladies of Yuezhou City? I know about the matter of the pearls. We simply couldn't attend your banquet due to some matters, and you resent us for it?"
Even now, she was still angry about this?
Song Zhaoyu understood her thoughts and smiled faintly. "Madam Han, do you think that by helping those ladies today, they will continue to follow you? A nice thought, but I'm afraid there's a more important matter that Madam Han needs to help me and the Prince resolve!"
Song Zhaoyu was not swayed by Madam Han's tactics, and Madam Han realized that somehow, the conversation had shifted to Song Zhaoyu.
She remained silent, but Song Zhaoyu's gaze became sharp. "Yesterday, the Prince told me he would give your Han family a chance. Even if you didn't come to find me today, I would have sought you out."
Song Zhaoyu suddenly patted the table beside her. "Speak! Where did you hide the hundred thousand taels of disaster relief silver?!"
"Wh-what?!"
Madam Han's eyes widened, and she couldn't react for a moment. "What disaster relief silver? What is the Princess Consort talking about?"
"Heh—"
Song Zhaoyu sneered, now holding all the initiative. "Madam Han, are you still playing dumb? The Prince has already found out that the lost hundred thousand taels of disaster relief silver have indeed fallen into Lord Han's hands, into your Han family's hands! Now, the Prince intends to give your Han family a chance. As long as Madam can persuade Lord Han to hand over these hundred thousand taels, the Prince will speak to the Emperor on Lord Han's behalf and spare him the death penalty."
"Wait a moment!"
Madam Han finally seemed to react.
She stepped forward, frowning, and waved her hand at Song Zhaoyu. "Where did this come from? We have never seen that hundred thousand taels of disaster relief silver. How can the Princess Consort say—"
"Enough!"
Song Zhaoyu impatiently interrupted Madam Han. "The matter has reached this point, Madam. Stop pretending in front of me. When we passed through Yuezhou that day, the Prince had Xiao Ruizi deposit a hundred thousand taels of disaster relief silver in the Yuezhou City bank vault for safekeeping. At that time, the Prince's intention was to use the money efficiently and spend it sparingly. Secondly, we couldn't keep all the money in Haizhou. We had to return to Yuezhou and use this money to help other disaster victims."
Lord Han and Madam Han certainly knew about this matter!
Madam Han even remembered that on the day Xiao Ruizi deposited the money in the bank, Lord Han excitedly told her that this silver was definitely being withheld by Prince Chang for his personal use.
At that time, Lord Han told Madam Han that he intended to strike unexpectedly.
By taking all this silver, even if Prince Chang discovered it was missing, he wouldn't dare to make a fuss.
Who would have thought things would turn out like this!
But Madam Han remembered that the silver Lord Han mentioned to her that day was only thirty thousand taels, not a hundred thousand!
Seeing Madam Han's expression change, Song Zhaoyu's smile deepened. "Madam Han, have you recalled something? If you tell me the truth now, there's still time!"
Madam Han frowned, seemingly realizing something. "You deposited this silver in Yuezhou City, and you had already reported it to the Emperor long ago, right?"
"That's right."
Song Zhaoyu nodded, thinking she had finally become a bit smarter.