Inside Prince Yu's Estate.
"Bang—"
Another porcelain vase from the previous dynasty shattered on the ground.
Fu Nanli's chest heaved violently, his eyes bloodshot as he glared at the woman kneeling on the ground, trembling with fear.
"Xue Manman!"
His eyes looked as if they were bleeding, and he squeezed these three words out from between his teeth.
"Is this the leverage you gave this king? Is this the ironclad evidence you claimed would bring the Dingguo Mansion to ruin?"
Xue Manman knelt beside the porcelain shards, looking miserable, crying like pear blossoms in the rain, her entire body trembling.
"Your Highness... I don't know... I truly didn't know it would turn out like this..."
"I saw that note hidden in the secret compartment of the study, and it even had the Duke Dingguo's personal seal on it. How was I to know it was fake..."
Xue Manman sobbed uncontrollably, and as Fu Nanli listened to her crying, he only felt irritable.
He swiped away the hand she reached out to grab his sleeve.
"You don't know? You say you don't know, and you let this king lose all face in the Golden Palace Hall, in front of all the civil and military officials!"
"You have made this king the biggest joke in the entire world!"
His roar was no different from a vulgar merchant.
Now, every time I close my eyes, my brain is filled with the image of Xue Tingxue standing in the center of the great hall, bowing gracefully to me and saying, "Thank you, Your Highness"—it was as ridiculous as it could possibly be.
How are you and I supposed to conduct ourselves!
Xue Manman shivered at his roar and cried even harder.
"Your Highness, I was wrong... punish me... it is all my fault..."
If this were before, Fu Nanli would have already pulled her into his arms.
But today, looking at her tear-streaked face, he felt nothing but annoyance.
What remained in his mind, unable to be cast away, was still the face of Xue Tingxue.
Her smile, her tears, her every move.
Now, they were like a nightmare.
"Enough!"
Fu Nanli shouted sternly.
Xue Manman's crying stopped abruptly, and she looked at the completely changed Fu Nanli in shock.
Fu Nanli roared, contrary to his usual demeanor:
"Get out."
His voice sounded as if it had been quenched in ice.
..
Inside the Dingguo Mansion, however, it was a different scene.
Rewards from the Palace were carried in like a flowing stream; gold, silver, silk, satin, jewelry, and jade filled the entire courtyard.
Xue Tingxue was dressed in a casual lotus-root-colored dress, holding the Imperial Decree that rewarded her with ten thousand gold bars, her face calm and without a ripple of emotion.
Bi Tao stood to the side, beaming with joy.
"Miss, you are truly amazing! Now let's see who still dares to gossip about our Dingguo Mansion, and who still dares to look down on us!"
Xue Tingxue handed the Imperial Decree to her, walked over to the neatly stacked boxes of gold ingots, and casually picked one up to weigh it.
"Liu Fu."
Liu Fu, who had been waiting nearby, immediately stepped forward.
"This humble one is here."
Xue Tingxue tossed the gold ingot back into the box, which made a dull thud.
"Go handle these two matters immediately."
Liu Fu bowed to receive his orders.
"First, take five thousand taels and go to the most prosperous area of the Capital City to buy shops. The location must be good; any size will do, just buy as many as you can."
Liu Fu was stunned for a moment, then nodded heavily.
"This humble one understands!"
The Eldest Miss was going to set up her own businesses!
"Second," Xue Tingxue's voice paused, "double the manpower, take the portraits of Uncle He's relatives, and continue searching for the true descendants of the He Family near their ancestral home."
"I want to see them alive, or see their bodies if they are dead. You must find them."
Liu Fu felt a chill in his heart and solemnly agreed.
"Even if this humble one has to dig three feet into the ground, I will definitely find them for you!"
Xue Tingxue nodded and waved for him to withdraw.
Bi Tao looked at the boxes of gold, then at her own Miss, and couldn't help but ask.
"Miss, why are you buying so many shops?"
Xue Tingxue walked to the stone table in the courtyard, sat down, picked up a teacup, and blew away the foam.
Her eyes were filled with irrepressible happiness.
In this world, men will betray, power will shift, and only the silver held in one's own hands is the most reliable.
Just as she was thinking this, a report came from outside the mansion gate.
"Eldest Miss, the carriage of Prince Ning'an's Estate has stopped at the gate, and His Highness Prince Ning'an... has come to visit in person!"
The teapot in Bi Tao's hand almost slipped.
"Prince Ning'an? Why is he here?"
Who in the entire Capital City didn't know that Prince Ning'an had inconvenient legs and feet, lived in seclusion, and was rarely seen?
Xue Tingxue was not surprised; she put down her teacup, stood up, and smoothed her sleeves.
"Let's go, let's go welcome him."
The main hall of the Dingguo Mansion.
Fu Tingyuan sat in his wheelchair, wearing a black brocade robe with dark patterns today, which made his skin look even colder and paler.
The follower beside him held a rosewood box.
Duke Dingguo was personally keeping him company, and the two seemed to have just finished talking about something, the atmosphere quite harmonious.
Xue Tingxue walked in and curtsied to the two of them.
"Greetings, Father; greetings, Your Highness Prince Ning'an."
Fu Tingyuan raised his eyes to look at her, his gaze lingering on her face for a moment.
"Miss Xue, there is no need for such formalities."
He signaled to the follower beside him, and the follower immediately opened the box in his hand.
A chrysanthemum, pitch-black all over with layered petals as if carved from black jade, lay quietly on the brocade.
"This is..."
Duke Dingguo saw the flower clearly, and a flash of amazement crossed his eyes.
"A black chrysanthemum?"
"I have long heard that Duke Dingguo loves chrysanthemums," Fu Tingyuan's voice was unhurried, "this king happened to come across this one, so I am borrowing these flowers to offer as a gift."
The words were polite, but his eyes remained fixed on Xue Tingxue.
Xue Tingxue naturally understood who the flower was for.
"Thank you for your kindness, Your Highness; my father will certainly take good care of it."
She replied neither humbly nor arrogantly.
Duke Dingguo found an excuse to leave first, leaving the space to the two young people.
Only the two of them remained in the hall, and the atmosphere became quiet for a moment.
Fu Tingyuan looked at Xue Tingxue, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly, and said with a hint of pleasure:
"Miss Xue's 'luring the enemy into the trap' was very clever."
Xue Tingxue refilled his tea.
"Your Highness is too kind. It was only by borrowing the momentum of the gift you sent that I was able to finish the play; thank you for your assistance, Your Highness." As she spoke, she bowed again.
"You are being too formal."
"Weren't you afraid that if the game went wrong, you would have implicated yourself as well?"
"I was afraid." Xue Tingxue answered frankly, "But I was even more afraid of the traitors remaining at large, and afraid that my entire loyal Dingguo Mansion would end up with a charge of treason."
Fu Tingyuan admired her boldness; he looked at her with a smile, his tone full of inquiry:
"This king is very curious, how did you know that there was a problem with the military equipment in the Armament Department?"
Xue Tingxue smiled and answered evasively, not giving a direct reply.
"Your Highness only needs to know that we have a common enemy; that is enough. This daughter has a plan for what comes next."
After saying this, she raised her head confidently, looking at him with an expression of complete assurance.
Fu Tingyuan gave her an inscrutable look, smiled with a complex expression—containing admiration, affection, and indulgence—and then smiled without pressing further.
He turned his wheelchair, preparing to leave.
When he reached the door, he seemed to suddenly remember something, stopped, and turned back to look at her.
"Miss Xue, do you still remember the jade pendant mentioned in the palace that day?"
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