Sensing the chill in his voice, Qing Wu clicked her tongue. The feigned charm and gentleness on her face dissolved into languid abandon. She deliberately pinched Xiao Chenyan's chin, her eyes openly aggressive.
"I do have something in my hand, you see. This is my dowry, after all. If Your Highness wants it, you'll have to pay a price, won't you?"
"Besides, tomorrow is the return visit. I have to bring a return gift when I visit my maternal family. You'll have to help me save face, Your Highness."
Xiao Chenyan looked at her meaningfully.
Dowry?
This dowry seemed to be something he had given her, but he truly wanted to see what she intended to exchange for this 'dowry' from him.
Whether human or ghost, everyone has their own agenda.
Yun Qingwu, what is your agenda?
"You speak."
"Then~" Qing Wu's eyes rolled: "Give me a few mountains of gold and silver, ten mansions, twenty maids and servants, hmm~ and twenty horses."
Lu Qiao and Hong Rui came over with hot water. Hearing this outside the curtain, the two girls' eyes widened. They then heard Qing Wu escalate:
"My request isn't excessive, is it? If you can't even fulfill such a small request, Your Highness is too stingy."
Lu Qiao, being impatient, wanted to rush in but was stopped by Hong Rui.
Lu Qiao stomped her feet and whispered, "She's going too far! Is that a small request? Even if we stripped our Prince's Mansion bare, we couldn't gather that much money."
These years, the Prince had often resided in the Northern Territory. The court was also stingy with military provisions for the North. The Prince himself was frugal and thrifty; any wealth he had was invested in the military.
Qing Wu and Xiao Chenyan, both sharp-eared and sharp-eyed, naturally heard the soft murmurs of the maids outside.
A hint of a smile flashed in Qing Wu's eyes.
Although Xiao Chenyan was not angered, he felt she was toying with him again.
Ghosts seemed to particularly enjoy toying with people.
"I thought Princess Consort's relationship with your father was not harmonious. I didn't expect you to be so good at supporting your maternal family."
"Alas, who told me to be filial~"
Qing Wu sighed, then changed the subject: "My father, with his white hair sending off his black-haired child, is truly pitiful."
"As his daughter, of course, I must help him arrange my younger sister's funeral grandly. Mountains of gold and silver, fine horses and carriages, none of it is too much. At least she'll have some spare money when she goes down there."
Xiao Chenyan was slightly stunned, and the look in his eyes suddenly changed.
Outside the curtain, the two maids also widened their eyes. Had they misunderstood?
The mountains of gold and silver she mentioned referred to...
"Does Princess Consort want this King... to send you a pile of paper effigies as a return gift?"
"That's right~" Qing Wu winked at him mischievously.
Looking at her cunning appearance, for a moment, Xiao Chenyan saw the shadow of that little girl from years ago on her face.
His heart suddenly tightened. Xiao Chenyan released his hand, took a step back, and a sliver of his buried ferocity leaked out before being suppressed again.
That little bean had already died. Even if there were similarities, it was just a coincidence.
The Yun Qingwu before him, whether human or ghost, could not possibly be her.
The 'agenda' of the other party was completely different from what he had guessed.
She was truly aiming to either scare Yun Houxing to death or anger him to death.
"Just these, won't it be a bit shabby and tarnish Princess Consort's reputation?" Xiao Chenyan said calmly.
Qing Wu smirked and pressed her advantage: "It sounds like I'm at a disadvantage. How about... for the rest... Your Highness... a physical repayment?"
The malevolent energy on him was originally a tonic for her.
Xiao Chenyan frowned, turned, and left: "Princess Consort, please help yourself."
Qing Wu clicked her tongue. Men, wanting something but unwilling to pay.
"Xiao Chenyan."
Qing Wu took out the hidden box and strode after him. Seeing the man stop and turn back, his profile perfectly sculpted, with the bearing of a dragon and the grace of a phoenix, like dark clouds pressing down on snow, dignified and imposing.
"Here."
She tossed the box over. The man caught it steadily with one hand. A hint of surprise appeared in Xiao Chenyan's eyes.
Qing Wu stood with her hands behind her back, her seductive aura diminished, like an iris blooming mysteriously in the night, both enigmatic and lively.
"I'll give you the 'dowry' first. You'd better put on a good show for me tomorrow."
"Oh, right."
Her voice softened slightly, losing its usual playfulness.
"When you feel cold, come find me."
Xiao Chenyan looked at her deeply. He didn't answer whether it was good or bad, only said "Thank you" and turned to leave with large strides.
A young girl's whisper came from the side: "P-Princess Consort..."
Lu Qiao was a bit embarrassed: "I'm sorry, I misunderstood Princess Consort."
Hong Rui also bowed slightly.
Qing Wu looked at the two of them, thought of something, and went straight into the room.
The two girls exchanged glances, a little bewildered, their expressions slightly anxious.
A moment later, Qing Wu came out and handed the two three red talismans folded into triangles. "A meeting gift. Keep them on your person to ward off ghosts and evil spirits."
The two girls looked at each other, feeling the red talismans were a bit hot to handle.
They were not ordinary maids; they were also members of the secret guards. They naturally knew the 'strangeness' of Qing Wu's identity. Xiao Chenyan sent them to serve her with the intention of both monitoring and probing her true capabilities.
As for warding off ghosts...
Wasn't the person before them... truly not a ghost?
Hong Rui, being meticulous, asked: "Princess Consort, who is the extra red talisman for?"
"For that little brat who kept saying I was a ghost and told you to be careful not to have your Yang energy drained by me."
Lu Qiao and Hong Rui: Hiss—How did Princess Consort know about this!
In the distance, Bai Sui sneezed loudly. He pinched his nose and muttered to himself: Who's cursing me?
The next day.
Qing Wu was all packed and ready for her return visit. She had woken up so early that she was yawning all the way.
The carriage was waiting outside the Prince's Mansion, with over a dozen personal guards and Black Armored Guards on horseback following behind, creating a rather grim and murderous atmosphere.
Yet, behind them were several large carts filled with paper effigies of mountains of gold and silver, fine horses and carriages, and young boys and girls.
Qing Wu sighed with emotion: "It's still a bit lacking. We should have called a suona player too."
Lu Qiao chuckled: "Princess Consort is truly filial."
"Of course~" Qing Wu raised an eyebrow: "After all, we're father and daughter, so I should be filial to death."
The others around: Marquis Zhenguo will truly be filial to death.
Qing Wu noticed that the attitude of the people in the Prince's Mansion towards her today was clearly different from before.
She guessed it was because of the account books she had given out last night.
Lu Qiao helped her into the carriage. Bai Sui tugged Hong Rui's arm from the side and pouted: "What's wrong with you two? Have you been possessed by a ghost too?"
Hong Rui rolled her eyes at him and stuffed a red talisman into his hand.
"What is this?"
"Princess Consort gave it to me. She said it's to ward off ghosts and evil spirits."
Bai Sui's face turned pale, and he immediately wanted to throw it away.
The carriage curtain was lifted, and Qing Wu poked her head out, smiling eerily: "Keep it safe, or beware of ghosts knocking on your door at night to suck your Yang energy."
Bai Sui froze, not daring to move.
After scaring the child, Qing Wu was in a great mood and laughed heartily.
A man's deep voice sounded beside her: "Is tormenting people your nature?"
Qing Wu turned her head, meeting those calm, phoenix-like eyes.
It wasn't unexpected that Xiao Chenyan would accompany her on the return visit today. After all, it was a legitimate excuse to go watch the excitement; who would miss it.
However, his complexion was much worse than yesterday. He was wearing that Fire Fox Cloak again, suggesting he had a difficult night.
Qing Wu pouted. He really brought trouble upon himself. Yesterday, she had offered him a way out, but he didn't take it.
"Seeing others unhappy makes me happy." Qing Wu naturally moved closer to him. "Is Your Highness cold? Why didn't you come to me last night?"
The carriage had already started moving.
Xiao Chenyan looked at her for a long time, as if calculating something.
"Have you looked at the account books?" He didn't ask how Qing Wu obtained them. Both the one person and the one ghost were intelligent.
Some things were clear in their hearts and didn't need to be spoken aloud.
Qing Wu hummed, "Is this dowry substantial enough?"
"Indeed, it is substantial." Xiao Chenyan pondered for a moment: "Besides the account books, is there anything else in the box?"
"No."
Xiao Chenyan frowned slightly, though not exactly disappointed.
Yun Houxing had deliberately delayed military orders and food supplies back then, and afterward, he had stepped forward to frame Marquis Zhenguo for treason.
The intention was to find evidence of his crimes. After so many years, the evidence was likely long destroyed.
Even so, these account books in hand were enough to bring Yun Houxing to justice.
However, out of caution, he still needed to investigate that secret room himself.
While contemplating, Qing Wu suddenly hugged his arm. Xiao Chenyan was pulled down slightly by her. The clear, cold fragrance of the woman entered his nostrils.
Her furtive, loud plotting and excited demeanor made Xiao Chenyan's nerves twitch again, giving him that familiar feeling.
Memories from his youth flashed in his mind. That little girl, whenever she had a mischievous idea, would always grab him like this:
Brother Yantai, come here, come here, let me tell you...
"Xiao Chenyan, come here, come here, let me tell you..."
Xiao Chenyan came back to his senses, suppressed the turmoil in his heart, and his tone became inexplicably hoarse: "You speak."
"I need a place, safe, hidden, preferably large, to store things."
"Store what?" Xiao Chenyan instinctively felt she was up to something again.
Qing Wu said gleefully: "My dowry, of course~"
She intended to take all the hundreds of thousands of taels from Yun Houxing's secret room! All of it!
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