Bamboo Garden
The current Crown Prince of the Great Yong Dynasty, Song Jingmu, was the Empress’s legitimate son. By all rights, his position should have been secure.
Unfortunately, the Empress had died of illness last year.
Her family, the Marquis of Hejian’s household, had not produced any outstanding talents in recent years.
They had only managed to maintain their former glory because of the Empress’s influence.
After her death, the Marquis’s family quickly began to decline.
In other words, the Crown Prince received almost no support from his mother’s family.
On the other hand, the Second Prince, Song Jingxiu, was the son of Noble Consort Cui, who currently held the greatest influence in the imperial harem.
Since the Empress’s seat was still vacant, Noble Consort Cui was the highest-ranking woman in the palace.
She now managed all the affairs of the imperial harem.
Noble Consort Cui was no ordinary woman.
She came from the powerful Cui family of Jiangnan.
The Cui family had produced many scholars, and many of its members held important positions in the Six Ministries.
Most importantly…
The Cui family was rich.
Compared to the Crown Prince, who had no support from his mother’s family, facing the aggressive mother and son…
It was no exaggeration to say that his position as Crown Prince was in great danger.
These fifty thousand taels in banknotes would serve as the Duke’s Mansion’s pledge of loyalty.
“Huan’er, once we give away this money, we’ll be tied to the Crown Prince.”
For generations, the Duke’s Mansion had never joined political factions or supported any prince.
They had only been loyal to the Emperor.
This was a rule set by the first Duke of Yong, who had helped the founding emperor establish the Great Yong Dynasty.
“Father, when the lives of hundreds of people in this family are at stake, are those rules still so important?”
Lin Suisui asked calmly.
“Fourth Girl is right. Every plan depends on us staying alive first.”
Although the Old Madam was elderly, her mind was still sharp.
Lin Suisui admired her grandmother’s clear judgment.
The Duke’s Mansion had served the country loyally for generations.
Yet in the end, they had been destroyed and their entire family executed.
If that was the reward for loyalty…
Then what was wrong with choosing not to be loyal to this Emperor?
“Father, don’t worry. In the end, the Crown Prince will still inherit the throne.”
Seeing that her father was still struggling with the decision, Lin Suisui decided to reassure him.
Only then did Lin Zhengbei’s expression visibly improve.
“Second Uncle, when you meet Ye Cheng, don’t hide anything. Be direct. Tell him this is the Duke’s Mansion’s sincere pledge of loyalty to the Crown Prince.”
“I can do that.”
Lin Zhengnan almost patted his chest in confidence.
He and Ye Cheng had been friends for years.
Although Ye Cheng had never told him that he had joined the Crown Prince’s faction, Lin Zhengnan understood.
After all, it was a highly confidential matter.
“The Crown Prince will definitely be happy to have the Duke’s Mansion on his side.”
Lin Zhengnan said excitedly.
“That’s right. Even if it’s only to strengthen his own position, he’ll do everything he can to protect the Duke’s Mansion.”
Lin Suisui’s words carried a deeper meaning.
“What about me? What should I do next?”
Perhaps because the pressure in his heart had eased a little, Lin Zhengchen sounded much more relaxed.
“Third Uncle, before the eighth day of the first lunar month, take Father’s handwritten letter and collect all the cash from every estate and shop owned by our family. Also gather all the valuable items from the mansion.”
Lin Suisui looked at him.
“Father can’t handle this personally. Second Uncle cares too much about appearances and is easily fooled. You’re the best person for the job.”
Lin Zhengnan was speechless.
His own niece really wasn’t giving him any face.
Still…
She wasn’t wrong.
He really was soft-hearted.
“There’s still a high chance that the mansion will be confiscated.”
Lin Suisui’s voice became serious.
“In my previous life, about eighty percent of our property was seized by the imperial treasury. The remaining twenty percent ended up in Eldest Sister’s hands. The Emperor secretly rewarded her for putting justice above family.”
The Duke’s Mansion had existed for hundreds of years.
Its wealth was enormous.
Even just twenty percent was enough for Lin Xiner and her descendants to live comfortably for generations.
“Tonight, clear out the private treasury.”
The Old Madam was furious.
She wanted to slam the table.
Unfortunately, she was sitting on a small stool, and there was no table nearby.
So she slapped her own knee hard instead.
“Even if we have to give everything away to beggars, we must not let that ungrateful girl have it!”
“Grandmother, once Third Uncle gathers everything, we must store it somewhere safe.”
Lin Suisui knew this wasn’t something she needed to worry about.
The Duke’s Mansion had survived for centuries.
They understood the saying, ‘A clever rabbit has three burrows.’
There were surely many secret hiding places that outsiders knew nothing about.
“I’ll take care of that.”
Lin Zhengbei agreed immediately.
“This wealth is the foundation of our family’s future. We can’t afford even the slightest mistake.”
“The most important thing is this…”
Lin Suisui reminded them once again.
“Whatever you do over the next few days, don’t let Mother know.”
“You may have underestimated how much she loves Eldest Sister.”
“Over the past few years, Eldest Sister has used the excuse that she was having a hard time in her husband’s family to trick Mother into giving away most of her dowry.”
The four of them stared at her in shock again.
Wang Qingwan came from a prestigious family herself.
Her dowry had been extremely generous.
If she had really given most of it to Lin Xiner, it would have been an enormous fortune.
“Has Wang gone mad?”
Lin Zhengnan blurted out.
“Yan’er isn’t even married yet. Yue’er is about to marry. And there’s Ting’er too…”
The Ting’er he mentioned was Lin Zhengbei’s youngest son, who was still studying at Qingshan Academy.
“There’s no point talking about that now.”
The Old Madam took a deep breath.
“The important thing is that all of you follow Huan’er’s plan.”
“If we survive this disaster, Fourth Girl will deserve the greatest credit.”
She looked at Lin Suisui.
“The Duke’s Mansion has failed you.”
“You suffered all these years because of us.”
“And yet, you’re still willing to save us.”
“Grandmother thanks you.”
“You were all deceived.”
After living a second life, Lin Suisui had finally understood everything.
The only person in the entire mansion who truly disliked her and wanted her to fend for herself was her legal mother.
Everyone else still considered her part of the family.
“In my previous life, I didn’t realize you all cared about me until the day our family was confiscated.”
She remembered that afternoon on the sixteenth day of the first lunar month.
The Imperial Guards rushed through the mansion.
Everyone—masters and servants alike—was driven to the training ground.
The Duke’s Mansion was a military family’s.
The training ground was where the children practiced horseback riding, archery, and martial arts.
Because Lin Suisui lived in such a remote place, she arrived much later than everyone else.
By the time she reached the training ground, everyone had already gathered.
So when she and Qing’er arrived, everyone saw them.
The man leading the raid was Shi Yue, the commander of the Imperial Guards.
Holding the household register, he called everyone’s name one by one.
After checking all the members of the family, he began counting the servants.
There were a total of two hundred and eighteen servants in the Duke’s Mansion.
After everyone had been accounted for, only Lin Suisui and Qing’er remained standing alone.
Shi Yue checked the register again.
The two girls were not listed anywhere.
At that moment, Nanny Qian, who served the Old Madam, stepped forward.
“My lord,” she said respectfully, “these two girls are my nieces from my mother’s family. They came a few days ago to visit me. The Old Madam took pity on them and kindly allowed them to stay in the mansion for a few days.”