Early the next morning, outside the gates of the Regent’s Estate.
Although an urgent border report had arrived last night and Lu Ci had already requested the imperial decree to lead the army, mobilizing rations and assembling hundreds of thousands of troops was no child’s play. The army was set to set off tomorrow at dawn.
And today was the day Su Tang was supposed to return to her maiden home.
Logically speaking, with a national crisis at hand, skipping this home visit would have been perfectly acceptable. Yet Su Tang woke up bright and early, insisting on making the trip no matter what.
Inside the carriage, Su Tang cradled an empty jewelry box, her eyes shining brightly.
Return home? Return my foot! I’m going back to restock my inventory!
I made Minister Su spit blood from rage last night, so the Su family must be in utter chaos right now. While he’s down, I’ll take his life—I need to hurry back and claim the ten-mile dowry my birth mother left behind! That’s my personal fortune. With that money, I’ll be able to stay in a luxury tent and eat top-tier hotpot at the border!
Lu Ci, who was resting with his eyes closed, felt his eyelids twitch slightly.
Restock her inventory?
A luxury tent?
This woman’s head was filled with nothing but food and money. Far from feeling a shred of worry about his impending departure for the battlefield, she was actually… eager to try it out?
“Consort.” Lu Ci opened his eyes, his gaze deep and inscrutable. “This Regent departs for war tomorrow. Is your insistence on returning to the Su Manor today to… pray for blessings?”
Su Tang instantly put on a solemn expression filled with concern for the country and the people, letting out a sigh. “Indeed, Your Highness. Father was overwhelmed by blood-rushing rage last night. As his daughter, I truly cannot rest easy and wish to go back to see him one last time… oh wait, no, to see how Father is doing.”
To see if he’s dead yet! If he isn’t, I’ll go give him two more stabs!
And while I’m at it, I’ll check on that cheap excuse for a younger sister, Su Hua. Yesterday she was exposed as an illegitimate child; I wonder if she’ll hang herself today out of shame and anger? Ah, just thinking about going to ‘ransack’ the Su family makes my hands shake with excitement!
Lu Ci: “…”
Looking at Su Tang’s dainty hands, which were trembling slightly from “excitement,” the corners of his mouth curled into a playful arc.
“Since you are fulfilling your filial duties, This Regent shall accompany you on this trip.”
It just so happened that he also wanted to see what kind of waves the Su family could still kick up after last night’s fiasco.
At the Prime Minister’s Manor, white lanterns had been hung today (even though no one had died yet, the atmosphere was worse than a funeral).
The servants at the entrance all hung their heads in dejection. Upon seeing the Regent’s Estate carriage, they were so frightened they nearly dropped to their knees.
“Y-Your Highness! The Regent’s Consort has arrived—”
Su Tang leaned on Lu Ci’s hand as she stepped down from the carriage. Looking up at the teetering “Su Manor” plaque, she tsked twice.
Judging by this feng shui, a green hat is hovering right over their heads—a sign of great calamity.
The moment the two stepped into the main hall, a pungent smell of medicinal herbs rushed straight toward their faces.
In the center of the hall, the stepmother, Lady Liu, was dressed in plain white mourning clothes. Her hair was disheveled and her eyes were red and swollen as she knelt on the floor burning joss paper (praying for the still-living Minister Su?). Su Hua knelt beside her, dressed in snow-white robes, weeping so pitifully she resembled a pear blossom in the rain—a complete picture of a delicate white lotus swaying in the wind.
Seeing Lu Ci and Su Tang enter, the mother and daughter exchanged a glance, instantly activating their Oscar-worthy movie star mode.
“Tang’er! My daughter!”
Lady Liu crawled over on all fours, but before she could get within three paces of Lu Ci, she was blocked by a dark guard. Unfazed, she took the opportunity to collapse onto the floor, slapping her thighs as she wailed, “You’ve finally returned! Your father… your father is about to pass away! He keeps calling out your name, saying he regrets treating you poorly in the past!”
Su Hua also crawled forward on her knees two steps, lifting her face to reveal a pitiful, heartbroken expression. “Sister! It was all my fault and Mother’s fault! Father is innocent! I beg Sister to take our father-daughter bond into account and ask the Lord Regent to plead for mercy with His Majesty—don’t strip the Su family of its noble title!”
Last night’s affair had caused such a massive uproar that although the Emperor had not yet issued an official decree, Minister Su could not escape the charges of “confusing the royal bloodline (referring to the Crown Prince’s side consort selection)” and “deceiving the monarch.” Being stripped of his post and investigated was only a matter of time.
Su Tang stood in place, looking down at the mother-daughter pair from above. She pulled a handful of melon seeds from her sleeve and cracked one open.
Tsk tsk tsk, this acting is way too exaggerated.
Crying until her voice is hoarse, yet there are hardly any tears. Lady Liu must have raw ginger hidden in her sleeve, right? I saw her secretly wiping her eyes just now.
And Su Hua—who are you wearing white mourning clothes for? Your biological father, Squire Wang, isn’t dead yet, and Minister Su isn’t dead either. Are you in such a hurry to play the filial daughter?
Hearing the words “raw ginger,” Lu Ci’s gaze swept over Lady Liu’s cuff, where he indeed spotted a faint trace of yellow stain.
Holding back a smile, he played along with a cold expression, remaining completely silent.
Seeing that Su Tang wasn’t taking the bait, Lady Liu grew flustered. Gritting her teeth, she decided to deploy her ultimate trump card—moral blackmail.
“Tang’er!” Lady Liu suddenly pulled a jade pendant from her bosom and held it above her head. “This is a relic left behind by your birth mother! Before she passed away, she handed this pendant to me and asked me to take good care of you. Over the years, though I was a bit strict, it was all for your own good! Now that the Su family has fallen into disaster, if you stand by and watch us perish, your mother’s spirit in heaven will never rest in peace!”
Su Tang looked at the jade pendant, her eyes turning cold.
That was one of the original host’s mother’s dowry items—a piece of top-grade mutton-fat jade.
Holy cow, using a dead person to pressure me?
For my own good? Ordering the servants to feed me leftovers was for my own good? Making me wash clothes in the dead of winter was for my own good? Selling me off to the Lord Regent as cannon fodder was for my own good?
This old witch’s skin is thicker than a city wall’s corner!
Su Tang took a deep breath, an expression of sudden moved emotion appearing on her face. “Mother is right. My birth mother’s spirit in heaven is indeed watching.”
She stepped forward, snatched the jade pendant away in one swift motion, and delivered a backhanded slap.
Slap!
The crisp sound of the slap echoed through the silent hall.
Lady Liu was stunned by the hit, clutching her face. “You… you dare hit me?”
“This slap is delivered on behalf of my birth mother’s spirit in heaven,” Su Tang said with a gentle smile. “Mother came to me in a dream and said your acting was so fake it disgusted her.”
“You—” Lady Liu trembled all over with rage.
“Also,” Su Tang withdrew her smile and held out a hand, “hand over my mother’s dowry ledger from back then.”
Lady Liu’s eyes flickered, and she turned her head away guiltily. “What dowry? After all these years, it’s long… long been used to supplement household expenses! With the Su family’s massive expenses, did you think the money fell from the sky?”
Supplement household expenses?
Su Tang sneered internally: System, serve up the gossip!
System: Ding! Gossip report! Lady Liu is lying! The original host’s mother was the daughter of the wealthiest merchant in Jiangnan, and her dowry amounted to a whopping one hundred thousand taels of silver plus thirty shops! Over the years, the Su family’s expenses didn’t touch a single coin of that money—Lady Liu transferred it all!
Here comes the main point: Seeing Minister Su fall from power, Lady Liu has already plotted with her paramour, Squire Wang, to pack up this massive sum and flee tonight! They’ve even purchased boat tickets at the South City Dock!
Su Tang’s eyes lit up.
Abscond with the money? In your dreams!
Whatever you ate of mine, spit it back out; whatever you took from me, return it!
“Since Mother says it was used to supplement household expenses,” Su Tang said unhurriedly, “then why did I hear that you booked a large ship at the South City Dock? And even stored twenty whole large chests at Squire Wang’s house?”
Boom!
Those words struck like a bolt out of the blue, instantly scaring Lady Liu out of her wits.
She snapped her head up, staring fixedly at Su Tang, her face turning as pale as paper. “You… how do you know?!”
This was a top-secret plan she and Squire Wang had only agreed upon last night—she hadn’t even told Su Hua! How could this dead girl know about it?!
Su Hua was equally stunned and whirled around to look at Lady Liu. “Mother? What large ship? What Squire Wang? You’re leaving? Then what about me?!”
“I…” Lady Liu panicked, speaking incoherently. “No… Hua’er, listen to me explain…”
“Tsk tsk tsk.” Su Tang shook her head and looked up at Lu Ci, who had been standing beside her watching the show. “Your Highness, look at what a mess this is. A stepmother trying to run off with her paramour and the family funds, leaving her biological daughter behind to take the blame—does this count as… abandoning her husband and daughter?”
Looking at the drama unfolding before him, Lu Ci could no longer hide the smile at the corners of his lips.
He stepped forward, extending a long arm to wrap around Su Tang’s waist. “Since these are Mother-in-law’s ‘private funds,’ This Regent must naturally help the Consort demand them back.”
“An Yi!”
“Subordinate is here!”
“Take our men to Squire Wang’s house and move those twenty chests back to the Regent’s Estate. While you’re at it… invite Squire Wang over to the Su Manor so their family of three can be reunited.”
“Understood!”
Upon hearing those words, Lady Liu’s eyes rolled back, and she fainted dead away.
Su Hua collapsed onto the floor in a heap, staring up at the ceiling in despair. It was over—completely over.
Su Tang leaned blissfully against Lu Ci’s chest, the little abacus in her heart clinking away merrily.
Yey! One hundred thousand taels acquired! Plus thirty shops! I can be considered a little rich woman of the capital now!
Although Lu Ci’s physical function is lacking, his efficiency in getting things done is remarkably high! Seeing how hard he worked, I’ve decided… once we reach the border, I’ll cook him a nice meal!
Lu Ci looked down at the woman in his arms who was smiling like a cat that had caught a canary, shaking his head helplessly.
Physical function is lacking?
Fine.
He would settle this score with her slowly once they reached the border and there was no one else in the tent.
“Let’s go,” Lu Ci said, embracing her as they walked outward. “Let’s go pay a visit to your father who is ‘about to pass away.'”
Su Tang instantly perked up: Yes, yes, yes! We still need to go infuriate that old creature! It’d be best if I could infuriate him right into recovery (or death)!
The two had just reached the backyard and hadn’t even entered Minister Su’s bedroom when they heard the sound of smashing objects from inside.
“Get out! All of you, get out! Where is that slut? Where is that slut Lady Liu?!”
Although Minister Su was paralyzed in bed, his voice was still quite full of energy when cursing people.
Su Tang raised an eyebrow, pushed the door open, and stepped inside, speaking with a beaming smile: “Father, are you looking for Mother? Mother is currently busy discussing the escape route with Uncle Wang, so she probably doesn’t have time to see you.”
“Pfft—”
Hearing those words, Minister Su’s eyes bulged on the bed, a gurgling sound coming from his throat before he fainted from rage once again.
System: Congratulations to the host! Achieved the accomplishment ‘Furious to Death with No Liability’! Reward: One ‘Master Archer’ Skill Card (Limited-Time Trial Version).
Su Tang’s eyes lit up: Master Archer? This is great! It’ll come in handy on the battlefield!
Looking at the passed-out Minister Su on the bed, and then at the thrilled Su Tang beside him, Lu Ci silently lit a candle in his heart for the barbarian army.
Of all the people they could provoke, they just had to provoke this gossip-loving consort.
Those barbarians were probably in for some serious bad luck.