“What? Borrow silver?”
Su Mingzhi frowned.
His expression changed faster than the weather.
“Yes. If I don’t have any money for the journey, how am I supposed to return to the clan estate?”
“Second Uncle, you wouldn’t claim to be helping me while secretly planning to let me starve to death on the road, would you?”
“If that’s the case, I’d rather return to the Pei Residence.”
“At least there I won’t have to worry about food and shelter.”
As she spoke, Su Qingran moved as if she were about to get off the carriage.
“Hey, hey, hey! Child, why are you so impulsive?”
“I never said I wouldn’t give you any.”
“I’ll lend it to you.”
Afraid that she might actually marry Pei Xingzhou and send that enormous dowry slipping out of his grasp again, Su Mingzhi hurriedly stopped her.
The corners of Su Qingran’s lips curled upward slightly.
“Then how much does Second Uncle plan to lend me?”
How much?
The Marquis Manor itself was nearly broke.
The Pingyang Marquis had doted shamelessly on his granddaughter and hardly cared about the rest of the family.
Most of his wealth had been placed directly into Su Qingran’s dowry.
Very little had been left behind at the manor.
“Ten taels of silver.”
“Consider it travel money from your second uncle.”
“You don’t even need to repay it.”
Su Mingzhi spoke as though he were being incredibly generous.
Ten taels?
The fact that he could say that with a straight face was almost impressive.
Su Qingran sneered inwardly but showed none of it on her face.
She sighed softly.
“In that case, perhaps I shouldn’t return to the clan estate after all.”
“There are simply too many difficulties.”
“Now that I think about it, I should probably marry Pei Xingzhou.”
“At least for Grandfather’s sake, he wouldn’t let me starve.”
As she spoke, she once again prepared to climb down from the carriage.
“Ranran! Ranran!”
“What kind of child changes her mind every other sentence?”
“Going back on your word isn’t what a gentleman does!”
Su Mingzhi barked angrily.
Su Qingran let out a cold laugh.
“I spent my whole life following rules and propriety.”
“And what did that get me?”
“If Second Uncle isn’t willing to help me, then I’ll return to the Pei Residence.”
“From the look of it, Pei Xingzhou still wants to marry me.”
With that, she ignored his calls and continued climbing out.
“One hundred taels!”
“One hundred taels, alright?”
Su Mingzhi finally shouted.
The corners of Su Qingran’s lips curved upward.
She paused.
Then sat back down in the carriage.
“Second Uncle, your kindness toward me is unforgettable.”
“If I ever have the opportunity in the future, I will certainly repay you.”
She spoke with an expression of heartfelt gratitude.
“No need for repayment.”
“You know the current situation of the Marquis Manor.”
“Consider this one hundred taels a loan.”
“When the Pei family returns your dowry, I’ll simply deduct it from there.”
Su Mingzhi smiled.
Su Qingran nodded immediately.
“That sounds reasonable.”
Then she innocently asked:
“When the Pei family returns the dowry, how will you give it back to me?”
“Give it back to you?”
Su Mingzhi blinked.
“What do you mean?”
“My dowry, of course.”
“The one Grandfather left for me.”
Su Qingran frowned.
The old fox suddenly realized something.
When did this girl become so difficult to fool?
“We’ll discuss that after the Pei family returns it.”
He brushed the question aside casually.
“Oh.”
“Then perhaps I should wait until three days from now before leaving.”
“In that case, I don’t need the one hundred taels either.”
“Once I get my dowry back, I’ll have plenty of money.”
“I wasn’t thinking things through earlier.”
She even tapped her forehead in mock embarrassment.
Su Mingzhi: “…”
This little brat.
Was she playing games with him?
He had always thought there was something strange about Su Qingran.
Naturally, he wanted her gone as quickly as possible.
After a moment’s thought, he quickly said:
“You’ll have trouble transporting such a large dowry.”
“How about this?”
“Your second uncle will compensate you with silver and banknotes instead.”
The moment she heard that, Su Qingran’s eyes lit up.
Perfect.
Greed truly was humanity’s greatest weakness.
The old man had swallowed the bait.
“Wonderful!”
“That would be even better!”
She agreed eagerly.
At this point, she wasn’t just planning to take everything her grandfather had left behind.
She was planning to empty Su Mingzhi’s private treasury too.
After all, he had enjoyed the benefits of the Marquis title while treating the original owner—an orphaned young girl—so cruelly.
Besides, he had tried to scheme against her first.
The only difference was that she’d outplayed him.
“After we return, I’ll discuss it with your aunt and give you an answer.”
“But don’t worry.”
“It won’t delay your departure.”
“Do you plan to leave tomorrow morning or in the afternoon?”
Su Mingzhi asked.
Inside, Su Qingran laughed coldly.
She had no desire to stay in the capital anyway.
This place wasn’t suitable for a peaceful retirement.
“As long as Second Uncle provides the money quickly, I can leave sooner.”
She answered shyly.
“Fine.”
“I’ll give it to you tonight.”
As for how much…
That would be entirely up to him.
After all, he knew perfectly well that the dowry left by the Pingyang Marquis represented the fortune of a lifetime.
Just then, the servant who had gone to gather information squeezed through the crowd and returned.
“Master!”
“I found out what happened over there!”
The servant was panting heavily.
“What happened?”
Su Mingzhi asked.
“They say General Xie violated military regulations by returning to the capital without authorization.”
“The court claims he challenged imperial authority.”
“And during his trial, he openly resisted the government.”
“Yesterday he escaped directly from the imperial palace.”
“His whereabouts are currently unknown.”
“The court is hunting him down.”
The servant delivered the news in one breath.
“And?”
Su Mingzhi pressed.
“I also heard that during the pursuit, a man helped General Xie escape.”
“The authorities are now searching for that man as well.”
Su Qingran: “…”
Fortunately, she had already switched back to her original appearance.
Otherwise…
Sure enough.
No good ever came from meddling in other people’s affairs.
She had known rescuing someone would eventually cause trouble.
A cold smile appeared on Su Mingzhi’s face.
Xie Yun secretly returning to the capital?
What a joke.
More likely, the Emperor had secretly summoned him back under official pretenses in order to reclaim the military command token in his possession.
The Great Ming Dynasty had clearly fallen out with Xie Yun completely.
For some reason, a growing sense of unease settled in Su Mingzhi’s heart.
“Let’s return to the manor first.”
Then he remembered that he was still in the capital.
What could possibly happen to him here?
His anxiety eased slightly.
As for Su Qingran…
Since she dared demand silver from him, she shouldn’t blame him for taking advantage of the situation.
Meanwhile, Su Qingran was deep in thought.
According to the original owner’s memories, Xie Yun was practically a god of war in the Great Ming Dynasty.
Among commoners, his reputation often surpassed that of the imperial court itself.
Now, however, he had become a wanted criminal.
Would his supporters remain quiet?
Or would they organize and rebel?
The current government barely controlled the provinces anymore.
That was precisely why Su Qingran wasn’t worried about retaliation from Pei Xingzhou or the Marquis Manor once she left the capital.
Then she thought about the barren frontier regions.
Years of drought.
Starving populations.
Hostile tribes eyeing the Central Plains.
Adding everything together, Su Qingran came to a simple conclusion:
The capital was absolutely going to descend into chaos.