Chapter 53: Returning to the Residence

In the past, although Xiao Zheng would occasionally lose his temper with him, he would always carefully explain the reason for his anger and tell him what he ought to do. But this time, not only did Xiao Zheng say nothing at all, he even found it thoroughly annoying to exchange more than a few words with him.

Judging purely from his attitude just now, Xiao Minghe could easily perceive how fiercely cold Xiao Zheng's heart was; indeed, from that very demeanor, Xiao Minghe could tell that Xiao Zheng was extremely angry.

He had not expected that a mere storybook could provoke such a violent rage in Xiao Zheng. At the same time, he inwardly reproached himself for failing to conceal the book properly, which was how Xiao Zheng had managed to discover it.

Yet it was not as though he habitually read such materials day after day. It was simply that exceptional circumstances called for such measures, driving him to look into such things.

Under normal circumstances, he would naturally never have touched them. Yet, at a loss for how to explain himself to Xiao Zheng and gripped by intense panic, he hurried posthaste to the Fengqi Palace, intending to consult the Empress for a countermeasure.

With such a spineless disposition, had Wen Qiao not aided him in their past life, he likely would never have been able to ascend the Dragon Throne.

Regrettably, though timid and cowardly, his mind was utterly ruthless.

Wen Qiao remained entirely oblivious to the events unfolding in the Eastern Palace, her thoughts consumed solely by the current affairs of the Marquis's Mansion.

Logically speaking, by this point in her previous life, the Marquis's Mansion should already have engaged in certain dealings with the Crown Prince. Why was there still no whisper of such news in this lifetime?

She knew that her rebirth had inevitably exerted some influence over the course of events, but theoretically, a matter of this magnitude should not have undergone such drastic variance.

After all, the intentions of the Crown Prince and Wen Chongqing were hardly something she could manipulate; why, then, was there still no movement whatsoever? Could it be because she had been away from the mansion for these past days and thus remained ignorant of its exact conditions?

Failing to arrive at any conclusion, Wen Qiao simply set the matter aside for the time being. In any case, she would be returning in a few days, and she could observe the situation then.

What Wen Qiao did not know was that while the Crown Prince and the Marquis of Yongning's Mansion did indeed maintain certain cooperative ties, those ties had indeed been slightly altered by her arrival, merely delayed by a few days.

Her next encounter with Xiao Minghe would take place within the Marquis of Yongning's Mansion, precisely when they were on the verge of discussing their alliance.

Though it could not yet be considered the height of summer, the weather outside had already grown quite warm. However, because the Empress Dowager's health was delicate, Wen Qiao was reluctant to let her consume an excessive amount of ice. After giving strict instructions to the Imperial Household Department to cease sending such chilling commodities to the Cining Palace, the Empress Dowager wore a rueful expression as she cast about for something to say.

She frequently pleaded with Wen Qiao not to be so harsh with her restrictions, but Wen Qiao simply feigned incomprehension, completely ignoring her appeals, leaving the Empress Dowager utterly helpless.

Today marked the eighteenth time she had resorted to acting out her distress over the heat before Wen Qiao.

Faced with the Empress Dowager's unflagging persistence, Wen Qiao could not help but smile with gentle amusement.

"Imperial Grandmother, even if the weather has grown somewhat warmer, we still cannot abandon caution and indulge your whims. Your health has only just begun to recover to an acceptable state; if we relapse now, all our efforts will have been in vain. Your constitution is still slightly frail. Once a few more days pass and the heat outside becomes truly unbearable, even if you are willing to endure it, this granddaughter certainly will not. Rest assured, everything your granddaughter does is based on the true state of your physical health. If your body permitted it, naturally I would not prevent Imperial Grandmother from using ice. Therefore, if Imperial Grandmother wishes to use ice, she must hurry and restore her health first; otherwise, you will simply have to look at the ice blocks without being able to use them."

Over these past few days, Wen Qiao constantly brought up the poor state of the Empress Dowager's health, and every single time she left the Empress Dowager utterly speechless. Today was no exception, rendering the older woman completely powerless.

"Very well, very well. I am old, and my tongue is clumsy; I am simply no match for a sharp-tongued girl like you. As long as I cooperate with you day after day, there will come a day when I can finally use ice! You unyielding girl, when that day comes, you had better not invent any more excuses about my poor health to deny me ice. If you pull that trick again, I shall truly lose my temper."

Wen Qiao nodded with a radiant smile. Since matters stood thus, the Empress Dowager had no recourse but to yield to her words.

After all, if a disagreement arose, Wen Qiao would simply report the matter to the Emperor. If even Wen Qiao could not keep the Empress Dowager under control, surely the Emperor would not remain entirely helpless.

Xiao Zheng was occupied with affairs of state every day, and time was already in short supply. The Empress Dowager naturally had no desire to burden him further with her personal matters, and thus she was even less inclined to let Wen Qiao trouble him with too many details.

She was merely an old woman with few remaining years to live, but Xiao Zheng was the sovereign of the realm. Without him—especially since his young sons had not yet fully matured—the common people would be the ones to suffer. The Empress Dowager possessed a profound sense of the greater good.

"Since Imperial Grandmother understands this principle, you should drink your medicine quickly while it is still warm!"

Wen Qiao turned, took a bowl of medicine from Daiqiao's hands, and placed it right before the Empress Dowager. Wearing a tragic expression, the Empress Dowager cast a resentful glance at Wen Qiao. Meeting the girl's uncompromising gaze, she had no choice but to pick up the bowl and swallow the medicine in a single draught.

Seeing that the Empress Dowager's recovery was progressing favorably and that no other pressing matters demanded her attention, Wen Qiao left the palace to return to the Marquis's Mansion, intending to resume her daily routine of coming to the palace for her studies as before.

According to the rules of propriety, the very first thing she ought to do upon returning was to pay her respects to Wen Chongqing. However, Wen Chongqing was not currently in the mansion, having reportedly gone out once more to drink with his idle companions. Choosing to ignore his absence, Wen Qiao proceeded directly to Li Yanlan's chambers.

When Wen Qiao arrived, Li Yanlan was sitting in a daze, staring intently at a ledger in her hands. It was only when Wen Qiao gave a soft cough at the threshold that Li Yanlan snapped back to reality, slamming the ledger shut with a start. Whether out of a sense of guilt or something else, her voice rose sharply in an unnaturally loud tone.

"Why do you walk without making a sound, and enter without even having someone announce you? Such utter lack of manners! No wonder you were just brought back from the countryside. If you behaved like this outside, wouldn't you simply disgrace the reputation of the Marquis's Mansion?"

Li Yanlan furrowed her brows, virtually roaring the words.

Inwardly, Wen Qiao smiled coldly, but upon her face, she feigned a look of sheer terror, stammering and hesitating as if unable to form a coherent reply, which only served to irritate Li Yanlan all the more.

For the past couple of days, Wen Chongqing had grown inexplicably distant and indifferent toward her, while the household funds remained a massive, unresolved problem. Because Wen Chongqing had yet to state how he intended to handle the financial crisis, Li Yanlan's temper had grown increasingly volatile.

Calculating mentally, Wen Qiao recalled that in her previous life, it was Li Yanlan who had pawned Princess Zhangle's dowry to barely maintain the livelihood of the Marquis of Yongning's Mansion. In that past existence, the Emperor had never discovered the transgression, and consequently, no one had ever intervened.

Perhaps initially they had lacked the audacity, but upon discovering that the Emperor paid no attention to them, their boldness had grown until, by the time Xiao Minghe ascended the throne, they openly pawned the remainder of Princess Zhangle's dowry without reservation.

Since the Marquis's Mansion had been a primary contributor to Xiao Minghe's ascension, mere worldly possessions were trivial compared to the immense value of the Dragon Throne itself. Thus, Xiao Minghe had naturally raised no objections, allowing the Marquis's Mansion to enjoy many years of luxurious living.

Reckoning the time, the moment for their internal struggle had arrived once again—the agonizing debate over whether or not to pawn Princess Zhangle's precious dowry.

Pretending total ignorance and maintaining her timid demeanor, Wen Qiao stepped forward, looked toward Li Yanlan, and spoke with a feigned air of trepidation. "Replying to Madam, this daughter did indeed knock upon entering, but when Madam did not answer for a long time, I feared something untoward might have happened to you within the room. That is why I entered in such haste. I never imagined I would disturb Madam while she was reviewing the ledgers. It is entirely this daughter's fault; I beg Madam not to take offense."

Since Wen Qiao had put it this way, no matter how much Li Yanlan wished to retort, she was forced to swallow her words and keep silent. After all, it was indeed because she had been entirely lost in her own thoughts that she had failed to hear Wen Qiao's footsteps. Furthermore, since Wen Qiao claimed she had called out beforehand, who could prove whether she had or hadn't? There was simply no way to argue the point.

What if Wen Qiao really had called out? There was no point in bickering over such a triviality.

Pausing, Li Yanlan abandoned the subject and turned her gaze back to Wen Qiao, finding every single feature of the girl's face profoundly disagreeable.

She had already subconsciously attributed all of Wen Chongqing's recent changes to Wen Qiao's influence.

Years ago, Wen Chongqing had neglected her and failed to marry her precisely because of Princess Zhangle, forcing her to spend long years living in shameful secrecy as a kept mistress outside. Finally, when Zhangle died, her daughter had turned out to be her ultimate nemesis. How could she not harbor resentment in her heart? Was she destined to fall ruinously to this mother-daughter pair for the rest of her life?

Such thoughts raged through Li Yanlan's mind, yet on the surface, the fierce and malevolent expression melted away, replaced by a smiling countenance.

She was a master of superficial facades; a trivial matter like this was not enough to make her lose her composure. Otherwise, if word got out, she would inevitably become the target of even harsher gossip.

Not only was Wen Qiao currently favored by the Emperor and the Empress Dowager, but she also held the undisputed moral high ground.

Think about it: which proper young lady of a noble house, after living in the countryside for so many years, would not be entitled to a few days of comfort upon being welcomed back? If the mistress of the house were to bully such a girl, wouldn't it become the laughingstock of the entire capital? Li Yanlan might care little for the current state of the Marquis's Mansion, but she had no doubt that the common folk would tear her reputation to shreds.

Though Li Yanlan lacked any grand political ambitions, she had always cherished her own reputation. She was unwilling to engage in such self-destructive malice for no gain, especially when offering Wen Qiao a pleasant expression cost her nothing, caused no substantial harm, and earned her a reputation for magnanimity. It was merely a minor concession; there was simply no reason to cross swords with Wen Qiao over it.

Moreover, Wen Qiao was already of age, and it would not be long before she was married off. She had barely two years left to spend in the mansion; what harm was there in suppressing her temper for that brief span? Once Wen Qiao was gone, the inner quarters of the mansion would return entirely to her undisputed control.

Clearly, Li Yanlan had subconsciously placed herself and Wen Qiao on the same plane, instinctively viewing the girl as a threat to her status as the mistress of the household, though she herself had yet to realize it.

Naturally, Wen Qiao could not read Li Yanlan's innermost thoughts, but she was entirely certain of one thing: Li Yanlan would never dare let her set eyes upon that ledger. It contained detailed records of how they had misappropriated Princess Zhangle's dowry over the years. If she were to bring this to the attention of the Emperor, not a single soul in the Marquis of Yongning's Mansion would escape unpunished—least of all Li Yanlan, the mistress who orchestrated it all.

At this thought, a mischievous impulse struck Wen Qiao, and she resolved to give Li Yanlan a proper scare.

"If I may speak candidly to Madam, the reason I came today—aside from paying my respects after my absence—is indeed because I have another matter to discuss. In past years, because I lived in obscurity in the countryside and no one in the capital spared me a thought, my affairs were completely neglected. Now that I have returned, my uncle has taken great care of me during my days in the palace, even speaking to me regarding my late mother's dowry. According to my uncle's intentions, once I am married, all of my mother's former betrothal gifts will be bestowed upon me under the Emperor's decree, and my uncle will provide additional dowry gifts of his own. However, I have remained completely ignorant of what my mother's dowry actually consisted of, and the official gift inventories still reside within the palace, leaving me with no record here. If I wish to inspect them, I must go back to the palace to see my uncle, which is rather troublesome. I wonder if Madam might permit this daughter to visit the storehouse first, so that I might gain some idea of the scope and nature of my mother's dowry? That way, I can report back to my uncle and spare him from continually teasing me about it."

Though Wen Qiao spoke in a light, breezy tone, every word she uttered caused Li Yanlan's body to stiffen rigidly.

How could this be? Hadn't they been told that the Emperor had not discovered their secret pawning of the Princess's dowry? Why, then, would this cursed girl suddenly bring it up? Could it be that she had whispered something to the Emperor while in the palace?

Whichever the case might be, it spelled nothing but disaster for Li Yanlan.

If this matter had truly reached the Emperor's ears, she had no idea what fate awaited the Marquis's Mansion, but as the chief instigator of the crime, she, Li Yanlan, would most certainly not escape severe retribution.

Furthermore, from ancient times to the present, imperial bestowerments were never meant to be taken out and pawned. When others received imperial gifts, they displayed them respectfully in their ancestral halls, letting their forebears know that their descendants had brought honor to the family. To secretly pawn such items was tantamount to showing contempt for imperial authority—who in their right mind would dare commit such an atrocity? If their political enemies caught wind of it and submitted an impeachment memorial, none of them would ever see another peaceful day.