I followed behind him, still feeling a little worried.
"Fourth Prince..." Liu Mengjun said respectfully, then, upon seeing me behind him, "Yue'er?"
I said worriedly, "Why didn't Father tell me about what happened in the palace?"
Liu Mengjun's expression changed, and he glanced at Dugu Jing. "Fourth Prince, please wait a moment."
"father……"
"Moon, come with me."
I followed my father into the study.
Somewhat puzzled, she asked, "Dad, why did you bring me here?"
Liu Mengjun suddenly pulled back a blue curtain. A portrait of a woman came into view.
"This is..."
Liu Mengjun placed his hand on it and gently stroked it, as if caressing a precious piece of jade, "Wen'er..."
Seeing those features that resembled mine, I thought, "This...is this my mother?"
Liu Mengjun looked at the painting with deep affection and nodded, "That's right, child, that's your mother, Mo Qingwen."
"Back then, your mother was the most talented woman in the world, and countless people were crazy about her..."
As I watched my father recount the past with deep emotion, I could almost see the face of that stunningly beautiful woman before my eyes. I truly wished I could meet her again.
"Then why did Mother choose to leave later?"
A hint of pain flashed in Liu Mengjun's eyes: "Yue'er, your mother did nothing wrong in this matter. The one who was wrong was..."
I asked, puzzled, "What's wrong?"
Liu Mengjun closed his eyes and shook his head in anguish, seemingly unwilling to discuss it further.
He reached behind the painting and found something. "Moon, keep this safe."
I looked down and saw a crescent-shaped jade hairpin. It had a warm, lustrous sheen. "What is this?"
Liu Mengjun: "It's your mother's stuff, you should keep it safe."
I followed him out the door.
"Moon, you should go back now. I have some things to discuss with the Fourth Prince. Be good..." A loving look appeared in his eyes.
I nodded.
Liu Mengjun returned to his room, "Fourth Prince..."
Dugu Jing's face remained unchanged for ages. "Lord Liu, do you understand the current situation?"
Liu Mengjun said indignantly, "Your subject has merely revealed the truth. If the problem of corruption is not addressed first, no matter how much material supplies and provisions are transported there, they will end up in the hands of those corrupt officials, and the people will still starve to death!"
Dugu Jing suddenly turned around, startling Liu Mengjun, whose expression changed drastically. "Your Highness..."
"Lord Liu is right!" Then his expression changed, "But your actions have already offended the Empress, don't you know that?"
Liu Mengjun still looked confused.
"The Empress's maternal uncle, Lord Jiang, is the Prefect of Hezhou, which includes Chuzhou. The first person to impeach you was Lord Qin, don't forget that."
Liu Mengjun's face was pale and withered. Suddenly, he knelt down, trembling.
"I have no other ambitions, I only hope not to implicate my family. I beg Your Highness!"
Dugu Jing stood silently, then suddenly turned to look at Liu Mengjun.
I spoke with him for a few minutes and then left.
"Fourth Prince, Fourth Prince..."
I rushed over there.
"I wonder how Your Highness's discussion with my father went?"
Dugu Jing: "Don't worry."
I sighed and said, "Here, take this. It's a peach shortbread that I made especially for you."
Dugu Jing seemed surprised for a moment before taking the box.
"Thanks."
"Miss, Miss... what's wrong?" Ping'er asked anxiously from the side.
Looking at the information I gathered from Baihualou, I felt more confident.
"Father has offended the First Prince's faction."
Ping'er's face changed drastically. "Oh my god... what... what should we do, Miss?"
I comforted her, "Don't worry, everything's alright now."
Ping'er sat down. "Miss, don't you often say that countless princes have died fighting for the throne throughout history? Once you get involved, you're sure to end up badly?"
I blinked in confusion. "When did I tell you that?"
"It's the story of the Nine Princes' Struggle for the Throne that you told me about last time..."
I remained silent for a moment, speechless.
"So what should we do now?"
I began to analyze slowly: "The Fourth Prince came today because he wanted to pull Father into his faction."
Ping'er scolded, "The Fourth Prince is so wicked!"
I gave Ping'er a long look. "You're so naive."
Ping'er's face fell. "Miss, are you praising me or insulting me?"
I laughed and said, "Of course I'm praising you."
Having reviewed the information from Baihualou, Father wouldn't normally have seen this report on Chuzhou so soon. However, because of Lord Yu's recent invitation to a banquet, he mentioned the report. Lord Yu is the Fourth Prince's maternal uncle.
Actually, I don't blame the Fourth Prince that much. After all, given my father's personality, he was bound to cause trouble sooner or later.
"Miss, it's so late, aren't you asleep yet?"
"Wait a minute, I still have things to finish..."
Now that this month has passed, I need to write down the details of Baihualou's business operations.
Who is the other owner of this Hundred Flowers Pavilion?
Ruoshui's image immediately came to mind.
Author's Note:
Please give me lots of support!
Chapter 16 Waiting for a Rabbit to Run into a Tree Stump
As soon as I entered the room, I saw Ruoshui half-lying on the tatami mat, with one woman massaging her and another peeling grapes for her to eat.
"Wow...you're really enjoying this..."
Ruoshui lazily raised her eyes: "Why do you look like a resentful woman?"
I leaned against her without any backbone, saying, "I've been so busy lately."
Ruoshui continued eating her grapes: "What's there for a young lady like you to be so busy with? Getting married?"
I snatched a grape from her and said, "Don't forget me, I'm still the owner of the Hundred Flowers Pavilion. There are so many people like you who only spend money and don't earn any. It's exhausting me!"
Ruoshui laughed heartily upon hearing this, then glanced at me and said, "Xiaoyue, that's not very fair of you. Luo Lie left behind no less than a thousand taels of gold, didn't he?"
I paused, my eyes slightly lowered. I stretched, "Uh... I forgot."
Suddenly, something occurred to me. "By the way, Ruoshui, do you know who the owner of Baihua Tower is?"
"What's wrong? Why are you suddenly asking this question?"
I pondered, "Initially, it was Mela who transferred Baihualou to me. I thought there must be another owner behind Baihualou. At first, I suspected it was you. But later, I realized it wasn't you."
Ruoshui smiled faintly, "You're quite a clever girl. You guessed right, Baihua Pavilion does indeed have another owner. As for who it is, I really don't know."
I glanced at her; she probably knew I didn't want to talk about it.
Ruoshui swayed her hips and stood up. Her slender figure was enough to make any woman furious.
Me: "Are you still looking for a husband or not?"
Ruoshui winked seductively, "Of course I want to!"