A Sheng Jiangli finally touched Song Yinghuai's sore spot.
The anger from being repeatedly contradicted by Caiyu rushed straight from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. The nameless fire in his heart was burning fiercely and he couldn't hold it back.
Song Yinghuai's face was ashen. He slightly squinted his eyes and threatened coldly and harshly, "Try getting close to Sheng Jiangli!"
His voice was tough, full of danger before a storm.
Caiyu was sharp and immediately realized that she had touched the bottom line.
She sneered inwardly.
How could he be allowed to be entangled with his first love, while she couldn't have any connection with Sheng Jiangli?
Caiyu took a deep breath. Instead of contradicting Song Yinghuai, she said petulantly,
"If the prince says no, this maid will obey. Does the prince have any other instructions?"
Song Yinghuai felt a sense of powerlessness as if punching at cotton. He said rather dejectedly,
"No, you..."
"Then this maid will take her leave first."
Song Yinghuai: "…Where are you going?"
Caiyu's expression was calm without a ripple. She lowered her eyes and said, "Didn't the prince give this maid a holiday? This maid can't wait and wants to go out of the mansion for a stroll."
Song Yinghuai opened his mouth, not knowing what to say. Finally, he could only say awkwardly, "…Go ahead. The capital is prosperous, but there are many noble sons. There are plenty of them who parade on horseback and molest civilian girls on the street. Don't play too late. Call Ning Shi…"
Before he could finish his words, Caiyu turned around and left.
Song Yinghuai stood there, clutching the sachet in his hand. He almost crushed the private seal inside into powder.
After a while, he laughed out of extreme anger.
"Little impudent slave!"
He wanted to tell Ning Shi and the others to follow her, but he was too proud to do so, so he gave up.
Although Caiyu said she was going out in a fit of anger, with her shrewdness, it was impossible for her to do something truly useless.
As soon as she left the mansion, she asked passers-by about the location of the Crown Prince's Mansion and headed there.
However, before she reached the Crown Prince's Mansion, she was attracted by a figure in the pawnshop.
Lan Jinqin walked out of Desheng Pawnshop, with twenty taels of silver she had just pawned in her bosom. She was full of anxiety.
"Only twenty taels…" Lan Jinqin was extremely desolate. "This little amount of silver is not enough to bribe anyone, nor is it enough to buy new carp powder."
Thinking of this, she felt resentful.
Xiao Rencheng promised to pay five thousand three hundred taels of silver five days later, but the next day she received a letter from Hainan.
Her mother was seriously ill.
In a state of depression, her elder brother Lan Guangling was provoked by a young hooligan. He had a conflict with someone in the mining field where he was serving and broke the leg of the young master of the magistrate of Ding'an County in Hainan.
If it had been the Lan family in the past, a mere magistrate's family would not have been taken seriously.
But now the Lan family had fallen.
A mere magistrate could crush the Lan family.
If Wen Zilong had been willing to help, as the brother-in-law of the Minister of War, who would have dared to bully and pursue the matter?
But instead of helping, Wen Zilong even wished to sever all ties with the Lan family.
After learning of Wen Zilong's attitude, the magistrate of Ding'an County pursued Lan Guangling's responsibility even more.
Lan Guangling had been arrested and thrown into the water prison in Ding'an County. His life or death was uncertain.
If it weren't for the consideration of Lan Jinqin's current status, Lan Guangling might have already been dead.
Now Lan Jinqin just wanted to negotiate with the magistrate of Ding'an County and settle the matter with money.
But her dowry had always been in the hands of Wen Linshi.
Wen Linshi never handed over the internal affairs of the Wen family to Lan Jinqin.
When she needed extra money in these years, she could only pawn some of her personal jewelry that she had brought with her.
Or, when she went out with Liuli to seek medical treatment or offer prayers to the Buddha, she would sell some embroidered items she had made.
Among all the wives of second-rank officials in the Great Ye, she was probably the only one living in such a situation!
Liuli whispered, "Madam, why don't we go to the Xiao Mansion in advance? Maybe we can get some money first."
Lan Jinqin thought for a while and nodded, "Just do as you said. Since I finally have a chance to extort someone, I can't be a good person, right?"
Lan Jinqin and Liuli left the pawnshop whispering to each other, completely unaware that someone was eavesdropping behind them.
Caiyu stepped out from behind the stone unicorn in front of the pawnshop. She watched the backs of the mistress and maid leaving with a shocked look in her eyes.
"Elder sister… What on earth have you been through these years? Why do you even need to pawn for twenty taels of silver?"
"The Wen family is so heartless to you!"
Caiyu walked into the pawnshop.
The clerk stepped forward. Seeing that this girl was wearing fine clothes, he immediately greeted her warmly.
Caiyu asked directly, "I'd like to ask what the madam who just left pawned."
The clerk pointed to the gilded silver hairpin with a butterfly playing among two flowers on the pawnshop counter and said, "It's that hairpin. Although it's made of silver, it was made by a famous craftsman of the current dynasty, so we gave a good price. We gave the madam twenty taels of silver for it."
That hairpin!
Caiyu's pupils shrank slightly.
That hairpin was made by the chief craftsman in the palace on her elder sister's fifteenth birthday when she came of age!
Her elder sister loved it so much that she only took it out to wear on important occasions or at banquets.
Unexpectedly, she had pawned it!
What on earth had happened to her elder sister?
Caiyu's fingers curled into a fist. She asked slowly, "Is it a permanent pawn?"
"Yes, it is."
"Okay, name your price. I'll take this silver hairpin."
The appraiser of the pawnshop was very happy that someone had taken a fancy to the item they had just received.
According to the pawnshop's convention, he raised the price five times and sold the hairpin to Caiyu for one hundred taels of silver.
Caiyu took the hairpin and walked out of the door. By then, Lan Jinqin and her maid were long gone.
It was not convenient for Caiyu to meet Lan Jinqin directly, so she thought of going to the Crown Prince's Mansion to find out some information and then figure out what to do next.
Who would have thought that as soon as she took a step, she was surrounded by a group of servants.
In the middle of the path separated by the servants, a young man about twenty years old walked out.
He was wearing a long red-golden robe with bamboo patterns. He was as thin as a stick, and his eyes showed a lecherous look. He stared directly at Caiyu, who had caught his eye on the street for a long time…
Today seemed to be a day full of troubles.
Caiyu had encountered something, and Sheng Jiangli had also encountered something.
With Sheng Jiangli leading the way, Qingqing soon arrived at the Crown Prince's Mansion.
Qingqing said, "Brother Sheng, wait for me. You walked so fast that I can't remember the way back to the Prince Yan's Mansion at all. I'll need you to lead me back after I deliver the brocade!"
Sheng Jiangli slightly squinted his phoenix eyes, with a warning look in them. "Little girl, don't play any tricks! Your prince is in the mansion. Do you want to give me another two needles so that he can throw me out without any effort?"
"How could I?" Qingqing shrugged and said with a seemingly relaxed smile. "You're so smart. How dare I deceive you a second time?"
Sheng Jiangli let out a scoff.
He didn't dare to boast about his intelligence.
But this little girl had as many tricks as Caiyu.
He was a bit on guard against her.
He could only be more careful.
Seeing that Sheng Jiangli didn't agree, Qingqing moved the rain-silk brocade on her arm.
"If you don't agree, I'll be very nervous. I'll forget what you taught me to say on the way just now!"
Sheng Jiangli: "…Why do you have such a bad memory at such a young age!"
"Come here. I'll teach you to say it one more time."
Sheng Jiangli said, "My name is Qingqing. I'm a maid in the Prince Yan's Mansion. I'm here on the prince's order to present this unique rain-silk brocade in the whole city to Concubine Lü… Why give it to Concubine Lü? It's only because Concubine Lü is too—"
"Concubine Lü is excessively beautiful. The prince is excessively infatuated with her."
Qingqing endured the nausea and repeated it word by word.
Only then was Sheng Jiangli satisfied. "Very good. Go ahead. Remember to say it word for word!"
Qingqing hugged the rain-silk brocade and walked away. While walking, she turned back and told him, "Don't leave!"
Sheng Jiangli waved his hand, as if shooing away a fly. "Go quickly, go quickly!"
Qingqing came to the front of the Crown Prince's Mansion.
The doorman blocked her way.
Qingqing held the rain-silk brocade in front of the doorman's eyes. A sly smile flashed in her eyes and she said,
"Brother, I'm just a messenger. A mysterious man asked me to deliver this unique rain-silk brocade in the whole city to Concubine Lü… Why give it to Concubine Lü? It's only because Concubine Lü is too—"
"Concubine Lü is excessively beautiful. He fell in love with Concubine Lü at first sight and is excessively infatuated with her."