Chapter 627 - 405: If You Don’t Want the Good Days, Then They’re Over

Chapter 627: Chapter 405: If You Don’t Want the Good Days, Then They’re Over

Song Yunzhao delegated the tasks and paid them little mind. The division of labor in her shops was clear; she just needed to manage the overall direction. Later, she would check the ledgers and reconcile the accounts, and that would be that.

The weather grew colder by the day, so Song Yunzhao didn’t take Feng Ze out to play as often. But he couldn’t stand being cooped up and was always running outside, so Yun Zhao had to follow him to the small eastern garden. It was like she was clocking in for a daily shift there.

It was a rare rainy day, and Feng Ze stared unhappily out the window, his little brow tightly furrowed. Yun Zhao found it amusing.

’For such a little child to look so full of bitter resentment was rather amusing.’

Xiangxue walked in from outside under an umbrella, stopping beneath the eaves. She handed the umbrella to a little palace maid and brushed the dampness from her clothes before lifting the curtain and entering the hall.

Yun Zhao smiled at her. "Where were you so early in the morning?"

Xiangxue was chilled from the rain and didn’t approach, replying from about three paces away. "I heard that Noble Lady Xu returned to Huayang Palace early this morning, so I went out to have a look."

"She’s back?" Song Yunzhao was rather surprised. She had thought the Empress Dowager would insist on staying away for a few more days. ’Have they settled on terms with the Marquis Wuxin Mansion?’

"Yes. I asked around," Xiangxue said in a low voice. "Noble Lady Xu looked to be in a terrible state, even worse than when she was first injured in the fall."

Song Yunzhao gave a scornful smile. ’It would be truly remarkable if Xu Mingying could still manage a smile after all that.’

"Are the Empress Dowager and An Xiaoyi back as well?"

’To travel back with Xu Mingying, braving this wind and rain, would be showing some serious dedication.’

"No, they’re not. The Empress Dowager claims she feels unwell from the wind and won’t return to Shouci Palace for another day," Xiangxue said.

Song Yunzhao couldn’t suppress the scorn on her face. From the way this incident unfolded, it was clear An Shutong had been involved in planning it from start to finish.

’Otherwise, the Empress Dowager from the book wasn’t smart enough to come up with such a malicious plan. Besides, not just anyone would be willing to risk it all by using herself as bait.’

’After all, a fall from halfway up a mountain could easily be fatal if you weren’t careful.’

"Go change into some dry clothes and rest," Song Yunzhao said to Xiangxue. "Drink a bowl of ginger soup so you don’t catch a cold."

Xiangxue nodded, then turned and left.

Song Yunzhao then summoned Zhang Maoquan. "Any news from the Marquis Wuxin Mansion?"

Zhang Maoquan had been keeping a close watch. Although his mistress had only instructed him to relay the truth to the Heir of Duke Wu Xin and hadn’t given any follow-up orders, his time serving in the imperial court had taught him to always think three steps ahead, or even further.

To get ahead, one had to ease their master’s burdens.

They had to think of what their master thought of, and also what their master hadn’t. It was better to do something that turned out to be useless than to do nothing at all.

And now, when his mistress questioned him, he could answer without hesitation.

"There was nothing unusual at the Marquis Wuxin Mansion for two days. The day before yesterday, however, we heard there was a major disturbance—a very serious one, apparently. The Marquis Wuxin Mansion is keeping it quiet, so we couldn’t learn the specifics, only that a conflict definitely broke out. Yesterday, Third Young Master Xu was seen with a bruise at the corner of his mouth and a gloomy expression. He gathered a few of his close friends and spent the entire day drinking at a tavern. He was carried home last night, after which another commotion broke out in the mansion. Then, early this morning, a trusted servant of Marchioness Wu Xin was seen secretly selling off a shop."

Song Yunzhao was taken aback for a moment. "Selling a shop? Do you know why?"

"We haven’t found out yet. However, the shop is one of the best-located properties from the Marchioness Wu Xin’s dowry, and it’s quite large."

’They must be in urgent need of money. But why?’ Song Yunzhao couldn’t figure it out.

"I already have people watching. Any news will be sent in," Zhang Maoquan said.

Song Yunzhao nodded. "This is strange. For Marchioness Wu Xin to be in such a hurry to sell a shop from her own dowry, she must be in serious trouble. She’s not selling property belonging to the Marquis Wuxin Mansion, which means this matter has less to do with the Marquis Mansion than it does with the Marchioness herself. What could it be?"

Zhang Maoquan didn’t know either, but he had them under close surveillance. He was confident he could get to the bottom of it as soon as they made their next move.

"No word from the Heir of Duke Wu Xin?"

"Not yet."

Song Yunzhao found this very interesting. She had a hunch that Xu Anxing was connected to this. "Go investigate the men who were drinking with Xu Anxing yesterday. See if there’s anything unusual about them."

"Yes." Zhang Maoquan accepted the order and immediately left the palace.

Song Yunzhao found it laughable. ’After learning that Xu Mingying had been set up by the Empress Dowager and An Shutong, the Marquis Wuxin Mansion’s first move wasn’t to find a way to save their daughter, but for the Marchioness Wu Xin to secretly sell off her dowry.’

’A large shop in a prime location could be sold for a great deal of silver. Such properties weren’t just valuable; they were incredibly hard to come by. Who would sell a shop that lays golden eggs unless they were facing a life-or-death crisis?’

’There had to be a reason she didn’t know about.’

Before, she wouldn’t have been interested. She would have just enjoyed watching Song Qinghan become a laughingstock amid the Marquis Wuxin Mansion’s internal strife. But now that the Empress Dowager had her sights set on the Marquis Mansion, she had to take it seriously.

Song Yunzhao was powerless against the Empress Dowager. After all, the woman’s status and position were very real, and Yun Zhao couldn’t oppose her directly right now.

But she could topple the Gu’en Houfu first. Making the Empress Dowager lose the support of her maiden family would be like cutting off one of her arms.

Originally, she had thought that as long as the Gu’en Houfu was sensible, they could each mind their own business. But the incident with the Ling Family, and now An Shutong’s move, had crossed Yun Zhao’s line.

’If they don’t want to live a peaceful life, then they won’t get one.’

But how to topple them would require careful planning. She needed a legitimate reason and irrefutable evidence.

It was just like last time. Everyone knew the Tao Family was backed by the Gu’en Houfu, and that the Gu’en Houfu was backed by the Empress Dowager. Everyone also knew the Empress Dowager couldn’t stand the sight of Yun Zhao. But so what?

The Tao Family had insisted they acted alone, and that the Gu’en Houfu and the Empress Dowager knew nothing. There was no way to implicate them.

But this time was different. The Empress Dowager and An Shutong were both directly involved. Now it was just a matter of finding the evidence.

The autumn rain continued to drizzle. After lunch, Yun Zhao played with Feng Ze for a while until she saw his eyelids starting to droop. She then had Nanny Qi take him for his afternoon nap.

With a moment to herself, Song Yunzhao’s thoughts couldn’t help but turn to Feng Yi. She wondered if he had received her letter and where he was now.

Outside the palace, the situation in Yan City had yet to be resolved, and inside, the Empress Dowager was stirring up trouble. As a mere concubine, it was difficult for her to challenge the Empress Dowager on equal footing. She relied mostly on Feng Yi’s favor and the security that came with having given birth to Feng Ze.

Now she finally understood why it was so important to have a son in ancient times.

’Sigh.’

She didn’t favor boys over girls in the slightest. On the contrary, being a woman herself, she was more partial to girls.

But in these ancient times, it was truly difficult to hold your head high without a son.

If she had given birth to a Princess, the Empress Dowager wouldn’t be as wary of her as she was now, and wouldn’t hesitate to move against her.

Song Yunzhao was sick to death of the Empress Dowager. She hoped she could use this incident to stop the old woman from causing trouble for good.