Lu Nianfu was upset, but she couldn't resist the drowsiness that came with her pregnancy. She fell asleep soon after lying down and went to play chess with the Duke of Zhou.
She woke up from her nap to find the sun setting.
She got up and stretched, then turned to see Situ Yan put down the book in his hand and walk towards her. "Slept enough? Do you want to eat something?"
"Not hungry. Why are you in the room, Your Highness? Aren't you supposed to be entertaining guests?"
"I heard that my lady lost a copper mine. As your husband, I was worried that you would be heartbroken, so I rushed back to comfort you. I didn't expect my lady to sleep so soundly. It seems my lady is wealthy and powerful, and a mere copper mine is no longer in your eyes."
"It's already been donated. What's the point of being upset about it now? Besides, the mine ultimately benefited the border soldiers. Thinking of it this way, I feel much more balanced. And speaking of losses, the Crown Princess lost even more."
Situ Yan chuckled. "Indeed. You should have seen the look on Young Master Fu Er's face when he heard the news; it was as dark as night."
A silver mine was something even the Duke of Xie's mansion would find very painful to part with.
Lu Nianfu imagined Fu Yingxiao's miserable situation, which made her feel much better. "Hmph, if a tiger doesn't show its fangs, they take me for a sickly cat. Last time she saw me, she kept calling me 'Seventh Sister-in-law' so affectionately. And then she turns around to plot against me. She really thinks I'm made of mud."
"Don't worry, you won't suffer this loss in vain. I will help you get even sooner or later."
"How will you get even?"
"You'll know when the time comes." Situ Yan kept it a secret, and Lu Nianfu pouted. If he wouldn't say, she could guess to some extent; it was nothing more than finding trouble for the Crown Prince.
Speaking of which, she truly couldn't understand how the minds of these two worked. The Crown Princess was one thing; as a woman, she couldn't see clearly. But the Crown Prince shouldn't be like this. Didn't he always want to win Situ Yan over to his side? By doing this, wasn't he afraid of turning a friend into an enemy?
As she thought about it, she asked.
Situ Yan said, "He's afraid I'll get too ambitious with my wealth and compete with him for that position, so he's determined to cut off my financial resources."
Lu Nianfu: ...
The silver mine promised by the Crown Princess was ultimately filled by the Duke of Xie's mansion, along with the copper mine of the Third Princess. Since the mansion did not operate mines, they had to spend a huge sum to purchase them temporarily. As Prince Yong was still at the border, Princess Yong generously stated that her household was not wealthy enough to donate a copper mine, but for the sake of the border soldiers, she eventually donated ten thousand taels of silver.
The position of the principal wife of Prince Ning's mansion was vacant, but Marquis Qi Ying's mansion still donated eight thousand taels in Jian Yanyan's name, which was considered saving her some face.
As for the Sixth Prince's wife, she simply closed her doors and refused to let the Crown Princess in. Her husband was still guarding the imperial mausoleum. Not only did he not help them, a mother and child, but how could he have the nerve to come and ask her to donate money, and such a large sum as a copper mine?
If she had a copper mine, would her husband have had to risk his life for that ungrateful scoundrel Situ Jue?
Lu Nianfu listened to various bits of gossip while drinking bird's nest soup.
Soon, good news came from Shanxi. Although the Crown Prince failed to eliminate the bandits, he successfully raised more copper ingots than the lost copper. To prevent further complications, he would soon lead his troops back. Cheng Beizheng curled his lips and called for his confidant to handle the handover of the copper mine. Then he complained to Lu Nianfu, "They talk about suppressing bandits, but I think the Crown Prince is more like a bandit than the bandits themselves."
"What can be done? They have power. Think about it, during times of famine, didn't the court also ask merchants to donate money and grain to the south?"
"Hmph, I see it clearly now. The Emperor has repeatedly raised the status of our merchants just to nurture more private treasuries. Whenever he's short of money, he just takes a little from each private treasury, and that's enough."
Lu Nianfu gave him a lingering glance. "You're only realizing this now?"
Cheng Beizheng: ...