Lu Nian Fu was unaware that she had become the target of someone's attention. Her days had been a living hell. Men who were once restrained were bad, but men who had been restrained for too long and then became unrestrained were even worse.
Gu Yan Chen was in high spirits. Every day, he would leave work at least half an hour early, then urge her to eat, bathe, and go to bed.
If it weren't for her weak constitution unable to bear it, he would have surely serenaded her every night.
Even if he took her physical health into consideration and didn't truly act on his desires, he still liked to cling to her, kissing and hugging her, being incredibly clingy. As long as he was home, Lu Nian Fu rarely left her room.
There were benefits, too. A satisfied Gu Yan Chen was usually easy to talk to. Lu Nian Fu took advantage of his good mood to bring up the two mines belonging to Cheng Bei Zheng. Although he was very displeased about his wife cooperating with Cheng Bei Zheng to make money, he ultimately couldn't resist his wife's "sugar-coated bullets." In his lust-filled haze, he vaguely agreed.
In the imperial study, ice blocks were placed in each of the four corners. The Minister of Works was drenched in sweat, his official robe soaked. He knelt respectfully on the ground, his entire body numb from kneeling for such a long time.
Yet, he dared not complain.
Fifty thousand taels of silver for casting had been allocated to the Ministry of Works less than ten days ago and had already vanished without a trace. The person responsible for overseeing the silver had also been wiped out. What was critical was that he, the Minister of Works, only found out after half a month. It was already fortunate that the Emperor hadn't beheaded him. Alas, for his old bones, he didn't know how much longer he would have to kneel.
Just as he was about to collapse, Emperor Chang Wu finally spoke, "Scram."
The Minister of Works shivered, but he also breathed a sigh of relief. Although his whole body was numb, he kowtowed and withdrew efficiently.
The Emperor's greatest virtue was his dislike of transferring blame.
Emperor Chang Wu paced back and forth in the imperial study twice. "Little Fu Zi, summon Jian Shi Jie."
Li Fu Rui said, "Your Majesty, the Meng family's massacre case has already been taken over by Prince Rui."
"What? Hasn't he just returned to the capital? How did this case fall into his hands?"
"This... this servant does not know."
"Forget it, summon Prince Rui."
That brat, causing trouble for him as soon as he returned to the capital.
Gu Yan Chen entered the palace shortly after. After paying his respects, Emperor Chang Wu asked, "What have you been busy with these past few days?"
"Just investigating cases," Gu Yan Chen replied with a hint of guilt. Had his father found out about him leaving work early to be with his wife these past few days? No way? If he wouldn't even let this small matter slide, what kind of father-son affection was there?
To his surprise, Emperor Chang Wu said, "Put that case aside for now. You've only just returned to the capital; there's no need for you to work so hard."
Gu Yan Chen: "Your subject has several cases on hand. Which one are you referring to?"
"What? Several? Is Dali Temple short of people? Do you, the Minister of Dali Temple, have to personally handle every case?"
"Investigating one is the same as investigating several. It doesn't matter," Gu Yan Chen said nonchalantly. In fact, he quite enjoyed the process of investigating cases. Deducing the truth from subtle clues was a very rewarding task.
Besides, the conditions now were much better than when he was in Xiangshui County. Not only was there more manpower, but the yamen runners were also much more capable than before.
Emperor Chang Wu: ...
"Since you are so busy, let Jian Shi Jie continue with the Meng family's case. He was the one handling it before anyway."
Gu Yan Chen was unhappy. "Why? Jian Shi Zhao investigated this case for over ten days and only concluded it was a robbery. But my people have already found some leads."
"This case is not that simple. Meng Shi had just taken charge of fifty thousand taels of casting silver before he was massacred. That was meant for casting weapons for the border troops."
"Fifty thousand taels? Why wasn't such a significant matter combined with the Meng family massacre case?"
"There was an oversight in the Ministry of Works. I only received the news just now. In any case, don't get involved in this matter, lest you invite trouble." Meng Shi was merely a junior official in the Ministry of Works. His massacre would at most cause a ripple of panic, and it would not be considered a major issue if it became a cold case, as no yamen lacked cold cases.
But now, a sum of casting silver for weapons for the soldiers had been lost.
As a prince who had just been recognized, countless eyes in the court were watching him. If the casting silver could not be recovered, he would inevitably be labeled as incompetent.
It might even affect his prestige in the military.
This was something Emperor Chang Wu was absolutely unwilling to see.
Unfortunately, his son's train of thought was unusual. It was already difficult for him to hand over a case he had partially investigated, and now an additional fifty thousand taels of silver had been added.
Fifty thousand taels. How many weapons could be cast with that? He immediately knelt down. "Your Majesty, please rest assured. Your subject will expedite the investigation and recover all the casting silver."
Emperor Chang Wu: "... Didn't you understand? I told you not to get involved in this matter."
"That won't do. Fifty thousand taels! If it's handed over to Jian Shi Jie, who knows how long it will take him to recover the money? The court can wait, but the border soldiers cannot."
"You speak as if you are certain to solve the case."
Speaking of this, Gu Yan Chen became proud. "My confidence is certainly much greater than Jian Shi Jie's."
Back when he was a constable in Xiangshui County, there was no case he couldn't solve.
His son, standing tall and straight even while kneeling, exuded a sense of trust that was inexplicably generated. Emperor Chang Wu pondered for a moment, then waved his hand. "Since you are so confident, go investigate. However, I am telling you, if the silver is not recovered and you are impeached by the censors, don't blame me for not showing leniency."
"Your subject obeys."
As soon as Gu Yan Chen left the palace, he held a small meeting with a few of his trusted confidants. Although the impact of the casting silver case had increased significantly, it wasn't entirely bad for them; at least, there was another clue.
Regarding fifty thousand taels and new weapons for the border, Gu Yan Chen perked up. He no longer left work early and often worked overtime at night. The recently begun blissful life was forcibly terminated, which, however, gave Lu Nian Fu some spirit.
Finally, she didn't have to lie in bed all day.
Soon, the imperial consorts were successively betrothed.
This task was originally supposed to be done by the Empress, but Emperor Chang Wu was unwilling to see the Cao State Duke's mansion grow stronger through marriage alliances again. Giving it to Noble Consort Jian was out of the question, and giving it to Consort Hui was a bit improper.
In the end, he had no choice but to take on this task himself.
Therefore, by the time the Empress and Noble Consort Jian realized what was happening, most of the imperial consorts they had favored had been betrothed on the same day. Those betrothed to their own sons' mansions had fathers and brothers of ordinary status, causing them to feel greatly disappointed.
The only consolation was that their old rivals had not gained any advantage.
The four most favored noble ladies, Chen Su Su, Fu Ying Ran, Qu Wan Wan, and Zhao Si Yue, were still in the Xiuxiu Palace and had not fallen into anyone else's hands.
This turn of events left the officials bewildered. Shouldn't Prince Rui, who only had one wife, be the one most in need of women? The Emperor was generous to his other sons, even granting two to Prince Ning, who was confined to his mansion, yet why was he so stingy with Prince Rui? Could it be that Prince Rui had fallen out of favor? But it didn't seem like it. If he had truly fallen out of favor, why would he still be domineering in Dali Temple?
Regardless of what others thought, Lu Nian Fu was genuinely happy.
She and Gu Yan Chen had just consummated their marriage, and they were in the honeymoon phase. Naturally, she did not want to be disturbed by others.
The Emperor's bestowed marriages could not be delayed. The noble circles of the capital ushered in a peak of weddings, and shops holding celebrations earned a considerable sum.
Due to Lu Nian Fu's plea, Gu Yan Shu was successfully betrothed to the new Jinshi, Zhan Wei. Madam Qin began to busily prepare dowries for her daughter. The Zhan family was poor. Zhan Wei had entered the Hanlin Academy, and it would be years before he could get rich. As his mother, she naturally had to prepare thoroughly for the young couple, otherwise, it would be her own daughter who suffered.
There was also an imperial consort who exceeded Lu Nian Fu's expectations.
Feng Xin Yao, who had entered under the guise of the fourth daughter of the Libationer of the Imperial Academy, had returned.
Gu Yan Chen's intention was for her to stay in the mansion for now and then arrange for her to go to Prince Ning's mansion after some time. As for whether she could succeed in her revenge, that would depend on her own abilities.
Lu Nian Fu had been busy for many days in a daze. Finally, she found time to call Qing Ya into her room alone. This girl seemed to have improved a lot recently, but she no longer dared to go to the shop. Even when Wang Shou Cheng came to look for her, she avoided him nine out of ten times.
It didn't seem like they had a falling out, but rather as if Qing Ya was deliberately avoiding him.
"Tell me, what's going on between you and Shou Cheng?"
Qing Ya shook her head. "What could happen between him and me? Miss, please don't think too much about it."
"But Shou Cheng has already come to me, saying he wants to marry you."
"What?" Qing Ya stood up abruptly.
"Sit down, sit down. Why are you so agitated?" Lu Nian Fu pushed her back into the chair. "This is about your lifelong happiness, and I wouldn't agree without asking your opinion, would I? Qing Ya, this matter ultimately depends on your decision. Are you willing to marry him?"
Qing Ya was somewhat dazed. "Is his brain caught in the door? Why would he propose marriage out of the blue?"
Lu Nian Fu laughed. "What other reason could there be for a man to want to marry a woman? You've been distracted every day recently, not yourself. Dare you say it's not because of him?"
Qing Ya didn't respond to this. Instead, she looked at her pitifully. "Miss, didn't we agree that you would support me for life? Have you gone back on your word?"
"What are you talking about? Of course, I'm willing to support you for life, but it's not good for you to remain an old maid, is it? Speaking of which, you are all of a suitable age. For the past three years, I observed mourning, and you followed suit, wasting several years. However, eighteen is a good age. Later, you can look around yourselves and report any suitable candidates quickly, otherwise, I'll just pick blindly. There are quite a few bachelors around the Master. If you don't fancy Shou Cheng, Song Ming and Military Advisor Meng are also good." Lu Nian Fu clapped her hands. "Speaking of which, they are both officials now, their conditions are even better than Shou Cheng's."
Qing Ya was initially quite sad, but she was amused to the point of tears and laughter. "Miss, they are already officials. How could they possibly marry a maid?"
Song Ming and Meng Chang Dong were clearly Prince Rui's men, and anyone with eyes could see that they would continue to rise in the future. There were plenty of girls who wanted to marry them. They dared not think of marrying into prominent families, but many minor officials would be willing to marry their daughters to them.
Lu Nian Fu took Qing Ya's hand. "Qing Ya, you don't need to belittle yourself. With our relationship, how could I let you be a maid forever? When you get married, I will definitely return your contract of sale and prepare a generous dowry for you to have a magnificent wedding. Then I will recognize you as my sister, and no one will dare to look down on you."
"Miss." Qing Ya's eyes were moist, and she was very moved.
She had been sold by her parents since she was young because she ate too much. But she had never suffered hardship. Miss had always treated her very well, and now she was even better.
It was no exaggeration to say that she was treated like a biological sister.
Lu Nian Fu wiped the tears from her face. "Why are you crying? We're talking about marriage, this is a happy occasion."
"But Miss, your servant doesn't want to get married yet."
"It's fine if you don't want to get married. At worst, I'll support you for life. But you have to tell me what's going on between you and Shou Cheng, otherwise, I'll worry."
Qing Ya hummed, but when it came to explaining what happened between her and Wang Shou Cheng, she couldn't say. After thinking for a long time, she could only say, "Miss, it's not that your servant isn't telling you, it's just that your servant doesn't know what happened between us either."
"Alright." Lu Nian Fu, who couldn't get any gossip, was quite regretful. "Then you think about it carefully. We're not worried about finding a husband."
Qing Ya squeezed her arm, which was a circle thicker than an ordinary person's. "Miss, only you think so."