The Empress Dowager turned her back, threatening coldly: “I didn’t bring you from Miaojiang to be a concubine or a spy. What I want is Sihan’s life. If you can’t implant the curse, then you and your lover can leave your lives behind!”
Xu Manyao’s face drained of color.
*
At the King of Yi’s residence, Ning Wanwan and Sihan had just entered Zhuohua Courtyard when they encountered Zhou Shu coming out of the room.
“Young Master, Wang Fei, you’re back,” Zhou Shu smiled and approached.
Ning Wanwan said, “Zhou Shu, you’ve come at the right time. I have something to ask you.”
Zhou Shu replied, “How coincidental, I also have something to discuss with Wang Fei.” He gestured for them to enter the room.
Inside, several stacks of account books, documents, seals, keys, and tokens were on the round table.
“Zhou Shu, what are these…?”
Sihan casually sat in a nearby armchair and sipped tea.
“These are the income and expense ledgers of the King of Yi’s residence, including property deeds, land deeds, business contracts, and servant contracts. Since Wang Fei has married in, the household affairs should naturally be managed by Wang Fei. This is what I wanted to discuss.”
Managing the household was inevitable, but Ning Wanwan didn’t expect Zhou Shu to hand it over so quickly.
She turned to Zhou Shu: “Although I’ve married in, I’m still young and inexperienced. Since these affairs have always been managed by you, I would trouble you to continue handling them for a while.”
“Trivial matters, Wang Fei need not worry. The reason I’m showing these to Wang Fei is that Young Master wants Wang Fei to see them,” Zhou Shu hinted.
Ning Wanwan’s heart stirred. Before the late Emperor’s death, he had granted the Nanshan territory to Sihan and ordered him to go to the fief upon coming of age, never to return to Xiandu.
Nanshan was located in the remote southwestern border of Qi Song, surrounded by mountains with treacherous terrain that was easy to defend yet difficult to attack. The late Emperor had anticipated Sihan’s situation and aimed to send him away to avoid disaster.
