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.
Although Sihan was a prince, he held no official position; the King of Yi’s residence relied solely on tax revenue from the fief. The current Emperor controlled Nanshan’s affairs with the excuse that Sihan was not yet of age, strictly regulating the King of Yi’s finances to prevent Sihan from gaining too much power.
However, from Zhou Shu’s words, it seemed the King of Yi’s finances were not as she had imagined, suggesting Sihan had taken hidden actions.
Sihan leaned back casually and smiled: “No rush, take your time.”
Ning Wanwan nodded: “I’ll look at these later. But now, I have an urgent matter to consult Zhou Shu about.”
“Please speak, Wang Fei.”
“I want to ask if there’s a way to make Sihan’s pulse appear more severe temporarily?”
Zhou Shu darkened his expression: “What happened?”
Ning Wanwan replied worriedly: “Today in the palace, the Empress Dowager suddenly wanted Xu Gongyi to take Sihan’s pulse. Fortunately, an incident occurred, and Xu Gongyi did not appear.”
Otherwise, Sihan’s use of Fire Spirit Mushroom would have been discovered by the Empress Dowager.
Zhou Shu cursed: “That old witch Ling Ziru is relentless. Not satisfied with placing a spy, she keeps trying to check Sihan’s pulse.”
Ning Wanwan said: “We need something to make Sihan’s pulse appear chaotic at a critical moment.”
Zhou Shu pondered: “There is a medicine that can cause pulse disorder quickly, but it’s extremely harmful. Taking it more than three times could be life-threatening.”
Ning Wanwan immediately abandoned the idea upon hearing it could endanger life.
Unexpectedly, Sihan calmly said: “Bring it.”
“Sihan!” Ning Wanwan was about to dissuade him, but Sihan looked at her and said, “Don’t worry, three times will be enough. If I can’t escape Ling Ziru’s control in three tries and put you at risk, then I deserve to die.”
Ning Wanwan was momentarily speechless.
Uncle Zhou said: “There’s less than a year before the young prince comes of age. If we can get through the empress dowager’s tests this year and reach the Qian’nan fief, it will be fine. Once in Qian’nan, we can treat the young prince boldly. While I can’t guarantee everything, I believe I can help him live a few more years.”
Ning Wanwan’s heart ached.
Indeed, to reassure the empress dowager, Uncle Zhou avoided aggressive treatment for Si Zhan’s illness, dragging it out in a neither good nor bad state, sometimes even allowing it to worsen. This made her resent the empress dowager for not letting Si Zhan off.
In her previous life, Si Zhan would kill the empress dowager before Si Suo using cruel methods, ultimately angering the already ill Si Suo to death.
“Brother Zhan, I have something else I want to tell you,” Ning Wanwan said, looking at Si Zhan.
Chapter 49: Far-Reaching Plan
She turned and took out the white jade golden cicada pendant from her jewelry box, placing it alongside the message box from Mi Yue on the table, and looked at Si Zhan: “A few months ago, I took the pendant you gave me to find Mi Yue, asking her to help me find someone.”
Si Zhan continued, “The person you’re looking for is the Poison Saint, Ghost Boundless, and I already know.”
“So Mi Yue was indeed your person!” Ning Wanwan replied.
Si Zhan explained: “Mi Yue is an adopted daughter my mother took in before entering the palace. Lumen Pavilion was created by my mother and has always been managed by Mi Yue. It was originally to shelter poor, homeless women and teach them the Four Books, Five Classics, and arts like music and painting to help them survive on their own skills.”
Over time, these women began to see Lumen Pavilion as their home. When my mother became a royal consort, she was suppressed by the prominent Ling Zirui. To repay her kindness, these women infiltrated noble families as servants and concubines, secretly collecting intelligence for my mother, which helped her secure her position.
“After my mother’s death, Lumen Pavilion’s only purpose was to protect me.”
Ning Wanwan was touched, never expecting such a story behind Lumen Pavilion. She thought of Pure Consort and asked Si Zhan: “Then Pure Consort, is she also…?”
Si Zhan nodded, “Yes, she’s also from Lumen Pavilion.”
This explained how Si Zhan staged a coup in his previous life; he likely received critical inside help from Pure Consort.
After hearing this, Uncle Zhou asked Ning Wanwan: “How did the princess know that Mi Yue was the young prince’s person? The princess seems to know more than I do.”
“Honestly, you might find it hard to believe, but for special reasons, I can foresee some things from my previous life.”
Foresee previous life?
Uncle Zhou’s eyes widened in disbelief.
Si Zhan slightly furrowed his brow, deep in thought.
Ning Wanwan looked at them seriously: “I know that Mi Yue is Brother Zhan’s person, and his cold syndrome is due to poisoning.”
“Poisoning?!” Uncle Zhou asked in disbelief.
Ning Wanwan confirmed, “Yes, it’s called ‘Bone-Eroding Cold’. Our priority is to find Ghost Infinite and deceive the Empress Dowager, ensuring she doesn’t learn about Young Master Zhan’s poisoning, especially that we are searching for the Poison Saint.”
Uncle Zhou responded solemnly, “The Princess is right. I, Uncle Zhou, and the Yuan siblings will handle the deception. You focus on caring for Young Master Zhan.”
Ning Wanwan felt her face inexplicably turn red as Uncle Zhou urged her to take care of him.
After finishing, Uncle Zhou turned to leave. Ning Wanwan watched him depart in silence.
At this moment, Si Zhan walked to Ning Wanwan’s side, saying, “Uncle Zhou is the Emperor’s man, so you can rest assured.”
No wonder Uncle Zhou, a physician, was posing as the Wang Mansion steward. It seemed Si Shen was not at ease with outsiders caring for Si Zhan.
She turned to Si Zhan and smiled, sighing, “It seems the Emperor truly loves you.”
Si Zhan’s gaze flickered as he bleakly said, “Perhaps, but those who claimed to love me have all left.”
