After marrying a sickly and powerful official, Jiaojiao cries every day

The slanting shadow of the sun shone into the hall through the azure window screens, and mottled the ground like crumpled waves of gold foil.

As Zhou Huizhi's voice fell, the hall became surprisingly quiet. Only the rustling sound of trees lingered in the ears, and there was a bit of weirdness in the silence.

The silence did not last long before it was broken by Wen Ranyan's laughter, "Miss Zhou, do you know the maid at your farm?"

Her voice was still lazy and steady. Even though the situation had developed to this point, she remained calm, as if she was aware of everything in the world and was planning everything, making Zhou Xuzhi even more unable to guess what she was thinking.

When negotiating with such a sharp and intelligent person, I always feel that I will be chewed to the bone, and even if I am sold out by her, I will have to count the money with a smile.

Zhou Yuzhi took a deep breath and calmed down before saying, "I know that old lady. I used to see her occasionally when I went to the Empress Dowager's Shou'an Palace, but I haven't seen her in recent years. I think she has reached the age to leave the palace. But I saw her again on the day of the ancestor worship at the Duke's Mansion. Not only that, she also secretly brought a box of account books to burn."

She pursed her lips and said in a low voice, "After the ancestor worship was over, I secretly checked and found out that the old nanny had been secretly raised in the manor of the Duke's Mansion. She had served the Queen Mother, who was the biological mother of Prince Yongqing."

Zhou Huizhi told the story slowly and her senses were very sharp. In just a few words, she put the blame on the empress dowager.

Prince Yongqing's fiefdom is far away in Liangzhou. Without the help of people in the capital to make money, he would be powerless even if he wanted to. The Duke's Mansion is just a target and puppet in public, while the Queen Mother, the person in power, has to mediate in secret.

Wen Ranyan quickly recalled that day when she was invited to Shou'an Palace. Before she met the Empress Dowager, she saw palace servants carrying a number of boxes and cages.

She originally thought that they were some clothes, but now she thought that they might contain account books for amassing wealth.

She stared at Zhou Xuzhi, her eyes were dark and pure, as if thick ink and the abyss were mixed together in them, and her smile was still captivating when she looked at people.

"Where's the one with the bill? Let me see it."

Wen Ranyan stretched out her hand towards her again. Her ten fingers were painted with bright red nail polish and inlaid with small gold foil flowers, which made her fingers look even more slender and white, like a piece of clear white jade.

Zhou Huizhi twirled the corner of his sleeve, showing some hesitation on his face.

Perhaps he was considering whether it was a good or bad thing to take out all his chips at once. As for Wen Ranyan, although he was deeply loved by the new emperor, would he be able to make the decision in the end?

At that moment, there was a crisp collision sound from the crystal curtain in the hall. The first thing that came into view was a piece of crimson clothing, and then a big hand casually lifted the curtain.

As the pearly blue waves wander, a face blessed by nature is exposed to the air, with clear edges and corners, extraordinary handsomeness, and a natural and rich color like a blooming tea flower, elegant and graceful for eternity.

"What ledger?"

Feng Qiwu came closer, and his eyes as dark as ink looked over.

Wen Ranyan glanced at him, then turned her gaze to Zhou Huizhi and just smiled without saying a word.

When Zhou Xuzhi saw the person coming, he suddenly seemed to have made up his mind. He knelt down on the ground, solemnly took out an account book from his sleeve, held it high above his head, and presented it respectfully.

Before they could take it, a series of sonorous words came out of her mouth.

"I report the Queen Mother and my father, Duke of Zhou, Zhou Zhishan, for secretly amassing wealth, colluding with the enemy, and plotting treason—"

Mottled shadows fell on Zhou Huizhi's body. Her back was straight, and she looked like a tall pine or cypress in the interlaced light and shadow. Her steady and firm voice pierced through the daylight and echoed continuously in the hall.

Wen Ranyan looked at her thin yet tall and straight figure, the smile on her lips growing deeper and deeper.

The person who was hesitant when asking her to take out the account book turned out to be waiting here.

In her heart, Feng Qiwu was the one who could make final decisions, but if she went directly to see the emperor, it would surely arouse suspicion, and she might be stopped by various forces before she even reached the palace gate.

Therefore, she adopted this roundabout way. Even if people knew her whereabouts, they would just think it was a fight between two women. After all, the vacant throne of queen was there, who wouldn't be jealous?

And she also expected that Feng Qiwu would come to this palace after finishing his court session, and only then did she truly state her purpose.

There are some little thoughts, but it also shows loyalty. One always has to be cautious when facing life and death.

Wen Ranyan is not the kind of person who is petty and fussy.

While Wen Ranyan was distracted, Feng Qiwu had already taken the account book. He flipped it open casually, and after reading the contents clearly, he still looked nonchalant, as if everything written on it was unimportant.

Zhou Xuzhi originally thought that he would be waiting for the emperor's thundering wrath, but after waiting for a long time, there was no huge wave or rough sea. It was as calm as a green leaf floating across a stream, smooth and silent.

She suddenly felt confused. Did she take the wrong account book?

Just when she was at a loss, Wen Ranyan came up to take a look, and then said jokingly: "This account book is well recorded. The silver used to purchase the arms is clearly written. It turns out that the arms we confiscated are so valuable."

It is impossible to sell arms openly. If you trade them privately, you run the risk of losing your head. The seller is not a fool, so of course he will extort a large sum of money from the seller.

Feng Qiwu tapped a page of the account book lazily, and sneered again: "It seems that we have made a lot of money."

Zhou Weizhi: “…”

They actually started discussing whether they made a profit or a loss.

When she first got the account book, she was so frightened that she couldn't sleep at night and lost her appetite. Even though she knew they were planning something, facing such irrefutable evidence of treason, she was still frightened to the point of her blood freezing and she was in a panic.

Every night, she would worry about not waking up from her sleep, until she entered the palace and met her acquaintances, and her frozen blood began to warm up a little.

After a long silence, Zhou Weizhi withstood the pressure and said, "Your Majesty, these account books were obtained by me on the day of the ancestor worship at the Duke's Mansion. There is absolutely no possibility of forgery."

Feng Qiwu heard the voice and finally gave her a look with a cold expression, "I don't think you dare to fake it."

This is to believe what she said.

Zhou Yuzhi couldn't help but let out a long sigh, "Your Majesty, the crimes committed by the Duke's Mansion are too numerous to list, and have brought disaster to all of our clans. I risked my life to report this, and I ask nothing more than Your Majesty to spare my life."

After saying that, she kowtowed heavily, with such force that her forehead turned red.

Feng Qiwu glared at her, his eyes were indifferent, and his voice was cold, "You have made a good report. If you stick to your duty, the Duke's Mansion will not involve you."

He gathered his sleeves together, and his words seemed to contain a warning.

Zhou Xuzhi understood what was going on and immediately bowed to express his gratitude.

"Your Majesty's order, I will keep it in mind and will abide by my duty without any false thoughts..."

After getting the emperor's promise, Zhou Xuzhi had no reason to stay any longer, so he bowed and left.

After everyone left, the long hall became completely quiet.

Feng Qiwu casually threw the account book aside and never looked at it again, as if it was not evidence of treason, but just an ordinary thing.

The sandalwood incense curls from the large hollow cauldron on the ground, making the hall fresh and pleasant, and the wisps of smoke are like dreamlike dust.

"Did they really burn the account books so smoothly when they went into the mountains to worship their ancestors that day?"

Wen Ranyan added some more spices into the big cauldron. She stood in the smoke with a sly and clever smile.