Chapter 6: Who Has the Higher Strategy

  Chu Mingyu stared at her until everyone thought something would happen, then he suddenly swung his sleeve and said coldly: "Let's go!"

  After he finished speaking, he turned around and left with those guards, leaving everyone inside and outside the courtyard in stunned silence.

  Originally, the crowd was prepared to watch the Fourth Prince beat up Hua Ze and then send him off to Beiming. However, they didn't get to see anything exciting, and instead saw that Chu Mingqiu had withdrawn all his troops. The crowd was greatly disappointed. Gu Shi seethed with anger, while Hua Ruo Meng chased after Chu Mingqiu, asking in a shocked tone: "Could it be that Your Highness has no intention of sending her to Beiming?"

  Chu Ming looked down at her, forcing a smile, "If we don't investigate who sent those assassins and what their purpose was, things will get very complicated. I'll make arrangements after reporting back to my emperor father."

  "No matter what the killer is like, isn't it most important to send her to Beiming first to exchange for medicine?" Hua Ruo Meng asked as if it was a matter of course.

  Someone sent an assassin, obviously someone didn't want the Empress Dowager to live. Such a big deal, Hua Yu could see it, but the woman in front of him who was about to be proposed to couldn't?

  Chu Mingqiu didn't seem to mind her shallowness, and instead smiled warmly, "If the traitor isn't eliminated, even if we switch the medicine, it's likely that it still won't be able to enter the Empress Dowager's mouth. Has Eighth Young Lady figured it out?"

  The flower seems to understand yet doesn't understand.

  Chu Mingxiang rode his horse away, after a long time, Hua Ruo's eyes were filled with disappointment and resentment. Just now, she clearly saw Hua Ze standing so close to him and talking to him in a low voice, whispering to each other, could it be that they were discussing these things? Did the two of them have some private relationship? Was he reluctant to send her to Beiming?

  She turned back and went to find Mr. Gu to cry and complain.

  Finally relieved of the crisis, Hua Zhe also let out a sigh of relief. Regardless of how Gu's family would deal with her next time for not achieving their goal, she decided to find Peony first.

  Chun Tao and Shan Hu were not there, they might have gone to the Gu's place again to discuss countermeasures. She was about to order Qin Er to go ahead and wait when she saw Yu Yao walking in from outside, looking disheveled.

  "Hua Zhe Yu was busy pulling her back, 'Where did you go last night? Weren't you caught by them?'"

  Peony's eyes were red and swollen, as if she had cried all night. As soon as she mentioned it, her dry tears flowed out again, and she choked: "The slave has nothing to do with it. Last night, the slave rented a horse carriage halfway and went straight to find Fang Jie's daughter Su Lian sister. Su Lian sister and her husband immediately left the city to collect Fang Jie's body..."

  The rain was pouring down, and her heart ached as she thought of the gentle and sentimental Yu Rong. Now that Fang's body had been found, she could finally find some peace. She sighed, "I wonder how Sulian is doing after hearing about Fang's tragic death?"

  Peony wiped the corner of her eye, "Su Lian's body was originally not good, and she had a one-year-old son to raise under her knees. Her husband, Yuan Ge, was in a pharmacy that was about to close due to poor business. With Fang Gu going away, Su Lian suffered several blows and fainted last night..."

  This is clearly a case of misfortune piling up, with the family's livelihood already precarious and now made even more desperate by Fang's passing. How can Hua'er possibly be at peace? Especially since Fang died saving her?

  She thought for a moment and asked Xie Yaowu: "Do we still have any silver money that can be used to support them?"

  Peony glanced cautiously at Qiner, who hastily shook her head. "Sister Peony, whatever you have to say, just say it. I won't leak a single word."

  She nodded slightly, then spoke in a low voice: "As I was sent by the old lady to serve Miss, I also know some things that Miss doesn't know. Two years ago, when Sixth Miss married Prince Xi, not only did the Emperor bestow rewards, but the Empress Dowager and the Empress also gave Sixth Miss some precious jewelry and land. At the time, the Emperor's rewards were all put into the treasury, but the jewelry and land given by the Empress Dowager and the Empress were somehow taken by Madame to keep for safekeeping, saying they would be used as dowry for Seventh Miss in the future. Later, after Miss was sent to the countryside due to her misbehavior, no one in the mansion ever heard Madame mention those things again. I thought that this time when Miss went to Beiming, Madame would add some of those items to her dowry, but after searching through all the boxes and trunks, aside from some inferior decorations and clothes, there was nothing valuable at all. It seems that Madame never intended to give those things to Miss."

  Hua Zhe Yu knew that after Hua Zhe Yue and Qin Xi Qi passed away two years ago, the old lady had been spending her days praying in the Buddhist hall. All the major and minor matters of the household were handled by Gu Shi, and she rarely asked about them anymore. However, she did send someone from her side, Yu Ruolan, over to Hua Zhe Yu's place. As a result, Hua Zhe Yu was accused of having an illicit relationship with Gu Zongzhi, the young master, and was sent to the countryside, where she spent nearly two years alone, suffering all sorts of hardships in the world. If it weren't for her still being useful and being brought back to be sent to Bei Ming to exchange medicine, she probably wouldn't have been able to set foot in the Hua household again for the rest of her life.

  And as for the matter of Hua Yue giving all her earnings to the Gu family, not only was she unaware of this soul's existence, but even the original owner probably didn't know either. It was clear that the Gu family wanted to monopolize everything for themselves.

  Now that she urgently needs money in her hands, how can she let the Qiu family take away her belongings so easily?

  She smiled faintly and said to Yu Rong, "You go rest first. I reckon it'll be either tomorrow or the day after that we can go pay our respects to Fang's family."

  Peony still had some doubts, but Qiner had already pulled her away.

  Ink Plum Studio

  "Mother, you saw it too today, the Fourth Prince never intended to send that woman to Beiming, what does he mean?" Hua Ruo Meng wailed loudly while hugging Gu Shi's arm.

  Gu's expression was also gloomy, "Flower Rain has gone to the North Sea, it's already a done deal, there's no turning back. As for the Fourth Prince, he brought Gao Daren from the Ministry of Rites, clearly intending to send someone away, but later why did he change his mind?" At that time, Flower Rain's timid yet calm demeanor made her feel like something was off, as if she had become a different person.

  Sitting to one side, the elegant and refined Hua Ruo Yun said nonchalantly: "Mother, why bother with these things? The Fourth Prince was raised by the Empress Dowager, but has never been favored by the Emperor. If he wants to achieve something, he will definitely try every means to form an alliance with us. So, Eighth Sister, your vision shouldn't be too narrow either. Since you like the Fourth Prince so much, he will definitely become yours, don't worry."

  This remark made Hua Ruoyan feel much better, and she stopped crying, saying: "But the way he spoke to that cheap woman makes me uncomfortable just watching."

  "That's just a dying struggle of the flower in the rain, why bother to follow up? People like the flower in the rain are not even worthy of being a threat to you. To dwell on this is to lower yourself." Hua Ruo Yun said with disdain: "If it were up to me to kill her, it would be as easy as crushing an ant. However, for now she still has some use value. Looking at the situation today, I'm afraid she won't be sent to the underworld just yet, lest she becomes too proud and forgets herself. Instead, we should give her a hard time."

  Hua Ruo's words were gentle and soothing, her eyes gleaming with a soft light. She didn't seem to take Hua Yu's teasing seriously at all, which made Hua Yu feel relieved and pleased. Suddenly, she burst out laughing and nodded in agreement.

  Gu's family listened to Hua Ruo Yun's words, and looking at Hua Ruo Yun's stunning beauty, they felt proud. With such a daughter who knew her place and had both talent and looks, what more could they ask for? Such a daughter, with her inner qualities and outer appearance, was exceptional in every way. If she didn't marry the most noble person in the world and give her a platform to showcase her talents, wouldn't that be wasting her potential?

  She temporarily put aside her doubts about Hua Zhe Yu.

  Several people's moods improved, and they were chatting and laughing. Someone outside reported that the eldest young master had arrived, so Madame Gu hastily told her two daughters to leave before inviting Gu Qizheng in.

  As soon as Gu Zongzhong entered the door, Mrs. Gu slapped him with a loud slap and scolded: "You can't even handle such a small matter, are you really useless?"

  Gu Zhi Zhong had known that this aunt was ferocious, covering his face and not daring to speak out. After a long time, he stammered: "At the time, we were about to settle her on the spot, but who knew that old slave would hold us back and let that little prostitute escape? Later, there were many more assassins, and we were afraid of being exposed, so we didn't dare chase after her, which is how it ended up like this..."

  "Since it's like this, then don't appear in front of me again!"

  "But what about the silver that Auntie promised..."

  "Nothing was accomplished, do you still want money? No wonder your father doesn't like you, you're simply a good-for-nothing." Madam Gu beat and scolded Gu Zhong, leaving him battered and bruised.

  Gu Zong lowered his head and listened, not saying a word. Madam Gu scolded until she was satisfied, then reluctantly handed him a package of silver. He took the silver, bowed, and only then did he bid farewell and leave.

  All the way out of Huamei Xuan, his face was filled with unprecedented resentment and gloom.

  The next morning, Gu's family let Ahn Kuo Gong Hua inquire about the progress of the poisoning incident in the palace. The news that came out from the palace was surprisingly to find the assassin first and wait for the day of delivery to be determined.

  This news made Gu very dissatisfied, because Hua Zhe Yu's existence was a thorn in her heart, and every time she saw him, it was a kind of heartache.

  She was thinking about whether to send someone into the palace to urge her sister, Consort Ming, to see if she had any way to get Hua Zhe Yu to leave earlier. Unexpectedly, Empress Dowager sent over Shi Gonggong, who said he wanted to carefully ask about the assassination attempt yesterday.

  Mr. Gu hurried forward to greet him personally.

  In the quiet courtyard, the flowers were blooming and the clothes were spread out. Not a single one looked like it was in good condition, they were all old-fashioned, worn-out and tattered. She couldn't help but sigh, and said to Chun Tao: "Nowadays, I couldn't find a decent dress, if someone from the palace comes and asks me to assist with investigating a case or something, going out looking like this would definitely make people laugh. It's also not easy to get new ones made right away, go ask Eighth Miss to lend me one of her dresses, hers is the only one that fits me."