In the years of famine, I led a comfortable life with my husband

"Zhizhi, please don't call me Master Song. I'm older than your father and have a good relationship with him. It's not appropriate to call me Uncle Song."

"Uncle Song, what happened to my father back then? Is it related to Xu Chao?" Su Zhizhi temporarily dispelled her suspicion of Song's father and asked anxiously.

Song's father was stunned for a moment, then nodded bitterly, "Yes, your father was indeed killed because of Xu Chao's incident."

Speaking of the past, Song's father sighed deeply and began to recall every detail, "I remember that time your father was very popular in front of His Majesty. Although Xu Chao was not the Prime Minister at that time, it was still a high position and he had his own camp in the court.

Your father entered the court as an official, and although he was appreciated by His Majesty, he was more often targeted by Xu Chao.

Xu Chao originally wanted to win over your father to work for him, but your father hated evil and would never go along with Xu Chao, so Xu Chao began to feel resentful towards your father.

Later, your father did something that affected the interests of Xu Chao and his group. Xu Chao didn't want the foundation he had built over the years to be destroyed, so he found a random reason to put your father in jail.

But Xu Chao didn't intend to let your father go. He actually planned to wipe out the entire clan, and your father was beheaded in public."

After listening to Song's father's story, Su Zhizhi's eyes were red and she looked very painful. As Song's father described, clear pictures began to emerge in Su Zhizhi's mind, and she seemed to remember more things.

After chatting with Song's father for a long time, Su Zhizhi finally stood up and said goodbye.

After returning home, Su Zhizhi did not completely believe what Song's father said. After thinking it over, she decided to write a letter to Meng to confirm the truth of the year.

Thinking of this, Su Zhizhi wrote a letter as quickly as possible, found a trustworthy person, and rode towards the Meng family at full speed.

Su Zhizhi thought that everything was fine at this point, but unexpectedly, something unexpected happened to the letter on the way.

Xu Wanqing had always sent people to follow Su Zhizhi, so she naturally knew about Su Zhizhi's letter. Out of curiosity, Xu Wanqing still sent people to intercept the letter written by Su Zhizhi.

The princess's men were naturally quick in their work. Not long after the letter left the city, it was intercepted by Xu Wanqing's men.

Xu Wanqing looked at the letter from home placed in front of her without moving, and no one knew what she was thinking.

After a long time, Xu Wanqing reached out and opened the envelope of the letter from home.

Xu Wanqing read the letter very quickly. She quickly glanced through what Su Zhizhi wrote. Her pupils suddenly dilated, as if she had seen something very shocking.

"Su Zhizhi, ang Su Zhizhi, I didn't expect that you are the daughter of a traitor. I really underestimated you..." Xu Wanqing murmured to herself.

The maidservant beside him heard this and said indignantly, "Your Highness, what should we do now? If she is the daughter of a guilty minister, she must have other motives for coming to the capital. Why don't you just arrest her and interrogate her?"

Xu Wanqing shook her head, rejecting the maid's suggestion. "No need. I naturally have other plans. Although Su Zhizhi is the daughter of a traitor, she hasn't revealed anything substantial yet. But now that I know, it's like I have a very powerful bargaining chip in my hand. Su Zhizhi will definitely not turn against me easily, and she will work well for me."

Xu Wanqing paused for a moment and continued, "Come here, keep an eye on Su Zhizhi for me. If she dares to cause trouble, don't blame me for being rude. You should also watch your mouths, or I'll make you feel like you can't live or die."

Su Zhizhi knew nothing about this and was still hoping that Meng would reply to her as soon as possible after receiving the letter.

Su Zhizhi had limited time to stay outside the palace, and after almost finishing all the things, she returned to the imperial kitchen and continued to cook as before, as if nothing had happened.

The housekeeper was also continuing to participate in the merchant competition. Xu Wanqing originally wanted to stop him, but not only did it not work, it seemed to have accelerated the housekeeper's victory.

The butler was not affected at all during the competition, and just as Xie Chengjin expected, he successfully won the first place in the competition.

When Xie Chengjin received the news, there was not much surprise on his face. After all, he had used some connections to push the butler up.

The champion was able to enter the palace to meet the emperor, which was the most important thing for Xie Chengjin.

The butler followed the eunuch from the palace into the palace. In the imperial study, the emperor looked at the butler who came in, with no big expression on his face.

"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you. Long live Your Majesty!" The butler saluted the emperor very politely.

"Stand up, are you the top scorer in this competition? I have underestimated you." The emperor waved his hand casually.

Although Steward Zhao was not good-looking, he was able to beat all the merchants in the capital and come out on top. This was indeed something no one had expected. Even the emperor initially thought that Steward Zhao would be eliminated soon.

Butler Zhao said calmly, "Your Majesty, thank you for your compliments. I'm just a little knowledgeable about business, and I didn't expect to win this championship. These are my sincere tributes, and I hope Your Majesty won't despise them."

As soon as he finished speaking, the young eunuch led several people who looked like servants in. They were seen carrying several boxes. The boxes fell to the ground, and Butler Zhao opened them one by one. What caught the eye was a dazzling golden color. These were clearly boxes of gold, silver and jewelry.

Although the emperor was used to seeing good things, he was still surprised to see so much money in front of him.

"What are you doing?" The emperor turned his inquiring gaze to the butler.

Butler Zhao smiled faintly, "These things are just presented to Your Majesty. Although the treasury is full, who would complain about having too much money? They are just icing on the cake. I hope Your Majesty will not despise them."

The emperor's eyes lit up. He knew best whether the treasury was full or not. The amount of gold and silver that the steward took out was considerable. Whether it was kept in the treasury or kept by the emperor himself, it would be very useful.

As Butler Zhao watched the emperor's complexion become more and more favorable, he gradually felt relieved.

The emperor felt very relieved by what Butler Zhao said and his mood improved a lot.

In fact, the national treasury is very short of money at the moment. The gold, silver and jewelry that Xie Chengjin asked the butler to send can effectively solve the emperor's urgent needs.

The emperor talked with Butler Zhao for a while. Before Butler Zhao left, the emperor waved his hand and gave Butler Zhao a golden medal of immunity from death.

Steward Zhao was overjoyed, but his face was filled with fear and confusion. He knelt on the ground, holding the token in trembling hands, and asked cautiously, "Your Majesty, what is this..."