Reborn to marry, the short-lived prince lived a hundred years

"My husband is back." Meng Tingyue swallowed the word "Your Highness" that was about to come out of her mouth, and with a smile on her face, she got up from the bed to greet him.

The room was gently wrapped in warmth, and a faint scent of elegant incense flowed in the air, almost the same as the scent on Meng Tingyue's body.

The woman in front of him was slim and wore a goose yellow jacket, which made her look more peaceful.

Her black hair was casually tied up, with a few strands of hair casually falling on her shoulders. Her face was plain and without any makeup, but she was surprisingly attractive.

Shen Yunheng's gaze couldn't help but fall on the fair skin exposed on her neck. He involuntarily looked away and strode towards the table with a barely perceptible alienation in his tone.

"Why did you send someone to look for me in broad daylight?"

"It's just that I'm worried about my husband, so I sent someone to inquire about him."

After saying this, Meng Tingyue continued, "Knowing that my husband is diligently engaged in state affairs all day, and that it happened to be raining heavily, I thought that my husband might stay in the East Palace tonight."

Shen Yunheng said calmly: "No."

"You'll know the answer when you see your husband return home." Meng Tingyue gently placed the account book she had just flipped through on the table in front of Shen Yunheng, and sat down.

"These are the account books of these years. I have carefully checked them these days and found some problems..." Meng Tingyue was afraid that Shen Yunheng didn't understand, so she explained to him in detail.

There was a distance between the two of them, neither far nor close. In order to better explain the problem, Meng Tingyue unconsciously stretched out her arm and leaned forward to point at the account book.

After a long time, a slight soreness began to appear in her arms and neck, so she naturally dragged the stool and slowly moved a little closer to him.

The corners of Shen Yunheng's eyes caught her every subtle movement. There seemed to be an undercurrent surging in the depths of his eyes, and a complex and indistinguishable emotion flashed in his eyes. He seemed to be gently touched by some distant memory, and the lines on his face unconsciously tightened.

Meng Tingyue was concentrating on analyzing what was happening in front of her and did not notice anything unusual about Shen Yunheng.

Even if she found out, she wouldn't think there was anything wrong. They were husband and wife, so it was only natural for them to go back to bed and make love.

Butler Zheng managed the accounts so perfectly that even if she searched more carefully, she could only find a few subtle omissions, which seemed like Butler Zheng had deliberately revealed his flaws.

The books were so clean that she suspected that Manager Zheng had been prepared and replaced the books in advance.

The prince was busy fighting on the battlefield in his early years and neglected many affairs in the palace. This made it easy for Butler Zheng to have absolute control over the palace and secretly replace the account books.

Since she couldn't find any problems in the book, she tried another approach.

"These minor matters are not a big deal, but it seems a bit inappropriate to put them on Butler Zheng."

Meng Tingyue mentioned it unintentionally, leaving an imperceptible trace like a sparse ink dot in Shen Yunheng's mind, and then she leisurely turned to the main topic.

"I've carefully calculated that the shops in the mansion are all located in good locations in the capital. However, compared to other shops of the same type in the same locations, the profits of the shops in the mansion are somewhat lower."

"Thinking carefully, the reasons behind this are nothing more than three points."

"First, the shop assistants may have been a little lazy and not doing their best;"

"Secondly, the quality of the items sold is mediocre, making it difficult to stand out in a crowded market. Customers naturally tend to prefer those that are superior;"

"The third is that some people are enriching themselves."

Seeing Shen Yunheng frowning in thought, Meng Tingyue continued, "I took some time out these past two days to visit those shops, and secretly sent people to ask the people what they thought of these shops."

"The quality of the goods sold in these shops is generally average. While not inferior to other businesses, they are not much better, and the prices are also higher than other places. The workers in these shops are also very picky and often look down on people for what they want."

These words were not just fabricated by Meng Tingyue, but the conclusion she reached after careful investigation. If Shen Yunheng was interested, he only needed to send someone to verify them and he would know whether they were true or not.

Upon hearing this, Shen Yunheng was furious. He slammed his palm on the table, causing the teacup to tremble slightly. "How dare you!"

He knew very well that Meng Tingyue was not a frivolous person and would never play tricks on him in this matter.

"Ling Qi!" he shouted angrily. Ling Qi, who was waiting outside the door, heard the sound and hurried into the house.

"Your Highness."

"Why has no one reported this matter yet?" Shen Yunheng asked, his tone full of blame.

Ling Qi's heart tightened, and his knees bent involuntarily, falling to the ground. "I have been waiting at the mansion, but I haven't heard Manager Zheng mention this matter, nor have I received any relevant letters."

Meng Tingyue was thoughtful. If Ling Xiao was the prince's confidant who accompanied him on the battlefield, then Ling Qixu was the one who helped the prince run back and forth between the two sides to deliver messages.

Meng Tingyue took the initiative to put her arm around Shen Yunheng and said sympathetically, "Perhaps Butler Zheng has also been kept in the dark and doesn't know the truth of this matter."

Shen Yunheng glanced at Meng Tingyue with a hint of anger in his eyes before looking away. "Whether it was an accident or not, it was all his negligence."

"Ling Qi, quickly send someone to investigate the authenticity of this matter. If it's true... I need an explanation from Manager Zheng."

"Yes, my subordinate will do it now."

The moment Ling Qi turned around, a flash of lightning streaked across the sky, illuminating the vegetation in the courtyard and allowing people to clearly see the violent storm raging outside.

The sound of thunder followed the disappearance of lightning. Although Meng Tingyue was mentally prepared, she was still frightened and turned pale. She involuntarily snuggled up to the vague sense of security beside her.

A sudden warmth entered Shen Yunheng's embrace, and a faint fragrance lingered around his nose, but it made him frown, and he instinctively pushed away this sudden warmth.

Just at this moment, thunder exploded again outside the house, as if to swallow up all other sounds. The candlelight flickered a few times and finally went out. The house was instantly swallowed by endless darkness.

In the darkness, a pair of soft, boneless hands quietly wrapped around his waist, and a warm little head rested against his chest.

He raised his hand helplessly and gently placed it on Meng Tingyue's slightly trembling back. Her body instantly tensed under his fingertips. He tried to soften his tone, "Don't be afraid, it's me."

Meng Tingyue was frightened out of her wits, and the little bit of energy that she had managed to muster in her head was dispelled by the darkness.

Her voice was as thin as a mosquito, with a hint of helplessness and panic, "Why...the lights are off?"

At this moment, a maid hurried into the room, her eyes quickly swept over the extinguished candle, and she reported softly: "Your Highness, the candle has burned out. I will replace it with a new one."

The maid went in to check the candle and replied, "Your Highness, the candle has burned out. I will go and replace it with a new one."

Rumbling--

Just at this moment, thunder roared outside the house and lightning flashed, like an angry dragon in the sky tumbling wildly.

However, in Meng Tingyue's ears, the sound of Shen Yunheng's firm and steady heartbeat kept echoing, which inadvertently dispelled the anxiety and fear around her and brought her a hint of imperceptible peace.