There is also spring for passers-by

"Which thief would steal something and put it in someone else's house? It's obvious that this little girl trusts you and hides in your house."

"But it's not easy to sell so many things."

The uncle and his wife were chatting when the young emperor arrived and began to curse: "Mother, you're always asking for money, asking for money. Sometimes it's for military pay, sometimes for disaster relief. There's only a few cents left in the treasury. This year's taxes and tributes haven't even been paid yet. Where can we get the money?"

The Queen Mother said, "Your Eighth Uncle's family just got a windfall, and he's so worried about what to do with it."

The new emperor immediately had an idea, "Did the Eighth Prince get much? How much?"

"One million and a half taels of silver, one hundred and twenty thousand taels of gold, as well as jewelry, hairpins, paintings with names on them, and some medicinal herbs, totaling approximately three million taels in value."

After hearing all this, Xinjun's worry gradually subsided.

Anything gained unexpectedly must be sent to the national treasury.

Once it enters the palace, it belongs to the royal family and the court, and it is all ill-gotten gains.

The Queen Mother did not hide the truth from the new emperor and told him about Han Qingwan.

Xinjun was very curious. "So, she's been in and out of Uncle Eight's residence for a while now, and the guards didn't notice her earlier?"

The virtuous king said, "I've heard Gongsun Dan and Han Hu mention that the Han family's daughter is a martial arts prodigy. That's why she's been taught martial arts by Nanny Lian since she was little. A while ago, Shi Da and Wu Qi saw that she was even better than Nanny Lian, so they gave her some pointers. Now she can fight them on equal terms. She's mastered Qing Gong, and wherever she goes, she's as slippery as a loach."

The guards of Prince Xian's mansion didn't know either. They thought it was the first time they discovered it, but it turned out that the man had been coming in and out many times. The captain of the guards scolded the guards and asked everyone to be more alert. Fortunately, the man in black last night had no ill intentions. He just moved some valuables into the mansion. If they had done something else, they would all be sinners.

The guards gathered together, talking about how the man in black had gotten in last night. Some of them were familiar with the veterans of the General's Mansion.

The veteran knew that this was not Wen Wan’s first time going out, but she had been there many times before.

Shi Da and Wu Qi were both wondering how the young lady had managed to sneak out, stealing so many things and emptying the warehouse of Ningyuan Hou's Mansion.

The capital government was still searching for the thieves, but the prefect of Yingtian Prefecture ordered: "No need to search anymore!"

The captain was puzzled.

The prefect of Yingtian Prefecture said, "There's no need to ask. It was done by righteous men from the Jianghu. The stolen property has been presented to the court. It was all ill-gotten gains."

The Ningyuan Marquis's family was so bold that they even dared to report the loss of ill-gotten gains to the authorities.

But the higher-ups said there was no need to investigate, so they turned a blind eye and let it go. The Cui family sent people to inquire several times, but the prefect always glossed over the matter and the case was left unresolved.

Wen Wan was being watched closely by Shi Da, Wu Qi and others, so she didn't plan to go out at night. She went to bed at night and sorted out the property in the system space. Of course, she kept one thousandth of the things. Each one was a rare treasure. Those with spiritual energy were kept, and those without would be sent to the Xianwang Mansion when the time came.

The public storehouse of the Ningyuan Marquis' Mansion, the dowries of the Marquis' wife and the two legitimate sons' wives, and the private storehouse were all stolen. Fortunately, there were some spare supplies in the dressing box in the bedroom, otherwise life would have been difficult for the people in the mansion.

When the property was lost this time, I clearly felt how important the food and fruits that the Han family had sent me before were. It really cost a lot of money to buy them every day, which was a bit tight.

The virtuous king handed over all the wealth of Fengyiyuan to the national treasury. Then when the people above counted it, they found not only the royal items lost from the palace, but also several contraband items. Finally, they found in the box the "tributes" that the Cui family collected from local tyrants every year. The amount was astonishing, and the account books were all from twenty, thirty, or even sixty years ago.

After seeing the account books, the new emperor cursed: "The country is full of parasites! Officials and businessmen are colluding! I should confiscate the Cui family!"

Ning Yuanhou and his family discovered that their colleagues had been avoiding them recently. Even when they met by chance, they ran away as if they were avoiding the plague.

Less than half a month after the Cui family was robbed, Ningyuan Hou's house was raided for crimes such as embezzlement and selling official positions. All the adult male members of Ningyuan Hou were imprisoned, and the female members were detained in the Ministry of Justice prison.

*

Yesterday, Wen Wan received the Empress Dowager's decree, summoning her to the palace to pay her respects. Nanny Lian and Meizi rose early to bathe and dress her, comb her hair, and dress her in proper palace robes. This was her first time in the palace since being named Princess Beining.

Last time, she wanted to go to the palace to express her gratitude, but the Empress Dowager knew that she was ill, so she allowed her to go to the palace to express her gratitude after she recovered.

Mei Zi rambled on and on, "Third Master Cui's life has been truly difficult. He lost his biological mother before he was three years old, and lived under the care of his stepmother. Now, after much difficulty, he's been engaged to a merchant's daughter, but because his father and brother were convicted, he's been thrown into jail as well."

Wen Wan sat in front of the makeup mirror, letting the maid toss her hair. "Sister Meizi, could it be that she likes Mr. Cui San?"

Maizi immediately said, "Miss, you're talking nonsense again. Sister Meizi vowed not to marry, so why would she marry now? It was because of her vow that my late husband allowed Sister Meizi to stay with you and teach you the arts of music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. Please stop saying such nonsense. It hurts Sister Meizi's feelings."

"You know I can't stand these beating around the bush. Sister, just tell me what you want from me, okay?"

Maizi and Meizi exchanged glances, and she said, "The young lady is very straightforward. No matter how hard you try to talk about how it's not easy, she doesn't understand what you mean at all."

Maizi said, "When we were at the Cui family, Third Master Cui helped us privately several times. That year, Meizi had a fever in the middle of the night, and the maid at the side door refused to open the door to call in a doctor. It was Third Master Cui who asked his servant to help get the medicine.

Another time, Douzi was falsely accused by Miss Cui of breaking her hairpins and rings, and she insisted on asking for the pair that the late Madam had left for her. Miss Cui refused, but it was Third Master Cui who spoke up for her, saying that he had seen the hairpins and rings broken in the back garden last time. Only then did Miss Cui stop asking..."

Wen Wan thought about it carefully and felt that Mr. Cui San was a man with conscience. Although he was a bastard, he was able to produce good bamboo shoots from bad bamboo.

Maizi sighed, "Young lady, you are entering the palace today. Please ask the Empress Dowager for mercy and have Mr. Cui released."

Wen Wan said, "Our Han family doesn't owe favors to anyone. I've made a note of this and will plead with the Queen Mother when I get the chance."

*

When she entered the palace, she brought Meizi with her. Meizi was the most talented of the four maids and had learned etiquette and rules the best.

The Queen Mother was a woman in her fifties, but she took good care of herself and looked only in her thirties, with an air of nobility.

When she saw Wen Wan, she saw that her features were very similar to those of the Han family, and she felt a little closer to them. She even regretted not summoning this girl into the palace to talk for the past ten years, which led to her being bullied in the Cui family.

The Queen Mother asked her what she did at home.

Wen Wan replied, "I studied with Mr. Gongsun, learned martial arts from Uncle Shi and Grandpa Wu, and Sister Meizi taught me how to play the piano and chess."

"Meizi, but what about the girl next to you?"

The Queen Mother looked at Mei Zi.