Regent, please maintain your aloof image.

That evening, Su Qianrou sat on the tatami mat, leaning against the table, resting her chin on her hand, lost in thought, seemingly pondering something.

When Mu Jinchen came in, he saw her standing there in a daze, so he asked, "What are you thinking about?"

Su Qianrou then came to her senses, turned to look at him, and asked with some surprise, "Why are you here?"

She didn't get up to greet him, and Mu Jinchen didn't mind. He walked over and sat down opposite her, asking again, "What were you thinking about just now?"

"I wasn't thinking about anything. Why did you come? Do you want to play chess again?"

"I'm not here to play chess with you today."

"What are you here for?" Su Qianrou asked, looking at him curiously.

"I heard that Master Su has been arrested."

"Um... what's wrong?"

Do you know why he accidentally killed someone?

"Didn't you say you were drunk?"

Mu Jinchen didn't speak, but his expression was somewhat intriguing.

"Could there be another hidden story?"

"Li Hong is the younger brother of the Crown Prince's wife."

Su Qianrou immediately understood his meaning, "You mean that this was done intentionally by the General's Mansion, with the purpose of making me marry into the General's Mansion."

"Well, there are no eligible men in the Prince Qing's mansion, so the Prince Qing chose the General's mansion. However, apart from Li Hong, the General's mansion has no suitable candidates. But given Li Hong's character, Lord Su will definitely not allow you to marry him. Therefore, they plotted against Third Master Su."

"I knew it! With my third uncle's cowardly nature, how could he dare to kill someone?"

"Not only that, but the matter of Master Su before was done by Prince Min. That brothel was one of his businesses."

"So, they're all coming for me."

Mu Jinchen nodded.

Su Qianrou said self-deprecatingly, "Now, I've become a hot commodity."

"Given the nature of Prince Qing and Prince Min, if one plan fails, they will surely devise another. Your days ahead will likely be anything but peaceful. What are your plans?"

"What plans can I have? I can't just marry anyone, can I?" she said, then suddenly thought of something, but hesitated.

Seeing her expression, Mu Jinchen knew what she was thinking. "You want to marry Liu Chengjun."

"How did you know?" Su Qianrou asked, somewhat surprised.

Mu Jinchen did not answer her question, but said, "The Zhenguo Duke's Mansion has never interfered in court disputes. Moreover, are you sure that the Zhenguo Duke's Mansion can withstand the storms now? Even if Liu Chengjun agrees to marry you, as long as you are not married, Prince Qing and Prince Min will not give up and will definitely do something. At that time, you can imagine the situation of the Zhenguo Duke's Mansion."

Su Qianrou hesitated precisely because she knew this, and she did not want to drag the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion into this conflict. Therefore, she quickly dismissed the idea and then said, "How about you demote my father and replace him with someone else as Minister of Revenue?"

Mu Jinchen looked at her and found it somewhat amusing. Everyone else was racking their brains to get their fathers promoted and made a fortune, but she actually wanted her father to be demoted. She was truly... different from others.

Seeing that he disagreed, Su Qianrou said somewhat despondently, "Then tell me, what should I do?"

Mu Jinchen remained silent.

Yingfeng then said, "In my opinion, why does the princess have to go to such lengths? Why don't you just marry my prince directly? That would solve the problem easily."

Upon hearing this, Su Qianrou excitedly said, "Guard Ying, what are you joking about? Your lord..." Then, remembering that Mu Jinchen was still there, she softened her tone and said, "Your lord is of noble birth, of immeasurable stature, and of the highest rank. How could I possibly be tainted by him? Don't you think so, Your Highness?" But in her heart, she thought: If I were to marry him, I'm afraid there would be even more trouble.

Mu Jinchen knew her true thoughts, but he didn't expose her. He said, "I intend to have Lord Su recover the money borrowed by the officials in the court."

Su Qianrou looked at him with a puzzled expression, not understanding what he meant.

Then, Mu Jinchen added, "Among them, Prince Qing and Prince Min borrowed the most."

Su Qianrou instantly understood, "Your Highness, you're cutting off their livelihood! If that's the case, won't they be even more determined to get rid of me?"

"Therefore, I am kindly reminding you to prepare in advance."

"Should I thank you?"

"You're welcome."

Su Qianrou couldn't help but roll her eyes at him, then asked, "So, have you figured out how to collect the debt?"

"This is something Lord Su should worry about."

"Your Highness, did our family have a grudge against you in our past life?"

"Why do you say that?"

"Then why do you insist on making things difficult for us? Collecting debts is obviously something that offends people. If you ask my dad to do it, wouldn't that put my dad and me on the hot seat?"

"Your father is the Minister of Revenue."

Su Qianrou was speechless and unable to refute. She then fell into deep thought and after a while said, "Just now you said that the brothel is the property of Prince Min."

"Ok".

Su Qianrou revealed a sly expression and asked, "Do you want to add it to your collection?"

"You have a way."

Su Qianrou smiled but did not answer.

Mu Jinchen didn't ask any further questions. If she could really do it, it would solve a major problem for him, because that brothel was secretly an important base for Prince Min to gather intelligence.

The next day, Su Qianrou came to Su Jing'an's study.

At this moment, the two were sitting on the tatami mat drinking tea.

After a moment, Su Qianrou spoke up: "I heard that Father is going to collect debts."

"How did you know?" Su Jing'an was somewhat surprised, after all, this news had only been announced during the morning court session, less than an hour ago, and she already knew about it.

"I heard about it."

Although Su Jing'an had doubts, he did not ask any further questions.

Then, Su Qianrou asked, "Father, have you figured out how to collect the debt?"

"Not yet, I'm currently worried about this."

"I have a plan, Father, you'd like to hear it."

"You have a way."

"Ok".

"I would like to hear the details."

"Before I begin, I have a question for you, Father. Please answer truthfully."

"What's the matter?"

"Father, do you want this Marquis's mansion?"

"The laws of Yunyue stipulate that the eldest son should be chosen as heir, not the most virtuous, and the son of noble birth should be chosen as heir, not the eldest."

“But if Father wants it, I can…”

"I never imagined this Marquis's mansion."

"In that case, what does Father think about dividing the family property?"

“No, according to the laws of Yunyue, if parents are alive, their children and grandchildren cannot establish their own households; otherwise, they shall be punished with one hundred strokes of the cane.”

"But what if Grandfather brings it up himself?"

"Although your grandfather is not very clear-headed, dividing the family property is a major event, and he would never do that."

“But if it were my eldest uncle and third uncle who wanted to, my grandfather wouldn’t be able to resist their persuasion.”

"It seems you already have a plan."

"My daughter really does have a way."

"Speak freely."

"My daughter thinks this is a great opportunity to collect the debt."

Su Jing'an didn't speak, but just looked at her, waiting for her to continue.

Then, Su Qianrou told him her plan.

It wasn't until more than an hour later that she left Fuxi Courtyard and then went to Siyi Courtyard.