Meanwhile, the Prince of Sui should have gone to the capital. But with his wife and child encountering trouble on the way, going to the capital now would make him seem uncaring towards them.

For some reason, news of his family’s abduction spread like wildfire. It was said that bandits from Dongzhou had kidnapped his princess to be a bandit leader’s wife.

This cast a green shadow over the Prince of Sui’s reputation… Even if his wife’s chastity was compromised, he still had to make every effort to ransom her back. Otherwise, rumors would spread that the Prince of Sui cared more for money than people, disregarding years of marital affection. His reputation for kindness, built through years of religious devotion, would be washed away.

So when the fierce bandits demanded money, the Prince of Sui could only grit his teeth and pay, hoping to ransom his family back quickly so he could proceed to the capital.

By now, Liu Yu’s position on the throne was stable. After all, he had ascended to the throne with blood on his hands, and many didn’t submit to him. At this time, the capital lacked a virtuous prince who could balance the various forces.

The reason Liu Pei supported Liu Yu’s ascension was to use him to eliminate opposition first. Compared to this prince who had grown up among commoners, Liu Pei’s status as the emperor’s grand uncle was unquestionable.

In the imperial study, someone was earnestly advising His Majesty not to let the Prince of Sui enter the capital.

This advisor was naturally Shi Yikuan, who was well-acquainted with the Prince of Sui’s temperament. Now that he had become the emperor’s father-in-law, he hoped his son-in-law would secure his position on the throne. His thoughts had gradually shifted from his old master to his gains and losses.

Listening to his father-in-law’s advice, Liu Yu sighed slightly and said, “Among the six ministries, except for the Ministry of Works, all are filled with the Grand Empress Dowager’s people. I can’t control them. Previously, due to the uprising, I deployed my troops to Sanjin, which stabilized the situation in the capital. But now, the areas around Sanjin are constantly increasing their troops, all under generals loyal to the Grand Empress Dowager. Now that the Empress Dowager misses Liu Pei and wants him to enter the capital, I can’t stop it…”

He had been able to overthrow the Demon Empress Wu’s family and the previous young emperor because the Demon Empress was unpopular and had ascended to power illegitimately, giving him excuses to raise his banner. But the Grand Empress Dowager, who had been staying behind the scenes, was highly respected and revered by the old ministers. He couldn’t touch her. His empress visited the Grand Empress Dowager daily to pay respects, maintaining a facade of harmony. But in recent days, the Grand Empress Dowager had been missing the Prince of Sui terribly, and no one dared to intervene.

Liu Yu knew that once the Prince of Sui entered the capital, the political situation would become even more challenging, and he might struggle to control the Prince’s influence alone.

But now the court was like cooking a delicate fish – too much movement would break it apart, but no movement would burn it to the bottom of the pan.

Liu Yu was treading on thin ice, carefully maintaining a surface of calm.

Shi Yikuan understood Liu Yu’s current difficulties. He advised Liu Yu, “If a rat enters the granary, you need to send in a cat to deal with it. If Your Majesty does nothing, the rat will eat its fill without worry. But if you introduce a cat that it fears, how could it have the heart to cause trouble?”

Liu Yu frowned, “Who do you mean by this cat?”

Shi Yikuan looked up and said, “The Prince of Sui and the Prince of Huaiyang have been at odds in Huizhou. According to my spy in Qingzhou, the Prince of Sui’s wife and daughter seem to have been abducted by people sent by the Prince of Huaiyang, disguised as bandits… I believe only the Prince of Huaiyang, this fierce cat, can control that vicious rat!”

Liu Yu listened with an expressionless face and said coldly, “Father-in-law should know that Cui Xingzhou is not close to me either.”

Shi Yikuan certainly knew this, otherwise he wouldn’t have recommended the Prince of Huaiyang. It was better to have a capable minister whom the emperor was wary of – even if he came, he wouldn’t divide the emperor’s favor.

“The Prince of Huaiyang is indeed unruly and not a good minister. But after all, he is surnamed Cui, unlike the Prince of Sui who harbors evil intentions. As long as Your Majesty handles him properly, you can certainly use the Prince of Huaiyang as a sharp blade…”

At this point, Shi Yikuan paused briefly and said, “The Prince of Sui will enter the capital sooner or later. The forces he has secretly cultivated are deeply entrenched, with his spies even in my household. This is why I asked Your Majesty to dismiss the attendants before I dared to speak. I implore Your Majesty to make a decision soon, to avoid being constrained by treacherous ministers!”

Liu Yu fell silent, his hands clenched. If he were securely seated on the throne, with the mandate of heaven reaching all directions, the person he would most want to kill would not be the Prince of Sui, but Cui Xingzhou, who possessed Liu Mian Tang!

Shi Yikuan carefully observed His Majesty’s expression and spoke again, “Your Majesty’s mind should be more open. He is now just one of your officials. Even if there were some unpleasantness before, Your Majesty can surely find a way to resolve it, making him willingly submit to Your Majesty’s authority and serve loyally…”

Hearing this, Liu Yu took a deep breath and said to Shi Yikuan with a pleasant expression, “I understand your concerns. I will consider the matter of summoning the Prince of Huaiyang to the capital to report on his duties… The Empress is pregnant again and often misses her mother. Please allow her mother to enter the palace to see her.”

Only then did Shi Yikuan learn of his daughter’s pregnancy, and his face showed joy as he agreed.

Now that the imperial harem was full of beauty, even the newly inducted Concubine Sun Yuniang was more beautiful than Empress Shi. It was rare for imperial favor to be so concentrated, exclusively favoring his plump daughter. So naturally, Shi Yikuan wanted his son-in-law’s reign to be stable so he could enjoy the benefits.

After the imperial father-in-law left, Liu Yu sat blankly in the study for a while, then stood up and pulled out a scroll painting from the bookshelf.

The painting depicted a woman in hunting attire, holding a bow and arrow, with delicate features like a newly blooming lotus.

He had only recently heard about the turbulent events in Zhenzhou. His hidden spies had reported in detail about Liu Mian Tang’s daring rescue of Dowager Chu.

Even with her memory loss, Mian Tang was still an extraordinary woman of courage and wisdom. He would never meet another Liu Mian Tang in this lifetime.

Yet he had lost her.

Liu Yu had been suffering from severe insomnia lately, not only due to the political intrigue at court but also because his longing for Mian Tang kept him awake at night.

It might be good to summon Cui Xingzhou to the capital. At least then he could see her from afar, even if she no longer remembered him.

The candlelight flickered in the imperial study as Liu Yu gazed at the portrait, his eyes growing increasingly obsessed…

While some in the capital couldn’t sleep, Liu Mian Tang had been sleeping exceptionally well these past few days, as the soft beds in the Marquis’ mansion were much more comfortable than door panels.

Zhenzhou needed reconstruction, so Cui Xingzhou had to stay in the prefecture to handle complex affairs. He also wouldn’t allow Liu Mian Tang to go too far, not even to Lingquan Town.

So Liu Mian Tang simply stayed with the Dowager at the Marquis’ mansion. Although bandits had invaded the city and disturbed the Marquis’ mansion, they left without much looting when they learned the Dowager had escaped the city.

The Marchioness, still shaken by the memory, held the Dowager’s hand and repeatedly said how fortunate they were, before asking about the repairs to the prince’s mansion.

The Dowager heard this and turned to ask Mian Tang, “How much will it cost to repair our mansion?”

Mian Tang pulled out a palm-sized golden abacus strung with pearls from her bosom, fiddled with it for a moment, and said, “If the money is used efficiently, it should be about a handful.”

The Marchioness probed, “Five hundred thousand taels?”

Mian Tang smiled and said, “Because we also need to compensate the families of the deceased servants and guards, and the prince wants to take this opportunity to expand the mansion… it will probably require five million taels.”

The Marchioness thought this amount was quite large. Normally, for a wealthy household like the Prince of Huaiyang’s, it wouldn’t be much, given that the prince’s mansion had always maintained a lavish lifestyle, with annual expenses comparable to those of princes and marquises in the capital.

But she also knew about the looting of the prince’s mansion, and even with income from tenant farmers in other estates, it would be difficult to manage such an expense at once. So she asked, “Is your household’s money sufficient? Does the Marquis’ household need to help out to tide you over this difficult period?”

The Dowager, upon hearing this, didn’t answer immediately but looked expectantly at Mian Tang, waiting for her response.

Mian Tang looked at the Marchioness with a slight smile and said, “Thank you for your offer of assistance, Marchioness. The Dowager and I are already imposing on you by staying here, how could we ask you to spend more? I’ll use my dowry to cover these expenses for now, so there’s no need to borrow.”

The Marchioness knew about the background of this future princess.

To be honest, like others, the Marchioness had initially looked down on this County Princess Huisang. She had even told her son Zhao Quan that if he followed the Prince of Huaiyang’s example and suddenly brought back some questionable woman as his main wife, she would immediately lie in her coffin and haunt him as a ghost.

As a result, her son’s unpredictable nature flared up again, and he sighed, saying that if he could marry such a woman, he would be content to be a groom for just one day before lying in his coffin.

This angered the Marchioness so much that she pinched her son’s ear and gave him a good scolding.

But now it seemed that the Prince of Huaiyang had truly found a treasure. This advance payment of five million taels, which this commoner-born young county princess could produce so easily, was more generous than some legitimate young ladies from great families.

No wonder Dowager Chu now had none of a mother-in-law’s authority, looking to her future daughter-in-law for decisions on everything.

Hearing the Marchioness express admiration for her generosity, Mian Tang humbly said, “This is all I have. But the prince said he would repay me double in the future, and even give me 3% interest!”

The Marchioness laughed and said, “You young people are playful. You’ll be husband and wife in the future, what interest are you talking about!”

Mian Tang laughed along and said no more. She couldn’t very well say that she had haggled with the Prince of Huaiyang and raised the interest to 4%!

She had no choice. Besides the four loyal brothers she had unexpectedly gained, she also had the scattered former members of Yangshan who hadn’t yet regrouped.

All these mouths needed to be fed. The title of “Boss” wasn’t given for nothing; she had to swallow the consequences of her actions. She needed to settle these people properly and prevent them from turning to banditry again.

After hearing the Dowager recount her escape, the Marchioness’s gaze towards Mian Tang changed.

This delicate-looking woman had shown such courage at the critical moment!

In that case, she was indeed a blessing to the prince’s household. County Princess Huisang was much more reliable than the prince’s previous fiancée, Miss Lian.