Dou Ren didn’t go to the Grand Commander’s Manor, but went directly to You Jian Tavern instead.

Debts owed at the tavern should naturally be repaid at the tavern. Going to the Grand Commander’s Manor would instead invite speculation.

At this hour, Miss Luo supposedly wouldn’t be at the tavern, and that female proprietor was obviously easy to deal with—Dou Ren thought to himself as he fingered the jade pendant meant to settle the debt.

He had barely knocked on the tavern’s main door when he saw Miss Luo sitting by the counter, smiling faintly at him.

“Eunuch Dou has come earlier than I expected.”

Dou Ren laughed dryly. “I didn’t expect Miss Luo would come to the tavern so early.”

Luo Sheng’s smile deepened. “Thinking that I’d be collecting a debt today, I came early.”

The corners of Dou Ren’s mouth twitched as he took out a pouch from inside his robe.

Luo Sheng tilted her chin toward the female proprietor.

The proprietor took the pouch and withdrew a stack of banknotes from it, using her fingers to swiftly count them.

Dou Ren’s eyes went straight.

Just how many banknotes had this woman counted before?

The proprietor quickly announced the amount. “Mistress, four thousand five hundred and twenty taels total. Still short one thousand one hundred taels.”

Debts must be repaid—this was only natural and just. Even if it was the Crown Prince, he couldn’t short-change the amount.

Luo Sheng looked at Dou Ren expressionlessly.

Dou Ren hastily presented the jade pendant. “Miss Luo, look at the quality of this jade pendant. It’s worth more than one thousand one hundred taels, isn’t it?”

Luo Sheng didn’t accept it at all, saying coolly, “I won’t look at it.”

Dou Ren nearly couldn’t catch his breath.

Was anyone this direct and straightforward?

Even if she had haggled a couple of sentences over the jade pendant’s quality, he wouldn’t have nearly been unable to bear it.

Luo Sheng sipped her tea and said coolly, “Eunuch Dou, go back and tell His Highness the Crown Prince that I run a tavern here, not a pawnshop. I only accept gold and silver, nothing else.”

“Miss Luo—”

“What, does Eunuch Dou need me to give you directions to where the pawnshop is?”

Dou Ren couldn’t help saying, “Miss Luo, do you not give the Crown Prince any face at all?”

Luo Sheng set her teacup down on the table with a sound.

Though the sound wasn’t loud, the tea in the cup sloshed back and forth.

The sloshing made Dou Ren’s heart sink with foreboding.

Luo Sheng said with a stern face, “With multiple important court ministers as witnesses, yesterday the Crown Prince hosted guests at You Jian Tavern and spent five thousand six hundred and twenty taels. Now Eunuch Dou insists on using the Crown Prince’s jade pendant to settle the debt. If this spreads, aren’t you afraid of ruining the Crown Prince’s lifelong reputation?”

Dou Ren raised his sleeve to wipe the sweat from his forehead and asked through gritted teeth, “Miss Luo intends to spread this around?”

Luo Sheng looked astonished. “Does Eunuch Dou mean for me to quietly accept the Crown Prince’s jade pendant? If I accepted it that way, wouldn’t it become an illicit exchange of gifts? How could I, an unmarried young lady, do such a thing?”

Dou Ren’s expression twisted.

She kept male favorites, yet was afraid of illicit gift exchanges?

The one who should be afraid was the Crown Prince, wasn’t it?

However, he didn’t dare ask this.

If he really asked, Miss Luo would first throw him out, then spread it everywhere that the Crown Prince was so poor he used jade pendants to pay tavern bills. He wouldn’t be able to return to the palace alive.

“Eunuch Dou should return early and explain clearly to His Highness the Crown Prince—our tavern only accepts gold and silver, nothing else.”

Seeing that Luo Sheng was completely impervious, Dou Ren could only put away the jade pendant and take his leave with a bow.

“Wait.” Luo Sheng seemed to think of something and called out.

“Does Miss Luo have other business?”

Luo Sheng unhurriedly drank a sip of tea before saying, “The divine physician has already gone to Pingnan Prince’s Manor. I’d trouble Eunuch Dou to help me ask His Highness the Crown Prince—when will the Crown Princess invite me into the palace to visit?”

The divine physician had been persuaded so quickly?

Dou Ren was surprised and couldn’t help taking a deep look at Luo Sheng.

The young lady’s expression was languid, her sitting posture casual.

No matter how one looked, she was an arrogant and domineering female wastrel who acted without considering consequences.

So why had she won the divine physician’s favor?

“Eunuch Dou?”

Dou Ren came back to himself and forced a smile. “Miss Luo, rest assured. This servant will report to His Highness.”

“That’s good then.” Luo Sheng raised her teacup.

Dou Ren exited the tavern’s main door and exhaled heavily with relief.

If you asked him, His Highness should just give Consort Yu’s bracelet to Miss Luo and be done with it.

His Highness was truly being stubborn!

At this moment, Divine Physician Li was at Pingnan Prince’s Manor with a dark face, scolding people.

“This old man already said the Prince’s recovery depends on heaven’s will and is beyond human effort. You’ve summoned this old man for another examination—are you trying to make this old man ruin his reputation?”

The Pingnan Princess Consort obediently endured a scolding from Divine Physician Li without daring to refute.

When all the imperial physicians were helpless, only the divine physician had dared to extract the arrow for the Prince and had even preserved the Prince’s life.

For this reason alone, they absolutely could not offend the divine physician.

“Fine. Continue brewing medicine according to the prescription from last time and feed it to the Prince on schedule.” Having said this, Divine Physician Li flicked his sleeves and left.

Wei Feng murmured, “Mother, we invited the divine physician here just to listen to a scolding?”

The Pingnan Princess Consort strongly disagreed with her son’s words. “How can you think that way? The divine physician examined your father’s body again. Not mentioning anything else proves there are no abnormalities with your father. Doesn’t that put your mind at ease?”

“That’s right, Second Brother. Having the divine physician come once always puts one’s mind at ease,” Wei Wen also said.

Wei Feng still couldn’t understand, though he did know that women’s thinking was rather strange.

His younger sister was right—as long as it could put Mother at ease, that was fine.

And when Dou Ren brought the jade pendant back, Wei Qiang was so angry his face turned ashen.

That slip of a girl was deliberately making things difficult for him.

“Your Highness, Miss Luo also said the divine physician has already gone to Pingnan Prince’s Manor, so she asked when the Crown Princess will invite her into the palace.”

Wei Qiang’s expression grew even worse.

This was a threat!

If he didn’t send the remaining banknotes, was that little slip of a girl planning to ask the Crown Princess for them?

He couldn’t afford to lose that much face.

Wei Qiang strode to the Crown Princess’s quarters.

The Crown Princess was in a state of anxious anticipation waiting for news from Imperial Physician Wang’s side when palace maids reported that the Crown Prince had come.

This was greatly beyond her expectations.

The Crown Prince rarely came at this hour.

The Crown Princess suppressed her confusion and curtsied to the man who walked in. “Your Highness.”

“Crown Princess, there’s no need for such formality.” Wei Qiang reached out to support the Crown Princess.

Though he had no feelings for the Crown Princess, he wouldn’t treat her coldly either.

The only person in his heart was Luo’er. What difference did it make who the Crown Princess was?

The two sat down together.

After chatting idly for a while, Wei Qiang spoke. “Crown Princess, give me two thousand taels in banknotes. There are some matters requiring expenses.”

The Crown Princess couldn’t help twitching at the corner of her mouth.

So this was why the Crown Prince had come over unusually—he was short on money.

“Your Highness, please wait a moment.” The Crown Princess indicated for her trusted aide to fetch the banknotes, without asking what the money was for.

If the Crown Prince needed money, she naturally wouldn’t probe to the bottom of it.

Wei Qiang was quite satisfied with the Crown Princess’s tactfulness. After chatting a bit more, he seemed to mention casually, “Tomorrow, invite Miss Luo into the palace to sit for a while.”

“Miss Luo?” The Crown Princess was stunned.

“Grand Commander Luo’s daughter. The Crown Princess should know of her, shouldn’t you?”

The Crown Princess: Ha ha.

She knew all too well. Seven years ago when she wasn’t yet the Crown Princess, she had taken her younger sister out for a spring outing one day. That Miss Luo, who was only seven or eight years old at the time, had gotten into an argument with her sister and kicked her sister into a drainage ditch.

When she went to pull her sister out, she had also been kicked down into it.