Chapter 171

Chapter 171: The Cold Disaster Erupted

Fine silkworm silk and gold thread. It was old, yet very clean. It was clear the owner had kept it carefully.

The old woman handed it to Sheng Zhi Wan. “I’m giving it to Little Miss now.”

Sheng Zhi Wan’s fingers trembled.

The embroidered pouch was light, yet it felt as if it weighed her hand down until it hurt.

If she really was from the Tang Family… why had the Tang Family been wiped out? And why would the Tang Family’s Miss become a Palace Maid after the massacre?

Or was “Palace Maid” only a cover, and she was never born to a Palace Maid at all?

Thoughts tangled in Sheng Zhi Wan’s mind.

“Little Miss…” The old woman’s eyes drifted to the door. “Si Yu… I adopted him for Miss. If Little Miss is willing, please… please look after him…”

As she spoke, the wrinkles on her face loosened.

Sheng Zhi Wan knew she was dying. Maybe the room was too stuffy. Maybe Sheng Zhi Wan had just learned a huge secret and had not even begun to investigate, and the old woman was already about to die.

A heavy feeling sank in Sheng Zhi Wan’s chest.

“All right,” Sheng Zhi Wan said.

As soon as she agreed, the rough hand gripping her wrist suddenly went slack.

Sheng Zhi Wan closed her eyes and tucked the embroidered pouch away. Then she walked out.

“Grandmother! Grandmother!!” The boy rushed in past her. His voice tore the air.

Si Yu… Tang Si Yu.

Sheng Zhi Wan suddenly smiled once.

Great Scholar Du walked up. Before he could speak, Sheng Zhi Wan said, “She asked me to look after Tang Si Yu a little.”

That was it? Great Scholar Du clearly did not believe it.

But Sheng Zhi Wan did not need to explain. She left a one-thousand-tael banknote and departed Azure Cloud Academy.

Only after Sheng Zhi Wan returned to the Princess Residence did she open the embroidered pouch.

Inside was a gold bell the size of a pigeon egg. There was nothing else.

The Lin Zhou Tang Family… wiped out overnight, leaving only one Miss and one Maid alive. A case that big could not be hidden locally.

But she could not investigate now.

Wait. Wait a little longer.

That night, Sheng Zhi Wan tossed and turned. When she woke the next morning, faint shadows hung under her eyes. Ting Lan felt terrible for her and quickly used a boiled egg to press against them.

“Jiji-jiji-” Two crisp, short kingfisher calls sounded.

Sheng Zhi Wan lowered her brows and sent Liu Shang and the others out.

The window behind the side room creaked. Shang Xing Yu jumped inside.

Before Sheng Zhi Wan could speak, Shang Xing Yu sighed and said, “When can I enter and leave the Princess Residence openly?”

“You can even now, as long as you can think of a suitable reason,” Sheng Zhi Wan said, glancing at him.

Shang Xing Yu sat beside her. “What if I say I’ve fallen for the Princess and I’m pursuing the Princess? Would that work?”

“Then the treatment you’ll get here is being beaten and thrown out,” Sheng Zhi Wan said as she poured him tea.

It was bitterly cold outside. It was not easy for him to keep coming.

Shang Xing Yu drank and only felt the tea was delicious. He asked for another cup and sipped it slowly, then got to business.

“The Princess was right. The Heir Apparent’s people have been buying cotton in large quantities across the Yuan, Zhi, and Lin Prefectures. But it’s already cold now, and your people already bought a batch earlier. The price they’re paying isn’t cheap.”

“How much?” Sheng Zhi Wan asked.

“Three hundred wen per jin at first. Later it became three hundred fifty wen per jin. In two days it’ll probably rise again.”

“Hmph.” Sheng Zhi Wan let out a cold laugh.

Shang Xing Yu looked at her with burning eyes. “How did the Princess know? Does the Princess have a way of predicting everything?”

Sheng Zhi Wan met his gaze without changing expression. “I have my own channels.”

“Fine.” Shang Xing Yu said. “I don’t think I’m hiding anything else from the Princess. Oh, and one more thing.”

“Hm?”

“The Duke Manor’s Second Miss returned to the capital city today.”

Qi Fei Rui?

Sheng Zhi Wan frowned. It seemed the Duke Manor would have another storm of blood and chaos. But that was not her concern for now.

Sheng Zhi Wan looked at Shang Xing Yu. “Have you heard of the Lin Zhou Tang Family?”

Shang Xing Yu froze, then shook his head.

That made sense. Even if it were true, it was something from more than ten years ago. How would Shang Xing Yu know?

“The Princess is interested in that Tang Family?” Shang Xing Yu asked with a smile. “I can investigate it for the Princess.”

Sheng Zhi Wan lowered her eyes. She looked at him and said, “It’s dangerous. It might involve secrets of the Imperial Clan. Young Master Shang Er should pretend he didn’t hear what I just said.”

As she spoke, she turned her gaze away and sipped her tea.

Shang Xing Yu stared at her without speaking.

The room fell silent.

After a long time, Shang Xing Yu suddenly sighed. “The Princess is sure I’ll agree, aren’t you? You want me to look into it, but you won’t say it outright. You won’t even owe me a favor.”

Shang Xing Yu stood up. “But since I heard it, I can’t pretend I didn’t. Princess, just wait for my news.”

Sheng Zhi Wan watched his back. Guilt pricked her like heat. “Wait.”

Shang Xing Yu stopped.

Sheng Zhi Wan walked behind him and said softly, “This might involve my origins. Do you still want to investigate?”

She did want to know.

But she also did not want him to take the risk.

Shang Xing Yu turned around sharply. Their eyes met, and they were so close that if Shang Xing Yu lowered his head a little, he could touch her smooth, fair forehead.

Darkness churned in his black eyes.

Shang Xing Yu took a step back, widening the distance, yet his throat still bobbed. “If the Princess is willing to hand this to me, it means the Princess trusts me. How could I not investigate?”

Shang Xing Yu paused, then added, “Also, Princess doesn’t need to worry. No matter when it is, I’m willing to stand on the same side as the Princess.”

If she was willing to take one step toward him, then the remaining nine thousand nine hundred ninety-nine steps-he was willing to take them toward her.

Shang Xing Yu leapt out and left.

Sheng Zhi Wan pressed her hand against the icy window frame.

Just now, she had thought he might do something. After all, he had expressed his feelings before. With something this dangerous, how could he not ask for something in return?

Or charge interest.

She had been ready. She did not even mind. Psychologically, she was not some naïve girl. Men and women, desire and exchange-each took what they needed. If Shang Xing Yu asked, she would not refuse.

But he did not.

Sheng Zhi Wan stared out the window for a long time. Heavy snow covered heaven and earth, yet she felt the snow in her heart had been brushed aside a little.

Over the next half month, the weather grew colder by the day. The light snow stopped for half a day, then turned into even heavier goose-feather snow, laying a plain white layer over the capital city.

Several branches outside the Princess Residence even snapped under the weight. Zhang Da led the guards to knock snow down from the trees.

The Northern Di Envoy was also stranded in the capital city because of the snow.

On the twenty-third day of the twelfth lunar month, the Little New Year, news arrived one after another from the four prefectures of Mo Bei: Yi, Ji, Sheng, and Lang.

The weather had turned abnormal. Snow had fallen for days. Houses collapsed. Crops froze to death. Even the waterways that never froze were sealed under thick ice. Many commoner froze to death in their own homes.

When the news reached him, Emperor Chong Sheng erupted in fury at court.

The cold disaster in Mo Bei had shown signs for a while, yet the four Prefects had kept silent and pressed the news down until now!

The State Treasury was empty and could not support disaster relief. Even if he wanted to help, this was all of Mo Bei, not one place and not one moment. How could it be relieved?