Chapter 24: Sister, You Have Truly Broadened Your Horizons!

The next day, Xue Yuan slept until the sun was high in the sky before finally waking.

Stretching as he opened his door, he found Su Ruowei standing outside. She was clutching a stack of account books, a sight that reminded him of a female secretary from his past life who often waited with documents for his signature. Unfortunately, there were no professional suits or stockings here; had she been wearing them, it would have been quite... cough, cough. He was overthinking it.

Xue Yuan hurriedly greeted her. "Manager Su..."

"Yes?"

"Oh, good morning, Miss Su. Hehehe..."

Su Ruowei nodded and said, "Your Highness, the accounts have been audited. Preliminary calculations show 313,521 taels and 37 cents in fraudulent entries. If checked in detail, there would likely be more, but I don't have the time to audit the warehouse, and one person cannot manage that much alone."

Xue Yuan was slightly startled. Good heavens, just a preliminary audit revealed over 310,000 taels in fake accounts; how much was there in reality? He wasn't surprised that Qian Zhongxian was greedy, but rather that Ningzhou was so incredibly wealthy! One had to realize that the Prince's official annual stipend was only 50,000 taels; this meant the rest was all illicit gray income. And since Qian Zhongxian held no real power, how much would he rake in if he actually did?

He couldn't help but think: if the Prince of Yu could raise a 200,000-strong army from the barren lands of the Northwest, I could potentially raise a million-strong army if I could freely scrape wealth from the Jiangnan region! Why would I need to play the fool then? I am merely enduring humiliation and biding my time... never mind, let's keep those emotions in check for now.

"Thank you for your hard work, Miss Su!"

"Your Highness, I wonder if there has been any progress regarding the Su family's affairs?" Su Ruowei asked, her face haggard. "The Ministry of Justice's approval might be on its way. If we delay any longer, I fear..."

Xue Yuan smiled and said, "Don't worry, Miss Su. The Ministry of Justice and such matters are unimportant. What matters is that this is Ningzhou, and I am the Prince of Ning! If I say the Su family was wronged, then they were wronged!"

Su Ruowei looked at the suddenly authoritative Xue Yuan and was momentarily stunned. She wondered how he seemed normal again. No, that wasn't right—he still wasn't normal! He held no real power; from the Prefect down to the Magistrates, no one listened to him. How could he unilaterally overturn the Su family's verdict?

Xue Yuan ignored her, keeping certain thoughts to himself for later. Seeing Jian Qi arrive, he left the manor with him. The streets were bustling, though many silk shops were closed today. Passing by the Longsheng Silk Firm, he noticed it was also shuttered.

"The magistrate's notice has been posted, claiming that the raw silk and semi-finished goods burned in the Su family's fire were worth 1.3 million taels," Jian Qi said. "That's more than half again the actual value."

Xue Yuan nodded. "So, apart from the garment shops, everyone else in the silk trade has closed down. They are all hoarding stock, waiting for prices to rise."

As they walked, Xue Yuan bought some fried tofu, eating half with a bamboo skewer before handing the rest to Jian Qi. Jian Qi discarded the skewer, took a bite, and added, "I've checked. In all of Ningzhou, the only one with the strength and the guts to take on this batch of goods is the Yuxing Silk Firm."

"Yuxing Silk Firm?" Xue Yuan mused. "Why so certain?"

"Yuxing is second only to the Su family in Jiangnan. It is said the Su family controlled fifty percent of the Jiangnan raw silk trade, Yuxing controlled thirty percent, and all the others combined only twenty. Furthermore, the owner of Yuxing is daring. Rumors have long circulated that when Prefect Chen celebrated his sixtieth birthday last year, a batch of his birthday gifts was hijacked and eventually sold to Yuxing, yet the firm remains completely untouched to this day."

"Interesting. Daring enough to receive the Prefect's own birthday gifts—this Yuxing firm must have quite a background!" Xue Yuan smiled slightly. "But business is business; if they are willing to buy, we are willing to sell!"

Jian Qi nodded. "When do we move?"

Xue Yuan thought for a moment. "The Divine Catcher Bureau will probably come to arrest you in two days. Let's get it done before then!"

As he spoke, he bought three fried shrimp cakes, ate one, and tucked the other two into a paper bag. Jian Qi glanced at the bag, realizing Xue Yuan had no intention of sharing, and decided he would keep the book *The Peerless Concubine* for himself—even if Xue Yuan came to borrow it, he wouldn't give it back!

The two headed back to the manor.

...

In Wang Yu'er's room, she beamed as Xue Yuan pushed the door open. "My good brother, you're here?" She looked well today; after all, she was an expert of the eighth rank, and with Zhao Huaichun's treatment, her recovery was swift.

Xue Yuan smiled. "Sister, look what I brought you." He pulled out the two shrimp cakes he had bought earlier.

Wang Yu'er felt a warmth in her heart; it had been a long time since anyone had bought her food. "My brother is so sweet," she said, unable to resist patting his head. "Sister has something delicious for you, too!"

"Ta-da!" With a flourish, she produced a plate from under the table. On it were round balls coated in sesame seeds. "This is the best thing from my hometown. We were poor when I was little, and I dreamed of eating these every day! You must have never tasted them, so I made them for you!"

Wang Yu'er had spent the entire afternoon making these fried mochi balls. She admitted to herself that she wanted to further win him over, but a part of her was genuinely grateful. If not for him, she would no longer be among the living.

Xue Yuan picked one up and took a bite; it was crisp on the outside and tender on the inside, truly delicious. "This is great! I'm going to eat them all!"

Watching him wolf them down, Wang Yu'er couldn't help but smile again. "Slow down. You're a Prince, yet you act like you haven't eaten in years." She added softly, "Sister will make them for you again."

She watched him quietly, suddenly feeling a sense of happiness. *In this world, there is still someone willing to eat what I make. There is still someone willing to sit with me like this, laughing like this...*

Those who have been lonely for too long should avoid the bustling crowds. And Xue Yuan was currently the greatest excitement in Wang Yu'er's life.

Only after watching him finish did she ask, "By the way, have you heard anything about the matter I asked you to look into?"

Xue Yuan immediately looked dejected. "No, Jian Qi wouldn't say..."

Wang Yu'er felt disappointed, though she found it expected; why would Jian Qi reveal such things to a fool?

Just then, Xue Yuan pulled out a letter. "But I stole a letter from Jian Qi. Sister, look at what it says."

Wang Yu'er took the letter and realized it was addressed to Boss Zhao of the Yuxing Cloth Firm. It mentioned that on the night after next, he would transport thirty carts of goods to the Yuxing warehouse and asked Boss Zhao to prepare accordingly.

She had a sudden epiphany! Jian Qi intended to strike the night after next, with thirty carts of goods, and the buyer was the Yuxing Cloth Firm! This last piece of information was crucial; with so much stock to move in such a short time, finding a buyer was difficult, but if Yuxing dared to accept Jian Qi's goods, they would certainly accept theirs!

Everything was finally resolved! Wang Yu'er looked at Xue Yuan with gratitude. "Brother, quickly take this letter back and put it exactly where you found it. Do not tell a soul!"

She paused, then added, "Don't be afraid of that Jian Qi. Once I have the ability, I will certainly chase him away for you! Sister... I have no other kin; from now on, you are my family! Whoever bullies you, I will fight them to the death!"

Xue Yuan nodded with a faint smile. *Sister, you've really opened your heart to me!* He knew the time to fully win over Wang Yu'er was not far off. And once she was won over, he would stop at nothing to ensure she rose through the ranks of the Legacy Society and soared to great heights!