Chapter 49

Xu Wan closed her eyes and sat back down in her seat.

She silently recited the Heart-Clearing Mantra over and over, while mentally reinforcing to herself:

Don't be seduced by the little demon king, this can't start, otherwise he'll be coming up with ways every day to break the rules she's set.

But he called me "mother" ah, my maternal love is about to overflow...

Hold it in, hold it in...

A doting mother spoils the child, without rules, there's no order...

Xu Wan took a series of deep breaths, trying her best to keep her mind calm.

Soon, the ruthless stepmother was back in action.

"I don't care."

Zong Jincheng: "!!!"

This woman!

This hateful woman!

She has no heart at all!!!

Xu Wan cleared her throat and continued, "However, since the finder of the lost item is already waiting outside, it wouldn't be right to go back on our word, but the accounting office won't approve..."

Cui Zhi: "..."

Madam is about to set a trap for the young master again.

What's with the "can't approve"? Now that the Hou Mansion is under her control, a mere five hundred taels of silver expenditure, even if she has no reason for it, the accounting office wouldn't dare to question her.

The little demon king didn't catch onto the loophole in her words and continued listening to her: "Well, seeing as you're my son, I can advance this sum for you, and then deduct it from your monthly allowance. Your allowance is high, it'll be paid back in ten months."

The little demon king instinctively retorted, "Who's your son!"

Xu Wan "oh"ed and replied with his own words, "Nominally."

Zong Jincheng: "..."

He pouted and glared at her, then continued thinking about her proposal. It was feasible; after all, ten months was much faster than Zong Wenxiu's nearly two years.

Zong Wenxiu also chimed in, "I have a hundred taels here, I can return it to Madam first."

The boy's intention was to help the little demon king.

It was well-meaning, but it was actually causing more trouble.

Xu Wan ruthlessly rejected, "No."

"Why not??" Zong Jincheng immediately protested.

With Zong Wenxiu's hundred taels, he could pay back the debt two months earlier!

Xu Wan leisurely said, "The trouble was caused by you, why should Wenxiu share the responsibility with you?"

"But I did it to help him find his jade pendant!"

"Hmm, strictly speaking, it was indeed to help Wenxiu find his jade pendant," Xu Wan suddenly agreed with the little demon king's statement.

Zong Jincheng was about to continue his argument when it got stuck in his throat. But knowing Xu Wan, how could she so easily change her mind just because he said so?

There must be a catch!

Sure enough, in the little demon king's suspicious gaze, Xu Wan said, "The reward for finding the jade pendant is one tael, Wenxiu's money should indeed be paid by you."

Zong Wenxiu: "..."

It was indeed his responsibility.

But one tael? Wouldn't that infuriate his brother?

Sure enough, looking over, Zong Jincheng's face turned red instantly.

He ​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​‍knew damn well there wasn't going to be an easy way out!

The little demon king was furious, he raged, "What's the difference between four hundred ninety-nine taels and five hundred taels!!!"

Xu Wan corrected, "How is there no difference? Don't you remember how much a pound of grain costs on the street? Five coins, one tael can buy..."

Hearing her start calculating again, the little demon king instinctively covered his ears, not wanting to hear another word from her: "Fine, fine, I'll pay, I'll pay, alright!!!"

Xu Wan nodded in satisfaction, "Good. At least you have some sense of responsibility."

The little demon king shot her a glare.

Cui Zhi shook her head helplessly, returning to Xu Wan's bedroom to fetch the five hundred taels to advance for the young master. Steward Liu handed it over to the finder, who left ecstatic.

In the private courtyard, Zong Jincheng was counting on his fingers, "Saved fifty taels, Zong Wenxiu paid one tael, still short four hundred forty-nine taels, another nine months to go..."

He suddenly howled to the sky, "Why do I still have to study for so long!"

The birds in the yard were startled by the noise and flapped around, eventually crashing into a cage and fainting from the impact.

The cat that Zong Jincheng often used to scare the birds was lazily lying under the eaves, occasionally meowing.

Baili Xi was right, a momentary whim couldn't last long. Zong Jincheng, aiming to surpass Qin Ye, had diligently studied for a whole month, confident he could win after the monthly exam, but now he was back to slacking off.

"The four academy joint exam results take seven days to come out, how inefficient! With this, how dare the other three academies claim to be better than Qingbo Academy?"

Zong Jincheng didn't understand how the academies were ranked, but judging from the time it took to release the results, the other three academies weren't much to boast about.

Thinking of this, he became even more confident. What Qingbo Academy's top student, he was going to be the first in the four academy joint exam!

"Young Master, we should go to the study room to read," Shunzi came to call Zong Jincheng early in the morning.

Normally, the young master would have already gotten up by this time, studying intensely.

But without a goal, the little demon king had reverted to his uninterested attitude towards studying: "Ah, stop nagging, let me sleep a little more, I haven't slept well for a whole month!"

Shunzi was on the verge of tears, reminding, "But we still have to go to the study room to learn, you haven't forgotten the remaining four hundred forty-nine taels, have you..."

The little demon king rolled over and pulled the blanket over his head.

Clearly showing the attitude of 'I don't care about anything, I'm going to sleep till I die'.

Shunzi was helpless.

Fortunately, Xu Wan didn't send anyone to urge him, so he could only be a good servant who didn't annoy the master.

Around midday, a sudden message came from outside, saying that the eighteenth princess had arrived. Shunzi was stunned.

The princess visiting the Marquis's Mansion must be a big deal!

He hurriedly woke the sleeping young master.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Zong Jincheng rubbed his eyes and said, "What eighteenth princess, I don't know her. Besides, she didn't specifically ask to see me, maybe she's here to pick a fight with Xu Wan."

Shunzi said, "The eighteenth princess is fourteen this year, the Emperor's most beloved daughter, the Crown Prince's most beloved sister. She's willful; if she really is here to pick a fight with Madam, our marquisate is definitely going to be in trouble!"

Zong Jincheng, though a troublemaker, immediately woke up with a start when he heard the family might be in trouble.

He didn't like Xu Wan, but she represented the Marquis's Mansion, and if something happened to her while the grandmother wasn't around... that would be bad!

“Why is the eighteenth princess coming to our residence?” Zong Jincheng asked while putting on his clothes, hastily slipping on his shoes.

Shunzi thought for a moment and said, "After all, the eighteenth princess's brother is the Crown Prince, and the Crown Prince likes you, so it shouldn't be... no, the eighteenth princess's mother is Madam Zhai's sister, Madam Zhai is the eighteenth princess's aunt!"

"It's about Zhai Yao's matter!" Zong Jincheng understood.

Zhai Yao had been punished by the Crown Prince to live in the slums, and had been there for a month. Madam Zhai's attempts to appeal to the Crown Prince and Princess Pingyang had failed, so this time she turned to the willful eighteenth princess.

It seemed she was determined to have the princess cause a ruckus.

"Quick, if she really starts causing trouble, we'll go to the Eastern Palace to find the Crown Prince!"

"But the Crown Prince is not in good health, and those who have requested an audience with the Crown Prince regarding Zhai Yao's matter have all been refused by the Crown Princess."

"How can that be the same? The Crown Prince likes me the most, and doesn't like the Zhai family!"

Shunzi: "..."

Although you're always overconfident, what you say does make some sense.