Chapter 440 - 440: Ruining Chu Yuefu’s Plan
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
“The Empress and the Crown Prince were afraid that news of this would reach the King of Zhenbei’s ears, and they were also afraid of arousing the suspicion of that person in the imperial palace. For all these reasons, they have been keeping a low profile regarding this matter. Almost no one in the capital knows about this,” Meng Xia said before adding disdainfully, “However, with Yu Xiaoxiao making such a fuss earlier, there’s no guarantee that some people won’t investigate this matter in the future. When the truth is exposed, the Crown Prince’s plan will be ruined.”
In Meng Xia’s opinion, Full Moon Pavilion belonged to the King of Zhenbei and Princess Changning. The second branch of the Yu family had no right over it. Hence, it was shameless of them to use it to make deals with the Empress, the Crown Prince, and the Shang family.
‘When this matter is exposed, the Crown Prince will have a headache. I have to say, Yu Xiaoxiao is really our ‘lucky star’…’
Yu Yunxi’s expression darkened slightly as she asked, unhappy, “All these years, did all the profits from Full Moon Pavilion enter the Crown Prince’s pocket?”
It would have been more tolerable if someone else benefited, but Yu Yunxi would not allow Empress Qin and Chu Yuefu to benefit from it.
“Eldest Princess, don’t worry. Manager Liu is one of the King of Zhenbei’s men. When Empress Qin began to covet this restaurant, he had already sent someone thousands of miles away to inform the King of Zhenbei of this matter.”
“Then what’s Father’s attitude?” Yu Yunxi asked curiously. At the end of the day, Full Moon Pavilion belonged to her father. If her father did not plan to do anything about it, then she could not do anything about it either.
Meng Xia covered her mouth and laughed before she replied, “The King of Zhenbei asked Manager Liu to go along with Empress Qin. In a place like the capital, it’d be difficult to do business without a backer. Hence, he allowed Empress Qin and the Qin family to work hard for Full Moon Pavilion…”
“That’s true. The restaurant is doing very well. It’s inevitable that some people will be jealous. There’ll naturally be many problems. If the Crown Prince and Empress Qin want to earn money, they definitely won’t stand aside and do nothing, ” Yu Yunxi murmured. She knew this must be the reason why Full Moon Pavilion had been operating so smoothly for so many years.
Meng Xia explained excitedly, “Manager Liu kept an account of Full Moon Pavilion over the years. He made many copies and also sent them to the King of Zhenbei. So… The day the King of Zhenbei returns to the capital will also be the day the Empress and the Crown Prince have to spit out all the money!” Yu Yunxi’s eyes lit up as she asked, ‘You mean… my father will be coming back?”
Although Yu Yunxi had never met her father before, she was very happy and looked forward to meeting him.
‘Uh… I seem to have accidentally revealed a secret…
Meng Xia froze.
Upon seeing Meng Xia’s reaction, Yu Yunxi said meaningfully, “I’m curious about another thing. Since almost no one knows about Empress Qin’s connection to Full Moon Pavilion, how do you know?”
Meng Xia: .
‘It’s over. The Eldest Princess is too smart. I can’t hide anything from her!’ “Meng Xia, I dislike liars,” Yu Yunxi said casually as she yawned.
Meng Xia panicked and fell to her knees immediately. She said seriously, “Previously, I told you that my father was a subordinate of the King of Zhenbei before he passed away. Two days ago, my father’s good friend, who’s a deputy general in the King of Zhenbei’s military camp, wrote a letter to me and told me many things…
“And?”
“His Highness was very happy when he learned about your existence. He wanted to come back to see you, but he was worried it would be too abrupt. He told me to write down everything about you and send it to him…” Meng Xia replied as she secretly observed Yu Yunxi’s expression. Seeing that Yu Yunxi did not seem angry, she heaved a sigh of relief.
“Father was happy when he learned about my existence?” Yu Yunxi murmured.
Unknowingly, the corners of her lips curled up, and warmth suffused her heart.
Yu Yunxi smiled wryly and said, “I always thought Father didn’t care about me and Mother. Even after he knew I was back, I thought he didn’t say anything because he hated me…’
“How’s that possible? His Highness loves you and Princess Changning the most. He has people keeping an eye on the situation in the capital, and he even…”
Meng Xia trailed off, realizing she might have misspoken again.
“He even what?” Yu Yunxi looked at Meng Xia inquisitively.
Meng Xia gulped as her heart skipped a beat. Then, she said righteously, “He even found all of my father’s good friends, hoping to bribe me so he could know more about you. However, don’t worry, Eldest Princess. I’m your servant in life and death! I definitely won’t betray you!”
Yu Yunxi could not help but laugh. Then, she sighed softly and said, “It’s not like you want to harm me. So what if Father wants to know more about me?”
Yu Yunxi continued to ask in a low voice, “By the way, do you know how Father’s doing in the border city now?”
It was said that the border city was a desert. There was a shortage of food and water all the time. The conditions were rough, and enemies would frequently attack.
Yu Yunxi felt distressed thinking that her father had lived in such a place for over twenty years.
“Eldest Princess, if you want to know about the King of Zhenbei’s situation, I’ll ask those uncles the next time I write to them…” Meng Xia quickly said.
“Mm…’
Yu Yunxi was not pretentious and quickly agreed. It was only right for a daughter to care about her father.
Yu Yunxi pulled Meng Xia to her feet and said, “Get up. I was just joking with you earlier. Look at how scared you are.”
Meng Xia smiled sheepishly and sighed in relief.
‘Fortunately, the Eldest Princess didn’t continue asking. Otherwise, I might have let it slip earlier that… ‘m sorry, Eldest Princess. It’s not like I want to hide it from you, but the King of Zhenbei personally pleaded that I keep this secret. I can only keep this secret for now…’ Meng Xia thought to herself, feeling conflicted.
“There’s another thing I don’t understand. Based on Empress Qin’s suspicious nature, she should hold Full Moon Pavilion firmly in her hands. Why did she keep Manager Liu?”
This did not seem like the way Chu Yuefu and Empress Qin did things.
Meng Xia smiled and said gloatingly, “Of course, they wanted to change the staff of Full Moon Pavilion. However, in the second month after they chased Manager Liu and the others away, business plummeted until it almost closed down. In the end, they had no choice but to invite Manager Liu and the others back. ”
‘So that’s how it was… From the looks of it, Manager Liu and the others are quite capable… Father is really wise…
Outside.
Yu Xiaoxiao’s vanity was greatly satisfied after she heard everyone’s discussion. In fact, she did not know why her parents handed the management of Full Moon Pavilion to the Shang family. Although it was her mother’s family, she still felt that it was too much of a loss. The second branch of the Yu family was about to fall into poverty. If they had Full Moon Pavilion, their treasury would be full.
‘The Shang family is too much. They’d taken advantage of us, and yet they didn’t even know how to curry favor with me! Forget it. I’ll deal with this another day! In any case, the Shang family is connected to our family,’ Yu Xiaoxiao thought to herself happily, completely unaware that she had exposed the matter that Chu Yuefu had painstakingly tried to keep hidden for many years.
After all, Madam Shang and Yu Feng did not tell Yu Xiaoxiao about the deal with the Empress to protect her pride. Instead, they lied to her and told her that the Crown Prince really liked her. As such, the Empress was willing to help her become a Commandery Princess and promised to make the Crown Prince’s side consort..
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