Chapter 102: Petitioning

“No matter the pretext, as long as I get the dowry in my hands, it’s fine. As long as Su Mixue doesn’t benefit from it, I’m willing to cooperate,” Su Wan said, understanding the situation well. The Crown Prince and the Empress were at odds, and anyone favored by the Crown Prince would definitely not be an ally of the Empress. To quietly retrieve the dowry would indeed be troublesome.

Retrieving it in a high-profile manner would embarrass the royal family. While the Empress might be willing to help, the Emperor certainly would not be pleased, and it might even alarm the Regent, which would be disastrous.

Under the authority of the monarchy, no matter how capable she was, she couldn’t match up.

Unless she became so powerful that even the royal authority couldn’t shake her.

Su Wan’s eyes lit up with an idea: “You could bestow the dowry upon me as a reward!”

The Empress’s eyes flickered slightly, and she tapped Su Wan’s forehead with her finger. “You’re quick-witted, but even a reward must have a proper reason. I can’t just give you the Crown Princess’s dowry.”

She hinted, “The Crown Princess is in the capital. If you do something beneficial for her, I could help you.”

Su Wan rubbed her forehead and fell into deep thought. The Empress implied that since Su Mixue was in the capital, if Su Wan helped her, it could force Su Mixue to hand over the dowry.

At the moment, there was indeed one matter that could help—curing Su Jihong, which would allow Su Wan to rightfully reclaim her dowry.

“In a few days, Master Huiren will return to the capital from his travels. His medical skills are highly advanced, and you were once his apprentice. You can ask him to treat Su Jihong. In turn, I will ensure that the Crown Prince releases your dowry,” the Empress suggested, pointing Su Wan toward a clear solution.

Su Wan frowned. The Empress mentioning Master Huiren at this time suggested that someone else had already thought of this plan and that she needed to act quickly.

“You must know that he has no father-daughter affection for me. If he recovers, he will be a pillar of support for Qinglan and her daughter. He might even harm me to protect them,” Su Wan said, unwilling to save an enemy. The matter of the imperial decree wasn’t a secret either. “You should know that when my mother got married, my grandfather gave her the imperial decree as part of her dowry. Now that she has passed away, it belongs to me. How can I be content with it in Su Mixue’s hands?”

The Empress’s expression suddenly changed.

Su Wan’s expression grew serious. “The Crown Prince is ambitious. He abandoned his fiancée for power and is estranged from you. If that edict falls into his hands, that throne will basically be his.”

The Empress’s own children had died young, and she had adopted another prince to raise as her own to consolidate her power. She represented not just herself but also her maternal family.

Previously, when the Empress was pregnant, the Crown Prince had clung to the Regent for support. However, after the Empress’s child died, the Crown Prince couldn’t control the Regent and was even manipulated by him. How could such an ambitious person tolerate becoming a puppet emperor?

So, when the Empress lost her child, the Crown Prince tried to mend his relationship with her to counterbalance the Regent.

After all, the Empress had the powerful Defender Duke’s residence behind her; she was Zhao Wei’s cousin.

The Empress’s mother and Zhao Wei’s mother were sisters, born to the same parents.

However, the Crown Prince’s actions could never escape the Empress’s notice. They had long since left her cold, and now their mother-son relationship was merely superficial.

The Crown Prince walked on thin ice, desperately wanting the imperial edict as a safeguard. Once he had it, he would have an additional layer of protection. If he began scheming for military power, the Defender Duke’s residence would be his first target.

The Empress surely understood this, which is why her expression grew serious. After a moment of contemplation, she said in a low voice, “Don’t worry, I will make sure to retrieve the items for you.”

Su Wan leaned her head on the Empress’s shoulder, affectionately acting spoiled. “Your Majesty, you’re so good to me.”

The Empress looked down at the head resting on her shoulder, her expression slightly dazed. Her thoughts drifted. Her child had loved lying on her lap or shoulder, clinging to her and acting spoiled to get something. After receiving her approval, the child would laugh happily and say sweetly, “Mother, you’re the best.”

When the Crown Prince was raised by her, he was already at an age of understanding. Even at a young age, he was extremely cautious, afraid of making mistakes and being disliked by her. He always did everything perfectly and never shared such affectionate interactions with her.

When Su Wan was young, although she was close to the Empress, she never acted so spoiled.

The Empress’s heart softened completely. She gently patted Su Wan’s head and asked in a tender tone, “Is the Gu family treating you well?”

“They treat me very well.” Su Wan boldly hugged the Empress’s arm and started to chatter about the Gu family. Finally, she summarized, “They feel like my real family.”

“Plainness is a blessing.” The Empress liked Su Wan’s simple and unpretentious nature very much. “In the future, when there’s a chance, bring him to meet me.”

“Alright,” Su Wan agreed.

The Empress smiled, and her gaze full of affection. “Stay and have lunch with me before you go back.”

“I want to eat ‘Rolling Donkey.’ The thought of this palace dessert has been making me crave it,” Su Wan’s words amused the Empress, lifting her spirits. She instructed Aunt Fang to prepare the dessert.

After having lunch with the Empress, Su Wan left the palace and returned to the mansion.

The carriage stopped at the entrance of the Marquis of Dingyuan’s residence, and Su Wan got down from the carriage.

Suddenly, another carriage approached and also stopped at the mansion’s entrance. Su Wan paused and saw a man in his early thirties step down from the carriage.

A stranger, Su Wan didn’t recognize him. She stepped into the residence.

“Young lady Su.” Luo Cheng called out to her, quickly ascending the steps and handing her two wooden boxes. With a friendly demeanor, he said, “I am Luo Cheng, here on behalf of the Regent to deliver birthday gifts to you.”

Su Wan was stunned.

The Regent sent her birthday gifts?

Suddenly, a flood of memories surfaced.

The original Su Wan’s birthday was on the sixth day of the seventh month, and every year the Regent would prepare a gift. For some unknown reason, the original Su Wan always left them in the storeroom to gather dust, never opening them.

Su Wan tried to recall, but this part of her memory was blank.

This year, however, the Regent sent the gifts a few days early, which seemed particularly abrupt. In previous years, he followed the norm, sending a servant to deliver the gift without drawing any attention.

This time, Luo Cheng personally delivering the gifts seemed intended to put her in the spotlight.

Suppressing her thoughts, Su Wan accepted the wooden boxes and mimicked the original Su Wan’s tone, “Please thank the Regent on my behalf.”

Luo Cheng didn’t mind her cold attitude at all. “I shall take my leave then.”

Su Wan watched Luo Cheng leave on his carriage, then went straight to her room. Sitting in her chair, she placed the wooden boxes on the small table beside her. Opening one box, she found a thin deed inside. Upon closer inspection, she raised an eyebrow—it was for two shops in the capital.

She opened the other box to find the deed for a house in the capital.

Su Wan was surprised. These gifts showed that considerable thought had been put into them.

The Regent’s attitude towards her felt somewhat like he was treating her as a younger family member.

But if that were the case, why did the Regent help Su Mixue steal the original Su Wan’s marriage?

A bold idea suddenly struck her; she wanted to test the Regent’s attitude towards her.

Friend or foe, a test would reveal it.

“Xiao Tao, find a piece of red paper!”

“Yes!” Xiao Tao quickly produced a sheet of red paper.

Su Wan forged a dowry list, letting the ink dry. She then aged the paper to make it look old.

She handed it to Xiao Tao, smiling, “Take this to Qinglan. Tell her to return the dowry, or I will file a complaint with the authorities.”

If the Regent was indeed helping Su Mixue, her dispute with Qinglan over the dowry could serve as a distraction, making the Regent lower his guard and allowing the Empress to strike from behind.

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Rolling Donkey Dessert Pict