If it weren’t truly impossible for her to leave, Mrs. Tang would have long wanted to go to the border.

Young Master Su and the other three are really too mischievous. If Mrs. Tang went to the border, she would definitely take Young Master Su along.

There’s no playmates in the military camp, not even enough tents to dismantle every day for his amusement; Marquis Dongxiang wouldn’t need to fight battles, hitting his son daily would be enough.

The camp is so large, it’s inevitable spies may infiltrate. While it’s difficult to kidnap others, Young Master Su, however intelligent, is still young. He is Marquis Dongxiang’s only flesh and blood. Mrs. Tang endured much suffering to give birth to him back then; how could she bear to let him risk danger?

Knowing Marquis Dongxiang’s temperament, if Young Master Su were captured by Nanliang, it’s really uncertain he’d be rescued.

Mrs. Tang couldn’t go, and even less could the Princess Consort, who had just given birth to the Little Princess not long ago. Besides, Princess Nanzhang is so troublesome; even with the Princess Consort’s authority, she’s lively, and without it, who knows what would happen.

Luckily, Su Jin is skilled in medicine and has deep fortune; plus Marquis Dongxiang is by her side, otherwise Mrs. Tang would have already left.

After glaring at Young Master Su a few times, Mrs. Tang went off to coax Huwa into playing, while Young Master Su, fearing scolding, quickly slipped away.

The purse was empty; they needed to earn money quickly.

The group returned to the study, brought out brush, ink, paper, and ink stone, and began to paint.

Although they all had some foundation in painting, once they actually started, forget about charging five silver coins, they were embarrassed to even charge five qian.

Young Master Su and the others looked at each other, then dejectedly went to find Mrs. Tang to ask for a teacher to teach them painting.

Since they proactively asked for a teacher, Mrs. Tang naturally wouldn’t refuse.

She spent twenty silver coins to hire a teacher who would come daily to give them an hour of painting lessons.

Here, Young Master Su’s paintings hadn’t yet been presentable, when news spread that the artwork by Young Master Su and the Ninth Prince would be sold in the shop.

Under the banner of learning from Dongxiang Marquis Mansion on parenting, the artworks couldn’t meet the demand.

The paintings by Young Master Su and the Ninth Prince were priced at twelve silver coins each, with a set of four selling for forty silver coins.

For noble families, what’s forty silver coins?

A moment of wasteful spending is worth more than that.

With great fame came great pressure for Young Master Su.

He didn’t want his paintings to receive "mediocre" or "a rip-off" reviews once displayed.

For ten days before the agreed delivery, Young Master Su and his friends stayed up late every night practicing painting, truly devoting themselves completely.

The hard-earned money was truly hard to spend.

That’s a story for later, let’s leave it at that for now.

Night fell, and the lights began to illuminate the city.

Inside the Peony Garden.

Princess Nanzhang was still kneeling on the ground, barely managing not to faint.

Xie Jinyu and Mrs. Zhao were not kneeling.

If Princess Nanzhang had no privilege, then they certainly had even less.

Kneeling would be futile.

Xie Jinyu was unwilling for Princess Nanzhang to suffer such grievances, yet Xie Jingchuan was locked in the Ministry of Justice Prison, and they couldn’t even manage a single meeting with him.

The Princess Consort had a poor appetite, Xie Jinyu shouting outside only worsened the situation and annoyed people further.

Putting down her bowl and chopsticks, Mrs. Wang approached and said, "Princess Consort?"

"Tomorrow morning, send the young lady to Ciyun Temple to pray for the Prince’s blessings," the Princess Consort said indifferently.

Mrs. Wang nodded and stepped out.

Standing outside the door, she beckoned and a maid approached, "Mrs. Wang, what are your orders?"

"Go to the front courtyard and inform them that tomorrow, the young lady is going to Ciyun Temple to pray for the Prince’s blessings; she’ll stay at least one or two months, so they should prepare accordingly," said Mrs. Wang.

The face of Princess Nanzhang turned pale.

Xie Jinyu exploded on the spot, "I’m not going to Ciyun Temple!"

"Why should she send me to Ciyun Temple?!"

Mrs. Wang’s face sank, "Because she is the Princess Consort!"

"She is the legitimate mother managing Prince Zhenbei Mansion!"

Even as her mother knelt submissively, she had not learned humility and continued to flaunt her power.

If she’s not given a harsh lesson, does she really think the Princess Consort is easy to push around?

"The Princess Consort is gentle in nature, focused solely on caring for the Commandery Princess; the young lady is not young anymore and has reached marriageable age. The Princess Consort wants to wait for the Prince to return to find a suitable match for you," Mrs. Wang said.

"If the young lady continues to make trouble, don’t blame the Princess Consort for changing her mind and marrying you off sooner!"

Xie Jinyu was not causing a scene for the first or second time. Previously, she couldn’t even enter the Peony Garden, creating peace for the Princess Consort.

Mrs. Wang had advised the Princess Consort to marry off Xie Jinyu.

But the Princess Consort had a kind heart and could not bear to harm others.

Marrying a non-virtuous wife is a curse for three generations, just as the fake Old Madam serves as a ready example. Without the Heir’s wife from Prince Fuze Mansion, the Prince Mansion would still be in chaos.

Given the young lady’s temperament, whoever marries her is unfortunate, and due to her awkward status, nobody dares to seek her hand.

Noble families are unwilling to marry her, and lesser families dare not.

She’s already troublesome enough usually, let alone in matters concerning marriage, which could cause a huge uproar.

These days, life sails smoothly and the Princess Consort doesn’t want unexpected troubles, trying to avoid a thankless situation.

But now with the issue of the Second Young Master colluding with enemies, the young lady can forget about marriage.

This is a deep anguish for Princess Nanzhang.

Her son was captured, facing certain death.

Xie Jinyu, whom she had cherished dearly, had countless suitors in the past, but she picked and chose, leaving the matter unsettled until now.

During her glory days, those people buzzed around like flies; now, losing power, none showed their faces any longer.

Thinking about her daughter’s future prospects, Princess Nanzhang felt her heart ache.

She pinned her hopes on the Second Prince — no, now it should be the Heir of Prince Qi — but is there really hope in Prince Qi’s rebellion?

Princess Nanzhang regretted deeply.

If she had done nothing back then, stayed content, she would still be the elevated, noble Princess Nanzhang.

The Empress Dowager would still be the Empress Dowager, her solid support.

Regrettably.

It’s too late for regret now.

Mrs. Wang’s face was frost-cold; Xie Jinyu dared not retort further, her tears falling as she was pulled away by a maid under Mrs. Zhao’s direction.

Princess Nanzhang knelt all night.

The next day, Xie Jinyu was sent to Ciyun Temple by Manager Li.

Mrs. Wang had said one to two months; Manager Li compromised, letting Xie Jinyu stay for forty-nine days.

Xie Jinyu’s resistance was futile; the more she resisted, the further she’d be sent.

For blessing temples, Daqi has at least a hundred and eighty.

In the court, all officials knew about Xie Jingchuan being escorted back to the Capital.

Xie Jingchuan’s treason is unforgivable, punishable by death.

Under Daqi Law, the entire Prince Zhenbei Mansion would face consequences.

But the Prince’s loyalty to the court and Prince Zhenbei Mansion’s Eldest Young Madam being the Emperor’s most cherished princess protected them.

Who dares to suggest the Emperor punish the Prince or implicate the princess?

It’s somewhat acceptable to involve the Prince, but to provoke the princess — haven’t they learned from so many past examples?

Only accountability was placed on the individual, adding "The child’s faults reflect the father’s failure."

The Emperor sentenced Xie Jingchuan to be publicly executed at the West Street Vegetable Market in three days, with the Prince fined three years of salary for inadequate parenting.

As for Princess Nanzhang, she wasn’t implicated.

She was merely the Prince’s concubine; educating children is the responsibility of the legitimate mother, punishing Princess Nanzhang would require punishing the Princess Consort first.

The Princess Consort did nothing wrong, any punishment would be entirely unjust.

Though it was early predicted Xie Jingchuan wouldn’t have a good outcome, truly hearing the execution announced made Princess Nanzhang’s breath catch, causing her to faint.