Seeing his siblings friendly and harmonious, Nan Zhaoyin nodded with relief. However, his gaze fell upon Nan Yuan'er's wrist, and he couldn't help but frown. Yuan'er was already not favored by His Majesty. Entering the palace in such a state, she was unlikely to receive any affection. Without receiving affection, how could she bear an imperial heir?
This wrist still needed to be healed.
His thoughts raced, but no emotion showed on his face. Nan Yuan'er didn't notice the fleeting hint of disdain in his eyes as she spoke, "Father, outside..."
"I've heard!"
Nan Zhaoyin didn't let Nan Yuan'er finish. Hearing these words once was enough. He hadn't allowed Nan Yujin to speak earlier, and now he certainly didn't want to hear her repeat herself. He looked at Nan Yuan'er, his gaze sweeping over the pearl hairpin set on her head, and commanded in an irrefutable tone, "Yuan'er, hand over the silver delivered by those four shops this year."
Nan Yuan'er's eyes widened in disbelief. She had come to find her father not for this outcome. Why should she hand over this year's profits? Those were her mother's shops!
"Father..."
Nan Yujin interrupted Nan Yuan'er's words, his brow furrowed slightly as he said discontentedly, "Sister, it's just a few shops. After my wedding, I will be leaving home for Yuzhen Commandery. This vast Nan Estate will eventually be handed over to you to manage. Why do you care so much about a few shops and let Father suffer humiliation?"
These words were practically accusing Nan Yuan'er of being ungracious and selfish.
Nan Yuan'er gritted her teeth, wishing she could skin Nan Yujin alive. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she choked out a nod, "Brother is right. However, these four shops were given to Mother by Father. Mother often spoke of Father's deep affection for her before she passed. I... I am truly not reluctant to part with the money. I merely wish to keep a memento. Father... is there no room for negotiation? Must it really be this way?"
"I can give her all the money, but the shops, the shops..." As Nan Yuan'er spoke, her eyes could no longer hold back the tears, which rolled down her cheeks.
Nan Yujin felt as if he had swallowed a fly, disgusted and nauseated.
Nan Zhaoyin's eyelids drooped slightly. Nan Yuan'er's little trick was easily seen through. He had taught her by his side for so many years, yet she was still like this. Her schemes and strategies were so limited. If Ji Hong were still the original Ji Hong, perhaps her methods might have worked. But now, even he couldn't quite see through Ji Hong. Such a calculating person would not be swayed by her childish tricks.
"Enough!"
Nan Zhaoyin did not comfort Nan Yuan'er, nor did he change his mind because of her performance. His tone deepened, and he emphasized, "Yuan'er, hand it over. Do not make me say it a third time."
The profits from four shops located in prosperous areas for one year were not a few taels or dozens of taels, but a full five thousand taels of silver. It was enough money to support over a hundred households for their entire lives. To let her hand over this money and these four golden-egg-laying shops, and to Nan Shiying no less, was no different from digging out her flesh!
Father spoke so lightly!
Seeing Nan Yuan'er remain silent for a long time, Nan Zhaoyin's tone grew heavier, "The mine south of the city was lost to the Prince half a year ago."
Nan Yuan'er and Nan Yujin were unaware of this matter, believing only that their salaries had been deducted and they were confined.
The mine south of the city earned more than ten times the total income of these four shops annually. Father actually forfeited the mine to Ji Jinmo?
Seeing Nan Yujin and Nan Yuan'er's shocked expressions, Nan Zhaoyin's emotions remained unfazed, as if he didn't regard this loss as significant. He looked at Nan Yuan'er and said word by word, "If it wasn't compensated, the Prince would have taken your life."
"See them alive, see their bodies if they are dead."
"Today, you either return the goods, or the Demon Hunting Army will enter the estate and sever your head."
The scene described by Nan Zhaoyin was bloody, but his tone and demeanor were so calmly chilling that Nan Yuan'er looked at her father in disbelief. As her father spoke these words, he was so calm that she even felt he didn't care about her life or death at all.
Even Nan Yujin was momentarily unsure if his father truly loved Nan Yuan'er. However, if he didn't, what was the meaning of the affection he had shown her over the years?
"Yujin!"
Nan Zhaoyin remained silent for two seconds, his gaze shifting to Nan Yujin. Nan Yujin quickly collected his thoughts and replied, "Father!"
"Go with your sister to inventory the silver, then retrieve an equivalent amount from the inner treasury as compensation from the Nan Estate to the Prince's Mansion."
"Father!"
Nan Yuan'er looked at Nan Zhaoyin with disbelief. At this point, compensation and shops were no longer important. The father who doted on her and cherished her was gone. Everything had changed since Nan Shiying married into the Prince's Mansion. She had once had the love of her parents and a full brother, but now she had lost her mother and brother. Must she also lose her father?
"Yuan'er, your father could not protect your mother, nor can he protect you," Nan Zhaoyin suddenly sighed, his tone softening.
There was really no need to quibble over this matter. The Prince's Mansion made a complaint, the Nan Estate apologized. If Yuan'er were truly intelligent, she would have offered to return the silver and compensate accordingly, instead of being hesitant and failing to grasp the situation after he repeatedly asked.
The reason he had ignored Nan Yujin and Guard Zhen earlier was because he was waiting for Nan Yuan'er. He had indeed waited for her, but she hadn't said what he most wanted to hear.
"Yuan'er, be obedient."
"It's just a matter of enduring for now."
Endure, endure, endure. She had endured for so long, so long that even that bitch Nan Shiying could trample on her, so long that she had become a laughingstock in the capital.
She was clearly the most noble woman in this world, the fated Empress. But why was she a cripple? Why must she suffer endless humiliation? Why couldn't she even protect what her mother had left behind? Nan Yuan'er resented, she hated, she even hated her father standing before her, who only knew how to make her endure humiliation.
Father,呵呵, did he dote on her because he truly loved her, or because of her noble destiny?
Nan Yuan'er trembled all over. She wanted to roar, to resist, to tell everyone in the world that no, no one in this world could step on her. But her remaining reason kept pulling her back, warning her: it's not time yet, it's not time yet!
She bit her teeth tightly, so hard that the veins on her temples bulged. After a long while, she suppressed the fear and anger in her heart. Her emotions gradually calmed down, and the face contorted with anger returned to its gentle and graceful appearance.
She raised her hand and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, then curtsied to Nan Zhaoyin, "Your daughter understands."
Nan Yujin felt that Nan Yuan'er seemed to have become somewhat different.