"You'd be this kind?"
Zhe Yourong looked disbelieving.
"Hey, hey, hey, don't you forget we're engaged? Even if I scheme against others, I wouldn't scheme against you, would I?"
Han Mo glared at her, full of frustration.
Although this woman was a bit fierce, she at least looked decent.
And, whether it was her looks or her figure, cough cough cough, she seemed to be a top choice.
With these qualities, in later generations, she would have been a guaranteed international movie star.
"You can't say for sure!"
Zhe Yourong spoke, glancing at the water stains on the floor where her hair had been.
"Believe it or not!"
Han Mo coughed dryly. This was indeed a bit awkward.
The atmosphere was so awkward. Stumbling upon someone bathing and catching a glimpse of their back would be awkward even in later generations, let alone now.
After a moment of silence, seeing the dagger in Zhe Yourong's hand, Han Mo decided to slip away.
"You, stop!"
Just as he was about to walk out the door, Zhe Yourong suddenly called out to him.
"What is it now?"
Han Mo stopped again.
"Can you really double it?"
Zhe Yourong asked hesitantly.
"Then I'd have to know how much money and grain this thing is exchanged for?"
Han Mo smiled, and he smiled very happily.
"One thousand sets of iron armor, three thousand long spears, one hundred thousand arrows, and fifty thousand strings of copper coins!"
Zhe Yourong gritted her teeth and finally revealed the details.
"Just this little bit?"
Han Mo was stunned. Was he dismissed with just these few insignificant items?
"A little bit? This is already more than half of what the court supplied the Zhe family last year!"
As Zhe Yourong spoke, there was clear unwillingness in her eyes.
"So you acted without your father's knowledge this time?"
Han Mo frowned and asked tentatively.
With just this small amount, Han Mo didn't believe this would be Zhe Kecun's idea. After all, even if the Zhe family was having a hard time.
He wouldn't let Zhe Yourong do such a thing, as it would be no laughing matter if something went wrong.
There was no shortage of troops around Bianliang city. If they were held up, being captured would be a matter of time.
"That's right! I saw your dispute with Cai Shu on the street that day and immediately agreed. I originally intended... Who is your father-in-law?"
Zhe Yourong suddenly realized halfway through her sentence.
"You intended to kill two birds with one stone?"
Seeing that she was about to get angry, Han Mo quickly changed the subject.
"That's right!"
Zhe Yourong bit her lip and said very decisively.
"Never mind, I won't argue with you! Who agreed to this? You wouldn't tell me it was an attendant official of Prince Yun, would you?"
Han Mo suddenly seemed to recall something and asked again.
"How did you know?"
Zhe Yourong asked again.
"I really suspect your face was exchanged for your brain!"
Han Mo was left with a cold smile.
She could believe such nonsense. Han Mo truly doubted how this girl had grown so old without being sold off.
"You!"
Zhe Yourong glared at Han Mo with an unpleasant expression. If not for the extraordinary intelligence Han Mo had recently displayed, she would have truly wanted to strangle him.
"Don't look at me like that. If you could actually get your hands on this, then it would truly be a ghost's work!"
Han Mo said with a cold laugh.
"Could it be that a dignified Prince Yun would renege on his debt?"
Zhe Yourong's eyes widened.
"Think about it carefully. If Cai Jing were to step down, what benefits would Prince Yun gain? Who does he have at hand who can replace Cai Jing? A centipede dies but never falls. If Cai Jing knew Prince Yun was scheming against him, what do you think he would do?"
"Can't Tong Guan and Cai You do it?"
Zhe Yourong looked at Han Mo with some confusion.
"Those two only support Prince Yun, they are not Prince Yun's subordinates! You need to distinguish this point. They can support Prince Yun today, but they can also defect to the Crown Prince tomorrow! They have no master-servant relationship with Prince Yun. The reason they support Prince Yun at this time is merely to pursue their own interests!"
"If Prince Yun truly intended to help them, do you think the Imperial City Department is just for show? Even without the ledger in your hands, wouldn't they be able to find out?"
As Han Mo spoke, he casually picked up a pastry from the nearby table.
"You mean, Prince Yun doesn't want them to be in power?"
Zhe Yourong was really struggling to understand the intricacies of this matter, as it was indeed not her forte.
"Prince Yun's influence is currently on par with theirs, so the three of them are mutually restraining each other, banding together. But if Tong Guan advances to become the Grand Council's Secretary, or Cai You becomes the Junior Chancellor, that would be a different story!"
"The Emperor is in his prime. Tong Guan and Cai You have both passed the age of sixty. At that time, if it were you, would you still depend on Prince Yun?"
After hearing Han Mo's analysis, Zhe Yourong was completely stunned.
These three people, who had seemed like a united front to her, now suddenly appeared to have their own hidden agendas.
If she really handed over what she had to Prince Yun, she was afraid Prince Yun would immediately return it to Cai Jing!
Cai Jing was already seventy-three years old this year, and his most capable son, Cai You, was now opposing him and had become his most significant political rival.
Therefore, at this time, he also had to consider a retreat for himself.
After all, Cai Jing was no longer alone. If he stepped down, what would happen to the people behind him?
So, with this favor, Prince Yun would become his best choice. Cai Jing was likely to hand over his remaining influence to Prince Yun under the condition of ensuring his later years and providing protection for his family.
And she and the Zhe family might become the only sacrifices in this matter.
As for whether this would offend Tong Guan and Cai You, such matters were not within Prince Yun's consideration.
After all, in politics, there were no eternal enemies or eternal friends; both sides were merely a convergence of interests.
No matter how good something belonging to others might be, it was still someone else's. Only what one truly held in their own hands was their own!
"Then what should I do now?"
Zhe Yourong took a deep breath and finally understood.
She seemed to have stumbled into a great storm, and if she wasn't careful, not only she herself would suffer misfortune, but the entire Zhe family might also vanish into thin air.
"The arrow is on the string, and it must be loosed. Since that's the case, let's maximize the benefits!"
Han Mo had originally thought that what Zhe Yourong had done was the result of careful planning by a certain group.
But he hadn't expected that after all this, it was simply a choice made by this girl on a whim.
However, through this incident, it could be seen that the Zhe family truly lived up to its reputation as a military noble family. Even a young woman possessed such courage and means.
Although she was not clear about the intrigues of the officialdom, and was an outsider in the power struggles, when it came to specific matters, she was actually quite commendable.