Bai Yao said nothing, nor was it his place to speak. Though he agreed that this matter should be settled, lest Feng Ruonan keep making trouble and perhaps ruin something important, he was ultimately on Feng Ruonan's side. He could step in to restrain her, but it would not do for him to openly favor Niu Youdao's side.
Yet his silence was itself a stance—he had tacitly consented.
Naturally, Niu Youdao understood. He continued, "You may all be wondering what exactly happened. Many of you may not know the full sequence of events. The Princess Consort says I owe her money. That is true—I did borrow a sum from her because my purse was empty. It was no small amount: ten thousand gold coins! It is only right for the Princess Consort to collect her debt, and I never said I would not repay it. But there is one thing I must make clear: the money was borrowed for the Prince. I did not spend a single coin of it. As for this debt, the Governor has already said it could be waived. Though the Governor said it was waived, the Princess Consort insists on collecting it, and I have nothing to say to that. I ask Senior Bai to judge this matter. I truly cannot produce that money at present, nor can the Prince. Could we be granted a little more time? Once we reach the next city, after our Prince sells his warhorses, we will surely scrape together enough to repay it. What do you say?"
Shang Chaozong and the others were speechless. Shang Chaozong in particular was somewhat embarrassed. Niu Youdao had said again that the money had been borrowed for him, yet he had no way to deny it—and now they were going to sell his