Chapter 145: Crazy Beast (Two Chapters in One)

The Princess of Qingchuan was born into a royal family. Her ancestors had the title of Duke of Fuguo, but by the time her father's generation came around, there was no title at all.

The reason why she was named a county lady before she got married was not because of her father or brother, but because of herself.

Seventeen years ago, Concubine Xu gave birth to Princess Jiarou. The Emperor, in his later years, had a daughter and was overjoyed. But when he learned that on the same day, a baby girl was born in the family of Zhao Jinsong in the Imperial Clan Camp, the Emperor was in high spirits and said, "This is also a blessed child. Make her a county lady, and when she's a little older, let her enter the palace to accompany the little princess in her studies."

This is how the title of Qingchuan County Lord came about.

The birth of a county lady in Zhao Jinsong's family was like smoke rising from the ancestral grave. It can be imagined that the Qingchuan County Lady has been loved since she was a child and has the final say.

She entered the palace at the age of eight and became a companion to Princess Jiarou. Although she was spoiled, she was restrained in the palace. However, Princess Jiarou was influenced by the retired emperor and devoted herself to Taoism at a young age. Although she did not become a nun, she often visited Zizhu Temple and even worshipped Kundao Yudan Zhenren as her teacher. As for the Princess of Qingchuan as a companion, Princess Jiarou naturally did not need her anymore.

Although the Princess of Qingchuan was only a companion for one year, she was still considered to have some experience. Not long after, she became close friends with Feng Ke's youngest daughter, Feng Jiahe.

Last year, Feng Jiahe became the third prince's consort, and Zhao Jinsong's family also became the third prince's people.

The princes were not allowed to have close contacts with court officials, but it was different for the royal family, as they were relatives. Therefore, the third prince now had many errands that were assigned to Zhao Jinsong and his son.

This has both advantages and disadvantages. The advantage is that Zhao Jinsong has clung to the Third Prince's thigh. When the Third Prince ascends the throne in the future, his family will be both a member of the royal family and a close confidant. If he is lucky, he might even be able to get back the title of Duke of Fuguo from his ancestors.

The downside is that the status of Qingchuan County Master in front of Feng Jiahe has taken a sharp turn for the worse, from a close friend to a follower, and there is a tendency for her to become a maid.

There was no way around it. Zhao Jinsong and his son had limited abilities, and the third prince assigned them only dirty and tiring work.

With her father and brother being like this, what else could the Qingchuan County Lady be but a maid?

Princess Qingchuan was unwilling, but in the face of imperial power, her pampering was nothing.

She wanted to change this situation. She wanted Feng Jiahe to look up to her. Since she couldn't rely on her father and brother, she could only count on her future husband.

Now that the Third Prince wants to recruit talents, the Princess of Qingchuan County knows that if she can marry into a powerful and promising family, Feng Jiahe will definitely not order her around anymore.

Therefore, today's flower viewing party is very important to the Princess of Qingchuan County.

She dealt with Princess Huiming because, firstly, she had hated Princess Huiming, who had been prettier and gentler than herself since childhood, when she was in the palace; secondly, she wanted the two princesses to make way for her.

Unfortunately, the tricks she could think of were limited, and the two princesses were well prepared. In Feng Jiahe's view, her tricks were both stupid and ridiculous.

She sat aside sulking, but suddenly thought of something.

"I remember that when I was little in the palace, I saw Huixin peeking at Xiao Zhen. She even gave Xiao Zhen a fan pendant, but Xiao Zhen didn't want it. So she stuffed the fan pendant into Xiao Zhen's arms and ran away.

But Xiao Zhen was given to Jia Rou, Hui Xin must like Xiao Zhen."

Hearing this, Feng Jiahe was startled: "Is this true? Why haven't I heard you mention this before?"

The Qingchuan County Lady sighed, "I was only eight or nine years old at that time, Xiao Zhen was only ten, and Hui Xin was about the same age as us. Who would have thought she would be so shameless?

You don't know how thick-skinned she is. When she saw Jiarou holding the fan pendant she gave her, she praised Xiao Zhen for being sensible and giving filial piety to her aunt when she got good things.

I didn't understand it at the time and thought it was true. Only just now did I figure out what was going on. It was obvious that she liked Xiao Zhen, and Xiao Zhen looked down on her, but she insisted on giving it to him. Xiao Zhen had no choice but to give the gift to his aunt.

Although Princess Jiarou is younger than Xiao Zhen, she is his aunt.

Feng Jiahe finally smiled, but her tone was filled with regret: "It's a pity that Xiao Zhen died young. Alas, when the news of his death came, the Third Master was heartbroken for a long time."

The Princess of Qingchuan thought to herself: Who says it isn't true? If Xiao Zhen were still alive, she would do everything in her power to marry into Princess Jiayi's mansion.

Both are the eldest princess's sons. Xiao Zhen is superior to Zhao Wenjing and his brothers in appearance, talent and family background. Most importantly, Xiao Zhen's surname is Xiao, not Zhao. She and he do not have the same surname, so they can marry each other.

......

Feng Jiahe's gaze shifted from the Princess of Qingchuan County to Lang Yuyu's face. The Lang family was dependent on the Feng family. Her father was very optimistic about the new number one scholar Yang Shengqiu, and the Lang family had been very kind to Yang Shengqiu. In fact, it was the most appropriate marriage for Lang Yuyu to Yang Shengqiu, but unfortunately the Lang couple had high aspirations.

Feng Jiahe sneered in her heart, her eyes flashed, and she looked at Fan Qiujun who was standing beside her.

Among these three, Fan Qiujun had the lowest social status, but when it came to wealth, Zhao Jinsong and Lord Lang combined couldn't compare to the Fan family...

The third prince wants to win over talented people, and what he lacks most now is money.

She waved at Fan Qiujun: "You just arrived in Beijing, are you used to it?"

......

At this time, in the garden of Princess Jianing's mansion, Yang Shengqiu was chatting and laughing with a group of young men.

At this moment, a servant from the Princess's Mansion came running over: "Gentlemen, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, His Royal Highness the Third Prince, and His Royal Highness the Fifth Prince have all arrived."

Upon hearing this, everyone quickly stood up to greet him.

As soon as they walked out of the corridor, they saw a group of nobles walking slowly towards them.

Among the three nobles, the prince had the most ordinary appearance. If it weren't for his hooked nose, he would have had a common face that was hard to remember. It was his hooked nose that saved him and added a bit of sharpness to his ordinary face.

Accompanying the prince were his two brothers-in-law, the two sons of the Dong family.

The third prince looks most like the emperor among all the princes. His face is almost a replica of Emperor Yongjia. No wonder Emperor Yongjia likes him. Seeing him is like seeing himself when he is young.

Accompanying the third prince were the second son of Feng, Feng Yanxing, and the third son of Feng, Feng Yanbiao.

The fifth prince is only eighteen years old, with a youthful look between his brows. He is the best at studying among all the princes, and now he is observing government affairs in the Ministry of Revenue.

Coming with the fifth prince were Deng Zheng, the eldest son of Duke Dingguo, Zhu Qing, the second son of Marquis Baoqing, and another one. Although he was neither the son of a noble family nor a newly-minted Jinshi, the young masters present were no strangers to him. He was Master Zhen Guizhen, who had only emerged in the capital in the past year!

Everyone stepped forward and saluted the three nobles. The prince smiled and said, "I've known you all since you were children. But those last few are this year's top three?"

Everyone then made way for Yang Shengqiu and the second and third place winners, who were standing at the back, to come forward. In fact, they had seen these three princes from afar at the Qionglin Banquet that day, but at that time, in front of the emperor, the princes followed the rules and were not able to get close to the Jinshi.

After chatting for a while, the Third Prince asked, "Huh, isn't Yan Xia here?"

Someone said with a smile: "Yan Xia would never come to such an occasion. He is a great hero and he wants to punish evildoers and eliminate evil."

The Crown Prince and the Third Prince all laughed, and the others followed suit. However, the Fifth Prince did not laugh. He coughed lightly and said, "Is this funny?"

The third prince was startled. Damn it, how could he forget that the fifth prince brought Zhu Qing with him, and Zhu Qing was Zhu Yu's younger brother.

The person just now said that Yan Xia punishes evil and eliminates evil. Isn't this just calling Zhu Yu an evil person?

Everyone in the capital knows that Yan Xia is investigating Zhu Yu's case.

The Third Prince immediately said, "Brother is wrong. You shouldn't laugh."

As he spoke, he walked up to Deng Zheng and Zhu Qing, smiled and said to them, "I heard that you two have made a lot of money recently."

The two were startled and said quickly, "No, no, we are just trying to earn some pocket money."

After the two of them finished speaking, they all looked at Master Zhen standing beside them. The Third Prince smiled and said, "I heard that Master Zhen bought the Ruyi Boat?"

Master Zhen: "I just arrived and was looking for a place to stay. I'm sorry to have embarrassed you, Your Highness."

The Third Prince laughed heartily. "The scenery of the Ruyi Boat is delightful. I have a garden with beautiful scenery as well. Young Master Zhen, you can go and have a look when you have time."

Master Zhen: "It's my honor."

The Third Prince was obviously very satisfied with his answer. He smiled and said, "Then it's settled. I will host a banquet in three days, and Master Zhen must come."

Master Zhen thanked him again.

The Crown Prince and the other two princes did not stay long. Soon they were accompanied by the brothers Zhao Wenjing and Zhao Wenting to meet Princess Jianing. However, before they left, they called Yang Shengqiu with them.

When others saw this, some of those who were interested also followed behind.

Deng Zheng, Zhu Qing and Master Zhen did not go together. Those who went together wanted to take this opportunity to get married. Among the three of them, Deng Zheng was married. Although Zhu Qing was not engaged, he had Zhu Yu above him, so it was not his turn for the time being. As for Master Zhen, he was not even among the candidates for the noble lady to marry.

So today the three of them were just here to make up the numbers. They didn't even have an invitation. If the Fifth Prince hadn't brought them with him, they wouldn't even be able to get in.

Seeing that no one was paying attention to them, Deng Zheng said to Master Zhen, "The Third Prince must have known that the Fifth Prince was making money with us, and he wants to invest as well."

Master Zhen said, "That should be it."

Deng Zheng heard his embarrassment and comforted him, "Actually, the Third Prince is quite fair. With his participation, your business in the capital will only go more smoothly."

Master Zhen smiled bitterly: "I just don't want to be too ostentatious. I prefer to make my fortune quietly."

Deng Zheng and Zhu Qing both laughed. They also liked to make money quietly, but unfortunately the Fifth Prince loved to show off. After making tens of thousands of taels of silver with them, he could no longer hide it and spent money like water. The Third Prince could guess where the money came from with his toes.

Master Zhen was in high spirits as he watched the Third Prince walking away.

After a year of planning, he is finally going to enter the circle of the Third Prince.

Under the envious gazes of everyone, Yang Shengqiu followed the three nobles towards the female relatives.

Princess Jianing did not expect that the Crown Prince and the Third Prince would come in person. Although she was their aunt, she was a smart person and would never act like an elder in front of them.

The Crown Prince and the two princes also liked this aunt very much. The three of them chatted with Princess Jianing for a while, and then Princess Jiarou came with Princesses Huixin and Huiming.

The Third Prince's wife, Feng Jiahe, also came over with a group of noble ladies.

After some greetings, Yang Shengqiu stood in front of Princess Jianing. At this moment, he suddenly felt like an object that could be chosen at will.

But he was not embarrassed and still had a good demeanor.

Next, Princess Jianing, the Crown Prince and the two princes all made their own moves, and the noble ladies and young talents displayed their talents one after another.

Feng Yanxing painted on the spot, Yang Shengqiu composed a poem, the Qingchuan County Lady played the zither, Lang Yuyu performed a colorful dance, and even Fan Qiujun, who had just arrived in the capital, showed off her beautiful calligraphy...

Amidst the laughter and joy, Deng Zheng, Zhu Qing and Master Zhen had left without anyone noticing.

When leaving Princess Jianing's residence, Master Zhen suddenly thought of something and said to Zhu Qing, "The capital has been in turmoil lately. Why don't you and your brother go out of town for a few days?"

Zhu Qing was stunned, but he didn't ask any more questions. Master Zhen has never been a person who talks nonsense.

Since he kindly reminded them, there must be a reason why their brothers had to leave the city.

"That's true. A while ago, my maternal family sent me a letter saying that my uncle just had a big, fat grandson. He's always treated us brothers like his own children. Now that he's happy, of course we have to congratulate him in person. Brother Deng, Brother Zhen, I'm leaving the city, so I'll go first!"

Zhu Qing said goodbye and did not even return to the Baoqing Marquis' Mansion. He asked his servant to go back and tell the second master Zhu, and then took Zhu Xin out of the mansion. The two brothers met outside the city and went to their uncle's house two hundred miles away.

Seeing Master Zhen asking Zhu Qing to leave the city, Deng Zheng guessed something and whispered, "Could it be that there's some progress in the case?"

Master Zhen nodded without saying anything more.

That night, Yan Xia and his men suddenly knocked on the door of Baoqing Marquis' Mansion. This was his second time to arrest someone at Baoqing Marquis' Mansion. This time, the person he wanted to arrest was still Baoqing Marquis's son Zhu Yu!

Zhu Yu has not yet recovered and is still recuperating in Chunhui Hall. How could Madam Wei allow anyone to take him away?

But Lord Zhu was not in the mansion, and Yan Xia was determined to arrest him. Madam Wei failed to stop him last time, and she couldn't stop him this time either.

But Zhu Yu was not as arrogant as last time. He was smiling the whole time and was very cooperative. He asked someone to help him up: "This prince will go with you. There is no need to put on the shackles."

Upon hearing the news, the Marquis' wife, Ma, rushed over and grabbed his sleeve. "My son, don't be silly! They don't dare to catch you. Don't follow them!"

Zhu Yu looked at Ma and suddenly smiled. Since he was injured, he had only seen this woman twice, once when he was just sent back home, and the other time was now.

When this woman was not visiting him, she had been taking care of the bastard child that was pregnant by another woman. Now that the bastard child was gone, this woman cried her heart out.

What a joke! What a joke!

He was laughing, and suddenly said to Ma: "Come closer, I will tell you a secret."

Ma was startled and subconsciously moved closer to Zhu Yu, but the next moment, Zhu Yu opened his mouth and bit Ma on the face!

This moment happened so fast that no one could react.

Ma screamed in pain. Everyone was stunned by this scene, even Yan Xia was stunned.

He had handled many cases and arrested many vicious criminals, but this was the first time he had seen someone like Zhu Yu.

Ma had already fainted from the pain, the maids were in a mess, and Old Madam Wei stared at Zhu Yu, who looked like a mad beast, and trembled like a sieve.