Chapter 370 The Fish Takes the Bait

Although Zhang Jingjing spoke in a sarcastic tone, she still decided to try to win her over. "Actually, I think we live in the same palace, so we should visit each other more often. You can also tell me about the difficulties in your Yuzhou, such as why it is so poor and how the people can't make ends meet. I think I can ask my father for help."

Surely she wouldn't refuse such an enticing offer; her father is the Minister of Revenue, this is no small matter...

Zhang Jingjing said directly, "If Consort Zhao wants to gain the Crown Prince's favor, I think you'd be more likely to succeed by asking the Crown Princess for help." After saying that, she left.

Zhao Yuntong was dumbfounded. She had spoken to the Crown Princess, who only said, "Even a clever woman can't cook without rice," and she didn't know what she meant.

She thought: Could it be that the Crown Princess thought she wasn't pretty enough and didn't have any outstanding qualities, so even when she was in front of the Crown Prince, she couldn't attract him?

Although she was only a concubine's daughter in the Zhao family, there was one advantage to being a daughter of the Zhao family: whether a concubine's daughter or a legitimate daughter, she could be raised by the family. So, on the surface, she was not mistreated by the Zhao family. In secret, the First Madam would definitely scheme for her biological daughter, Zhao Yunhui. No matter how much she schemed, she would not dare to scheme in front of their father. She was not bad-looking, so she was still very popular in front of her father.

Moreover, Zhao Yunhui has now become the Princess Consort of Yu, and the First Madam's scheme has failed. The Zhao family will mainly support her as the young lady who enters the palace. However, she has not been favored, which means that she is not working hard. If she does not work hard, her father will also lose patience with her.

The fact that Zhang Jingjing dared to complain to the Emperor, and that the Emperor hadn't punished her, shows that she had gained favor with him.

By the time Zhao Yuntong realized what was happening, Zhang Jingjing was already gone.

Zhao Yuntong glared at Zhang Jingjing's back and said, "What are you pretending for? You're so poor, why are you still pretending? Tch!" She straightened her back and went straight back into the house.

Since seeking help from the Crown Princess was useless, she would go directly to the Crown Prince, and if she wanted to find the Crown Prince, she would first need to find the servant who served him personally.

She had been trying to find an opportunity to get close to the Crown Prince, but she hadn't had the chance. She finally managed to get in touch with Wuxin, the Crown Prince's trusted eunuch, but Wuxin didn't help her. She heard that Consort Tang was very generous, and she thought that it might be because the gifts she gave were not enough or not big enough.

She needed to inform her father as soon as possible and have him find some good things to send to the palace for her to bribe.

When the news reached the Zhao residence, Minister Zhao did not dare to delay. He took his private treasures directly from the storeroom and sent them to the palace. He had too many treasures, and many of them had been forgotten. They had been stored in the storeroom for many years and were covered in dust. It was likely that these things had long been forgotten.

When Zhao Yuntong delivered the item to Wuxin, he felt a sense of familiarity, as if he had seen it somewhere before. The item looked very valuable, so he didn't dare to accept it and secretly sent a message to the Crown Princess.

The answer Wu Xin received was: "The fish has taken the bait; let him deliver these treasures to Steward Cao."

Wu Xin saw Steward Cao smilingly pull him aside, saying, "Father, your son has a fine gift for you."

He would usually offer the silver he received to Steward Cao. Steward Cao knew that Wuxin was sensible and filial, so he said, "From now on, you can keep the rewards that the young masters give you. Your godfather doesn't need them."

"This time it's not silver, nor a jade bracelet, but a jade horse. That horse is simply a masterpiece of craftsmanship, rare and beautiful. My godfather plays with it when he has nothing to do." Wuxin was full of flattery and had a sweet tongue.

"Since it's your filial piety, show it to your godfather. Of all the godsons we've taken in, you're the most sensible and know how to please me the best. Follow your godfather well, and all these things will be yours after you pass away." Although he was very wealthy, he would still collect any truly valuable jade artifacts.

So, Wuxin handed the exquisitely packaged box to Steward Cao. Steward Cao opened the box, his eyes lit up at first, then his pupils seemed to tremble as if he had been shocked. He lowered his voice and coldly said, "You bastard, where did this come from?"

"Princess Zhao wants me to arrange a chance encounter with the Crown Prince; it's for her son." Wuxin has been serving Steward Cao for over ten years; how could he not recognize that this item is actually a lost tribute, and this jade horse is priceless.

Even if Steward Cao loved this thing very much, he dared not keep the tribute.

He avoided the unintentional, and said in a deep voice, "No one is allowed to mention what happened today, this kind of thing..."

He patted Wuxin on the shoulder, "It's good that you're sensible. Go back and serve the Crown Prince wholeheartedly. You'll have a bright future ahead of you."

"yes."

Chief Steward Cao took the items and went directly to the Emperor, saying, "Your Majesty, please take a look."

The emperor glanced at it and thought that the jade horse was exceptionally exquisite and of superior color, truly a rare and precious item.

The Emperor didn't remember anything like it either. Chief Steward Cao found another document. "This contains the blueprints for this jade artifact. It was a birthday gift from the Kingdom of Wu to Your Majesty, but it disappeared without a trace. There were many other things involved at the time..."

The Emperor asked, "Are all these things royal property?"

"Yes," Chief Steward Cao added, "Now that this thing has appeared in the world, Your Majesty, guess which concubine sent it?"

The Emperor frowned, too lazy to guess.

Manager Cao said, "The Crown Prince's Consort Zhao is the daughter of the Minister of Revenue. She personally delivered this to me as a bribe..."

Chief Steward Cao did not hide anything from the Emperor and told him everything in detail.

Upon hearing this, the emperor said coldly, "Any official in the court dares to embezzle imperial property for their own use? They've dared to try and embezzle from me."

Steward Cao was speechless. What was this all about? Although it was indeed true.

So the emperor remained calm. He suddenly remembered that on New Year's Eve, a young lady from the Eastern Palace knelt before him to petition the emperor on behalf of the people. The Crown Prince had been busy with the Su family's affairs, and now he was probably too preoccupied with his own problems.

"Cao De, do you think I'm getting old and useless?" One by one, the ministers he valued back then have run into trouble. Does this mean that I'm a bad emperor and a failure?

Cao De quickly flattered him, "Your Majesty is brave and mighty, diligent and conscientious, and is the best emperor in the world."

The emperor naturally knew that Cao De was deliberately trying to please him, and it seemed that he would have to do something to meet the ancestors of the Xie family.

A few days later, Chief Eunuch Cao sent Xiao Douzi over, saying, "His Majesty invites the Crown Princess to the Qianqing Palace. Chief Eunuch Cao said that the Crown Princess should also bring her two grandsons with her."

Jiang Fenghua nodded, "I'll go tidy up and then go over. Little Bean, please have a cup of tea and wait a moment."

"Yes," Little Bean replied respectfully.

Jiang Fenghua's mind raced. What did the Emperor want her to do, and why did he have to bring the little grandson along? Did the Empress share Xie Shang's thoughts and think that she was too eager to eliminate the Su family?

The Su family was originally the emperor's right-hand man. The emperor did not agree to touch the Su family in the first place. It was the Su family that became too arrogant and complacent. Moreover, the emperor did not object and even cooperated.

What did the Emperor want with her? He brought the child along; was it to bestow a reward upon the child, but they are still too young to speak?

These two children were truly her precious treasures. They were so easy to raise, giving her no worries at all. Perhaps God was making it up to her, knowing that she had been tormented by her children in her previous life.

The Emperor is seriously ill now. If he discovers that the Zhao family has even embezzled the tribute, will he handle it personally? But his health is deteriorating, so the Emperor will probably just leave it to Xie Shang.