"Your Highness." Inside the carriage, the attendant looked anxiously at the Prince of Chen riding in front of him, and whispered to Prince Qi, "I'm worried that the Prince of Chen will find out the identities of those two people, which will be bad for you."
The Pingyuan Marquis' Mansion is the prince's maternal family. Although what these two servants did has nothing to do with the prince, in the eyes of His Majesty, he will think that the prince is plotting against Prince Chen's in-laws.
"Whether they go or not, the identities of these two people cannot be changed." King Qi said calmly: "If I go with him, it can at least prove that I know nothing about this matter."
"Is the Marquis' Mansion resentful of Concubine Su for summoning the Marquis's wife into the palace to reprimand her, so they sent people to do this?" Although there is no queen in the palace, Concubine Su, as the highest-ranking woman in the harem, is almost tacitly recognized as the vice-queen. If she summons the ladies of honor into the palace to reprimand them, they can only listen obediently.
The King of Qi was silent and thoughtful.
Seeing that the prince didn't say anything, the chief attendant didn't know what to say. He had some opinions about the Marquis Pingyuan's Mansion. Wouldn't this be a hindrance to the prince?
Prince Qi lifted the curtain of the carriage. From where he was, he could only see the carriage of Prince Chen's palace. Yun Duqing rode a horse beside the carriage. He was dressed in a fiery red and looked so flamboyant that it hurt people's eyes.
He lowered the curtain and took a deep breath.
When he was very young, he often heard his mother complain about Su and Yun Duqing.
Su was a woman of limited knowledge. She used her beauty to please men and seduced their hearts. Beauty is a disaster. Even her son learned to please and be obedient from her.
He worked hard to finish reciting an article and received praise from his father. Then he turned around and saw Yun Duqing peeling oranges for his father, making the emperor smile happily.
Yun Duqing is about the same age as him, but he is not as good as him in academic performance, etiquette, and even his foreign family background is not as good as his. However, Yun Duqing is still the best son in his father's eyes.
He even knew that his father had originally wanted the daughter of the Sun family to marry Yun Duqing. If the daughter of the Sun family had not been more fond of him, the Sun family, who was respected by countless scholars, would have become Yun Duqing's right-hand man.
The only thing he didn't expect was that the Ming family had a daughter who had been fostered in Lingzhou since she was a child. Fortunately, the Ming family acted uprightly and had never had much good feelings towards the Su family mother and son...
"Your Majesty, we have arrived at the Jingzhao government office."
Lord Wang, the prefect of Jingzhao Prefecture, looked at the prisoners who were personally escorted by the Jinwu Guards, and stood up and asked the captain in charge, "Young general, what crime have these two committed?"
If he had not committed a serious crime, why would so many people be escorting him?
The captain of the Jinwu Guard bowed and saluted: "Sir Wang, these two people have disrespected the royal family, slandered the court officials, and speculated on the emperor's will. Please investigate thoroughly."
Lord Wang took a deep breath. Seeing these two people so frightened that they couldn't even stand up, how could they dare to do such a serious thing?
"Thank you, young general, for telling me this." Lord Wang suppressed his shock and said, "I will detain them pending trial and will not show them any mercy."
"Why wait until later to judge?" Prince Chen strode in and said, "I think today is a good day."
"Your humble servant pays respects to His Royal Highness Prince Chen." Lord Wang saw Prince Chen followed by Prince Qi, and quickly bowed again: "Your humble servant pays respects to His Royal Highness Prince Qi."
"No need for these false formalities." The King looked at the two people lying on the ground like rotten mud and said, "These two people have offended me and speculated on the emperor's will. You must carefully investigate their identities, who sent them, and what their purpose is."
"Yes, yes, yes." Lord Wang glanced at the two people on the ground. What kind of courage did they have to offend King Chen?
"Please take your seats, my two princes. I will now review the case..."
"No need. I am only here to listen to the trial process and will not participate in the trial." Prince Chen pulled Jiuzhu, who was peeking at the torture instrument, and sat down on the chair next to him.
Lord Wang glanced at the girl who was being pulled by Prince Chen to sit down. Although he didn't know her identity, he still bowed to her and turned to Prince Chen and Prince Qi and said, "My two princes, I will take the seat with courage."
Prince Qi nodded slightly and sat down on the other side of the trial hall, facing Prince Chen.
"Who is kneeling in the hall? What's his name and where he lives? Tell me as soon as possible." Lord Wang struck the wooden stick in the hall, and the bailiffs all took their positions. The sound of their killing sticks hitting the ground was like the sound of war drums on a battlefield.
The two servants had never seen such a formation before, and they burst into tears on the spot and told everyone their identities.
"You said that you were servants of the Pingyuan Marquis's mansion outside the capital. Do you have any evidence?" Lord Wang secretly glanced at Prince Qi. The Pingyuan Marquis's mansion was Prince Qi's in-laws' family.
"Yes, yes." The two of them hurriedly took out their badges. The servants of other villas must have this badge to enter and leave the villa.
The bailiff presented the badge to Lord Wang. Lord Wang took a look at it and turned to look at Prince Chen: "Lord, look..."
You royal princes should not use your secret methods to embarrass a poor prefect like him.
"Continue the trial." The Prince of Chen waved away the bailiff who was about to show him his badge and said, "I said that I am only here to watch you conduct the trial today."
Qi Wang Mosuo held the jade pendant on his waist and smiled faintly: "Fifth brother is right. People who commit crimes like this must not be treated lightly. Of course, we can't wrongly accuse good people who have nothing to do with it."
Who is the good guy who doesn't interfere?
Pingyuan Marquis Mansion?
The King of Chen sneered and hooked his finger at Jiuzhu, signaling her to put her ear closer. Noticing his action, Jiuzhu leaned her head over.
"Have you ever heard of what is called pretense?" Prince Chen lowered his voice and said, "My good fourth brother definitely deserves the title."
Jiuzhu secretly glanced at Prince Qi, and imitated Prince Chen and whispered, "Marquis Pingyuan's Mansion is Prince Qi's maternal grandfather's home. Will he protect bad people?"
"He dares?" Prince Chen snorted coldly: "I am still here."
"Yeah." Jiuzhu felt relieved immediately.
"Tsk." Prince Chen looked at the little girl who believed everything he said. What's wrong with her brain? She wouldn't be fooled by someone giving her a string of candied haws, right?
King Qi looked at Yun Duqing, who was whispering with Miss Ming from time to time, with a smile on his face that never faded. Miss Ming's expression was too easy to guess. He could tell at a glance that they were talking about him, and it wasn't a good thing.
Pretending to be unaware of the undercurrent between the two princes, Lord Wang slapped the wooden stick again and said, "First, drag him away and give him twenty lashes of the cane." After thinking for a moment, he added, "Drag him to the side hall and give him a beating, so as not to taint your noble eyes."
Jiuzhu watched the two people being dragged away like cooked noodles, feeling confused. Since they knew that doing this would bring terrible consequences to themselves, why did they still do it?
Suddenly, two warm hands covered her ears, and she turned her head to see the approaching face of His Royal Highness Prince Chen.
"Little girl, don't listen to the howling of ghosts and wolves."
Because her ears were covered, His Highness' voice sounded a little unreal, and Jiuzhu blinked.
"Have you ever seen anyone being beaten with a stick before?"
Jiuzhu shook her head.
"That's right." Prince Chen turned his head and looked at the side hall separated by wooden fences. Two prisoners had been pressed on the wide black lacquered wooden benches. He lowered his eyelids and said in a mocking tone: "No matter how tough a person is, he will look particularly ugly when he cries and howls."
Jiuzhu wanted to follow his gaze and turned her head to look.
"Don't look." Prince Chen grabbed her face and accidentally used too much force, squeezing her rosy little mouth into a pouty duck mouth.
Seeing Jiuzhu's big eyes looking at him in confusion, he quickly reduced his strength and said, "I told you it's ugly, little girl, you have to be obedient and not look at it secretly."
Jiuzhu heard a man's scream, the sound was very vague and very far away, so vague that she could hardly hear it.
The hand on her ear was still so warm. Jiuzhu couldn't help but think that a man as gentle as His Highness must have been sent by God.
After the screams ended, Prince Chen let go of her hand. Seeing Jiuzhu looking at him stupidly, he couldn't help but poke her forehead: "Are you fooled by my grace?"
Jiuzhu thought about it and nodded seriously.
Prince Chen turned his head and coughed.
I know, I know, I know that you admire me very much.
He lowered his head and picked up his fingers. Is Ming Xiaozhu's face made of tofu?
It was so soft and tender that it seemed like if a little more force was used, her face would be broken.
After being dragged up, the servant who was beaten with the stick told everything, including what the two stewards said and why they did that.
"My Lord, since this matter involves the steward of the Marquis's Mansion, you see..." Lord Wang smiled at Prince Qi ingratiatingly, "It is always better to get to the bottom of the matter."
With the kindness and talent of His Royal Highness Prince Qi, it is impossible for him to send someone to do such a thing. It's a pity that the Pingyuan Marquis's Mansion was not strict enough, and this incident caused harm to the reputation of Prince Qi.
"As I should." King Qi nodded and said to his attendant behind him, "Go and bring over the steward these two people mentioned."
"Don't worry, Fourth Brother. My people have already gone." Prince Chen smiled and said, "I'm sure Fourth Brother knows that there are many good horses in my palace. I love riding horses. The palace guards are also good at riding horses. They are fast, so we can wait here for a while longer."
"Fifth brother, you are very thoughtful." The King of Qi stopped stroking the jade pendant with his thumb and said, "It was Fourth brother who forgot that you have many precious horses and fine horses in your house."
"It's okay. If you forget by mistake next time, I'll remind you." The Prince searched in his waist pouch but didn't find anything to eat, so he gave up. "I never mind such trivial matters."
Jiuzhu noticed his actions, took out a few pieces of dried meat from her purse and put them in Prince Chen's hand.
Prince Chen turned his head to look at Jiuzhu, who blinked and smiled at him.
Lord Wang looked at Prince Chen and the girl in pink skirt sharing snacks and took a deep breath.
Someone just got beaten with a stick, how are these two able to eat?
The guards of Prince Chen's Mansion moved very quickly indeed. Not only did they bring the steward mentioned by the two servants, they also brought a steward from Marquis Pingyuan's Mansion.
After hearing what happened, the steward of Biezhuang was bewildered: "Sir, we are just the stewards of Biezhuang, how dare we do such a treasonous thing?!"
The two servants heard this and asked angrily, "It was obviously you who came up with the idea and we did this!"
"I remember that you two secretly drank alcohol while on duty a few days ago, and I fined you for that. Are you holding a grudge against me because of this incident, and are you using this method to slander me?" The steward retorted: "The selection of stewards in the Marquis' Mansion has always had strict standards. How could you transfer me to the Marquis' Mansion for such a ridiculous reason?"
Lord Wang nodded, thinking that what the steward said made some sense. No master would like such a self-willed servant. Not to mention transferring him to the Marquis' Mansion, it might be too late to even drive him away.
Jiuzhu didn't have the energy to listen to what they said. She looked at the steward of the marquis's mansion with a scar on his chin and curled up the fingers on her knees.
This scar was cut by her with a silver hairpin, and the blood dripped onto her face, it was sticky and fishy.
That silver hairpin was the first small silver hairpin that the masters had bought for her after saving for a long time. She took good care of it and wiped it every day before carefully inserting it into her hair.
When she was tied up, gagged and thrown into the river, the little silver hairpin fell into who knows where, perhaps it sank into the mud at the bottom of the river and never saw the light of day again.
"Who is that?" Prince Chen pointed at the steward of the Marquis' Mansion and said, "Stand further away. Don't let me see your face. You are too ugly for me."
After saying that, he stuffed a piece of dried meat into Jiuzhu's mouth and said, "Are you hungry? I see it's time for lunch."
Jiuzhu came back to her senses. She turned her head to look at King Chen, chewing beef jerky without saying a word.
The scarred butler, who was bluntly called ugly by the Prince of Chen, had a gloomy look in his eyes, but he did not dare to refute. He forced out a twisted and flattering smile, retreated to a corner, and turned sideways so that the Prince of Chen could not see his face.
"Are you in a daze again?" Prince Chen raised his eyebrows and looked at her.
Jiuzhu touched the hairpins on her temples. She no longer knew how to comb her hair.
"Your Highness." Jiuzhu lowered her head and gently pulled the forbidden belt hanging around her waist.
"Um?"
"Nothing." Jiuzhu shook her head, then looked up and gave him a big smile.
Prince Chen pointed at the pouch on her waist and asked, "Are there any more pieces of meat?"
Jiuzhu nodded: "Yes."
After saying that, he took off the entire purse and put it in Prince Chen's hand.
Prince Chen ate the dried meat while listening to Lord Wang's trial. Finally, after the two servants signed their confession, he slowly spoke: "I have heard about the style of the Pingyuan Marquis's mansion, but I didn't expect that their servant committed such a serious crime, and no one from the Pingyuan Marquis's mansion came to speak."
The scarred manager standing in the corner: "..."
Before he came, Prince Chen's Mansion just said that a servant in the villa had done something wrong. Who knew it was this kind of thing?
"Oh, I forgot." Prince Chen looked at Prince Qi and said, "Marquis Pingyuan is Fourth Brother's uncle. With a nephew like you around, it's normal for everyone in Marquis Pingyuan's mansion to feel at ease."
The expression of the chief attendant of Prince Qi's mansion suddenly turned ugly. What did Prince Chen mean by this?
"I have suffered such a great humiliation, but I have not seen the Pingyuan Marquis Mansion come to apologize. I guess they don't take me seriously on weekdays." Prince Chen stood up and stuffed the meat jerky that Jiuzhu gave him into his sleeves. "Fourth brother, there is no need to plead for the Pingyuan Marquis Mansion. I will go to the palace to see my father and ask him to make the decision for me."
The chief attendant of Prince Qi's palace: "..."
His prince clearly didn't say a word, so what does Prince Chen mean by talking to himself?
After all this fuss, bringing the person to Jingzhao Yin for trial, the final conclusion is that Pingyuan Marquis Mansion doesn't take him seriously?
"Fifth brother..."
"Fourth brother, there is no need to say more. As your younger brother, I know how difficult it is for you to deal with this matter." The red sleeves of the Prince of Chen drew a beautiful arc in the air, and his face was full of tolerance: "Don't worry, your younger brother will not be angry with you because of this matter."
After saying that, he winked at Jiuzhu.
Jiuzhu stood up quickly, thought for a moment, raised her fair little chin, snorted at the two servants kneeling on the ground, shook her sleeves like Prince Chen, and followed Prince Chen out of the gate of Jingzhao Yin.
"Hmph! Despicable villain." After the chief attendant of Prince Chen's mansion uttered these words in a sarcastic tone, he left with the other attendants and guards. The entire Jingzhao Yin's office was suddenly half empty.
Lord Wang quickly bowed towards the gate through which Prince Chen was leaving, then turned around and gave Prince Qi an awkward smile, "Prince..."
"Thank you for your hard work, Lord Wang. I'm taking my leave." King Qi turned around and left Jingzhao Prefecture.
Lord Wang took off the black gauze hat on his head and kept wiping the cold sweat from his forehead with the sleeve of his robe. This governor of Jingzhao really never had a clean day in his job.
"My Lord, what should we do now?" The chief attendant of Prince Qi's mansion did not expect Prince Chen to do things so casually. As soon as he left the gate of Jingzhao Yin, he said anxiously, "I am worried that Prince Chen will use this matter to wrongly accuse you."
"Let the Prince of Pingyuan Marquis's Mansion stop Prince Chen before he enters the palace and apologize to him." Prince Qi's face was grim. "The more sincere the apology, the better. Even if he kneels down in the street to apologize, people must see the sincerity of Pingyuan Marquis' Mansion in apologizing to Prince Chen."
"I'll do it right away!" The attendant jumped on his horse, and his dissatisfaction with the Pingyuan Marquis's Mansion grew stronger and stronger. The prince was not favored by the emperor, and he never dared to make a wrong move or say a wrong word. The Pingyuan Marquis's Mansion usually traveled around the capital in the name of the prince, and not only could they not help at all, but they also hindered the prince.
After sending Ming Jiuzhu back to Minister Ming's residence, Prince Chen turned around and walked towards the imperial palace.
He said he would go to the palace to file a complaint, and he definitely wouldn't wait until tomorrow.
Halfway through the journey, the Prince saw the owners of two restaurants arguing across the street, accusing each other's chefs of not cooking authentically enough.
"My family serves authentic Beijing cuisine. Your family's food has a hint of Lingzhou cuisine in everything they cook. How dare you call yourself a century-old Beijing restaurant?"
Prince Chen pulled the reins of his horse, pointed at the owner of the restaurant who was accused of not serving authentic Beijing cuisine, and said to his attendant, "Please ask their chef who can cook Lingzhou cuisine to come back to the palace to cook."
The attendant said quickly, "Don't worry, Your Majesty, I will bring the person to the palace before dark today."
Hearing this, Prince Chen turned his head to look at him. He did not have a very good reputation outside, which was partly due to this servant who could not speak.
"Your Highness, please stay!"
Prince Chen looked back at the Prince of Pingyuan Marquisate who was chasing after him on a fast horse, and said to the guards, "You can't let the horses run wild in a noisy city. Go and hold the man back."
After saying this, he patted the horse and continued walking slowly towards the palace.
Want him to stay?
snort.
He is a prince, does he need the idiots from Pingyuan Marquis' Mansion to teach him how to do things?
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