Chapter 71 The Fourth Prince Smashed the Casino Frequently Visited by the Third Prince Consort
The third princess was seen leaning on the armchair, so shocked that she forgot to stand up. How could she be trampled to death by a horse, and her face was also crushed? Also, who was the man who was talking?
Watching this scene, Ji Jinyou quietly asked the Seventeenth Prince beside him: "What happened to the Third Sister?"
The seventeenth prince also replied in a low voice: "I don't know."
Seeing that the two children were staring at the third princess with their big black eyes, the seventh and eighth princesses hurriedly helped the third princess up and tried their best to wink at her.
When the third princess was waiting to be married, these two sisters followed her all day long. The three sisters were very familiar with each other and had a tacit understanding. Seeing this, she had to suppress her doubts and surprise, smiled, and found an excuse: "Xiao Liu was in a hurry to return to the capital, and hurried all the way. He didn't even have a good rest on the way."
The seven or eight princesses chimed in with a few words and managed to get away with it.
The queen laughed and said, "Xiaojiu, Shiqi, come here."
The two of them then found an opportunity to step forward and pay their respects to the Empress, and then, under the Empress's guidance, they paid their respects to the Third Princess.
The third princess didn't know she would be meeting her two half brothers and half sisters, and hadn't made any preparations in advance. She casually took off two jade bracelets from her wrists and gave one to each of the two children.
Youyou and Shiqi both looked at the Queen. The Queen smiled and said, "This is given by your third sister. Take it."
The two children bowed and said, "Thank you, Third Sister."
"Okay, come here, mother." The queen pulled the two little ones to sit on the couch, asked for wet towels to wipe their hands, took snacks from the table and gave them to eat, completely ignoring the anxious look of the third princess.
The seventh and eighth princesses pulled the third princess aside to ask about her health and other matters. The third princess answered absentmindedly, her eyes fixed on the little girl who was eating and drinking on the couch.
After looking at the little dumpling, the queen looked at the others and asked the two children with a smile on her face. The Sixth Prince listened with a chuckle on the side. At this critical moment, the two troublesome sisters insisted on pulling her aside to talk about some irrelevant things.
Several people were all relaxed and at ease, without any sign of anything unusual, but based on her understanding of their families, they had heard everything just now.
The third princess thought of how that bastard Xiaoliu went to Linjiang County, crying and making a scene, using all sorts of tricks to force her family to go to the capital. But when she asked him why, he couldn't tell her, and she was immediately shocked.
Could it be because of what the man just said?
The third princess could no longer hold back, and hurried into the inner room, pulling her two chattering sisters. Seeing this, the sixth prince quietly got up from the couch and followed them in.
Ji Jinyou was concentrating on munching on an osmanthus mung bean cake when she noticed that the room suddenly became quiet. She looked up and saw that her three sisters and brother were gone.
Knowing that her brothers and sisters had a good relationship, she thought that they probably had some intimate secrets that were not convenient to say in front of her and Brother Seventeen, so she lowered her head to finish the cake in her hand, wiped her hands with a handkerchief, and then stood up: "My queen, Youyou wants to go out and play with Brother Seventeen."
Seeing this, Seventeen got down from the ground, picked up his sister's little shoes and waited.
The queen thought that it would be inconvenient with the two children around, so she nodded, called Dangui in, and asked her to send the two children out.
Youyou and Shiqi went out, taking Jinxing and Haitang with them.
Inside the house, the brothers and sisters had said what they needed to say and walked out. The third princess had an unpredictable look on her face and was unable to accept it for a moment.
The Queen asked her to come over and sit down, and said earnestly, "Now do you understand why Xiaoliu had to make this hard trip to Linjiang County?"
The Sixth Prince took the opportunity to complain: "Yes, Third Sister, if you refused to come back, your brother almost rolled on the ground."
The third princess smiled apologetically and said, "I'm sorry, Xiaoliu. I didn't know there was such a hidden story behind this."
The Sixth Prince smiled and said, "I love the crystal pork elbow made by Third Sister. You can make it for me more often later."
Several people laughed, and the queen scolded him: "You are a foodie."
Then he frowned and asked the third princess, "You still don't want to tell me?"
Things had come to this point, and even though the third princess felt completely humiliated, she could no longer hide the truth and told everyone everything.
What the Third Princess said was exactly the same as what Tong Tong had said before. Right now, the second wave of huge debts had already been incurred by the Prince Consort, but fortunately, they had not yet gone to collect the taxes, so everything was still in time.
The third princess choked up at the end and wiped her tears with a handkerchief: "Mother, I am too ashamed to have come to this point. I did not mean to hide it."
Seeing her always proud daughter like this, the queen felt sad. She sighed heavily and patted her hands: "This is not your fault. Why should you be ashamed?"
Seven or eight princesses also came over and hugged the third princess to comfort her.
The Sixth Prince expressed his incomprehension: "Third sister, is face that important? Look at me, I never care about face, and I live a very comfortable life. How about you learn from me in the future?"
The third princess burst into laughter and glared at him: "Who wants to be like you, a monkey?"
People are like this, when they have a secret in their heart, they are always afraid of wolves in front and tigers behind, and they can't bring themselves to lose face. But once they say it out loud, they feel relieved and can let it go.
The third princess wiped away her tears and spoke without the queen asking, "Mother, I'm afraid I need to borrow some money from you to deal with the aftermath."
The queen was waiting for her to say this, and she felt relieved when she heard it. "I have prepared it for you a long time ago."
The third princess was silent for a moment, then suddenly threw herself into the queen's arms and burst into tears.
The queen touched her head and her eyes became wet. "Silly child, if you encounter any difficulties in the future, don't just hold on."
The third princess cried and nodded in agreement, and the seventh and eighth princesses also wiped their tears.
After a while, the Third Princess calmed down. The Queen asked someone to bring a hot towel for her to wipe her face. Then she asked, "What are you going to do, Prince Consort?"
The third princess pondered for a moment and turned cold: "I told him the first time that if it happened again, we would get a divorce. He agreed at the time, but he did it again the second time. If it weren't for Xiaojiu and Tongtong, I would have lost my life. Unfortunately, my child is going to lose his mother at such a young age..."
When she thought of this, the third princess couldn't help but burst into tears. She covered her face and cried for a while, then wiped away her tears and said, "So, my daughter is unfilial and will bring shame to the royal family."
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone in the room fell silent.
After a while, the queen sighed and said, "Just think it over carefully."
---
In Chongde Hall, Emperor Wen Zhao held his five-year-old grandson in his arms with eyes full of love, asking him all kinds of questions.
The third son-in-law, Marquis Chengyang, had been kneeling on the ground, feeling uneasy, with beads of sweat on his forehead.
After a while, the young prince pointed at his father lying on the ground, and whispered to Emperor Wen Zhao: "Grandpa, why don't you let Dad get up?"
Emperor Wen Zhao couldn't say anything in front of the child, so he said coldly, "Get up."
The Third Prince Consort, Marquis Chengyang, then thanked him and stood up, supporting himself on his knees.
Emperor Wen Zhao put the young master on the ground and said, "Good boy, go outside and ask Liang Quan to take you to your grandmother. Grandpa will talk to your father."
The young master was smart and clever. Noticing that his grandfather looked unhappy, he quickly responded and bowed to take his leave.
When Liang Quan, who was waiting at the door, led the young master out, Emperor Wen Zhao picked up the teacup at hand and smashed it directly on Marquis Chengyang, angrily scolding him with a dark face: "Asshole."
Marquis Chengyang was so frightened that his face turned pale. He knelt down again and kowtowed: "Father, I know I was wrong."
Emperor Wen Zhao stood up, stepped forward and gave him a hard kick, knocking him to the ground. He pointed at him and said angrily: "You idiot, are you worthy of your father?"
Marquis Chengyang knelt on the ground and cried bitterly: "Father, I have made a great mistake. I have squandered money and brought shame to the royal family. I am even more ashamed to face my late father. Please punish me."
"Do you think I care about money and face?" Emperor Wen Zhao was furious and kicked him again: "Do you know that if you continue like this, you will..., your family will fall apart."
Marquis Chengyang nodded while crying: "I know."
Having been in the casino for so long, he has seen people whose families were ruined because of gambling, but sometimes, he just can't control his own hands, and he doesn't know how he has come to this point.
On the way to Beijing, Hui'er ignored him, and the Sixth Prince, who used to always pester him and call him brother-in-law, also had no good face for him. He sat alone in a carriage, without the deliberate compliments and flattery of those people around him. He thought all the way and finally realized that he was really wrong.
The more he thought about it, the more regretful he felt. Marquis Chengyang raised his hand and slapped himself hard. Emperor Wen Zhao watched him slap himself a few times with a cold eye, and snorted, "That's enough."
Marquis Chengyang put down his hands, cried like a baby, crawled on his knees to the feet of Emperor Wen Zhao, and hugged his legs: "Father, Hui'er wants to divorce me, please persuade her, I really know I was wrong, let her give me another chance."
Looking at the face that was quite similar to the old Marquis of Chengyang, Emperor Wen Zhao couldn't bear it, so he reached out and helped him up, sighing: "I was the one who made the decision about your marriage, but this time, whether you can live together or not depends on you, I will not interfere anymore."
Marquis Chengyang was stunned for a moment, but he did not dare to beg for anything more. "I understand. I will mend my ways and seek Hui'er's forgiveness."
Emperor Wen Zhao stared at him for a while, thought about it, and ordered someone to bring the Ninth Princess over.
Ji Jinyou had just taken the seventeenth prince to Jingming Palace. Before they had sat down for a while, the eunuch from Chongde Palace came to find her and said that the emperor wanted to invite her over.
Ji Jinyou had no choice but to leave Seventeen in Jingming Palace first, and left Haitang to accompany Seventeen, and then went to Chongde Hall with Jin Xing.
As soon as I entered the room, I saw Emperor Wen Zhao sitting on the couch, and on the chair below him sat a young man in his twenties, with a handsome face and an upright figure, but his eyes were red and swollen, his cheeks were red, and he looked listless.
Ji Jinyou walked up to Emperor Wen Zhao and said, "Youyou pays respects to your father."
"Xiaojiu is here, come to your father." Seeing the chubby little girl, Emperor Wen Zhao felt better, a smile appeared on his face, he reached out to pick her up, and pointed to Marquis Chengyang who was standing beside him: "This is your third brother-in-law."
Ji Jinyou was being held, so it was difficult to salute, so she cupped her fist and said, "Youyou has met my third brother-in-law."
Marquis Chengyang didn't know this little girl at first, but after listening to their conversation, he knew that she was the Ninth Princess. Seeing how much Emperor Wen Zhao loved her, he didn't dare to neglect her and caressed her for a long time. However, apart from the jade pendant around her waist, he had nothing else to give as a gift.
He looked embarrassed, but he did not hesitate. He took off the jade pendant from his waist and stuffed it into Xiaojiu's hand: "Xiaojiu, this is a jade pendant that my third brother-in-law always carries with him. Take it and play with it."
Ji Jinyou didn't know much about jewelry, but when she saw the crystal clear jade pendant and the warm touch, she knew it was a good thing. She saw that Marquis Chengyang had been groping for a long time and couldn't find the thing, and she knew that he had no money, so she didn't want it and handed it back: "Third brother-in-law, Youyou doesn't want it."
Marquis Chengyang refused to take it and repeated, "Take it and play with it."
Ji Jinyou looked at Emperor Wen Zhao, who smiled and nodded: "Take it."
He knew that the jade pendant was passed down by the old Marquis Chengyang, but Xiaojiu saved Huier's life, so what did a jade pendant mean to him?
Ji Jinyou cupped his fist and said, "Thank you, Third Brother-in-law."
Marquis Chengyang waved his hand: "You're welcome."
Emperor Wen Zhao held Xiao Jiu in his arms and sat on the couch. "Come, Xiao Jiu, play chess with your father."
Ji Jinyou was stunned: [Everyone, my third brother-in-law just came to Beijing. Father didn't talk to him about important matters, but specially called me to play chess? ]
Marquis Chengyang lowered his head with a heavy heart, and was also stunned when he heard the words. He thought to himself, how favored is this Ninth Princess that she actually complained in front of His Majesty?
Then a man's voice rang out: [Perhaps the old emperor is not happy with the son-in-law he personally selected and doesn't want to see him, so he called us Youzi to come and make him happy.]
Ji Jinyou: [That’s right, do you know what will happen to the third sister and the others in the future? ]
System: [Originally, after the third princess was implicated by him and died, he was exiled to the army. Now they have come to the capital. I don’t know what will happen next.]
Hui'er is dead? Marquis Chengyang's eyelids twitched, his heart was startled, he stood up suddenly, and was about to walk over to ask for clarification.
Emperor Wen Zhao glanced at him unhappily and motioned him to sit back down quickly. Marquis Chengyang had no choice but to suppress his doubts and sat back in his chair, but his eyes were fixed on the little girl playing with the chess pieces.
Youyou asked again: [What happened to him after he was exiled to the army? ]
System: [After the death of the third princess, he was filled with regret and despair. Later, when the two countries of Sheng and Yao went to war again, he finally cheered up and fought bravely against the enemy.]
[However, the queen later died of depression, and the young prince who was raised by her was murdered. He then sneaked out of the army, changed his appearance and sneaked back to the capital, secretly found out the real murderer, avenged the child, and then returned to the army, but by then Dasheng had already been defeated, and his whereabouts were unknown. ]
Ji Jinyou: [Does anyone know who killed the young master? ]
System: [That’s not what I said.]
Ji Jinyou chatted with the system while playing chess with Emperor Wen Zhao. After a few games, she became impatient and used her two little hands to talk nonsense. Then she smiled at Emperor Wen Zhao with her little milk teeth: "Hehe, Youyou won."
Seeing the little girl's playful look, Emperor Wen Zhao was in a good mood. He laughed and tapped her forehead: "I knew you were going to do this again."
Ji Jinyou slid down to the ground, put on her shoes, and bowed: "Father, now Youyou is going to play with my brothers."
Emperor Wen Zhao smiled and agreed, and asked someone to carry two baskets of summer oranges that had just been tributed from Jiangnan to Jingming Palace.
After the little girl left, Emperor Wen Zhao looked at Marquis Chengyang, who was as anxious as an ant on a hot pot.
Marquis Chengyang knelt on the ground, his face changed: "Father, what is going on?"
Emperor Wen Zhao snorted coldly, first explained the existence of Tong Tong, and then told Marquis Chengyang everything that Tong Tong had said about the third princess's family. After that, he looked at him quietly.
Marquis Chengyang felt a chill down his spine and broke out in a cold sweat. So, he not only killed Hui'er, but also their child.
Seeing that Marquis Chengyang was hit hard, Emperor Wen Zhao stood up and helped him up: "Thanks to Xiaojiu, everything is still in time."
---
On that day, the empress wanted to give the third princess her savings, but was stopped by Emperor Wen Zhao, who said that he had granted the marriage and the money came from his private treasury.
Afterwards, Emperor Wen Zhao ordered the Fourth Prince, who was currently on vacation at home, to accompany the Third Princess and Marquis Chengyang back to Linjiang County.
The Third Princess and her husband stayed in the palace for only two days, then left their child there temporarily. They set off with the Fourth Prince, traveling light and riding at top speed, hurried back to Linjiang County.
On the second day after returning, he repaid all the silver owed by Marquis Chengyang.
After paying back the money, the Fourth Prince caused a big disturbance in Linjiang County.
First, he brought people to smash the two casinos that Marquis Chengyang often visited, and threatened that if anyone dared to let Marquis Chengyang in to gamble again, he would burn the casino down next time. The casino owners were so scared that they knelt on the ground, kowtowed, and begged for mercy, promising that they would never dare to do it again even if they were beaten to death.
Afterwards, all those malicious people who instigated gambling were severely punished. Some had their legs broken, some had their hands chopped off. After the punishment, they were hung at the door of the casino for a whole day, and were not allowed to be taken back to their homes until they died.
It was discovered that the two leaders had committed murder before, and the evidence was conclusive. The Fourth Prince's men took them directly to the government office and put them in jail, waiting to report to the court before they could be executed.
After the commotion, all the casinos in Linjiang County were closed. No one dared to touch this killer, and they issued a strict order internally that Marquis Chengyang must not be allowed to enter.
The Fourth Prince acted with lightning speed and resolved the matter in just a few days.
With the contrast of the bloody and violent Fourth Prince, the people of Linjiang County realized how amiable and approachable the Third Princess, who seemed arrogant but never bullied others, and the approachable Marquis Chengyang, were.
Those who always wanted to gain benefits from the Princess's Mansion through Marquis Chengyang in the past have deeply experienced the majesty of the royal family and no longer dare to have any evil thoughts.
After the matter was settled, the third princess and the Marquis of Chengyang had a closed-door discussion. The third princess proposed a divorce, and the Marquis of Chengyang cried and admitted his fault. The third princess refused to give in, saying that she had already given him a chance.
Marquis Chengyang then took out a dagger and cut off a part of his little finger on the spot, swearing that he would never touch the gambling table again in his life.
The third princess looked at his pale face and bloody left hand, and finally couldn't hold back her tears. Marquis Chengyang also came over, and the couple hugged each other and cried bitterly.
After crying for a while, the third princess said to Marquis Chengyang that since he didn't want to live off his wife forever, he should join the army and make great achievements like the old marquis.
Marquis Chengyang agreed without hesitation and promised that he would make a name for himself and come back to see them mother and son.
The couple temporarily reconciled. Marquis Chengyang said goodbye to his wife and went directly to the army, while the third princess followed the fourth prince back to the capital.
Of course, Ji Jinyou didn't know all this. She was very busy these days. Not only did she have to take care of Seventeen, but she also had to take care of her nephew, the young prince. The two little boys were jealous all the time.
The young master of Chengyang Marquis's Mansion particularly likes the chubby and round Aunt Xiaojiu. He likes to hold her hand and play with her.
But Seventeen also really likes Little Nine, the sister who always cares about him and praises him. He also likes to hold her hand and stay close to her.
The young master was the only child of the Third Princess and the Third Prince Consort. When he was in the Princess's Mansion, everyone in the mansion revolved around him, and no one ever dared to snatch things from him, so he didn't like Seventeen. Every time he saw Seventeen trying to hold Aunt Nine's hand, he would push him away.
Seventeen was originally very timid, but in this matter, he was very stubborn. Even when he was pushed away, he always looked for various opportunities to pull Xiaojiu.
Ji Jinyou was always busy mediating, and sometimes he even had to warn the young master, but the young master was used to being arrogant in the princess's mansion and never listened.
He always wanted her to play with him, and called her "Aunt Xiaojiu". He also said that Uncle Seventeen was the elder and he couldn't compete with him for his aunt.
Ji Jinyou had no choice but to stand between the two of them and stare at them more closely.
As a result, she was not paying attention and the young master pushed Seventeen again, causing Seventeen to fall on his butt. Seventeen sat on the ground and started crying.