Young Master Ruyue rose and whispered to Princess Ruian, "Your Highness, shall I excuse myself for the time being?"
Princess Ryan nodded, "Alright, you go back and rest first. I'll come back to keep you company later."
Liu Xiangning hurriedly tugged at her master's sleeve, but Shen Mianmian nudged her with her elbow to indicate her refusal. Liu Xiangning continued to tug, and Shen Mianmian continued to nudge.
Princess Ryan said, "What little tricks are you two up to now?"
Liu Xiangning lowered her head and tugged at her master's sleeve again. Chen Mianmian had no choice but to bite the bullet and say, "Your Highness, it is... you just promised that as long as I pass the test, I will be rewarded with one hundred taels of gold."
Princess Ryan chuckled. "At a time like this, you're still thinking about the reward money? Alright, alright, here you go, Ah Ying, have someone fetch the gold."
"Yes, Your Highness." Ying Gu covered her mouth and smiled, then sent someone to fetch it.
Princess Ryan scoffed at the two of them, "Like master, like disciple."
Shen Mianmian hurriedly declared, "Your Highness is wise! This humble woman regards money as dirt, unlike her!"
Liu Xiangning deliberately spoke loudly, "Master, didn't we agree to split the silver fifty-fifty?"
Shen Mianmian rolled her eyes at Liu Xiangning—the two of them naturally had no such agreement. Xiangning said it on purpose, partly to flatter the princess and partly to be silly and make the princess happy. Shen Mianmian knew this, of course, and wouldn't be so tactless as to expose her.
"How dare you say that! You'll be kneeling on a washboard tonight when you get home."
"Yes, Master." Liu Xiangning was just wondering how to punish Guanshui, so she decided to make him kneel on the washboard.
Princess Rui'an and Ying Gu were amused by the two clowns. "Alright, alright, you don't need to split it 50/50. Ying Gu, have someone send over another portion. Look at you two, so stingy."
The two knelt down and respectfully kowtowed to the princess to express their gratitude.
According to the *History of Ming*, one *guan* (贯) was equivalent to 1,000 *wen* (文), which is equal to one tael of silver; one tael of gold was four *guan*. Therefore, four taels of silver equal one tael of gold, and 450 taels of silver equal one hundred taels of gold. If one tael of silver is converted to 1,000 RMB, then one hundred taels of gold is equivalent to 450,000 RMB in modern terms. (This information was found online; its accuracy is unknown. It's for entertainment purposes, so please take it with a grain of salt.)
She can earn 450,000 yuan by kowtowing. As long as Princess Rui'an doesn't mind, she can keep kowtowing until the princess goes bankrupt.
Ying Gu smiled and went to make the arrangements, while Prince Jin looked at the two of them and asked the princess, "Master and disciple?"
Princess Ryan replied with a smile, "Yes, I'll tell you later."
“Okay.” Prince Jin responded for the second time, this time with a more serious tone than before.
Bai Qingzhou glanced warily at the man beside her, the last trace of politeness vanishing from the corners of her lips.
During the conversation,
Madam Ding and Granny Li arrived at Xuanyue Residence, attended by the maids from the Princess's residence.
Before Lady Ding could even pay her respects to the princess, she saw her son... and a man who looked just like her son standing beside him.
Who is this person?
Princess Ryan smiled and waved, "You're pregnant, so you don't need to bow. You haven't seen Prince Jin much before, have you? He's usually in his fiefdom and rarely returns to the capital."
When Lady Ding learned that this man was Prince Jin, she was surprised and hurriedly tried to pay her respects.
Princess Ryan frowned in displeasure. "Didn't I tell you not to bow? Mianmian, go and pull her up."
“Yes, Princess.” Chen Mianmian went to help the lady and helped her to a chair.
Madam Ding and Granny Li remained stunned, staring intently at Prince Jin and the Crown Prince.
Princess Rui'an asked, "Ah Xuan, do you remember when I said that Qingzhou looked like Prince Jin? At that time, they only looked alike by two or three points, but later they both changed their appearances and became more and more alike. By the way, does your Ding family really have no daughters who have been lost to the world? Or are you someone the Ding family picked up later?"
Chenmianmian was also curious.
Lady Ding was both amused and exasperated. “Your Highness, if it were four months ago, and you said Qingzhou resembled me, I would have agreed. But since Qingzhou’s appearance has changed, her features now resemble the Marquis more.”
"Qingzhou resembles my husband and me. It's impossible that both of us are related to His Highness Jin's mother, is it? Besides, Your Highness has met my sister, and we look remarkably alike."
Princess Ryan nodded. "That's true. Before a woman in the harem is granted a title, her background must be investigated repeatedly to avoid any mistakes. Therefore, it's unlikely that Prince Jin and Qingzhou are related by blood. Perhaps they just look alike."
Lady Ding respectfully said to Prince Jin, "It is truly an honor for our Anning Marquis's mansion that the young master bears some resemblance to His Highness Prince Jin."
Prince Jin nodded politely in return, and then said to Princess Ruian, "Elder sister, I came here today just to have a brief meeting with you. I have to go to the palace later."
Princess Ryan asked in surprise, "A report on my duties?"
Prince Jin's eyes flickered subtly. "No, it should be catching up."
Princess Ryan understood and smiled, "That's true. You two brothers have always had a good relationship. Back in the palace, the Emperor would always think of you when he had something delicious or fun. You should come to the palace soon."
"Yes, I will come to see my elder sister later."
"You weren't in a hurry to go back this time, were you? Since you have plenty of time, there's no need to rush to come to me. Go and attend to your social engagements, see whomever you need to see, and come to me whenever you have time."
Princess Ruian rarely showed her kind and gentle side in front of Prince Jin.
“Yes, then I’ll take my leave, Your Highness.” Prince Jin nodded politely to the princess.
Ding hurriedly stood up from her chair, and Chen Mianmian followed the others to pay her respects to Prince Jin. Afterwards, she watched Prince Jin, who looked very much like the Crown Prince, leave Xuanyue Residence.
Chen Mianmian withdrew her gaze, lost in thought—the princess said that the emperor and Prince Jin had a very good relationship? If that's the case, then why did Prince Jin rebel? Moreover, judging from his appearance, Prince Jin doesn't seem like an ambitious person, so why would he rebel?
If we're talking about a rebellious character, the regent... well, the current King of Qin, would be more suitable, wouldn't he?
It doesn't make logical sense!
Is it possible that the novel forced its logic to advance the plot?
That's possible, because when she was reading the novel, she didn't seem to pay attention to the reasons why the Prince of Jin rebelled, or... the author wrote them, but she just skimmed through them and missed them?
Chen Mianmian is so regretful!
I should have looked at it more carefully back then.
Suddenly, she felt a darkness in front of her, so she looked up and saw Bai Qingzhou standing in front of her. "What are you thinking about?"
Shen Mianmian raised a harmless smile, "What else could I be thinking about? I'm wondering why you and Prince Jin look so alike. It's the first time I've ever seen two people who are not related by blood look so similar."
She's talking nonsense. There are many people on the internet who look like celebrities.
There's the construction site actor who looks like Yang Shuo, the coconut-chopping actor who looks like Eason Chan, and Xiao Shenyang who drives a bus, not to mention certain character actors.
Bai Qingzhou pursed her lips and remained silent.
Shen Mianmian noticed his bad mood and asked worriedly, "...Why are you unhappy? Is it because of the social engagements earlier, or...what just happened? Can you tell me? I'm very worried..."
Bai Qingzhou shook his head. How could he possibly say it was because he saw Prince Jin constantly peeking at her?
Yes, she is stunningly beautiful, has a unique temperament, and is intelligent and lively. Huo Rang liked her at first sight, and now Prince Jin also likes her... How can someone as ordinary as him be worthy of her?
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