Chapter 716: Leverage (Part 2)

Both Xu Lingyi and Shiyi Niang were a little surprised.

"Do you know why you were asked to enter the palace?" Eleventh Lady asked her son with concern.

"They said we were going to the West Garden to play ice skating," Jiangeer said with a smile, "and they also told me to go to the palace on the twelfth to admire the lanterns."

Is it good or bad to be so close?

Eleventh Lady looked towards Xu Lingyi.

Xu Lingyi had already reminded Jin'er: "Don't forget your manners." This was a tactful way of expressing his agreement.

What child doesn't like to play? Moreover, the royal family is so dignified and majestic. When Jian Ge'er heard this, he was moved. He was just worried that his father would be unhappy because he had been restraining him for so many days. Seeing that his father agreed so readily, he was full of joy: "Don't worry, Daddy. I won't say anything I shouldn't say."

Although Jiange'er was young, he had a good sense of propriety in dealing with people. Xu Lingyi agreed with this.

He nodded slightly.

Jianger became more energetic and talked to his mother, "The West Garden is very big. The lake for ice skating is bigger than our home. Standing by the lake, it is crystal clear everywhere, like a glass world. It's very beautiful." He added, "The eldest princess said that this year's palace lantern festival will be held in the Yu Garden in front of the Qin'an Hall. The Ministry of Internal Affairs has been ordered to make a thousand lanterns..."

During the trip to Baoding, Xu Lingyi drew landscape paintings for Shiyi Niang along the way. Influenced by his father, Jin Ge also liked to tell his mother about what he saw and heard wherever he went.

Eleventh Lady listened with a smile, and the next day she and A Jin prepared a leather jacket for Jiange'er to wear for ice skating. On the sixth day of the New Year, they happily sent Jiange'er out early in the morning.

When Jian Ge'er came back, he pulled Shiyi Niang aside and said, "Mother, it turns out that the man who was hit on the head by the eldest princess' bow that day was Wang Xian, the son of the commander of Changning Guard." "How did you know?" Shiyi Niang had always been concerned about the marriage of the Grand Duke, hoping that she could find someone with good character. "How did he end up in Yu Garden?"

"He was originally working for the Imperial Guards. He was ordered by Commander Ouyang to wait for Eunuch He by the Qin'an Hall," said Qin Ge'er with a smile. "Today we went to play ice skating. We saw him again. He was on duty at the gate of the West Garden today."

Eleventh Lady thought for a moment and said hesitantly, "You wouldn't ask him to pull the ice sled for you, would you?"

When the princes and princesses were playing on the ice in the Western Garden, the eunuchs, in order to take a break, would often ask the imperial guards working in the Western Garden to help pull the ice carts.

"Mom, you are so good. You guessed it all!" Jin Ge'er hugged his mother's arm with a smile, "The eighth prince pointed at Wang Xian. However, seeing that the eldest princess didn't look very good, I sent Wang Xian to wave the flag for us." When competing in ice skating, someone is needed to wave the flag to indicate the starting time. "Who knew that the eldest princess stopped playing after a while. We spent the whole afternoon roasting silk beans in the side hall of Chonghua Palace." He looked very bored.

Eleventh Lady couldn't help laughing.

Within two days, two guards from the Xiaoling Mausoleum came to play with Jiange'er.

"One is Xie Yan, the other is Wei Xun." Amber whispered, "Master Xie is the grandson of Princess Yong'an. He is eighteen years old this year, and Master Wei is the son of Princess Jiangdu. He is sixteen years old this year. He was appointed commander together with the Sixth Young Master. From the tone of his voice, he also went to the palace to play ice skating on the sixth day of the first lunar month." He smiled and said, "Both masters are very polite to others, and they look very gentle. They also brought eight-color gift boxes as gifts."

I didn’t expect that Brother Jian would have friends coming to visit!

Eleventh Lady sighed in her heart and told Amber: "It's rare for him to have friends come up here, so don't be impolite. Go to his place more often. Ask the kitchen staff to prepare whatever you want to eat or drink, and I'll pay for it."

Amber smiled and replied "Yes." She retreated and came back a moment later to report, "Madam, you are a little late!"

Eleventh Lady was puzzled.

Amber hid her sleeves and smiled: "When I went there, I saw a manager from the office instructing the servants around the Sixth Young Master, and he also told them to let the kitchen entertain them and the money should come from the Marquis."

Eleventh Lady also laughed.

In the evening, my brother came to greet me.

"Mom, Wei Xun asked me to go to the western suburbs to appreciate plum blossoms tomorrow!" He looked at Shiyi Niang eagerly, "I didn't dare to promise anyone else!"

"Stop pretending to be pitiful here!" Eleventh Lady smiled and pinched her son's nose. "Wait until your father comes back, and I'll tell him about it."

"Tell me what's going on!" Speak of the devil and he will appear. Xu Lingyi walked in, shaking off the snow on his hood.

"Daddy!" Jian Ge'er was talking to Xu Lingyi like a puppy. "My friend asked me to go out and play,... Actually I didn't want to go out either. But it was the first time, and I felt bad if I refused. If I didn't refuse, I was afraid you would be angry... After hesitating for a long time, I had to euphemistically ask if there was anything wrong at home... Daddy, Xie Yan and Wei Xun are both pretty good, and they get along well with me..."

Xu Lingyi looked at him with a mixture of amusement and anger, but he still felt sorry for his son: "You can go, but bring guards with you, and don't run away without guards. If you can't do that, don't even think about going out again!" "Of course, of course." Jin Ge'er hurriedly protected him, but muttered, "When did I ever run away without guards?"

"The guards were drinking tea in the teahouse, and you went shopping." Xu Lingyi looked at Lou Ge'er meaningfully, "Does this count as abandoning the guards and running away on your own?" Jin Ge'er was stunned.

Xu Lingyi said, "It's getting late. Since we have an appointment for tomorrow, we should go to bed early so that we can go out early tomorrow. The days are short in winter."

Jiang Ge'er dared not say a word more, and hurriedly bowed and left. The next day, he obediently sat in a black lacquered flat-roofed carriage, surrounded by more than 30 guards, and went to the meeting place. Xie Yan and Wei Xun brought more people than he did. Jiang Ge'er breathed a sigh of relief, and the group dragged to Xishan in a mighty manner.

When I got home, I said I would go to Xishan to race horses in two days.

Eleventh Lady was very surprised: "It's New Year's Day. Water is freezing. Why are we running? When spring comes and the weather gets warmer, wouldn't it be better for us to go to the West Mountain for an outing?"

"It's an appointment with a friend." Jiangeer said with a smile, "I've already agreed, it would be bad if I don't go!"

"Friend?" Eleventh Lady was a little surprised. "What friend? What's his name? How did you know him? How old are you? What does your family do?"

Jiang Geer laughed: "The people I met today when I went to the west of the city to appreciate plum blossoms are all four or five years older than me. They all work in the Xishan Camp. Some are assistants, and some are deputy governors. We all got along well, so we made an appointment to go horse racing together tomorrow."

When Eleventh Lady heard this, she didn't want her son to go.

The Xishan Camp was the emperor's personal guard. The assistants and deputy governors were one rank higher than the assistants and deputy governors of the general commanding officers. And since they were only four or five years older than Jin Ge'er, they were probably not the children of ordinary noble families.

Jianger hurried forward and hugged Shiyi Niang's shoulders: "Mom, I rode from Yanjing all the way to Jiayuguan, and then from Jiayuguan to Yanjing, and I was fine. Not to mention horse racing with friends. It's just for the excitement, and the competitive spirit will inevitably make people feel bored. Don't worry, I'm just going to cheer everyone up." He added, "Dad is afraid that you will worry. He said I can go. But I need your consent. Mom, please let me go! Otherwise, I will go back on my word. Who will be my friend if the news gets out!"

Eleventh Lady didn't want Jiang'er to get too close to the people from the Xishan Camp.

"Since they are new friends, you should be more careful." She said, "We will make friends with those who are worth making friends with, and we will just be okay with those who are not worth making friends with." She added, "Are Xie Yan and Wei Xun going too?" "No!" Jiang Ge'er laughed, "They can't ride horses. However, Wei Xun invited Xie Yan and I to his house to watch the snow."

Snow viewing is always better than horse riding.

Eleventh Lady smiled and nodded. She teased her son: "You have quite a lot of social engagements!"

"Of course." Jiang Ge'er straightened his chest. "The Ninth Prince also invited me to visit King Anhui's house. I felt that he was always gloomy, so I did not agree." King Anhui is the emperor's fourth son.

"Have you seen King An Hui?" Shiyi Niang had never seen him before. "When did you see him?"

"On the first day of the new year, when I accompanied my father to pay respects to the Emperor," said Jian Ge'er, "he looked very much like the Crown Prince. However, he was not as energetic as the Crown Prince, and looked two or three years older than the Crown Prince..." As the mother and son were talking, a servant ran in, "Sixth Young Master, Sixth Young Master, there is a eunuch looking for you."

"Young eunuch?" Qin Ge'er was stunned. "At this time?"

The servant nodded: "He said he was from Prince Yong's Palace, and he came on behalf of the Ninth Prince to deliver a letter to the Sixth Young Master."

"Mom, I'll go take a look!" Jian'er said, and followed the servant to the outer courtyard in a hurry. After about two incense sticks, he turned back.

"What does the Ninth Prince want to see you for?" Eleventh Lady asked before her son could speak.

Jian Ge'er curled his lips and said, "He asked me to talk to the Empress Dowager and invite him and the Eleventh Prince to come home and play!"

"What do you say?" Eleventh Lady asked anxiously.

She was worried that Jiang Ge'er would rashly agree - Xu Lingyi's identity was too sensitive, and she didn't know how many people would be suspicious if she invited two young princes to her home.

"I told that little eunuch, everyone knows that my father is famous for being a law-abiding person. He would never do anything against the rules. If he knew that I invited the prince to my house, he would beat me to death!" said Qin Ge'er, "I will go to Xishan to race horses tomorrow, and go to Wei Xun's house to enjoy the snow the day after tomorrow. If they can sneak out, they can go with me. If not, there is nothing I can do."

What a great saying, "Never do anything that is against the rules." Eleventh Lady smiled and hugged her son, praising him highly before saying, "Isn't the Ninth and Eleventh Princes angry with you for saying that? I think you should explain it to them in person when you go to the palace to see the lanterns."

"Yes!" Jianger nodded with a smile and asked Shiyi Niang to prepare two Hetian jade toys for him. "They both like Hetian jade. When the time comes, I will give them some and their anger will subside."

While Shiyi Niang was looking for a suitable piece of Hetian jade for Zhenge'er in the storehouse, Zhenge'er was outside having fun for two days. He watched the lanterns in the palace, and some friends he met on the horse racing that day booked a few private rooms in a restaurant on the street of Dongda Street and asked Zhenge'er to go watch the lanterns on the 15th. On the 17th, the last day of the Spring Festival, Princess Suiping's husband booked the second floor of Chunxi Building and sent a message to invite Zhenge'er to play. Zhenge'er went like this today. He will go to that house tomorrow. Of course, he will also invite them back. He discussed with Xu Lingyi and borrowed Shiyi Niang's house in Jinyu Hutong and invited the four famous actors in Yanjing to perform in the hall. He organized a "Pengying Banquet". After hearing this, someone came up with a better idea and clamored to visit his villa in a few days... They kept going back and forth, and by mid-February it had not stopped, and it was getting more and more intense. Someone even used gold foil to paint the bodies of suckling pigs to make a "Golden Banquet" that cost millions of dollars and was so luxurious that it was jaw-dropping.