Chapter 301 Bribery (Two chapters in one)
Looking at the young man not far away, something flashed through the Third Prince's mind, but before he could catch it, Zhao Guanyue turned around.
He also saw the third prince.
He nodded slightly and extended his hand in a gesture of invitation.
He was calm and composed, without any of the prince's respect or awkwardness, as if the person in front of him was not a prince but just an ordinary visitor.
A surge of anger surged in the heart of the third prince. Zhao Guanyue was too arrogant.
He was just the adopted son of Emperor Xiaokang, without even a title, yet he didn't even perform the formalities of greeting when he saw the prince.
At this moment, the third prince, who was used to being praised, seemed to have forgotten that he was the son of Emperor Yongjia, and Zhao Guanyue was the son of Emperor Xiaokang. In name, they were both princes.
Zhao Guanyue was not made a king, nor was the third prince. Among his brothers, only two were made kings: one was the exiled former crown prince, Prince Jing, and the other was the deceased second prince, Prince Fuling. For ambitious princes, being made a king was not a good thing.
The furious Third Prince didn't think so much. He silently reminded himself of the purpose of this trip. Considering that Zhao Guanyue was still useful, this prince would tolerate him for a few days.
As long as this thing happens, Zhao Guanyue won't even have the possibility of becoming the dead emperor's heir. What awaits him is slow slicing, beheading, and being torn apart by five horses!
The Third Prince's expression, tense and tense due to anger, finally relaxed, and he smiled what he thought was a refreshing smile.
"My royal brother is so elegant."
Zhao Guanyue smiled: "Third brother is a noble man for finding this place."
He invited the Third Prince into his little house. The house was not big, but it was filled with fragrance. Bottles, jars and various incense burners were placed on the shelves around it. Although the Third Prince did not know how to make perfume, he could tell at a glance that these bottles, jars and incense burners were of great value.
Zhao Guanyue came to the capital on the first day of his visit. These things could not have been brought from Tongzhou, and it was even less likely that they were originally in Wuji Temple. So there was only one source -
It was sent by those who curry favor with the powerful!
No one could empathize with this more than the Third Prince.
"Royal brother knows how to make perfume?" He pretended to be surprised.
"I know a little bit."
As Zhao Guanyue spoke, he picked up a small plum-green incense burner the size of a fist, took out a small piece of charcoal, buried it in the incense ash, and took out an incense ball from a jar and placed it on top to smoke.
After a while, a faint fragrance spread, making people feel relaxed and happy.
Zhao Guanyue said, "This is the fragrance of orchids. Grandfather Emperor likes it very much. What do you think, Third Brother?"
The Third Prince nodded: "Very good."
Zhao Guanyue opened a wooden box and took out a small silver sachet. He placed a fragrant orchid incense stick inside and handed it to the Third Prince. "It's just a little thing. Take it and play with it, Third Prince."
The Third Prince was delighted and said with a smile, "I would be very honored to refuse it, my Royal Brother."
He then looked at the long table beside him, pointed at the mold on it and asked, "What is this made of? Is it also a fragrant pill?"
Zhao Guanyue explained, "These are incense beads, strung together into a bracelet for my grandfather to play with."
The Third Prince narrowed his eyes slightly and asked, "Is this also the fragrance of orchids?"
Zhao Guanyue: "No, this is sandalwood."
The Third Prince praised him, "My brother is not only ingenious, but also filial. I, as your elder brother, cannot even begin to learn from him."
Zhao Guanyue said modestly, "My third brother is busy working for the emperor, so he doesn't have time for these things. I don't have any other skills, so I can only make some small things."
The third prince praised Zhao Guanyue again. After all, Zhao Guanyue was just a teenager. She was flattered by the third prince's praise and busily explained to the third prince how to make incense beads and several of the emperor's favorite spices.
When the Third Prince said goodbye, Zhao Guanyue gave him a string of incense beads that he had already made: "I made this string a while ago. I'm giving it to you, my brother, to play with."
The Third Prince said hurriedly, "How can this be possible? Grandfather Huang hasn't had any yet."
Zhao Guanyue pointed at the incense beads and said, "The incense beads for the royal grandfather each had a lotus flower on them. Your brother's string doesn't have that. I only thought of adding lotus flowers after I made this string. I wanted to make a unique string for the royal grandfather, so I carved a new mold. So your brother is worrying too much. This string was not originally intended for the royal grandfather."
Upon hearing this, the Third Prince accepted the incense beads and left with a full harvest.
When the third prince returned to the prince's mansion, he called over a eunuch who was good at making perfume.
Half an hour later, the eunuch took the orchid fragrance pill and the string of fragrance beads and walked out of the study.
But he did not return to his room. The third prince told him that from today on, he would live in a small courtyard on the side of the garden.
Once, the Third Prince drank a few more cups and flirted with one of Feng Jiahe's maids who came with her as a dowry. When Feng Jiahe found out, she beat the maid half to death. The maid was also a strong-willed person, so she hanged herself in the yard.
In addition, the courtyard was located in a remote area, and from then on, even the maid who was responsible for cleaning rarely went there.
The eunuch's name was Hu De. His family had been incense makers for generations. Unfortunately, when the business came to his father, he got into trouble and both his father and uncle were beheaded. At the age of twelve, he was castrated and entered the palace to become a eunuch.
He had been learning perfume making from his father since he was a child. Not long after entering the palace, he was asked to be by Concubine Qiao's side. After the third prince set up his own residence, he left the palace and came here.
Hu De had been in the palace for twenty years. When he learned that the third prince had asked him to live in that courtyard, he sighed silently in his heart. He knew in his heart that once he went in, he would never come out alive.
Even if they died, they couldn't get out and were buried directly in that yard.
The three rooms in the yard had been cleaned up. He sat down at the table by the window and sat there for a long time.
Suddenly, everything went dark and a big bird landed on the windowsill.
Hood was startled: "General Divine Bird?"
The great divine bird general looked at him with disdain, flapped his wings and flew away.
Hood stuck his head out of the window, but the Great Divine Bird General had already flown away, and there was a piece of paper on the windowsill.
Hu De picked up the paper. He could read and knew at a glance that it was a recipe for incense.
The incense recipe sent by the Divine Bird General!
Hood was happy at first, but then he continued to sigh.
He is also considered an expert and can tell what kind of incense will be made according to this recipe.
He didn't understand why the Divine Bird General gave him the incense recipe, but he knew in his heart that even with the recipe, he would not be able to escape death.
Because the third prince asked him to make incense that would kill people.
The next day, at the same time, the Great General of the Divine Bird landed on the windowsill again. This time, the Great General of the Divine Bird brought him a sachet that was so old that its original color could no longer be seen.
Hood looked at the sachet, his head buzzing.
As soon as the divine bird general flew away, Hu De couldn't wait to take the sachet. Sure enough, there were five words written on the sachet: Hu De of Huaiyang County.
Hu De's eyes filled with tears. He quickly opened the sachet, and inside the sachet was his little brother who had been lost for many years.
He knelt on the ground and kowtowed three times in the direction where the divine bird general flew away.
When he stood up, Hu De held his head high and his back straight. Although he was about to die, he was reunited with his family.
From then on, he was a fully-fitted person. He finally had the face to meet his ancestors of the Hu family. In his next life, he could be reborn as a normal man.
At this moment, he was focused and could complete the task assigned by the Third Prince within two days.
But at this moment, he had another thought in his mind, that the Great General of Divine Bird, or the person behind the Great General of Divine Bird, had given him a new life.
Although he was just a eunuch, he knew how to repay kindness.
Besides, I'm going to die anyway, so why not...
The next day, Chen Wangxing was pulling the young Taoist priest from Wuji Temple, begging him to buy him a newly published copy of "Linghua Ji".
The young Taoist priest looked embarrassed and said, "I am a monk. How can I always go to the bookstore to buy storybooks? The last time I bought a storybook for you, the people in the bookstore looked at me very strangely."
Chen Wangxing begged: "For the last time, really the last time, please."
The young Taoist still refused. He had a premonition that he would be scolded by his master for helping Chen Wangxing buy the storybook.
“Hey, is this the book ‘Linghua Ji’ that Mr. Shen wants?”
A voice sounded from behind him, Shen Wangxing turned around and saw that it was a eunuch.
It wasn't until Shen Wangxing met the retired emperor that he knew what a eunuch was like.
Fortunately, the eunuchs are still very distinctive, and Shen Wangxing can recognize them at a glance.
However, he soon discovered that this eunuch was not someone close to the retired emperor.
"Does this eunuch know me?"
The eunuch smiled brightly and said, “We are from the Third Prince’s Mansion. I met Master Shen at the city gate that day.”
Chen Wangxing breathed a sigh of relief. Guanyue was right. People from the Third Prince's Mansion had indeed come to find him.
"You just said you have 'Linghua Ji'? Is that true?"
The eunuch took out a book from his bosom and handed it to him with both hands. Chen Wangxing couldn't wait to take it. It was indeed the book "Linghua Ji" that he had been dreaming of.
"Great, great, this is the one! Oh, I finally bought it!"
Young people are like this; a book can make them jump for joy.
He picked up the book and started flipping through it. After reading a few pages, he suddenly remembered that he had not said thank you yet.
He hurriedly asked, "Sir, how did you know I wanted to buy this book?"
The eunuch was a little embarrassed: "To be honest, Master Shen, I also like to read storybooks. I just bought this book today. When I heard Master Shen mention it just now, I couldn't help but ask one more question."
Chen Wangxing looked reluctant, but said, "I see. I'd better not take what belongs to others. Thank you, eunuch. I'll return this book to you."
The eunuch quickly refused: "Mr. Shen, you don't have to be polite. We will pass by the bookstore on our way home and buy another one."
Chen Wangxing thought so too, and took out a piece of silver from his purse: "This is the money for buying books, you must accept it, the extra money is my gift, thank you for giving it to me."
The eunuch said he was being polite but still took the piece of silver.
Chen Wangxing didn't have time to go back to the house. He stood there reading a book and didn't even know when the eunuch left.
Suddenly, something fell out of the book. Shen Wangxing caught it and it turned out to be a silver note.
Seeing the amount on the banknote, Shen Wangxing continued to flip through the book. Sure enough, there were four more banknotes of the same amount in the book.
One hundred taels each, a total of five hundred taels!
Chen Wangxing was a little disappointed. It turned out that he was only worth five hundred taels!
Isn't this looking down on people?
He went to find Loach with the notebook containing the silver bills.
Loach's real name is Ni Xiaoqiu. This name was given to him by Manager Li when he was registered on Baihe Mountain.
"Loach, I received five hundred taels, how about you?"
Loach took out a box and opened it in front of Shen Wangxing. The golden light shone so brightly that it blinded Shen Wangxing's eyes.
“They are all golden beans!”
This box of golden broad beans is worth at least one hundred taels.
One tael of gold is equivalent to ten taels of silver, and one hundred taels of gold is equivalent to one thousand taels of silver.
"Knowing that I like snacks, they sent me a box of broad beans for me to eat." Loach looked proud.
Chen Wangxing spat: "You are not afraid of dying by swallowing gold. What a noble way to die."
Loach rolled his eyes: "You're just envious, five hundred taels."
Chen Wangxing felt unbalanced. Why was he only worth five hundred taels?
Loach smiled and said, "Maybe I look easier to bribe than you. You act like a scholar and pretend to be noble, so of course people will try to test you a little bit."
Chen Wangxing thought about it and agreed. He looked like a scholar, while Niuqiu looked like a street thug. Of course, Niuqiu was easier to bribe than him.
Shen Wangxing suddenly felt balanced.
Sure enough, he met the eunuch again the next day. He talked to the eunuch about the contents of the book and did not mention the silver bills at all.
The eunuch was very satisfied. Wang Daixi had indeed not lied to the Third Prince. This Chen Wangxing looked like a young master, but was actually a pauper.
Yes, an orphan who grew up in a Taoist temple is still a poor guy even if he puts on a scholar's robe.
"This book, 'The Young Master's Affection', is newly published. We know it's inconvenient for Mr. Shen to go out, so we bought a copy for him."
This time, Shen Wangxing was not polite and didn't even pay for the book. He looked around, put the book in his arms like a thief, and left in a flash.
The eunuch looked at his receding back and snorted coldly. He was not going to read a book, he was going to count the banknotes.
Sure enough, there were five silver notes worth one hundred taels tucked inside the book.
Shen Wangxing took the bait!
The one who took the bait before him was Loach. This kid had already betrayed the emperor and Zhao Guanyue completely, even telling them about the emperor's frequent urination.
The third prince sorted out the information he had collected from Wuji Temple, and he already knew what to do next.
As for Chen Wangxing, he received another silver note, but this time it was less, only one hundred taels.
Moreover, he earned these one hundred taels by revealing the fact that Zhao Guanyue was sleepwalking.
The eunuch told him that there would be an opportunity in a few days that would allow him to earn more money. As long as he could seize it, he would be able to lie down and live for at least fifty years.
Chen Wangxing's eyes lit up. He was just a little orphan who grew up in a Taoist temple and didn't even know who his biological father was. The most banknotes he had ever seen in his life were the ones given to him by the eunuchs.
He looked at the eunuch as if he was looking at his damn father. Well, if possible, he would also like to castrate his father, but unfortunately he didn't have the chance.
"When I was little, Zhao Guanyue always bullied me. He stole my pancakes and even told on me in front of the abbot. I hated him so much. A gentleman's revenge is never too late!"
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