Chapter 25 Li Jing
In the study of Prince Rong's mansion, the air was filled with an almost overwhelming ambergris fragrance, which overpowered the faint scent of ink from the few new books on the bookshelf, creating an atmosphere of extravagance and leisure.
The rosewood bookshelf was intricately carved, but most of it was empty. The remaining shelves were filled with shiny, brand-new thread-bound books, with no trace of the pages being turned, clearly indicating that they had never been properly looked at by their owner.
The shelves were piled high with all sorts of treasures: agate brush washers, jade paperweights, ivory brush holders, and even glass cups from the Western Regions were casually placed on the shelves.
No one cared about the tiny chips and scratches on those precious objects; the room was filled with nothing but piles of wealth.
Li Jing lay sprawled on the carved rosewood couch, one long leg casually draped over the edge. The hem of his dark green brocade robe hung loosely, revealing a dazzlingly white ankle.
His features were broad and open, and when the corners of his eyes were slightly upturned, it always seemed as if he was hiding a mischievous smile. His face, which had been well-nurtured by a life of wealth, exuded seven parts nonchalance and three parts naturalness untouched by the world.
Li Jing was resting his chin on one hand, lazily twirling a white jade Pixiu with the other, listening to the steward beside him rambling on about the shop's income and expenditure for the month.
The manager's buzzing voice made him furrow his brows more and more, and his fidgeting became increasingly irritating.
He has never liked to concern himself with such mundane things. After all, he's a lazy bum with no ambition. He just likes to drink and buy jade and antiques, and he lives a very comfortable life.
If it weren't for his father constantly scolding him for "wandering around all day" and "being a piece of trash that can't be plastered on the wall," and his mother constantly nagging him not to anger his father, he wouldn't bother listening to these money-grubbing nonsense.
The steward's voice was incredibly annoying. He clicked his tongue a few times, his brow furrowed, and he was about to flip the table in frustration when the study door was suddenly slammed open with a loud bang.
Zheng Hui practically rolled in, his face a mess of snot and tears, and a dried stain on the front of his brand-new robe.
Before the person even got close, a sour, rotten smell of leftover rice hit you first.
"Young Master, you must stand up for me!" Zheng Hui wailed loudly, as if his own father had died.
"What are you howling about?" Li Jing was so startled that he almost jumped off the couch. He pinched his nose in disgust and waved his hands repeatedly as if shooing away flies. "You're such a nuisance! Get up and talk! What's that smell about you!"
Zheng Hui raised his face, which was covered in snot and tears, pointed to his filthy front, and cried even more "sincerely": "Your Highness, please understand! I have been wronged! Those damned barbarians from Qinzhou are not human! I saw that they had come from afar looking pitiful, so I kindly let them consign some gold and jade at Bazhenfang, and only took a 30% cut! Wasn't that kind enough? But they... they harbored evil intentions!"
He embellished the story, concealing his own fraudulent contract dealings and twisting the truth in his account.
Then, feigning a pitiful and deceived appearance, she wailed, "They broke the contract, ran off with the consigned jewelry, and disappeared without a trace. They even deliberately left this filthy, smelly thing to humiliate me!"
He shook out the filthy, stinking robe in his hand, "This is clearly a rip-off of our Prince's mansion's money, a slap in the face to you, Young Master!"
Li Jing's previously lazy expression instantly changed; his eyes widened and his eyebrows were raised high.
"Breach of contract and run away?!" He jumped to his feet, his face filled with disbelief. "On my turf?!"
Lately, my mother has been nagging me a lot, always comparing me to my cousin.
My cousin is a man who entered the Imperial Medical Academy at a young age. In just a few years, he became the right-hand man of the academy director. Not only is he a skilled doctor, but he is also exceptionally talented. He is pure, upright, and incredibly gifted.
How can he compare?
He was so annoyed by what he heard that he was determined to make something of himself, and recently, for the first time ever, he started to take the initiative to inquire about the shop's affairs.
Earlier, Zheng Hui had mentioned having that group of people consign their jewelry to the shop, and seeing that Bazhenfang's recent business wasn't doing too well, he agreed.
But these bumpkins are shameless, daring to play such despicable tricks right under his nose.
This isn't just ripping people off; it's humiliating them!
Seeing that he was indeed quick to anger, Zheng Hui was overjoyed and cried even harder: "It's absolutely true, Your Highness! Those people are cunning to the core! They want to use our Bazhenfang's name to sell their own goods for free, and after they've sold everything, they want to renege on the interest. They're utterly heartless!"
Li Jing covered his nose in disgust and strolled over to Zheng Hui: "Tsk! A bunch of filthy peasants, how dare they mess with me? They've gone too far!"
He grew angrier the more he thought about it, and turned to yell at the door, "Hey! Where have you been?!"
The guards immediately responded and entered.
"Listen up!" Li Jing, hands on his hips, impatiently ordered, "Spread the word! Tell every jewelry shop and jade store in the city that anyone who dares to buy or sell the stolen goods brought out by those rats from Qin Prefecture is going against the Rong Prince's Mansion! I want to see what they're up to!"
He scratched his head and said, "Go check all the city gates again to see if they've escaped. And bring the ringleader back to me!"
The order was given with great force, but it revealed a recklessness stemming from a lack of deep thought.
"Yes!" The guard acknowledged the order and quickly withdrew.
Zheng Hui lay on the ground, watching the fire spread to the pedestrians, and a huge weight was lifted from his heart.
Li Jing, with his back to him, his chest heaving, thought angrily to himself: Who in Lin'an City doesn't know his reputation as the 'Little Tyrant'? Even if they weren't respectful, they'd have to give him a wide berth. These fools, daring to defy him, have a death wish!
The guards obeyed and left.
Zheng Hui had just breathed a sigh of relief when his eyes darted around and he added fuel to the fire: "Young Master, I just remembered something. Yesterday a young lady came to the shop and seemed very familiar with that group of people. I'm afraid... I'm afraid she might have instigated this escape."
Li Jing frowned: "Who? What's their name? Which family do they belong to?"
"I heard from Achang that her name is... Meng... Meng Yutong!"
"Meng Yutong?!" Li Jing's eyes widened instantly, and he pointed at Zheng Hui's nose, shouting, "That merchant girl?!"
Zheng Hui nodded, "I think so."
Last time at the teahouse, he only said a couple of things to this woman, but his cousin publicly refuted him and embarrassed him.
Thinking of all this, old and new grudges surged into his heart, and he clenched his fists. "Fine, one by one they dare to go against me."
A surge of rage coursed through him; he felt utterly betrayed by this group of "lower-class" people. "Keep an eye on this woman! See what she's up to! I'll make sure she doesn't get away with this!"
Zheng Hui readily agreed, "I'll go and keep an eye on it right away!"
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