Yan Zhuo stepped forward and took the hot tea that Eunuch Huang had just brewed.
"Your Majesty, have some tea." He said dryly, but his eyes were full of many meanings.
How could the emperor not see that? He took the tea and drank a few sips slowly, then raised the corners of his lips in a half-smile, "Brother Zhuo, brother Zhuo, I think you are interested in Miss Jiang Ying, not just because of the child she gave birth to you, right?"
Among all his brothers in the royal family, Yan Zhuo was the one he valued and admired the most.
He is extremely capable and intelligent. If he hadn't accidentally injured his hand a few years ago, he would definitely be able to do more things for him now!
He trusted Yan Zhuo, and the relationship between them was much closer than that between his other cousins.
The most important thing is that Yan Zhuo told him about his relationship with the Jiang family, and he was actually... Hahahaha, this incident made him laugh for many days.
"Your Majesty, please laugh as much as you can. After you're done laughing, please explain to me why you did that!" Yan Zhuo was sulking and didn't want to go anywhere. He just stood in front of the emperor.
The emperor wanted to laugh even more when he saw it, thinking that this cold-faced devil would eventually be controlled by a woman!
"Why? A forced melon is not sweet, brother Zhuo."
Yan Zhuo said coldly, "Grow more melons in the melon field. Take good care of them and they will naturally become sweet."
The emperor was speechless.
But he had already agreed, so there was no reason to go back on his word. He tried to appease her, "Don't be so impatient. I did this for a reason. I didn't want to put too much pressure on the Jiang family. Besides, Concubine Chen's pregnancy is a priority. Besides, you're mostly in the palace. If I marry her, I won't see her every day as much as she would if she were in the palace. Didn't I ask you before whether you wanted her body or both? What was your answer?"
Yan Zhuo stopped talking, and a blush appeared on his ears.
The emperor smiled like an experienced man, "That's it, isn't it? Women are soft-hearted and don't take hardship. You still have a lot to learn from me! But I do think that the Jiang family's biological and adopted daughters each have their own charms. Our biological daughter, Jiang Ying, was just a village girl, yet she dared to drug you and decisively left you behind after the deed was done. I almost doubt she just wanted to find someone to have a child with. As for Jiang Yilin, tsk, she's so pitiful, it makes me want to see her even more miserable. If I wasn't worried about the Imperial Concubine being unhappy, I would have taken her into the palace!"
"Okay, I have something to do at home, so I'll leave first." Yan Zhuo was too lazy to listen to the emperor's history of promiscuity.
The emperor knew his nature, a rare lovelorn man, so he didn't say anything. He just mentioned, "The Jiang family's daughter-recognition banquet has been rescheduled to tomorrow. I will ask Eunuch Huang to deliver a generous gift."
Even if it wasn't for Yan Zhuo, he had to win over the Jiang family for the sake of his own children and the throne.
Upon hearing this, Yan Zhuo thanked him and left the hall. Standing on the high steps, he let out a long sigh.
What should I do with her...
-
The indifferent hospitality of the Qinwang Mansion really caught all the officials and nobles in the capital off guard.
Even after returning home, there were still cries of frightened people in the backyard.
The old man comforted his wife, daughter and young son, but he was furious. The censor had already prepared a memorial and planned to go to court the next day to strongly criticize the king.
Prince Qin had already anticipated this, but he had no time to deal with Tong, so he immediately found someone to clean up the house and prepare gifts for the homecoming banquet tomorrow.
Thinking of the emperor's regard for Jiang Ying, who was also his future daughter-in-law, Prince Qin ordered the butler, "Prepare more. The two houses are relatives, and we can't let others outdo us."
The butler hesitated to speak.
Prince Qin frowned, "What? My words are useless? Or is it that without Tong Shi, you can't even prepare a gift?"
He was busy with outside affairs these years, and the inner house was left to Tong to take care of. Everything was fine originally, but he never expected that it was just a superficial appearance!
This time he moved directly to the villa and was determined to clean out the palace thoroughly. It would be fine if he found nothing strange, but if he did, his relationship with Tong would be over!
The housekeeper's voice trembled, "The princess had already sent a betrothal gift to the Jiang family. According to the rules, she gave 120 dan. But the wedding date was postponed. I don't know what to do with the betrothal gift."
King Qin glared at him, "What punishment? The marriage was postponed, not cancelled. It will be useful sooner or later."
"But as far as I know, when the prince was unaware of Miss Jiang's identity, he wanted to take her as a concubine, so he personally sent 120 dan of betrothal gifts to Yuhui Cottage. Now, whether it's Miss Jiang's wife or concubine, the whole thing is Miss Jiang, so the total amount is a full 240 dan. Now the prince is asking for more gifts. Isn't this... too much of an eye-opener?"
King Qin was not averse to this for a moment, but glanced at the butler.
"You want to settle accounts with me, is it because you have no money in your account?" He had a hunch that Tong Shi might not only be reckless in killing people, but also do many things he didn't know about.
Thinking of this, King Qin no longer trusted the housekeeper and asked someone else to check the accounts carefully.
The expenses of a government office were so long, and had lasted for more than twenty years. It took until the next morning to finally come up with a conclusion. "Your Highness, the princess's miscellaneous expenses are nearly one hundred thousand taels."
"One hundred thousand taels!" Prince Qin was stunned, and his beautiful beard tilted to one side in anger.
The subordinates in charge of checking the accounts were also shocked. One hundred thousand taels of silver was enough to feed the disaster victims in a town or county for a whole year!
But things have already happened, and King Qin has no choice but to accept reality.
Send someone to arrest the butler first, and deal with the others after everything is clear. He gritted his teeth and said, "No, you can't save on the gift from the Duke's Mansion. You should prepare as you should. I will find a way."
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