Chapter 116 Sleeping in the Same Bed
Marquis Cheng'en and Prince Yu left the palace separately and each took a carriage to a secluded private residence.
The two men went to the study one after the other. The servants brought a pot of tea, poured a cup for each of them, and then left.
Marquis Cheng'en looked at Prince Yu, seated in an armchair. He wore his court robes, still in place, and leaned lazily against the back of the chair. A red fox with soft, fluffy fur lay obediently on his lap, its pointed ears twitching, its slender eyes half-lidded.
If you ignore the white fine cloth wrapped around the red fox's belly, and Prince Yu's hand on the red fox's neck that kept tightening and relaxing, the scene before you would seem quite pleasing to the eye.
"Your Highness, there are more and more refugees at the city gate. How can I afford so much food to support them?" Marquis Cheng'en sighed. "Food is in short supply right now. Even if I had to pay for it, I wouldn't be able to buy this much."
Prince Yu held the red fox's neck with his large hands, as if he was holding the little creature's lifeblood.
He felt the red fox's body stiffen, which was a stress response when encountering danger.
This reaction pleased Prince Yu to a great extent.
His hand slowly rubbed the red fox's wound, causing the fox's limbs to become stiff with pain. It dared not move at all, and could only make sounds from its throat. Its slender fox eyes were watery, making it look particularly pitiful.
He enjoyed watching the red fox tremble under his hands.
Prince Yu's smile deepened, his gloomy brows relaxed, and his voice was filled with a hint of satisfaction: "If you can't buy food, then go and rob it."
Marquis Cheng'en was stunned.
Prince Yu laughed and said, "Isn't this a common tactic of the Marquis?"
"Your Highness, Boss Qin has the food. After what happened at court this morning, can this old minister touch him for the time being?" Marquis Cheng'en gathered Prince Yu's attitude from his words and stated his purpose directly. "The incident involving the refugees in Guanzhou has become increasingly serious, and the entire court is paying close attention. Boss Qin is Shen Qingtan's man. If he is punished, Shen Qingtan will naturally be implicated. Given Zhao Yi's feelings for Shen Qingtan, he will definitely not stand idly by. If he truly protects Shen Qingtan, even if the emperor still favors him, he will have to give an explanation to the people."
It was because Zhao Yi's daily actions were flawless that they couldn't find a breakthrough.
And Boss Qin is an opportunity.
Just caught it all in one pot.
Marquis Cheng'en continued, "The Qin family's businesses are not only spread across the Great Zhou, but they also have businesses in several other countries, and their wealth is considerable."
Prince Yu narrowed his eyes, thinking of Concubine Ling's instructions.
Concubine Ling said that Zhao Yi was a man who would die young, and the imperial physicians all said that he would not survive this winter.
There is no need for them to go against Zhao Yi; on the contrary, they should be friendly to Zhao Yi.
He scoffed at this.
"You just mentioned this Boss Qin at the morning court today. If anything goes wrong with him, and the Emperor holds you responsible, don't let me clean up your mess."
Prince Yu would not follow Concubine Ling's instructions to please Zhao Yi, nor would he take the initiative to provoke Zhao Yi.
The premise is that Zhao Yi does not infringe on his interests.
He understood the hint from Marquis Cheng'en and said disapprovingly, "For the time being, let Boss Qin stay and earn more money for me."
Marquis Cheng'en was now certain that Prince Yu really had no intention of touching Zhao Yi, and even tried to stop him from touching Boss Qin.
Before he could think further, footsteps were heard outside the door.
“Knock knock!”
There was a knock on the door, and someone outside said, "Your Highness, the Emperor has issued an edict. During the wheat harvest in May, all the grain loaned to the people must be collected. If the people cannot repay the grain, the officials in charge of this matter will find a way to fill the gap."
This news was like a bolt from the blue to Marquis Cheng'en!
He quickly opened the door and asked, "Is the source of this information reliable?"
The guard replied, "The imperial edict has been issued. The emperor has stated that if there is a significant food shortage, the officials responsible for borrowing food will be held accountable."
Marquis Cheng'en was really anxious this time. He slammed the door shut and rushed to Prince Yu.
"Your Highness, didn't the Emperor issue an imperial decree to exempt the tax in previous years?" Marquis Cheng'en felt overwhelmed when he thought about filling the gap in Guanzhou's granary.
Where do they get so much food?
"When things are out of the ordinary, there must be something fishy going on," Prince Yu pondered. "This doesn't align with my father's style. Someone must be giving me advice behind the scenes."
Marquis Cheng'en looked grim. This imperial edict completely disrupted his plans.
Even if Yong Yi Bo was used as a scapegoat, there was no guarantee that other people would hear the news and reveal their true identity in panic.
He said tentatively, "Your Highness, I buried the money from selling the grain in my wife's ancestral home. I had planned to wait until the storm died down before bringing the money to you..."
"Silver from selling grain?" Prince Yu curled his lips, a dark smile on his face. "When did I ever ask you to sell grain?"
Marquis Cheng'en's heart sank to the bottom of the valley. Prince Yu did not order him to sell the grain, but it was a secret letter passed on by someone close to him.
Every time the silver was given to Prince Yu, it was handed over by someone close to Prince Yu, and he never showed up in person.
Prince Yu had already kept a trick up his sleeve, preparing for the future exposure of his crimes.
Sure enough, he heard Prince Yu say, "This prince is too soft-hearted, so the people under his command dare to use this prince's name to do evil and seek personal gain through corruption."
Marquis Cheng'en felt as if he had fallen into an icy cave and his whole body was cold.
Prince Yu really wants to distance himself from the matter.
Prince Yu raised his eyes to look at Marquis Cheng'en, "My Lord, do you think I should be impartial and put aside my personal interests, or should I give them a chance to mend their ways?"
Marquis Cheng'en broke out in a cold sweat as Prince Yu's words sounded threatening.
If they implicate Prince Yu in the Guanzhou incident, Prince Yu will cut off his tail to survive and will get rid of them first without waiting for the emperor to take action.
If they rescue Prince Yu, he will give them a chance to live.
"Your Highness, no one is perfect. If your subordinate admits his mistakes and is willing to correct them, you can give him another chance."
Marquis Cheng'en expressed his loyalty, saying, "They are so loyal to you that they naturally dare not continue to act in your name. After all, only if you are safe can their safety be guaranteed."
"You're right. I've been a subordinate for many years, so there's always some friendship between us. I'm also comfortable using him, so why not give him a chance?" Prince Yu pressed his hand on the red fox's wound. The red fox howled in pain and began to struggle.
With his other hand, he gently grasped the back of the red fox's neck, letting it continue its futile struggle. His lips curled up as he said, "It all depends on whether they know what's good for them."
When Marquis Cheng'en saw this scene, he realized that Prince Yu was using the red fox to warn him, and he secretly broke into a cold sweat.
Deep down, he wasn't too surprised by Prince Yu's attitude.
After all, he followed Prince Yu because he wanted to have the merit of following the dragon.
Prince Yu treated him as a pawn, continuing to use him if he was satisfied with him, and abandoning him at any time if he was not satisfied with him.
Two people just get what they need.
Marquis Cheng'en left with a heavy heart.
——
Duke Zhao's Mansion, Lanxue Garden.
Shen Qingtan sat in front of a bronze mirror and put on her makeup. She picked out a jade hairpin and handed it to Liu Yue.
Liu Yue took the jade hairpin and said worriedly, "I showed my displeasure to Second Master yesterday. It was really against the rules and respect for others. Will it make Second Master unhappy? Will he think that you don't know how to discipline your servants?"
"Second Master is very tolerant and won't hold your rude behavior yesterday against you." Shen Qingtan consoled him, "Besides, I taught you to do that. Even if Second Master wants to blame someone, it should be me."
Liu Yue couldn't help but recall that after the Second Master entered the room yesterday, a long time passed before the two of them appeared. Furthermore, the atmosphere had clearly changed, seemingly becoming more intimate.
Especially early this morning, Jiang Mu came to the door to wait for the Second Master, but when it was almost time to go out, the Second Master still didn't show up, so he had to knock on the door to urge him.
This situation has never happened before. Basically, the Second Master got up before Jiang Mu even arrived.
When she brought water into the house, she vaguely saw that the Second Master was sleeping next to the Master, with the Master's head resting on his arm. Perhaps he didn't get up early as usual because he was afraid of waking the Master?
Liu Yue breathed a sigh of relief, it seemed that the Second Master didn't blame her.
She glanced at the two quilts on the bed and wondered if by the time the summer quilts were changed, the couple would have a good relationship enough to sleep in the same bed.
At this time, Tingxue came in from outside and handed a letter to Shen Qingtan: "Second Madam, this is a letter from the Marquis' Mansion."
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