Chapter 18: Young Master
Wiping away her tears, Qiandeng invited them to sit in the nearby flower hall and offered them fragrant tea. "I've long heard that the young master is exceptionally intelligent and has a photographic memory. Seeing him today, I realize he's indeed different from ordinary people."
Prince Guang was quite proud of his son: "He has a truly remarkable memory. He can memorize any book at a glance, and he never forgets anything we've said or done. But he remembers too many unimportant things, and it's a bit of a bother that he can't forget them."
Qian Deng inquired about the arrangements in Luoyang. She learned that they would be handing over to the Shuofang Army after their arrival. Thinking of the domineering and arbitrary Prince Linhuai and her grandfather's description of him as "wolf-like and ambitious," she inevitably hesitated. She said tactfully, "Then Lingling wishes His Majesty a safe journey, and that the Imperial Army and the Shuofang Army will work together in harmony and that the handover will be smooth."
Prince Guang had been in the court for many years, so how could he not hear the hidden meaning in her words? He smiled and said, "Don't worry. Prince Linhuai and I have always been friends. Otherwise, why would the court send me to take over Luoyang? He even blocked a sword for me on the battlefield back then."
Li Zi, who was quietly eating an orange, also raised his head and pointed to the top of his left wrist: "I've seen the knife wound. It's right here. It's quite a long one!"
Qian Deng looked at the place where he gestured and thought, many men have wounds on their hands. Ling Tianshui also had one in the same place - although he had scratched it when he was a child while fishing.
But after hearing them say this, she felt somewhat relieved: "I also heard that the court wanted to confer the title of Shangshu Ling on Prince Linhuai, but he declined. This shows that he is indeed loyal to the Tang Dynasty."
"Indeed, your grandfathers were both from different races, yet both earned the title of king for their military exploits in defending the Great Tang. This is truly remarkable," Prince Guang exclaimed. "I recall the heyday of the Kaiyuan era, when all races united with the Great Tang, the people lived in peace, and the nations prospered. I believe that as long as the situation stabilizes, the Great Tang will surely flourish and return to its former glory."
Qiandeng nodded silently, still thinking about the injuries on Ling Tianshui and Prince Linhuai's hands. When he looked up, he suddenly saw Aunt Yingluo standing outside the hall, looking hesitant and not daring to enter.
Qiandeng then confessed his crime to King Guang and went out to ask if there was anything wrong.
"Just now, when I was taking inventory of the artifacts, I discovered that all the records in the warehouse had been burned by the rebels. The other items can still be sorted out slowly, but if the items bestowed by the emperor don't match the records of the rewards given in the inner treasury, I'm afraid the inner court will be offended..."
Losing something bestowed by the Emperor was naturally a serious crime. Qian Deng frowned slightly and asked in a low voice, "Aunt, can you find someone to borrow the Imperial Household Files so we can copy them down and sort them out?"
"The inner court archives are related to the secrets of the royal family. Besides, the warehouse is a strategic location. It would be difficult for people outside the palace to enter or exit, right?" Prince Guang had heard their conversation at some point and walked out with Li Zi.
Qiandeng nodded and hesitated for a moment.
Seeing her embarrassment, Prince Guang laughed, patted Li Zi's little head, and said, "However, my son Silang often plays in the palace and is familiar with everywhere. If the county lady trusts him, you can ask him to help you take a look at the files. When he comes back, he will help you fill in a list. It would be convenient."
Qian Deng was overwhelmed with surprise and quickly leaned over to thank Li Zi, saying, "In that case, I'd like to trouble you, young master, to use your photographic memory to help our palace once."
Li Zi finished the last of the orange flesh and replied with a grown-up look, "Don't worry, Sister County Master, Si Lang will definitely fulfill his mission."
After Prince Guang and the Crown Prince left, Qiandeng first went to the palace storehouse to check the cleaning situation.
Thanks to the generous reward, most of the contents had indeed been cleared out. After the bricks, tiles, and rotten wood were removed, piles of cabinets and boxes covered in mud were brought up, and buckets of water were poured over them, allowing the gold, silver, and jewels inside to shine again.
In order to prevent the jewels from falling off, several careful and reliable maids were selected to carefully sift through the cleaned mud and pick up the lost pearls.
Aunt Yingluo, with a look of worry on her face, handed Qiandeng the list, the ink still wet on the table, and said solemnly, "County Lady, the deeds to the house and land were either burned or flooded. We must re-measure and re-deed the deeds and report to the Ministry of Revenue. Furthermore, only one in ten of the gold and silver bowls used for sacrifices remains, many of the jade and porcelain items are broken, and the princess's beloved headpiece is also lost..."
The splendor of the royal palace, won by the blood and death of her grandfather on the battlefield, had now fallen into such ruin and desolation in her hands. Qian Deng felt sad and went to look inside the room where the registration was made.
Unlike the outside where all kinds of things were covered with mud, Aunt Xuanji and the maids in the house washed the gold and silver utensils with clean water, and then wiped them dry with a clean wet cloth. After Lady Dingxiang made the list, Aunt Yingluo put it away. For a moment, the house was full of jewels and dazzling.
Qiandeng raised his eyes and saw that while everyone was busy, there was a person next to Lady Dingxiang who was making a list in the room, casually looking through gold and silver utensils.
She glanced at the bloodstains on the man's face and couldn't help frowning - Yang Huaijiang, why is he here?
"Oh, my cousin is here too?" Yang Huaijiang approached her with a flattering smile as soon as he saw her, and pointed to a food box beside him. "I happened to be worried about Mother's overwork, so I brought some food over. Would you like to try some, County Lord?"
Madam Dingxiang quickly agreed with a smile: "Dengdeng, look, I think this child is quite considerate, isn't he?"
Qian Deng remained silent. Yang Huaijiang had already begun to wander around the room, his eyes sweeping over the various pieces of gold and jade. He tutted, "There are quite a few fine things here, truly worthy of being a royal residence. You servants must keep them carefully. It will be convenient for the county lady to take them with her when she gets married in Guozhou."
Madam Dingxiang looked embarrassed. Seeing Qiandeng's slightly cold expression, she finally said, "Huaijiang, the palace is currently counting artifacts. Since you are not from the palace, I'm afraid it's inconvenient for you to linger here..."
"What are you talking about when my mother's family talks about two families? I'm now a candidate for the county lady's husband, and we'll be a family in the future..." As he said this, he saw Qian Deng's stern eyebrows and eyes, and was slightly startled. Fearing that he would be held down and slapped twice again, he took a few steps back and walked out of the door, leaving behind a sentence "Check it carefully, don't break anything", and was about to leave.
Liuli had an old grudge against him, and she was so angry that she muttered, "You're rummaging through things for no reason. Are you here to do anything?"
Aunt Yingluo shouted, "Don't talk nonsense! The young master of the Hongnong Yang family has seen so many fine things, how could he be so petty as to be a scoundrel like that?"
Lady Dingxiang was feeling angry and ashamed when she saw people in the mansion openly and secretly ridiculing Yang Huaijiang. Then she saw Yang Huaijiang, who had already reached the door, turned around, took off his outer robe towards them, shook it heavily in his hands, and patted his waist and sleeves randomly, so that everyone could see his clothes were smooth and fitting.
"What? Suspecting me of stealing? You're not going to take this opportunity to search me so you can touch me?" He shouted at Liuli in a domineering tone, "Come on, touch me all you want. Would the county lord like to touch me too?"
Liuli's face turned red and she hid behind Daimao next to her, not daring to show her face.
Seeing him acting so shameless, Madam Dingxiang couldn't help but urge him, "Alright, hurry up and leave! Stop embarrassing yourself here!"
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