Life finally returned to normal, although things were still turbulent underneath.
Thanks to the Empress Dowager's consent, the matters of Fu Xiaoguan, Yu Wenyun and Dong Shulan were resolved satisfactorily. He also wrote a letter that afternoon inviting his father to come to the capital. After calculating the date, he found that his father would arrive in Jinling around the 16th day of the first lunar month.
Apart from writing "The Wealth of Nations", Fu Xiaoguan has been spending these days with Yu Wenjun and Dong Shulan.
With the consent of each other's families, the two women became more bold, and often did things that Fu Xiaoguan could not tolerate when no one was around. The three of them enjoyed it and looked forward to the wedding night.
"Tomorrow is the fourteenth day of the first lunar month, the Empress Dowager's seventieth birthday. Father originally wanted to hold a grand ceremony, but the Empress Dowager objected, saying she couldn't stand the noise. In the end, Father and the Empress Dowager decided to invite some ministers and their families to the Cining Palace for dinner, and to accompany the Empress Dowager to watch a play, just to liven things up."
Yu Wenjun straightened her messy hair and said with a red face.
This matter must be done tomorrow. Fu Xiaoguan thought for a moment and asked, "Has Prince Hui left the capital yet?"
"Not yet. The Queen Mother was soft-hearted. She said it was the middle of winter and the journey to Lingnan was long. The snow and wind would be very strong and it would be difficult to walk. So she confined him to Prince Hui's mansion and told him to wait until spring to leave."
Fu Xiaoguan had no other opinion on this. This was the empress dowager's last insistence, and it would be bad to offend her again.
But Ning Yuchun, the prefect of Jinling Prefecture, said that he would arrange for people from Prince Hui's Mansion to deliver the losses to the Fu Mansion in the next few days... Should we urge him to do so?
Fu Xiaoguan decided to visit Prince Hui and report to the Jinling government that the loss was a full 200,000 taels of silver. If Prince Hui cheated, he would end up losing more than he gained.
"Let's go and take a look at Prince Hui's mansion."
"What are you looking at?" Yu Wenyun asked curiously.
"To see if he's okay, of course!"
…
The once prosperous Prince Hui's Palace declined in just a few days, and the huge palace became deserted.
Prince Hui dismissed many of his servants and expelled dozens of Zeng Jingji's aides from the mansion. At this moment, he was sitting in the main hall drinking tea with his eldest son Yu Le.
"Your third brother is doomed to die under the current circumstances... Concubine Shang is quite resourceful. Even now, people still go to the Jinling government office every day to beat drums and complain about their grievances. I thought I could leave this place as soon as possible, but I didn't expect the Empress Dowager to keep me here. So, you must send another letter to your second brother. Those staff members are all my confidants. They have dispersed to Changle Prefecture. Your second brother should take good care of them when the time comes."
Yu Le's face was as worried as the leaden sky before a heavy snowfall. "As you wish, my son."
"Also... I'm planning a trip in March. The journey to Changle Prefecture is long, so I'll have your second brother send the Black Guards... to meet up at Linjiang."
"Why meet at Linjiang? Wouldn't it be better to have them meet at Jinling Biandu?"
Prince Hui smiled sinisterly, then gnashed his teeth and said, "Your third brother cannot die in vain! As a father...I will make the Fu family be buried with him!"
Although Yu Le had only met Fu Xiaoguan once, he still had a huge shadow over this person in his heart.
It only took a small landlord from Linjiang two days to bring the good times of the Prince's Mansion to an end. This was enough to show that the man was extremely resourceful, and he had Concubine Shang and even His Majesty backing him up!
If my father really wiped out Fu Xiaoguan's lair by himself...that guy would definitely go crazy. Would he do something even more outrageous?
"Father..."
"I know what you're worried about." Prince Hui took a sip from his teacup. "No one in the Black Guards knows about it. It's extremely easy to strangle a West Mountain Villa and wipe out the Fu Mansion. Even if Official Fu wanted to investigate... there's no way he'd find anything!"
Yu Le lowered his brows and thought, if the black guards sneaked into the Xishan Villa and Linjiang City in batches, based on their combat effectiveness, they could indeed easily wipe out Fu Xiaoguan's lair, and then quickly leave the city and disperse. It seemed that there was no risk.
"The child understands."
At this moment, the old butler of Prince Hui's mansion hurried in and said, "Your Highness, the Ninth Princess and Fu Xiaoguan request an audience."
Yu Le's heart suddenly skipped a beat, and his face instantly became tense, like a frightened bird.
Prince Hui also frowned, wondering what this kid was planning by coming here at this time?
But since Her Royal Highness the Ninth Princess was coming with him, he had no reason to refuse, so he had to meet her once.
The meeting place was set at Xixin Pavilion in the back garden of Prince Hui's Mansion.
Fu Xiaoguan and Yu Wenyun walked in leisurely under the guidance of the old housekeeper.
He bowed to Prince Hui and said cheerfully, "Your Highness, how are you?"
Prince Hui's face was cold and he ignored Fu Xiaoguan. Instead, he said to Her Royal Highness the Ninth Princess, "My uncle has fallen into poverty due to the murder of that villain. I didn't expect Your Highness to come and visit me out of our past friendship. I am truly touched!"
Yu Wenjun hated Uncle Wang to the core, but perhaps because she had been with Fu Xiaoguan for a long time, she did not show it on her face, but instead smiled.
"Uncle Wang, there's no need to be moved. My niece and Fu Xiaoguan came here today just to see how many valuable things Prince Hui's mansion has."
Prince Hui's expression darkened. "So you're going to kick someone when they're down?"
"Uncle Wang, you are too kind. I actually want to...seal this well!" Yu Wenjun was still smiling, but Fu Xiaoguan was happy in his heart. Prince Hui's face turned cold again, and Yu Le was fidgeting.
These words were said by Her Royal Highness the Ninth Princess!
Is this what Your Majesty meant?
"Let Fu Xiaoguan talk to you about the rest. I'll just take a look."
The two sat down across from Prince Hui. Fu Xiaoguan glanced at Yu Le and said in a somewhat reproachful tone, "Your Highness, this Prince's Mansion can't be so poor that it can't even afford a cup of tea, right? If that's the case, I'll have to appeal to the Jinling government office and have the mansion sealed off. After all, you guys destroyed my yard, and I haven't received the compensation yet. I have reason to suspect that Prince Hui has transferred all his property, right?"
"You guys just patted your butts and left..." Fu Xiaoguan leaned towards Yu Le and said word by word: "Who the hell am I going to ask for money?"
"you……!"
"Make tea! You ignorant thing!" Fu Xiaoguan sat up straight and scolded Yu Le fiercely.
Yu Le swallowed, took a deep breath, and started to make tea.
My father's idea is right. We must order the Black Guards to go to Linjiang as soon as possible. If I don't wipe out the entire Fu family, I, Yu Le... will not be a human being!
Seeing the expression on Yu Le's face, Fu Xiaoguan retracted his gaze and stared at Prince Hui, smiling broadly, "Your Highness, two hundred thousand taels of silver! If you don't give it to me, I will have to stay here."
"How dare you! You are going too far!" Prince Hui was furious.
Fu Xiaoguan waved his hand lightly, "Your Highness, this is unreasonable. Since ancient times, killing someone means paying with your life and owing money means paying with your money. Look, Yu Jingfan killed someone, so he must pay with his life. As a father, you owe money, so you can't be so shameless as not to pay it back, right? This is the face of the royal family. You can't go out now. Should I go out and spread the word for you?"
Prince Hui was furious. Two hundred thousand taels of silver! This guy was asking for too much!
Fu Xiaoguan raised his eyebrows and suddenly slapped Yu Le's hand. "Pa!" Yu Le's heart trembled with fear. Before he could say anything, he heard Fu Xiaoguan's angry voice: "Is this how you brew Longjing tea? Do you understand the method of using the middle toss method? You are wasting food! Cook it again!"
Yu Le was startled, and Prince Hui stood up suddenly, "Mr. Fu, you are going too far!"
Fu Xiaoguan also stood up slowly, but the expression on his face became extremely cold.
"Tonight is the Queen Mother's seventieth birthday!"
"You are imprisoned, so naturally you can't go."
"And I'm going."
"Guess what I'm going to say to the Queen Mother?"
"Guess what I said to the Queen Mother. Will you be imprisoned in the Imperial Clan House tomorrow?"
"I'm telling you right now. If you don't pay me the money... I guarantee you'll never have the chance to return to Lingnan Changle Mansion!"
Prince Hui suddenly felt cold all over. Fu Xiaoguan was threatening him blatantly, but he had no way to stop him.
He could imagine what kind of trouble this shameless villain would make in front of the Queen Mother. His Majesty was here tonight, as were the ministers in the court. If he found some more false accusations... he might not even have a chance to appeal.
The two looked at each other, and Prince Hui's eyes gradually became dull. He sat down on the chair, as if all the strength in his body had been drained.
Two hundred thousand taels of silver!
How many Black Guards can this support!
Just like that, Fu Xiaoguan got it for free!
This debt... I'll settle with you later! I want you to pay me back a thousandfold!
"You win."
Prince Comet uttered three words weakly.
"Where's the silver?" Fu Xiaoguan looked down at him and asked coldly.
"Le'er, go find your mother and get two hundred thousand taels of silver."
Yu Le hurriedly got up and left Xixin Pavilion.
The coldness on Fu Xiaoguan's face vanished completely, and he sat down with a bright look on his face. He turned the teapot and poured a cup for Prince Hui, saying, "This Longjing tea...actually, the taste is similar when brewed with the method of pouring it from above. Your Highness, if you had been so straightforward earlier, why would there be such a tense situation?"
As he poured tea, he said, "You may not know me very well. I'm a very reasonable person. As a scholar, I don't like fighting and killing. But Your Highness, you haven't been very reasonable from the beginning to the end. For example, that day on the long street, your son was clearly in the wrong. I taught him a lesson on your behalf, which should have been nothing serious, but you had to make such a big fuss..."
Having said this, Fu Xiaoguan looked up at Prince Hui, the smile on his face gradually fading. "Your Highness is a smart man. How could he be deceived by the Fourth Prince and do such a despicable thing? I have always been puzzled. Seeing Your Highness today, I have some suspicions in my mind, and I would like to take this opportunity to share them with Your Highness."
"Your Highness... Although the prince's fiefdom allows him to maintain 3,000 personal soldiers, you must remember that these are still his majesty's soldiers! If you go to Changle Mansion and still refuse to behave, I'm afraid no one in this world will be able to save you!"
Prince Hui was startled, but then he heard Fu Xiaoguan say, "There's another thing I have to tell you. I hold a grudge. Your four hundred cavalrymen were trying to kill me on the long street, and I said I would bombard your Prince's Mansion. This... I wasn't kidding!"
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