Chapter 296 Viewing
Chen Tang laughed when he heard this. "Trust an outsider more than your own daughter? Among those who came to the palace for the banquet today, probably no one except you, Second Aunt, would think so. The Queen doesn't really want to punish Princess Gu'an. If someone else pleads for mercy, the Queen will still listen."
The Second Wife had nothing to refute. When she thought about the embarrassment she had suffered in the palace today, her face became red.
All of this is thanks to Chen Tang!
The old lady fiddled with the Buddhist beads in her hand, her eyes fell coldly on Shen Tang's face, "It seems that you and the prince have chosen to support Prince Yu."
This was not the first time the old lady had asked this question. She was evaded last time, so she asked again this time.
Must she and Xie Guimo support the King of Qi?
Chen Tang said, "My husband has no official position. The power of the Jingyang Palace is in the hands of my father. My father does not participate in the battle for the crown prince. Whether my husband supports the Prince of Yu or the Prince of Qi, he can't help."
The second wife said, "Even if you can't help, don't get too close to Prince Yu. Concubine Ye's father died to save your father. Don't make it difficult for your wife to be caught in the middle."
Chen Tang had heard this so many times in her previous life that her ears were callused. Everyone used this to force the princess to help Concubine Ye. Now it was even worse. Not only did they force the princess, they also wanted to force her and Xie Guimo.
Chen Tang looked at the Second Madam and said, "There are some things I have to say today! Let me ask Second Aunt, did Concubine Ye's father die while saving my mother's father, the Duke of Zhenguo, or did he die on the battlefield?"
The second wife said, "Of course he died to save the Duke of Zhenguo!"
Chen Tang said, "Since he died saving the Duke of Zhenguo, it doesn't count as dying on the battlefield. The late emperor doesn't need to posthumously confer the title of General Ye. He should also give the Ye family grace and allow the Marquis of Changping to inherit the title!"
One cannot have all the benefits.
He was awarded the title for dying on the battlefield, and the princess still wanted him to repay the favor of saving his father. It would have been fine if the Duke of Zhenguo was still alive, but he had been dead on the battlefield for many years, and the princess still wanted him to repay him.
The second wife said coldly, "Are you asking the princess to be ungrateful?!"
"ungrateful?"
Chen Tang smiled, "Second Aunt, have you forgotten that my husband blocked the arrow for the King of Qi? My husband saved the King of Qi's life. Isn't that enough to repay what my mother owes Concubine Ye?!"
The second wife’s face froze.
No need to ask, it's obvious that he has forgotten about it.
The old lady's face was gloomy, "Princess, be careful with your words! The King of Qi is the monarch, and the prince is the subject. It is the duty of the subject to save the monarch."
What a great deserving share!
Even the old lady thought so, not to mention Concubine Ye and Prince Qi.
When we meet these shameless people, the kindness we owe them will be passed on to future generations.
Chen Tang was so angry that her internal organs seemed to be burning with fire. She tried her best to suppress her anger, "The person who loves mother the most in this world is my husband. The old lady cares about mother so much, is she still afraid that my husband will do something to hurt mother?"
If he wasn't afraid of upsetting the old lady, Chen Tang wouldn't have to be so tactful in asking the old lady to stop interfering.
Under the pretext of caring about the princess, they asked them to support the King of Qi. In the future, the King of Qi would abandon him and all the benefits would fall on them. What a nice thought.
Fearing that if she stayed any longer, she would be so angry that she couldn't help but contradict the old lady, Chen Tang was about to leave. However, she was so angry that she couldn't let it go in vain. Chen Tang said, "I thought the old lady asked me to come here to discuss whether Concubine Jiang and the second and fourth aunts should send 100 taels or 1,000 or 2,000 taels to the palace. Since it's not about this, I'll go back first."
After bowing, Shen Tang turned and left.
Concubine Jiang and the Second Wife behind them looked uglier than each other.
Isn't it just intentional to make people angry? Who wouldn't do that? She didn't want to add insult to injury, but you chose to provoke her, so don't blame her for adding fuel to the fire.
She wanted to see how they were going to resolve this matter.
Those who lost the Jingyang Palace must be punished. The family rules cannot only restrict the younger generation and be useless to them. They will definitely be punished.
But being punished was not enough. The donations had to be sent to the palace according to the amount of jewelry donated. Concubine Jiang and her companions only had to donate one hundred taels. However, other ladies donated thousands of taels, but they only donated one hundred taels. It was too embarrassing.
But if I have to donate the same amount, then why bother changing my headdress to enter the palace and disgrace myself for the rest of my life? !
They have already lost all their face, and yet they still have to donate money. What are they trying to gain? !
Gingko followed Chen Tang out. She was as angry as Chen Tang was. She couldn't help but say, "The Crown Prince's wife didn't see it just now. Concubine Jiang and the others were so angry that their faces turned green."
Thinking of the embarrassing things done to Concubine Jiang and the Second and Fourth Madams, the anger that had been lingering in Shen Tang's heart dissipated.
Chen Tang returned to Chenxiang Pavilion and drank half a cup of tea when Si'er came in and said, "The old lady asked Concubine Jiang, the second wife and the fourth wife to donate 1,000 taels each, and the girls in the mansion to donate 600 taels each. In addition, they were punished to copy the family rules in the Buddhist temple until tomorrow morning..."
After such a huge loss of face, he was only punished by being made to copy the house rules for one night. Was he just treating it as a joke?
Chen Tang despised them in her heart, but the old lady's punishment didn't count. When the prince came back from the military camp and heard about what happened in the palace, his face was very long. When he heard that the old lady punished them to copy the house rules for a night, the prince said, "When has the Jingyang Palace treated them badly? Doing such a shameful thing, within three days, if they don't copy a hundred house rules, they will continue to stay in the Buddhist hall to reflect on themselves!"
The prince increased the punishment on Concubine Jiang and the others, and then gave them rewards.
If it weren't for the princess and Shen Tang, the Jingyang Palace would have completely lost face and become a laughing stock in Kyoto.
The prince rewarded the princess with three thousand taels and Chen Tang with two thousand taels.
When this matter reached the Buddhist temple, those people were so angry that they almost tore the temple apart.
…
Chen Tang was in a good mood and ate half a bowl more for dinner. He felt a little full, so he took Ginkgo and Qiu Tong to the garden for a walk and a snack.
The clouds in the sky gradually dissipated, and lanterns were hung on the corridor. Chen Tang took the maid back. Just as they reached the entrance of the garden, they saw Xie Guimo coming over. Chen Tang asked, "Why are you here? Are you going to see mother?"
Xie Guimo smiled and said, "The night is beautiful tonight. I will accompany you to the observation tower to enjoy the moon."
Watch the moon?
Chen Tang looked up, only seeing stars but no moon.
Chen Tang just thought that Xie Guimo had made a slip of the tongue. She was also very happy that Xie Guimo wanted to accompany her to watch the stars.
Being taken to the observation tower by Xie Guimo, Chen Tang really admired the night sky seriously. However, as he was watching, he saw a fire shooting up into the sky from somewhere in Kyoto.
That direction——
It seems to be the Desheng Casino.
Chen Tang reacted and looked at Xie Guimo, "Did you have someone burn it?"
Xie Guimo laughed, "I have no grudge against Desheng Casino, why would I burn down Desheng Casino?"
...That was burned by someone who had a grudge against him.
De Sheng Casino tricked Young Master Qian into losing all his family fortune, and then forced him to work for the King of Qi. When the King of Yu and the Marquis of Yongcheng found out about this, how could they not take revenge?
It's too late for revenge.
The two stood side by side on the observation tower, the wind lifted their sleeves, and they looked into the distance, where flames shot up into the sky, illuminating the dark night like day.
The fire in the Desheng Casino burned all night and was not extinguished until the next morning when the casino was completely burned out.
Not only was the gambling house burned down, but everyone inside was also killed, with few left alive.
A gambling house is just a place. If it burns down, you can just open another one. But if the people who run the gambling house are also killed, it will take at least one or two years for you to open another identical gambling house.
The Marquis of Changping's Mansion suffered heavy losses.
On the way to the morning court, Marquis Changping passed by Desheng Casino. Looking at the casino that had been burned to ruins, he was so angry that his face was darker than charcoal, and he really wanted to kill someone.
De Sheng Casino belongs to him, and many people in Kyoto know about it. Apart from Prince Yu, there will be no one else who has the courage to burn down his casino.
Especially when Young Master Qian was almost beaten to death by Marquis Yongcheng!
De Sheng Casino was plotting against Young Master Qian in secret. How did Prince Yu and Marquis Yongcheng know about it? !
He wanted to use Young Master Qian to deal a fatal blow to Prince Yu, but not only did he fail, he also lost the De Sheng Casino. Marquis Changping was so angry that he felt dizzy. He did not go to work in the morning. He stopped outside the De Sheng Casino for a while and then went back home.
…
Chen Tang slept until noon, not because she was lazy, but because she really couldn't get up.
At night, she watched the fire of Desheng Casino from the Observation Tower. She wanted to go back to Chenxiangxuan after seeing enough, but that bastard wouldn't let her go. He bullied her in the Observation Tower, carried her back to the house, and was still not satisfied, so he asked for more.
Chen Tang was already thinking about asking the prince to assign a task to Xie Guimo so that she could expend more energy during the day so that she wouldn't be bothered at night.
The person woke up, but still leaned lazily on the big pillow, unwilling to move.
I was really hungry, so I just got out of bed to wash up. Seeing that Xie Guimo hadn't come back, Chen Tang asked, "Where's that bastard?"
Whenever she heard Chen Tang call Xie Guimo like that, Ginkgo Qiutong couldn't help wanting to laugh. Ginkgo said, "The prince has already eaten. Before he left the house, he told her to come back for lunch with the prince's wife."
Who wants him to accompany her?
The food was brought in from the kitchenette, and Chen Tang sat down to eat breakfast. It was not a good time to eat breakfast because she would have to eat lunch soon. If she was full, she would not be able to eat lunch. If she was not full, she would be so hungry that she could not stop eating.
While eating the five-spice buns, Si'er came in and said, "Princess, it's rumored that Desheng Casino took a bunch of IOUs to the Qian Mansion to collect debts from the son-in-law of Marquis Yongcheng. It's said that the amount is so large that the Qian Mansion can't even pay it back..."
Chen Tang, "..."
The corner of Shen Tang's mouth twitched.
Prince Yu and Marquis Yongcheng burned down the De Sheng Casino not only out of revenge against Prince Qi and Marquis Changping, but most likely they wanted to protect the Qian Mansion.
After all, Marquis Yongcheng's daughter is the eldest lady of the Qian family. He can't just ignore his daughter's life or death and really kill Young Master Qian.
As a result, the Desheng Casino was completely burned down, but not a single IOU was burned.
But it is also true that the Marquis of Changping and the King of Qi wanted to use the IOU to threaten Young Master Qian to use it for their own purposes. The IOU would definitely be kept in a safe place and would not be left in the gambling house.
Prince Qi and Marquis Changping should have guessed that it was Prince Yu and Marquis Yongcheng who burned down De Sheng Casino last night. Since Young Master Qian is no longer a hidden chess piece, there is no need to keep those IOUs and they can just go and collect the debt directly.
Although the Desheng Casino was burned down, as long as Master Qian's signature and seal were on the IOU, Master Qian would not be able to deny the debt.
If the Qian family refuses to acknowledge the debt, De Sheng Casino will report it to the Supreme Court and confirm that the loan agreement is authentic. Not only will the Qian family have to pay back the money, but they will also be humiliated.
If you can't afford to lose, don't bet.
In his previous life, the third young master of Duke Wen’s Mansion lost half of Duke Wen’s Mansion, and Duke Wen’s Mansion still had to pay the money.
The Qian family mortgaged almost all of their land and shops, and even their ancestral home to the De Sheng Casino. It can be said that apart from the dowry of Mrs. Qian, the Qian family was left with no money.
Mr. Qian and his wife asked Mistress Qian to use money to redeem the Qian family's ancestral home. Mistress Qian agreed, but the wife of Marquis Yongcheng disagreed.
Back then, for the sake of Old Master Qian's face, he married his daughter to Young Master Qian, thinking that he would be a capable man. However, he was unexpectedly schemed against and lost all his family property. He was even coerced and bribed by the King of Qi to ruin the future of the King of Yu and even asked him to poison the Marquis of Yongcheng, but he agreed!
Marquis Yongcheng and Prince Yu were already showing leniency by not killing Young Master Qian. But after raising such a bastard son, they still wanted her daughter to use her dowry to protect the Qian family’s ancestral home?
If the Qian family wants to take back their ancestral home, there is only one possibility, and that is that Prince Yu takes that position and gives the Qian Mansion to his cousin!
Under the pressure of Marquis Yongcheng's wife, Mr. Qian and his wife had no choice but to move to the dowry courtyard of Miss Qian. From then on, the whole Qian family could only rely on Miss Qian for their livelihood. If it were not for the difficulty of remarrying after divorce, and because Old Master Qian died in the fight for the throne for Prince Yu, Marquis Yongcheng and his wife wanted their daughter to divorce Mr. Qian.
But it's better that the Qian family has fallen. She can live a peaceful life with her daughter in the future. Her daughter is well, and the Qian family is well. If her daughter is gone, all the family properties will be taken back, and the Qian family will see how they can live a life of luxury.
Not only did the Qian family lose their property, but Young Master Qian held an official position, and court officials were not allowed to gamble. It would have been fine if the censor didn't know about it, but now that the matter has become so serious and almost everyone knows about it, it would be dereliction of duty not to impeach him.
Not to mention the Prince of Qi's men, the Prince of Yu's men also had to submit memorials to criticize the emperor. The emperor dismissed Young Master Qian from his post, and Old Master Qian was not spared either. He failed to educate his son well, so the emperor demoted him by one level and assigned him a sinecure with little benefits.
In the previous life, the Qian family had been playing both sides, and no matter who succeeded, they would be invincible. But now, the Prince of Yu and the Prince of Qi have not yet decided who is better, and they have been eliminated.
The Prince of Qi would no longer use him, the Prince of Yu and Marquis Yongcheng would no longer trust the Qian family, and Marquis Yongcheng even didn't want to see his son-in-law again in his life.
In a blink of an eye, three days passed.
That day, after breakfast, Chen Tang calculated the time and went to pay his respects to the princess.
As for the old lady, Chen Tang hadn't been there these days. Concubine Jiang was in cahoots with them. She clearly had the prince's permission, so there was no need to put herself in a difficult position. If she wanted to go, she could go. If she didn't want to go, she didn't have to go.
When passing by the garden, he saw Concubine Jiang and the others, all of them looked haggard. There were many house rules in the Jingyang Palace. One hundred articles had to be copied in three days, which would take at least five or six hours a day. And that was to make sure there were no mistakes. If a mistake was made, it would take even longer to start over.
Concubine Jiang and the others had cramps in their hands from copying the household rules for three days.
When they saw Chen Tang, their eyes were as if filled with poison.
Gingko said, "The third wife and the third daughter helped copy a lot of family rules and sent them to the temple after nightfall yesterday, otherwise they would not have copied enough."
The third wife was born out of wedlock and has always been trying to survive in the cracks.
But what Chen Tang didn't understand was that the Third House chose to curry favor with the Old Madam and the Second Wife, Concubine Jiang, instead of the Princess.
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