Prince Ping disliked doing official duties from a young age and preferred to enjoy himself. After all, the emperor was his own brother, and he had even injured his health for his brother's sake, so his brother had to support him.
He wouldn't be missing anyone else, so what reason does he have to work so hard?
Emperor Xuande had also been dissatisfied with Prince Ping's behavior, so he assigned him many tasks in an attempt to motivate his lazy younger brother. He wasn't the kind of person who would be wary of his brother's power, but unfortunately...
His brother was genuinely lazy, not afraid of arousing his apprehension.
There's nothing we can do about it.
Prince Ping took on the task and then passed it on to his subordinates. Even so, there were still some things that he needed to make decisions about. It wasn't that he couldn't do them, but that he didn't want to. In the end, he went to the palace and threw a tantrum, claiming that he was unwell and needed to rest. Only then did Emperor Xuande withdraw those tasks.
Unlike his envious brothers, he only wanted to enjoy his wealthy life.
The corals brought in by these maritime merchants are all of good quality, but the best one must be a pink coral bead, which looks as if it has a hazy mist on it.
The merchant had met with Prince Ping before because of the coral, and it was obvious that Prince Ping had taken a liking to the coral bead.
After buying the coral bead, Prince Ping looked around again but didn't see anything good, so he prepared to head back home. However, he ran into the old Duke of Zhenguo on the way.
Now that the title of Duke of Zhenguo has been passed on to the son of the old Duke of Zhenguo, the old Duke of Zhenguo is naturally enjoying his retirement. When Prince Ping saw the other party, he guessed that he was probably waiting for him here.
"Yao Bin, what brings you here to ambush me?"
"As Your Highness says, it was just a chance encounter. I just wanted to invite Your Highness for a chat and also show Your Highness some good things." Yao Bin was not embarrassed by the Prince's exposure and still smiled.
He led troops in battle when he was young and had many merits. Unfortunately, the next generation of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion had no one to take up the mansion. It was also because he was busy fighting when he was young and neglected the education of his children.
He had heard about what happened yesterday with his grandson Yao Yufang's encounter with the Prince of Ping's heir and his wife. Knowing that it had gone wrong, he went to find the Prince of Ping.
The grandson is still not married, while the girl from the Jiang family has become the Crown Prince's consort. Some things should be left in the past. We can't keep the grandson from getting married forever, can we?
Upon hearing that it was a good thing, Prince Ping immediately became interested. He had initially been uninterested and not planning to go with Yao Bin to drink, but now he decided to go and take a look.
He wanted to see what this old man wanted from him.
When Duke Yao saw King Ping's expression, he knew that King Ping had agreed, and led the people to the nearby Taibai Tower.
Upon entering the private room, he found it already tidied up, with a table set out. Prince Ping glanced around but didn't see the good stuff that Duke Yao had mentioned, and was immediately disappointed.
"Yao Bin, bring out whatever good stuff you have, and tell me what you need to say. I have other matters to attend to."
Seeing that King Ping was displeased, Duke Yao simply smiled, clapped his hands, and then two graceful women pushed open the door and walked in with their heads bowed.
The two women had delicate and beautiful faces, and wore only thin clothing, their exquisite figures appearing and disappearing in the shadows.
King Ping's face immediately darkened.
He knew he was in poor health and always felt sorry for Princess Ping. Over the years, he had indulged in eating, drinking and having fun, but had little interest in women and had never brought any back to the palace. His only concubine was his maid.
Fu Hanlai followed his father's example in matters of women.
He thought the whole capital knew he had no interest in women, but he never expected someone to send a woman to him, especially in a place like a restaurant.
"When did Taibai Tower become a brothel?"
When the servant Yan Nian saw the two women enter, he knew something was wrong and stood behind Prince Ping with his head down, saying nothing.
"Your Highness is unaware of this, but this is no ordinary woman."
The two women entered without saying a word, but curtsied to the two men and then stood there quietly—they dared not approach them directly.
Such an important person is not someone they can treat lightly.
The Prince of Ping's voice had turned cold, and he looked at the Duke of Yao with a detached gaze, waiting for a reasonable explanation from the other party, otherwise he would not hesitate to turn hostile.
You shameless bastard!
"Oh, I'd like to see what's so special about these two women."
Duke Yao smiled meaningfully and instructed the two women to take a few steps forward and stand not far from Prince Ping. Only then did Prince Ping notice the difference between the two women and narrowed his eyes.
Noticing King Ping's unusual behavior, Duke Yao stroked his beard and smiled.
He knew it all; what man wouldn't love that?
"Does Your Highness know that scholars and poets highly praise this golden lotus?"
Duke Yao genuinely wanted Prince Ping to mediate and spare his grandson. Judging from what happened yesterday, it was clear that Prince Ping's heir still remembered his grandson's engagement to the Jiang family girl.
"So this is the Golden Lotus? I just wonder what makes it so wondrous?"
King Ping now knows what Duke Yao wants to do, and that the two women in front of him must have been specially trained in the Jiangnan region.
He wanted to hear what else the old man had to say.
"Your Highness will naturally understand the wonders of the Golden Lotus once you experience it." Duke Yao gave a knowing look, but didn't say it outright. After all, it wasn't appropriate to say it openly. Even if Prince Ping was a playboy, he wasn't.
Unfortunately, the King of Ping's reaction was beyond his expectations; his gaze was as sharp as a knife piercing the Duke of Yao.
"Yao Bin, do you know how this golden lotus came to be?"
As the most notorious playboy in the capital, it was natural for someone to offer him such a thing. So a few years ago, someone offered him the so-called Golden Lotus, but he not only refused it, but the person also got into trouble afterwards.
"It was cultivated from a young age."
“Cultivate? Then let me tell you, this Golden Lotus requires a girl to have her foot bones broken and tightly bound before she reaches adulthood, preventing her feet from growing too large. This must be done for many years, and naturally, it will become what is called the Golden Lotus!” Prince Ping’s voice became stern. “Yao Bin, you are a military general of this dynasty. Before you retired, you guarded the border and won countless battles for this dynasty, repelling countless invading enemies!”
"You protected your country and its people back then, so tell me now, who were you protecting back then?!"
Duke Yao already knew what King Ping was going to say.
"The people you protected have now become your targets for harm. Or is it that in your eyes, only men are the people you want to protect, while women are insignificant objects?"
The Duke of Yao in the past cared for the people, but now he finds pleasure in the suffering of women and says it's a good thing.
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