Chapter 66 Emerging from the wolf's den, only to fall into the tiger's mouth
The prince's entourage remained suspended at the Ningzhou residence for several days.
The governor had requested an audience for several days, but had not been able to see him.
When it came time for King Cheng's procession to leave, the governor refused to allow it, and the prefect dared not issue a travel permit; no one could make a move.
One I can't see, and the other I can't leave.
Yao Shisan was dressed up by Wen Xi and looked completely different from when he left the city.
She even suspected that Wenxi possessed the skill of changing her appearance a thousand times.
Shuang'er quietly approached her, "Sister Yao, when Master Huineng of Baima Temple told my fortune, did he predict that I would become the daughter of a prince?"
Not for any other reason than that Wenxi asked her to help pretend to be the king's concubine who was having morning sickness and throwing a tantrum?!
Yao Shisan pinched her ear and gritted her teeth, saying, "Fine, I'll give you to Prince Cheng! We sisters can keep each other company!"
Shuang'er cried out, "Sister, spare me!"
Fu'er was fast asleep on the soft couch when she was woken up by the noise from the two people.
She rubbed her eyes and got up, walking straight to her mother who was sitting in front of the dressing mirror.
"Mother, Fu'er is hungry."
Just then, two maids from the inn entered.
With a loud crash, one of the maids knocked over the washbasin.
It was as if she was so frightened that she panicked and fumbled.
Wen Xi walked in from outside, frowning and scolding, "If you can't do your job, get out!"
The other maidservant remained calm, her gaze fixed on Fu'er and Yao Shisan.
"Forgive my ignorance, but I have never heard that His Highness Prince Cheng has a son."
Fu'er is still dressed as a little boy, but luckily she is young and doesn't distinguish between genders.
"Do I need to report to Lord Tang whether I have a son or not?"
Xiao Shu, dressed in a python robe, strode in with long strides.
The maid immediately knelt down, "This servant was ignorant and reckless, please punish me, Your Highness."
His gaze fell on her fair hands. "The maids at the inn are pampered and well-fed, much better than the maids in my manor."
The maid glanced at her hands, but remained calm and continued to bow gracefully.
"It would be my great honor to gain Your Highness's favor."
A cold glint flashed in Xiao Shu's eyes. "Is that so?"
He lazily turned his head to look at Yao Shisan, "Yao'er, do you fancy this maid?"
Yao Shisan smiled and said, "It's fine. Being a foot-washing maid is perfect."
The maidservant froze for a moment. "This servant... can do a little bit of burning incense, making tea, and playing the zither, but I have never done such rough work."
Talented in both arts and sciences, she came to us on her own initiative.
She was Tang Qifeng's youngest daughter, Tang Wenlan, who was originally intended to be sent to the capital to be presented to Grand Secretary Chen.
A large area in Beijing has collapsed.
Even though the capital was already reducing the power of the regional princes, they still appointed another one to a regional princeship at this time.
Tang Qifeng was unsure of what to do, but his youngest daughter, Tang Wenlan, came in handy.
They hadn't seen him for five whole days, and now that they finally had, all they could do was make her a foot-washing maid?
Her eyes were fixed on King Cheng.
Xiao Shu remained silent, his gaze fixed intently on Yao Shisan.
Yao Shisan gritted her teeth. The price of leaving the city was so high. If she had known, she would have preferred to stay in the capital and deal with things slowly.
Prince Cheng is somewhat different.
Some people want him to live, some people want him to die.
However, unlike the other old feudal lords, he had no soldiers.
Therefore, the journey back to their fiefdom is more dangerous than for others.
Yao Shisan's current role is to shield himself from arrows, specifically from the arrows of beautiful women.
She looked at Tang Wenlan, her expression turning displeased. "What, have you been wronged?"
Tang Wenlan almost lost her composure, "This servant is afraid... afraid that my clumsy hands will hurt you, mistress..."
"You can decide for yourself. I can't afford such a precious maid." Yao Shisan stood up with Fu'er in his hand, snorted, and turned to go to the back hall.
She breathed a sigh of relief once she returned to her inner room.
Shuang'er picked up Fu'er and looked at her with a smile, "I actually feel quite pleased to see my sister being so domineering!"
Yao Shisan raised his chin and glanced at her. "So this is how you act arrogantly? Have you forgotten the suffering Miss Song endured?"
Wen Xi walked in and said, "Madam Yao, when we go to the governor's mansion later, don't eat or drink anything. Leave the rest to His Highness."
"We still need to go to the governor's mansion?"
Yao Shisan hesitated, "After all, I'm just a fake. I don't know His Highness at all, and I'll be exposed."
Wenxi said, "If I say you are, then you are. Who dares to say anything more?"
She pursed her lips. "Since you're so assertive, why would I need to fake it..."
Shuang'er and Wenxi silently shut their mouths and took a step back.
Fu'er, left in the middle, looked at the adults on both sides with a blank expression.
"It seems that I have wronged Lady Yao."
A sinister voice sounded above Yao Shisan's head.
"I'm not wronged!"
Without even turning around, she bent down and picked up Fu'er.
Then they turned around and saw two smiling faces.
"Your Highness, please give your orders."
Xiao Shu glanced at Wen Xi, then said coldly, "It'd better not be."
He turned and left as soon as he finished speaking.
Wenxi stepped forward and took Fu'er, explaining on behalf of her master.
"Don't worry, Madam Yao, with His Highness here, everything will be fine."
"The outside world is not like the capital. Nobody knows which side these local officials belong to."
"Besides, you're safer too."
Yao Shisan, "Jinzhou is pretty safe..."
She suddenly fell silent.
The local officials of Jinzhou were Cheng Wang's men.
At that time, all the grain that Jinzhou "missed" spring planting will go into Cheng Wang's pocket...
Seeing that she understood, Wenxi continued, "My wife is a smart woman. Trust me; it will only do her better."
Yao Shisan pursed his lips.
Each gets what they need.
The governor of the prefectural government, Lord Tang, held a grand banquet specifically for Prince Cheng.
Tang Wenlan had been rebuffed at the guesthouse and was now secretly wiping away tears.
She was originally going to be given to the even older Grand Secretary Chen by her father, and she thought her life was ruined.
Unexpectedly, things took a turn for the better. Chen was imprisoned, and the father hurriedly distanced himself from the situation, fearing that he would be implicated.
Just as the father was at his wit's end, the King's carriage arrived in Ningzhou.
Given the current situation, the fact that Prince Cheng could receive a personal investiture from His Majesty makes him an even better candidate to curry favor with.
Therefore, she took the initiative to recommend a seat to her father.
Prince Cheng is young and handsome, and holds a high position of power, so he is naturally better than Grand Secretary Chen!
If she succeeds, she will rise to the top in one step, and her father will ask to be near her in the future.
The information Mingming gathered was that King Cheng had no wives or concubines and no children.
When did the concubine and son appear?
And they still humiliated her like this!
As dusk settled, the palanquin of the official residence arrived.
King Cheng changed out of his python robe and into a dark red casual outfit, which made him look exceptionally handsome.
Following behind, Yao Shisan wore a blue brocade dress with gold embroidery and a full set of red gold headdresses. If he wasn't careful, the hair ornaments would fall on his face.
In both her lifetimes combined, she had never been so lavish.
My head feels as heavy as a thousand pounds!
Is this the luggage of a concubine?
If she were the principal wife, wouldn't she be suffocating people?!
Yao Shisan followed behind Xiao Shu, forced to accept everyone's scrutiny.
"Your humble servant, Tang Qifeng, Prefect of Ningzhou, respectfully welcomes Your Highness Prince Cheng."
Xiao Shu didn't even glance at him, and went straight to the main seat to sit down.
Yao Shisan sat in a slightly later position.
They haven't taken their seats yet.
My wrist was grabbed.
"Sit next to me."
Xiao Shu stared at her with eyes devoid of any warmth.
To onlookers, however, it appeared as if His Highness Prince Cheng was gazing tenderly at the beauty beside him.
Yao Shisan's eyelids twitched.
Then she said in a sweet voice, "Your Highness, if the adults don't sit, how dare I sit?"
Xiao Shu remained expressionless, released her hand, and then turned to look at the local officials directly in front of him. "Sit down."
"Thank you, Your Highness."
After a group of people quietly sat down, Tang Qifeng clapped his hands.
A dozen or so dancers in strange costumes filed in.
Tang Qifeng: "These dancers all came from Xibo, and they are especially skilled dancers!"
Yao Shisan was mesmerized by her figure and alluring eyes.
Not to mention men, she likes them too!
Xiao Shu gave a soft "hmm" and then said nothing more.
Tang Qifeng's face darkened; he couldn't believe that anyone could escape the charm of the Xipo dancers.
Xiao Shu's gaze fell on the wine glass in front of him.
He then grabbed Yao Shisan's shawl and wrapped it around his finger.
When he picked up the wine glass again to drink, the shawl completely absorbed the wine in the glass.
Tang Qifeng noticed in the blink of an eye that Cheng Wang's wine glass was empty.
He immediately got up and poured a second cup.
"Your Highness, this is a daughter's wine that my daughter brewed herself."
Xiao Shu glanced at him indifferently, "Oh, is that so?"
Tang Qifeng's face was full of smiles. "Your Highness, my daughter is very talented. I have spent a lot of effort cultivating her. If Your Highness likes her..."
"I wish it, but my beloved concubine does not."
Xiao Shu glanced at Yao Shisan beside him with a half-smile.
Yao Shisan was caught off guard and ended up being unfairly blamed.
Tang Qifeng was somewhat embarrassed; his daughter was, after all, a daughter of an official...
The identity of the concubine whom King Cheng had never shown his face was unknown.
I heard his surname is Yao.
There are quite a few officials with the surname Yao in the capital...
He couldn't afford to offend them casually.
Thinking of this, he said slowly, "Madam Yao, if my daughter has offended you, please punish her as you see fit, just treat her as a little maid."
Yao Shisan raised her beautiful eyes, "I treated her like a maid, but Miss Tang didn't want to."
"Our prince is the kindest man imaginable, how could I tarnish his reputation!"
These words were like a slap in the face to Tang Qifeng.
His expression changed repeatedly, but in the end he managed to hold back.
"It's my daughter's fault for being ignorant. I'll have her kneel at the door right now."
Tang Wenlan, who had been standing behind the curtain, turned pale.
She truly knelt down and went out; unless King Cheng took her in, she would truly be a discarded pawn.
Yao Shisan looked at Tang Qifeng with a puzzled expression.
"Lord Tang, is it a custom for local officials to give away their daughters?"
"Why would you insist on making a perfectly good young girl your maid?"
Tang Qifeng didn't react for a moment.
Didn't she ask Wenlan to be her foot-washing maid?
"Madam, you..."
Yao Shisan turned his head and said unhappily, "I've already taken in so many maids, isn't that enough?"
A faint smile appeared on Xiao Shu's lips. "If you say it's enough, then it's enough."
His smile seemed gentle and indulgent, if she hadn't already seen his true colors.
You could easily be fooled by such laughter and think he's a good person.
Yao Shisan looked at Tang Qifeng and said, "Thank you for your kindness, Lord Tang. It would be a pity to keep such a talented girl by my side as a maid."
Finally, she smiled and asked him in return, "You agree, right?"
Tang Qifeng was already losing face.
Was he sending his daughter to be a maid?
And he pretended to be stupid!
His eyes narrowed slightly.
Since the soft approach isn't working, let's try the hard approach.
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