24 Prince
◎The identity of the prince, the style of the brothel◎
The old lady did not hear the voice in the crowd saying, "Young Master Shen of Prince Changxiang's Mansion." When she saw such a gorgeous carriage, she couldn't help but feel frightened and took two steps back.
Shu Yao turned her head to look at the carriage parked next to her. Thinking of what someone had just said about the prince in it, she hurriedly lowered her head, not daring to look, for fear of causing any more trouble.
The curtain of the carriage swayed slightly, and the person inside seemed to have changed his movements. Then, a bony hand gently lifted the curtain hanging in front. The hand was well-proportioned and slender, and the fingers were as clean as lush green leaves without a trace of fat. It was obvious at a glance that these were a pair of pampered hands.
As soon as a corner of the curtain was lifted, the servants on both sides of the carriage immediately understood the meaning of the master inside. They lifted the layers of curtains and carefully hung them on the golden hooks on both sides. The scene inside the carriage was gradually exposed, but no one dared to look up. They could only see a purple corner of a noble robe in the carriage out of the corner of their eyes.
"What kind of drama is being performed in the Ji Mansion today? This prince also wants to listen to it." The man in the carriage spoke again, his voice teasing.
When the old lady heard the other party claiming to be the prince, she was so frightened that her legs and feet went weak. If she hadn't had the maids and servants supporting her, she would have fallen to the ground in a mess.
No matter how rich the Ji family is, they are still a merchant family and can definitely not compare with the royal nobles. Besides, she is just an old lady from the countryside and has never seen any big scenes.
She didn't expect to meet the prince today. Her arrogant demeanor suddenly weakened. She lowered her head and looked at her toes, thinking about how to respond.
Shu Yao couldn't help but look up, and this time, she met the gaze of the man in purple. The man had a noble and elegant posture, with his black hair loosely tied up with a black jade hairpin. A few strands of black hair fell on his open chest. There were stars in his narrow peach blossom eyes. At this moment, he was looking at Shu Yao with a slight smile on his thin lips.
She only took a glance and then hurriedly looked away. This prince... actually had some of the demeanor of a brothel owner.
Shu Yao's ears felt a little hot because she just saw a woman in the carriage. The woman was clinging to the prince and just happened to kiss his Adam's apple. Both of them were disheveled.
If you keep reading, you'll get stye.
The man gently pushed the woman away and said softly in her ear: "Stop making trouble."
The woman hit him coquettishly, put on her clothes, and sat down on the other side obediently.
He was playing with a fine red sandalwood jade pendant in his hand and looked at Shu Yao. "I could hear you crying from across the street just now. What's your grievance? Why don't you tell me about it?"
Shu Yao was a little nervous when she was called directly. She was wondering whether she should bow to the prince.
After thinking for a moment, she bowed to the man in front of her in a proper manner, just like she did in ancient costume dramas: "Greetings, His Royal Highness."
There was silence for a moment, then the man laughed out loud, teasingly saying, "Your gesture is quite unique. This is the first time I've seen it. Stand up."
Shu Yao looked at her folded hands. Wasn't this the most common way of greeting in ancient times? However, the dynasty in this book was fictional, so there would probably be some discrepancies.
She slowly stood up and raised her head, clearing her throat to give herself courage before looking at the man. Seeing his peach blossom eyes fixed on her, she panicked a little, "To answer your Highness, I am the newly married grandson of the Ji family." Halfway through her words, she pulled Ji Shijing aside and said, "This is the second young master of the family. I don't know why the old lady stopped us at the door today. We are penniless and have no place to live. If they really kicked us out, I estimate that the second young master and I will freeze to death on Chang'an Street within two days."
"We don't think we've done anything wrong. We don't know why the old lady is so cruel."
Shu Yao's tone was filled with genuine sadness. She and Ji Shijing were both penniless, and it was not easy for them to survive in this world.
The man was still playing with the jade pendant and raised his eyebrows: "You are telling the truth."
Shu Yao said solemnly: "Every word is true."
Hearing her say this, the old lady's back was already covered in cold sweat. The prince must be a higher official than the master in the yamen. She dared not offend this important person, but she really didn't want those two burdens to go home. If they came back, how could her eldest son inherit the Ji family's property smoothly?
No, no, every brick and tile of the Ji Mansion belongs to Dayong and Tianbao.
The man turned to look at the trembling old lady standing at the gate: "Madam Ji, the Ji family is a well-known and influential family in the capital. I heard that Master Ji and the eldest son just passed away some time ago. Why did you stop the bride and the second son from entering the gate today? What's your intention?"
He frequented brothels day and night, and had heard most of the rumors in the streets. He also knew a little about the affairs of the Ji Mansion.
Hearing the prince's question, the old lady's face was filled with fear. "Your Excellency, my grandson's wife and grandson were killed by bandits during their funeral a few days ago. I don't know where these two people came from. I think they are coveting the Ji family's wealth. Your Excellency, please don't be deceived by them."
Shu Yao sneered inwardly. This old lady was really good at lying. She didn't rush to prove herself, but changed the subject: "When my uncle first came, he told me that the Ji Mansion's property would belong to him in the future, and the second young master wouldn't get a penny. Now it seems that he wants to kick us out and inherit the entire Ji Mansion rightfully."
He successfully brought the conversation to the topic of family property. Compared to whether the person was real or not, everyone cared more about money. Sure enough, as soon as these words were spoken, whispers and discussions arose from the audience again.
The old lady was so angry that her teeth were chattering. She pointed at Shu Yao and called her "you" for a long time, but she couldn't figure out what she meant.
The man in the carriage propped up his head with one hand and watched Shu Yao's sharp tongue with great interest. A faint smile played on the corner of his mouth. He continued, "I heard that the Ji family has always been protected by the government. Mr. Gao from the government office must know the second young master. Just ask him to come and recognize him and you'll know."
After hearing what he said, Shu Yao looked at Ji Shijing and asked quietly, "Has that Mr. Gao seen you?"
Ji Shijing nodded. In the past, in order to prevent outsiders from knowing that he abused his own son, Master Ji specially made him wear luxurious clothes when he met Mr. Gao.
Shu Yao felt relieved.
The old lady's eyes rolled around twice, her heart beating fast. She decided to take them both back home first and deal with them directly when the time comes.
Thinking of this, she hurried forward, pulled Shu Yao and Ji Shijing to look up and down, and said in disbelief: "My eyes were really blurry just now. I didn't expect you to come back safely. I thought you were hacked to death by that group of thieves..." As she spoke, she wiped the corners of her eyes with her sleeves.
"It's good that you're back, it's good that you're back, let's go in." He pulled the two of them and was about to enter the mansion.
At this time, the purple-robed man spoke again: "The fact that they both returned safely proves that those who survived a great disaster will have good fortune in the future. Isn't that right, old lady?"
No matter how stupid the old lady was, she understood the meaning of the words. If Shu Yao and Ji Shijing died inexplicably in the mansion, she would definitely be responsible, and even Dayong and Tianbao would be implicated.
She was full of anger, but still said to the prince respectfully: "Your Highness is right."
The man smiled and ordered someone to lower the curtain. The carriage then moved forward steadily. The cold wind blew, and a strange fragrance flowed in the air.
Shu Yao looked at the carriage going away and asked the people around her, "What's the name of this prince?"
Someone said, "That's the prince of Changxiang Palace, Chen Jing'an."
Someone else added, "He's a well-known playboy in the capital, frequenting brothels day and night, and he's even made the old prince sick several times."
"That's right. I heard that the prince's second wife seems to be pregnant. The title of Prince of Changxiang may not fall on him yet."
Only after the carriage had gone far away did everyone dare to discuss in a low voice.
Shu Yao looked at the carriage going further and further away, and murmured softly: "Chen Jing'an." Why did he help her?
In the carriage, the woman lay on Shen Jing'an's legs, playing with a strand of his hair. Thinking about his behavior just now, she was a little curious, so she asked, "Prince, why did you help them just now?" Shen Jing'an was not a person who would meddle in other people's affairs.
Chen Jing'an stroked the jade pendant in his palm, and the corners of his peach blossom eyes gradually turned red. His thoughts drifted away for a long time before he said, "That girl looks a lot like an old friend of mine."
The old lady here stopped pretending, her face was long, and she snorted coldly: "I didn't expect you to have such ability to ask the prince for help."
Shu Yao smiled and politely retorted, "I guess the prince can't stand your nonsense, old lady."
The old lady rolled her eyes in anger, cursed, and returned home heavily on her crutches.
Shu Yao shrugged. She didn't know how the old lady would make things difficult for them in the future, so she had to be careful at all times.
She and Ji Shijing returned to their residence smoothly. The north courtyard was still as shabby as before, but at least there was a place to shelter from the wind and rain, and she felt a little relieved. The next step was to find a way to help Ji Shijing earn his share of the property.
After all this trouble, it was already late. Shu Yao looked at the empty rice jar and started to worry. She clearly remembered that there was still half a jar of rice in it.
Hearing the faint sound of water coming from the bathroom, she shouted inside: "Ajing, I'm going out for a while and will be back soon." Let's see if she can find something to eat.
The sound of water in the bathroom stopped.
As soon as Shu Yao opened the door, she saw Ji Lai standing outside. She took out two steamed buns from her arms, with chicken legs inside. She handed the food to Shu Yao: "Sister-in-law, I thought you... were lucky to be back. I brought you some food. Don't let my parents and grandmother know I was here."
Just now when we were having dinner, my grandmother got very angry and refused to let the servants deliver food to the north yard.
She thought that wouldn't work, so she secretly hid two steamed buns and a chicken leg and brought them over.
As soon as she finished speaking, she poked her head in and peeked in: "Where's my second cousin?"
Shu Yao: "The Second Young Master is taking a shower, come in and sit down."
Ji Lai waved her hands quickly. If her mother knew she was coming to the North Courtyard, she would whip her with a cane again. "No, I'm going back first."
The heat from the steamed bun in her hand was warm, and Shuyao felt warm in her heart as well.
…
Here, Ji Dayong and the old lady started arguing.
Ji Dayong argued until his ears turned red and his neck became thick: "Mom, now that they are back, how can I inherit my second brother's property?"
The old lady's eyes flashed with evil: "They are really lucky. They didn't die at the hands of those bandits."
Guo Cuiping sat aside, eating melon seeds. "Who says it's not true? I was scared to death when those bandits broke in at night. Luckily, the officials were there that day, otherwise we would have died under their swords. How could we still be talking like this now?"
Speaking of bandits, the old lady seemed a little frightened.
Ji Dayong's mind was all on the family property. He said, "Mom, why don't we just have sex with them both?"
The old lady snorted coldly: "No."
Ji Dayong was anxious: "Why not?"
The old lady thought of what the prince said today, shook her head at Ji Dayong, and then comforted him: "Don't worry, let them live for a while longer. Mother promises that the second son's property will belong to you and Tianbao in the future."
Ji Dayong was still a little angry, but he didn't say anything else.
Guo Cuiping brushed off the melon seed crumbs on her clothes and was about to speak when she saw Ji Tianbao walk in drunkenly with a half-dressed woman in his arms.
Ji Tianbao's face flushed red as he burped, "Dad, Mom, Grandma... burp, it's so late... burp, why aren't you asleep yet?"
Seeing her son like this, Guo Cuiping was so angry that she went up to him and grabbed his ear: "You haven't learned anything since coming to Beijing, but you have learned to lie around women every day."
The old lady hit Guo Cuiping's hand with her cane and said with a stern face: "It's not your turn to teach my grandson a lesson. Tianbao is rich now, so he can do whatever he wants." After that, she looked at Ji Tianbao with a smile and said, "It's getting late, you should go back to your room and rest."
Ji Dayong, who was standing by, had his eyes glued to the woman next to Ji Tianbao, and his saliva was flowing.
Guo Cuiping rolled her eyes angrily. As expected, the old and the young were of the same character.
Ji Tianbao hugged the woman and wanted to go back to his residence, but he drank too much today and was drowsy and spinning around.
The woman was a little impatient. Looking at the weeds growing taller by the roadside, she couldn't help but complain, "Is this really the road?"
Ji Tianbao pinched the woman's waist and pushed open the door of the north courtyard in a daze.
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