Chapter 197 Sending People from the Palace to the Residence
Young Master Zhao opened his mouth awkwardly, unsure of what to say. They hadn't come to the capital on their own. Just half a month after their entire family was imprisoned, Prince Xuan had a secret talk with his father and then brought them to the capital, dumping them in a dilapidated courtyard and leaving them to live a miserable life there. Fortunately, they didn't die; otherwise, if his father had been beheaded, they wouldn't have survived either. Now that Prince Xuan had gained power, it was uncertain whether he would give his father a more important position.
At this moment, Zhao Xinbao snorted and said with a smug look, "Hmph, you're curious about how we got out of prison, aren't you? Let me tell you, it was Prince Xuan who personally released us. He even brought our whole family to the capital and arranged accommodations for us. Prince Xuan has taken a liking to me, and he will come to pick me up and take me to the palace after he boards the plane."
Liu Ye looked at Fu Rong, suppressing a laugh. Fu Rong lowered her head, also suppressing a laugh. Hilarious! The fact that the Prince Xuan would take a liking to her? He really knows how to brag.
Zhao Xinbao glanced at Liu Ye's clothes and continued to mock, "Liu Ye, don't think you're dressed better than me now. Before long, you'll be kneeling in front of me and calling me Your Majesty. But if you want to curry favor with me now, it's in time. My current predicament is your chance to shine."
Liu Ye didn't want to pay attention to this fool. She looked at Young Master Zhao and said, "Brother Bai and I have also settled in the capital. We can cook at home when we have time, so it won't interfere with your business. The wild vegetables are wilted and hard to sell. You guys keep busy, we'll go take a look over there..."
Young Master Zhao lowered his eyes and nodded, without even raising his head, his voice barely audible: "Take care..."
As soon as Liu Ye turned around, she was stopped by Zhao Xinbao again, which left her speechless. "Idiot, is she out of her mind?" she thought. Suppressing her displeasure, she looked at Zhao Xinbao and said politely, "Miss Zhao, please make way. I don't want to curry favor with you."
Young Master Zhao grabbed Zhao Xinbao's arm and tried to leave, but Zhao Xinbao pushed him aside forcefully: "Mind your own business!"
Young Master Zhao was almost pushed to the ground by Zhao Xinbao, and feeling that he had made a fool of himself in front of Liu Ye again, he angrily shouted at Zhao Xinbao: "Can you stop acting like this? Have some self-respect! You may not care about your reputation, but I do!"
Zhao Xinbao squinted and tilted his head, one hand on his hip and the other pointing at Liu Ye: "You came to my grandmother's birthday banquet, and my mother packed two large boxes of seafood for you. I'm sure Miss Liu hasn't forgotten, right? If you haven't, then hurry up and return the favor. How much silver is the seafood my mother gave you worth? Give me that much silver now!"
Young Master Zhao was so angry he almost fainted. His head was buzzing. He covered his forehead and squatted down on the ground, trying to avoid seeing it and getting upset, since he had already lost all face.
Liu Ye understood immediately. It turned out that Zhao Xinbao had stopped her to ask her for money. Fine, she would give it to her: "Furong, give Miss Zhao one hundred taels of silver."
Furong took out a hundred-tael silver note from her purse. As soon as she reached out, Zhao Xinbao snatched the note away: "Then I'll accept it without ceremony. You can leave now."
Liu Ye turned and left without a word, thinking to herself, "As if you were being too polite." Fu Rong glanced at Young Master Zhao, who was squatting on the ground, and then followed Liu Ye away.
Just as Zhao Xinbao was about to put the silver note into her pocket, it was snatched away by someone. She was about to explode with anger when she saw it was her brother. Young Master Zhao folded the silver note and put it in his pocket, saying, "I'll keep it..."
Zhao Xinbao pouted and returned to her stall: "Hmph, I thought you...!"
"Shut up!" Young Master Zhao snapped coldly.
Zhao Xinbao felt incredibly aggrieved after being scolded. Her brother was truly hypocritical; he had been putting on quite a show just now. If he had actually asked Liu Ye for money, it wouldn't have been just a hundred taels of silver; it would have been at least five hundred taels.
"Hmph, load up!"
Liu Ye led Fu Rong to the poultry market and bought five chicks and five goslings. They then drove the carriage home. As soon as they arrived, Fu Rong went to build a nest for the chicks and goslings, and luckily there were many bamboo trees in the garden.
"Miss, if we raise the chickens and geese in the garden, won't the garden stink? Or should I build a nest in the vegetable garden instead?"
Liu Ye said indifferently, "No need, just keep them in the garden. Anyway, I don't like going to gardens. Let them stink. The Su family buried the maids they beat to death in the garden as fertilizer. Just thinking about it makes me sick."
She looked at the peonies in the distance, blooming in a riot of colors, vying for attention, a truly beautiful sight. When Brother Bai and the others were digging up the box, they didn't find any bodies under the flowers, but that didn't mean there weren't any.
Seeing that Liu Ye persisted, Fu Rong had no choice but to stick the shaved bamboo into the soil, one by one, to form a circle. She then built a shed with bricks, covered it with an oilcloth, and put the chicks and goslings inside. As soon as the chicks and goslings were inside the enclosure, they lowered their heads to eat the grass on the ground.
Furong patted the dirt off her hands: "It's noon, Miss. What would you like to eat?"
Liu Ye stood up from the ground and said nonchalantly, "I don't have anything in particular I want to eat. Just make whatever you think is best."
At noon, Furong made hand-pulled noodles, stir-fried eggs and tomatoes, and made a cucumber salad. The two of them finished lunch, and another day passed.
Several more days passed in the blink of an eye, and the old emperor's funeral was nearing its end. As the old emperor's coffin was sent into the imperial mausoleum, the mausoleum gates were closed heavily, and the funeral procession returned to the palace. Everyone then began to prepare for the new emperor's enthronement. The enthronement ceremony was also very complicated, as foreign envoys would come to offer their congratulations, and people had to be prepared to receive them.
King Xuan entrusted this important task to Bai Zilin. With the arrival of envoys from various countries, King Xuan ascended the throne and became emperor. The capital city became lively again. Just as Liu Ye was about to take Fu Rong to see the excitement, a grand procession arrived from the palace.
It was someone sent by the Empress. The Empress is now the Empress Dowager. She sent boxes of gifts to Liu Ye, and also sent many people.
The head eunuch, Zhang, respectfully handed a stack of indentures to Liu Ye with both hands: "Princess Wushuang, these are the people the Empress Dowager sent for you: five palace matrons, ten head maids, ten eunuchs, and ten former Imperial Guards. They will guard the palace and protect the princess's safety. Later, this old servant will send someone to replace the plaque with the name of the princess's residence."
Liu Ye took the indenture handed over by the eunuch and casually gave it to Furong on the spot: "Thank you for your hard work, Eunuch Zhang. This is a reward from Furong."
Furong slipped a stack of silver notes into the eunuch's hand and said politely, "Thank you for your hard work."
Eunuch Zhang tugged at the silver notes in his hand. Hmm, they were quite thick. This Princess Wushuang was a shrewd one. He smiled broadly, his eyes crinkling with delight. "If the Princess has no further instructions, this old servant will take people to change the plaque right away."
Liu Ye smiled and nodded: "Thank you for your help."
After Eunuch Zhang and his men finished hanging the plaque, they left. Liu Ye Furong arrived at the gate and saw that the plaque above the gate read "Princess's Mansion." The three large characters "Princess's Mansion" were written in gold on a black background, which was very imposing.
Furong smiled and said, "The Empress Dowager really treats Miss like a member of the royal family. Miss, look at the Prince Xuan's Mansion next door and the Princess's Mansion across the street. They are all in gold, which is a symbol of the royal family. The Empress Dowager has also sent so many servants to Miss. I think the number is about the same as that of a princess. Right, I should also change how I address you. From now on, I should change Miss to Princess, otherwise it would be impolite."
"Princess, what should be done with the people in the manor?"
Liu Ye shook her head: "Let's go back inside and talk about it."
Liu Ye and Fu Rong had only been back in their room for a short while when there was a knock on the door. However, this time they didn't have to open the door themselves; the ten former Imperial Guards went to guard the door, and opening it was naturally their job.
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