Chapter 68: Pick a grand day to publicly award
Sitting in the imperial study, Emperor Defeng still had anger on his face, and the palace maids and eunuchs served him carefully.
"Father, please calm down. It's not worth getting sick from such a small matter."
How could Emperor Defeng not be angry?
Lu Zhiran helped him twice and solved the court's urgent problems. He was a great contributor to the Great Qi Dynasty.
He was still worrying about how to reward her to express the emperor's great grace, but these people just threw dirty water on her, which was a slap in his face!
If Lu Zhiran goes directly to the palace to file a complaint and asks him to seek justice, where will he, the emperor, put his face?
He just got angry and didn't dismiss them on the spot, which was already extremely merciful.
After a long pause, Emperor Defeng managed to suppress his temper. "What on earth is going on? How could such a ridiculous rumor arise for no reason?"
Xiao Yanci put away his cynical expression. "I only just heard about this matter, so I dare not speculate on the specific details. However, there are so many merchants in Shangjing City, and the Lu family's business is relatively inconspicuous. Yet, in such a short period of time, it has become the target of public criticism, and the incident has caused a sensation, even reaching the emperor. I believe this matter is not simple."
Emperor Defeng's brows were tightly furrowed, and a layer of darkness hung in his eyes.
"Who do you think is responsible for this?"
"This matter is aimed at the Lu family's business, or more precisely, at Miss Lu. Anyone who has a grudge against her will naturally be more suspicious."
Xiao Yanci stopped talking after saying that.
Normally he liked to joke around in front of Emperor Defeng, but when it came to serious matters, he was more sensible than anyone else.
The more he helped Lu Zhiran and convicted others at this time, the more counterproductive the effect would be.
As an emperor, no one likes to be led by the nose by others.
Emperor Defeng's face was gloomy. "I leave this matter to you. Investigate it thoroughly for me! I want to see who dares to stir up trouble under the emperor's feet!"
Xiao Yanci was waiting for these words. "I, your son, will obey your order and live up to your father's trust by catching the villain behind this!"
After a pause, Emperor Defeng continued, "Also, please announce another decree for me. The daughter of the Lu family has contributed money and effort to the court. I should clear her name and not let her continue to be slandered in vain."
Xiao Yanci thought for a moment, "Father, I don't think now is the best time. If your imperial decree is issued now, I'm afraid those villains will retreat. If we can't catch them, won't it cause trouble in the future?"
Upon hearing this, Emperor Defeng also looked thoughtful.
"Father, I understand that Miss Lu is a calm and composed woman. This incident will certainly not affect her. You don't have to issue an order so hastily. If you truly wish to clear her name, why not choose a grand occasion and publicly confer the award? This will both deter the scoundrels and show your great favor. Wouldn't that be the best of both worlds?"
Emperor Defeng nodded slowly, "That makes sense. Let's put this matter aside for now."
After discussing this matter, Emperor Defeng looked at his appearance again and felt both distressed and disgusted.
"You are a prince after all, but you don't have anyone you can use? You've made yourself look like this, what kind of person is that?"
Xiao Yanci returned to his usual playful and smiling self.
"It's a rare opportunity for me to carry out a serious errand for you, my father. Naturally, I must do my best and not make any mistakes. Last night's snow fell heavily. If we don't clear it up in time, the greenhouse will collapse and the shelter will be in chaos. I would rather tire myself than cause you more trouble."
When Emperor Defeng heard this, he immediately felt distressed and looked at him with eyes full of pity.
Xiao Yanci smiled, "I am different from my Sixth Brother. I am used to being rough around the edges, so this little thing is not worth mentioning. If you really love me, please give me more gold and silver as a reward. I will like it."
Emperor Defeng laughed and scolded, "What a waste!"
The originally gloomy mood finally melted away, and Feng Youcai secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
It has to be the Seventh Prince.
A long cry suddenly sounded. Xiao Yanci touched his stomach, looking pitiful. "I've been busy all night. I didn't even have time to eat breakfast."
Emperor Defeng felt distressed again.
"Why didn't you tell me earlier? Come on, serve the meal!"
At this time, a young eunuch came to see Li Guifei outside the palace. He was the father-in-law beside Li Guifei.
"The Imperial Concubine has prepared a banquet in her palace. Your Majesty is invited to dine with her in Yuxiu Palace."
In the past, whenever the imperial concubine came to invite him, Emperor Defeng would give her this courtesy as long as he was not busy.
But today, he had already agreed to have dinner with Xiao Yanci, and since Xiao Yanqing's previous performance in the hall had also displeased him, Emperor Defeng did not intend to give him this honor.
Before he could even open his mouth to refuse, Xiao Yanci said sourly, "It seems I've come at the wrong time. Although I haven't had a single hot meal since last night, all I did was dine with you this morning, it's alright with me. Please go dine with Concubine Li."
Emperor Defeng: ...
Seeing his sour look, Emperor Defeng laughed.
"I didn't say I wouldn't eat with you. You're already an adult, yet you still act like this."
He turned around and returned to Concubine Li.
"I have asked someone to call your mother here. She hasn't seen you for a long time."
Xiao Yanci immediately shook his head, "Next time, if she sees me like this, she'll start nagging me again."
His biological mother, Concubine Rou, was truly a gentle woman who would shed tears at any time. Sometimes Xiao Yanci felt that she was not like his mother, but more like a child.
He can play the victim in front of his father, but not in front of his mother, otherwise she will be in great trouble and will have to comfort herself in the end.
It gives me a headache just thinking about it.
Emperor Defeng also thought of this, paused subtly, and immediately gave up the idea.
The palace maid brought the dishes quickly, and before the father and son could even start eating, a noisy voice came from the distance.
"Father, Father..."
As he was speaking, a plump figure ran in happily.
When she saw the two people in the room, Xiao Baozhu paused and the happy smile on her face froze.
"Seventh Brother, why are you here too?"
Xiao Yanci looked at her with a half-smile, "Why are you hiding from me? Are you feeling guilty?"
Xiao Baozhu immediately stiffened her neck, "Who, who's hiding? I'm here to have dinner with my father!"
The implication is that with his father's support, what else can he do to himself?
Emperor Defeng looked suspiciously between the two men, "What's going on?"
Xiao Baozhu avoided the gaze and hesitated without saying a word.
Xiao Yanci did not give her any face and directly told her the bet between the two. Emperor Defeng suddenly found it funny.
"You are all grown up, yet you are still so childish."
Xiao Baozhu immediately said, "I also think this bet is too childish and cannot be counted."
"Want to cheat?"
Xiao Baozhu retorted confidently, "You donated all that charcoal, but didn't earn a penny. If you really count it, you're the one who lost."
Xiao Yanci: ...
If you really say so, it seems to be true. He really didn't see any return on his money.
Seeing that he was speechless, Xiao Baozhu finally gained confidence.
Thanks to Ah Sheng for reminding her, otherwise she would not have come to her senses yet.
She acted generous and said, "We are all siblings. I won't bother with you. It's not easy for you to save that little money."
Xiao Yanci: ...
Good, good, I didn’t expect that I would be defeated by this stupid girl. What a miscalculation.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
