The two brothers were from a nearby village. Their family had many children, and they were the youngest of the twins. This should have been a happy occasion, but their parents had already had four children. While the twins were a joyous occasion, raising them was expensive!
After arranging marriages for their four sons, these two brothers are still single, and the family can no longer afford to pay for their weddings.
The two then went out to find some work to do.
The two of them usually seemed like very honest people, and didn't look like people who would do bad things.
A steward in the village, seeing that the two men were young and strong, gave them an extra job to help transport fruit. The two men were very happy about this, after all, there was an extra subsidy, and quite a lot of it.
After delivering the fruit several times, the two brothers behaved themselves. One time, the foreman took them to inquire about the prices of fruit. Good heavens, a single basket of fruit was enough for them to get married.
The two, who were originally able to behave themselves, could no longer stay still. After having the desire to steal, their audacity grew, and taking advantage of the convenience, they began to steal fruit from the orchard.
At first, the two brothers didn't intend to steal much, but their desires were insatiable. Once a person's desires are opened, they will only grow bigger and bigger, and it's impossible to close them again.
The two grew bolder and bolder.
The person in charge isn't stupid; they can't tell if the weight is short, but if hundreds or thousands of pounds are missing, that's a problem.
The two brothers were just acting on impulse; they didn't have much strategy. The steward could easily find out the truth with a simple investigation.
Youqing's visit this time was more about intimidation and making a statement: the benefits here are excellent, but if anyone tries to cheat or do something dishonest, they'd better think twice about the consequences.
In the end, Youqing didn't report it to the authorities. The reason wasn't that she was kind-hearted or soft-hearted, but rather that it wasn't worth it. The two of them still had parents and relatives, and most of the people in their village were nice, with many helping out in the orchard.
Those two brothers are of questionable character. If the matter is reported to the authorities, it will be difficult for them to gain a foothold among their relatives. After all, in ancient times, it was easy to impose collective punishment. If a vicious person appeared in a village, it would be difficult for the young men in that village to get married for several years.
Having offended the "God of Wealth" who was crucial to the villagers' livelihoods, the two brothers would face no less punishment than in prison even if they didn't see the officials. Why bother? Showing them some kindness would only earn the villagers' gratitude and make them even more devoted.
After dealing with the two brothers, Youqing was about to leave when a man rushed over: "Master, we just caught a few child thieves stealing fruit. They all look like kids. What should we do with them?"
Youqing was completely bewildered. Was she really going to confront a "thief" today?! And now she just couldn't stop.
"Let's go take a look!"
I wonder whose brat this is.
Upon arrival, the group of mischievous kids looked embarrassed and slightly resentful under the gaze of others. They were all privileged children, and had never been so humiliated in their lives. Naturally, they couldn't reveal their family background and names like ordinary spoiled brats; they didn't have the face to do so, it was too shameful.
Furthermore, since I snuck out today, stealing fruit is also an offense, which makes me even more ashamed.
The children also saw Youqing. The two groups looked at each other and felt that the other looked quite familiar. The younger Seventh and Eighth Princes might not have a deep impression, but the older ones, such as the Fourth and Fifth Princes, were already seven years old when Youqing escaped from the palace. Children in the palace matured early. During festivals, when the concubines and princes and princesses attended banquets together, it was inevitable that they would meet.
Youqing had been away from home for the past few years, and her mind was filled with many things. Children grow up quickly, changing every year, which is why Youqing only felt that the child looked familiar, but did not recognize him at a glance.
The kid also felt that Youqing looked familiar, but he just couldn't remember where he had seen her before.
You Qing was dressed in men's clothing. Although she had grown her hair out, she had grown up a bit in the past few years, and her appearance had changed. Her temperament was also different from before, which is why the few people with the little pineapple head did not recognize her.
After a while, Youqing was the first to realize that these were Kangxi's mischievous children. She counted them and, sure enough, they were all there! Not one was missing.
The eldest prince, the crown prince, and the others felt that Youqing looked familiar, but they couldn't remember when they had seen her before.
Although they had seen Youqing before, it was only a few times. Kangxi was quite strict with his sons, and after they started school, their residences were separated from the Twelve Palaces. Apart from banquets, they rarely met in private. No child would stare at their father's concubines.
So now the kids just think the face looks familiar, but they can't remember when they've seen it before.
When faced with a bratty child, Youqing doesn't care who gave birth to him.
"So it was you who stole my fruit?"
The eldest prince, with his fiery temper, bristled at the mention of theft: "We didn't steal anything, we just came here to have some fun."
I didn't actually steal it yet; I was just caught trying to steal it, and they even pulled me down from the tree.
"Did you ask my permission before coming to my orchard? Someone found you in the trees just now. If you weren't stealing, why would you be in my orchard, in my trees? You're being unreasonable, kid."
The eldest prince was speechless, and the others all lowered their heads, feeling utterly humiliated.
At this moment, the prince looked up and said, "We did not know that we could not enter this orchard. We have offended you and ask for your forgiveness. Today's incident was indeed the fault of us brothers. However, we are not thieves. We brothers were just a little thirsty and were thinking of finding the steward to buy some fruit. However, we could not find the steward, so we decided to take a few fruits. We will leave money for the fruit when we leave."
In any case, they absolutely cannot be associated with the word "steal".
This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
