Chapter 112
King Jing had returned to the Imperial City, and the Emperor thought more highly of King Jing. Because of his achievements in the Western Frontier and the fact that King Jing was the son of the first wife, the ministers could not say anything against him, even though they could not say anything.
Not long ago, the Sixth Prince, who had dominated the family, rarely appeared in front of people after being reprimanded by the Emperor for accepting bribes. He chose to stay out of the limelight for the time being, and this made many of the ministers who had already sided with the Sixth Prince hesitate.
These officials were originally part of the Third Prince’s faction. When the Sixth Prince rose to prominence, they even used the banner that the two princes were originally one. Now that the Third Prince had declined, these people did not plead for mercy for the Third Prince and directly stood on the Sixth Prince’s side. They were originally fence-sitters, so it was normal for them to have mixed feelings.
The Sixth Prince had his own plans, and for the time being, he did not have time to appease them. King Jing was now in the limelight. Not only did he have political achievements, but he also relied on his son to temporarily gain the Emperor’s support. Because of Lady Liang’s pregnancy, the Sixth Prince could clearly see that the Emperor was biased toward King Jing. If he took the initiative to fight with King Jing, he would only follow in the Third Prince’s footsteps and be disliked by the Emperor. However, if he pretended to be weak and found fault with King Jing, causing King Jing to lose the Emperor’s heart, he believed that the Emperor would naturally side with him.
As for King Jing’s faults, he already had great confidence. Consort Zhang had recently found a few helpers for him, and they were distant relatives of the Zhang family. The Sixth Prince still trusted them, and he secretly sent a capable person to find a way to verify it. It would be best if he could get what he wanted. On the surface, the Sixth Prince could not be any more obedient. King Jing’s growing popularity seemed to have nothing to do with him, and he was only waiting for definite news.
Then, he would deal with him in one shot.
King Jing’s residence.
Da Bao, Er Bao, San Bao, and Si Bao’s wet nurse, Qin Shi, had encountered some trouble recently. Her son had lost a large sum of money in his business and had been chased to their house to collect the debt. Qin Shi had spent all her savings but was still unable to make up for the debt. She had been frowning for the past two days and had neglected to take care of the babies. She had made several mistakes. Although they were not particularly serious, given King Jing’s temperament, they were enough to make her suffer.
Qin Shi knew that she was in the wrong and begged King Jing not to expel her from the palace. With this job, she would be supported by the palace in the future and her family would not have to worry about the rest of their lives. However, if she was expelled, she would lose everything.
Qin Shi could be considered one of Li Yu’s servants. King Jing looked at Li Yu. Although Li Yu was now the Princess Consort, she was basically always lazy and never got involved in the affairs of the palace. King Jing had the intention to establish authority for Li Yu. However, when he thought of Aunt Xu, he guessed that he would not be able to establish authority. King Jing could almost guess what Xiao Yu would do if he were in her shoes. He might as well let Xiao Yu form good karma.
King Jing gave the full authority of the Qin family to Li Yu to deal with.
Li Yu accepted the olive branch that he handed over.
Originally, Princess Yu did not want to get involved in the affairs of the palace. There were many couples who fell out because of power and status. Li Yu thought that he could only last long if he stayed away from power. However, the system had already assigned him the task of “sharing the country.” He was afraid that he would not be able to live a carefree life.
Since he could not hide, then he would face it bravely. Li Yu stretched out a hand in the direction of the housekeeper and carefully probed.
He would start by dealing with the Qin family.
The rules of the palace were ready-made. It was not difficult to follow the old rules, and it would not be easy for problems to occur. However, Li Yu remembered that Qin had a good temperament and was very meticulous. How could she keep making mistakes?
Li Yu asked patiently: “What’s wrong with you? Is there a reason why you keep making mistakes?”
Qin Shi’s nose turned sour. She was only a servant. The young masters did not need her to nurse them anymore. The princess only asked her to help take care of them and play with them. In fact, she did not have much to do each day. She was also receiving the monthly allowance that only a wet nurse could get. Qin Shi felt deeply ashamed that she had failed the princess. However, not only did wang fei not care, she even asked her for the reason. Even if Qin shi was embarrassed, she didn’t care. Sobbing, she told her everything about her son.
Li Yu asked for the exact amount. Qin Shi said it was a large sum of money. Li Yu thought for a moment and said: “This is not a difficult matter. Qin Shi, since you are the wet nurse of Da Bao and the others, you should be supported by the Wang family in the future. The Wang family can give you this money in advance, and then deduct it from your monthly allowance.”
Li Yu’s meaning was to use the name of the Wang family to lend money to Qin Shi and have Qin Shi return a bit each month. Although he did not have the eye for antiques, at least he knew that Old Gong, who gave him a pile of gems to play with, was very rich. This amount of money was not much to King Jing, but to the Qin family, it was life-saving money. Saving a life was better than building a seven-floor pagoda.
Also, he was not giving it for free. It was a loan, and it was the interest-free kind. He would have the Qin family return a bit each month. The Qin family would not be in a difficult position and would not feel embarrassed.
In fact, King Jing had given him full authority. It was not impossible for him to ask King Jing to help the Qin family repay the debt. However, now that he was the princess, he naturally had to think further.
The Qin family had made a mistake first. If he still helped to waive the debt, he would be too unprincipled. What would the other servants think? Could it be that they could take advantage of a mistake?
Compared to who to help and how to help, the prestige of the Wang family was also very important.
That was why he chose to lend the money. The Wang family would not lose out. In the end, the Qin family would use their own strength to get through the crisis. What people would see was the kindness of King Jing.
With Li Yu’s arrangement, Qin Shi was overjoyed. She wrote down the IOU on the spot. Li Yu first looked at it, and then asked King Jing to read it. Then, he gave it to Wang Xi to put away.
Li Yu looked at King Jing and added: “If anyone else in the mansion has the same difficulty, they can all tell His Highness. His Highness will arrange it.”
King Jing: “…”
King Jing couldn’t help but curl his lips. He originally wanted to establish the Princess’s prestige, but in the end, the Princess established the prestige for him.
How could Wang Xi not know that this was for King Jing’s good? King Jing had a reputation for being strict. In the past, it didn’t matter. Now that King Jing was valued by the Emperor, he was afraid that he would be implicated by his reputation. If he could really do as the Princess said, it would be a good thing!
Wang Xi waited expectantly for his master’s response. King Jing glanced at him and said: “Do it.”
Wang Xi hurriedly went to arrange it.
After all, the Qin family had made a mistake. They had to punish her according to the rules to convince the public. Li Yu had some complaints about the minimum 30 paddles. Since they were going to punish her, Li Yu also wanted to take the opportunity to change.
In the past, he was a fish pet. At most, he could act cute in front of King Jing. It was useless. Now that he was the Princess, he should at least do something within his power!
“Tianchi, let’s make some adjustments. How about 10 paddles for the first offense and 30 paddles for the second offense?” Li Yu secretly discussed with King Jing.
He originally wanted to set it at 15 paddles. However, if he directly said 15 paddles, King Jing might feel that it was too much of a reduction. Li Yu was a little clever and decided to start with 10 paddles.
How could King Jing not know what he was thinking? He pursed his lips and wrote on the paper: 15 paddles for the first offense.
It was understandable for the “second offense” to be higher.
Li Yu made a sign in his heart and agreed with a worried expression.
Qin thanked him profusely and went to receive her paddles. After receiving her paddles, she used the receipt. Wang Xi gave her money, and Qin limped to return the money.
When the debt collector saw Qin like this, he thought that she must have been beaten for stealing money from his master. He sneered disdainfully.
“Look at you, you don’t have the money. I have a way to get rid of the debt. I don’t know if you’re willing.”
Although Qin had the banknotes Wang Xi gave her, she still wanted to get rid of the debt. Therefore, she wanted to ask around and didn’t leak any money.
The other party said, “I know you’re King Jing’s wet nurse. I want something. If you can do it, I’ll get rid of your debt.”
Qin’s heart pounded. The other party said that he heard that the young masters of King Jing were quadruplets. He wanted to use the children’s belongings to make amulets to protect the pregnant women and children.
In this dynasty, there was indeed such a custom. In fact, as long as it was a bracelet or handkerchief used by children, Qin had a lot of them. Just as she agreed to consider it, the other party said, “I don’t want anything else. I only want a drop of blood from the Little Heir.”
On one hand, she had to obediently return the money to the Wang Estate. On the other hand, she had to do as this person said. She had more opportunities to get close to the Little Heir. It was only a drop of blood. After the Little Heir fell asleep, it wouldn’t be difficult.
Qin was somewhat hesitant. When her hand reached into her chest and felt the banknotes given to her by the Wang Fei, Qin gritted her teeth.
The Wang Fei helped her out of kindness. How could she not know what was good for her and repay kindness with enmity and hurt the Little Heir?
Qin didn’t know what this person’s intentions were. She calmed down and decided to appease this person. She said that she needed to think for a while and fled back to King Jing’s residence. She knocked on the door of King Jing’s study.
The candlelight in the study was lit until late at night. After Qin left, Wang Xi went in and stayed for a while.
The next day, Qin found the debt collector. She said that she had nowhere else to go and was willing to help. That person’s eyes revealed a satisfied smile.
Qin wanted to do it herself, but that person said: “Bring me into the residence. I’ll do it.”
Qin knew that the other party didn’t trust her. She could only follow that person’s words and let him pretend to be her relative. To the outside world, she only said that she was bringing a relative to King Jing’s residence and asked Eunuch Wang to help her find a job.
After several interrogations, Wang Xi finally agreed and allowed the man to enter the residence.
As soon as the man entered, he was almost dazzled by the flowing water of the residence. Qin smiled and said: “His Highness likes to raise fish. This is prepared for the master of the fish.”
The man nodded indifferently. King Jing liked to raise fish and was well-known in the Imperial City.
King Jing’s residence was heavily guarded. Qin and the man were checked several times. Finally, the man was led into a courtyard.
For some reason, there were two fat ducks raised in this courtyard. They quacked and were very noisy. As soon as the man stepped in, the two fat ducks flew up and pecked at him.
The man raised his hand to hit them, but Qin hurriedly said: “You can’t hit them. These are the princess and the young master’s duck pets. They were brought here from the western border. If you break them, the guards outside will find out. If you lose a single feather, you will be punished.”
The man: “…”
There were fish pets and ducks pets. What kind of messy palace was this?
The western border ducks were very chewy and pecked the man in pain. For the sake of the plan, he could only silently endure it.
Qin walked slower and led the man into the inner room. There was a child lying on the bed, sleeping soundly with his face facing the wall.
Qin quickly walked in and called out softly: “Eldest Young Master.”
The child turned around in a daze. The man glanced at the child’s appearance from afar. It was the same as the portrait he had received, so he already knew.
Seeing that the child was about to wake up, the man quickly asked Qin to continue coaxing the child.
When the child fell asleep, the man took out a handkerchief from his sleeve and covered the child’s face with it for a while.
Qin thought that he was going to harm the Little Heir and hurriedly went to save him. The man pushed her away and estimated that it was about time to take off the handkerchief.
This handkerchief was not tightly covered and would not take a person’s life. However, the handkerchief was smeared with devil’s snare flower powder, which could cause a person to fall asleep.
Seeing that the child was really asleep, the man was relieved. He took out a silver needle and a white porcelain bottle from his other sleeve.
Qin collapsed to the ground and could not bear to watch.
After taking the blood, the man took a silver bracelet from the child’s pair of silver bracelets and left.
All of this was seen by the person waiting in the next room.
“Is he leaving?” Li Yu hugged Da Bao and gestured to King Jing.
King Jing nodded.
Da Bao sat in his father’s arms and did not dare to breathe loudly. He had also seen the scene just now and instantly understood what his father meant.
Da Bao knew that he was still too young and could not do anything. He simply remembered that person’s face and wanted to tell his Imperial Grandfather in the future.
After King Jing confirmed that it was safe, he rang the jade bell. Not long after, Wang Xi led Qin into the room.
Qin stood obediently with her eyes lowered. King Jing ordered Wang Xi to tear up Qin’s promissory note as a reward. Qin repeatedly thanked him.
The “child” lying on the bed jumped down and came to King Jing’s room. In front of King Jing, he took out a bottle of medicine and skillfully wiped his face.
The chubby face that was originally the same as Da Bao’s instantly turned into an adult’s. Even his voice was that of an adult.
In fact, this was a dwarf with a body similar to that of a child. He was one of King Jing’s special bodyguards. King Jing had called him here to cooperate with Qin and Wang Xi to put on a show.
After the bodyguard finished his greeting, he raised his head. Li Yu’s eyes lit up. He felt that this bodyguard was very good. He was at least 50% similar to Da Bao. Although he was lying down, there were still some differences in his body shape.
It was more than enough to deceive men who had never seen Da Bao and could only recognize him by his portrait.
“Is this a disguise?” Li Yu asked excitedly.
He had worn the book, changed the fish, and even had a child. He did not expect to see a disguise in his life.
The bodyguard was stunned and said with a smile, “I don’t know what this disguise means. Just now, it was a make-up technique. It’s just a small trick.”
“Even if it’s not a disguise, it’s still very good. How did you do it? “Li Yu could not stop himself from being curious.
The bodyguard originally wanted to explain in detail for Li Yu. However, when he saw King Jing’s dark face, the bodyguard respectfully cupped his hands to the two masters and decisively left.
Li Yu: “…”
The princess, who had been absent-minded, refocused on the big plan.
The feeling of plotting against others with King Jing was simply too satisfying!
Especially when the other party thought that victory was at hand and had already taken the Little Heir’s blood. In fact, he had taken it to a corner.
He didn’t need to think with his toes to know who this man was. He was only worried that it would arouse the sixth prince’s suspicion.
“His Highness … will he believe it?” Li Yu asked.
Yes. King Jing was very sure.
The Sixth Prince was very meticulous. If there were no obstacles during this period, he would definitely be suspicious. Therefore, King Jing ordered the bodyguards to check several times. Li Yu even released the Duck Army to watch over the house and pecked the man dozens of times.
The more “dangerous” a place was, the more “real” the other party felt.
King Jing knew that the Sixth Prince had always wanted to have something on him. Now, he took the initiative to hand it over.
If the Sixth Prince went into hiding, it would not be easy to deal with him. However, what would happen if he had something on him?
