mtlumby2d Chapter 296 Viewing
Chapter 296 Viewing
Shen Tang laughed when she heard this. "Trust an outsider more than your own daughter? Probably no one else attending the banquet in the palace today would think so except Second Aunt. The Queen doesn't really want to punish Princess Gu'an. She would listen to anyone else's plea."
The Second Wife had nothing to refute. When she thought about the embarrassment she had suffered in the palace today, her face was burning with anger.
All this is thanks to Shen Tang!
The old lady fiddled with the Buddhist beads in her hand, her eyes falling coldly on Shen Tang's face, "It seems that you and the prince have chosen to support Prince Yu."
This was not the first time the old lady had asked this question. She had evaded the question last time, so she asked it again this time.
Do she and Xie Guimo have to support King Qi?
Shen Tang said, "My husband has no official position. The power of the Jingyang Palace is in the hands of my father. My father is not participating in the battle for the crown prince. Whether my husband supports the Prince of Yu or the Prince of Qi, he can't help much."
The Second Wife said, "Even if you can't help, don't get too close to Prince Yu. Concubine Ye's father died saving your father. Don't make it difficult for your wife to be caught in the middle."
Shen Tang had heard this so many times in her previous life that her ears were callused. Everyone used this to force the princess to help Concubine Ye. Now it was even worse. Not only did they force the princess, they also wanted to force her and Xie Guimo.
Shen Tang looked at the Second Wife and said, "I have something to say today! Let me ask you, Second Aunt, did Concubine Ye's father die while saving my mother's father, the Duke of Zhenguo, or did he die in battle?"
The Second Wife said, "Of course he died to save the Duke of Zhenguo!"
Shen Tang said, "Since he died saving the Duke of Zhenguo, it doesn't count as a death on the battlefield. The late emperor doesn't need to posthumously confer the title of General Ye. Instead, he should show the Ye family some grace and allow the Marquis of Changping to inherit the title!"
One cannot have all the benefits.
He was awarded the title of a hero for dying on the battlefield, and he still wanted the princess to repay the favor of saving her father. It would have been fine if the Duke of Zhenguo was still alive, but he had died on the battlefield many years ago, and he still wanted the princess to repay him.
The Second Wife said coldly, "Are you asking the princess to be ungrateful?!"
"ungrateful?"
Shen Tang laughed, "Second Aunt, have you forgotten that my husband blocked the arrow for the Prince of Qi? Isn't my husband's saving the Prince of Qi's life enough to repay my mother's debt to Concubine Ye?!"
The second wife's face froze.
No need to ask, it's obvious that he has forgotten about this matter.
The old lady's face was gloomy. "Princess, be careful with your words! The King of Qi is the monarch, and the Crown Prince is the minister. It is the minister's duty to save the monarch."
What a good share!
Even the old lady thought so, not to mention Concubine Ye and Prince Qi.
When you meet these shameless people, the kindness they show you will be passed down to future generations.
Shen Tang was so angry that her internal organs seemed to be burning with fire. She tried her best to suppress her anger, "The person who loves mother the most in this world is my husband. The old lady cares about mother so much, is she still afraid that my husband will do something to hurt her?"
If Shen Tang wasn't afraid of upsetting the old lady, he wouldn't have to be so tactful in asking her to stop interfering.
Under the pretext of caring about the princess, they asked them to support the King of Qi. In the future, the King of Qi would abandon him and all the benefits would fall on them. What a beautiful idea.
Afraid that if she stayed any longer, she would be so angry that she couldn't help but contradict the old lady, Shen Tang was about to leave. But she was so angry that she couldn't let it go in vain. Shen Tang said, "I thought the old lady asked me to come here to discuss whether Concubine Jiang and the second and fourth aunts should send 100 taels or 1,000 or 2,000 taels to the palace. Since it's not about this, then I will go back first."
After bowing, Shen Tang turned and left.
Behind them, Concubine Jiang and the Second Wife had expressions that were uglier than each other.
Isn't it just intentional to make people angry? Who wouldn't do that? She didn't want to kick someone when they're down, but you chose to provoke her, so don't blame her for adding fuel to the fire.
She wanted to see how they would solve this problem.
Those who lost the Jingyang Palace must be punished. The family rules cannot only restrict the younger generation and be useless to them. They will definitely be punished.
But being punished was not enough. The donations had to be sent to the palace according to the amount of jewelry donated. Concubine Jiang and the others only had to donate one hundred taels. But other ladies donated thousands of taels, and they only donated one hundred taels. It was so embarrassing.
If I have to donate the same amount, why would I change my headdress to enter the palace and disgrace myself for the rest of my life?!
They've already lost face, and now they still have to donate money. What are they trying to achieve?!
Ginkgo followed Shen Tang out. She was as angry as Shen Tang was. She couldn't help but say, "The Crown Prince's wife didn't see it just now. Concubine Jiang and the others were so angry that their faces turned green."
Thinking of the embarrassing things done to Concubine Jiang and the Second and Fourth Wives, the anger in Shen Tang's heart dissipated.
Shen Tang returned to Chenxiang Pavilion and drank half a cup of tea when Si'er came in and said, "The old lady asked Concubine Jiang, the Second Mistress, and the Fourth Mistress to donate 1,000 taels each. The girls in the mansion will be charged 600 taels each. In addition, they will be punished to copy the family rules in the Buddhist temple until tomorrow morning..."
After such a huge loss of face, he was only punished by being made to copy the house rules for one night. Was he just joking?
Shen Tang despised them in her heart, but the old lady's punishment didn't count. When the prince came back from the military camp and heard about what happened in the palace, his face was very long. When he heard that the old lady had punished them to copy the house rules all night, the prince said, "When has the Jingyang Palace ever treated them badly? They have done such a shameful thing. If they don't copy a hundred house rules within three days, they will continue to stay in the Buddhist temple to reflect on their mistakes!"
The prince increased the punishment for Concubine Jiang and the others, and then gave them rewards.
If it weren't for the princess and Shen Tang, the Jingyang Palace would have completely lost face and become a laughing stock in Kyoto.
The prince rewarded the princess with three thousand taels and Shen Tang with two thousand taels.
When this matter reached the Buddhist temple, those people were so angry that they almost turned the temple upside down.
……
Shen Tang was in a good mood. He ate half a bowl more for dinner and felt a little full. He took Ginkgo Qiutong to the garden for a walk and a snack.
The fiery clouds in the sky gradually dissipated, and lanterns were hung on the corridor. Shen Tang led the maid back. Just as they reached the garden entrance, they saw Xie Guimo approaching. Shen Tang asked, "Why are you here? Are you going to see Mother?"
Xie Guimo smiled and said, "The night is beautiful tonight. I'll go with you to the viewing tower to admire the moon."
Watching the moon?
Shen Tang looked up and saw only stars but no moon.
Shen Tang just thought that Xie Guimo had made a slip of the tongue. She was also very happy that Xie Guimo wanted to accompany her to watch the stars.
Being taken to the observation tower by Xie Guimo, Shen Tang really admired the night sky seriously. However, as he was watching, he saw a fire shooting up into the sky from somewhere in Kyoto.
That direction——
It seems to be Desheng Casino.
Shen Tang reacted and looked at Xie Guimo, "Did you have someone burn it?"
Xie Guimo laughed, "I have no grudge against Desheng Casino, why would I burn it down?"
...That was burned by someone with a grudge against him.
Desheng Casino tricked Young Master Qian into losing all his family fortune, and then forced him to work for the King of Qi. When the King of Yu and the Marquis of Yongcheng found out about this, how could they not retaliate?
It's too late for revenge.
The two stood side by side on the observation tower, the wind lifting their sleeves. They looked into the distance, where flames shot up into the sky, illuminating the dark night like day.
The fire in Desheng Casino burned all night and was not extinguished until the next morning when all the flames in the casino were burned down.
Not only was the gambling house burned down, but the people inside were also killed, leaving few alive.
A gambling house is just a place. If it burns down, you can just open another one. But if the people who run the gambling house are also killed, it will take at least one or two years for you to open another gambling house that is exactly the same.
The Marquis of Changping's Mansion suffered heavy losses.
On the way to the morning court, Marquis Changping passed by Desheng Casino. Looking at the casino that had been burned into ruins, he was so angry that his face turned blacker than charcoal, and he really wanted to kill someone.
Desheng Casino belongs to him, and many people in Kyoto know about it. Apart from Prince Yu, there will be no one else who has the courage to burn down his casino.
Especially when Young Master Qian was almost beaten to death by Marquis Yongcheng!
Desheng Casino's plot against Young Master Qian was done in secret, so how did Prince Yu and Marquis Yongcheng know about it?!
He wanted to use Young Master Qian to deal a fatal blow to Prince Yu, but not only did he fail, he also lost the De Sheng Casino. The Marquis of Changping was so angry that he felt dizzy and did not go to work in the morning. He stopped outside the De Sheng Casino for a while and then went back home.
……
Shen Tang slept until noon. It was not because she was lazy, but because she really couldn't get up.
At night, she watched the fire of Desheng Casino from the Observation Tower. She had seen enough and wanted to go back to Chenxiangxuan, but the bastard wouldn't let her go. He bullied her in the Observation Tower and carried her back to the house. He was still not satisfied and asked for more.
Shen Tang was already thinking about asking the prince to assign a job to Xie Guimo so that she could expend more energy during the day and not bother her at night.
The person woke up, but still leaned lazily on the big pillow, unwilling to move.
He was so hungry that he just got out of bed to wash up. Seeing that Xie Guimo hadn't returned, Shen Tang asked, "Where's that bastard?"
Whenever Yin Xing Qiu Tong heard Shen Tang call Xie Guimo like that, she couldn't help but want to laugh. Yin Xing said, "The prince has already eaten. Before leaving the house, he told her to come back and have lunch with the princess."
Who wants him to accompany me?
The food was brought in from the small kitchen, and Shen Tang sat down to eat breakfast. It was not a good time to eat breakfast because it would be lunch soon. If she was full, she would not be able to eat lunch. If she was not full, she would be so hungry that she could not stop eating.
While eating five-spice buns, Si'er came in and said, "Princess, it's rumored that Desheng Casino took a bunch of IOUs to the Qian Mansion to collect a debt from the son-in-law of Marquis Yongcheng. It's said that the amount is so large that the Qian Mansion can't even afford it..."
Shen Tang, "..."
The corner of Shen Tang's mouth twitched.
Prince Yu and Marquis Yongcheng burned the Desheng Casino not only out of revenge against Prince Qi and Marquis Changping, but most likely to protect the Qian Mansion.
After all, Marquis Yongcheng's daughter is the eldest lady of the Qian family. He can't just kill the eldest son Qian without caring about his daughter's life or death.
As a result, the Desheng Casino was burned to the ground, but not a single IOU was burned.
But it is also true that the Marquis of Changping and the King of Qi wanted to use the IOU to threaten Young Master Qian to use it for their own purposes. The IOU must have been kept in a safe place and would not have been left in the gambling house.
Prince Qi and Marquis Changping must have guessed that it was Prince Yu and Marquis Yongcheng who burned down the Desheng Casino last night. Since Young Master Qian was no longer a hidden chess piece, there was no need to keep those IOUs and they could just go and collect the debt directly.
Although the Desheng Casino was burned down, as long as the IOU was signed and sealed by Master Qian, Master Qian could not deny the debt.
If the Qian family refuses to acknowledge the debt, Desheng Casino will report it to the Dali Temple and confirm that the loan agreement is true. Not only will the Qian family have to pay back the money, but they will also be humiliated.
If you can’t afford to lose, don’t bet.
In his previous life, the third young master of Duke Wen’s Mansion lost half of the Duke Wen’s Mansion, but the Duke Wen’s Mansion still had to pay for it.
The Qian family mortgaged almost all of their land and shops, and even their ancestral home, to the Desheng Casino. It can be said that apart from the dowry of Mrs. Qian, the Qian family was left with no money.
Mr. Qian and his wife asked Mrs. Qian to use money to redeem the Qian family's ancestral home. Mrs. Qian agreed, but the wife of Marquis Yongcheng disagreed.
Back then, for the sake of Old Master Qian, he married his daughter to Young Master Qian. He thought he was a promising young man, but he was plotted against and lost all his family property. He was even coerced and bribed by King Qi to ruin King Yu's future and even asked to poison Marquis Yongcheng, but he agreed!
Marquis Yongcheng and Prince Yu were already showing leniency by not killing Young Master Qian. But after raising such a bastard son, they still wanted her daughter to use her dowry to protect the Qian family's ancestral home?
If the Qian family wants to take back their ancestral home, there is only one possibility, that is, Prince Yu takes that position and gives the Qian Mansion to his cousin!
Under pressure from the wife of Marquis Yongcheng, Mr. and Mrs. Qian had no choice but to move to the dowry courtyard of Mrs. Qian. From then on, the whole Qian family could only rely on Mrs. Qian for their livelihood. If it were not for the difficulty of remarrying after divorce, and if it were not for the fact that Old Master Qian died in the fight for the throne for Prince Yu, Marquis Yongcheng and his wife would have forced their daughter to divorce Mr. Qian.
But it's better that the Qian family is defeated. She can live a peaceful life with her daughter in the future. Her daughter is well, and the Qian family is well. If her daughter dies, all the family property will be taken back. Let's see how the Qian family can live a life of luxury.
Not only did the Qian family lose their property, but Young Master Qian held an official position. Court officials were not allowed to gamble. It would have been fine if the censor didn't know about it, but now that the matter has become so serious and almost everyone knows about it, it would be dereliction of duty not to impeach him.
Not to mention the Prince of Qi's men, the Prince of Yu's men also had to submit memorials to criticize him. The emperor dismissed Young Master Qian from his post, and Master Qian was not spared either. He was a poor parent and was demoted by the emperor and given a sinecure with little pay.
In the past, the Qian family had been playing both sides, and no matter who succeeded, they would be invincible. But now, the Prince of Yu and the Prince of Qi have not yet decided who is the better one, and they have been eliminated.
The Prince of Qi would no longer use him, and the Prince of Yu and Marquis Yongcheng would no longer trust the Qian family. Marquis Yongcheng even didn't want to see his son-in-law again in his life.
In a blink of an eye, three days passed.
That day, after breakfast, Shen Tang calculated the time and went to pay his respects to the princess.
As for the old lady, Shen Tang hasn't been there these days. Concubine Jiang is in cahoots with them. She clearly has the prince's permission, so there's no need to put herself in a difficult position. If she wants to go, she can go. If she doesn't want to go, she doesn't have to go.
When passing by the garden, I saw Concubine Jiang and the others, all of them looked haggard. There were many house rules in the Jingyang Palace. One had to copy a hundred articles in three days, which would take at least five or six hours a day. This was also to ensure that there were no mistakes. If there were any mistakes, it would take even longer to start over.
Concubine Jiang and the others had cramps in their hands after copying the household rules for three days.
When they saw Shen Tang, their eyes were filled with poison.
Ginkgo said, "The third wife and the third daughter helped copy a lot of family rules. They were sent to the Buddhist temple after nightfall yesterday. Otherwise, they definitely wouldn't have copied enough."
The third wife was born out of wedlock and has always been trying to survive in the cracks.
But what Shen Tang didn't understand was that the third house chose to curry favor with the old lady and the second wife, Concubine Jiang, instead of the princess.