BXBX NOVEL Chapter 65: Inside and Outside
Looking at the enthusiastic Ninth Prince, Xing Yucheng choked and once again deeply regretted that he had followed the wrong person.
But now that things have come to this, there is no way to regret, and in a panic, Xing Yucheng can only find a seat at the noodle soup stall opposite.
As for Xiao Luzi, Ye Shuo assigned him another task.
After everything was ready, Liang Wenyin and the young master of the Cao family slowly appeared at the end of the road not far away.
Ye Shuo specifically asked Liang Wenyin to choose the Baoyu Pavilion which was a little far away. Liang Wenyin was weak and could not walk too fast. If Ye Shuo took a shortcut with Xing Yucheng who was familiar with the terrain of Shangjing, he would be able to arrive before the two of them.
Now it seems that the timing was just right.
Ye Shuo quickly calmed down and got into the role quickly.
On the other side, the palace——After the court session, Emperor Jingwen wanted to praise the Grand Tutor individually, but Wang Ziquan came over and said that the Grand Tutor had left early.
Why did he leave so early today? Usually, didn’t he go to the East Palace to sit for a while?
However, Emperor Jingwen did not think too much about it. After the prince came over, the father and son held each other and prepared to go to the Qinzheng Hall.
On the way, Emperor Jingwen thought of something, so he said to Wang Ziquan: “Oh, by the way, ask the Prince of Jin to come over as well. I have something to tell him.”
His younger brother has been very idle recently. He is over 30 years old and has not accomplished anything. Emperor Jingwen plans to assign him some tasks to prevent him from being idle all day and doing nothing.
So, the Prince of Jin finally waited until the court session was over and was about to go home for a good sleep, but he was blocked by Eunuch Wang and his men.
Prince Jin immediately had a bad feeling in his heart.
What’s wrong with my brother, the emperor? He’s busy as he is, but why can’t he bear to see others having some free time?
Prince Jin wanted to run away, but how could he escape?
There was no choice but to follow Wang Ziquan to the Qinzheng Hall to meet his brother.
As expected, Emperor Jingwen treated Prince Jin mercilessly and assigned him a lot of tasks.
Although these tasks are not very difficult, they are very fragmented and time-consuming.
Prince Jin immediately looked miserable.
But there is no way, things have come to this point, and it seems there is no way to escape.
Before he lost his freedom, the King of Jin wanted to struggle one last time, so he said: “Brother, the weather is so nice today, it would be a pity to waste it. Why don’t you go for a walk outside the palace with your brother?”
King Jin decided to use the tactic of delaying.
How could Emperor Jingwen not know his plan? Just when he was about to say that no matter what he said today, he had to report to the six ministries, Emperor Jingwen suddenly thought of something.
“Well, that’s fine.” He suddenly remembered that he had not left the palace for a long time. Xiaojiu was also outside the palace, so Emperor Jingwen planned to see what his son was learning.
“When the time comes, you can also stop by the Taifu Mansion to see Xiaojiu.” After all, this was his son’s first time out of the palace, and Emperor Jingwen was worried that the child would not be used to it.
The Crown Prince, who was helping to review memorials, heard this and his hands trembled, almost ruining the memorial in his hands.
Although the crown prince didn’t know what his ninth brother had done, judging from his teacher’s expression and state, it didn’t seem like a good thing.
If the Emperor knew about this…
“Father, please take me with you as well.” The prince said hurriedly.
Emperor Jingwen did not doubt him: “Well, it would be good for you to relax with us.”
Prince Jin on the side was a little surprised. He had only mentioned it casually and had not thought it would be successful.
I didn’t expect that both the emperor and the crown prince would be so supportive.
King Jin was a little confused.
Emperor Jingwen quickly changed into his casual clothes with the help of the palace servants. Then, the emperor, the crown prince and the prince, a group of three, left the palace in a carriage.
Outside the palace, there was a lot of noise and everything was lively and orderly. Emperor Jingwen lifted the curtain and took a look, and he couldn’t help but feel satisfied.
After all, under his governance, the people can live and work in peace and contentment. Which emperor would not feel proud?
At the same time, at the Taifu Mansion.
The Grand Tutor hurried back, and when he learned that the Ninth Prince had gone out, he felt terrible.
He didn’t expect that he hurried like this, but still couldn’t make it in time…
For a moment, the Grand Tutor felt that he should ask for leave, but then he thought, the Ninth Prince would be staying with him for ten days or so, and he couldn’t ask for leave for all these ten days, right?
Looking at his wife, who knew something but refused to tell him the truth, the Taifu felt extremely powerless.
Perhaps he was too anxious, the tutor couldn’t help but had a quarrel with his wife.
If it were in the past, the Madam might have given in, but this time, the Madam seemed to be determined and refused to give in no matter what.
This originally gentle person becomes more terrifying than you might imagine when he gets angry.
This concerned the lifelong happiness of his granddaughter. For a moment, even the imperial tutor of the time was overwhelmed by the Madam.
The Madam has now figured it out. Just as the Ninth Prince said, her youngest daughter is already the Crown Princess, and she is the Crown Princess’s biological mother. She doesn’t believe that her husband would dare to do anything to her.
The Grand Tutor had never encountered such a thing in his life. No matter how great a contemporary scholar he was, he was still no match for him.
The housekeeper and servants nearby watched helplessly, not knowing whether to persuade him or not. The whole Taifu’s mansion was in chaos.
On the other side, outside the Baoyu Pavilion——
Originally, beggars were not allowed in places like this. If there were beggars, the ladies and wives of dignitaries would not dare to come.
But there was nothing you could do, Ye Shuo was just too quiet, and obviously a little kid, he didn’t say a word at all, he was quiet and timid, just staring at you with his eyes wide open, those clear black and white eyes made people’s hearts soften.
When a lady or young lady came over, Ye Shuo would take the initiative to move back as if he was afraid of scaring them, for fear of dirtying their clean and bright clothes.
It’s just like the difference between wild monkeys and golden monkeys at tourist attractions. Wild monkeys are blatantly robbing and hurting people, so they are definitely not liked, but golden monkeys are well-behaved and polite, so people are naturally more willing to take the initiative to feed them.
Women are naturally soft-hearted, especially those young ladies who are ignorant of the ways of the world. Seeing this scene, they felt a little sorry.
Some even asked their maids to buy two buns for Ye Shuo from the stall next door. Ye Shuo did not need to get his hands dirty to receive the buns. He just held the bowl and let the maids put the buns in the bowl without touching them the whole time. As a result, the maids who originally disliked him began to like him more.
Xing Yucheng, who was sitting opposite, watched helplessly as within a short while, the Ninth Prince’s feet were filled with candied fruits, meat buns, snacks from the Jixiangzhai next door, and a number of copper coins for the ladies to sweeten their mouths.
What’s more, some people have already started to inquire, asking whether the Ninth Prince is willing to go home with him and become a servant in his own house.
Xing Yucheng: “…”
Xing Yucheng’s jaw almost dropped to the ground.
He saw clearly that the one who asked the Ninth Prince whether he wanted to go with him was Prime Minister He’s granddaughter!
Ye Shuo also found that he was overacting. Looking at the maid in front of him who was speaking softly, Ye Shuo felt a little caught in a dilemma and felt that this was not going to end well.
Fortunately, Liang Wenyin and the young master of the Cao family arrived at this time, and Ye Shuo breathed a sigh of relief.
Liang Wenyin noticed the movement from a distance. At first, she didn’t think too much about it, but when she got closer and saw that it was Ye Shuo, she was immediately startled.
As for the reaction of the young master of the Cao family, it was much more direct.
“Where did this beggar come from, shopkeeper, is this how you do business?”
Noticing the thick layer of black mud marks on Ye Shuo’s hands, feet and neck, Cao Rui, who had always lived a life of luxury, couldn’t help but show a hint of disgust in his eyes.
What Cao Rui was thinking was that he had finally gotten to hang out with Liang Wenyin, so naturally he should perform well.
It would have been fine if no customer had mentioned it before, but now that someone has spoken up, the owner of Baoyu Pavilion will naturally take care of it.
“Go away, little beggar, this is not a place for you to stay! Take your things and leave quickly!”
Ye Shuo took advantage of the waiter’s pushing and shoving to pretend to be panicked, and then the meat bun in his hand slipped out of his hand and happened to hit the clothes of the young master of the Cao family.
With a “smack”, the meat bun left a clear grease mark on Cao Rui’s clothes.
The shopkeeper and the clerks of Baoyu Pavilion took a deep breath at the same time. Ye Shuo seemed to be frightened and did not dare to move at all.
This is the best outfit I put on specially to accompany Liang Wenyin!
A deep gloom flashed across Cao Rui’s eyes uncontrollably.
Ye Shuo felt that there was something wrong with the young man in front of him. He could understand that people would be angry if their clothes were soiled, and this reaction was normal. But if someone soiled your clothes, and you wanted to kill him directly, that was not normal.
Ye Shuo was panicked: “S-sorry, I, I…”
Liang Wenyin reacted instantly and followed suit, “Master Cao, I don’t think this little beggar did it on purpose. We just happened to be near the Jade Pavilion. How about I pick a new one for you?”
[1]Jade pavilion = Baoyu pavilion
Your family is poor, how much money can you spare?
Cao Rui subconsciously wanted to say this, but the moment the words came out of his mouth, he held them back.
Almost the moment he raised his head, Cao Rui’s face was filled with a bright smile again. If Ye Shuo had not been small and paying special attention to him, he would not have noticed it at all.
What Cao Rui said was completely opposite to what he was thinking: “It doesn’t matter, it’s just a piece of clothing. But this beggar looks a bit pitiful.”
Cao Rui’s behavior made the young ladies around him dazzled.
Only Liang Wenyin felt that the uncomfortable feeling from before came back.
“How about this, since you, a beggar, have soiled my clothes, why don’t you come to my house and work as a servant, selling your body to pay off your debt?” Although it was called selling one’s body, for the little beggar in front of him, it was clearly giving him a way to survive.
Being able to work as a servant in an official’s house would at least allow him to have enough food to eat, and he wouldn’t have to rely on begging for a living like he does now.
Upon hearing this, Ye Shuo was like a real little beggar, with a strong surprise in his eyes: “Thank you very much, sir, thank you very much, sir, I do!”
He Xiang’s granddaughter, who was standing by, didn’t say much when she saw this, but called her personal maid back.
But in fact, Cao Rui was very angry in his heart, how could he be so kind?
Sometimes, others may think that everyone is having a good time, but in fact, hell is right before their eyes.
He ruined his nice clothes and still wanted to enter the official’s house to enjoy the good life? Dream on!
Cao Rui couldn’t wait to see the little beggar’s desperate expression when his dream was shattered.
The excitement in his eyes flashed by and quickly subsided. Cao Rui winked at the servant beside him: “What are you still standing there for? This is the future servant of our family. Look how dirty he is. Why don’t you take him to wash it quickly?”
Cao Rui’s gentle attitude won him the favor of people around him.
Ye Shuo seemed to be completely unaware and obediently followed the servant beside Cao Rui. After all, he also wanted to know how far Cao Rui could go.
References
↑1Jade pavilion = Baoyu pavilion