novelonline Chapter 1937 The Timid Ninth Prince
Chapter 1937 The Timid Ninth Prince
Chapter 1937 The Timid Ninth Prince
After a while, the lunch boxes of several princes were brought back.
Braised zhengtang, steamed mandarin fish, and braised spring bamboo shoots are all fresh delicacies in February. The remaining green rice dumplings and fermented glutinous rice cakes are also Jiangnan delicacies.
The Ninth Prince thought of Li Xu, pointed at the dishes on the table, and said to the two of them, "Look, here comes the host, so attentive and considerate!"
The Fourth Prince and the Thirteenth Prince both heard that something was wrong in the Ninth Prince's tone.
But there is nothing wrong with this matter.
Li Xu was a bondservant. Before the emperor set out on this tour, he appointed several people to be responsible for the reception in Jiangnan, including Li Xu.
Preparing seasonal delicacies is a thoughtful act and there is nothing wrong with that.
The Fourth Prince frowned and asked, "Is Li Xu disrespectful to you?"
The Thirteenth Prince was a little surprised and said, "Li Xu is very smooth in his dealings. He seems to be okay?"
The Ninth Prince snorted coldly, "I read about 'flattering ministers' in a book earlier, but I couldn't imagine what it looked like. But when I met Li Xu, it made sense."
The fourth prince disagreed and said, "Be careful what you say, they are Khan Ama's people."
"Offering beauty" is indeed shameful, but it is not appropriate to use it to belittle Li Xu.
After all, the one who accepted the beauty was not someone else, but their royal father.
When beating a dog, you have to consider its owner.
No matter how much they disliked the emperor's dog, they could not discipline it.
The Thirteenth Prince thought of Concubine Wang and Lady Gao, both of whom were brought back to the capital when the emperor went on his southern tour.
I don’t know if he will bring anyone with him this time.
This time when he toured Nanhe, he did not bring his concubines with him, but was accompanied by eight palace maids from the Qianqing Palace to serve the emperor's daily life.
There must be no outstanding people among them, otherwise they would have been given status long ago and would not still be treated as palace girls.
Now that he is in Suzhou, given Li Xu's personality, he might need a few more stepmothers.
The Ninth Prince let out a breath and swallowed the fact that the Li family had “offered beauty” to the Eighth Prince.
He couldn't say that, otherwise it would seem like he was taking the Eighth Prince seriously.
Besides, it would be easy for people to misunderstand and think that he was targeting the Eighth Prince.
He nodded and said, "Well, I'm too lazy to talk about him."
The brothers started eating.
The Ninth Prince recalled the southern tour in the 38th year, when his wife loved to eat mandarin fish and spring bamboo shoots.
He just paid attention to these two dishes and took a few more bites with his chopsticks.
The mandarin fish is indeed delicious and the spring bamboo shoots are also tender.
Unfortunately, this delicious taste can only be found in Jiangnan.
After putting down his chopsticks, the Ninth Prince instructed He Yuzhu, "Tell Cao Shun to find a restaurant outside tomorrow and order a few jars of braised bamboo shoots and a few jars of crispy fish made from mandarin fish. Seal them and bring them back to Beijing."
He Yuzhu agreed and went downstairs to pass on the message.
After hearing this, the Thirteenth Prince was moved and said, "Fourth Brother, how about we bring some too?"
The Fourth Prince thought for a moment and said, "Stewed bamboo shoots are fine, but fried fish is okay. The point of eating it is that it is fresh, and making it into fried fish will lose its flavor."
The Ninth Prince said, "You can bring some dried silverfish. They are delicious when fried with eggs. We have some in our mansion, so I didn't think of bringing them this time."
The Thirteenth Prince nodded and said, "Then bring some dried silverfish..."
When He Yuzhu came back, Cao Shun followed him and reported: "Master, Ji Er wants to see you and is waiting outside the weaving house."
The emperor is staying at the weaving factory, which is heavily guarded and no one is allowed to enter or leave without the emperor's permission.
The Ninth Prince stood up and said to the Fourth Prince and the Thirteenth Prince, "I'll go and see him. He's a local tyrant. I still rely on him to run these two pearl fields..."
The Fourth Prince wanted to give a few more words of advice, telling them that merchants are very cunning and they should be more cautious.
But thinking that the Ninth Prince was smart because he was involved in the economy, and that the Ji family did not have the courage to bully the prince, he said, "Go early and come back early, it's getting late."
After sitting on the imperial boat for half a month, it was swaying and more comfortable than riding a horse, but it was not as good as being in the palace on land.
The Ninth Prince responded and brought He Yuzhu and Cao Shun out.
Outside the weaving house, Ji Hong was waiting with a servant.
Seeing the Ninth Prince coming out, he hurried forward.
"Master Jiu..."
The Ninth Prince said, "I was just looking for you. How is the preparation for the pearl field over at Hongze Lake going?"
Ji Hong said: "We have the space and manpower, but we don't have enough river clam seedlings."
The Ninth Prince said, "Then spend the money to get it. Don't be stingy with your money. It's better to raise it a year earlier than anything else."
Ji Hong nodded and said, "I think so too. I have arranged a few managers to collect river mussel seedlings."
Ji Hong was able to become the young master of the richest family in Jiangnan, so he is quite capable.
The Ninth Prince remembered that the emperor would go to Dongshan tomorrow, so he looked at Ji Hong twice.
He was about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, and looked more like a Confucian scholar than a businessman.
The Ninth Prince said, "Since you are here, don't leave. Stay with Cao Shun for one night. I will tell you something tomorrow morning."
When the emperor went on a southern tour, he was accompanied by not only the princes, ministers, guards, soldiers from the Upper Three Banners Guard Camp and the Vanguard Camp, but also the grain transport officers and soldiers led by the Governor-General of the Grain Transport Camp.
The weaving house naturally could not accommodate so many people, so most of them camped outside the weaving house.
The same was true for the entourage of princes and ministers who accompanied them, most of whom were placed outside the weaving office.
Ji Hong was stunned, and asked in confusion: "Master Jiu..."
The Ninth Prince coughed lightly and said soothingly, "Don't ask what you shouldn't ask. It's not a bad thing."
As he said this, he looked at Cao Shun and instructed, "Accompany the person well."
Cao Shun bowed and responded.
The Ninth Prince took He Yuzhu and turned into the weaving house.
Ji Hong looked at Cao Shun with some nervousness and said, "Master Cao..."
Cao Shun had some guesses, but he didn't let anything slip, saying, "Since it's Master Jiu's order, Master Ji will stop for a day..."
As he spoke, he also looked at the servant behind Ji Hong and said, "And this young man..."
The Imperial Household Department camp was not far from the Weaving House.
Except for a few of the princes' entourage who moved into the weaving house, the rest were all here.
Cao Shun also returned here with Ji Hong.
However, you are not allowed to enter and exit here at will. You must register clearly, check your badge, and check if you have any weapons on you.
Ji Hong was checked when he brought a servant with him.
He suppressed his panic and waited until he and Cao Shun entered their lodging place before he asked, "Master Cao, have I violated any taboo?"
Cao Shun shook his head and said, "No, it's just the rule. Master Ji, don't think too much about it. Just wait and listen to Master Jiu's instructions tomorrow morning..."
*
The Ninth Prince entered the weaving house, and He Yuzhu whispered beside him, "Master, are you going to promote Second Master Ji?"
Are you going to introduce him to the Emperor?
Would it be too rash?
In front of the emperor, all the people who come to pay homage are high-ranking officials. What does it matter if a merchant's son gets close to him?
The Ninth Prince shook his head, glanced at He Yuzhu, and said, "I am just a coward..."
The emperor will set out tomorrow, and who knows what the defense preparations along the way will be like.
If some ignorant person jumps out and disturbs the emperor, he will be suspected as soon as he sees Ji Hong.
Thinking of this, the Ninth Prince felt terrified.
Could it be that he was infected by Fu Jin?
He has become timid now.
I used to think too much about Fu Jin, but I felt it was unnecessary.
Now, his behavior and manner also have the style of Fu Jin.
The master and servant returned directly to their residence.
As a prince, he was given a separate small courtyard to live in.
Zhou Song and Chunlin were standing at the gate of the courtyard, and opposite them stood two women wearing pink vests and lotus-colored skirts.
Seeing the Ninth Prince coming back, Zhou Song and Chunlin both called for help.
The Ninth Prince's face was dark. He glanced at the two women and asked Zhou Song, "What's going on? Who is so ignorant of the rules that he bumped into me?"
Zhou Song replied: "I am a servant of the Li family, and I was ordered to serve the master..."
The Ninth Prince was fed up with listening to this, and ordered He Yuzhu, "Go ask Li Xu, who is he, and why is he worthy of arranging people around me!"
He Yuzhu agreed and immediately went to the weaving office to find Li Xu.
The Ninth Prince didn't even look at the two women and went straight into the yard, still angry.
He could imagine Li Xu's face, and he must have an excuse, just saying that he saw that the princes did not bring any female relatives, so he arranged for maids to serve them.
But whose girl is dressed like this?
The person standing there looked like she had just come out of a pile of cosmetics, and the fragrance was so stinky that it choked my nose.
Zhou Song and Chunlin hurriedly followed.
The two women who stayed at the door were also panicked, pale and trembling, but they did not dare to leave.
After a quarter of an hour, He Yuzhu came back with the manager of the weaving house. The two women finally gave in and followed the manager away...
*
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