CH 28.2

“Your Highness, chennu really did not do it on purpose. I didn’t expect things to develop like this.” She blinked, and stared at Chen Wang with limpid eyes: “Don’t be angry with me, okay?”

Looking at her pitiful appearance, Chen Wang smiled instead of getting angry: “Tell me what is this about first.”

“It all started on a bright, sunny morning…”

Chen Wang reached out and lightly poked at her hair bun: “Come to the point.”

“When I came to this teahouse to listen to a story, I discovered that the one being narrated about a handsome prince and an evil prince seemed to have some purpose behind it. So I didn’t let her continue.” Thinking of the money that she had to spend that day, Jiuzhu felt a dull pain in her heart: “In order to have this female storyteller change her story, I had to spend two months worth my monthly allowance, a whole two months!”

“How much is your monthly allowance?” Her distressed expression made Chen Wang feel a little curious.

Jiuzhu stretched out two fingers.

“Two hundred taels?” Chen Wang clicked his tongue, thinking that Ming Jingzhou was indeed as honest as people said.

Jiuzhu’s eyes widened: “How could it be so much? It’s twenty taels.”

Twenty taels was already a huge sum to her. During her time in the Daoist temple, she and masters couldn’t spend so much money even in a whole year.

Twenty taels?

Chen Wang looked at Jiuzhu with pity. What kind of an impoverished life was this little guniang living?

No wonder she only paid a small, grain-like piece of silver for the funeral expenses of his great General Changsheng. She turned out to be too poor.

“In the story, the handsome prince was good in everything while the evil prince was horrible. It’s clear that bad people deliberately wished to smear His Highness’ reputation.” Jiuzhu whispered in a very low voice: “Your Highness is so good. Why should the bad people be allowed to slander you?”

“Therefore you spent all your money on changing the story?” Chen Wang looked at this young girl with a bun hairstyle. A somewhat weird feeling arose in his heart, he just wanted to poke her fair and tender cheeks now.

“Although I do feel a little sad, as long as no one speaks ill of Your Highness, it would still be worthwhile.” After saying this, Jiuzhu lowered her head in guilt: “It’s just that chennu didn’t expect the story to get more and more absurd……”

Faced with such a pitiful countenance, who could have the heart to reproach her?

Was this Ming Xiaozhu’s fault?

It was clearly the fault of those storytellers. Ming Xiaozhu didn’t have any bad intentions; she merely wanted to protect him.

“It’s just a story, the overbearing prince is the overbearing prince. In any case, Ben Wang’s name and surname were not mentioned.” Chen Wang raised his eyebrows: “The next time you encounter this kind of a thing, you don’t need to spend money. Just take Ben Wang’s name and see who dares to not listen to you.”

Jiuzhu shook her head: “Your Highness, that’s not a good idea. Storytellers narrate for a living. If I had mentioned your name, it would have only made her only anxious and restless day and night, and she will be living in fear for the rest of her life.”

Chen Wang stood up: “Let’s go.”

“Go where?”

“Your residence. I’ll send you back.”

Once the carriage stopped in front at the entrance of Assistant Minister Ming’s residence, Jiuzhu got off the carriage and looked up at Chen Wang on horseback with a bright smile.

“What are you laughing at?”

“I just thought how wonderful it was to be able to meet Your Highness.” Chen Wang could clearly see his reflection in her clear and bright eyes.

“Your Highness is not only gentle and kindhearted but also lenient and generous.” Jiuzhu tilted her head: “Your Highness is actually a celestial, right?”

Because of her, so many sloppy tales of the overbearing prince were currently spread in the capital, and yet, His Highness never blamed her. If he wasn’t for an immortal, how could it be so gentle?

Chen Wang looked at the earnest girl and the tips of his ears instantly turned red.

Do the women who grew up in Lingzhou all have such a glib tongue?

Ben Wang is tall and sturdy like a warrior, what do I have to do with gentleness and kindness…

“What does the little guniang even know.” He rubbed his somewhat hot ears: “You have to return early, so as to not worry you esteemed father and mother.”

“En.” Jiuzhu nodded and turned around, intending to leave.

“Wait.” Chen Wang fished out a stack of banknotes and held it out toward Jiuzhu: “Take this before you go.”

Jiuzhu looked at him in confusion: “Your Highness?

“If you want to listen to any stories later, use these to make the storyteller change it however you want.” Stuffing the banknotes into Jiuzhu’s arms, Chen Wang looked up at the sky awkwardly: “Take this and spend as you like, Ben Wang has money.”

Isn’t it just an absurd story of an overbearing prince? Since this little guniang likes that, Ben Wang will let her listen.

As a big, grown man, he didn’t have to bother about a simple and foolish young girl.

Jiuzhu sucked in a breath of cold air when she saw the denomination on top of the banknotes.

Five hundred taels?!

She had never seen such a large denomination on a banknote!

“Your Highness.” Jiuzhu quickly put the money back into Chen Wang’s hands: “This is too much. I will not be able to sleep if I have it on myself.”

If by any chance, she lost it or somebody stole it, she might possibly cry for three days and three nights straight.

“Sigh.” Helpless, Chen Wang got off his horse, rummaged through his clothes and found a banknote of twenty taels. Along with a few small pieces of silver, he handed it to Jiuzhu: “You must accept this money.”

Seeing that Jiuzhu still wanted to refuse, he said with a serious expression: “If you don’t accept it again, I will be angry.”

“Your Highness?” From a distance, Ming Jingzhou spotted a carriage halt before his house. When walked over, he discovered that it was none other than his own daughter with Chen Wang.

He took a closer look at what Chen Wang wanted to give to his daughter. It was actually a banknote worth twenty taels and a few pieces of silver that added up to less than four or five taels.

He looked at Chen Wang with a subtle gaze; his mood was extremely complicated.

The Emperor doted on Chen Wang so much that he would also send rewards to his residence from time to time. It could even be said that Chen Wang was practically the richest among all the princes.

He didn’t expect such a wealthy prince to be so stingy with girls.

Chen Wang, who noticed the look in Ming Jingzhou’s eyes when he looked at him: “……”

For the first time in his twenty-one years of life, he was suspected of being a miser. And the one who did that was the father of his future Wangfei.

“Father.” Jiuzhu was very happy to see Ming Jingzhou: “Are you done working?”

“En.” Ming Jingzhou bowed to Chen Wang: “Weichen apologizes for this poor welcome, Your Highness. Please come in and have a cup of tea.”

“No need for that.” With a straight face, Chen Wang shoved the banknote and the pieces of silver into Jiuzhu’s hands: “Ben Wang still has some matters to attend to in the Palace, so I won’t bother Lord Ming.”

“Farewell, Your Highness.” Ming Jingzhou smiled politely.

“Your Highness, wait a minute.” Jiuzhu was afraid that refusing the money would truly make Chen Wang angry, so she accepted it. She took out the yupei from her pouch: “Your yupei…”

“Keep it, it’s a present for you.” Chen Wang got on his horse and told Jiuzhu: “This yupei has been blessed by a monk. You can hang it anywhere you want.”

With this yupei, Ming Jingzhou should no longer continue doubting that he was stingy with women, right?

After watching Chen Wang leave with the guards in tow, Jiuzhu turned to see her father smiling in the direction of the former’s departure: “Father?” 

“It’s nothing. Follow your Father inside.” Beaming while looking at the yupei in Jiuzhu’s hand, Ming Jingzhou put his hands behind him and entered the residence in a light mood.

Taiyang Palace.

As soon as Emperor Longfeng put down his vermilion ink brush, Liu Zhongbao walked in.

“Your Majesty, His Highness Chen Wang is seeking an audience.”

“Let him come in.” Looking outside, Emperor Longfeng got up and walked a few steps.

“Erchen greets Father Emperor.” Entering the palace hall, Chen Wang cupped his hands and bowed deeply.

To greet so respectfully, he must have done something. Emperor Longfeng asked, “Whom did you provoke?”

Did he make an official faint from anger or did he have some dispute with a general?

[T/N: Both the Emperor and Su Guifei are very much aware of their son’s unique capabilities!]

“Father Emperor, erchen has been learning things at the Ministry of Rites all the time recently. How could erchen provoke someone?” Chen Wang said confidently, “Erchen just sent Ming family’s guniang back to her residence and felt something. So, erchen wanted to come and say something to Father Emperor.”

“Oh?” Emperor Longfeng raised his eyebrows.

“Assistant Minister Ming is unsoiled by corrupt practices and wholeheartedly serves the people of this land. He is also very frugal about his food and clothing expenses.” Chen Wang’s expression was full of admiration: “Erchen really admires his ways.”

Emperor Longfeng patiently waited for the following words.

“It’s just that the Ming family’s young lady is a delicate and tender little guniang. She usually spends money to buy rouge, hairpins, rings, jewelry, etc, so it’s not proper for her to be so embarrassingly short of money.” Chen Wang looked at Emperor Longfeng: “In any case, she is also the future daughter-in-law handpicked by Father Emperor. If she doesn’t have a few taels of silver to spend, it’s also a matter of disgrace to our Imperial family. Isn’t that so?”

“Zhen remember that you have a lot of money…”

“Father Emperor’s words are inappropriate. Erchen has not yet married the Ming family’s guniang. I did indeed give her some banknotes, but she is not willing to spend them.” Chen Wang coughed dryly: “Erchen just meant that you can just find a reason to reward the Ming family with some gold and silver. If you step in, it will become an upright and honorable matter. No one would dare make any thoughtless remarks.”

“It seems that my son is extremely fond of that guniang of the Ming family.”

“Erchen just doesn’t want the future Wangfei to make our Imperial family lose face, nothing more.” Chen Wang’s ears were so red that they almost seemed to be dripping with blood: “Father Emperor has misunderstood.”

“So that’s it.” Emperor Longfeng sighed: “Zhen originally planned to bestow a title upon the Ming family’s guniang seeing that you attached so much importance to her. But since you don’t have much affection for her, this matter should be dropped. Tomorrow, Zhen will summon Ming Jingzhou and reward him with one hundred taels of gold so as to make sure that he has enough money to spend even on his daughter’s dowry.”

Give Ming Xiaozhu a title?

Chen Wang hurriedly said, “Father Emperor, Mother Consort is very fond of the Ming family’s guniang. Besides, she will marry me sooner or later. This title can also be granted now.”

Receiving this title, Ming Xiaozhu would receive a salary every month so she wouldn’t need to feel distressed for a few tens of taels of silver before marrying him.

Mentioning the word ‘marry’, a crisp and numb itch rose from the bottom of his heart.

“It’s a title after all, it must not be given easily.” Emperor Longfeng shook his head: “Zhen will need to think about it again.”

“It’s just a very minor title. Among our distant relatives in the Yun family, there are many women who have been given the title of a junzhu1Junzhu [郡主] – This title is a rank higher than xianzhu i.e. a Princess of the third rank. Generally, it was granted to the legitimate daughters of an Emperor’s biological sons (a qinwang). or a xianzhu2T/N: If you can’t recall, please refer to chapter 18 footnotes for this..” After thinking about it, Chen Wang took the tea from Liu Zhongbao’s hand and handed it over to Emperor Longfeng personally: “Why don’t you give Miss Ming the title of a xianzhu? That is not only not much conspicuous but can also be deemed respectable?”

Looking at his own son’s unctuous fawning and bowing, Emperor Longfeng pretended to find his proposal difficult: “Since this is the case, Zhen will give Ming family’s daughter the title of a xianzhu just because your Mother Consort is fond of her.”

“Thank you, Father Emperor. You are wise, considerate, kind, forgiving, and love the common people as if they are your own children.” Chen Wang shot a string of flattering words before walking over to the table: “How about erchen grinds some ink for you now?”

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