Chapter 23
"Your Majesty, the young heir left behind Miss Li's canopy bed and longevity coffin," Tang Xiuyong said. After that, he stole a glance at Zhu Jingchen, fearing that the emperor would blame him for this.
"Are you sure it wasn't the Prince of An who wanted to keep them?" Zhu Jingchen was stunned. He just couldn't figure out why the young Xu Qingshi would think of leaving these two things for Li Zhiwei.
After all, these things were usually carefully prepared by the family for the girl to be married.
The Li family was extremely wealthy. If these things were really taken into the national treasury, they wouldn't be of much use.
It would also be a bad reputation to sell them for money.
Yet, these two things were very valuable.
However, Xu Qingshi was just a young boy. If he had left gold and jewels for Li Zhiwei, Zhu Jingchen would have found it more acceptable.
"I didn't see the Prince of An in the Prince of An's Mansion," Tang Xiuyong shook his head and quickly explained.
"This little guy has a rather strange eye for things. Doesn't he know these are the things I want?" Zhu Jingchen didn't mean to blame, but just asked curiously.
"Your Majesty, I... I don't know either," Tang Xiuyong really didn't know, so he told the truth.
"Alright, since the kid likes them and wants to use them to please his stepmother, I should give him a hand."
Zhu Jingchen waved his hand indifferently and thought to himself that if he really disagreed, that brat might come to the palace tomorrow and encourage the third prince to cry in front of him.
Thinking of the third prince's cries, even as the emperor, Zhu Jingchen felt quite helpless.
Moreover, the Li family had given him a lot. He didn't really need these things.
"Your Majesty, Miss Li said there are still many things in the Ruan Marquis Residence..." Tang Xiuyong wanted to go to the Ruan Marquis Residence to get the things, but he was also worried that the Marquis of Ruan wouldn't give him face, so he wanted to get an imperial edict from the emperor.
"Well, you can go," Zhu Jingchen was dissatisfied with the performance of the Marquis of Ruan this time.
He didn't even dare to covet the Li family's wealth.
Even though there was a serious flood in the south of the Yangtze River, he just sent someone to borrow some silver from the Li family.
But the Marquis of Ruan had a ulterior motive in proposing to marry the Li family's daughter.
If he had treated her sincerely, it would have been okay. But his evil intentions were obvious to all.
"I'd like to ask Your Majesty to issue an imperial edict," Tang Xiuyong said with a flattering smile.
"Eunuch Liu, go and prepare it," Zhu Jingchen quickly understood Tang Xiuyong's intention.
He then asked Eunuch Liu to prepare the imperial edict.
Li Tianyou prepared everything and the silver notes as quickly as possible, and then went to the capital with Wu San.
Along the way, Li Tianyou tried to travel light.
The grain and medicinal herbs were directly stored in Li'an County.
He would decide where to send them after he went to the palace to meet the emperor.
In addition, he also prepared a thousand - year - old purple ginseng to give to the emperor, hoping that the emperor would be more lenient to Wei'er because of this ginseng.
"Master Li, we don't actually have to be in such a hurry," Wu San said, looking at Li Tianyou who was traveling day and night.
He could tell that Li Tianyou was a scholar. Today, they were riding horses to the capital. Wu San was really afraid that Li Tianyou would collapse from exhaustion before reaching the capital.
Maybe the Prince of An and the emperor would blame him for his inefficiency.
"I'm fine. I'm sorry to have made you laugh," Li Tianyou had no time to rest. He just wanted to see his daughter as soon as possible and find out what had happened.
Xu Qingshi still went to the palace.
The two of them secretly hid behind the rockery in the Kunning Palace and whispered their plans.
"Xu Qingshi, are you stupid? Those things were what Father asked to be taken back. You still left them for her. Aren't you afraid of Father's punishment?" Zhu Hanyu didn't expect Xu Qingshi to do so much for Li Zhiwei.
"I'm here to ask you for help. If Uncle Emperor wants to behead me, you have to save me!" Xu Qingshi patted the third prince on the shoulder and said without any politeness.
"When Father wants to behead you, I won't be able to save you. Father won't listen to a child like me," Zhu Hanyu didn't want to take on this matter.
"You don't have to do anything. You just need to go in front of the emperor and cry. Don't stop until he agrees to let me go," Xu Qingshi thought of Zhu Jingchen's expression when he heard Zhu Hanyu's cries and quickly said.
"What if Father beheads me too?" Zhu Hanyu was still very afraid of Zhu Jingchen.
After all, the emperor was very fierce. He didn't have much time for father - son affection with Zhu Hanyu.
"Then we'll be brothers in life and ghost brothers after death," Xu Qingshi thought for a while and said.
"I don't want to be a ghost," Zhu Hanyu refused. Who would want to be a ghost for no reason?
He didn't want to.
"Your Highness, what's wrong?" The little eunuch beside him heard his young master's words and quickly stepped forward to ask.
"It's none of your business. Get out of here," Zhu Hanyu was the little overlord in the Kunning Palace.
At this time, he just looked at Xu Qingshi discontentedly.
He didn't understand why he regarded Xu Qingshi as a friend, but Xu Qingshi wanted him to be a ghost with him.
"So, will you save me or not?" Xu Qingshi looked at Zhu Hanyu proudly.
He thought that since Zhu Hanyu didn't want to be a ghost with him, he would have to try his best to save him.
"I'll go to Father right now and cry," thinking of Zhu Jingchen, Zhu Hanyu shivered with fear. No, he had to drag his mother, the empress, along.
Otherwise, what if he couldn't cry later and couldn't save Xu Qingshi?
He didn't want to be a ghost.
After the two of them discussed it, they came out from behind the rockery.
As soon as the empress came out, she saw the two of them with a few fallen leaves on their heads. She said angrily, "You two little rascals, where have you been?"
"Greetings to Your Majesty the Empress," Xu Qingshi saw the empress and politely saluted.
"Mother, please go with me to cry in front of Father," Zhu Hanyu didn't care about anything and just pulled the empress towards the Qianqing Palace.
"My child, why do you want to go to your father and cry for no reason?" The empress was both amused and annoyed. The emperor was most afraid of Zhu Hanyu's crying. Did this child know that and want to get some attention?
"Mother, I have to save Qingshi. If I don't go, I'll become a ghost," thinking of becoming a ghost, Zhu Hanyu was very anxious.
"What do you mean by saving Qingshi and becoming a ghost?" The empress felt that her son's words were confusing and she didn't understand for a moment.
"Your Majesty the Empress, it's me. I might have accidentally displeased Uncle Emperor. That's why His Highness the Third Prince wants to save me," Xu Qingshi didn't expect the third prince to tell everyone.
He was afraid that the empress would misunderstand him, so he explained.
"What did Qingshi do?" The empress was stunned at first. She thought that if Xu Qingshi had really done something very wrong, he shouldn't be here at this time.
She hadn't heard that the emperor wanted to punish the Prince of An's Mansion either.
Moreover, the Prince of An's Mansion had recently filled the national treasury. There was no reason for the emperor to punish them.
If it weren't for the fact that the Prince of An had no more titles to be granted, the empress thought that it would be enough to reward the Prince of An's Mansion.
Besides, how much trouble could a child cause?
