Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 753 Disdain
As Jiang Zhenru was pondering this, Zhao's mother hurriedly entered the room.

"What's wrong?" Jiang Zhenru asked.

Zhao's mother lowered her voice: "The eldest son wants to see our third son, so he came to ask the princess what she thinks."

Jiang Zhenru immediately frowned: "It's freezing cold, what is he up to? He wants to see a newborn child, he's deliberately trying to bring the cold with him."

Zhao Mama pursed her lips: "This servant will go and report to him."

Jiang Zhenru snorted coldly, but her eyes were full of smugness: "On the surface, he seems to be neither competitive nor greedy, but in reality, he is full of bad ideas. He is usually not seen to care about Erlang and his sister. Why is he suddenly showing kindness now and remembering that he is the eldest brother?"

Tell him that Sanlang is asleep and to come back another time.

She wouldn't say no, and just kept dragging it out. Every time he came, it was at the wrong time, but if he didn't come... it meant he wasn't sincere, and she had plenty of ways to torment him.

Zhao's mother responded.

Jiang Zhenru looked towards the door. The prince must have heard the news sent back from the palace and learned that the emperor had bestowed ginger soup upon him, which was why he had come here.

The prince used to value his eldest son, but after the emperor sent him out of the palace, his feelings gradually changed. There were many rumors among the imperial family that the emperor abandoned the prince because he still hoped to have a biological son, and because the prince and the emperor were brothers by seniority, and "succession by the younger brother after the elder brother's death" was not as good as "succession by the son after the father's death." It was more appropriate for the emperor to adopt his nephew as his heir.

The reason why the emperor found a prince from the imperial clan was that the emperor was seriously ill at the time, and among the imperial clan members with the closest blood ties, the prince was the most suitable in terms of age. It was not impossible to insist on adopting the prince regardless of seniority, but it would require changing the prince's seniority. However, the emperor's condition improved in the end, and a new option was available.

Those newly grown members of the imperial clan may have caught the eye of the emperor.

Including the prince's eldest son.

Both father and son could end up in that position, so who will actually sit there? The already thin bond between father and son will be almost gone.

Her son, Yan Jing, is still young. If he wants to advance further, he can only rely on the prince. Therefore, the prince can only dote on Yan Jing even more. She used this to stir up trouble in the prince's ear, which led to the current situation.

"The time has come. Have someone go and keep a close eye on him," Jiang Zhenru instructed her trusted confidante. "He will definitely collude with Wang Yan and Xie Shi again. When that happens, report it to the Prince." At this crucial moment, she had to ensure that the Prince would deal with this legitimate son as well.

……

Prince Huai bowed as he emerged from the main courtyard.

"Your Highness."

Someone called out to him from behind. The Prince of Huai turned around and found that it was his family accountant, a man who was usually careful and rarely spoke to him.

"Could we speak in private?" Han Xiang asked cautiously, glancing around.

Prince Huai did not refuse and followed Han Xiang to the corridor of the small courtyard.

“Your Highness,” Han Xiang said, “I went to the Princess’s small storeroom to retrieve gold ingots just now, and I overheard Zhao Mama, who was by the Princess’s side, instructing the servants to keep an eye on Your Highness… Your Highness, you must be careful, as some people may try to harm you.”

The Prince of Huai pondered for a moment and said, "I have nothing that I cannot let others know."

Han Xiang said solemnly, “Your association with Wang Yan and others has angered the Prince. We must be wary of others. Back then, the late Princess Consort showed us kindness by allowing us to work in the Prince’s residence, and we have always remembered that kindness. In recent years, the Jiang family has been in charge of the Prince’s residence and has been suppressing the Prince in every way. We really can’t stand it. If the Prince ever needs our help, just ask. There are many people in the Prince’s residence who are willing to serve the Prince.”

The Prince of Huai looked at Han Xiang and said, "No matter what, he is still my father. How could I do anything to harm him?"

Han Xiang seemed to understand something and bowed, saying, "I will make the Prince believe that we are on his side. We don't ask for anything else, just to be able to help the Prince. To be honest, the Jiang family has been suppressing us at every turn. If the Prince is in charge in the future, we will have a better life; otherwise, we may be driven out." After speaking, Han Xiang thought for a moment and said, "I will try to find out who the Jiang family's spies are, planted around the Prince."

Before the Prince of Huai could speak again, Han Xiang bowed and then respectfully withdrew.

Prince Huai gently rubbed his fingers. Things seemed to be getting more and more interesting. He didn't trust Han Xiang, but he wanted to know what information Han Xiang would reveal to him.

……

At the residence of Minister Wang.

Wang Bingchen and his younger brother entered the house together, only to find that the person who greeted them was not Steward Zhang, who had served them for many years, but Steward Zhang's eldest son.

"Where's your dad?"

Wang Bingchen took a sip of the lukewarm tea and looked at Zhang Da.

Zhang Da hurriedly replied, "I was called away by Madam to do some work."

The entire household, including the only steward he employed, has been summoned away? Is there really that much work to be done?
"What did he go to do?" Wang Bingchen looked at the ink Zhang Dayan produced and felt that it looked thin and watery, not black at all.

Well, maybe he's just nitpicking, trying to assert his own little bit of power within the household.

"It's urgent," Zhang Xiao replied cautiously.

However, his master was very clever. It would have been better if he hadn't added such unnecessary details. He emphasized one point, which made his master even more suspicious. So Wang Bingchen turned his head and stared at Zhang Da.

Zhang Da finally couldn't hold back any longer and whispered, "Go...go to take care of the geese in the backyard. Madam said my father is good at raising birds...so...so..."

Wang Bingchen stared wide-eyed, so that thing with its stiff neck was more important than the master.

Zhang Da could tell that his master was angry, so he quickly bowed and said, "I will go and call my father over immediately."

Seeing that Zhang Da was about to leave, Wang Bingchen said, "Come back."

The voice was so soft that Zhang Da almost ignored it. He stared at his master to confirm his meaning.

“Continue grinding the ink,” Wang Bingchen said. “If you run away, who will serve you in the house? Me, your master?”

After being scolded twice, Zhang Da had no choice but to return with his head down and continue grinding ink and adding fragrance to the inkstone.

Looking at his elder brother's expression, Wang Bingcheng almost burst out laughing, but managed to hold it in and asked, "Are you all busy with Yan Ge'er's wedding?"

Wang Bingchen made a sound from his nostrils, which can be considered a response to his younger brother.

"That's understandable, we need to be careful. Brother can't just leave all this to sister-in-law, he should help out too."

Wang Bingchen felt a chill in his heart when he heard his younger brother say that. Had he not helped? He had written two pages of names for the marriage proposal, almost listing all the people he knew and could entrust with the task. But... after reading it, his wife showed a look of disgust, picked and chose one person from the list, and then insisted on arranging the other person herself.

It's just a marriage proposal for that brat, what? Does he not have enough face now? How much will he be looked down upon when the betrothal is taken?

(End of this chapter)