Quick Transmigration: Playing the Role of a Devoted Tool

Gu Qing was still teaching in the main hall and wouldn't be coming out for a while. Fu Zi didn't have much to do, so she asked curiously, "Is Your Highness generous? Does he usually reward the servants a lot?"

this.....

Qi Ran didn't know how to answer.

Although Gu Qing was a prince, he was very poor.

With the deliberate deduction by Consort Xiao, each prince's monthly allowance of one hundred taels was reduced to only ten taels by the time it reached Gu Qing.

The economic system of Gu Kingdom is not good. Ten taels of silver in the palace are only enough to pay off the servants and buy some trinkets.

Fu Zi and Lin Shou both came from the palace to make a living, so naturally they were most concerned about the treatment of their new leader.

Qi Ran didn't lie to them.

"His Highness is not stingy, but he is not favored and probably doesn't have much. He can't compare to the other princes. But His Highness won't suppress the servants at will; there aren't that many rules here."

Fu Zi and Lin Shou exchanged a glance, feeling a little sad.

The new master is a penniless wretch.

However, they had no other choice.

They had just been transferred to the Crown Prince's palace, thinking that by attaching themselves to the Crown Prince they could make a lot of money, but who knew they would be chosen by the Ninth Prince.

"Okay," Fuko said regretfully, her spirits instantly dampened.

Upon seeing this, Qi Ran opened his wardrobe drawer and took out one tael of silver for each of them.

"I'll leave you all to take good care of His Highness from now on."

"No problem!" Fu Zi immediately took it, clearly smitten with Qi Ran. "Brother Qi, you're so kind!"

"Thank you." Lin Shou wasn't as lively as Fu Zi, but he accepted the kindness.

The next morning, Qi Ran helped Gu Qing get up and dress.

He used to wear his own clothes because Qi Ran had to boil water and so on, so he couldn't take care of everything. But things are different now.

Lin Shou is in charge of the kitchen, and Fu Zi is there to run errands and fetch things from the Imperial Household Department.

Early in the morning, Fu Zi went to the Imperial Household Department to get some sugar. Because he was good with words, the steward of the Imperial Household Department didn't make things too difficult for him.

Fu Zi was clever; she said she came from the Crown Prince's Palace, without mentioning that her master was the Ninth Prince. The steward then politely gave her the gifts and even gave her a lot of things to take.

Fu Zi returned with the things and went to the kitchen first to give them to Lin Shou.

The hot water was ready, and Lin Shou brewed the tea, then told Fu Zi to take it to his master.

Fukuko took the tray and went to the main house.

His Highness was reading a book. The sunlight was plentiful by the window. Although it was summer, the sunlight was scattered like starlight by the large trees, so it wasn't too dazzling.

"Your Highness, the tea is ready."

"Hmm." Gu Qing buried his head in his book, because the Grand Tutor would be interrogating him tomorrow, and he needed to memorize all of this.

Fu Zi put down the tea and stepped aside. Qi Ran saw him blinking at her repeatedly. She stopped what she was doing, hung up His Highness's clothes, and went outside.

"Brother Qi."

Fu Zi smiled and handed him a piece of osmanthus cake, whispering, "It was given to me by the palace steward. Brother Qi, you should try it. It's delicious. It's a delicate pastry that the palace pastry kitchen often makes. The steward gave it to me."

"Thank you." Qi Ran patted Fu Zi's head and sat down with him on the kitchen threshold to eat.

Lin Shou returned carrying firewood, and Fu Zi got up and gave him a piece as well.

Lin Shou did not take it. He put down the firewood, stood by the stove, and coldly told Fu Zi.

"Don't eat things of unknown origin, you'll die."

Fuzi: "......"

Qi Ran: "........"

Fu Zi swallowed her food, forcing a dry smile. "It should be fine. I ate everything on the way here. If it were poisonous, I would have died long ago."

But Lin Shou said nothing more.

He was just kindly reminding Fu Zi that the people in the palace were complicated, and you never knew if there was anything fishy about those delicious pastries.

He arrived early and witnessed many people disappearing mysteriously. He also saw a eunuch who had entered the palace in the same year as him die from poisoning after eating roasted chestnuts given to him by his master.

That's when he realized how vicious the people in the palace could be.

The days that followed were uneventful. Qi Ran never stepped out of the Crown Prince's Palace, and the people arranged by the Fourth Prince Gu Liaoyuan had no chance to intercept him.

Over time, under Lan Bo's deliberate guidance, Gu Liaoyuan either went out of the palace to seek pleasure in brothels or frequented red-light districts, becoming a laughing stock among the other princes.

In the early autumn, the Fourth Prince, Gu Liaoyuan, played a game that killed a small restaurant owner at the Nanfeng Pavilion.

This was of no importance to the princes who held imperial power.

The restaurant that Gu Liaoyuan played to death was not simple; it was run by a powerful family, and its backing belonged to the Crown Prince.

In order to completely eliminate the fourth prince, Gu Liaoyuan, Gu Wensi contacted the aristocratic families. With the Shu family's instigation, the prince acted recklessly and disregarded human life, which aroused public anger.

The people demand an explanation.

Of course, a small restaurant alone is not enough to bring down the Fourth Prince, Gu Liaoyuan.

Gu Wensi meticulously compiled all the cases of people Gu Liaoyuan had killed, people he had bullied, and children he had thrown to their deaths in the street, and handed them over to Shu Jing of the Shu family for arrangements, along with the witnesses.

As autumn deepens.

The situation in the palace has changed dramatically.

The fourth prince was deposed.

No matter how much Consort Xiao tried to stop him, it did not dispel Gu Yan's disappointment in his son.

He didn't care about a lowly commoner, but as emperor, his personal desires couldn't sway the people's hearts.

So Gu Yan decided to leave it at that. He banished the fourth prince, Gu Liaoyuan, from the palace, granted him a title in the capital, confined him to his residence, and hastily arranged a marriage for him, telling him to reflect on his actions while he was at his residence.

Gu Liaoyuan would have agreed.

He had barely left the palace when he drove his newlywed queen to jump into the lake.

The person didn't die, but went mad.

Seeing her son like this, Consort Xiao stopped caring.

If she interfered further, it would only annoy His Majesty and affect her own position. So he arranged for several personal eunuchs to keep a close watch on Gu Liaoyuan, just to prevent him from killing the princess.

That princess was a member of the powerful clan behind the Xiao family; killing her would be difficult to explain.

Gu Liaoyuan's downfall made Gu Wensi the biggest winner in the palace.

As a result, the Ninth Prince Gu Qing also caught Gu Yan's eye because of his talent at a banquet one day. As a result, Gu Qing got his own independent courtyard and moved out of the Crown Prince's Palace.

Having an independent courtyard, although it's a small two-courtyard house and not as grand as the Crown Prince's Palace, it's still an independent courtyard with fewer outsiders.

Gu Qing arrived at Qinghui Courtyard with his servants.

The name is elegant but the place is remote. It is often the residence of an unfavored prince. The courtyard is overgrown with weeds and the furnishings inside are old.

But compared to being confined to the cold palace, these things are all usable.

Qi Ran and everyone else packed up together. Gu Qing told the maids and attendants who were moving things to move the books and boxes to the storeroom, while the frequently used items were placed in his main hall.

Qinghui Courtyard is not large; there is a small garden behind the second courtyard.

The lotus flowers in the pond have all withered, leaving only the withered lotus leaves in the water, which doesn't look ugly.

The eunuchs who came to work, following Gu Qing's instructions, pulled up the weeds nearby, leaving only the withered lotus leaves.

By nightfall, everything was settled. Fu Zi and Lin Shou, who lived in the west wing of the first courtyard, now had a large room, divided into left and right sides, with a table separated by a bed.

Qi Ran has her own room and doesn't have to squeeze in with them anymore.