The Dumb Prince of the Ming Dynasty

The sun is still shining brightly, and the spring breeze is still gentle.

Li Jinglong decided to take a break for a few days.

He lived a significant portion of his previous life, and his biggest realization was that when faced with an insurmountable obstacle, forcing your way through it is likely to result in serious injury; it's better to simply lie down and get through it.

There is nothing difficult in the world, just give up.

Li Zengzhi swayed over carrying a plate of osmanthus cake: "Brother, aren't you going to the palace again today?"

"I'm not going."

"Isn't His Majesty waiting for you to investigate the case?"

"What business is it of His Majesty's? I've made some progress on the case, but this can't be rushed. Investigating cases requires timing. If the timing isn't right, everything you find will be false. What I need to do now is wait. When the time is right, the case will come to light on its own."

Li Zengzhi sighed, "So you're just going to lie there and wait?"

"This is the most efficient way to handle cases," Li Jinglong said.

Li Zengzhi thought for a moment, placed the plate of osmanthus cake on the stone table, walked to another bamboo couch, and lay down as well.

Li Jinglong opened one eye: "What are you doing?"

"I'll wait too."

"What are you waiting for?"

Li Zengzhi sighed: "If I go to the Imperial Academy's preliminary examination today, I'll be doomed."

Li Jinglong's eyes widened.

Li Zengzhi sighed resentfully, "Big brother, you've corrupted me. I used to be such a diligent and motivated student, but ever since I started hanging out with you, I've become an expert at skipping classes, truant, and lying."

"You're good at shifting blame." Li Jinglong was speechless.

"It's your fault."

"Get lost."

"Get out."

The two brothers exchanged a few words and then fell silent. The bamboo couch creaked twice, and the two adjusted their positions, continuing to play the role of salted fish.

After a while, Li Zengzhi sighed softly, "Father is down there, he's about to turn over in his grave again."

"It's alright, Father can't lift it. I had twelve nails added and a Taishan stone placed on top." Li Jinglong shrugged.

"..."

"We're brothers, so let's not talk about each other." Li Zengzhi rolled his eyes.

Li Jinglong put his hands behind his head and crossed his legs: "Alright, alright, anyway, we have the means to be lazy. The old man left us a lot of wealth, as long as we don't starve."

A gentle breeze drifted through the courtyard, carrying the fragrance of flowers.

Li Jinglong's eyelids started to droop.

Even breathing could be heard from Li Zengzhi's side.

Just then, a powerful voice rang out from outside the courtyard wall: "The sun sets beyond the mountains! The sun sets beyond the mountains! The sun sets beyond the mountains!"

Li Zengzhi jumped in surprise, almost tumbling off the bamboo couch: "Brother, could you please use a different code in the future?"

Li Jinglong's face also showed a hint of disgust: "It's pretty stupid."

He stood up, stretched, and shouted back towards the wall at the top of his lungs: "Hoeing the fields at noon! Hoeing the fields at noon! Hoeing the fields at noon!"

……

Li Jinglong strode out the door and saw Wang Dong looking anxious.

"Boss!" Wang Dong ran up, "Something terrible has happened! Xie Chun and the others have been ambushed."

Li Jinglong frowned: "Why are we blocked? Did you guys harass the girls again?"

"No, no!" Wang Dong shook his head repeatedly. "Boss, ever since you taught us a lesson last time, we've really turned over a new leaf and become new people. We'll listen to you, we won't be idle anymore, we'll help the merchants take out the trash, clean up the horse manure on the street, and collect some protection money on the side."

"Today, Xie Chun went to collect protection money from a street vendor. Before he could even exchange two words, a group of people suddenly rushed out, surrounded him, and tried to beat him up. Boss, what kind of logic is this? We work so hard to collect protection money, why should they steal it?"

Li Jinglong rolled up his sleeves: "My men are just trying to earn a meager living, and they get ambushed like this? Take me there!"

The two of them hurriedly turned a corner, one after the other.

From a distance, a group of at least seven or eight people were gathered in the middle of Sanshan Street, cornering Xie Chun and his two henchmen against the wall.

Li Jinglong roared, "Get the hell out of my way!"

The group of people all turned around.

Xie Chun seized the opportunity to slip out and ran behind Li Jinglong: "Boss, it was them. They robbed me of the money I collected and tried to beat me up."

"What gang do you guys belong to?" Li Jinglong asked, hands on his hips, exuding an air of authority. "I'm the boss of Causeway Bay, oops, I mean, San Shan Street."

The group didn't move. A clear, cold female voice came from a carriage nearby: "General Foundation Liquid, how majestic!"

A woman jumped down, dressed in a light blue outfit that accentuated her stunning figure. Her long, black hair was tied up high, revealing a breathtakingly beautiful face.

Yuan Qing.

Li Jinglong's fiancée left him completely numb.

"Turns out it's a woman."

"Who is this young lady? She's quite pretty, just a bit fierce."

Snapped!Snapped!

Li Jinglong was speechless and slapped Wang Dong and Xie Chun on the back of the head.

"Boss, why are you hitting us?"

Wang Dong and Xie Chun were completely bewildered.

Li Jinglong pointed at Yuan Qing: "This is my future wife, quickly call her sister-in-law."

Wang Dong and Xie Chun exchanged a glance, reacting swiftly to put on extremely obsequious smiles:

"Greetings, sister-in-law! May you be blessed with good fortune and peace!"

"Sister-in-law! I was just being mean. Please don't hold it against me. You're so magnanimous."

Yuan Qing's usually icy face flushed slightly.

"Li Jiujiang," she said coldly, "it's one thing to idle around all day, but you actually hang out with these hooligans and let them extort money from street vendors?"

"It's a misunderstanding, all a misunderstanding," Li Jinglong explained. "It's not forced collection, it's called a sanitation fee. Haven't you noticed? This street is much cleaner than before."

Yuan Qing frowned slightly and glanced around.

She often came to Sanshan Street. In her memory, the ground was covered with horse manure, rotten vegetable leaves, fruit peels and scraps of paper. Every few steps, she would step on something she didn't know.

But today the street is very clean, the bluestone pavement is swept clean. And there is a wooden bucket placed at intervals along the street.

Just then, a pedestrian finished eating a melon and was about to throw the rind on the ground. Immediately, a thug jumped out from the side and blocked his way: "Where are you going to throw it? In the bucket! In the bucket! Otherwise, I'll break your legs."

The pedestrian was startled and obediently threw the melon rind into the bucket.

Yuan Qing withdrew her gaze, her expression complex.

Li Jinglong spread his hands: "Look, we really are doing a good job. We sweep the trash on this street, we shovel the horse manure, and we even put out trash cans for people to throw things away. It's not unreasonable to ask for a little extra money for our hard work, is it?"

"Even so, we can't force them to pay." Yuan Qing pointed at Xie Chun. "I saw him forcibly collecting money from the vendors with my own eyes. Send him to the yamen and deal with him according to the law."

Xie Chun's legs went weak and went numb: "Boss! Help me!"

Wang Dong panicked: "Boss, this woman doesn't seem like a good person. Boss, do you still dare to marry her?"

Snapped!

Li Jinglong slapped him on the back of the head.

He turned to face Yuan Qing and said in a deep voice, "Those who repair bridges and roads leave no corpses, while those who kill and set fires wear golden belts. They are ruffians, that's true. But they are also my brothers, Li Jinglong's brothers. I will not send my brothers to the authorities."

Yuan Qing's expression changed slightly, and her beautiful eyes fell on Li Jinglong.

After a moment of silence, she snorted coldly, "Fine, it's none of my business."

She turned to leave.

Li Jinglong put on his usual nonchalant demeanor again: "Miss Yuan, let me see you off."

Yuan Qing didn't even turn his head as he got into the carriage: "Uncle Ma Sandao's house is on the street corner. He just got married, and I've come to congratulate him. Uncle Ma was also one of your father's old subordinates; aren't you going to go and offer your congratulations?"

Li Jinglong looked at the street corner: "That old man is pretty fast."