After leading the Fourth Prince and others around the Shenji Camp for half a circle, it was already noon.
"I'm dazzled by all these things, and I'm feeling hungry. Come on, let's go eat."
The fourth prince proposed to go out to dinner together. Jia Lian wanted to decline, but the fourth prince looked at him sideways and said, "Why, we came all the way from the imperial city to find you, and you don't even give me any face?"
Jia Lian had no choice but to explain the matters at hand and only brought a few personal guards out with the fourth prince.
I thought I could just find a place, but who knew...
"It can't work here. The place is too small and the house is too shabby."
"Here? Not here either. The decoration is too bright and there is no mood at all."
"here……"
After riding around from the North City to the West City, the fourth prince rejected five or six places to eat proposed by Zhang Su and Jia Lian, but he didn't know what kind of place he was looking for to have this meal.
Suddenly, at the end of the road in front of me, a three-story, splendid building popped into view.
It is beautifully decorated and elegant in style, with three characters "Jin Pin Pavilion" written on the gate tower.
"Hey, this place is good, let's just go here..."
Zhang Tao didn't say much along the way, just following Jia Lian and the others like a follower. Bored, he was touching the short musket box behind the horse's butt with his backhand, imagining where to practice after taking it back. Marksmanship, how to ask Jia Lian for refills after running out of ammunition and medicine, etc.
Suddenly hearing the fourth prince's voice, he raised his head and saw a look of embarrassment and inexplicable emotion on his face.
His grandfather had issued an order since they were ten years old, not allowing his brothers to visit brothels, because the old man wanted them to practice martial arts, which naturally required them to recuperate their bodies, and they could not be allowed to indulge in alcohol and sex.
Now that the eldest cousin has gone to work with his eldest uncle, and the second brother Zhang Su has also gained a reputation as a civil servant based on his ability, grandpa doesn't care much about the second brother, and all the pressure is put on him.
He had heard those brothers bragging about how seductive the ladies in brothels were, how different they were from those from good families... He really wanted to go in and have a look!
Zhang Su naturally saw what was in front of him at a glance, and said with some embarrassment: "Your Highness, this place is not appropriate..."
Although his grandfather doesn't care much about him now, as the fourth prince's companion, if the emperor knew that he led the fourth prince to visit the brothel, it would make his hair stand on end.
"What's wrong? Can't we eat here?"
"Well, I can actually eat when I eat..."
"That's right, the environment here is so good, this is it!"
The fourth prince seems to have made up his mind to focus on this place, and has no intention of listening to opinions.
In order not to stir up trouble, he ordered the guards who were left behind to not come close to expose their identities, and then he took the lead and rushed to Jinpin Pavilion.
"Hey, you guys, why don't you listen to music while eating..."
Seeing that the fourth prince had been welcomed into the building by the very discerning Sister Yao, Zhang Su and Jia Lian looked at each other and could only shake their heads helplessly, leading Zhang Tao, who was secretly excited, inside.
For Zhang Tao, he had the guise of the fourth prince, and Jia Lian and his second brother were in the middle to support him. Even if he was discovered by his grandfather in the end, there would still be resistance from the above people. The stick would not fall on him, the subordinate, right?
"Of course, what you said is right. I have a lot of money, sir! Hurry up and bring us the good wine and food here. Wait for me, and you will reward me."
"Hey, uncle, I really just want good wine and good food, so good girl, do you want it?"
"Well……"
As soon as he entered the hall, he saw the fourth prince, who was in a hurry from the beginning to looking embarrassed and overwhelmed, under the attack of two kiln ladies.
Jia Lian smiled and asked Zhang Su, "Is this his first time in a place like this?"
Zhang Su thought for a while and explained: "At least since I became His Highness's companion, this is the first time I have seen His Highness come to such a place with my own eyes."
Jia Lian believed what Zhang Su said, because the fourth prince pretended to be an old prostitute, but was actually full of flaws, which all the ladies from the welcoming kiln could see through at a glance, and because of his extraordinary clothes, they all rushed to please him.
I think the discipline of the royal family's children is very strict. Nowadays, the fourth prince is generous and generous, so it is normal for him to want to come to such a place for recreation. But maybe it was because of his relationship with his sister that he always had the urge to discipline this kid.
After all, Jia Lian did not do this seriously.
Seeing that Jia Lian and Zhang Su were both talented people, they wanted to approach the woman to chat with her, but Zhang Su and Jia Lian took one look at her and stepped away.
"Hey, what are you doing standing around stupidly? Just ask for whatever you want to eat or drink today. This... young master is treating me!"
The fourth prince, who finally got rid of the girl's entanglement, rushed to the front of Jia Lian and the others and said calmly.
At this time, the madam finally saw these big customers and ran forward to greet them. Seeing that things had come to this, Zhang Su just wanted to finish the meal and leave with the fourth prince as soon as possible, so he waved his hand and said to the madam: "I want the best private room and the best food and wine, as soon as possible."
"Okay, sir... there is a room in the Tianzi No. Yajian on the third floor~~"
After the old bustard was saved, he had to make arrangements. Zhang Su and others also escorted the fourth prince upstairs. But he didn't know what the fourth prince was thinking. He suddenly turned around and called to the madam: "Don't forget to arrange more girls. There are four of us!"
One sentence made Jia Lian and the three of them stunned. Zhang Su almost slipped on the stairs, and then hurriedly covered his face for fear of being recognized.
The other people upstairs and downstairs, whether they were prostitutes or brothel ladies, all looked at him with strange eyes as Zhang Su and others expected.
After all, the old madam reacted quickly and immediately said with a smile: "Uncle Dele, I will definitely give you the most and best girls, hehehe."
The fourth prince entered the private room with his face covered. He felt that the boy leading the way was laughing at him.
"Gentlemen, let's have some tea first. The wine, food and girls will be here soon..."
After the child saluted, he bowed and closed the door and went out. The fourth prince felt less embarrassed now. He looked up at Jia Lian and the three of them and laughed and said, "Well, you can do whatever you want today. You don't have to be polite to me."
Zhang Suxin said, why should we be polite to you? With your voice, the whole building will know what the four of us are here for.
If his former classmates and teachers knew about this, he would almost be embarrassed to hang out in Shilin.
Seeing that Jia Lian and others were silent, the fourth prince touched his chin, which had not yet grown a beard. He felt a little embarrassed, but said nothing more and sat down to drink tea by himself.
There was nothing to say for a while, and after the silence, I suddenly heard faint voices coming from next door.
Jia Lian and others didn't think anything of it at first. In a place like this, it was normal for other people to drink and have fun, and talk loudly after drinking.
But the Fourth Prince actually heard the voice of one of them. He was stunned, and then he patted the table and stood up, "Okay, we really are enemies on a narrow road. We even caught a bug while eating. We can meet him here too." He is so unlucky!"
Jia Lian and Zhang Su also heard it. The one with the loudest and clearest voice was clearly the Prince Duan who was almost beaten to death by Jia Lian, and the son Wei Xian in the mouth of the fourth prince.
The fourth prince didn't know if he had any new grudges with him. In short, the fourth prince seemed to want to go and cause trouble.
Jia Lian didn't care much. As long as Prince Duan no longer came to provoke him, he didn't want to go against the clan members. But they were very quiet here, and the voices on the other side didn't seem to be restrained. Therefore, as more and more voices came, Jia Lian's brows frowned more and more.
…
Box No. 1, Tianzi, Jinpin Pavilion, welcomed a group of distinguished guests today.
More than ten clan members gathered here to drink and talk, among them was Crown Prince Duan, whom the fourth prince disliked.
Of course, here, the dignified Prince Duan does not seem to be the protagonist. The real protagonist seems to be another white-faced young man sitting with Wei Xian.
"Brother Yan, you can't just sit idly by and ignore this important matter that concerns our entire clan."
"Ah, this... such a big thing, what can I do..."
"Why can't you do anything? You are the son of Prince Zhongshun! Prince Zhongshun, who has been in charge of the clan mansion for so many years, has won so many benefits for us clan members, and is deeply loved by all of us. Everyone says that Prince Su is old. , no longer in charge, and when the old man retires, won’t Prince Zhongshun have the final say in the entire clan mansion?
As his biological son, you will definitely be the crown prince in the future, and then inherit the throne and the title of clan official. When the time comes, you will have to shoulder the burden of our entire clan just like your father. At this critical moment, how can you back down and turn a blind eye to someone's conspiracy against my clan? "
It turns out that the person invited by Wei Xian and others today is none other than Wei Yan, the second son of the Zhongshun Prince.
As the younger brother of the current emperor's mother, King Zhongshun was deeply trusted by the emperor. He has been serving as the deputy chief of the clan, taking care of the clan and relatives' affairs for Emperor Ningkang. Some people even say that if Prince Su was not the emperor's uncle and had high morals and prestige, or Emperor Ningkang was extremely respectful and could not bear to be persecuted, then Prince Zhongshun would have been a veritable Zongrenfu Zongling.
The Zongling of the Zongren Mansion is one of the few actual first-class people, equivalent to the cabinet minister, and is usually held by a famous prince in the clan!
"Don't talk nonsense. The prince of the palace has always been my eldest brother, and I am just a nobody..."
"Fart, your eldest brother, who has no talent, no virtue, and is as sick as a young man, has the qualifications to hold the position of the crown prince of the Zhongshun Prince's Palace? Anyone with a discerning eye doesn't know that in the future, the position of the crown prince will definitely belong to you, brother Yuan. We brothers... no , not only our brothers, but also the elders of our families all support you to become the heir apparent. After all, Prince Zhongshun’s palace is different from other families, and we will not allow a sick man to manage the clan affairs in the future...
However, although we support you because you are more outstanding and more capable than your eldest brother, you must also let us all see your determination to contribute to the entire clan, so that we all believe and trust you more. That's it. "
After a brief silence, Wei Yan asked: "What do you want me to do?"
"It's very simple. You go back and persuade your father more, and ask him to make suggestions to His Majesty to repeal the new tax law of the imperial court.
Brother Yan, you don’t know how much the new tax law targets and insults our clan! It is said that each mansion is exempted from a certain amount of land tax according to the rank of the noble family. If each family exceeds the tax, they will all be taxed according to the unified tax law, just like ordinary people and aristocratic families!
Think about it, among all our normal royal families, which one does not have hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland and land under its name? What do the amounts exempted by the imperial court count?
What is even more irritating is that a prince's palace can only exempt 200,000 acres of land tax, and a county prince can only exempt 150,000 acres. However, as a minister, the palace of a mere Duke of the State, with a salary that is ten times different than that of the prince of my clan, can imitate the Duke of my clan and exempt the land tax of 100,000 acres, which is only twice the difference of the palace of the prince of my clan. This is not a criticism of the palace of my clan. What is the contempt for?
In my opinion, Your Majesty is really out of his mind to agree to such a ridiculous tax law. "
"Your Majesty cannot be entirely blamed. This is all a conspiracy by those ministers. The purpose is to break up and suppress my clan..."
"But I heard that this new tax law is something that His Majesty strongly advocates, so those ministers with farsightedness and foresight dare not come out to oppose it.
In my opinion, if this continues, sooner or later the world will be in chaos. Your Majesty doesn't even think about it. If you let these meritorious ministers, such as the clan members and relatives, everyone feel in danger and everyone is dissatisfied, won't the country and the country be in danger?
Alas, at this time, it would be great if the Supreme Emperor could come out and say something. The situation in this court will definitely not be as chaotic as it is now..."
…
"It's unreasonable, these fools are so brave, they dare to arrange my father like this!"
In the private room where Jia Lian and others were, the fourth prince was furious and was about to go over to have a friendly exchange with these unfilial sons.
"No, Your Highness. These people are drunk. If Your Highness goes there alone, you might suffer a loss."
"So what? Are you just sitting here and listening to them talk and slander my father?"
Seeing that Zhang Su had nothing to say, the fourth prince was about to call his bodyguards to arrest these people and bring them to the Daming Palace for trial.
"Your Highness, please calm down. Your Highness did not bring many people with you on this trip. These anointed disciples will definitely bring more people than Your Highness. If there is a conflict, Your Highness's golden body may be damaged."
"Fart, they dare to touch a hair on my head!"
The fourth prince was really angry. He pointed at Zhang Su's nose and cursed in a rare move. Zhang Su was also angry and winked with the fourth prince.
Only then did the fourth prince react and looked at Jia Lian, who was sitting next to him drinking tea.
How could Jia Lian not understand what they meant? He smiled bitterly in his heart, "Well, it's another hard job that offends people."
However, if the fourth prince really asked for it, he really couldn't refuse.
First, as a minister, if you hear someone slandering your king and father but do nothing, it is disloyal.
Second, as the commander of the Xicheng Military and Horse Division, his duty is to maintain the security of Xicheng. If these people were allowed to engage in such "illegal gatherings" under his jurisdiction, he, as a law enforcer, might as well stop doing it. Emperor Ning Kang would probably be disappointed.
Thirdly, from a rational point of view, he also felt that these people were a little ignorant, not to mention that the fourth prince was so angry. If he did not act, he was afraid that the fourth prince would also have opinions about him.
The fourth prince didn't know what Jia Lian was thinking. Seeing that Jia Lian was being stared at without expressing his opinion, he asked with some dissatisfaction: "Jia Lian, my father trusts you so much, what do you think we should do about this matter?!"
Jia Lian finally put down his teacup, waved his sleeves and stood up, replying: "Your Highness wants me to send troops to arrest these dandy boys and wait for His Majesty's decision, right?"
"That's natural! They speak such arrogant words and slander my father. Can't they still be punished?"
"The crime will definitely be punished. I can also promise His Highness to arrest them all. However, I also want Your Highness to make a verbal promise."
"How long has it been and you still...then tell me!"
Jia Lian calmly held up his hands and explained: "Although I am the commander of the Army and Horses Division and have the responsibility of arresting thieves and thieves, at most I am no more than an ordinary child of a prince or minister.
As long as the person has a title, the minister has no right to arrest him, let alone the descendants of the clan. These people are all under the jurisdiction of the clan government. If they are arrested without the consent of your majesty and the clan government, even minor officials will not be able to escape the blame. "
Jia Lian said, seeing that the fourth prince was a little anxious, he smiled and said: "However, these people are bold enough to slander the holy bow, and everyone will be punished.
Wei Chen will naturally not let them go. However, in order to prevent them from biting me back in the future, I want His Highness to agree that if His Majesty asks about it then, His Highness will testify for me. After all, I have no other evidence of their crimes and can only rely on His Highness's testimony. "
Jia Lian was also in a dilemma. Once this was done, he could naturally create a good impression in front of Emperor Ning Kang as a loyal protector. But the disadvantage is also obvious, that is, it will offend the clan again!
When the fourth prince heard Jia Lian's words, he slowly realized that he was really inferior compared to Jia Lian.
As the saying goes, they have no other evidence of guilt. As long as the other party refuses to admit it afterwards, what can Jia Lian do to them? If it doesn't go well, Jia Lian might be bitten by them and the forces behind them, just as Jia Lian feared.
"Okay, I promise you. Don't worry, although I usually make a lot of mistakes, I never lie. My father still trusts my words. As long as I testify for you, they guarantee that they will not be able to escape guilt, let alone confuse right and wrong! "
Jia Lian bowed his hands and then summoned his entourage to go to the Military and Horse Division to mobilize troops.
(End of chapter)
