Chapter 190 This time I have to take care of King Ruan's problem
Hua Jin gave an order, and everyone in Prince Li's Mansion and Prince Qi's Mansion started to move. In less than half a day, hundreds of people arrived with large and small bags. Some were holding chili peppers, some were carrying rice bags, and some were driving carriages.
On the carriage were the latest oranges picked.
Everyone went to the other courtyard in a mighty manner.
Hua Jin was sitting in the carriage, and Li Yunqing was lying behind her. He yawned, and hugged Hua Jin from behind her slender waist.
"Actually, why bother? If you dislike Prince Ruan's house for eating too much, wouldn't it be better to drive them away by force?"
"Forcibly drive them away? Then King Ruan will go around saying that we bully them. Hushan County has suffered such a disaster. They are both members of the royal family, but the Qi Prince's Mansion is adding insult to injury and not helping them. Then where can we reason?
go?"
Hua Jin turned her body and looked at Li Yunqing behind her with a sneer.
"What's more, if they get angry and go to our north to fight against the autumn wind, what will happen then?"
According to King Ruan's temperament, it is not impossible.
Hua Jin turned her red lips and said to Li Yunqing:
"It doesn't matter, I have to cure King Ruan's problem this time."
Li Yunqing raised his hand and peeled an orange, stuffed a petal into Hua Jin's mouth, and said flatteringly:
"The princess is the most powerful."
When the large convoy slowly headed to the other courtyard, the people in Prince Qi's mansion who stayed in Prince Qi's mansion had not noticed anything amiss.
It's just that some servants discussed it privately and felt more comfortable.
"It used to be that the people from the three royal palaces were crowded in this one house and couldn't turn around. Now that Prince Qi's Palace and Prince Li's Palace have left, aren't we the ones who have the final say in this big house?"
"That's right, let's go. I saw that the oranges in the east are all ripe. Let's go pick a few and try them."
"I heard that the oranges in Prince Qi's Mansion are very sweet. Usually, the servants in Prince Qi's Mansion won't let us pick them, so we have to secretly pick one of their oranges. Their faces smell like dung in a latrine."
"It's better now. No one cares about us anymore. Come on, let's pick a few more."
Several girls dressed in silk were chatting and laughing as they headed to the orange grove.
Finally, when we arrived at the orange grove, we saw that the orange trees that were originally covered with yellow fruits were all bare.
The oranges were stripped clean by the servants of Prince Qi's Mansion and Prince Li's Mansion.
There are a few fruits here and there, all of which are small, green, and not yet ripe.
Several girls from the Prince's Palace looked a little confused.
Such a large area of orange trees was completely torn apart?
Actually, not even a single yellow fruit was left for Prince Ruan’s Mansion.
Before they could recover, several more girls came over in a panic and said:
"Today the prince wanted to have a full banquet, and I thought that there would be one hundred and four dishes. I wanted to ask the kitchen to prepare it early, so I went over and took a look. There was not a grain of rice in the big kitchen of Prince Qi's mansion.
"
Not only was there not a grain of rice left, but even the kitchen knives, chopping boards, and firewood were all emptied, not to mention other ingredients. There was really nothing left for Prince Ruan's Mansion.
At this time, the girls panicked and hurried back to the yard where their masters lived.
I happened to see King Ruan walking out of the house with a hand full of ink. He impatiently ordered his servants,
"Go get a basin of water and fill it with my purple jade basin."
Normally, he would use the snow water collected in previous years to wash his hands when painting, but now that he is in Guqizhou, there is no need to pay attention to everything around him, so he can just wash his hands with well water.
As a result, the servant walked around the yard with his purple jade basin and came back empty.
"Your Majesty, there is no water in our well."
In every courtyard of a wealthy family, there is a well, and each well is connected. In other words, the well in the courtyard where King Ruan lives is connected underground to the wells in the entire Prince Qi Mansion.
He asked strangely,
"There's no water? What's the reason? Didn't Guqi Prefecture build a canal and divert water from the north? Why is there a shortage of water?"
A few of the boys hesitated, and finally said the truth:
"Your Majesty, all the wells in Prince Qi's Mansion have been filled."
There are rules for filling wells. After all, in this world, digging a well can feed many people.
Water wells are quite expensive private property.
When the host is traveling far away, in order to prevent others from messing around in his own well, he will use huge rocks and special tools to fill up the well to prevent others from using it.
All the wells in Prince Qi's Mansion were filled up, and the underground water flow was blocked, causing the wells in Prince Ruan's courtyard to dry up.
King Ruan stood there in shock for a moment, feeling a little speechless.
When he realized that he had already arrived at the hotel, he frowned irritably.
"Then let's prepare the meal first."
Today he was going to have a full banquet with more than 140 dishes. Thinking of those exquisite dishes, King Ruan felt a little better.
As a result, several girls stood up shivering,
"Your Majesty, there is no rice in the kitchen. Everyone from Prince Qi's Palace and Prince Li's Palace went to other courtyards, saying they were going on vacation..."
The girls don’t know what vacation is, let alone understand it.
Anyway, I just left. Before leaving, the people from Prince Qi's Mansion and Prince Li's Mansion moved the entire mansion empty.
When King Ruan heard this, he became very angry and said angrily:
"Let's go out with this king to eat in a restaurant."
Anyway, after eating, hang up Tianxiang's account. Tianxiang is the number one person in Prince Qi's palace, so he has to settle the accounts for him.
A large group of people could only follow King Ruan and go to the restaurant outside King Qi's Mansion to eat hungry.
Just as I was about to go in, I was stopped by the waiter in the restaurant.
"Prince Ruan, is this Prince Ruan? Oh, what a coincidence, Prince Ruan, our restaurant is full today and we really can't seat so many of you."
The waiter nodded and bowed, but behind him stood four thick-shouldered, round-waisted, glaring men. They stood in a row blocking the entrance of the restaurant, making it clear that no one from Prince Ruan's residence was allowed in.
Where has King Ruan ever been humiliated like this in his life?
He scratched his neck and said angrily with a red face:
"I'm very hungry, and I don't want to look for another restaurant. If your restaurant is full and can't accommodate so many people like me, then let me go in with my close friends and have a meal first."
The child smiled and took out the receipt signed by King Ruan last time.
"Prince Ruan, it's not that I won't let you in. Last time you owed us more than a thousand taels of food money on credit. Our shopkeeper went to Prince Qi's Mansion for this money, but no one in Prince Qi's Mansion took care of this at all.
Otherwise, you can settle this account first."
"You can come in after we're done."
Although the words were said with a smile, the meaning revealed in them is quite intriguing.
King Ruan was so angry that he shouted:
"I, the Emperor, are a noble man. Is it possible that I still rely on your mere one thousand taels of silver? Wait, I will go back to get the silver right now."
He was so embarrassed, and so disappointed in Tianxiang, the concubine of King Qi. It was only more than a thousand taels of silver, so what if she married him first?
When the Yu family moves from Hushan County, he will return double the amount to Tianxiang.
But now, don't think twice, King Ruan's resentment towards Tian Xiang has reached its peak.
He led a group of servants dressed in silk and satin, and within two steps of walking back, the owner of the calligraphy and painting shop caught up with him.
"Prince Ruan, Prince Ruan, this is the order you signed here last time. No one in Prince Qi's residence paid any attention to it. You'd better settle it yourself and take the famous calligraphy and painting with you, for a total of five thousand taels.
"
This is already considered a huge sum of money.
Last time, it was because of Prince Ruan’s clan status and the people in the capital, they all thought that Prince Qi’s Mansion would pay the bills for Prince Ruan, so anything that could be owed on credit would be given to Prince Ruan.
As a result, they took these signatures to the Prince of Qi's Mansion to exchange the money, but the Prince of Qi's Mansion said that King Ruan had not informed them and refused to pay the bill to King Ruan on the grounds that they did not know about it.
Now the whole capital knew that the debt owed by King Ruan could only be collected from King Ruan himself.
If you can't guarantee that King Ruan has the ability to pay, then don't give him credit.
On the street, Prince Ruan waved his sleeves with a red face and strode back to Prince Qi's Mansion.
Behind him, in addition to the servants of Prince Ruan's Mansion, were followed one after another by several shop owners, all of whom had Prince Ruan's signatures in their hands.
Originally, King Ruan wanted to take the opportunity to return to Prince Qi's Mansion, hide in his concubine's room, and wait until he was in a better mood to find a way to find Tianxiang. However, the shop owners also followed him to Prince Qi's Mansion.
Looking at the eager eyes of these shop owners, King Ruan was too embarrassed to go directly to hide in peace, so he could only pretend to be calm and go to Princess Ruan's room.
As soon as he entered Princess Ruan's house, Prince Ruan said:
"How many golden tickets do you still have in your hand? Take them all out. I need to use them for something urgent."
Princess Ruan was lying on the bed in a depressed mood, with a ventilation belt tied to her head. She raised her weak finger and pointed at her box.
"After using two boxes of gold tickets last time, there is still one box of gold tickets left. This is all the money we have now."
If the Yu family cannot be rescued, it will be directly annexed by Sun Guogong. Then this box of gold tickets will be the remaining money to support the entire Prince Ruan's palace.
King Ruan ignored so much and took out the small box of gold tickets from the cage and said dissatisfied:
"How come there is only so much left? How many days can this be used for?"
Although the money is small, King Ruan can't take care of that much, so he will use it for emergencies first.
He carried the golden ticket box out, first settled the debt outside, and then led everyone in Prince Ruan's mansion to the restaurant just now.
"Give!"
King Ruan arrogantly threw out a golden ticket and hit the child in the face.
"If a dog looks down upon a human being, the excess will be rewarded to you by this king."
"Oh, Prince Ruan is so heroic. The richest prince in Tianjing Kingdom is really Prince Ruan."
The waiter smiled brightly and flattered him. Anyway, he could wear flattery anyway. As long as he had money, he could let the waiter kneel down and lick King Ruan's feet.
Now, the restaurant is no longer full, and big men with thick arms and round waists no longer block the door.
Everyone respectfully introduced King Ruan and his entourage into the restaurant, where they held a banquet and drank wine, making it very lively.
In the deserted Prince Qi's Mansion, Princess Ruan fell into a drowsy sleep, feeling extremely thirsty.
She raised her eyelids and called out the girl's name twice.
A girl hurriedly came in, knelt down and said respectfully:
"Princess, do you want to call your maid?"
"Damn girl, get me some water quickly."
Princess Ruan was feeling gloomy and had no time to argue with this inconsiderate girl. She just wanted to drink water now.
As a result, the girl picked up the teapot and poured it into the cup. Why:
"Your Majesty, there is no water, please go find some water."
After saying that, the girl took the teapot and walked out. After leaving, she did not come back all night.
On the morning of the next day, Mrs. Yu rushed into Princess Ruan's room with a disgraced face and said:
"Are Prince Qi's Mansion crazy? They treat us so poorly. Yesterday they said that the well was filled up and we had no water. I immediately sent people to find the people from Prince Qi's Mansion to restore our water supply, but it took a whole night.
, I haven’t drunk a sip of water, I haven’t eaten a grain of rice, and there is still no water in this well.”
She didn't even comb her hair in the morning because there was no water!
Princess Ruan's face turned yellow from thirst. After listening to her mother-in-law's words, she got up and went to get money from her box.
"Let's go out and buy some food first and come back. When we are full, I will definitely go to another courtyard to cause trouble for that bitch Tian Xiang!"
As she said that, she opened the box with difficulty and took a look. Where was the small box with the golden tickets inside?
Princess Ruan was a little confused. Only later did she remember that the box full of gold tickets seemed to have been taken away by Prince Ruan.
At this time, Princess Ruan had a bad premonition in her heart.
She had a haggard face and looked at Mrs. Yu at a loss.
"Aniang, I, I have no money anymore."
Generally speaking, when Princess Ruan says something like this, it means that she wants her family to give her some money.
But Mrs. Yu actually didn’t bring much money when she went out this time. She acted more anxious than Princess Ruan and asked hurriedly:
"Where's the money? Where's your money?"
"The prince said yesterday that he wanted to use the money. I thought he would just use a few golden tickets for emergency purposes. How could I know..."
Little did she know that King Ruan took advantage of her drowsiness to take away the entire box of golden tickets.
Princess Ruan fell to the ground, covering her face with despair and crying.
"Oh my god, this life is getting worse and worse. How can we live like this?"
A gloomy cloud hung over the heads of the Yu family mother and daughter.
At this time, Yu Jiajia's singing voice came from outside the house, which sounded full of sadness and sadness.
She lives in the love between man and woman that she weaves, and is unable to extricate herself. She is completely unaware of these real dilemmas.
It was not until late at night that King Ruan returned to Prince Qi's Mansion with a pile of ancient calligraphy and painting books bought at a high price and surrounded by his servants.
With the support of Mrs. Yu, Princess Ruan walked forward tremblingly, saluted King Ruan, and asked:
"Your Majesty, where is the box of golden tickets that I have?"
She has been hungry for several days, and now she desperately wants a golden ticket to go out and buy some rice and noodles.
Upon hearing this, King Ruan nonchalantly threw an empty box into Princess Ruan's arms.
"It's all spent. There are really a lot of good things in the capital of Guqi Prefecture. My beloved, how much money do you have left? Bring them all to me. I have taken a fancy to a book of guqin music and asked for ten thousand taels.
Gold, the money in the golden ticket box is gone, so I reluctantly refused to buy it."
He was already used to asking Princess Ruan for money, and he didn't care about the situation he and the entire Prince Ruan's mansion were in now.
Anyway, the Yu family has money, and if they don’t have it, Princess Ruan will definitely give it to him.
Madam Yu felt a surge of anger in her heart, looking at this rich and idle king,
"Your Majesty, the Yu family is still trapped in Hushan County. If you want money, you must at least get the Yu family out of Hushan County."
Princess Ruan also looked at the empty box in her arms with a tearless look on her face. How long had it been, how long had it been, so many golden tickets were gone... In this situation, even if her natal family is no longer there...
There is money, but she can't get it.
But seeing that King Ruan didn't take it to heart, he waved his hand a little irritably.
"You go find Princess Xiao Li and ask her to persuade King Xiao Li to send troops to rescue my father-in-law and the others. That's it. I'm too tired today, so I'll go and rest first."
He knew that this was a very realistic thing, but he had been a wealthy and idle man since he was a child. He had never experienced anything like this before, so he couldn't think of a solution for a while.
Anyway, he told King Xiao Li what he needed to say, and he also asked King Xiao Li for what he needed to ask for.
If Li Yunqing doesn't send troops, what can he do?
Thinking too much makes him feel too upset, so he might as well find something he likes to do.
King Ruan went directly to his concubine's room as if he was on the run, as if his concubine was the only one in the world who would not put pressure on him, nor would she frown and open her eyes all day long.
Look at him with tears in your eyes.
Not to mention that if something happens, just let him think of a solution.
As soon as King Ruan left, Princess Ruan and Mrs. Yu fell into panic.
But the two of them were really hungry, and Yu Jiajia, who was behind them, was crying and clamoring to see King Xiao Li, causing a huge fuss.
There was no other way, so Princess Ruan could only take out some of her jewelry and ask the girl to go out and pawn the money in exchange for some firewood, rice, oil and salt, and the few of them had a makeshift meal.
Before they could take a breath, the servants came again and asked for wages.
Where did Princess Ruan get so much money to pay her wages now? After waiting for a long time, she fainted.
There was a lot of noise and commotion outside, but King Ruan was lying on his concubine's lap, listening to his concubine singing a ditty.
When the song ended, the concubine asked softly:
"Your Majesty, there seems to be a quarrel outside."
"It's probably those damn servants who didn't ask for wages from the princess, so they started making a fuss."
King Ruan frowned, as if trying to drive away something dirty, turned around, and buried his head in the gentle countryside,
"Ignore them, the princess will take care of it."
If it can't be solved, what kind of princess will it be?
If it cannot be solved, it means that virtue is not matched.
Looking at King Ruan in his arms, looking carefree, the concubine's face was full of worry.
In the room next to hers, there were also lying the son and daughter she gave birth to to King Ruan. The two children were still young, one was only two years old and the other was still in infancy.
After King Ruan fell asleep, the concubine quietly got up and opened the door. There were one of her maids and her mother-in-law standing outside.
Both the girl and the mother-in-law were holding children in their arms. They were the two children born to this concubine.
"Have you done all the things that should be done?" King Ruan's concubine asked quietly.
The woman nodded and whispered back:
"We pawned all of the prince's most valuable possessions. We got more than 20,000 gold in exchange for it, which is enough for us to save for a lifetime."
"Okay, let's go!"
King Ruan's concubine looked back at the room, gritted her teeth, went out ruthlessly, and rushed to the Northland overnight with a bunch of belongings.
She left a letter to King Ruan, confessing that she had left with her child. In the past few years, she had been wrongly loved by King Ruan, and she felt infinitely guilty. However, the current situation was already quite dangerous. They said that if a person does not take care of himself, he will be punished by heaven and earth. King Ruan saw that
He looks more and more like an Adou who cannot be helped up.
Then there is no need for her to spend her life beside King Ruan. She can only plan a way out for herself and her children as soon as possible while she can still make a fortune...
As soon as she left Prince Qi's Mansion with her child, the news was sent to Hua Jin.
Hua Jin said "ha" and whispered to Lian'er,
"After they entered the Northland, they asked someone to watch them. After all, those two children are of King Ruan's blood. Maybe they will be useful in the future."
Lian'er responded in a low voice and retreated. Hua Jin walked back from the outside to the inside, looked around and couldn't find where Li Yunqing was.
She walked to the back of the house out of boredom.
It seems that Prince Ruan's Mansion has been cornered by her. If nothing happens, someone will come looking for her tomorrow.
As long as the Yu family cannot escape from Hushan County, the predicament of Prince Ruan's palace cannot be solved. We still have to ask Li Yunqing about this matter and see what Li Yunqing thinks.