Chapter 17 Don't worry, this is just the beginning
Zhang Xiangrong was dragged to the Ministry of Punishment by the people from Fei Restaurant that night and put in jail. After the Zhou family in Kyoto inquired, they found out that he was causing trouble at Fei Restaurant and had offended Prince Gu of Zhenguo Palace and Prince Xiao of Zhongyihou Palace.
Zhang Xiangrong is confused, but his uncle Mr. Zhou is not confused. He immediately became furious and slapped his wife on the face:
"Look at the good things your nephew has done. If he implicates Baolin in the palace, I will have to skin him."
One person attained the Tao, chickens and dogs ascended to heaven, and after Zhou Baolin was favored, Zhou Zhang couldn't help but show off in her natal family, and even brought her nephew to Kyoto, hoping to find him a noble girl from Kyoto, who would become Zhou Baolin's support in the future.
But she didn't expect that Zhang Xiangrong would get into trouble not long after arriving in Beijing. She immediately said in a panic:
"Master, what should we do? Cuicui is getting favored by the Holy Spirit now. You have to get Xiang Rong out. His being in prison will harm Cuicui's reputation."
Cuicui is Zhou Baolin's nickname.
"What else can I do? I'm going to apologize to the two princes with this old face." Mr. Zhou said angrily.
As soon as Gu Yu left the government office at noon, she met Mr. Zhou waiting for her outside the door.
Master Zhou nodded and handed over the gift box: "Gu Shizi, my nephew is not sensible. He disturbed Gu Shizi last night. I hope you, sir, have enough, so you can be generous and let him go."
Gu Yu opened the box and sneered in her heart. There were three glazed hairpins neatly stacked inside. They were the most expensive ones produced by her Linlang Pavilion. There was also a thick stack of silver notes underneath.
It seems that Mr. Zhou has found out clearly that Zhang Xiangrong was in trouble because of robbing the colored hairpin.
Gu Yu closed the lid of the box. She was going to have Linlang Pavilion and Nishangfang bid for the title of the symposium. She was short of cash, so she didn't want to give up the money she sent to her door in vain.
"I accepted Master Zhou's gift, but you may not have figured it out. The person bidding against Young Master Zhang is Prince Xiao. You still have to go to the Zhongyi Hou Mansion. Your nephew was very arrogant yesterday. I am a bold person."
, but Prince Xiao was probably very frightened by your nephew yesterday."
Mr. Zhou secretly scolded Gu Yu for accepting money and not doing anything, but on the surface he still said gratefully: "Yes, yes, what you said is that when he comes out of prison, I will strictly discipline him, and then I will let him come to him in person."
You apologize. Thank you Prince Gu for your magnanimity. I will go and apologize to Prince Xiao right away."
Gu Yu took the box and got on the carriage. After a rough count, he found that there were three thousand taels of silver notes inside. It seemed that once Zhou Baolin was favored, the Zhou family used it for personal gain.
She took out the banknote and handed the three glazed hairpins and the box with the Zhou family emblem to Pingsha.
"Send these three glazed hairpins to the palace and tell my sister that she will reward them for use."
"As you command, Your Majesty."
Gu Yu opened the car curtain and watched coldly as Mr. Zhou mounted his horse and headed towards the Zhongyi Marquis Mansion.
I thought to myself, don't worry, this is just the beginning.
Mr. Zhou went to the Zhongyi Marquis Mansion non-stop, and after inquiring, he found out that Prince Xiao was not in the manor. He went to the teahouse to look for someone, and finally saw the person. He gave another gift out. Xiao Xingzhi didn't know if it was with Gu Yu.
After colluding, what they say is pretty much the same.
"Master Zhou, I accepted this gift. It's just that the steward of Fei Restaurant was the one who took Mr. Zhang to prison. You may have heard of Fei Restaurant's rules. Fei Restaurant has to come forward in this matter."
Mr. Zhou secretly gritted his teeth. These two boys accepted the money without conscience and refused to release Zhang Xiangrong. If he hadn't had a weak foundation and couldn't speak in Kyoto, how could he care about the looks of these two juniors?
Mr. Zhou drove to Fei Restaurant again and handed over a thick wad of money. However, after the steward of Fei Restaurant accepted the money, he still prevaricated him:
"Master Zhou found Xiao, but he found the wrong person. Xiao is just a small person. After sending the person to the Ministry of Punishment, the crime was determined by the Ministry of Punishment. Mr. Zhou should go to the Ministry of Punishment to find connections."
Mr. Zhou is so stunned that he takes bribes only if he helps others get things done. I didn’t expect that the people in Kyoto are so dark-hearted, and they all accept money without doing anything.
He rushed to the Punishment Department with a disheveled look on his face. Fortunately, the people in the Punishment Department still had some conscience. Although they did not release Zhang Xiangrong, they did let him go to jail for a look.
As soon as he got down, Zhang Xiangrong cried and leaned on the railing: "Uncle, please help me quickly, I don't want to stay here."
Although Zhang Xiangrong looks strong, he has been pampered by his family since childhood and has never suffered any grievances.
Day and night in the prison, there were cockroaches and mice everywhere, and from time to time he could hear some prisoners wailing. Although he knew that he would not be punished for his crime, he could not stand this horrible environment.
Thinking of the money spent on him today, Mr. Zhou wanted to slap him to death: "It would be best for you to die here. What else would you do besides causing trouble?"
Zhang Xiangrong was afraid that Master Zhou would not save him, so he quickly whispered:
"Uncle, you must save me. Think about it, I am a scumbag. Why do those people bother me because I am drunk and causing trouble? I guess this matter is for my cousin in the palace."
After hearing what he said, Mr. Zhou also became cautious. Everyone had joined the court as officials, and his daughter was being favored. Normally, all parties would not be so disrespectful to him.
But now that he is spending so much money without even making a sound, isn't it just for his daughter?
Mr. Zhou thought that his daughter had once said in a subtle way that she had some differences with Concubine Gu, but she should not let Concubine Gu take advantage of this.
Mr. Zhou's eyes became fierce: "You also know the identity of your cousin, and you still dare to act arrogantly and cause trouble outside. After you go out, go back to your hometown in Zhezhou, do you hear me?"
Zhang Xiangrong was cowarded after suffering this. He knew that he could show off his power in Zhezhou, and anyone in Kyoto could crush him to death like an ant. Now as long as he can get out, he deserves everything.
"As soon as I leave, I will go back to my hometown with my parents. Uncle, please send a message to Zhou Baolin quickly and ask her to intercede for me in front of the Holy Emperor. Otherwise, there will be many troubles caused by long nights and dreams."
Mr. Zhou also felt in his heart that it would be better to get Zhang Xiangrong out as soon as possible, so he agreed with a cold face and sent news to Zhou Baolin after returning home.
The imperial concubine received the gift box from Gu Yu in the evening and asked the maid of the Shang Palace Bureau: "Is this what she said?"
"Reply to my wife, the prince has nothing else to say except these."
The imperial concubine turned the gift box. There was no mezzanine or mechanism. She knew that Gu Yu was cautious, but her words had no beginning and no end. She was confused for a moment.
The little palace maid seemed to have remembered something and said, "I heard that the prince was almost beaten at Fei Restaurant yesterday."
The imperial concubine was shocked: "What! Tell me in detail."
"Don't worry, Madam, your son is fine. The one who beat me has been jailed."
"Who hit me?" The imperial concubine looked very ugly. When she saw the little palace maid Qi Ai, she winked at the female officer beside her and handed her a piece of silver.
"I heard he is Zhou Baolin's cousin..."
After the little palace maid finished explaining the reason, the imperial concubine thought for a moment and vaguely understood why the box had the emblem of the Zhou family. After the little palace maid left, she gave the order.
"Give these three glazed hairpins to Zheng Liangyuan, Lin Cai and Du Meiren who have been sleeping recently."