Ouchi Taming the Cat, starting with the Ten Tiger Forms!

Chapter 512: There is also a gap between the mother and the concubine!
Unlike the Sixth Princess's struggle, Zhao Feng, who had been waiting for a long time, couldn't wait to take the silver note from her hand after confirming her challenge.

"Another hundred thousand taels have been deposited into the account."

Zhao Feng smiled secretly in his heart.

Fortunately, the eldest prince and his three siblings were present in this additional competition, otherwise Zhao Feng would not have been able to collect so much challenge money.

Faced with such a large amount, even the princes and princesses would slowly regain their sanity and give up directly like the Third Prince did.

"Please, Your Highness the Sixth Princess."

Zhao Feng stretched out his hand and moved forward. The iron ball and the bamboo-shaped wooden pillar had already returned to their original positions and were ready.

The Sixth Princess was not as strong as the Fourth Prince, but even so, under tremendous pressure, she still managed to score three points.

Although it trembled several times and almost knocked down the black bamboo-shaped wooden pillar, it finally survived.

But the problem was that Princess Ankang no longer pretended and didn't even try to control the score. She easily scored another five points, leaving the eldest prince and his two siblings in despair.

Princess Ankang's previous tiredness was all pretended, and this time she was too lazy to even pretend.

Looking at the dejected face of the Sixth Princess, even Princess Ankang couldn't help but sigh.

Originally, Princess Ankang was just cooperating with Zhao Feng, but the current situation made her feel a little bit reluctant.

Compared with other contestants, the three siblings of the eldest prince were under obviously much greater pressure.

Moreover, this time the system of doubling the challenge money also caused them to suffer heavy losses.

When the Sixth Princess lost, the challenge money plus the money she had to lose to Princess Ankang directly exceeded 200,000 taels of silver.

Even though the nobles in the palace were not short of money, such a sum of money was not something that ordinary people could afford.

It was because Concubine Zhang had been the fourth concubine for many years, and with the Zhang family's background, she was able to allow the eldest prince and his three siblings to continue challenging Princess Ankang without blinking an eye.

If it were someone else, I'm afraid they would have to think carefully about it.

"Tsk."

A shrill sound was heard in the dull imperial garden.

Although Concubine Zhang's voice was not loud, many people could hear it clearly.

The Sixth Princess did not dare to look up, but she could clearly feel the pair of disdainful eyes falling on her.

But that feeling disappeared immediately.

It has always been like this. Even if I did something wrong and made my mother unhappy, her dislike for me would not last long.

It should be said that Concubine Zhang was always stingy in paying attention to her other two children.

"I don't have anything worth that much money. I'll give you the banknote later."

The Sixth Princess left these words and walked away in a daze.

Seeing the Sixth Princess coming over, the Fourth Prince hugged his sister's shoulders with heartache and comforted her silently.

Compared to losing to Princess Ankang, the atmosphere in the Imperial Garden now is more tormenting to them.

Under the pressure from Concubine Zhang, the others watched the show in silence. The eldest prince and his two siblings felt that their scars were being revealed and exposed to everyone.

But even so, they still need to force themselves to maintain a calm expression and not let themselves lose their composure.

But next, there is the eldest prince.

The eldest prince looked at his younger brothers and sisters, then looked at Concubine Zhang who was sitting in the pavilion with a cold face.

Concubine Zhang's eyes were obviously much gentler at this time, and she looked at the eldest prince with full expectation to bring her a miracle.

In fact, anyone with a discerning eye could see that Princess Ankang’s physical strength had not been consumed much.

Just now, the other princes and princesses all failed to win in their round-robin battle against Princess Ankang, so how could they stand a chance of winning now?

Even the concubines who usually had conflicts with Concubine Zhang kept their mouths shut at this moment, just waiting to watch the show and no longer making any sarcastic remarks.

They were all afraid that Concubine Zhang would get so angry after losing that she would take it out on them.

After all, Concubine Zhang was famous for her madness in the palace.

Apart from the emperor and the empress, there are really few people in this palace who can cure this crazy woman.

So everyone just watched the show silently, waiting for the crazy woman to explode.

"Your Highness, do you want to challenge me?"

Zhao Feng asked with a smile.

The eldest prince was very depressed after asking this question.

If he doesn't want to challenge, why is he coming over here?
Are you here to be treated like a monkey?

He forced a smile towards Zhao Feng, but maintained his composure and said nothing. Instead, he waited for the attendant to bring the banknotes.

Concubine Zhang seemed to be prepared and immediately had someone send the banknotes up.

Seeing the neatly stacked banknotes, the eldest prince felt mixed emotions.

Two hundred and four thousand eight hundred taels.

This is the challenge fee he needs to pay for this forced challenge.

Anyone with a sound mind would understand that no matter how high the monthly salary is, it is not enough to earn this much money.

Before this, the highest monthly allowance in the harem, that of Empress Wu, was less than one thousand taels a month.

It would take at least twenty years to raise this amount of money with this monthly salary.

Who would do such a loss-making business?

But at this point, this play-off game is no longer just about money.

The eldest prince and his two siblings were put in a difficult position, and they had to win face for Concubine Zhang at all costs.

But what made the eldest prince feel most complicated was that although their Qingshu Palace was so rich, when they failed in business outside the palace before, their mother had no intention of making up for the capital for them.

The combined capital of the three of them was only 30,000 taels, but Concubine Zhang did not say anything at the time. The eldest prince and his two siblings had no choice but to hand in a blank paper like everyone else, and they owed a capital of 10,000 taels of silver, which was slowly deducted from their monthly salary.

But later on, their monthly salary was cut a lot, making repaying the money an unattainable thing.

Therefore, the eldest prince and his two siblings, like several other unlucky people, became royal deadbeats, and they still owed money to their father.

But when he thought that although the Third Prince and the Eighth Prince did not win the competition, at least they were not labeled as deadbeats like them, he always felt a little resentful.

Now, seeing that Concubine Zhang was fighting for him and casually spent hundreds of thousands of taels of silver, the eldest prince felt complicated and couldn't help but think too much.

"If this gets to Father's ears, what will he think..."

The eldest prince looked at Zhao Feng who was smiling at the side, and always felt that this was inappropriate.

At this time, his attendant had already brought over a thick stack of silver bills.

The eldest prince did not go to answer it immediately, but looked at Concubine Zhang.

When he saw Concubine Zhang's determined gaze, he knew that he could not change his mother's mind, so he could only sigh and take the banknote.

"I want to force a challenge on Ankang."

The eldest prince spoke to Zhao Feng somewhat weakly, and then handed over the silver note.

Zhao Feng breathed a sigh of relief when he took the two hundred thousand taels of silver.

In this way, his mission for today was successfully completed.

This is also thanks to the active cooperation of Princess Ankang.

Zhao Feng looked at Princess Ankang, his face smiling as brightly as a chrysanthemum.

"The last play-off game begins!"

Zhao Feng's tone of voice became much higher with joy, as cheerful as it could be, which was totally out of tune with the originally dull atmosphere of the Imperial Garden.

Li Xuan looked at Old Zhao's reaction from the audience and smiled helplessly.

"What an old kid."

Princess Ankang on the stage seemed to be hesitant to speak, looking very conflicted.

But looking at the happy Zhao Feng, she swallowed back the words that were about to come out of her mouth.

"Forget it, let's not delay the Ministry of Internal Affairs' business."

Princess Ankang had to admit that she really felt a little sympathetic towards the eldest prince and his two siblings.

Princess Ankang had not had much contact with Concubine Zhang before, and did not know that she was such a person. Compared with the previous Concubine Zhao Shu, Concubine Zhang was extremely strict with her children.

At this time, Princess Ankang couldn't help but think of the previous visit of the eldest prince to Jingyang Palace.

At that time, Princess Ankang and the eldest prince jointly won the Go game and each received a chessboard.

At that time, Jingyang Palace was still a cold palace and other people were not allowed to visit at will. However, the eldest prince ignored this rule and suddenly came to Jingyang Palace just to check whether Princess Ankang's prize was the same as his own.

Princess Ankang still remembers that the eldest prince said some strange words at that time, and he looked dazed and his expression was abnormal.

She hadn't communicated much with other people before and thought that the eldest prince was just like that.

But now it seems that it is not the eldest prince who is strange.

The strange thing is their mother, Concubine Zhang.

At least, in Princess Ankang's opinion, a mother should not treat her children like this.

Even if you cannot shelter your children from the wind and rain, you should not become the storm for your children yourself, right?
Mother, it shouldn't be like this.

While Princess Ankang was thinking about these things, the eldest prince had already started his own competition.

He tried his best to push the iron ball towards his goal.

The first few balls went smoothly, and we got four points from four balls.

Such an opening gave hope to the Fourth Prince and the Sixth Princess, and the others were extremely surprised.

But when it came to the last ball, the eldest prince's physical strength had finally reached its limit. He lost control of the iron ball and it hit a black bamboo-shaped wooden pillar instead.

The final score was fixed at three points, which made the Fourth Prince and the Sixth Princess, who had not been happy for long, silent again.

There was clearly a hint of gloating in the eyes of others when they looked at Concubine Zhang.

Just now they all thought there was nothing good to watch.

"As expected of the eldest prince, the cooked duck always flies away."

"This child is so unlucky."

Concubine Su De, who just came to watch the fun, couldn't help but tell the truth.

Her words were not directed at the eldest prince, but were an objective description of his situation.

But the bigger the truth, the more harsh it is.

As soon as Concubine Su De finished speaking, she felt a burning sensation at the back of her head. She turned around and saw that she was met with Concubine Zhang's sharp gaze.

Although Concubine Su De usually did not get along with Concubine Zhang, she did not dare to provoke Concubine Zhang in this state. She coughed twice, picked up the teacup and started to sip.

"Her anger is getting worse and worse. She's not afraid of burning herself."

Concubine Su De held a teacup and muttered to the person beside her.

The others just held back their laughter and didn't dare to say anything.

It's better not to get involved in the banter between the four concubines, especially when it involves that crazy Concubine Zhang.

The eldest prince, who originally thought he still had some chance of winning, couldn't help but resign himself to his fate when he saw that he only got three points in the end.

Concubine Su De was right. He seemed to have never had any luck.

The next one is Princess Ankang’s turn.

But Princess Ankang stood in front of the iron ball with her feet already under it.

She had always hooked the iron ball out directly like she did now, with amazing strength.

But for some reason, this time it took her extra long to prepare.

Zhao Feng naturally would not rush forward to urge this little god of wealth, but patiently let everyone wait by the side.

But suddenly, Princess Ankang withdrew her foot and said to Zhao Feng:

"It's boring. I don't want to play anymore."

"what?!"

Not only the people on the stage, but everyone in the audience was stunned as well.

"Your Highness, are you going to give up the competition?" Zhao Feng asked in disbelief.

"I'm not giving up the game, I just don't have the strength to kick this big iron ball anymore." Princess Ankang shrugged helplessly, and then said to the eldest prince beside her: "Brother, congratulations."

The eldest prince was still in a daze, thinking he had heard wrongly.

The Fourth Prince and the Sixth Princess were also confused about the situation and thought Princess Ankang was plotting something again.

"Okay, okay, now that I've admitted defeat, there's nothing for me to do now, right?"

Princess Ankang waved her hand, said goodbye to Prince Zhao Feng and prepared to step down and leave.

"Princess, please wait a moment."

Zhao Feng called Princess Ankang, then looked at her deeply, and then said, "Your Highness, since you admit defeat, you must exchange your monthly allowance with His Highness the Crown Prince."

"This……"

Princess Ankang looked hesitant, and there seemed to be some reluctance in her eyes as she looked at the eldest prince.

Zhao Feng immediately stepped between the two and said sternly, "Your Highness, these are the rules of the competition. Please abide by them."

The reaction on the stage immediately caused others to talk about it.

"You look a little distressed. Are you really getting a very high monthly salary?"

"He is the Royal Money Officer. He can give himself whatever monthly allowance he wants. Otherwise, why do you think our monthly allowance should be reduced?"

"You mean that girl swallowed it all? Does she really have the guts to do that?"

"With His Majesty's support, there is nothing she dares to do."

"It seems that their bet was right, but I don't know how high the monthly salary is."

“I’m afraid it will be far beyond imagination.”

The concubines are all women, and when they start talking at the same time, it's really loud.

In particular, some concubines were originally mouthpieces raised by other nobles.

To occupy a place in the harem, one must either have a good family background or have the ability.

She is as beautiful as a flower, has a flexible figure, and is good at playing all kinds of musical instruments and singing.

This is the skill.

He is eloquent, able to read people's minds, flatter the superiors and bully the subordinates, and is good at dealing with people.

It’s also a matter of skill.

Once you have the ability, as long as you know your position clearly, you can live a comfortable life in the harem.

Otherwise, you would really think that those concubines sitting in front of the four concubines are just for decoration.

Seeing Zhao Feng say this, Princess Ankang could only nod.

Zhao Feng immediately ordered someone to prepare a note and give it to Princess Ankang and the eldest prince.

On it is the new moon example after their exchange.

After Princess Ankang saw the note, she had a complicated expression and hurriedly stepped off the stage in embarrassment.

Seeing Princess Ankang's reaction, everyone was even more looking forward to the eldest prince's expression.

The eldest prince nervously opened the note and his expression immediately became dull.

"Zhao, Manager Zhao..."

"Is this note written correctly?"

The eldest prince asked with a trembling voice, full of disbelief.

Seeing the eldest prince's reaction, the fourth prince and the sixth princess hurried over to look at the note, and then showed the same expression as the eldest prince.

The smile on Zhao Feng's face became even wider, and he said word by word:

"It's absolutely true!"

Their reactions aroused everyone's curiosity even more. They all wanted to know what number was written on the note that could make the three siblings of the eldest prince, who had just lost hundreds of thousands of taels of silver, show such expressions.

(End of this chapter)