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

Chapter 513 Nothing is a coincidence

"Impossible, you must have colluded to deceive us!"

"I've seen something wrong with today's game!"

The Sixth Princess cursed excitedly, not caring about the presence of Zhao Feng and other concubines.

Seeing the Sixth Princess's reaction, Concubine Zhang in the pavilion snorted coldly.

Although she didn't say anything, the Sixth Princess immediately shut her mouth like a mouse seeing a cat.

However, the reluctance and grievance on the Sixth Princess' face did not diminish at all, tears were flashing in her eyes, and she was about to cry.

Seeing that Concubine Zhang did not ask the reason, the Sixth Princess just felt that she had brought shame to her, so she turned her face away angrily and no longer cared about these trivial matters.

Concubine Zhang narrowed her eyes and her breathing became heavier. It was obvious that she was very dissatisfied with the performance of the Sixth Princess.

If it wasn't in public, she would have made the Sixth Princess kneel down and admit her mistake.

"Sixth sister."

The eldest prince and the fourth prince did not bother to continue studying the amount written on the note and hurriedly gave some advice.

Having angered their mother, the Sixth Princess will definitely be severely punished when she returns, which will be much worse than losing the game.

After being persuaded by her two brothers, the Sixth Princess wiped away her tears and turned her face back, but she had lost interest in other things. She lowered her head and looked at the ground. She just wanted to finish it quickly and lock herself in her room.

Seeing the Sixth Princess like this, the First Prince and the Fourth Prince could only sigh silently.

Then, the fourth prince took the note, came to Zhao Feng and bowed:
"Sixth sister was very emotional, so it's inevitable that there will be some conflicts. I hope Manager Zhao will forgive me."

Zhao Feng immediately returned the greeting respectfully, saying, "Your Highness the Fourth Prince, you really humble me."

"As for the monthly allowance of Her Royal Highness the Thirteenth Princess, I foresaw that it would cause controversy, so I have prepared a detailed list of the monthly allowances of the Jingyang Palace over the years. Please review it, Your Highnesses."

After Zhao Feng finished speaking, a eunuch in flowery clothes brought him an account book.

The Fourth Prince was not polite and immediately took it and began to look through it carefully with the other two.

"Sixth sister, come and help me, Fourth brother, I can't take care of it."

"Oh."

In response to the Fourth Prince's request, the Sixth Princess responded and helped with the verification.

When Concubine Zhang in the pavilion saw the Sixth Princess busying around, her expression softened a little.

However, the more the eldest prince and his two siblings looked at the account books, the more their brows furrowed.

"This……"

After confirming that the account books were correct, the three siblings looked at each other in surprise. They didn't expect that after all their argument for so long, this would be the result.

Eight cents of silver, plus a bag of brown rice.

This is Princess Ankang’s entire monthly allowance.

They spent hundreds of thousands of taels of silver, pushing the heavy iron ball again and again, knocking down those stubborn bamboo-shaped wooden pillars, but the final result was just this kind of thing.

The eldest prince swayed and almost fell, but fortunately the fourth prince was quick-witted and held him up.

"Listen carefully, don't let it slip!"

The Fourth Prince lowered his voice and spoke sternly to the First Prince and the Sixth Princess.

"At least no one else can know about it."

The Sixth Princess clenched her fists so tightly that they made crackling sounds. She asked unwillingly, "Are we just going to let it go like this?"

"I was wondering why she admitted defeat so readily just now, it turns out that..."

The Sixth Princess was so angry that she gnashed her teeth and her face was distorted.

"If she doesn't admit defeat, we have to give her another two hundred thousand taels of silver."

"Sixth sister, remember this!"

"This time, we have accepted a favor from Ankang worth two hundred thousand taels. We must not bear a grudge against her because of this."

The Fourth Prince gave the Sixth Princess a serious warning.

"So what is this about her?"

"Have sympathy for us?"

Hearing the Fourth Prince's words, the Sixth Princess felt even more sad, and her voice trembled as she questioned him.

In response, the eldest prince and the fourth prince could only remain silent.

They didn't want to be sympathized by Princess Ankang, but they couldn't imagine whether Concubine Zhang could still bear it if she lost another 200,000 taels of silver.

At least, before the monthly allowance in their hands was exposed, Concubine Zhang could still maintain her final dignity.

"We must not let anyone else know. We will avoid mother and talk about it after we return to Qingshu Palace."

"As long as the real monthly allowance in our hands is not exposed, it may still be a good card."

The Fourth Prince's mind was working frantically, thinking of all possible remedial measures.

The Sixth Princess muttered speechlessly: "With this little money, even the dog I feed my eldest brother will starve to death."

Obviously, she scoffed at the idea that this was a good card.

The eldest prince silently stretched out two fingers and pinched the sixth princess's mouth.

"Sixth sister, from now on, you are not allowed to speak without my and Fourth brother's permission."

"Ankang was able to deceive so many of us today."

"Can't we learn from her?"

The Fourth Prince's calmness also inspired the First Prince, allowing him to immediately understand how to use this good card.

The two brothers looked at each other, nodded silently, then immediately adjusted their expressions, put away the note in their hand, and then returned the account book to Zhao Feng.

Zhao Feng stood aside, observing the reactions of the three siblings.

Seeing that they were calmer than expected and adjusted their expressions immediately, he nodded silently.

"Your Highnesses have made great progress over the past year."

Zhao Feng looked at the eldest prince's three siblings, then at the eighth prince and others, and smiled slightly.

Not to mention anything else, the Fourth Prince and the Eighth Prince alone have undergone tremendous changes in their mental outlook.

The Fourth Prince was constantly pushed by external pressure led by Princess Ankang. He was forced to stand in front of the stage and keep giving his all, but he grew up in helpless failure again and again.

The eighth prince was the one that made Zhao Feng most gratified.

The eighth prince's knot showed signs of being untied. Not only did he resume contact with the Qin family, he was no longer as reluctant to meet with Duke Hu as before.

The previous unlearned and unskilled lifestyle of cockfighting and dog walking has also been greatly improved.

The only thing that has not changed is his tenderness towards his younger brothers and sisters.

"Your Majesty, the Imperial Garden Competition seems to be quite effective."

Zhao Feng couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

But he understood that it was Princess Ankang, the "catfish", who could bring about such significant changes.

Since Princess Ankang became active, the structure of the imperial palace has undergone unprecedented changes.

Zhao Feng took the account book and saw that the eldest prince and his three siblings seemed to have no other questions, so he said:
"The doubts of your highnesses seem to have been answered."

"In that case, I should declare today's game over."

The three siblings nodded in unison, and the eldest prince, as a representative, regained his former demeanor:

"Thank you Mr. Zhao for today. We are very satisfied with the result of the game."

The eldest prince and Zhao Feng smiled at each other, their tacit understanding expressed in silence.

The eldest prince’s meaning was very clear. There was no problem. Let’s end the game immediately.

Zhao Feng didn't intend to say anything more because he also found the reactions of other people present interesting.

"Hey, this is the end of the game."

“You won’t announce the final results?”

"How much is Princess Ankang's monthly allowance?"

"Looking at how excited the Sixth Princess was just now, I'm afraid it's quite a lot."

"I never thought that Ankang looked honest, but behind the scenes he was just like everyone else."

"That is to say, if she continues to be the Royal Banker, there is no telling how many more holes there will be."

As the conversation went on, the topic shifted to the hatred for Princess Ankang's outrageous monthly income and the condemnation of her corruption.

These guys are amazing, they can make a few random sentences sound coherent and concise in a short while.

In just a short while, Princess Ankang's monthly salary was almost as much as the challenge money the eldest prince had just paid.

Although Zhao Feng wanted to help Princess Ankang explain the situation, he also knew that the time was not right.

But he couldn't continue to indulge himself like this, otherwise the public would really get excited.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Your Highnesses."

Zhao Feng spoke loudly. His voice was not loud, but it easily overwhelmed everyone else.

"The last additional match also ended with the victory of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

These words made Concubine Zhang, who was sitting in the pavilion, proudly straighten her chest and slightly raise her white, pointed chin.

The concubines sitting beside her also flattered him at the right time and congratulated the eldest prince on his victory.

Even though it was just a supplementary match and he didn't win any points, he was treated like a crown prince by them.

Then, a hint of smile appeared on Concubine Zhang's cold face.

"Today's wooden shooting is over. Please look forward to the Imperial Garden Competition next month." "Next month will also be the last Imperial Garden Competition of the year. His Majesty will have special arrangements, so please look forward to it."

"Then I will take my leave and report the result to His Majesty."

After Zhao Feng finished speaking, he packed up his things with his men and left the Imperial Garden.

The concubines also said goodbye and prepared to return to their own palaces.

As the crowd in the Imperial Garden just started to disperse, the eldest prince and his three siblings exchanged glances with each other, then used their lightness skills to quickly leave the place separately.

They looked as anxious as they could be. If you didn't know better, you would think that their enemies had caught up with them.

"Hey, do you guys really need to do that?"

The Eighth Prince, who had just come up, didn't even touch their sleeves and cursed angrily.

He originally thought that Princess Ankang's monthly allowance was not that high, but after seeing the reactions of the eldest prince and others just now, he became unsure.

The Eighth Prince was still preparing to attack indirectly, but these three men simply used their lightness skills to run away.

In the pavilion, Concubine Zhang had not yet stood up.

She originally wanted to call her three siblings over to show off today's achievements in front of others.

Although they didn't win any points, they still won against Princess Ankang who had always been bullying them, and they got rid of their anger.

But when Concubine Zhang saw the Eighth Prince and others coming forward to harass them, she nodded and did not say much about the rude way the three siblings left.

"Okay, let's go too."

Concubine Zhang gave some cold instructions to the others and prepared to return to Qingshu Palace.

There were many people present who were curious about how much monthly allowance the eldest prince had received.

However, when they saw that even the Eighth Prince failed to stop the three siblings, they gave up the plan of finding out more.

The eighth prince behaved the most unrestrained and uninhibited, so he could just go up and ask.

But other people cannot do that. The concubines are considered elders, so they naturally cannot act like that. Besides, there are rules. It is not appropriate for low-ranking concubines to talk to the eldest prince.

As for the other princes and princesses, although they were also curious, none of them were as shameless as the Eighth Prince. They always wanted to find a suitable occasion and time to inquire.

Therefore, everyone in the imperial garden could only watch the eldest prince and his two siblings leave.

At this time, the Fifth Prince also came to the Eighth Prince. Seeing that he did not stop the eldest prince and his three siblings, he said afterward, "Old Eighth Prince, what are you asking them about?"

"If you're really curious, you might as well ask about Ankang."

To be honest, the Fifth Prince was also very curious about how much Princess Ankang's monthly period was.

But he was a proud man and felt that it was really cheap for a brother to ask his sister about her pocket money.

But he also wanted to satisfy his curiosity, so he quietly handed this important task to the most suitable eighth prince.

When the eighth prince heard this, he thought so too.

But when they went to look for Princess Ankang, she was no longer in the imperial garden.

……

"There should be no one here."

The Imperial Garden covers a vast area. After the eldest prince and his two siblings left the place where they used to gather every month, they went straight to the depths of the Imperial Garden and came to an empty pond.

The three of them looked around and made sure that there was no one around before they asked the eldest prince to take the note out of his arms.

"Burn it. No one else can know about this."

As the Fourth Prince spoke, he took out a tinder and immediately lit the note.

The three siblings silently watched the ashes of the note fall into the pond and disappear, and only then did they feel relieved.

"Then how do I explain this to my mother?"

"You can hide it for a while, but you can't hide it forever."

The Sixth Princess said with concern.

They spent hundreds of thousands of taels of silver, but in the end they only got less than one tael of silver as monthly salary. Anyone would be furious.

What’s more, she is their mother.

When talking about this, the three siblings looked solemn.

"It's definitely not possible to hide it. It will be exposed as soon as I collect my monthly allowance next month."

"Instead of that, we can only tell the truth."

The fourth prince said helplessly.

These words made the Sixth Princess shudder.

The eldest prince let out a long sigh.

"But don't worry too much. We will persuade them with emotion and reason."

"Explain the value of this note. Mother..."

"She shouldn't be too harsh on us."

When saying this, even the Fourth Prince himself did not have the confidence.

They knew their mother too well.

But right now, they have no other choice but to tell the truth.

The eldest prince's three siblings sighed in unison, all feeling bleak about their future.

"By the way, fourth brother."

"We can't just keep this a secret. We also have to make arrangements with the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Otherwise, if someone finds the eunuch who delivers the monthly allowance and asks about it, everything will be exposed."

The eldest prince thought of a detail.

"Well, don't worry, big brother. I will go to find Manager Zhao later."

"It's better to keep those things in the Ministry of Internal Affairs. I will say that when we need them, we will go and get them ourselves."

The fourth prince's words made the three siblings shake their heads and smile helplessly.

I’m afraid they will never be able to use the monthly allowance of eight cents of silver and a bag of brown rice in their lifetime.

No matter how poor their Qingshu Palace was, it would never fall to that state.

I'm afraid that any palace maid or eunuch in Qingshu Palace would earn more than this monthly allowance.

"Big brother, fourth brother."

"The account book just now..."

The Sixth Princess suddenly mentioned the account book that Zhao Feng had just shown them.

"Well, I didn't expect Ankang's monthly salary to be so low in recent years."

"When we had a party in the Imperial Garden a few years ago, I noticed that Ankang's complexion was getting worse and worse, and I thought it was all because of her illness." The eldest prince couldn't help but sigh.

Before seeing the account book, the three siblings could not imagine that the royal princesses in the palace would be treated so poorly.

That kind of treatment was even worse than that of many eunuchs and palace maids.

"You know, that's not just Ankang's expenses. She also has to support a little palace maid to take care of her daily life." The Fourth Prince was also a little shocked.

He felt that his previous assumptions about Princess Ankang seemed to have many shortcomings.

Perhaps "sleeping on straw and tasting gall" is not enough to describe Princess Ankang.

"I've heard people around me mention it before. That little maid often sneaks out of the cold palace to help others with work. They all say that the little maid wants to escape from the cold palace and keeps trying to curry favor with others."

"The maids all said that the little maid was shameless. She didn't care about her sick master and just jumped out of the fire pit. Someone reported her for leaving the cold palace secretly, but no one cared."

"It is said that other nobles are willing to watch such a play, and they keep it as a good show."

"But now it seems that this is not the case..."

The Sixth Princess frowned as she spoke.

At this time, the Fourth Prince said, "For heavy and strenuous work in the palace, some wealthy palace maids and eunuchs would ask others to help them. This is a common thing."

"I guess that little maid is working for others to earn money."

"As for the nobles watching the play, it should be true."

The Fourth Prince said this, looking at the First Prince and the Sixth Princess, and asked:

"You all saw how the monthly allowance of Jingyang Palace was cut down, didn't you?"

The fourth prince's question made the two men silent and they lowered their heads.

"The eunuch who appeared most frequently in the record of proposals to reduce the monthly salary..."

"Gao Wang, right? I remember he has always been on good terms with my mother." The eldest prince interrupted the fourth prince.

"Alas, after all the twists and turns, this monthly allowance has come into my hands. It can be considered karma, retribution."

The eldest prince curled his lips.

When they were looking at the account books just now, they found that a familiar name appeared frequently. Almost every time the monthly salary of Jingyang Palace was actually reduced, it was related to this person.

The Fourth Prince knew even more clearly that the eunuch Gao Wang was raised by their Zhang family.

The three siblings were not stupid and they knew that their mother had played an indispensable role in the reduction of the monthly allowance of Jingyang Palace to the current level.

And this monthly salary, which had been cut to the limit, returned to their hands.

This is also the important reason why they wanted to hide it but did not dare to hide it from Concubine Zhang.

"It's true that there is no coincidence in the world."

(End of this chapter)