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Chapter 548 Generous Reward
Mr. Cao quietly informed His Highness: The old prince had pleaded with His Majesty.

He knelt outside the Imperial Study for two hours but was not able to see His Majesty before being sent away.

This was only because he slipped two thousand taels of silver to the chief eunuch to get the message relayed—which really hurt the old prince's feelings.

Everyone in the Prince's mansion knew that the old prince was born in the year of the Pixiu.

His Highness felt much better.

Whether his father did it out of concern for him or because of the potential annual income of two million taels, he had at least tried his best.

But this time, His Highness truly doesn't want to stay in the palace any longer.

He didn't want the money the imperial court had approved for building his mansion, and instead found a reasonably decent house to stay in temporarily.

Then, slowly search and buy a mansion that meets the required standards but does not exceed the prescribed limits, and you can hang up the plaque for the Princess's Mansion.

It would be difficult to build a new one, mainly because there simply isn't enough open space in the northern capital.

If new buildings are to be constructed, the government must step in and relocate some residents—His Highness does not want to do such a thing.

The money approved by the imperial court was supposedly for "building a government office," but it was actually for purchasing.

Moreover, the money wasn't enough; the rest should have been provided by the old prince.

His Highness no longer wishes to stay in the palace, not because he doesn't want to see his father, but because he finds it "inconvenient."

Xu Lang came to the Northern Capital to visit him, with his elderly father watching over him from the sidelines...

Most importantly, this old father will definitely keep nagging Xu Lang about the amount of the "dowry".

I finally managed to subdue this stubborn guy, so please don't scare me away by quoting a price.

Mr. Cao was efficient and quickly found a house to settle in.

The courtyard had three sections, which was quite large, but since His Highness had many guests, he also booked an inn next door to provide temporary lodging for them.

In the courtyard, His Highness specially reserved a side courtyard for Xu Yuan.

Xu Yuan felt a little embarrassed to stay directly in His Highness's residence.

His Highness blinked and asked, "When I went to Champa, I stayed at your house. Why are you staying at my house now that you've come to Beidu?"

That makes perfect sense—Xu Yuan had no way to refute it.

With Xu Yuan's arrival, the inn that His Highness had booked was almost half empty.

Many of his retainers left in disappointment.

These retainers are willing to follow His Highness because they admire him.

His Highness felt no regret at their departure; on the contrary, he was very happy.

Go quickly and don't come back. I'm afraid Xu Lang will misunderstand.

We had just settled in when the old prince arrived.

Even before the person was outside the moon gate of the courtyard, the sound of stamping feet in distress came in: "My dear daughter, why did you move out here?"
There's nothing we, father and daughter, can't discuss...

"Father!" the princess called out sweetly, stepping forward to take her father's arm and gently shaking it.

Prince Rong spotted Xu Yuan at a glance and let out a cold snort: "So it's you, you little rascal, who stole my precious daughter!"

Xu Yuan braced himself and stepped forward to pay his respects: "Greetings, Your Highness."

Just as the old prince stretched out his palm and moved his five fingers, about to gesture an astonishing number, Princess Ruicheng grabbed her father's fingers with both hands.

The old prince stared wide-eyed, only to see his daughter's eyes filled with pleading.

The old prince thought to himself that this matter could not be taken lightly; it would have to be discussed sooner or later.

After a moment of awkward silence between the father and daughter, the old prince waved his hand and said, "Never mind, we'll talk about it later."

He sat down, fuming, "You brat, pour me some tea!"

"okay!"

The old prince had just brought the teacup to his lips when he angrily slammed it on the table: "Are you trying to scald your father to death?!"

His Highness chuckled to himself; the old man was in a bad mood and needed to be appeased.

"I'll get you something more palatable right away..."

But the old prince ultimately didn't get to drink a single cup of his daughter's fine tea. The head steward of the prince's mansion rushed in, panting, "Your Highness, His Majesty has sent someone to say that he will be coming to the mansion tonight!"

"Ah?!" The old prince was startled. He couldn't care less about his daughter and future son-in-law. He hurriedly got up and rushed back: "Quickly, quickly, come back to the manor with me to prepare."

Although he was anxious, he remained calm.

In fact, the old prince had already made the necessary preparations shortly after Imperial Censor Dai submitted his memorial.

……

The story of how Prince Yong's subordinates framed Consort Yi has begun to circulate.

The court officials suddenly fell silent.

Regardless of which prince they supported, they all seemed to have suddenly become deaf and mute.

The matter of establishing an heir was never mentioned again.

Everyone understood that the emperor was bound to unleash his fury.

At this moment, His Majesty's anger was directed at Prince Yong.

As a deposed crown prince, he was destined to have no future.

Anyone who jumps out at this time is asking for trouble.

Therefore, for a time there were no dissenting voices in the court against His Majesty—in this respect, the current outcome was actually better than His Majesty's initial plan to kill another batch of people after the "establishment of an heir" issue.

But this issue has only temporarily subsided; it hasn't truly been resolved.

But this kind of thing can't really be completely solved.

As His Majesty grows older, the situation will only worsen.

……

Xu Yuan waited at Princess Ruicheng's place for a whole day, but did not receive any new decree from His Majesty.

Also waiting was Consort Yi in Anxi Palace.

At noon, a eunuch from the emperor's side came to deliver an imperial edict, ordering her to prepare to serve him in bed that night.

Anxi Palace immediately began making various preparations.

Consort Yi also personally instructed the imperial kitchen to prepare several dishes that His Majesty usually enjoys.

But they waited and waited, until the palace gates were locked, but His Majesty still did not come.

At first, Consort Yi thought that His Majesty was busy with state affairs, so she specially brought the imperial meal to His Majesty's study.

But there was no one in the Imperial Study.

Upon arriving here, someone informed Consort Yi that His Majesty had left the palace that afternoon.

Where did you go?

Prince Rong's Mansion.

Consort Yi's pretty face turned deathly pale in an instant, devoid of any color.

She returned to Anxi Palace in a daze, extinguished all the palace lanterns, and sat alone on the edge of the bed in the darkness, unable to sleep all night.

At the same time, the Emperor was already in the Rong Prince's residence, sleeping soundly with the beauty arranged by the Prince.

The Imperial City Guard was already quite adept at taking over the entire Rong Prince's Mansion.

The old prince stayed with His Majesty all night. Only after His Majesty had rested did he drag his weary body back to his own bedroom.

However, he couldn't fall asleep for a while while lying in bed. He stared blankly at the canopy above the bed and sighed softly.

Consort Yi has fallen out of favor.

This time, he had once again guessed His Majesty's thoughts correctly.

But His Majesty's harshness and ingratitude once again chilled him to the bone.

Imperial Censor Dai wrote in his memorial that Consort Yi had been married in her hometown.

The old prince knew that no matter how His Majesty behaved next, Consort Yi was destined to fall out of favor.

His Majesty's stay at Consort Yi's Anxi Palace for seven consecutive days was not an act of support for Consort Yi, but rather an expression of his own dissatisfaction.

He disliked his courtiers interfering in his harem.

That's my family matter.

Similarly, regardless of whether Consort Yi had ever been married, His Majesty disliked that she had concealed this matter from him.

He didn't actually care whether Consort Yi had been married or had a childhood sweetheart.

What he dislikes is that someone has deceived him.

But at that time, Consort Yi was still useful to His Majesty.

It has now been investigated and it has been found that His Majesty has another tool, the incompetent Prince.

Consort Yi was no longer of any use.

Therefore, after the old prince received the memorial from Imperial Censor Dai, he immediately began to look for new beauties for His Majesty.

The old prince had a large group of men under his command who searched for beauties throughout the Ming Dynasty.

Actually, we had already prepared for it a long time ago.

The expenses for this group of people are enormous every year, which pains the old prince greatly, but this money cannot be spared.

In fact, when His Majesty bestowed the title of "Prince Zheng" upon Consort Yi's child, the old prince had already sensed a hint of conspiracy.

At that time, it seemed that His Majesty genuinely wanted to make this child the crown prince.

Consort Yi secretly sent people to curry favor with the old prince on several occasions, and even sent him 30,000 taels of silver.

The old prince almost couldn't resist the temptation and accepted it.

In the end, I gritted my teeth and refused.

In retrospect, this "King Zheng" was indeed a trap.

Tonight, His Majesty didn't even mention Princess Ruicheng once.

He truly loved Princess Ruicheng very much.

In the past, whenever he came to the Prince's Mansion, he would ask Princess Ruicheng to have dinner with him.

However, this time, Princess Ruicheng recommended Xu Yuan, and Xu Yuan successfully completed his mission, so he was credited with a merit.

But she also wanted to secretly "collude" with Xu Yuan.

That is sin.

The two cancel each other out, resulting in neither reward nor punishment.

But Princess Ruicheng has undoubtedly displeased His Majesty.

……

The next day at noon, a message arrived:
Imperial Censor Dai was promoted to Vice Prefect of Yanshi Prefecture, a sixth-rank official, and took office immediately.

He was promoted, but was banished from the capital.

Moreover, Yonsei-fu is located in the northwest, two thousand li away from Beidu.

The news was brought by Wenren Luo.

He came to deliver a message and also to freeload a meal.

When Lord Xu was being "escorted to the capital," Liu Hu was so frightened that he almost wet his pants.

But now he's full of energy again.

I went out early this morning to buy ingredients.

When Wenren Luo arrived, he had just returned as well: "You'll just have to wait."

Liu Hu rolled up his sleeves, ready to make a big splash today and prepare a fine feast.

Xu Yuan did not actually do what Duan Fake said, asking Wenren Luo for whatever Liu Hu needed, and he didn't even mention it to Wenren Luo.

Liu Hu was, after all, his subordinate.

Xu Yuan could afford to provide all the necessary cultivation resources.

If, at a crucial moment, something important is missing, Xu Yuan will speak to Wenren Luo.

But there's no need to owe such favors under normal circumstances.

In the afternoon, an imperial edict arrived for Xu Yuan, praising him and allowing him to retain his title of "Doctor of Geography," but without any other rewards.

Xu Yuan was greatly disappointed.

But His Highness explained to him, "His Majesty's decree did not say that you should leave the capital immediately. Don't rush, wait a little longer."

In the evening, Xu Yuan sent a formal letter to pay his respects to Lord Ji Chuan, the Left Vice Minister of the Exorcism Department.

After the invitation was sent in, it wasn't long before the steward of the Ji family invited him in.

Ji Chuan chatted with him for a while, never mentioning the case of Consort Yi, but only asking about Ma Tianshou's situation in southern Jiaozhi.

After about 15 minutes, they served tea and saw the guests off. Early the next morning, Xu Yuan thought for a moment and went to the Wei residence.

Young Master Wei avoided seeing him.

Xu Yuan didn't really want to see anyone, so he said to the steward of the mansion, "Your esteemed son once promised to give me a house in Beidu."

The steward immediately went back inside.

Xu Yuan waited for quite a while before the steward brought Uncle Xi out.

Uncle Xi smiled broadly and held up a bunch of keys in his hand: "Lord Xu, we prepared them for you a long time ago. My young master mentioned them a few days ago. Now that you've come to Beidu, he wanted to find some time to send the keys to you."

Xu Yuan smiled, naturally not believing it.

Wei Jinyuan wished he would never have to come to Beidu.

However, when Xu Yuan saw the house, he was somewhat surprised, as it turned out to be a large courtyard with three sections.

Although the location is somewhat remote, it would still cost tens of thousands of taels of silver in Beidu.

Xu Yuan was in a great mood after receiving the house.

Back at Your Highness's place, Wenren Luo, who was always there to freeload, arrived again.

Wenren Luo also brought some gossip: "I heard that Sang Jiu, the commander of the Imperial City Guard, was scolded by His Majesty and then sent to the four northern provinces on a difficult mission."

Xu Yuan was taken aback for a moment, then smiled.

When the old eunuch in charge of the seal inquired about Dafu's matter, he casually made a snide remark about Sang Jiu.

It seems the old eunuch has found an opportunity to speak to His Majesty.

Although it wasn't a big deal, it was still somewhat embarrassing, and His Majesty was quite angry.

Sang Jiu estimated that even after traveling to the four northern provinces, he still couldn't understand how he had offended His Majesty.

After finishing his meal, Wenren Luo went back home.

Xu Yuan's status in Beidu was sensitive, and few people took the initiative to visit him.

Only Wenren Luo seemed completely unconcerned and came every day.

As it was getting dark, Mr. Lan came to Xu Yuan: "Lord Xu, there is someone outside who wants to see you. He says his godfather has something to tell you."

"Grandpa?" Xu Yuan frowned. "Please come in."

Before long, a young man in a blue robe and a small hat was led in.

With fair skin, she bowed to Xu Yuan and spoke in a high-pitched voice, "Greetings, Lord Xu."

He was a eunuch.

"My godfather said he's taken care of your matter, and that a second-rate official from the imperial court will appear at Ghost Witch Mountain."

Xu Yuan listened, but the other person had already finished speaking.

"That's all?" Xu Yuan asked.

The young eunuch nodded: "That's all my godfather told me."

Xu Yuan was disappointed. After waiting for two days, he did receive news, but it was only a second-rate person sent to help.

The plan to pardon the sinners was not accomplished.

"Okay, thank you for your hard work." Xu Yuan nodded, stood up and said, "Please wait a moment."

Xu Yuan went back to his room to get the banknotes, but felt a pang of heartache.

The old eunuch failed to accomplish this task! Logically, he shouldn't have had to fulfill his promise of a "generous reward."

Lord Xu is not short of money now, but his money didn't come from thin air.

That was hard work...

He earned it by bullying Young Master Wei and by sponging off His Highness!

The price of the Grand Eunuch in charge of the seal was not a secret in Beidu.

Given the nature of people in Beidu, the news spread so far that even the bamboo basket vendors at the West Market knew about it.

The approximate price is: 50,000 taels for an old eunuch to help with the matter.

But Xu Yuan promised a "generous reward," which would be at least 60,000 taels, and if he were more sincere, it would be 70,000 or 80,000 taels.

Xu Yuan counted the silver notes, still hesitating whether to give it or not, or only to give 30,000 taels.
Suddenly, Xu Yuan noticed the house deed placed next to the banknotes.

It was given to him by Uncle Xi yesterday.

Xu Yuan thought for a moment, put down the banknotes, and picked up the house deed.

I don't need this house myself. If I leave it here in Beidu, I'll have to ask someone to rent it out. No matter who I entrust it to, I'll owe them a favor.

As for this old eunuch, he should still be given plenty.

There are still three months until the Ghost Festival (July 15th of the lunar calendar).

There's still a chance!
Xu Yuan came out and handed the house deed to the eunuch: "Please thank your godfather for me."

The young eunuch took the house deed, glanced at it, and immediately beamed with joy.

He carefully put away the house deed before speaking again: "My godfather specifically instructed that if the adults give less, they will blame us for not handling things well, and there is no need to say anything more."

Xu Yuan cursed inwardly, but still smiled: "Did the father-in-law give any further instructions?"

"Yes, my godfather said that the Emperor knows about your affairs, so if you want to remove the label of criminals before the Ghost Festival this year, the Emperor will never agree."

This is a task for all six of you. If you try to run away before you've done your job well, that's against the rules.

But my godfather said he would find an opportunity to speak to the Emperor again and try to send one of your best men.

Xu Yuan breathed a sigh of relief; the deed was well worth it.

The old eunuch's subsequent words reveal an important piece of information:
Don't even think about shedding the label of sinner before the Ghost Festival.

No show.

The emperor's claims of "not following the rules" are nonsense. He has already decided to let the six criminal families take the lead and doesn't want to send anyone else to take over this huge burden.

But with the six criminal families at the forefront, the old eunuch was able to secure the best possible terms for them:
Top-notch support!
The reality of our dynasty is that... these dead eunuchs, who have no penises below and no hair above, actually have better credibility than those civil officials.

Since the old eunuch dared to say that, he must be confident.

"Thank you, sir!" Xu Yuan hurriedly stuffed another fifty-tael silver note into the eunuch's hand.

But even after accepting the money, the little eunuch still smiled and refused to leave.

Xu Yuan slapped his forehead and said, "Look at my brain! Please tell the father-in-law that I will reward you handsomely after this is done."

The young eunuch bowed, turned and left: "Alright, that's exactly what I was waiting for."

After he left, Princess Ruicheng came in, but instead of asking about the little eunuch, she asked with some concern, "Will His Majesty... send you to investigate Prince Yong again?"

Xu Yuan thought for a moment and shook his head: "Probably not."

The case of Consort Yi was a tug-of-war between various parties, and there was a lack of a candidate that everyone could accept, so it dragged on and fell to Xu Yuan.

This delay and procrastination is, of course, also due to His Majesty's indulgence.

The case of Consort Yi is, in fact, a knife in His Majesty's hand.

But now that the sword is drawn, it is to be used against the Prince Yong. Therefore, His Majesty will no longer use Xu Yuan, but will use his own "claws and spies".

More trustworthy.

Xu Yuan was actually quite surprised by what Yong Wang was doing.

Xu Yuan, Ma Tianshou, and Elder Yan analyzed the case that the Chen family had orchestrated in southern Jiaozhi.

Although they struggled to handle the case, everyone in the department eventually reached the same conclusion:
The incompetent king had many useless subordinates.

The truly talented people have all been killed by His Majesty.

But this time, one of his subordinates actually managed to pull back a soul from seven years ago from the underworld, suppress a seventh-rate scholar, and tamper with his memories.

Why would such a talented person serve a mediocre king whose future seems hopeless?
But Xu Yuan no longer needs to worry about any of these things.

His Highness looked sullen, raising his head to gaze at Xu Yuan with deep reluctance: "You're leaving..."

……

It's definitely time to leave. If we don't leave soon, it will be "undignified" if the emperor issues an order to expel us.

The emperor actually understood why Xu Yuan was lingering.

The old eunuch sending someone to deliver a message was tantamount to a response from the emperor.

Guiwu Mountain and Hegong Lane are places that many court officials may have forgotten.

But clearly the emperor remembered.

Even... that person on the rooftop was watching the whole time.

The next morning, a light rain began to fall in the north.

The sorrow of parting lingered in the courtyard like clouds and mist over mountains.

His Highness's eyes were red when he got up.

But she resolutely denied that she had cried last night.

Despite being deeply saddened, she still couldn't resist taking sarcastic remarks about her "great enemy."

“Your identity was sensitive last time, and Jinxi was kept under control by her family and couldn’t come to see you.”

"Now that you've finished your duties and are about to return home, that little rascal will probably fly over like a sparrow, eager to see you off for ten miles along the post road outside the capital..."

Xu Yuan looked at her helplessly and offered a weak explanation: "Miss Jinxi and I really have nothing between us."

"Hmph!" Wenren Luo's loud voice rang out from outside: "Brother, Brother Xu..."

He came in and saw the luggage laid out in the yard, and paused for a moment: "Are you really leaving?"

Xu Yuan didn't bring much luggage when he came, but when he went back—after all, he had come to Beidu, Yu Yunhang and Di Youzhi had bought a lot of things, big and small bags.

"It's time to go," Xu Yuan said with a smile.

"Come on, let me see you off."

Surprisingly, Wenren Luo was followed by Zang Tianlan and Mr. Feng Si.

Xu Yuan hurriedly stepped forward to greet him, saying, "Fourth Uncle."

Mr. Feng nodded with his hands behind his back: "I've prepared some things for you to take back to Xiaolin."

"Thank you on her behalf."

Lin Wanmo was one of Mr. Feng Si's few confidants.

Mr. Feng had prepared "a little" stuff; two horse-drawn carriages were parked outside the courtyard gate!

He then took out a round iron bucket, looking quite reserved: "These are some of my recent ideas, all drawn on paper. Take them back and let Xiaolin study them."

Xu Yuan accepted it, secretly amused.

"Learning" is another matter; you two are evenly matched, though the stepmother might have a slight edge.

She looked at the blueprints and pointed out a bunch of flaws, and then you'll lose face.

The iron cylinder is smooth to the touch, and it is a seamless whole without any gaps.

Clearly, figuring out how to open the iron cylinder intact was a difficult problem that Mr. Feng had posed to his stepmother.

After giving these instructions, Mr. Feng waved his sleeves and left gracefully: "Xiao Luo, please see Xiao Xu off for me."

But Zang Tianlan did not leave.

The group saw Xu Yuan and his party off out of the city.

When we arrived, there were fast steamships from the Imperial City Guard that transported us to the Northern Capital without stopping.

When it was time to leave... thinking of the massive "ship jam" in Beidu, Xu Yuan decided to take the land route first and find a place to board a ship after leaving Beidu.

Five miles outside the west gate, Xu Yuan stopped, cupped his hands, and said to the crowd, "Don't bother seeing me off any further, let's stop here."

Zang Tianlan pulled him aside: "I have something to say to you."

Avoiding the crowd, Zang Tianlan took out a black wooden box: "My advisor asked me to give this to you."

"He calculated that you would be leaving the capital today."

Xu Yuan took the wooden box and was about to open it when Zang Tianlan stopped him: "The advisor said we can't look at it now."

"Once you reach the underworld, if you can't subdue that Lord Ruan Tian—then open this box."

Xu Yuan paused in his movements.

Indeed, nothing in this world can escape the eyes of the Superintendent.

Zang Tianlan spread his hands: "Don't ask me anything, I don't know either. I'll just say whatever the advisor tells me to say."

The advisor said Wenren Luo was unreliable, so he sent me on this trip.

Xu Yuan nodded and put the wooden box in his pocket.

Zang Tianlan added, "There's one last thing. The advisor said: 'Think it over carefully. Opening this box might solve the problem, but...'"

He pointed to the wooden box in Xu Yuan's arms: "But it will burn your most important destiny!"

(End of this chapter)