The King of Beijing in the Red Mansion

It would be better for Shui Rong not to say too much about the brothel matter, otherwise he would nag again. Anyway, he didn't do anything out of line.

Concubine Beijing twitched her nose slightly, and did not smell any alcohol on Shui Rong. She immediately understood that Shui Rong was "true". She smiled immediately, with a satisfied look in her eyes. She said that her "son" had always been a well-behaved person, so how could he go to those brothels.

Shui Rong saw that he had been fooled, so he stopped talking to avoid exposing his true intentions. He changed the subject and said, "I heard that mother didn't eat much for dinner, so I asked the kitchen to prepare a few exquisite side dishes. Mother will eat a few bites later. It would be bad for her to be hungry."

Upon hearing this, Concubine Beijing smiled and scolded, "How dare you say that? If I hadn't been worried about you, I wouldn't have been unable to eat. Now you're trying to coax me with some tricks. You're really cunning."

Shui Rong couldn't help laughing when she heard this. She was obviously happy, but she had to put on an attitude of not giving up. Women are used to saying one thing and thinking another, even mature women are no exception. For Concubine Beijing, the more filial her son is, the more at ease she is. At this time, let alone letting her eat a few bites, it would be no problem to eat it all. Even if she was asked to eat something else, it would not be impossible.

Just listening to Concubine Beijing's words, there seemed to be some coquettish meaning in it, which made Shui Rong's heart flutter and he felt an inexplicable feeling in his heart.

After coaxing his widowed mother, the matter came to an end and everyone dispersed. Shui Rong walked to the corridor, then turned back and went into the warm room of the suite. He walked around a glass screen for ladies and saw a beautiful woman leaning against the dressing coffin, staring blankly at the bronze mirror.

"Why is the prince here?"

Keqing looked back and saw Shui Rong coming towards her. A smile was written on her delicate face, overflowing with satisfaction and joy.

Shui Rong looked at the beauty in front of him, her smile as beautiful as a peach blossom swaying in the spring, and he felt relieved. He still remembered that Keqing had always been gentle and shy, but never so relaxed and comfortable. It seemed that the last time they whispered in each other's ears had made them much closer.

Thinking of the last time they were close, Shui Rong's heart was moved. Keqing's clumsy response made Shui Rong's hand touch his belt. He wanted to gallop on the battlefield, but he still had some concerns. He suppressed his restlessness and stopped after a brief taste. However, the softness of her lips, the shyness of wanting to refuse but also to welcome, and the graceful figure that could be held in his hand, all made Shui Rong unforgettable.

If you think about it carefully, Keqing has always been gentle, timid and shy, but she can take the initiative to respond when the time is right, showing her girlish charm and beauty, with some hint of pure desire.

Taking a deep breath, Shui Rong suppressed his eagerness and asked jokingly, "Ke'er, do you mean I can't come?"

Hearing Shui Rong's slightly joking tone, Keqing glared at him. She didn't say that. The prince was really something, always making fun of people.

Shui Rong stepped closer and "habitually" held Keqing's hand, feeling the delicateness in his hand, while looking at the shy jade face in the bronze mirror, and said in a gentle voice: "Ke'er, I saw that you were uneasy just now, is there anything troubling you?"

Keqing lowered her eyes to look at the hand that was holding hers and spat softly. The prince was always like this, loving to warm her hands.

Pursing her lips, Keqing replied softly, "Everything is fine. It's just that I've been away from home for a while and I miss home a little."

Life in the palace was comfortable, the concubine was kind and lovely, and the prince was a caring person, so naturally everything was fine. However, Keqing had never left the palace since she entered it, and had never seen her family again. Moreover, it was normal for her to miss home when she was "living under someone else's roof". I'm afraid that since the day she entered the palace, Keqing had missed home terribly, but just couldn't express it in words.

However, Keqing had never mentioned it in front of Shui Rong before, but now she took the initiative to bring it up. This was a change in attitude. It was obvious that Keqing already regarded Shui Rong as a close person and there was no need to hide it.

Shui Rong sensed that Ke Qing was a little disappointed, and after a pause, he said, "It's okay. I'll talk to my mother tomorrow and ask Old Master Qin to come to the palace."

Since Keqing misses her family, let Qin Ye go to the palace to relieve Keqing's homesickness so that she can serve him wholeheartedly. I believe that next time he will be able to further appreciate Keqing's charm and beauty.

When Keqing heard Shui Rong calling him "Old Master Qin", she couldn't help but feel happy. She knew that Shui Rong was addressing Qin Ye with this respect because of her. This is what is meant by loving someone and loving his dog.

“I’m afraid it will have a bad impact.”

Although Keqing hoped to have Qin Ye come to the palace, she was afraid that others would spread rumors and make the concubine unhappy.

Shui Rong looked at Ke Qing's clear eyes looking at him hopefully, and he couldn't help laughing in his heart. She clearly wanted it in her heart, but she said one thing and meant another. This is what a girl is like!!!

Thinking of this, Shui Rong stretched out his hand to grab Ke Qing's soft jaw, and scolded with a smile: "Isn't it just to invite Mr. Qin to come to the palace? What's the matter? I will send someone to invite him tomorrow. You don't want to learn good things, but you have to learn some "evil ways". I don't know where you learned them from. If I find out who led my Ke Qing astray, I will punish him."

The reunion of father and daughter is not a big deal in the first place, so who would gossip about it? It was just Keqing who was overthinking it.

"Pooh"... What do you mean my Ke'er? Your Majesty, don't you feel ashamed?

Her thoughts were exposed, Keqing's cheeks flushed, she raised her hand and gently slapped Shuirong's hand away, she spat in her heart and glared at him with eyes full of anger, what kind of crooked tricks could she learn from? It was the person in front of her who knew all the tricks of coaxing the concubine, so naturally she learned some from him by observing and listening.

But these words cannot be said. After thinking for a moment, he shook his head and said, "Prince, let's wait for a few days!!!"

Shui Rong didn't say anything after hearing this. After all, Keqing had been in the mansion for neither a short nor a long time. Inviting Qin Ye into the mansion at this time would inevitably be seen as pretentious. What he was most afraid of was that the concubine would think too much and think that Keqing was dissatisfied with her care and developed a grudge against her.

Thinking of this, Shui Rong said softly: "Okay, it's up to you. Tell me when you miss home."

"Um!!"

Keqing responded softly, feeling Shuirong's preference, her heart was filled with sweetness. She looked at Shuirong with her eyes like two pools of clear water, full of tenderness.

Little did Shui Rong know that the charming temperament that was unconsciously revealed in Keqing's every frown and smile made his heart move. He licked his slightly dry lips, looked at the incense box in front of the coffin, and reached out to pick it up.

Keqing saw Shui Rong put on her lipstick and her cheeks flushed. The prince was going to eat rouge again.

The house was bustling with activity, but the corridor outside was a miserable scene. Yingluo was staring at Xiao Fuzi with a raised eyebrow, as if she was ready to call him to task.

Xiao Fuzi looked miserable and explained, "Sister Yingluo, the prince really didn't go to have fun."

Yingluo snorted coldly and cursed, "You didn't go to have fun. How can the prince smell like rouge? If you don't tell the truth, I will tell the concubine that I took the prince to a brothel and I will expose your skin."

Xiao Fuzi was shocked when she heard this. Although Yingluo's personality meant that she should scare him, if she really asked Yingluo to complain to the imperial concubine, not to mention exposing his skin, she was afraid that his bones would be exposed. She was so anxious that tears came out and she choked, "Sister Yingluo, the prince really didn't go to any brothel, I swear."

That's right, Shui Rong did not go to the brothels, he went to a prostitute. People who don't know what he was doing think that brothels are the same as prostitutes. In fact, the two cannot be lumped together. Xiao Fuzi is absolutely right about this.

Yingluo's expression improved a lot after hearing this. In ancient times, people feared gods and swore oaths with high credibility. But she was still puzzled by the rouge scent on her master's body. If it was a different smell, it would be fine, perhaps it was accidentally picked up, but the rouge scent was clearly the same, which made people think more.

Seeing that Xiao Fuzi had already started to cry, Yingluo could not ask any more questions. Perhaps it was just a coincidence. Thinking of this, Yingluo slowed down her tone and said, "Xiao Fuzi, don't blame me. The prince is a man of such status. If there is any connection, none of us will be in good condition."

Xiao Fuzi agreed with what he said. If Shui Rong was involved, not only Xiao Fuzi, but also the people around him would be implicated. So he nodded and said, "I know your sister is doing this for my own good, but you also know that the prince is a decent man. How could he go to a brothel to have fun? Besides, Miss Qin in the mansion is very charming, and your sister is also first-class in appearance, no worse than anyone else."

"Bah, Hu Qin, what are you talking about? Tear your mouth apart." Ying Luo's cheeks flushed when she heard that and she spat, but the corners of her mouth turned up, revealing her white teeth.

That’s right, Yingluo is not bad either, she is the prince’s sweetheart!!!

Seeing this, Xiao Fuzi felt relieved. Although they were also servants, the sister Yingluo in front of him was the prince's confidant and he could not afford to offend her. The prince had already instructed her not to reveal her whereabouts. As a eunuch, the prince was his heaven. Although Xiao Fuzi was uneducated, he knew the word loyalty. How could he betray the prince? It was definitely not because the prince might break his bones if he spoke too much.

Yingluo took a moment to calm down, then waved her hand and said, "Okay, you go back first, I'll take care of the prince here."

Xiao Fuzi nodded heavily. In the palace, Shui Rong always let Yingluo serve him. Only when he went out would Shui Rong take him with him. Then he left in disgrace, away from places of trouble.

Chapter 29: Prince Zhongshun was caught and raped

Outside the imperial city, Shui Rong was wearing a green embroidered robe with a green jade ribbon, and a gold crown with an exquisite vine pattern on his head. He looked very noble.

"Master, what are we doing in the Imperial City?"

Xiao Fuzi behind him was confused. She originally thought that the prince was going to "Fengming Courtyard" to look for that vixen when he left the palace, but she never thought that he was coming to the imperial city.

Shui Rong waved the silver-white folding fan in his hand and said casually, "I have my own reasons for coming to the Imperial City."

As he spoke, Shui Rong walked towards the Imperial City. Although Xiao Fuzi was puzzled, she had to follow him since her master had spoken. After passing the entrance of the Imperial City, Xiao Fuzi stepped forward and handed over the badge of Prince Beijing's Mansion, and entered the Imperial City easily.

Entering the imperial city, there is a central imperial road paved with stone slabs. On both sides of the imperial road, there is the Thousand-Step Corridor with a length of 700 steps and continuous eaves. Outside the Thousand-Step Corridor is a vermilion palace wall more than six meters high. On both sides of the wall are offices of the Imperial Clan Court and the Six Ministries.

Shui Rong did not go towards the palace, but walked to the left side of the Qianbu Gallery palace wall. Because of his identity as the Prince of Beijing, no one stopped him and he walked all the way to the Ministry of Revenue.

Inside the Ministry of Revenue, as soon as you enter the door, you can see an animal-head incense burner that continuously emits refreshing smoke. On the table in the middle are some books and tea sets, on which sits a middle-aged man wearing a robe with a five-clawed dragon pattern on it.

The middle-aged man was stunned when he saw Shui Rong coming, then he stood up and greeted him with a smile: "Little Sixteen, why are you in the Ministry of Revenue?"

Shui Rong bowed and said, "I have nothing to do, so I just came to take a look. Please don't be offended, cousin Zhongshun."

The man in front of him was none other than Prince Zhongshun. The Ministry of Revenue was in charge of the country's territory, fields, household registration, taxes, salaries and all financial matters. It was the court's purse, so Emperor Yongkang relied on him very much and appointed Prince Zhongshun, as his right-hand man, as the Minister of Revenue.

Upon hearing this, Prince Zhongshun chuckled and scolded, "Little Sixteen, why do we need to be so distant with each other? Come, let's go sit in the compartment and take a rest."

As he spoke, Prince Zhongshun told the other officials in the hall to continue working, and took Shui Rong to the compartment.

There was a kang next to the window in the compartment, and on it was a large mattress embroidered with gold and dragons. There was also a kang table. Prince Zhongshun and Shui Rong sat separately. The clerk brought some tea. Shui Rong took a sip and just as he heard Prince Zhongshun say, "Little Sixteen, if you feel free, why don't you come to the Ministry of Revenue to help out and share some of my work."

Shui Rong raised his eyes and glanced at King Zhongshun who had a kind face. This was another attempt to recruit him, but Shui Rong did not intend to participate in the court affairs. He came here for a serious matter.

"Brother Zhongshun, you know my personality. I am not a serious person, so I won't cause you any trouble."

King Zhongshun's expression did not change after hearing this. He was just trying to give it a try, so he was not surprised by Shui Rong's rejection. He shook his head and said helplessly, "Well, it seems that you are more open-minded. Unlike me, I am born to work hard."

As he spoke, Prince Zhongshun raised his eyes to look at Shui Rong, and asked meaningfully, "You never come to the temple without a reason. Tell me, what is the purpose of your visit to the Ministry of Revenue?"

King Zhongshun didn't believe Shui Rong's suggestion to come over and take a look.

Shui Rong was not embarrassed to have his thoughts exposed. After all, he would have to talk about this matter in detail sooner or later, so he said bluntly: "Brother Zhongshun, let me be frank. I came here to borrow money from the Ministry of Revenue. I hope you can be flexible."

Shui Rong came to the Ministry of Revenue this time to borrow money. He wanted to open a guild hall to do business, so he had to have capital. The Beijing Prince's Palace had tens of thousands of taels of silver in cash, but in Shui Rong's opinion, he had to do business on a large scale, or he had to do it at all. The cash in the palace was not enough to support it.

Moreover, if Shui Rong were to withdraw so much cash from the palace, although Concubine Beijing would not say much, she would definitely ask for details. In this case, it would be difficult for Shui Rong to explain. Instead of doing so, he might as well borrow some money from the Ministry of Revenue and make up for it when he makes money. Anyway, borrowing money from the Ministry of Revenue does not require interest, so why not do it!!!

Upon hearing this, Prince Zhongshun frowned and said with embarrassment, "Little Sixteen, you are making things difficult for me. You know the situation of the Ministry of Revenue. Now we have not even settled the issue of collecting the silver owed, and you are here to cause trouble. This is just making things difficult for me."

Shui Rong naturally knew about the situation in the Ministry of Revenue, which was that officials owed the Ministry of Revenue money.

The capital city is prosperous, and its prices are no different from other places, so the expenses are naturally higher. However, the salaries of the capital city officials are not enough to cover the expenses, and in order to make a living, they can only borrow money from the Ministry of Revenue. The emperor sympathized with his old ministers, so he turned a blind eye to this. Who would have thought that it was like opening a loophole and it became uncontrollable. Many civil and military officials, especially the old ministers, owed money to the Ministry of Revenue, and the Beijing Prince's Palace was among them. As far as Shui Rong knew, the palace owed the Ministry of Revenue nearly 0 taels of silver. It's not that the palace had no money, but everyone had borrowed, and the Beijing Prince's Palace could not fall behind. Anyway, they didn't have to pay it back, so they would take advantage of such a good deal. Most of the ministers who owed money held the mentality of "if you don't pay it back, I won't pay it back either", so the debt became a bad debt.

After Emperor Yongkang came to power, the national treasury had only 10% or 20% of the money left. For this reason, Emperor Yongkang intended to recover the silver owed, but it was easy to lend it out but difficult to collect it back. Those old ministers cried and complained, and Emperor Yongkang was concerned about the emperor, so he could only persuade them with kind words. Unfortunately, the effect was minimal. In the end, only 20% of the silver owed was recovered. The Ministry of Revenue still continued to recover the rest. In addition, Emperor Yongkang had already issued an order strictly prohibiting officials from borrowing silver from the Ministry of Revenue. If Shui Rong asked to borrow money at this time, wouldn’t it make Prince Zhongshun embarrassed! ! ! !

However, even though Shui Rong knew the inside story, he still asked the Ministry of Revenue to borrow money not because he was trying to make things difficult for others. What he wanted was to let Emperor Yongkang know about this matter. This way, he could borrow capital and show his attitude to Emperor Yongkang, killing two birds with one stone.

So Shui Rong said, "Cousin, it's not like I won't pay it back. I'll pay it back in one year or two years, both old and new."

It is impossible to make a profit in a short period of time if doing business. One or two years should be enough.

"Oh" Prince Zhongshun looked at Shui Rong in surprise when he heard that. It was normal to pay off the new debt, but it was the old debt. As a person who was also in charge of the Ministry of Revenue, he naturally knew the details of the debts owed by Prince Beijing's Mansion. This time Shui Rong mentioned the old debts, it was obviously intentional. If Prince Beijing's Mansion took the lead in paying the owed silver, it could play a leading role. Not to mention that all the silver owed to the Ministry of Revenue could be recovered, at least 10% or 20% more could be recovered.

Thinking of this, King Zhongshun asked, "How much silver do you want to borrow?"

Shui Rong understood what he meant. It seemed that Prince Zhongshun understood what he meant. If he wanted to borrow money, he would naturally have to give benefits. The old account was Shui Rong's benefit. He believed that Emperor Yongkang would give it more consideration. After all, Shui Rong was helping him.

So Shui Rong said, "I want to borrow 100,000 taels of silver."

Upon hearing this, King Zhongshun's mouth twitched slightly. He thought Shui Rong was short of money, so he wanted to borrow some silver to help him around. At most, it would be 10,000 or 20,000 taels of silver for expenses. He never expected that the asking price would be 100,000 taels. Did he think this was a bargain?

"Little Sixteen, why do you want to borrow so much silver?" Prince Zhongshun couldn't help but ask. If it was only 10,000 or 20,000 taels, he wouldn't have to go through the Ministry of Revenue to lend it out, but 100,000 taels was a large amount and it would be difficult to conceal. He couldn't go against the will of Emperor Yongkang and let others laugh at him!!!

Facing Prince Zhongshun's question, Shui Rong did not intend to hide anything. He leaned forward and whispered, "Brother Zhongshun, we are not outsiders. I will tell you straight. I want to open a club for people to have fun and make some money."

"Open a guild hall?" Prince Zhongshun had a face full of black lines. What a bullshit guild hall. It's just a brothel. And he said it so freshly and unworldly. Did he think he was a fool?

But it was difficult to say harsh words to his "own" brother, so he reminded him: "Little Sixteen, if you want to make money, why don't you do something else? Why do you have to do this?"

If the news got out that a prince opened a brothel, it would be a disgrace to the royal family.

Shui Rong was unimpressed by what he said and explained, "Cousin, you don't know, the last time I went to the brothel, I sat there for half an hour and spent four hundred taels. It can be seen that the title of "gold-consuming den" is well-deserved. With such a huge profit, how can it not be profitable? But don't worry, the guild hall is not a brothel. It only sells art, not bodies. Those dirty things won't happen. Moreover, the operation of the guild hall is handled by others. I will not be involved in it, so it won't have any impact."

King Zhongshun was speechless after hearing this. He did know about the shareholding issue as he also had such an industry under his control, but he had never thought of opening a club. He was so greedy for money that he had no limits.

"Okay, okay, okay. I can't interfere in your affairs. Let me inform the Imperial Household Department and you can go there to withdraw the money tomorrow." Seeing that Shui Rong had thought it through, Prince Zhongshun simply stopped caring about it. Since the account at the Ministry of Revenue was difficult to process, he would let Shui Rong go to the Imperial Household Department.

The so-called Imperial Household Department is also an institution of the imperial palace. It imitated the six ministries of the outer court and set up different institutions, including more than 50 institutions and more than officials, which was almost twice the number of officials in the six ministries of the outer court. It was mainly in charge of various affairs such as the royal family's food, clothing, accommodation, farms, etc. As long as the royal family dealt with money, it was managed by the Imperial Household Department. The general manager was a member of the royal family and could only be a person who was trusted by the emperor.

In the palace, the salaries of the princes and concubines were fixed, but this fixed amount could not satisfy their extravagant lifestyle. The money from the Imperial Household Department did not need to be approved by the Ministry of Revenue, and it was the private purse of the royal family. Therefore, whenever they were short of money, they would borrow from the Imperial Household Department. This move by Prince Zhongshun not only showed his favor to Shui Rong, but also did not affect the Ministry of Revenue, killing two birds with one stone.

Shui Rong nodded slightly when he heard this. Anyway, it didn't matter who he borrowed from, as long as he could borrow money, so Shui Rong responded, "Thank you very much, cousin. I will treat you to a meal tomorrow when I earn money."

Prince Zhongshun was delighted when he heard this and scolded him with a smile: "You are still making money, just don't lose it. If you can't pay it back, you can go and talk to your brother yourself."

Shui Rong raised his eyes to look at King Zhongshun who seemed to be gloating over his misfortune, and couldn't help but ponder in his heart, is this a reminder for him to return the money?

But Shui Rong didn't care. Anyway, he was confident that he could make money. Even if he was unlucky and suffered a huge loss, the worst that could happen was that he would apologize to Emperor Yongkang. To Emperor Yongkang, a mere tens of thousands of taels of silver were not a big deal. What he cared about was the attitude of Prince Beijing's Mansion. Even if he couldn't pay back the money, Emperor Yongkang would not care too much. If it really didn't work, he could sell some of the palace's properties to pay off the debt, which meant he would have to spend more time to appease the Concubine Dowager Beijing.

But having said that, Shui Rong said, "Cousin, whether I can make money or not still depends on your strong support."