Chapter 31: Accidentally Planting a Willow (Part 1)

  Ye Zhaolai came out of the study, scratching his head. Guibei gave Dachun a banquet to apologize, but he didn't go. These two days, he had been blowing wind in front of the prince, hoping that the prince could say a few words for him in front of the emperor, and go to Guanwai to do errands for the emperor. However, every time he mentioned this topic, the prince would start playing Tai Chi, smiling but not giving a definite answer, and advising himself: "You have this idea, you should be more diligent and devoted when serving the emperor, whether in the capital or outside, you can share the emperor's worries."

  Obviously, neither the prince nor the princess wanted to leave Beijing again. Just now in the study, after chatting with the prince for a few words, Ye Zhao couldn't get any clues and became even more worried.

  Along the bluestone path into Huiyuan, towards Chufeng Building, in Huiyuan green trees are dense, small bridges over flowing water, on a clear spring day, it is even more serene and secluded.

  "Little Prince." Behind the fake mountain, someone suddenly called out to Ye Zhaoyu in a soft and timid voice, then a slender figure flashed out.

  Ye Zhaolifted her head and looked over, slightly surprised. It was the king's concubine, Zhao Shi, with a young maid in a green dress following behind her.

  "Auntie." Ye Zhaoyu bowed his head in respect.

  Zhao was a woman of about thirty, originally beautiful, and wearing a light green gauze skirt with scattered flowers, she looked charming. She was from Yangliuqing in Tianjin's Jinghai County, originally a maidservant bought by the prince's mansion, and after spending one night with the prince, he took her as his concubine. However, this was not publicly acknowledged in the palace, and only two servant girls were assigned to attend to her; she was not even given a formal title or allowed to participate in the ceremonial rites of entering the harem. After a few days of passion, the prince lost interest in her. To say that Zhao had been living in the palace for many years, always walking on thin ice, her status was only slightly higher than that of the ordinary servants, but her situation was much more precarious. She didn't dare offend even the servant girls by the side of the first and second wives, and she was constantly worried about being sent away after being disfavored by one of the wives, who would whisper a few words in the prince's ear. In recent years, the prince had rarely visited her quarters.

  Facing Ye Zhao, the king's beloved and the young master of the manor, Madam Zhao became even more restrained, lightly curtsied, didn't speak, but her eyes had already reddened.

  "Auntie, is something the matter?" Ye Zhaosaid that he didn't have a strong sense of equality, but towards Zhao Shi, this hen-pecked husband, his attitude was still very good. During holidays and festivals, the gifts he sent to Zhao Shi's room were also quite generous.

  Zhao's words were unspoken, but tears flowed first, and they fell down drop by drop.

  Ye Zhao was helpless. Even if he didn't care, others' words were intimidating. The king's concubine cried in front of him like a tearful person. If this got out, what would people say?

  "Auntie, what injustice have you suffered? I'll go talk to Ama about it." Ye Zhao wanted to quickly leave, he really didn't like women who cried and whined.

  "No, don't, Your Highness, you'll beat me to death." Zhao's face turned pale with fear.

  "Please go back to your room first, Auntie. Later, I'll have my wife come visit you. If there's anything you'd like to say, you can tell her." Thinking about it, having a little one by his side did have its advantages.

  Madam Zhao nodded, her eyes brimming with tears, and said timidly: "I will return to my quarters and await the arrival of Young Mistress." Rong'er, this future legitimate wife, was a thousand times higher in status than hers.

  ……

  Ye Zhaowu would never go back on her word to such a pitiful person, and she knew that it took a lot of courage for her to seek help from herself. She must have gone through tremendous mental struggles and hardships, and she definitely encountered enormous difficulties.

  In the evening, Ye Shao sent the little guy to Xi Chun Garden to chat with Zhao Niang. The little guy was extremely obedient to Ye Shao's words and went to Xi Chun Garden.

  The little guy didn't disappoint either. As soon as he came back, he told Ye Zhao everything that had happened at Auntie Zhao's house from start to finish. It turned out that something had indeed happened at Auntie Zhao's house.

  In Yangliuqing, there was a wealthy family with the surname Shi, known as "one gate, three heroes". The eldest son was a merchant with a fortune of tens of thousands; the second son was highly talented and served in the government office of a certain high-ranking official; the third son had a smooth career path and was an official in a certain circuit in Jiangnan.

  Madam Zhao's family and the Shi family lived on the same street, but last year the Shi family expanded their compound, planning to build a large mansion covering hundreds of acres. The neighboring families were either intimidated by the Shi family's power or lured by money, and one after another sold their houses and land to the Shi family. In the end, only two or three families refused to give up their ancestral homes, among them Madam Zhao's family.

  Madam Zhao's elderly mother was superstitious, and in the courtyard of the Zhao family home there was a pagoda tree. The old lady firmly believed that this was the Zhao family's feng shui tree, and if the feng shui tree were to be cut down, the entire Zhao family would encounter disaster, even to the point of being ruined.

  The Zhao family refused to sell the house to the Shi family, and the two sides had a lot of disputes over this. In the end, they somehow came to blows, and both of the Zhao family's sons were badly injured. The old master of the Zhao family was beaten until he vomited blood and is still bedridden now.

  Madam Zhao didn't know that Auntie Zhao was actually a concubine of the Prince's Mansion, thinking she was still just a maid. But what difference did it make? Even if she were just a maid from the Prince's Mansion, in the eyes of ordinary people, she would be intimidating nonetheless. Madam Zhao asked someone to write a letter to Auntie Zhao, writing about how pitiful their situation was, and asking Lanyu (Auntie Zhao) to think of a way to find someone to help mediate with the Shi family, willing to sell the house to them, only hoping that the Shi family would be magnanimous and not hold past grudges.

  The little guy also brought over the letter written by the old lady, Ye Zhao flipped through it and slightly furrowed his brow. It seemed that the old lady was intimidated by Shi Tian's power and now only wanted to settle the matter as soon as possible.

  Ye Zhaowu did not expect that Zhao Yiniang would be so timid, and she didn't even dare to mention her identity in the Wang Mansion to her family. But thinking about it, she felt relieved. At first, the Zhao family dared to oppose the Shi family, probably also because of Zhao Yiniang's identity as a " Zheng Qinwangfu maid" secretly manipulating things from behind the scenes. If Zhao Yiniang told her natal family that she was Zheng Qinwang's concubine, who knows how overbearing and domineering these relatives would become in the local area.

  As soon as something happens at her mother's house, Madam Zhao is crystal clear in her mind. She knows that if she doesn't behave herself, she won't be able to stay in the Prince's mansion for long. Now she can still live a comfortable life in the Prince's mansion, but it's only because those who like to vie for favor have ignored her and don't have any excuse to speak ill of her in front of the Prince.

  So Zhao Yiniang was even more careful, and didn't reveal anything to her natal family members, lest they bring trouble upon themselves. In the eyes of her natal family, she was originally a maidservant bought by the Prince's Manor, so it was only natural that she couldn't return home for all these years, after all, it depended on the master's benevolence.

  But given Zhao's aunt's character, who is frugal and thrifty in her daily life, it's unlikely that she would not send some support to her natal family.

  Ye Zhao flipped through the letter and shook his head, scaring Old Lady Shi. It can be seen that the Shi family's arrogance is overwhelming. To say that the Zhao family wouldn't mention this " Zheng Qinfu Fu's maid" is absolutely impossible. It seems that the Shi family either doesn't believe it or has become accustomed to being overbearing and doesn't care about the flowers and grasses of the noble families in the capital.

  There is a "Zheng Qinwang Fu Yaotou" shield, the Zhao family was bullied to such an extent, it can be seen how arrogant this Shi family is in Yangliuqing.

  ……………………………….

  It may be updated after 23:00 tonight.