He led the Fourth Prince and others around the Shenji Camp for half a circle, and it was already noon.
"I'm dazzled by all these things, and I'm feeling hungry. Come on, let's go eat."
The fourth prince proposed to go out to dinner together. Jia Lian wanted to decline, but the fourth prince looked at him sideways and said, "Why, we came all the way from the imperial city to find you, and you don't even give me any face?"
Jia Lian had no choice but to explain the matters at hand and only brought a few personal guards out with the fourth prince.
I thought I could just find a place, but who knew...
"It can't work here. The place is too small and the house is too shabby."
"Here? It won't work here either. The decoration is too bright and there's no mood at all."
"here……"
After riding around from the North City to the West City, the fourth prince rejected five or six places to eat proposed by Zhang Su and Jia Lian, but he didn't know what kind of place he was looking for to have this meal.
Suddenly, at the end of the road in front of me, a three-story, splendid building popped into view.
It is beautifully decorated and elegant in style, with the three characters "Jin Pin Pavilion" written on the gate tower.
"Hey, this place is good, let's just go here..."
Zhang Tao didn't say much along the way, just following Jia Lian and the others like a follower. Bored, he was touching the short musket box behind the horse's butt with his backhand, imagining where to practice after taking it back.
Marksmanship, how to ask Jia Lian for refills after running out of ammunition and medicine, etc.
Suddenly hearing the voice of the Fourth Prince, he raised his head and saw a look of embarrassment and inexplicable emotion on his face.
His grandfather had issued an order since they were ten years old, not allowing his brothers to visit brothels, because the old man wanted them to practice martial arts, which naturally required them to recuperate their bodies, and they could not be allowed to indulge in alcohol and sex.
Now that the eldest cousin has gone to work with his eldest uncle, and the second brother Zhang Su has also gained the title of Juren through his ability, grandpa doesn't care much about the second brother, and all the pressure is put on him.
He had heard those brothers bragging about how seductive the ladies in brothels were, how different they were from those from good families... He really wanted to go in and have a look!
Zhang Su naturally saw what was in front of him at a glance, and said with some embarrassment: "Your Highness, this place is not appropriate..."
Although his grandfather doesn't care much about him now, as the fourth prince's companion, if the emperor knew that he led the fourth prince to visit the brothel, it would make his hair stand on end.
"What's wrong? Can't we eat here?"
"Well, I can actually eat when I eat..."
"That's right, the environment here is so good, this is it!"
The fourth prince seems to have made up his mind to focus on this place, and has no intention of listening to opinions.
In order not to stir up trouble, he ordered the guards who were behind him to not come close to expose their identities, and then he took the lead and rushed to Jinpin Pavilion.
"Hey, you guys, why don't you listen to music while eating..."
Seeing that the Fourth Prince had been welcomed into the building by the very discerning Sister Yao, Zhang Su and Jia Lian looked at each other and could only shake their heads helplessly, leading Zhang Tao, who was secretly excited, inside.
For Zhang Tao, with the guise of the fourth prince at the top and Jia Lian and his second brother in the middle, even if he was eventually discovered by his grandfather, there would still be resistance from the above people. The stick would not fall on him, the subordinate, right?
"Of course, what you said is right. I have a lot of money, sir! Hurry up and bring us the good wine and food here. Wait for me, and you will reward me."
"Hey, uncle, I really just want good wine and good food, so good girl, do you want it?"
"Well……"
As soon as he entered the hall, he saw the fourth prince, who was in a hurry from the beginning to looking embarrassed and overwhelmed, under the attack of two kiln ladies.
Jia Lian smiled and asked Zhang Su, "Is this his first time in a place like this?"
Zhang Su thought for a while and explained: "At least since I became His Highness's companion, this is the first time I have seen His Highness come to such a place with my own eyes."
Jia Lian believed what Zhang Su said, because the fourth prince pretended to be an old prostitute, but was actually full of flaws, which all the ladies from the welcoming kiln could see through at a glance, and because of his extraordinary clothes, they all rushed to please him.
I think the discipline of the royal family's children is very strict. Nowadays, the fourth prince is a big-hearted person, so it is normal for him to want to come to a place like this for entertainment. But maybe because of his relationship with his sister, he always has the urge to discipline this kid.
After all, Jia Lian did not seriously do this.
I also saw that Jia Lian and Zhang Su were both talented people. They wanted to approach the woman to chat with them, but Zhang Su and Jia Lian took one look at them and stepped away knowingly.
"Hey, what are you doing standing around like that? Just ask for whatever you want to eat or drink today. This... young master is treating me!"
The fourth prince, who finally got rid of the girl's entanglement, rushed in front of Jia Lian and the other three, and said calmly.
At this time, the old bustard finally saw these big customers and ran forward to greet them. Zhang Su saw that the matter had come to this, and just wanted to finish the meal and leave with the fourth prince as soon as possible, so he waved his hand to the old bustard and said: "It's best if you want one."
Let’s go to the private room and serve the best wine and food as soon as possible.”
"Okay, sir... there is a room in the Tianzi No. Yajian on the third floor~~"
After the old bustard was saved, he was about to make arrangements. Zhang Su and others also supported the fourth prince and walked upstairs. But they didn't know what the fourth prince was thinking, and suddenly turned around and called to the old bustard: "Don't forget to make arrangements.
Girls, please have more, there are four of us!"
One sentence made Jia Lian and the three of them stunned. Zhang Su almost slipped on the stairs, and then hurriedly covered his face for fear of being recognized.
Other people upstairs and downstairs, whether they were prostitutes or brothel ladies, just as Zhang Su and others expected, they all looked at him with strange eyes.
After all, the old madam was the one who reacted quickly and immediately said with a smile: "Uncle Dele, I will definitely give you the most and best girls, hahaha."
The fourth prince entered the private room with his face covered. He felt that the boy leading the way was laughing at him.
"Masters, let's have some tea first. The wine, food and girls will be here soon..."
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! After the child saluted, he bowed and closed the door and went out. The fourth prince felt that he was not so embarrassed. He looked up at Jia Lian and the three of them and laughed:
"Well, you can do whatever you want today, no need to be polite to me."
Zhang Suxin said, why should we be polite to you? With your voice, the whole building knows what the four of us are here for.
If his former classmates and teachers knew about this, he would almost be embarrassed to hang out in Shilin.
Seeing that Jia Lian and others were silent, the fourth prince touched his chin, which had not yet grown a beard, and felt a little embarrassed, but said nothing more and sat down to drink tea by himself.
There was nothing to say for a while, and after the silence, I suddenly heard faint voices coming from the next door.
Jia Lian and others didn't think anything of it at first. It was perfectly normal for other people to drink and have fun in a place like this and talk loudly after drinking.
But the Fourth Prince actually heard the voice of one of them with his sharp ears. He was stunned, and then he patted the table and stood up, "Okay, we really are enemies on a narrow road. We even caught a bug while eating. We can meet him here too."
He is so unlucky!"
Jia Lian and Zhang Su also heard it. The one with the loudest and clearest voice was clearly Prince Duan, who was almost beaten to death by Jia Lian, and the youngest son Wei Xian in the mouth of the fourth prince.
The fourth prince didn't know if he had any new grudges with him. In short, the fourth prince seemed to want to go over and cause trouble.
Jia Lian didn't care much. As long as Prince Duan no longer came to provoke him, he didn't want to go against the clan members. But they were very quiet here, and their voices didn't seem to be restrained over there, so as more and more people spoke,
After hearing this, Jia Lian's brows furrowed even more tightly.
…
Box No. 1, Tianzi, Jinpin Pavilion, welcomed a group of distinguished guests today.
More than ten clan members gathered here to drink and talk, among them was Crown Prince Duan, whom the four princes disliked very much.
Of course, here, the dignified Prince Duan does not seem to be the protagonist. The real protagonist seems to be another fair-faced young master sitting with Wei Xian.
"Brother Yan, you can't just sit back and ignore this important matter that concerns our entire clan."
"Ah, this... such a big thing, what can I do..."
"Why can't you do anything? You are the son of Prince Zhongshun! Prince Zhongshun, who has been in charge of the clan mansion for so many years, has won so many benefits for us clan members, and is deeply loved by all of us. Everyone says that Prince Su is old.
, stopped taking charge, and once he retired, wouldn’t Prince Zhongshun have the final say in the entire clan mansion?
As his biological son, you will definitely be the crown prince in the future, and then inherit the throne and the title of the clan's clan. At that time, you will also have to shoulder the burden of our entire clan, just like your father. At this critical time,
How can you back down and turn a blind eye to someone's conspiracy against my clan?"
It turns out that the person invited by Wei Xian and others today is none other than Wei Yan, the second son of the Zhongshun Prince.
As the younger brother of the current emperor's mother, Prince Zhongshun was deeply trusted by the emperor. He has been serving as the deputy chief of the clan, taking care of the clan and relatives of Emperor Ningkang. Some even say that if Prince Su had not been the emperor's uncle, he would have been highly virtuous and respected.
, even Emperor Ningkang was very respectful and could not bear to be persecuted. King Zhongshun had long been a veritable Zongrenfu Zongling.
The Zongling of the Zongren Mansion is one of the few real-level officials, equivalent to the cabinet minister, and is usually held by a famous prince in the clan!
"Don't talk nonsense. The prince of the palace has always been my eldest brother, and I am just a nobody..."
"Fart, your eldest brother, who has no talent, no virtue, and is as sick as a young man, has the qualifications to hold the position of the crown prince of the loyal and shun palace? Who doesn't know that the crown prince's position in the future will definitely belong to you, brother Yuan, our brothers... no
, not only our brothers, but also the elders of our families all support you to become the heir apparent. After all, Prince Zhongshun’s palace is different from other families, and we will not allow a sick man to manage the clan affairs in the future...
However, although we support you because you are more outstanding and more capable than your eldest brother, you must also let us all see your determination to contribute to the entire clan, so that we all believe and trust you more.
That’s it.”
After a brief silence, Wei Yan asked: "What do you want me to do?"
"It's very simple. You go back and persuade your father more and ask him to make suggestions to His Majesty to repeal the new tax law of the imperial court.
Brother Yan, you don’t know how much the new tax law targets and insults our clan! It says that each family’s mansion will be exempted from a certain amount of land tax according to their title. If each family exceeds the amount, all tax will be subject to the unified tax law.
Common people and aristocratic families are generally taxed!
Think about it, among our normal royal families, which one does not have hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland and land under its name? What do the amounts exempted by the imperial court count?
What's even more irritating is that a prince's palace can only exempt 200,000 acres of land tax, and a county prince can only exempt 150,000 acres. But as a minister, the salary of a mere prince's mansion is ten times less than that of a prince from my clan.
But he can imitate the Duke of my clan and exempt him from land tax of 100,000 acres, which is only twice as much as the prince's palace of my clan. Isn't this contempt for my clan's prince's palace?
In my opinion, Your Majesty is really out of his mind to agree to such a ridiculous tax law."
"Your Majesty cannot be entirely blamed. This is all a conspiracy by those ministers. The purpose is to break up and suppress my clan..."
"But I heard that this new tax law is something that His Majesty strongly advocates, so those ministers with far-sightedness and foresight dare not come out to oppose it.
In my opinion, if this continues, sooner or later the world will be in chaos. Your Majesty does not want to think about it. If the clan honors these meritorious ministers, everyone will be in danger and everyone will be dissatisfied. Wouldn't the country and the country be in danger?
Alas, at this time, it would be great if the Supreme Emperor could come out and say something. The situation in this court will definitely not be as chaotic as it is now..."
…
"It's unreasonable, these fools are so brave, they dare to arrange my father like this!"
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! In the private room where Jia Lian and others were, the fourth prince was already furious and was about to go over and have a friendly exchange with these unfilial sons.
"No, Your Highness. These people are drunk. If Your Highness goes there alone, you might suffer a loss."
"So what? Are you just going to sit like this and listen to them talk and slander my father?"
Seeing that Zhang Su had nothing to say, the fourth prince was about to call his bodyguards to arrest these people and bring them to the Daming Palace for trial.
"Your Highness, please calm down. Your Highness did not bring many people with you on this trip. These anointed disciples will definitely bring more people than Your Highness. If there is a conflict, Your Highness's golden body may be damaged."
"Fart, they dare to touch a hair on my head!"
The fourth prince was really angry, and he pointed at Zhang Su's nose in a rare move and cursed. Zhang Su was not angry and winked with the fourth prince.
Only then did the fourth prince react and looked at Jia Lian, who was sitting next to him drinking tea.
How could Jia Lian not understand what they meant? He smiled bitterly in his heart, "Well, it's another hard job that offends people."
However, if the fourth prince really asked for it, he really couldn't refuse.
First, as a minister, if you hear someone slandering your king and father but do nothing, it is disloyal.
Secondly, as the commander of the Xicheng Military and Horse Division, his duty is to maintain the security of Xicheng. If these people are allowed to engage in such "illegal gatherings" under his jurisdiction, he, as a law enforcer, will simply not have to do it. Emperor Ning Kang will only
I'm afraid I will be disappointed.
Thirdly, from a rational point of view, he also felt that these people were a little ignorant, not to mention that the fourth prince was so angry. If he did not act, he was afraid that the fourth prince would also have opinions about him.
The fourth prince didn't know what Jia Lian was thinking. Seeing that Jia Lian was being stared at without expressing his opinion, he asked with some dissatisfaction: "Jia Lian, my father trusts you so much, what do you think we should do about this matter?!"
Jia Lian finally put down his tea cup, waved his sleeves and stood up, replying: "Your Highness, you want me to send troops to arrest these dandy boys and wait for His Majesty's decision, right?"
"That's natural! They speak such arrogant words and slander my father. Can't they still be punished?"
"Criminal punishment will definitely lead to punishment. I can also promise His Highness to arrest them all. However, I also want Your Highness to make a verbal promise."
"How long has it been and you still...then tell me!"
Jia Lian calmly held up his hands and explained: "Although I am the commander of the Army and Horses Division and have the responsibility of arresting thieves and thieves, at most I am no more than an ordinary child of a prince or minister.
As long as anyone has a title, I have no right to arrest anyone, let alone the descendants of the clan. These people are all under the jurisdiction of the clan. If they are arrested without the consent of your majesty and the clan, then the humble minister will also
There is no escape from guilt.”
Jia Lian said, seeing that the fourth prince was a little anxious, he smiled and said: "However, these people are bold enough to slander the holy bow, and everyone will be punished.
Naturally, Wei Chen will not let them go. However, in order to prevent them from biting me back in the future, I want His Highness to agree that if His Majesty asks, His Highness will testify for Wei Chen. After all, I can’t get any other evidence of their crimes.
, I can only rely on His Highness’s testimony.”
Jia Lian was also in a dilemma. Once this was done, he could naturally create a good impression in front of Emperor Ning Kang as a loyal protector. But the disadvantage was also obvious, that is, he would offend the clan again!
When the fourth prince heard Jia Lian's words, he slowly realized that he was really inferior compared to Jia Lian.
As the saying goes, they have no other evidence of guilt. As long as the other party refuses to admit it later, what can Jia Lian do to them? If it doesn't work well, they might be bitten by them and the forces behind them, as Jia Lian fears.
"Okay, I promise you. Don't worry, although I usually make a lot of mistakes, I never lie. My father still trusts my words. As long as I testify for you, they guarantee that they will not be able to escape guilt, let alone confuse right and wrong!
"
Jia Lian bowed his hands in salute, and then summoned his followers to go to the Military and Horse Division to mobilize troops.