The New Year is approaching, and all the yamen of the imperial court have a full range of official affairs to deal with. The busy adults have no time to get involved in the chaos in Beijing.
Perhaps they had learned from Tao Yuanlang's mistakes. Everyone was worried that they might accidentally fall into someone else's hands, so everyone was focused on what they were doing and didn't dare to poke their heads around.
A group of knights and knights committed evil deeds near the capital, and were put down by the divine soldiers of the Imperial Guard. Several slaves from the East Palace were also involved. These things had already spread throughout the capital.
Tao Yuanlang's suspension and investigation brought an end to this matter. It is not known whether the Imperial Army was trying to cover up the situation, but the matter has been characterized as Commander Tao's own initiative.
It is said that the commander was drunk and dreaming at home every day, crying and complaining about his grievances to everyone he met, probably because they did not want him to continue to be embarrassed. The Imperial Army had "instructed" his family to be optimistic about Commander Tao and not to ask him to go out again if nothing happened a year ago.
This made Lu Hanjiang very disappointed. When he went out, he specially asked the driver to go to the door of Commander Tao's house. He was very curious about how a grown man could cry to make everyone feel embarrassed.
But Lao Qian was extremely puzzled by this matter. He looked at Lu Hanjiang speechlessly and said, "Master, no matter how you cry, it's quite embarrassing for a grown man to be seen in public..."
"That's not right."
Lu Hanjiang retorted in surprise: "I remember that Senior Brother Qi often liked to cry in public. Not only did he cry in front of Luo Fuzi's door, but he also cried in front of my house. How come no one dislikes him?"
Lao Qian was immediately speechless. He opened his mouth indifferently, and finally said in a weak voice: "That's different. Mr. Qi is also a scholar after all. His name is, uh - can't help himself?"
"What are you talking about? Scholars are great," Lu Hanjiang pointed at himself angrily and said, "Your master, I am also a scholar, and I am a disciple of the great Confucian scholar Luo Fu, so I have never seen anyone say bad things about me behind my back.
Please be polite when doing so."
"..."
Lao Qian was dumbfounded after listening to Lu Hanjiang's words. His expression was indescribable. His brows tightened and relaxed, as if he was very embarrassed. After a long while, he let out a long sigh, looked at Lu Hanjiang faintly and said, "What a crime.
"
"Hey!" Lu Hanjiang laughed angrily and his fists hardened in an instant.
...
Regardless of how the master and servant bickered, Lu Hanjiang, who did not see Tao Yuanlang having fun, had to divert to the Fourth Prince's Mansion.
His coming today can be regarded as an explanation to everyone in the capital. The fourth prince visited his door a while ago, and then the Wen family's son Wen Jinzhi was released. There was a lot of discussion in the capital. This time he was just to add fuel to the fire.
The first time he came to the fourth prince's house, even Lu Hanjiang, who had seen Yongle's small account books in the warehouse, couldn't help but sigh. He was indeed the richest prince. If the other prince didn't pretend to be fat, then just press
Considering the level of the other party's mansion, the fourth prince's wealth must be at least 20% of Princess Yongle's.
Yes, even though the fourth prince is already extremely rich, he is still a little inferior to Princess Yongle, who is doted on by her father, the emperor and the empress, and who also has a powerful uncle who protects her. Of course, this is a digression.
"Master Lu is here, please take a seat." The fourth prince greeted him enthusiastically. It seemed that someone must have told him that the last title was inappropriate. This time he did not call Lu Hanjiang "consort".
"I have met His Highness the Fourth Highness," Lu Hanjiang smiled and saluted, and then he motioned to Lao Qian to come forward with a gift: "Some small gifts are not respectful."
"You're welcome, Master Lu is so polite. You and I are a family, so why would we do this?" Although the fourth prince was blaming, the joy on his face was already overflowing.
The gifts sent by Lu Hanjiang, no matter whether they were valuable or not, were an expression of attitude in the eyes of the fourth prince, which made him unhappy.
So after the two had a pleasant conversation, the fourth prince reluctantly sent Lu Hanjiang away, while not forgetting to double the gift in return.
Although Lu Hanjiang declined several times, he could not overcome the enthusiasm of the fourth prince, and finally reluctantly accepted it. On the way back, Old Lu Hanjiang rested on the side pillow, while Old Qian looked at the pile of gifts and was worried.
"Master, are you getting too involved in the drama by doing this?" Lao Qian asked hesitantly.
"How can you catch fish if it's not deep?" Lu Hanjiang said calmly.
Lao Qian thought for a while and stopped talking. He opened the gifts instead. The moment the box was opened, a ray of light shot into his eyes, causing him to exclaim: "This is?"
In the box held by Lao Qian, there lay quietly a luminous pearl the size of a fist. Its dim light was restrained and charming, like stars in the night sky.
Lao Qian exclaimed: "Looking at its condition, it's top-notch. I'm afraid it's a first-class treasure from the previous dynasty. His Highness the Fourth Prince collected it from nowhere. Fortunately, it didn't attract anyone's attention. Otherwise, I'm afraid it would have been another priceless treasure."
Already."
"Hmm? Real or fake?"
Lu Hanjiang opened his eyes, looked at the night pearl carefully, and praised: "It is indeed a treasure given by His Highness the Fourth Highness. It is indeed extraordinary."
Lao Qian touched the bead with emotion, and then asked casually: "By the way, what gift did the master give to His Highness the Fourth Prince today?"
Today's visit was impromptu by Lu Hanjiang, so Lu Hanjiang ordered his servants to prepare the gifts. Lao Qian didn't know what was in the box yet.
Lu Hanjiang thought for a while and said, "I told them they were visiting friends and just prepare some tea and snacks."
"This..." Lao Qian's eyes twitched slightly, and he almost slipped the beads in his hand.
On the other side, the fourth prince and Eunuch Liu also looked at each other in confusion as they stared at the gift box sent by Lu Hanjiang.
The fourth prince just had a sudden interest, so he opened the box and took a look. The pastries and tea inside made him fall into a long silence.
Eunuch Liu held his breath and did not dare to speak. He thought about the priceless treasure he had just given away, and felt heartache for a while. But fortunately, the person who gave it was an unusual person, and he could comfort himself that at least the person receiving the gift was Mr. Lu of Jinyiwei.
, not counting their losses.
But what Eunuch Liu didn't expect was that after the fourth prince was silent for a long time, he neither got angry nor cursed, and a look of emotion slowly appeared on his face, which was rarely lost in thought.
"I didn't expect Mr. Lu to be so incorruptible." The fourth prince was filled with emotion.
"...Huh?" Eunuch Liu suddenly raised his head and looked at his master with dull eyes.
The fourth prince sighed and shook his head, handed the gift box to Eunuch Liu, put his hands behind his back and walked away sadly. Before leaving, he did not forget to say: "Every drink and every peck is a gift from your majesty. Mr. Lu is so frugal. As a king,
The prince should set an example, how dare he spend so much money... Instruct the kitchen that twenty dishes will be enough for the evening, and please skip the beef."