The streets were bustling with people. Prince Chen looked at the lively teahouse and stepped inside. After walking a few steps, he turned back and noticed Jiuzhu standing outside, not following him. "What's wrong?" he asked.
Jiuzhu shook her head. "Nothing."
She slowly shuffled her feet, dragging herself reluctantly behind Prince Chen.
Prince Chen glanced at her with a teasing smile, then suddenly reached out and grabbed her wrist, pulling her upstairs.
"Your Highness," Jiuzhu obediently walked beside him, whispering, "There are many female guests upstairs..."
"It's fine. I don't mind these things." As they ascended, Prince Chen heard the cheers of some women. He lifted the bead curtain and saw a room filled with female guests, with only a few scattered men sitting among them, looking utterly miserable.
Zhou Shucheng was one of them. He glanced at his spirited younger sister and let out a long sigh. When he turned his head, he was startled. Why was Prince Chen here?
He bent down, trying to hide behind other guests. "Sister, let's go," he urged.
"Wait a little longer," Zhou Xiao remained unmoved. "The part where the domineering prince rescues the beauty from bandits is coming up!"
"Watch as the domineering prince, holding a nine-foot spear, charges into the bandit's lair on horseback. In an instant, dust and stones fly, and the sun and moon lose their light!"
The cheers of the women in the audience rose, and Zhou Shucheng silently covered his face, not daring to look at Prince Chen's expression.
"The bandits, awed by the prince's heroic demeanor, knelt on the ground, begging for mercy like drowned dogs."
When the domineering prince rescued the weak woman from the woodshed and disappeared into the night under the moonlight, the female guests were so excited that they began to shower the storyteller with rewards.
Watching these enthusiastic women, Prince Chen turned to Jiuzhu, pulled her to an empty table at the back, and sat down. The attendant quickly ordered the waiter to bring fruits and pastries.
"Here, eat while listening," Prince Chen pushed the pastries toward Jiuzhu, teasing her. "No prince would go alone to fight bandits unless his head was full of paste."
Jiuzhu's hand, holding a pastry, trembled slightly, and she quietly withdrew it.
"Why aren't you eating?" Prince Chen noticed her pulling her hand back and switched the plate for another. "Don't like it?"
"Another story, another story!"
A wealthy female guest threw a gold coin onto the stage. The storyteller glanced at the shiny gold, took a few gulps of tea, and said, "Since you all are so enthusiastic, I'll continue with the story of the domineering prince returning to the capital after defeating the bandits and receiving the emperor's praise."
The story grew more exciting, and a female guest in the audience whispered, "I wonder what the real Prince Chen looks like. It's a pity that nobles are hard to approach, or I would definitely take a good look."
Hearing this, Prince Chen, the so-called "domineering prince" with a questionable mind in the story, wondered what this had to do with him.
"Your Highness, I also think these stories are rather dull," Jiuzhu tugged at Prince Chen's sleeve. "Shall we go back?"
"Wait a moment," Prince Chen split a pear with his bare hands, giving half to Jiuzhu. Remembering the bad omen of sharing a pear, he shoved the other half into her hands as well. He sneered, "I want to hear how absurd this domineering prince's story gets."
Jiuzhu took a bite of the pear in her left hand, then another from the right, her mouth stuffed full. She secretly observed Prince Chen's expression, wondering what she should do if he got angry.
"The domineering prince, holding the gold hairpin bestowed by the emperor, rode swiftly to the young lady's residence. Her father had promised that if he succeeded in defeating the bandits, he would give his daughter's hand in marriage."
"Hmph," Prince Chen scoffed. Which court official would dare treat a prince with such an attitude?
How could such a nonsensical story be so popular?
"Do you think Prince Chen ever gave his fiancée a gold hairpin?"
"He did, he did. I heard about it. Not long ago, Prince Chen bought a lot of gold and silver jewelry at Miao Jin Lou and had it sent to Minister Ming's residence."
"Really?"
"Of course, it's true. My aunt works at Miao Jin Lou, and she usually serves female guests. She told us that Prince Chen was very generous and bought a whole pile of jewelry for his fiancée."
Hearing the women's hushed conversation, Prince Chen turned to Jiuzhu, who was silently nibbling on her pear with her head down.
As the story ended, the guests began to leave the teahouse one after another. Prince Chen sat on the wooden chair, arms crossed, glancing at the storyteller who was bending over to collect the rewards. He then reached into his sleeve and pulled out a handkerchief.
"Your student pays respects to Your Highness," Zhou Shucheng, no longer able to hide, reluctantly stepped forward to greet Prince Chen.
Handing the handkerchief to Jiuzhu, Prince Chen glanced at Zhou Shucheng, noticing his Imperial Academy uniform. He frowned slightly. Even a serious-looking scholar like him enjoyed such nonsensical stories?
"I accompanied my younger sister to the teahouse to listen to the storytelling today. I didn't expect to run into Your Highness," Zhou Shucheng tried to distance himself from the situation, unsure of how Prince Chen viewed him. "Your Highness, are you here to listen to the stories as well?"
Prince Chen retorted, "Do I look like someone who enjoys such stories?"
Zhou Shucheng fell silent.
Whether you do or not, you're here, aren't you?
"Miss Ming," Zhou Xiao, having finished packing her things, turned and saw Jiuzhu and Prince Chen. Her expression changed slightly. After paying her respects to Prince Chen, she whispered to Jiuzhu, "When did you arrive?"
More importantly, had Prince Chen heard the storyteller's tale?
Jiuzhu, clutching Prince Chen's handkerchief, whispered, "We arrived when the storyteller was talking about the prince... I mean, when the prince was slaying the bandit leader."
Zhou Xiao gave Jiuzhu a meaningful look. Why not take the opportunity to leave before Prince Chen reacts?
Jiuzhu perked up. "Your Highness, the story is over. Shall we..."
"Miss, it's you!" The storyteller, holding a pouch full of rewards, walked toward Jiuzhu with a smile. "I haven't seen you in days. I haven't had the chance to thank you properly."
Prince Chen turned to Jiuzhu, who was quietly edging toward the door, and grabbed her, pulling her back.
"Thanks to your advice last time, ever since I started telling stories about the wicked prince, the rewards from the guests have increased. Now, storytellers from all over are following my lead," the storyteller bowed to Jiuzhu. "Thank you for showing me a way to make a living."
Jiuzhu replied weakly, "I only suggested you tell more stories about him. I didn't come up with the content."
"Miss, you are too kind. You've shown us struggling folks a way to earn money without taking any credit," the storyteller was immensely grateful. "If there's any story you'd like to hear next time, just let me know. I'll tailor it to your preferences."
"No, no need," Jiuzhu dared not look at Prince Chen's expression. "You go ahead. I have some matters to attend to."
The storyteller glanced at the handsome man beside Jiuzhu and gave a knowing smile. "I won't disturb you any further, Miss. Please feel free to stay. Farewell."
The storyteller tactfully left, while Zhou Xiao looked at Jiuzhu with concern. Zhou Shucheng, not daring to disturb Prince Chen, forcibly pulled his sister away.
"Block the entrance. Don't let anyone else in," Prince Chen ordered, signaling his guards to stand watch outside. The attendants exchanged glances, then bowed and retreated behind the bead curtain.
Knock, knock, knock.
Prince Chen gently tapped the table with his finger, looking at Jiuzhu, who dared not even breathe loudly. "Come, sit and talk."
"Your Highness, I didn’t mean to. I didn’t expect things to turn out this way." Her watery eyes blinked at Prince Chen. "Please don’t be mad at me, okay?"
Seeing her pitiful expression, Prince Chen couldn’t help but laugh instead of getting angry. "First, tell me what happened."
"It all started on a sunny morning..."
Prince Chen reached out and lightly poked her bun. "Get to the point."
"I went to the teahouse to listen to storytelling and noticed that the female storyteller was hinting at a tale of a good prince and an evil prince. So, I stopped her from continuing." Thinking of the money she had spent that day, Jiuzhu’s heart ached slightly. "To get her to change the story, I spent two months’ worth of my allowance. Two whole months!"
"How much is your monthly allowance?" Prince Chen was curious, seeing how distressed she was.
Jiuzhu held up two fingers.
"Two hundred taels?" Prince Chen clicked his tongue. It was said that Ming Jingzhou was an honest official, and it seemed to be true.
Jiuzhu’s eyes widened. "How could it be that much? It’s twenty taels."
Twenty taels was already a lot. Back at the Taoist temple, she and her masters wouldn’t spend that much in a whole year.
Twenty taels?
Prince Chen looked at Jiuzhu with pity. What kind of hard life was this girl living?
No wonder she had only offered a small piece of silver as funeral expenses for his general back then—she was simply too poor.
"In the story, the good prince was perfect, while the evil prince was portrayed so poorly. Clearly, someone was trying to slander Your Highness." Jiuzhu whispered softly, "Your Highness is so kind. Why should you let bad people tarnish your reputation?"
"So you spent all your money to change the story?" Prince Chen looked at the girl with her hair in buns, feeling a strange emotion in his heart. He just wanted to poke her soft cheeks again.
"Although it hurt a little, as long as no one speaks ill of Your Highness, it was worth it." At this point, Jiuzhu guiltily lowered her head. "I just didn’t expect the story to become more and more outrageous..."
Faced with such a pitiful face, who could bear to scold her?
Was this Jiuzhu’s fault?
It was clearly the storytellers’ fault. What bad intentions could Jiuzhu have? She just wanted to protect him.
"It’s just a story. A domineering prince is just a domineering prince. It’s not like they mentioned my name." Prince Chen raised an eyebrow. "Next time something like this happens, don’t spend your money. Just use my name, and see who dares to ignore you."
Jiuzhu shook her head. "Your Highness, that wouldn’t be right. The storytellers are just trying to make a living. If I used your name, they’d be terrified, living in constant fear for the rest of their lives."
Prince Chen stood up. "Let’s go."
"Where to?"
"I’ll take you home."
The carriage stopped in front of the Ming residence. Jiuzhu stepped out and looked up at Prince Chen, who was still on horseback, smiling brightly.
"What are you smiling about?"
"I was just thinking how lucky I am to have met Your Highness." Her eyes were clear and bright, reflecting Prince Chen’s image.
"Your Highness is not only gentle and kind but also magnanimous." Jiuzhu tilted her head. "Your Highness must be a deity who descended to the mortal world, right?"
Because of her, so many ridiculous stories about a domineering prince had spread throughout the capital, yet Prince Chen had never blamed her. If he weren’t a deity, how could he be so gentle?
Prince Chen looked at the serious girl, his ears turning red instantly.
Do girls from Lingzhou all talk so... sweetly?
I’m strong and heroic. What does that have to do with being gentle and kind...
"Young girls don’t understand anything." He rubbed his slightly warm ears. "Go home early, so your parents don’t worry."
"Mm." Jiuzhu nodded and turned to leave.
"Wait." Prince Chen took out a stack of banknotes from his pocket and handed them to Jiuzhu. "Take these."
Jiuzhu looked at him in confusion. "Your Highness?"
"From now on, if there’s any story you want to hear or change, just do it." He stuffed the banknotes into Jiuzhu’s hand, then awkwardly looked up at the sky. "Spend it however you like. I have money."
So what if there were some outrageous stories about a domineering prince? If the girl liked listening to them, let her.
He was a grown man. There was no need to argue with a young girl.
Jiuzhu glanced at the amount on the top banknote and gasped.
Five hundred taels?!
She had never seen such a large amount of money before!
"Your Highness." Jiuzhu quickly pushed the money back into Prince Chen’s hand. "This is too much. I wouldn’t be able to sleep if I carried this around."
If she lost it or it was stolen, she would cry for three days and nights.
"Such small ambitions." Prince Chen sighed helplessly, dismounted, and rummaged through his pockets. He found a twenty-tael banknote and a few pieces of loose silver, which he handed to Jiuzhu. "At least take this."
Seeing Jiuzhu still hesitating, he put on a stern face. "If you don’t take it, I’ll be angry."
"Your Highness?" Ming Jingzhou had noticed a carriage parked in front of his residence from afar. As he approached, he realized it was his daughter and Prince Chen.
Upon closer inspection, he saw that Prince Chen was trying to give his daughter a twenty-tael banknote and a few pieces of silver totaling less than five taels.
He gave Prince Chen a subtle look, his feelings complicated.
The Emperor doted on Prince Chen and often sent gifts to his residence, making him one of the wealthiest princes.
Who would have thought that such a wealthy prince could be so stingy with a girl?
Prince Chen noticed Ming Jingzhou’s gaze. "..."
In his twenty-one years of life, this was the first time he had been suspected of being miserly, and by his future father-in-law, no less.
"Father." Jiuzhu was delighted to see Ming Jingzhou. "You’re back from work?"
"Yes." Ming Jingzhou bowed to Prince Chen. "Your Highness, I apologize for not welcoming you properly. Please come in for a cup of tea."
"No need." Prince Chen kept a straight face and stuffed the banknote and silver into Jiuzhu’s hand. "I have matters to attend to at the palace. I won’t disturb you, Minister Ming."
"Farewell, Your Highness." Ming Jingzhou smiled politely.
"Your Highness, wait." Jiuzhu, afraid that refusing the money would truly upset him, reluctantly accepted it. She took out a jade pendant from her pouch. "Your jade pendant..."
"Keep it." Prince Chen mounted his horse and said to Jiuzhu, "It’s been blessed by a master. Just hang it somewhere."
With this jade pendant, Ming Jingzhou probably wouldn’t suspect him of being stingy with women anymore, right?
Jiuzhu watched as Prince Chen rode away with his guards. Turning back, she saw her father smiling in the direction where Prince Chen had left. "Father?"
"Nothing. Let’s go home." Ming Jingzhou smiled, glancing at the jade pendant in Jiuzhu’s hand. He clasped his hands behind his back and leisurely walked through the gate.
In Taiyang Palace, Emperor Longfeng had just put down his brush when Liu Zhongbao entered.
"Your Majesty, Prince Chen requests an audience."
"Let him in." Emperor Longfeng glanced at the sky outside and took a few steps forward.
"Your son greets His Majesty." Prince Chen entered the hall and bowed deeply.
Such a formal bow meant he had something to ask for. Emperor Longfeng asked, "What trouble have you caused this time?"
Did he infuriate the civil officials or get into a dispute with the military generals?
"Father, your son has been diligently studying at the Ministry of Rites recently. When have I caused any trouble?" Prince Chen said confidently. "I just escorted Miss Ming home earlier, and something happened that made me reflect. I wanted to come and discuss it with you."
"Oh?" Emperor Longfeng raised an eyebrow.
"Minister Ming is incorruptible and wholeheartedly devoted to the people. He is also frugal in his daily expenses," Prince Chen said with admiration. "Such conduct is truly admirable."
Emperor Longfeng patiently waited for him to continue.
"However, Miss Ming is a delicate young lady. She needs cosmetics, jewelry, and other necessities, which all cost money. It’s not appropriate for her to be short on funds," Prince Chen looked at Emperor Longfeng. "After all, she is your future daughter-in-law. If she can’t even afford a few taels of silver, it would reflect poorly on our royal family, wouldn’t it?"
"I recall that you have plenty of silver yourself…"
"Father, that’s not appropriate. Miss Ming and I are not yet married. Even if I gave her silver notes, she wouldn’t be willing to spend them," Prince Chen coughed lightly. "What I mean is, you could find a reason to reward the Ming family with some gold and silver. If it comes from you, it would be a legitimate gesture, and no one could criticize it."
"It seems my son is quite fond of Miss Ming."
"Your son merely doesn’t want our future princess consort to embarrass the royal family," Prince Chen’s ears turned crimson. "You’ve misunderstood, Father."
"Fine," Emperor Longfeng sighed. "Originally, I planned to grant her a noble title in recognition of your regard for her. But since you claim to have no deep feelings for her, I’ll let the matter drop. Tomorrow, I will summon Ming Jingzhou to the palace and reward him with a hundred taels of gold, so he has enough funds to prepare for his daughter’s dowry."
A noble title for Ming Jiuzhu?
Prince Chen quickly interjected, "Father, Mother is very fond of Miss Ming. She will marry me sooner or later, so granting her a noble title would be appropriate."
With a noble title, Ming Jiuzhu would receive a monthly stipend, and she wouldn’t have to worry about a few dozen taels of silver before marrying him.
Just mentioning the word "marriage" sent a tingling sensation through his heart, both sweet and ticklish.
"A noble title is not something to be granted lightly," Emperor Longfeng shook his head. "I’ll think about it further."
"It’s just a minor title. Among the distant branches of the Yun family, there are many women who have been granted the titles of princess or lady," Prince Chen thought for a moment, then took the tea from Liu Zhongbao’s hands and respectfully handed it to Emperor Longfeng. "How about you grant Miss Ming the title of lady? It’s both modest and respectable."
Seeing his son bowing and scraping, Emperor Longfeng pretended to hesitate. "Very well, since your mother is fond of Miss Ming, I will grant her the title of lady."
"Thank you, Father. You are wise, benevolent, and love your people like your own children," Prince Chen flattered him, then walked over to the imperial desk. "Shall I grind the ink for you now?"
