Chapter 449: Prince
Chapter 449: Chapter 449: Prince
The several princes knew that the Emperor was biased toward his third son, but someone had already submitted a memorial for impeachment, yet he was still letting the matter off so lightly.
What did he mean by letting bygones be bygones? Did that mean as long as the actions took place before marriage, no matter how outrageous they were, it didn’t matter?
If such a precedent was set, how could the inner courtyards of the various estates ever have peace in the future?
What the princes hadn’t fully grasped yet, the civil and military officials had already figured out.
A few pedantic scholars immediately stepped forward and knelt. "Your Majesty, although this is a private matter within the Third Prince’s estate, Gu Shufei’s actions are morally deficient. This kind of behavior cannot be encouraged."
"Indeed, Your Majesty. This incident merely happened right before the New Year. At that time, the Third Prince and the Gu Family’s daughter were already mutually affectionate. Knowing full well that she would enter the royal family, she still acted in such a manner. This shows her arrogant and domineering nature, relying on her connections. If she isn’t taught a lesson, we fear others will mimic her behavior in the future, which serves neither the nation nor its families."
"Your Majesty..."
"Your Majesty..."
The Emperor was practically annoyed to death by these people. Every time they caught onto a trivial matter, they would blow it completely out of proportion.
He had finally managed to help Rong Ruiyuan accumulate some power, yet the eldest and second sons were already this guarded against him.
If things continued like this, would he, as the Emperor, even have a say in his own court?
Just look at this—they merely set things in motion, and already so many officials were charging into battle for them. Had these people forgotten who the Emperor was, the one who truly held the power of life and death?
Thinking of this, he couldn’t help but coldly snort. "At the end of the day, this is a matter for the female members of the inner courtyard. I will have the Empress reprimand her later. Let us grown men not overstep our bounds."
Since the Emperor had already spoken and tasked the Empress with managing the female affairs, these officials, no matter how many reasons they had or how eloquent they were, could only voice their compliance.
To show his impartiality, the Emperor still gave Rong Ruiyuan a slight warning, telling him to manage his inner courtyard properly once he returned, and to quickly pay off the debts he owed. A dignified royal family couldn’t allow others to relentlessly target them over a mere few thousand taels of silver.
Rong Ruiyuan respectfully complied, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly. Among those who had just followed the uproar, there were actually some of his own people.
His two Imperial Brothers were probably still feeling very smug, believing they had won the hearts of the officials.
The two fools didn’t even know what their Imperial Father dreaded the most. Let them jump around all they wanted; they would slowly wear away whatever father-son affection their Imperial Father had left for them. That would be his true opportunity.
Gu Antong was indeed a clever woman. By deliberately tarnishing her own reputation, she had successfully planted a seed of discord in Imperial Father’s mind against the others. Just as expected, the matter was handled lightly, though there wouldn’t be another opportunity like this next time.
No matter how angry the First Prince and Second Prince were internally, they could only suppress it for now.
Imperial Father really treated the third son differently. Even when such an indecent, morally corrupt woman appeared in his inner courtyard, he still showed favoritism.
A reprimand from the Empress? Who in the world didn’t know that the Empress was a soft pushover? She hadn’t even spoken a harsh word to any of the princes, so what significant action could she possibly take?
The Fourth Prince, meanwhile, quietly observed Rong Ruiyuan. What exactly was it about his third brother that made Imperial Father look upon him with such special favor?
His looks were comparable to their two older Imperial Brothers, but compared to the Fourth Prince himself, he was vastly inferior. Could it be that he possessed some hidden talent he didn’t know about?
He planned to go back and thoroughly question his mother. They were both sons of Noble Consorts, so why was the difference in treatment so huge?
For the remainder of the court session, the princes didn’t pay any attention.
Nor did they notice that the Emperor’s gaze grew even colder as he looked at the officials below.
After the court session ended.
Just as they reached the palace gates, Rong Ruiyuan was about to board his carriage when he was stopped by the First Prince, Rong Ruixue. "Third Imperial Brother is truly favored by the Emperor. Are you rushing out so hastily to apologize and pay off your debts?"
"First Imperial Brother," Rong Ruiyuan said. His etiquette was flawless, leaving no room for criticism as he stopped and bowed respectfully. "I will certainly do my best to compensate for the mistakes made by the concubine in my estate.
"First Imperial Brother, you also know that establishing our own estates is not easy. Perhaps four thousand taels of silver is not much to you, but as your younger brother, I still need to scrape it together.
"You have always taught us that older brothers should be friendly and younger brothers respectful. Right now, your younger brother is tight on money. I wonder if First Imperial Brother could lend me five thousand taels of silver first?"
Rong Ruixue scoffed, "Rong Ruiyuan, are you joking with me?
"Could it be that you’ve already spent all of the hundreds of thousands of taels of silver that Gu Baijiang sent you?
"Even though you are a Prince, you can’t be such a spendthrift."
Immediately after, Rong Ruixue covered his mouth. "Wait, that’s not right either. With that much silver, even if you tossed it onto the streets, it would still take some time to scatter it all.
"Unless... Third Imperial Brother, you went and raised a private army? Now that is a truly money-burning endeavor..."
"First Imperial Brother, if you don’t want to lend me the silver, why must you slander me so?
"Where would I get hundreds of thousands of taels of silver? If I had that much, would I swallow my pride and come here to ask for your help?"
"Then I must have misunderstood Third Imperial Brother." Noticing a few officials walking out, Rong Ruixue knew he couldn’t push the topic further. He smiled amiably. "How much silver did you say you wanted to borrow just now?"
If he remembered correctly, the IOU held by Zhou Gang stated four thousand taels of silver. Rong Ruiyuan truly dared to demand an exorbitant amount.
"Ten thousand taels of silver," Rong Ruiyuan said with a bitter face. "My mother’s maiden family does not come from a prestigious and noble background like First Imperial Brother’s, nor can we afford to live the extravagant and wealthy life you do.
"Ever since establishing my estate, we have always been tightening our belts just to barely scrape by.
"Right now, my estate can’t even make ends meet. I can only seek help from my two Imperial Brothers."
The Second Prince, Rong Ruisi, who had just walked over, hadn’t yet figured out what was going on when he heard Rong Ruiyuan say he needed their help.
He laughed and said, "Rong Ruiyuan, you’re Imperial Father’s most favored son. Why would you ever need to beg in front of me and First Imperial Brother?
"However, since you’ve already asked, as your older brother, I naturally won’t refuse. Tell me, how much do you need?"
"It really is Second Imperial Brother who understands a brother’s hardships. If you see fit to lend ten or twenty thousand taels of silver, your younger brother wouldn’t complain."
The Fourth Prince, Rong Ruibo, who was just about to join them, paused mid-step. He immediately turned and laughed to an official beside him. "Lord Min, I heard the foals in your estate are growing quite well. Today, I’ll shamelessly pay you a visit..."
Lord Min looked baffled. Since when did their estate raise foals? They only had two old cart-pulling horses, both of which were male. How could they possibly raise foals?
Just as he was about to refute, he didn’t expect the Fourth Prince to directly drag him outward by the arm. "Hurry up! I’m still rushing back to my estate for lunch."
Rong Ruiyuan hadn’t expected the fourth brother to be so sharp, and couldn’t help but feel it was a bit of a pity.
Rong Ruisi turned his head to look at the eldest and the third brothers. "What kind of play are you two putting on?
"Trying to borrow silver from me? You must be dreaming! My silver has important uses. You won’t be able to borrow a single copper coin."
Saying this, he didn’t even wait for the two to react. He directly flicked his sleeves and left, immediately hopping onto his carriage and ordering the driver to hurry up and go.
Before leaving, he didn’t forget to lift the curtain and shout back, "Rong Ruiyuan, just ask Eldest Brother if you want to borrow money! He’s always been friendly to his brothers. He won’t let you return empty-handed!"