CHAPTER 493: CHAPTER 493 USELESS

Here Xingxing regretted sending too many lizhi to Princess Nanzhang, while over there, the maid delivered the lizhi, making Princess Nanzhang feel humiliated.

Every year when lizhi is tributary, the Empress Dowager would always reward her with a large plate.

Princess Nanzhang would invite Second Madam and Third Madam to taste and show off the Empress Dowager’s favor towards her.

This year, she didn’t receive a single one from the Empress Dowager, but instead, the Emperor rewarded Su Jin with a whole box.

A whole, box!

Only three boxes of lizhi were tributed!

How could anyone not feel envious, jealous, and hateful about the Emperor’s favor towards Su Jin?

Staring coldly at the lizhi placed on the table, Princess Nanzhang raised her hand and directly smashed the plate of lizhi onto the ground.

With a clattering sound spreading, lizhi rolled all over the floor.

The maids dare not make a sound.

Yet, they were somewhat pleased inside.

Lizhi were tributes, not easily available.

In previous years, the Empress Dowager only rewarded one plate to Princess Nanzhang, which wasn’t enough for the eldest miss and second young master to eat, let alone leave any for them.

Now that the lizhi were on the floor, Princess Nanzhang obviously wouldn’t eat them anymore.

If the princess didn’t eat, there would be a share for them.

They also wanted to taste what tribute lizhi was like.

Liushuang Garden.

Aunt Ding was drinking tea inside the room.

The maid walked in and said, "Aunt, Second Madam is here."

Saying so, Second Madam walked in.

The maid followed behind with a food box.

"It’s so hot, why did you come over?" Aunt Ding put down her teacup and said.

Second Madam smiled, "I brought some fresh lizhi for you to taste."

"These are rare items, gifted by the Emperor?" Aunt Ding laughed.

Second Madam didn’t know how to respond to Aunt Ding’s words.

The lizhi were indeed gifted by the Emperor.

But not as Aunt Ding suspected, gifted to Second Elder.

She merely benefited from the Heir’s wife.

Second Madam said, "The Emperor gifted the Heir’s wife a box of lizhi, and she sent some to the second household."

"A... a whole box?" Aunt Ding furrowed her brow.

She had never heard of lizhi being gifted in a box.

The Emperor’s fondness for the Heir’s wife exceeded Aunt Ding’s expectations.

"With the Emperor gifting a box, it wouldn’t be proper for the Empress Dowager to reward Princess Nanzhang with a plate," Second Madam laughed.

She peeled a lizhi and handed it to Aunt Ding.

Aunt Ding tasted it, her mouth filled with refreshing sweetness, incomparably sweet.

Aunt Ding ate seven or eight in succession before stopping.

Hmm.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to eat more, but a maid walked in to report something, making her stop.

"Old Madam has moved to JingAn Temple," the maid said softly.

Second Madam furrowed her brow, "Why did Old Madam leave the Great Buddha Temple and go to JingAn Temple?"

The young maid shook her head.

She only knew that Old Madam moved to JingAn Temple, she didn’t know anything else.

The maid curtsied and retreated.

Second Madam looked at Aunt Ding.

Aunt Ding chuckled, "Unexpected, even she had moments of a guilty conscience."

Out of nowhere, Second Madam was stunned on the spot.

"Aunt, what is this guilty conscience?" Second Madam’s curiosity surged.

Aunt Ding looked at her and said, "Don’t ask what you shouldn’t know."

"Go back."

Although Aunt Ding was a concubine, she wouldn’t allow anyone to oppose her.

Second Madam didn’t dare be presumptuous in front of her.

Having been married into the Prince Zhenbei Mansion for over ten years, Second Madam knew Old Madam’s character well.

In front of the Old Prince, Old Madam appeared virtuous and magnanimous, but she was actually petty and vengeful.

That she tolerated Aunt Ding living until now, speaks of Aunt Ding’s cunning.

Second Madam walked to the beaded curtain, glanced back.

She clearly heard what Aunt Ding had said a moment ago.

She was saying Old Madam felt guilty like a thief.

What did Old Madam steal?

Even if she stole something, there was no need to move from the Great Buddha Temple to JingAn Temple, right?

Second Madam’s curiosity was as if a cat was scratching at her heart, eager to find out.

Fengyang Palace.

Princess Shouning sat on the stool at the foot of the bed, reciting palace rules in her hand.

Though she muttered continuously, she didn’t really mean it.

The words jumped from her mouth, without lingering in her mind, nor did they even reach her brain.

A palace maid walked briskly over and said, "Princess, the eldest miss from Prince Zhenbei Mansion has come to see you."

Princess Shouning quickly got up from the footstool to sit on the bed.

Xie Jinyu came in carrying a food box, and Princess Shouning looked at her, "Why are you here?"

"To bring you lizhi," Xie Jinyu said as she raised the food box.

"Why are you the one bringing it?" Princess Shouning frowned.

She glanced at the palace maid and eunuchs.

Each bowed their heads without speaking.

Xie Jinyu looked at Princess Shouning and said, "You don’t know yet, do you? The Emperor rewarded my sister-in-law a box of lizhi, but none of the concubines in the harem received any, so naturally, there isn’t a share for you, Princess."

"The Empress Dowager feels for you and specifically had me bring you a plate."

The palace maids and eunuchs knew about this but dared not inform Princess Shouning for fear she’d get angry.

Unexpectedly, it was exposed by Xie Jinyu within an hour.

Princess Shouning cried in rage.

She was punished with the tedious and boring palace rules, forbidden from stepping outside Fengyang Palace.

Yet, the Emperor gifted the Princess Consort Zhenbei a box of lizhi.

Did the Emperor still have any regard for her, his own daughter?!

Seeing Princess Shouning sobbing angrily, Xie Jinyu was in good spirits, although she maintained a calm appearance as she consoled her, and it took quite a bit of persuading to make Princess Shouning feel a bit better.

Just as things mellowed, Xie Jinyu sprinkled salt on Princess Shouning’s wound, asking, "Have you not found out yet who is engaged to Prince NanAn?"

Princess Shouning glared at the palace maid and eunuchs, "Useless good-for-nothings!"

The palace maids and eunuchs had nothing to say.

They didn’t know how much silver had been spent, yet the servants in Prince NanAn Mansion were tight-lipped and wouldn’t say anything.

"Princess, don’t be anxious. Prince NanAn is eager to break the engagement too, but the engagement jade pendant was stolen. Princess Consort NanAn said that unless the jade is found, there would be no cancellation. Prince NanAn is searching for the jade," a palace maid advised.

"Searching and searching, how long has it been?!"

"The jade pendant was stolen yet cannot be found, how useless he is!" Princess Shouning said angrily.

Hmm.

The moment he jumped over the wall into the backyard of the Agarwood Pavilion, Prince NanAn suddenly sneezed.

If it weren’t for Chu Shun pulling him, he might have slipped and fallen onto a cactus again.

Standing on the ground, Prince NanAn patted his chest, still in shock.

"We must have my sister-in-law’s maid remove these cacti."

"Or else if no one else gets caught, then it’s our Prince who always does," the Heir of Marquis Beining chuckled.

Prince NanAn flushed red.

The Eldest Young Master of Duke Dingguo Mansion then said, "I reckon, instead of removing the cacti, my sister-in-law’s maid would have the Prince compensate for damaging her cacti."

He said it as he was carrying the wooden bucket.

When Prince NanAn climbed the wall, he held a wooden bucket with fish he caught in it.

Luckily, the bucket didn’t overturn when it fell, though it did crush two cacti.

Prince NanAn picked up the bucket and took out a small silver ingot from his chest, tossed it at the damaged cacti.

This move by him nearly caused internal injuries from laughing for Chu Shun and the others.

Stifling their laughter, the four of them carried a bucket each and headed towards the bamboo house.

Su Jin was not in the bamboo house, she went to Xie Jingchen’s bamboo house again.

Seeing them coming in with the buckets, Xie Jingchen frowned, "What is this?"

"These are the fish we caught, brought for Brother Jingchen and sister-in-law to taste."

Xie Jingchen’s face darkened with lines.

What’s so fresh about fish to taste.

The Hidden Guard looked at the four buckets of fish and said, "There’s no need to bring this much."

The fish were still lively, splashing water as they moved.

The Hidden Guard wanted to take the fish to the kitchen.

As he lifted the bucket, Prince NanAn patted his arm and said, "We’ll take the bucket with us later, just fill it with lizhi for us."

Hidden Guard, "..."