jdhmnovel Chapter 524 Dilemma, Relief
Chapter 524 Dilemma, Relief
When it was time for lunch, Jiang Xiaoqi only drank a bowl of soup. The snacks had already soaked in her stomach and made her feel very bloated.
"Eunuch Chen, if you need any help before or after the opening of the pastry shop, just go to Manager Wen at Liuxiang Pavilion. I have already given him instructions."
Chen Lin expressed his gratitude, saying, "Lord Jiang is very thoughtful. I won't stand on ceremony with you. Anyway, it's all our own business."
"That's right, that's right, it's all our own business, we're all working together!"
The Second Prince had finished his lunch and was preparing for a nap. As usual, Jiang Xiaoqi prepared to leave the palace and go to the side hall.
Unfortunately, he's now developed the habit of taking a forced nap at noon, and overall he feels pretty good, full of energy in the afternoon.
This job made him understand: eating lunch prepared by the imperial kitchen, drinking tribute tea, and sleeping in the prince's side hall.
Wow, there are probably very few people in Beijing who can match these benefits.
Oh, no, those great scholars in the Prince's academy should also receive this treatment.
Thinking of the prince's residence, Jiang Xiaoqi actually felt a sense of crisis.
Although I just comforted the depressed Second Prince today, I still need to make plans for the problems we will face in the future.
The Empress is a shrewd woman; she has already begun to subtly win over the hearts of the women in the harem.
Those who could be brought together have been brought together; those who couldn't be brought together but didn't have princes by their side have been left alone, while those who did have princes will inevitably fight each other.
Sigh, as the only strategist under the Second Prince, Jiang Xiaoqi felt he should do something.
However, before Jiang Xiaoqi could do anything, the sixth and seventh princes from the Princes' Office came to him first.
The two children are now fourteen and thirteen years old, a year or two younger than Jiang Xiaoqi.
However, compared to the elegant and refined Lord Jiang, these two look like children.
After finishing her lecture to the Second Prince, Jiang Xiaoqi left the palace as usual, while Li Mo was still waiting for her in the carriage outside the palace.
Unexpectedly, two uninvited guests rushed out from the palace road and blocked their way.
Jiang Xiaoqi calmly bowed after recognizing the person's attire.
"Greetings to Your Highnesses. May I ask why Your Highnesses have blocked my path?"
Jiang Xiaoqi remained calm and composed, neither humble nor arrogant.
Although they are about the same age, they are like two little kids in terms of mentality.
I decided not to argue with them for stopping me halfway, but I was also a little curious about their purpose.
"So you are Scholar Jiang, the Compiler Jiang of the Hanlin Academy?" the Third Prince spoke first.
"You're the genius Father Emperor spoke of, a once-in-a-century talent? You look no different from ordinary people~"
"He doesn't have three heads and six arms, he's just too good-looking~"
The Fourth Prince walked around Jiang Xiaoqi once and commented.
Although Jiang Xiaoqi was speechless, she still patiently asked the two if they had something to say, and if not, she was about to leave the palace.
"Why are you in such a hurry? What's outside the palace?"
“That’s right, that’s right. After you finish your shift, you just go home and read. We’ve all asked around. You never linger outside, and you don’t have anything urgent to do.”
Jiang Xiaoqi was speechless and questioned the heavens. "They even investigated? And with whom did they investigate? I'm clearly very busy!"
"Your Highnesses, you may not know this, but I own a shop in the capital. I have to go there today to check the accounts, so I'm really in a hurry."
Jiang Xiaoqi made a last-minute decision to go to Liuxiang Pavilion to take stock of the inventory and decide when the cargo ships from the south should "dock".
The Sixth Prince curled his lip, "What's so great about opening a shop? We can open one too."
The Seventh Prince chimed in, "That's right, don't use opening a shop as an excuse. We stopped you today because we want you to play with us."
Jiang Xiaoqi felt helpless; these two brats were really difficult to deal with.
But he couldn't openly confront them, since this was, after all, in the palace, in someone else's home, on their territory.
Sigh~ I should have known better than to refuse Eunuch Chen's offer to see me out. Having an assistant around would have given me some ideas.
If all else fails, we can go back to the Second Prince and ask him for reinforcements.
"Your Highnesses, it's not that I'm unwilling to stay with you, but there are designated times for locking up in the palace, and I cannot linger any longer."
This is a perfectly legitimate reason; let's see what else they have to say.
The sixth prince persisted, "No, you have to stay with me now, no matter when the locks go down."
The Seventh Prince chimed in, "That's right! We're princes! How dare you disobey our orders! We order you to play with us!"
Jiang Xiaoqi's hand was already clenched into a fist in his sleeve; he really wanted to knock these two guys unconscious with two punches.
Tolerate!Tolerate!Tolerate!
"Sixth Brother, Seventh Brother, what are you doing? Eh? What's Lord Jiang doing here?"
The sixth and seventh princes became more obedient when they saw that it was their fifth brother.
Jiang Xiaoqi was somewhat surprised, not expecting that it would be the Fifth Prince who came to his rescue.
Was it just a coincidence? It came out at the perfect time, right on the verge of exploding.
The sixth prince said, "Fifth brother, we want to have Jiang Xiuzhuan play with us."
"Yes, yes, Father has been looking worried these past few days when he sees our homework. He always compares us to Lord Jiang."
Why should we compare them so directly? There aren't that many geniuses in the world. Just because some people in another government have talent doesn't mean we have to be just as good!
The seventh prince looked resentful and unwilling; he really didn't want to spend his days buried in books anymore.
"That's right, that's right. As princes, we don't need to take the imperial examinations. Even if we can't be made princes, we can still be made dukes. We'll have our own fiefdoms and mansions, and we'll never have to worry about food and drink for the rest of our lives."
What's the use of having such good knowledge? It's not like I'm going to become a calligrapher or write books; why take it so seriously?
The sixth prince felt that what he said made a lot of sense, and even looked forward to the approval of the fifth prince, who was also a prince.
The fifth prince looked at his two ignorant and incompetent younger brothers and suddenly laughed, laughing loudly.
"Fifth Brother, what are you laughing at? Aren't we right?"
“What you all say makes a lot of sense, but it’s fine if you’re just having fun yourselves, but Lord Jiang doesn’t have your privileged background and privileged upbringing.”
He still has to work hard as an official and earn money to support his family! Don't make things difficult for him. When we have time another day, I'll take you all to the horse farm in the suburbs.”
Although the Sixth and Seventh Princes were somewhat unwilling, they dared not disobey the Fifth Prince's wishes. During this period, they clearly felt that their Fifth Brother was different from them.
They didn't realize it before because they didn't have much contact with him, but now that they see each other often, they think Fifth Brother is the most likely to get close to that position.
I might have to work under Fifth Brother again in the future, so it's best to be respectful.
Jiang Xiaoqi breathed a sigh of relief, bowed to the group again, and hurriedly left the palace.
He didn't want to get too involved with the fifth brother, and he couldn't let the second brother get jealous.