jdhmnovel Chapter 385 Simple and Brutal, Giving Up All Hope
Chapter 385 Simple and Brutal, Giving Up All Hope
Chapter 385 Simple and Brutal, Giving Up All Hope
The magpies chattered, waking the sleeping people.
Zhu Yun Lou is one of the best restaurants in the capital. It usually gets crowded around 9 am, and there are hardly any customers around 5 am.
In a private room on the second floor, tea was already brewing on a ceramic stove.
As steam rose, the people inside the private room became blurred.
“Your Majesty, this is too risky. His Majesty has not issued a decree allowing you to leave the residence; you can only enter the palace by special summons.”
"You've already made all the arrangements, why bother saying all this? Isn't the Fourth Prince resting peacefully in his residence after catching a cold?"
"I'm just a palace servant accompanying you, Eunuch Xiao Dezi, on shopping trips. What imperial decree do I need to buy things?"
Xiao Dezi bent down, took the teapot off the ceramic stove, and poured tea for Zhao Hongsheng.
Once he agreed to deliver the jade pendant and note to his master, there was no turning back; he and his master were bound together.
Disobeying one's master's wishes will end badly, and so will successfully preventing it. That's just how it is for eunuchs; they easily find themselves disliked by both sides.
Because they were never qualified to be human beings; they were merely dogs kept by the royal family.
The only difference is that some dogs can eat meat, while others can only eat feces.
"What time is it?"
"Reporting to Your Majesty, it is already 1:15 AM."
"It's only a quarter past Mao Shi (5:15 AM), why is it so slow..."
Just then, Jiang Xiaoqi went out, called Wenbin over, and took the jade pendant that she had sold once before from Wenbin.
They weren't guilty at all, even though the money from selling the jade pendant had long been spent, they didn't feel guilty in the slightest.
Once it's in your hands, it's yours. Besides, it was forced upon you, so you can decide how to handle it.
It's not that I'm short of a few thousand or tens of thousands of taels of silver, it's just that I don't like being forced.
Why should we accept it just because it's given to us? We're not going to throw it away; we'll just convert it into cash ourselves.
"Young Master, it's already past 5:45 AM, aren't you leaving yet?"
Wenbin and Li Mo knew a little bit of the inside story, otherwise Wenbin wouldn't have stayed in the capital to learn skills when Jiang Xiaoqi was studying abroad.
He knew that with his limited abilities, he couldn't protect the young master at all, and might even be a hindrance. The young master's study abroad was not a simple study abroad, but rather a way for him to avoid trouble while he was still young and inexperienced.
Now our young master has already finished the palace examination and is a candidate for the imperial examination. Moreover, there are several other candidates for the imperial examination in the clan.
After this imperial examination, the Jiang family finally gained some leverage.
Even in the capital, a family with more than a dozen members who had passed the imperial examinations could no longer be arbitrarily bullied.
The Liu family, being related by marriage, would also re-evaluate the relationship between the two families out of respect for the Jiang family's scholars. Even if they didn't offer their full assistance, they wouldn't completely stand idly by.
Only when an individual or a family becomes useful and has value to be exploited can they begin to establish a foothold in the capital.
With Wenbin's help, Jiang Xiaoqi got dressed without any hurry.
"There's still a quarter of an hour, right? Zhuyun Tower isn't far, we'll make it. If we really don't have time, we just won't go."
"Who says you have to accept an invitation? Old Li, the doorman, never said his young master would definitely go."
"Well, that's true. Let them wait then. Who cares who they are? They're acting so shamefully. We can't just not go, in case there's danger."
"Young Master, perhaps you shouldn't go. What if it's some kind of trap?"
"It's not that exaggerated, it's just some people's dirty thoughts..."
At this point, Jiang Xiaoqi stopped talking and turned to look in the mirror.
The boy in the mirror was tall and handsome. Although he was a bit too delicate, his skin was too fair, and his features were too refined, he couldn't possibly be a girl!
I touched my face. Hmm, over the past two years, with a reasonable diet, I've gradually developed a bit of a jawline.
It's not exactly angular or angular, nor is it perfectly rounded.
I touched my abdomen through my clothes, one, two, three, four, five, six, six-pack abs, not one missing.
Jiang Xiaoqi was satisfied and finally went out, riding a horse instead of a carriage.
You can't ride a horse at full gallop in the inner city, but you can ride slowly.
Indeed, riding a horse is faster than a carriage, and we arrived at the foot of Zhuyun Tower in less than a quarter of an hour.
The waiter, being very perceptive, stepped forward to help lead the horse and tie it to the hitching post.
Another waiter greeted Jiang Xiaoqi as he entered Zhuyun Tower. Xiao Dezi had been watching from the window of the private room. The moment Jiang Xiaoqi dismounted, he came out of the private room and went downstairs to greet him.
They only left the time and address, without mentioning the name of the private room. They are now using the Guanyun Pavilion of Zhuyun Tower.
Xiao Dezi gave the waiter a wink, and the waiter wisely withdrew.
"Young Master Jiang, please come with me."
Jiang Xiaoqi was somewhat surprised. In just over two years, the little eunuch had become quite haggard. It seemed that following a troublesome master could make one age faster.
Jiang Xiaoqi followed Xiao Dezi to the entrance of Guanyun Pavilion. Xiao Dezi opened the door and invited Jiang Xiaoqi in, then closed the door behind him and left.
As Jiang Xiaoqi entered, she was not surprised to see Zhao Hongsheng sitting inside. She gave a slight bow, not pretending not to know his identity.
"Hey! You don't have to do that!"
Zhao Hongsheng stood up, wanting to help her, but Jiang Xiaoqi didn't give him the chance, giving a slight bow before standing up straight on her own.
"It's been a long time. Young Master Jiang... you still have the same charm as before," Zhao Hongsheng said with a smile, his gaze fixed on Jiang Xiaoqi's face.
"No, he should be called Jiang Gongsheng now, and in the future he will be called Jiang Jinshi and Lord Jiang."
"Your Highness may address me by my name."
“Mingfei? That name… doesn’t suit you.”
Jiang Xiaoqi rolled her eyes inwardly, not wanting to beat around the bush with Zhao Hongsheng.
"I wonder why Your Highness summoned me here? Let me make it clear beforehand that the Jiang family does not take sides."
Zhao Hongsheng was clearly taken aback. Not taking sides? What sides should he take? Did Qiqi think he wanted to seize the throne, and that's why he was trying to win over the Jiang family through him?
The highest-ranking official in the Jiang family was only a fourth-rank vice minister. Even if he wanted to win over officials, he would only be able to win over high-ranking and powerful courtiers.
Zhao Hongsheng realized that Jiang Xiaoqi had misunderstood him, and he became a little anxious. Did Jiang Xiaoqi really want him to spell things out?
“I never intended to align myself with the Chiang family. We’ve known each other for several years; you should know me.”
Jiang Xiaoqi threw the jade pendant onto the table, and Zhao Hongsheng only glanced at it before retracting his target.
"You should keep this. If something is forced on me, I'll sell it every time I get it."
Zhao Hongsheng lowered his eyes, his fist clenched and unclenched several times before he finally spoke calmly: "Fine, since you don't like it, I'll find something else to give you later."
Jiang Xiaoqi was speechless and stopped playing along with the other person's riddles.
He strode up to Zhao Hongsheng in a few quick steps: "Is Your Highness's brain structured differently from ordinary people?"