Prince Huan sneered coldly, “You don’t need to put on an act. If you had no ulterior motives, why did you step forward to curry favor with Xiao Yan during the palace banquet?”
“Don’t think that by acting loyal now, our imperial brother will forget what you said that night. You stood up for Xiao Yan, advocating for the He family. He’s sure to hold a grudge. Once he suppresses the Crown Prince and reclaims power, when he recalls today’s events, you won’t get off lightly!”
Prince Ji said, “Ninth Brother…”
“Enough. I’m kindly warning you, but if you won’t listen, so be it. It’s not me who’ll face the reckoning in the future.”
With a flick of his sleeve, Prince Huan turned and left.
Prince Ji watched his retreating figure, his expression darkening by degrees.
“Your Highness…”
A servant from Prince Ji’s residence approached cautiously. “Prince Huan, he…”
“Ignore him.”
Prince Huan had always been restless over the years. He seemed carefree, managing the Hengting Pavilion and acting brashly, as if he had no interest in external affairs, lulling even Emperor An into complacency. But Prince Ji was well aware of his covert maneuvers. He didn’t care whether Prince Huan was rekindling ambitions.
But Emperor An…
Prince Ji’s gaze darkened. He genuinely had no desire for the throne. Whatever discontent he once felt had long been worn away by time. Yet, Prince Huan’s earlier words couldn’t be ignored.
Xie Tianyong was narrow-minded and suspicious, never fully trusting Prince Ji’s residence.
That night, seeing the situation turn dire and his own foolish family members offending Xiao Yan, Prince Ji had sought to ingratiate himself with him. His intent was both to protect Emperor An and the Xie royal family and to safeguard Prince Ji’s residence. Who could have foreseen that, in such a situation, Xiao Yan would ultimately hold back?
Emperor An had awakened, and Xiao Yan willingly stepped back to serve as a subject.
With the Crown Prince at the forefront, Emperor An had no time to deal with them now and even needed the support of the imperial clan to keep the Crown Prince and Xiao Yan in check. But what about later? Once the Crown Prince was suppressed, Emperor An would surely turn to settle scores with those who “betrayed” him that night.
And he, Prince Ji, would be the first on that list!
“Your Highness, what’s wrong?” The attendant, seeing Prince Ji’s grim expression, couldn’t help but voice concern.
Prince Ji said gravely, “Didn’t the Princess Consort say she was unwell a few days ago?”
The attendant nodded. “Yes, she said she caught a cold.”
“And Yuyan?”
“The young lady has been attending banquets outside these past few days…”
“Foolish thing!”
Prince Ji’s face darkened. With Emperor An ill and the capital in chaos, he wished to tread carefully to avoid giving anyone leverage against him. Yet Xie Yuyan still had the audacity to attend banquets? Was she trying to bring more gossip upon Prince Ji’s residence?
Thinking of his troublemaking daughter and his muddleheaded wife who blindly indulged her, the last traces of hesitation in Prince Ji’s heart vanished. “Since the Princess Consort is ill, let her rest and recover. All household matters will be handed over to Concubine An to manage.”
The attendant was stunned by Prince Ji’s words. Was His Highness stripping the Princess Consort of her authority over the household?
Before he could process his shock, Prince Ji’s voice grew colder. “Xie Yuyan is willful and repeatedly causes trouble. Not only does she show no remorse, but she neglects her ailing mother to go out and revel. Such an unfilial daughter must be disciplined. Send her to Lingxin Temple to reflect and repent under strict supervision. Without my orders, she is not to leave.”
“As for the Princess Consort, have the household physician treat her diligently. She need not leave the residence until next spring.”
His Highness was planning to confine the Princess Consort and abandon the young lady.
The attendant was utterly shocked, but Prince Ji continued, “Have Concubine An prepare a generous gift. Select rare books and ancient paintings from my collection and send them to Jiyun Lane later to celebrate the joyous union of Duke of Dingguo and Princess Xiangning.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
As Prince Ji walked out, he rubbed his fingertips.
He needed to secure a fallback for Prince Ji’s residence…
…
After the noble families agreed to “donate” books, the task of sending the collections to the academy naturally didn’t require Tangning’s attention.
With the Lu family’s precedent, the major families, fearing a repeat of Tangning inviting courtiers to their residences like a swarm of locusts, didn’t dare delay. They promptly selected the books to be “donated,” packed them into boxes, and sent them off.
As for whether they truly provided the agreed three-tenths…
“Sister, do you think they’d falsify the numbers?”
In the Cui family’s library, Xue Ru flipped through a book while glancing at the Cui family members carrying boxes outside, whispering, “Only they know how many books they truly have. The catalogs they gave us might not be complete. They say it’s three-tenths, but who’s to say they didn’t shortchange us?”
Tangning, pen in hand as she transcribed, noticed two young Cui family women staring at them intently. She chuckled lightly. “If they shorted us, there’s nothing we can do. We can’t exactly search their homes to count their collections. Even if we did, they could hide books in advance, who would know?”
“But…” Xue Ru pouted, “aren’t we losing out then?”
“Some loss is inevitable.”
Tangning continued writing, explaining softly, “Brother forcing them to yield was already no small feat. These book collections are the foundation of their prestige. Getting them to part with even a portion is a victory. While we don’t know the exact number of books each family holds, we have a rough idea. They wouldn’t dare tamper too much.”
“Brother and I compromised, asking for only three-tenths. Even if they’re shameless, they’d hide at most half a tenth. If a so-called century-old noble family’s three-tenths amounts to just ten or eight thousand books, barely filling a few boxes, I’m sure Brother would be delighted to have a thorough chat with them.”
Tangning’s voice wasn’t loud, but she didn’t avoid being overheard.
“Besides the Liang, Lu, and Fan families, which rose through Confucian scholarship, the other families’ collections should be roughly similar. They wouldn’t be so shameless as to collude and decide how much to hide. A quick comparison later will reveal who’s the most brazen.”
Recalling the half-empty boxes carried out earlier, the two Cui family women paled. One of them hurriedly left.
Tangning smiled, patting Xue Ru’s head. “Alright, didn’t you want to read? Get to it.”
Xue Ru noticed the Cui family members, who had paused, now rushing back in. Moments later, they carried out several fully packed boxes. She stifled a laugh, gave Tangning a sly smile, and lowered her head to focus on her book.
After over two hours in the Cui family’s library, Tangning and Xue Ru emerged to find the boxes of books already sent off.
The Cui family’s eldest daughter-in-law greeted them. “Has the Princess finished reading?”
Tangning smiled faintly. “It’s getting late, so we won’t impose further.”
“Impose? Nonsense. Since we agreed to let you visit, you’re welcome to stay as long as you like.”
The eldest daughter-in-law smiled warmly, as if entirely unbothered by her father-in-law’s recent imprisonment due to Xiao Yan. She added, “You must be tired after reading so long. I’ve prepared tea and snacks. Would the Princess and Lady Xue care to join me?”
Xue Ru blinked in surprise.
They had clashed fiercely with the Cui family before, especially after Cui Lin’s imprisonment and rough treatment. Earlier, the Cui family had been cold, barely civil. The eldest daughter-in-law had been polite but only superficially. Why was she suddenly so warm?
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You can read ahead to chapterr 770 (100+ extra chapters) here
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