Chapter 88: Taking Joy In Another’s Misfortune
Zhao Wanrou looked at Wu Muyu’s food box as she smiled. “Sister Wu, but you are not serving your husband.”
Wu Muyu said softly, “Sister Yan and I are like sisters. Brother Su is her husband. Sister Yan is busy with work, so I’ll take care on behalf of her.”
At this moment, Su Wen came out. When he saw the two of them, he asked with a smile, “What are you two talking about? Why aren’t you entering the residence? It’s quite cold outside.”
Wu Muyu let out a cry of surprise and knocked on her own little head. With a face full of self-reproach, he said, “Aiya, I was only concerned about replying to Your Highness, but forgot about the lotus seed congee. It must be cold in such cold weather. It’s all my fault, Muyu deserves to die.”
Zhao Wanrou raised her eyebrows. This girl looked like she was blaming herself, but she was secretly hinting that the lotus seed porridge was cold because Wanrou had stalled her.
‘What a Wu Muyu! I underestimated her!’ Zhao Wanrou thought to herself.
She chuckled. “Sister Muyu, don’t blame yourself. Perhaps your Brother Su doesn’t like lotus seed porridge? Su Wen, don’t you think so?”
Su Wen smiled and said, “It’s alright. I might not like hot porridge, but I do like cold porridge!”
Zhao Wanrou secretly rolled her eyes at Su Wen and walked into the house. When she walked past Su Wen, she whispered, “You really offend no one!”
Su Wen smiled but did not reply. The three of them entered the residence.
Zhao Jin and Chu He emerged from the shadows.
Chu He whispered, “Brother Jin, why do I find their words so awkward? I keep feeling like something’s wrong.”
Ever since Chu He had been brought to see the world by Zhao Jin last night, the way he addressed him had changed.
However, his poker face was still as cold as ever.
Zhao Jin rolled his eyes at him and said, “You heard them? I didn’t hear them. Us bodyguards actually don’t need ears! And we don’t need to discuss such things behind our backs. Remember that.”
“Alright! Brother Jin, why don’t we spar? It’s so boring every day.”
“If you’re bored, go knock your head against the wall. Why are you thinking of sparring? Don’t you know how expensive the things in the residence are? Are you gonna pay if you break them?”
Upon mentioning this, Chu He smiled bitterly. “I can’t even hit a wall. It’s too expensive!”
On the other hand, Sun Wei had already organized his subordinates.
At this moment, they were reading the information gathered by the gangs in their hands one by one.
“The Minister of Revenue’s dog is dead.”
“There was a murder case in the Western District. The victim was Mi Shang’s daughter, Liu Wei.”
“The son of the assistant minister for the Ministry of Rites spent the night at the Hundred Flowers Pavilion last night. It’s said that he was a toothpick.”
“The drinks at the Entertainment Pavilion are half price today.”
“A servant of the Third Prince’s family was beaten and was carried away for medical treatment…”
These people were really well-informed. There were all kinds of news handed to them, be it real or fake news. Whichever the case, they just reported it to the higher-ups.
Sun Wei classified the news into different categories. People in the martial world were one type, people in the bureaucracy were another type, and gossip was the last type. He sent them all to Su Wen’s residence.
At this moment, Su Wen had already hidden himself in his inner residence.
After sending Zhao Wanrou and Wu Muyu off, Su Wen laid on Cui Yumian’s lap and felt much better.
“These two people have been acting weird all morning. Their words are loaded with guns and sticks. It’s giving me a headache!” Su Wen complained.
Cui Yumian smiled. “Isn’t it all because they fancy you, hubby? How else would they be so hostile to each other?”
“It’s the hardest to accept the favor of a beauty. His Majesty has so many wives. Wouldn’t he be frustrated to death every day?” As Su Wen spoke, he suddenly realized something. “No wonder he’s so hardworking. He must be using this matter to escape from the harem. Why else would he be so excited to work? Every day, he goes to court before the sun rises. It’s been decades.”
Cui Yumian hurriedly covered Su Wen’s mouth and said, “Don’t spout nonsense. If word gets out, it’ll be a disaster!”
Su Wen smiled. “Aren’t you the only one here?”
Cui Yumian shook her head and said, “Husband, there are no absolutes in everything. Since you’re now working in the royal court, you must be careful and not slip up!”
Su Wen nodded with a smile. Cui Yumian’s virtuousness made him feel very comfortable.
He closed his eyes. “Alright, let me take a break now. I still have to go to the Cloud Gazing Tower later, and also have to enter the palace in the afternoon to get more teachings.”
Just as he spoke, Ning Shuang knocked on the door. “Young Master, Sun Wei sent some letters over.”
As she spoke, she handed over Sun Wei’s message.
Su Wen opened it and saw that all the words written on it were incomprehensible. Cui Yumian, who was watching by the side, also had a head full of fog trying to understand the words.
Su Wen then got up and took a book from the shelf, before lying back on Cui Yumian’s lap. He compared the words to the book he just took.
This was a common method of writing messages in code to prevent spying.
Even if they were intercepted by someone in the middle, there would not be a situation where information was leaked.
Cui Yumian stood up and was about to leave when Su Wen smiled. “Where are you going?”
Cui Yumian said seriously, “Husband, I don’t know what these things are, nor do I want to know. If I know a little more, this thing will have a higher chance of being leaked! It’s naturally best if I don’t know!”
As he watched Cui Yumian leave with a determined expression, Su Wen shook his head and looked at Ning Shuang. He said with a smile, “Help Yumian more if you have nothing to do. If she really advances in the family in the future, I’m afraid she will suffer with her personality.”
Ning Shuang smiled and said, “Don’t worry, Young Master. I know what to do.”
“Come, Young Master just happens to be missing a thigh pillow. Let Young Master lie down for a while.”
…
In the Crown Prince’s residence, the prince was smiling very happily.
“Third brother, this fellow, doesn’t know when to stop. Today, in court, he was reprimanded by Royal Father and was grounded for three days! Good ban, what a great ban!”
Zhou Bin frowned and said, “It might not be a good thing. Although he was reprimanded today, he was only grounded for three days. It’s not a big punishment.”
The Crown Prince waved his hand and said indifferently, “It’s not like that. Today, he was grounded for three days and reprimanded in front of everyone. Thus, Third Brother has already formed a grudge with the Su Family. With his personality, he’s destined not to submit. As such, Su Changqing will do his best to stop Third Brother from ascending the throne no matter what. This means that from now on, Third Brother will have another great enemy!”
Zhou Bin shook his head and said, “The Third Prince doesn’t have much influence in the imperial court. What His Majesty values is his martial arts talent! This is also his greatest capital. Even if Su Changqing’s influence in the imperial court is heaven-defying, I’m afraid it’s hard to target him.”
The crown prince sneered and said, “You’re underestimating Su Changqing too much. Father does indeed value Third Brother’s martial arts talent and often praises him, but what kind of person is Su Changqing? He has followed Father for dozens of years and is one of Father’s most trusted people. He has an imperceptible influence on Father.
For such a person, he only needs to occasionally say a few words about Third Brother, and it’s enough to make him suffer. What’s more, Su Changqing is someone who understands Father’s thoughts very well. As long as he seizes the opportunity and his words manage to sway Father’s heart, Third Brother will never have the chance!”
“As the saying goes, one would rather offend a gentleman than a villain. This is the principle. If you offend a crafty sycophant like Su Changqing, how would he allow you to ascend the throne to cause trouble for him? Third Brother has made a huge miscalculation this time! Besides, the three of us don’t go to brothels such as the Hundred Flowers Pavilion. Does that Honorable Xie still have a choice now?”
The crown prince said gloatingly, “Third Brother has lost a concubine and made a great enemy. Unless his cultivation reaches the state of communing with the Gods and has the potential to ascend to heaven, he won’t stand a chance!”
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