Prince Yu sat at home as a mansion fell from the sky.
In addition to Prince Jing's luxurious estate, he was also granted two thousand guards—and most crucially, their expenses would be covered by the Embroidered Uniform Guard's budget, requiring no financial contribution from him.
Thus, the Jiajing Emperor was fully aware that Prince Yu was impoverished and that Yan Shifan deliberately withheld his stipend. The emperor knew everything yet coldly watched as Prince Yu sank into destitution.
Huang Jin, the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs, personally delivered the imperial decree to Prince Yu's residence. Prince Yu could scarcely believe it—the Jiajing Emperor forbade him from entering the Forbidden City. He could no longer recall their last meeting; even his father's face had grown hazy in his memory.
Prince Yu was no fool. After the initial shock, he quickly grasped the situation.
His father was using him as a warning to Prince Jing, compelling the latter to remain obediently in his fiefdom without extending influence to the capital.
He was merely a tool in his father's scheme to intimidate the ambitious.
With wooden resignation, Prince Yu knelt toward the Forbidden City and performed the full ceremonial bow. "I thank Your Majesty for this grace."
While Prince Yu remained placid as still water, Princess Yu reacted differently. The prospect of moving into a new residence without spending a single coin was far too enticing. After completing the ceremonial bows, she asked Huang Jin, "Honorable sir, when may we relocate?"
Huang Jin replied, "The Imperial Astronomers have determined the day after tomorrow to be an auspicious date for moving. The keys have already been delivered to your residence. Any non-essential items can be transferred today."
After seeing Huang Jin off, Princess Yu fluttered through the rooms like a butterfly among flowers. "...Take down these drapes and pack them. Remove all table covers and chair upholstery to be taken with us."
"Instruct the kitchen to cease preparing meals for the craftsmen starting noon today. Settle their wages immediately—have them sign and dismiss them."
"How many days should we pay for? Only through yesterday, of course. They've done no work today yet would receive wages, enjoyed a free breakfast this morning, and stayed overnight at no cost. Our household has been more than generous with them."
"Return all unused paint and lime to the merchants. We have no need for them now..."
A destitute home still holds treasures. After two years of stringent budgeting, Princess Yu suddenly possessed a lavish estate yet remained frugal to the extreme, leaving no room for waste.
She even insisted on bringing the kitchen's pickled vegetable jars, stripping Prince Yu's residence clean as if licked by a tongue.
As usual, Prince Yu abdicated all responsibilities. He returned to Longhua Temple to commission a grand Buddhist ceremony for his deceased wife and children, even scraping together fifty taels of silver—an unprecedented donation for incense funds.
Prince Yu believed that surviving the previous night's canine peril was not only due to the crucial assistance of Lu Ying, Wang Daxia, and Wei Caiwei but also the protection from his wife and children in the afterlife.
Kneeling before the Buddha statue, he gazed at the gilded peeling surface of the Tathagata and thought: If... by any chance... I will surely restore Guanghua Temple and recast the golden statue.
While Prince Yu maintained his composure and Princess Yu bustled about, Li Jiubao lay bedridden, tormented by nightmares.
She had been unfortunate—the last concubine dragged out by Lu Ying, having inhaled the hallucinogenic black smoke until unconsciousness.
Wei Caiwei remained at Prince Yu's residence to treat her, administering antidotal medicine.
In her delirium, Li Jiubao returned to Machang Alley. Wisps of cooking smoke rose as poverty confined her dinner to plain congee with pickled vegetables.Someone knocked at the door. Li Jiubao opened it to find her neighbor Chen Jingji holding a bowl of braised pig's face. "My grandmother asked me to share this with the neighbors. This portion is for your family."
"Thank you. Brother Chen, wait a moment." Having nothing to offer in return, Li Jiubao opened her pickled vegetable jar and filled a bowl with preserved radishes she had made. "I made these myself. They're good with porridge in the morning."
"My grandmother loves your pickled vegetables the most." Chen Jingji carefully carried the bowl home as if holding some precious treasure.
That bowl of braised pig's face was incredibly fragrant—no delicacy from land or sea could compare.
In her dazed state, she found herself in a bridal gown, tied up inside a bridal sedan, being forced to marry the gambling den owner as a concubine.
"Jiubao! Let her go!" Chen Jingji came to rescue her, blocking the sedan chair in the street.
A group of thugs dragged him away and surrounded him, beating him mercilessly.
Li Jiubao, trapped inside the sedan, couldn't move or cry out. The thugs kicked Chen Jingji repeatedly in the groin, bright red blood flowing out until the entire street was stained crimson...
Ah!
Li Jiubao finally screamed aloud. Her vision gradually cleared, faint spots of light coalescing into a face—Wei Caiwei.
"You're awake. Perfect timing—drink this medicine." Wei Caiwei handed her the medicine bowl.
Li Jiubao reached to take it, but her arm wouldn't obey, clumsily nearly overturning the bowl.
Wei Caiwei steadied it. "You were affected by knockout smoke. The residual toxins haven't cleared yet, so your body temporarily won't respond. Rest well—you'll recover in a few days."
Wei Caiwei fed Li Jiubao the medicine, who drank it all in one go. "Thank you, Doctor Wei. How are His Highness, the Princess Consort, and the other selected attendants?"
Wei Caiwei replied, "Prince Yu and the Princess Consort are fine. Of the nine selected attendants, six have minor injuries and three are more seriously wounded. The other two woke up around midnight. You were the most severely injured."
Hearing the commotion in the courtyard, Li Jiubao's body tensed immediately, her hands trembling uncontrollably.
Wei Caiwei helped her lie down. "Someone used hunting dogs disguised as the Dark Spectre to harm His Highness Prince Yu. The mastermind has been executed. The Emperor has bestowed Prince Jing's former residence upon Prince Yu. The household is moving now—don't worry, just focus on recovering."
Fragments of the nightmare lingered. Li Jiubao stared blankly at the snowy light outside the window, thinking: They say those who survive great disasters are destined for good fortune. With the household moving, has our misfortune finally reached its end?
From Prince Yu's residence to Prince Jing's former mansion—next time we move, will it be to the Forbidden City?
When Chen Jingji and I meet again, everything will have changed...
Wei Caiwei treated three selected attendants and rode in the same carriage with Li Jiubao to continue their treatment at the new residence.
The plaque "Imperially Commissioned Prince Jing Residence" had been removed from the main gate and stored away in a dusty warehouse, replaced by a new sign reading "Prince Yu Residence."
Compared to the dilapidated old Prince Yu residence, the new Prince Yu residence was exceptionally grand!
Premium·Golden Age Splendor. Located in the prime western First Ring Road area of the capital, adjacent to the political center of the Forbidden City. Ten thousand square meters of luxurious, spacious living and working space. Accommodate fifty concubines and birth one hundred children—all with private quarters! Merely separated from the Forbidden City by West Gate Street! Just half a quarter-hour's ride from residence to imperial palace (on horseback).Taste: The Art of Nobility. Designed exclusively for the imperial family by master craftsmen from the Ministry of Works, the majestic architecture and opulent furnishings serve as the model for imperial princely residences. Even the toilet seats are adorned with gold foil, ensuring that even your most private moments are imbued with aristocratic elegance.
Feng Shui: Soaring to Great Heights. The hardest path in the world is the one leading to the throne. Residing in the New Yu Wang Residence means stepping onto the fast track to imperial power.
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Prince Yu’s entire family moved into their new home. While the prince himself remained composed, Princess Yu was overjoyed, as if waking from a dream. Not only had she saved on renovation costs, but she also acquired a nearly brand-new mansion. After two years as a princess, she was finally beginning to live like one.
Wei Caiwei stayed at the New Yu Wang Residence for five days, only taking her leave after all the selected attendants had fully recovered.
With funds now at her disposal, the princess reimbursed the delayed monthly allowances of the selected attendants and gifted each of them two sets of head ornaments and four new sets of clothing for the New Year.
As everyone’s financial situation improved, the three severely injured attendants each gave Wei Caiwei half of their monthly allowance as consultation fees. Li Jiubao, mindful of the others, did not offer more and adhered to the same amount.
Naturally, the largest reward came from Princess Yu—a sealed envelope containing fifty taels of silver.
With the White Deer Temple eradicated and the threat to Wei Caiwei eliminated, there was no need to relocate to the Lu Estate’s villa by Shichahai. She moved back home, ending the back-and-forth turmoil.
On the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, the Jiajing Emperor bestowed laba congee upon his court officials. Moreover, he specifically gifted some to the Yu Wang Residence.
The last time the residence had received imperial laba congee was the year before the previous Princess Yu passed away. Due to Prince Yu’s dissatisfaction with the Jiajing Emperor’s neglectful treatment of his wife and child’s funeral, compounded by the emperor’s earlier refusal to allow Prince Yu to see his mother in the cold palace before her death, these “new and old grievances” erupted into a fierce argument between father and son. Consequently, the Jiajing Emperor cut off the Yu Wang Residence’s supply of laba congee.
Now, although the Jiajing Emperor had not yet revoked the ban on Prince Yu entering the Forbidden City, his permission for Prince Yu to “usurp the magpie’s nest” by moving into the Jing Wang Residence, the sudden addition of two thousand guards, and the restoration of the laba congee gift led court officials to sense a shift. Speculation spread that father and son were likely reconciling.
Grand Secretariat ministers like Xu Jie, who had long supported Prince Yu, were ecstatic. They submitted another memorial urging the establishment of the crown prince.
The Jiajing Emperor remained silent on the matter of succession. However, rumors circulated both in and out of court that the emperor would summon Prince Yu to the palace for the New Year celebrations.
In previous years, it had been Prince Jing’s family who accompanied the Jiajing Emperor for the New Year.
The Lu Estate also received the imperial laba congee, which was first offered at the ancestral hall. Lu Bing promptly selected two thousand robust men from the eighteen guards of the capital and dispatched them to the Yu Wang Residence. After completing this task, he entered the palace to report.
The Jiajing Emperor was observing Lan Daohang refining elixirs.
Regarding the Dark Spectre incident at the Yu Wang Residence, the emperor still did not suspect the Blue Immortal. He believed assassins had exploited the palace legend of the Dark Spectre, using large wolfhounds to mimic the creature.
The Jiajing Emperor remained unwavering in his belief in the Dark Spectre that had terrified Shang Qinglan.
After listening to Lu Bing’s report, the emperor kept his eyes fixed on the elixir furnace and asked, “He accepted the two thousand guards. What did he say to you?”
Lu Bing replied, “Prince Yu did not speak to me. He merely bowed three times toward the Forbidden City, expressing gratitude for Your Majesty’s immense kindness.”
The Jiajing Emperor thought to himself, Hmph, pretending! Let’s see how long you keep up this act!
Lan Daohang extinguished the charcoal fire and opened the lid. Instantly, steam resembling a white dragon surged from the elixir furnace, filling the air with an extraordinary fragrance.Lan Daohang presented nine top-grade Elixirs to the Jiajing Emperor.
The Jiajing Emperor casually picked up two Elixirs and bestowed them upon Lu Bing, saying, "You've worked hard recently, my milk-brother. I grant you these Elixirs to replenish your energy."
Since taking the new favorite consort Shang Qinglan, the Jiajing Emperor occasionally found himself lacking vigor at night. Fortunately, Lan Daohang's Elixirs allowed him to perform with ease after consumption, much like during his youthful newlywed days, preventing any embarrassment before his new favorite.
Good things should naturally be shared with good brothers.
One cannot refuse what the sovereign bestows. Lu Bing expressed his gratitude and, as usual, took the pills with water.
As the Elixir entered his stomach, Lu Bing felt a surge of heat spreading through his internal organs. At first, it felt pleasant—like floating on clouds, as if he had shed ten pounds. But then the heat began rampaging uncontrollably through his body, like a wildly dancing dragon twisting and turning within him.
Feeling unwell and sensing something amiss, he hurriedly took his leave to seek Imperial Physician Song at home.
"Your... Your—" He wanted to say "Your Majesty, this humble subject must return home for the holiday. I take my leave."
But his tongue had already ceased to obey him.
Author's note: The second shoe has dropped.
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