Chapter 290: Cheng Xu Delivers Betrothal Gifts
Gong Xi Prince sat with his eyes closed, as still as water.
Yet his heart was already in turmoil.
After Old Fourth had been schemed to death, he thought he had control over the entire situation, but that was far from the truth.
First, the death of Old Third's beloved, and now Old Sixth losing an ear—these two incidents were enough to make his father utterly disappointed in him and never trust him with important matters again.
The court officials were all opportunists. Whomever the emperor trusted and favored, those ministers would flock to—each and every one of them pragmatic to the core.
He felt many things slowly slipping away.
"Your Highness, the best course of action now is to use the 'self-injury ruse' and then shift the blame elsewhere," Xie Shi'an said slowly. "This way, we can kill two birds with one stone, eliminating two enemies for Your Highness."
Gong Xi Prince said coldly, "If this matter fails again, you need not live."
Xie Shi'an bowed his head. "Your Highness need not worry. This matter will surely succeed."
Yun Chu sat in the courtyard admiring the flowers. It was late spring turning to early summer, and the blossoms bloomed in succession, attracting butterflies—a particularly beautiful sight.
The two children happily chased after butterflies, catching them in jars to present to her.
Before long, Qiutong came to report: "Princess Consort, the Fifth Prince has been stripped of his title by the Emperor and ordered to reflect on his mistakes behind closed doors for a year."
Yun Chu's eyes turned cold.
Gong Xi Prince had directly pinned the blame on the Fifth Prince. The Fifth Prince probably never dreamed that he would lose his title and princely status just after becoming a prince—a true disaster falling from the sky.
And the Emperor, believing he had wronged Gong Xi Prince, would compensate him doubly.
Not only had Gong Xi Prince schemed against two brothers, but he also received the Emperor's compensation. Truly a brilliant plan.
Now, the Fourth Prince was dead, the Fifth Prince deposed, and the Sixth Prince disabled—all three princes had fallen victim to Gong Xi Prince's schemes.
Next, he would probably use the Seventh Prince to achieve some goal...
Fortunately, the Eighth Prince was about to leave the capital. After the Empress Dowager was buried in the imperial mausoleum, the Eighth Prince would go far to his fiefdom, distancing himself from the whirlpool of troubles in the capital.
Chu Yi sat down beside her, his gaze profound. "These past few days, I've had people keeping an eye on Xie Shi'an. This scheme was his suggestion. He is a rare strategist. I know you are wary of him, Chu'er. How about..."
He made a throat-slitting gesture.
He had never killed children before—even the children of bandits in bandit dens, he would spare their lives.
But this Xie Shi'an was truly not normal. If killing Xie Shi'an could set Chu'er's mind at ease, then he was willing to break his principles.
Yun Chu pressed his hand. "To deal with Gong Xi Prince, Xie Shi'an is the key."
Chu Yi frowned. "You mean he will betray us?"
"He is a man who puts profit above all else," Yun Chu smiled. "He won't choose Gong Xi Prince, nor will he choose me, his former stepmother. He will only choose readily available benefits. Such a person, while worthy of caution, can also be a sharp blade."
In her previous life, this blade had killed over a hundred members of the Yun family.
In this life, let Xie Shi'an's blade bring down Gong Xi Prince.
Chu Yi understood. "Then let's sharpen this blade even more."
After discussing serious matters, he lowered his head and kissed Yun Chu's lips.
"Ah yaya..." Chu Hongyu's voice came. "Father, men and women should not touch each other! Let go of Mother!"
Chu Changsheng followed suit: "Let go of our mother!"
Chu Yi: "..."Find an opportunity to send these two little ones back to the palace to stay for a few days.
He had no choice but to release Yun Chu and get up to go to the study to review official documents.
Yun Chu took Chu Hongyu's hand and said, "Yu Ge'er, we'll be going to the imperial mausoleum in a couple of days. Have you finished your studies?"
The little boy guiltily hunched his shoulders and obediently went to read and write.
Yun Chu picked up her younger daughter: "Changsheng, Mother plans to formally hire a tutor to teach you lessons. Just one hour a day, how does that sound?"
Chu Changsheng grabbed Yun Chu's collar and shook her head: "N-no."
"Our Changsheng is the most capable, there definitely won't be any problems. Mother will stay with you too." Yun Chu smiled gently, "Later, Mother will invite some girls around your age to come play at our home. See who you like, and have them accompany you in studying, alright?"
She hoped Changsheng could learn to read and write, hoped Changsheng could make friends, and gradually become more lively and cheerful.
This time the little girl didn't shake her head. Instead, she thought for a moment, and after a long while said: "Xian, I like her."
"Xian, Xian Jie'er?" Yun Chu was surprised, "The little girl Concubine Jiang brought over a few days ago?"
Chu Changsheng nodded: "She, she's also timid. I like her."
Yun Chu: "..."
Xian Jie'er was originally quiet and timid. After the Xie family incident, her temperament became even more withdrawn. Recently, after being taken hostage by Xie Shi'an, she became like a startled bird, constantly on edge.
Changsheng wanted a study companion even more timid than herself, to show that she wasn't actually timid.
But Yun Chu was somewhat worried - putting two timid girls together to study, would they become increasingly withdrawn in the future...
"Xian, not allowed?"
The little girl blinked her big eyes and asked.
Yun Chu smiled and nodded: "Of course it's allowed. In a few days I'll invite her over and see if she's willing."
Chu Changsheng smiled happily.
Ting Xue also smiled along. When Miss Xie had come to the princely residence recently, she had been the one playing with the children. Miss Xie and the Little Commandery Princess indeed got along well together.
She hoped that with Miss Xie's company, the Little Commandery Princess would gradually improve.
Ting Xue walked out of the room, planning to fetch some incense to replenish the burner. Just as she reached the corner of the courtyard, a figure suddenly emerged.
"Lord Cheng?!" Her heart leaped in fright, "What are you hiding here for? It's fine if you scare me, but don't scare the young masters and misses."
Cheng Xu scratched his head: "Sister Ting Xue, I..."
"Lord Cheng, I've told you before, I'm twenty this year, two years younger than you. I don't deserve to be called sister."
"Calling you sister has nothing to do with age, I just feel closer to you that way." Cheng Xu's dark face showed an unnatural redness, "Well, this is all my family's assets."
He shoved a large bundle into Ting Xue's arms.
Ting Xue felt her arms sink, nearly causing her to fall over.
Unable to hold the heavy object, her hands loosened, and the large bundle fell to the ground with a clear, clinking sound.
She asked incredulously: "Inside this, is it silver?"
Cheng Xu nodded vigorously: "Ting Xue, I've liked you for a long time. I want to marry you as my wife. This is my betrothal gift."
"W-what?!"
Ting Xue was completely stunned.
She doubted her ears were playing tricks on her.
"I said, I want to marry you." Cheng Xu picked up the bundle, "There's a total of eight thousand three hundred taels of silver here. It's all the assets I've saved up over the years. I'm giving it all, all to you.Ting Xue felt it was extremely difficult to handle.
She turned and ran away.
"Hey, Ting Xue..."Cheng Xu wanted to chase after her, but seeing someone approaching, he had no choice but to stop.
He had specifically inquired earlier—hiring a decent matchmaker would cost five taels of silver, and on the wedding day, additional payment would be required. Altogether, it would amount to over twenty taels... With so much silver, why waste it on a matchmaker? Wouldn't it be better to keep it for the couple to spend themselves?
Thus, he decided to handle the marriage proposal personally... Never did he expect that he would end up scaring her away.
Cheng Xu stood rooted to the spot, feeling utterly helpless and regretful.
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