The Tyrannical Crown Prince Reincarnated as a Pitiful Ger
The Tyrannical Crown Prince Becomes a Pitiful Ger | Chapter 19

A horse doesn’t fatten without eating night grass.

Shen Qian had put effort into preparing a few late-night snacks, and sure enough, Li Xun took the bait.

When Shen Yi’an walked in, the first thing he saw was Li Xun sitting on the bed, holding a pork floss sponge cake in one hand, a cup of caramel boba milk in the other, with a plate of crispy fried mushrooms laid out in front of him. A perfect spread of savory and sweet, meat and veggies.

Before he even had a chance to scold this rebellious son, his eyes were blinded by the golden glow flooding the entire room: “What… what is all this?”

What else? Gold, of course. Shen Qian had raided the homes of seven stewards according to the confessions they’d gotten. Except for one household that yielded only a little over a thousand taels of silver, the others each had at least seven or eight thousand, and one even had over twenty thousand. There were also chests full of gold and jewels. All in all, the haul was already well over one hundred thousand taels.

Some quick-witted folks, seeing Liu Yiniang under palace scrutiny, Third Young Master stripped of his title, and Eldest Young Master on the rise, came running to pledge allegiance. In secret, they informed Shen Qian which families had property or farmland outside, or who had recently transferred funds to relatives.

Now, the table was piled high with silver and gold.

Li Xun took a long sip of his caramel milk tea—today’s newest trick Shen Qian picked up at a teahouse, using a reed as a makeshift straw. “You want to know how I manage the household? If I didn’t run it this way, this entire mansion would’ve been eaten hollow by now.”

He glanced at Shen Yi’an, then suddenly smiled—a smile that inexplicably made Shen Yi’an uneasy. “Today I finally realized, Liu Yiniang is actually a good person. It’s all these petty thieving underlings that were stealing behind her back, making us misunderstand her. That ginseng? Worth twenty taels, they had the nerve to ask for five hundred. When I refused, they even threatened to run to Yiniang and stir things up. Same thing happened last year—they tricked her into thinking a bit of chuan bei pi pa syrup cost hundreds of taels, which delayed my treatment and left lasting effects on my health. That’s when things started to sour between us.”

He coughed lightly and looked at Shen Yi’an: “A steward with a monthly wage of five taels—his household turned up twenty thousand taels in silver. He even bought property and land outside the mansion. If not for these wicked slaves deceiving her, how could Yiniang have known? How could he have earned so much in ten lifetimes?”

Right on cue, Shen Qian stepped forward and handed over a ledger listing the confiscated silver and the written testimonies from several stewards.

Shen Yi’an was stunned speechless.

He had gotten used to being criticized by Li Xun these past few days, and after listening to Liu Yufu’s teary complaints, he had mentally prepared himself for a showdown. But instead of accusations, Li Xun had come out with this whole act about Yiniang being a good person who’d been taken advantage of. The words got stuck in his chest—neither going up nor down.

Even though Li Xun’s tone was still a little… shady, he’d said Liu Yufu was innocent, that it was the servants’ fault.

What could he say? That Li Xun was wrong, that he shouldn’t punish corrupt staff? Then wouldn’t that imply Liu Yufu really wasn’t a good person?

One look at the ledger, the statements, the gold and silver stacked box upon box—he couldn’t argue with that.

After a long pause, Shen Yi’an mumbled, “…But did it have to be such a big scene? The whole mansion is under a microscope right now. I’m sure some censors are still watching, ready to pounce…”

“Don’t worry,” said Li Xun. “Boye should know well—His Majesty strongly favors legitimate wives and heirs. He was upset before because of the accusation that a concubine’s son was trying to steal the main heir’s birthright. Now that the legitimate son is managing the household, even if my methods are a bit harsh, why would His Majesty be displeased?”

If anything, he’d probably be pleased.

Truthfully, in this dynasty, the difference between legitimate and illegitimate birth wasn’t that pronounced—at least not officially. Whether the main wife gave her biological children extra behind the scenes was another matter. But in respectable households, everything was supposed to be fair: the children were ranked by age, not maternal status.

Still, imperial preferences carried enormous weight in society. If the emperor liked a certain dish or fabric, it could become a trend. How much more so with matters like this?

There were emperors who disliked their empresses and lavished empress-level favor on concubines, letting them disrespect the official wife without consequence. That had ripple effects in society. But Emperor Jiawen loved the late Empress Yuan and the Crown Prince, fiercely protected them, never elevated any consorts to high rank, and frequently punished officials who favored concubines over wives.

So naturally, everyone followed his lead.

Seeing Shen Yi’an’s expression stiffen, Li Xun quickly added, “I believe now that Yiniang had no intention of stealing the heir’s title. It must’ve been the servants stirring up trouble. That Yang Mei from Third Young Master’s courtyard—I’ve already dealt with her. And Bi Tao, from Yiniang’s side, isn’t clean either. The steward who embezzled the most—Liu Wang’er’s wife—is Bi Tao’s godmother. I’d bet anything Bi Tao helped cover for her.”

“Today, Bi Tao even snuck out of the mansion. Maybe she got wind of what was happening and tried to move their wealth. But she’s someone close to Yiniang, so I didn’t act rashly. Boye, perhaps you should question her yourself. She’s supposed to be serving Yiniang—what’s she doing wandering around? I only ordered her gate pass confiscated.” Li Xun smiled. “But maybe she ran to Yiniang and stirred her up again? Is that why you rushed over to accuse me?”

Shen Yi’an’s mind was spinning. Only one question rang in his head: Who’s the real villain here??

But he no longer had the energy to argue with Li Xun. Looking at the gold and silver piled high on the table, he couldn’t deny the truth.

After a long silence, he muttered, “Handle it as you see fit… Just don’t let things get out of hand. Remember, you’re part of this household. If Fuchang Bo’s Mansion loses imperial favor, it won’t do you any good either.”

Li Xun nodded. “Of course.”

With a weak grunt, Shen Yi’an turned and left.

The moment he was gone, Li Xun’s smile disappeared. He picked up a fried mushroom, took two bites, then frowned. “Why are we eating this greasy stuff so late at night?”

Shen Qian rolled his eyes. “Gongzi’s feeling stuffy inside and taking it out on mushrooms now? Don’t eat it then.” He handed the plate to Xiao Wan, who had been drooling the whole time. The mushrooms were deep-fried until crisp and dry, not a drop of moisture left. Crunchy outside, tender inside, dusted with salt and pepper—delicious.

Li Xun wasn’t stuffy—he was just nauseous from all the fake praise he’d had to say about Liu Yufu. Still, judging by Shen Yi’an’s reaction, the act had worked.

And the one left stewing in frustration… probably wouldn’t be him.

Shen Yi’an dragged himself back to his courtyard. When Liu Yufu saw him return, she leaned into him with soft, pleading eyes.

Shen Yi’an held her hand for a moment before saying, “Today… did Bi Tao tell you something?”

By now, Shen Yi’an believed about seventy percent of what Li Xun had said.

Liu Yufu blinked. “An Lang?”

Her calling him that made his heart soften, but he still said, “I asked around. That Liu Wang’er’s family really is a piece of work. They’ve embezzled tens of thousands of taels. They must have tricked you. Why else would Bi Tao—a perfectly fine girl—suddenly call her godmother? She’s probably involved too. Whatever she told you today was likely meant to stir up trouble. You can’t trust her.”

Liu Yufu hadn’t expected things to turn out this way at all. She gripped Shen Yi’an’s hand tightly. “An Lang, Bi Tao has been with me since she was a child—back when we were at Yuxiang Tower, she never left my side. How could she…”“People may look familiar, but their hearts are a mystery,” Shen Yi’an said gravely. “It’s because they know you’re kind, simple, and soft-hearted that they dare act so boldly. These lowly servants—they deceive their masters, pocket household funds, even try to turn the masters against each other… truly despicable. I say, let’s send her away. I’ll find you some reliable, honest people to serve you instead.”

Squishee[Translator]

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1 comment
  1. haha has spoken 2 weeks ago

    HAHAH lol. this is so fun

    Reply

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