Chapter 116: Trust Ah Bao, Reap Great Rewards

“Minister Wen, to be honest, recently there have been rumors circulating from somewhere, and in the harem, there have been whispers doubting the Third Prince’s true identity,” Di Zian said.

Minister Wen looked at Ah Bao, who was sitting on the ground, and asked, “Tenth Princess, did you just say that my wife swapped out the Third Prince?”

Madam Xu stared at Ah Bao with a ghastly pale face, like a vengeful ghost.

Ah Bao gave her a look as if to say “you should know,” then nodded at Minister Wen, “That’s right!”

Minister Wen collapsed onto the ground as if struck by lightning.

Ah Bao scratched her head, then brought over the little black dog and started petting it.

“Xu Xin, was the Third Prince not born from Jiao’er?” Minister Wen asked, staring blankly at Madam Xu.

Madam Xu’s mind was already in a fog, all she could do was cry.

“Xu Xin, Xu Xin, how could you dare? That was a royal heir! A royal heir!” Minister Wen staggered over to Madam Xu, furious, and grabbed her by the collar. “You dared to mess with the emperor’s child? Do you want to destroy the Wen family, to see us die out without an heir?”

“My Minister, I… I didn’t do it on purpose. Back then, Jiao’er, she…”

She had given birth to a stillborn.

The Wen family had no power or influence, and Minister Wen, being upright and honest, did not have close ties with the important officials at court.

Concubine Hui had just entered the palace, and her position was unstable.

To secure her daughter’s position, and to ensure the Wen family could have a foothold at court, she came up with the idea to have Concubine Hui adopt a boy.

That boy is the current Third Prince.

“My heavens!” Minister Wen cried bitterly. He had spent his life being upright and honest, never once doing anything to wrong the royal family or the emperor. Yet now, the emperor’s child had been swapped by his own wife. He had failed the emperor; he was a disgrace as a subject.

Ah Bao yawned, then, noticing the already counted gold and silver nearby, stood up and patted the dust off her clothes. “Let’s go, let’s go.”

She looked down at the little black dog beside her, “Come with me, let’s go together.”

The little black dog was reluctant, but for some reason, whenever Ah Bao spoke, it just couldn’t help but follow her commands.

It was as if Ah Bao’s voice had some magical power.

The little black dog followed behind Ah Bao.

After all, its master was now in prison, so it might as well follow this little girl.

“Wave goodbye,” Ah Bao waved her small hand at Minister Wen, unsure of when they might meet again.

【Minister Wen will have to fend for himself】

“Tenth Princess, safe travels,” Minister Wen knelt on the ground, kowtowing, and sent Ah Bao off step by step.

Ah Bao blinked her big eyes, walking so slowly that Minister Wen felt like he had forgotten something.

It wasn’t until he saw the tiny figure of the Tenth Princess walking very slowly, with two incredibly shiny gold locks hanging around her neck, that Minister Wen slapped his thigh in realization.

Others had given locks; how could he not?

He couldn’t afford to slight the Tenth Princess.

“Go, bring it over,” Minister Wen gave Madam Xu a meaningful look.

Madam Xu, of course, understood.

At this point, the only valuable thing left in the Wen household was a gold lock, which had been passed down from the old madam to her.

Naturally, Madam Xu was reluctant to part with it.

But now, there was no choice.

Minister Wen placed the gold lock around Ah Bao’s neck.

Although Ah Bao was chubby, her neck was slender.

If it weren’t for her padded clothes and red scarf, her thin neck might not have been able to support three large gold locks.

Ah Bao grinned contentedly, her little mouth spreading into a wide smile.

【This is a good haul, another big gold lock!】

【It turns out that officials love to give big gold locks, and their wives love to give gold keys】

【Now I have quite a few gold keys, hehe】

Ah Bao was grinning from ear to ear, while Di Zian couldn’t help but twitch his mouth in exasperation.

His little sister was such a money-grubber.

Ah Bao, upon leaving the Wen household, didn’t stop moving her little hands.

She was calculating, counting.

It was almost as if she was about to take off her shoes and socks to use her toes to count.

【Ever since becoming a kid, sometimes this brain doesn’t work as well, I can’t even keep track of my accounts】

Ah Bao pouted as she lowered her head.

Behind her, the sound of Minister Wen’s anguished cries could be heard.

Minister Wen, in fact, knelt and kowtowed the entire way, sending Ah Bao and Di Zian out of the mansion.

The news spread like wildfire among the officials.

The Vice Minister of Revenue: “Have you heard? The Tenth Princess and the Seventh Prince have taken on the task of collecting donations from the officials. Wherever they go, families go bankrupt.”

The Grand Commandant: “The Tenth Princess is only eight months old, and the Seventh Prince is only seventeen. Are you saying these two, a big kid and a little baby, have such power?”

The Censor: “Who knows? You didn’t see it. The wife and daughter of the Right Prime Minister are gone, the only son of the Great Uncle’s family has been driven out, and the Vice Minister of Rites, Minister Wen, knelt and cried as he sent the Tenth Princess out of his home. And that’s not all; I heard Minister Wen also knelt and cried his way into the palace to see the emperor.

The Tenth Princess and her brother left with their hands full. They collected quite a bit of gold and silver.

It’s worth mentioning that these three families didn’t think much of the Tenth Princess at first, but the Vice Minister of Personnel, Minister Luo, was quite the opposite.

Minister Luo was very cooperative. He joyfully welcomed the Tenth Princess into his home and donated silver readily.”

The Minister of Justice: “So, donating money should be done with joy! If you don’t do it joyfully, your family will be broken, and the money will be gone too. Don’t you all think that’s the way it works?”

The officials nodded in agreement.

Donate!

And donate generously.

If you don’t donate happily, your family won’t be happy either.

“Husband, husband, the Tenth Princess and the Seventh Prince are at the door!” The Minister of Justice was so startled that he nearly rolled off his chair. “Quick, bring out everything we have.”

Before leaving, the Minister of Justice made a quick stop at the small kitchen.

As soon as Ah Bao and Di Zian arrived at the Minister of Justice’s residence, their feet had barely crossed the threshold when the Minister of Justice came rushing out with his servants. His servants were carrying boxes.

Dali Temple Minister pulled out a small food box from his robes and opened it to reveal a large chicken drumstick.

Ah Bao, who had been about to speak, instantly stood up straight, eager to rush forward. However, she was held back by Di Zian. “Sister…”

[Wow, this old man from the Dali Temple knows how to handle things. A chicken drumstick, and a big one at that!]

Ah Bao could barely take her eyes off the crispy, tender chicken drumstick, completely ignoring the gold and silver nearby.

[I’m hungry. Time to feast!]

Dali Temple Minister smiled slyly, like an old fox. He knew that for Tenth Princess, a chicken drumstick was far more tempting than gold or silver. After all, the Emperor often brought the little princess to court, so Dali Temple Minister had a bit of insight into her personality.

Catering to her preferences was a surefire success.

“Little Princess, I knew you were coming, so I prepared this chicken drumstick and the gold and silver in advance. They are all yours, truly yours.”

Ah Bao’s eyes sparkled. “Mine?”

“Yes!”

Ah Bao was overjoyed.

Dali Temple Minister was inwardly relieved and even a bit emotional—children really are easy to please.