Chapter 653: Bound to the Child-Bearing System, Becoming a Winner in Life Chapter 654 Background Board Rabbit Demon (26)

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Protagonist:

Shen Yao

The reputations of the Emperor and Empress both dropped several notches.

After all, apart from the Emperor and Empress, who else could make the Jing Prince couple look so displeased?

The wronged Emperor and Empress:... Slander!

Whether slander or not, Shen Yao would next lie at home playing with her child, while Lin Xingzhi would have to work harder, rising early and returning late to run to the palace every day, his diligence worthy of being called unyielding to wind and snow.

The Emperor:...

"You can stop now; you've already taken so many things from my private treasury, what more do you want?"

The Emperor glared at his grasping younger brother-in-law, thinking this man was useful but too costly, and that he would have to consider him carefully in the future.

"Imperial Brother, your subject has a wife and children at home, and daily expenses are truly hard to sustain."

"Imperial Brother is rich across the Four Seas and spans Jiu Zhou; please, Imperial Brother, show tolerance and magnanimity."

You are a veritable lord of ten thousand people, the actual ruler of Li Guo—what is there to quibble about with him, a hardworking laborer?

Lin Xingzhi spoke quite frankly; he did all this for his family, unlike the Emperor who did it all for his own estate, and he could only earn as much as he could.

The Emperor laughed speechlessly.

Covering his forehead with one hand, not knowing what to say; well, this younger brother-in-law of his was quite sincere, just that his knack for choking people with words was learned from who knows where, growing ever more refined, faintly reaching the realm of shocking words or death.

"Get out!"

The memorial in his hand was thrown directly before Lin Xingzhi, and the Emperor, huffing with anger, drove him away.

As Lin Xingzhi left, he did not forget to pick up the memorial on the ground and hand it to Li Dehai, who had come to see him off, saying earnestly, "Imperial Brother should take better care of his health; know that great anger harms the body."

Li Dehai:...

Jing Prince Highness, can you please stop talking? If you go on, his ears will never have a moment of peace.

"Your Highness, the Emperor is vexed by the Front Court and Imperial Harem, and you always speak so" without restraint; he truly worries for Jing Prince's own safety, fearing he might be exiled to the Border.

Lin Xingzhi waved his hand to indicate he certainly would not; the Emperor would not bear to part with this useful tool person of his, and what he did was for whom, "Scolding me a couple of sentences is better than always holding it in, Eunuch Li often attends by Imperial Brother's side; I hope you will advise and persuade him more often in daily life," after all, a brother on the throne and a nephew on the throne are two different things, and surely a brother lets him be freer and more unrestrained.

Li Dehai naturally nodded throughout; as the Emperor's confidant, he would certainly advise and guide him.

As the saying goes, seeing through is easy, seeing clearly is hard; once a person sits in this position, the difficult things he faces are countless.

Front Court and Imperial Harem—which is easy to get along with?

Li Dehai couldn't help but smile bitterly, and after standing before the hall to see Jing Prince off, he turned and returned.

"Left?"

The Emperor, sitting behind the desk reviewing memorials, asked casually.

"Replying to the Emperor, Jing Prince has already left the palace."

Li Dehai lowered his head, tiptoed silently to behind the Emperor, and by the way placed the memorial in his hand on the desk.

"He, ah"

The Emperor laughed and shook his head, knowing some things were done deliberately by Jing Prince; though clumsy, they were sincere, unlike those rapacious wolves and knife-meat of the Front Court, who wanted to swallow all benefits and not spit out half.

"I remember there are still several pairs of red coral pearl ornaments left in the Ku Fang. Wrap them up and send them to Jing Wang Fu, and add some fox and deer pelts sent from below."

After pondering for a moment, the Emperor remembered that Jing Wang Fu's three children were too young, and all their supplies should be selected even more carefully.

Coincidentally, there have been no infant cries in the Imperial Harem lately; just hand them all over.

Li Dehai:...

Hiss

So this Jing Prince is the one truly kept in the Emperor's heart!

Could it be that deliberately angering the Emperor a few sentences every day upon entering the palace could achieve such an effect? Truly a remarkable person.

Li Dehai raised Lin Xingzhi's status in his heart by several points, planning to seriously instruct the other inner attendants serving in the Imperial Guard when he returned; upon seeing Jing Prince, they must be respectful, respectful again—this person truly has ability.

"Alas, Imperial Brother also has it hard; the various forces of the Front Court undermine each other, the Imperial Consorts of the Imperial Harem all serve their own masters, and in this vast Imperial Palace, not a place of peace of mind can be found;" even living in the Emperor's sleeping palace, he must remain vigilant at bedtime, always guarding against someone harboring ill intent toward him.

Lin Xingzhi and Shen Yao, back at the Qin Wang Fu, sighed at the hardship of being Emperor, but this couldn't be blamed on anyone; to wear the Crown, one must bear its weight.

The Emperor enjoys endless power and authority above ten thousand people; shouldn't he pay something?

Shen Yao patted Lin Xingzhi's chest with a smile, reminding him that some things were fine to say at home, but once out the door, he couldn't say everything; you feel heartache that the Emperor is not at ease, but maybe the Emperor thinks you're just bored.

There are so many people in the world; if truly given the right to choose, 99.99% would want power and authority; this is determined by human nature.

No matter how carefree like wild clouds and wild cranes, or how dismissive of fame and profit, none can refuse the temptation of power and authority; it is like Ying Delay emitting the scent of decadence—once touched, one can never leave.

It is not said that the reason people have not yet been deceived is not because they are vigilant, but because they have not yet encountered a scam suitable for themselves.

This statement applies equally to power and authority; as long as a person lives with emotions, they cannot escape the fate of being seduced, used, led, and manipulated.

The only difference is that some enter the game actively, while others enter passively.

Not long after noon, someone from the palace sent a batch of treasures brought out from the Private Treasury.

Among them were beautiful red coral ornaments as tall as half a person, which Shen Yao approved on the spot to keep, and had them carried to the Qin Shi to be placed.

"These fox and deer pelts, take them to make cloaks; if not enough, take more from the Ku Fang."

Shen Yao touched the smooth, fine fur, feeling some emotion that such fox pelts without a single stray hair—who knows how many foxes would have to be hunted to obtain them.

But speaking of foxes, Shen Yao dug up from some corner of her memory the matter of when she was in Jiangning City back then.

"System, that scholar and fox demon from back then—have they come to Jingcheng now?"

She is still a background board in this story, a rabbit demon whose body and heart were deceived by a scoundrel man.

System:...

The system was stunned for a moment, then reacted, "It seems not."

The story of the scholar Jiang Sheng and the fox demon Hua Yue, because Lin Xingzhi meddled while they were in Jiangning City, nearly caused this person and fox to part ways.

Later, after they left Jiangning, the system even went to keep an eye on the story's subsequent developments.

The fox demon Hua Yue chose to return to Jiangning City, only to be harassed and made things difficult by other demons it had harmed before, while the scholar Jiang Sheng privately planned to use Hua Yue's wealth to go to the capital for the imperial examination, and at the same time try to resolve the subsequent troubles.

After that, they came to Jingcheng, never having set foot in Jiangning City again, and the system's attention was drawn to other gossip, so it no longer paid attention to the scholar and the fox demon.

"Host, perhaps the scholar has already given up on the imperial examination, and the fox demon Hua Yue has completely separated from the scholar; they each live a peaceful life now."

Shen Yao:...

"System, if you say this, would you believe it?"

System:...

With a light sentence knocking it out, Shen Yao's expression was a smile that was not quite a smile, "Forget it, pay more attention when you have time; that scholar has an extreme character and will not rest until he achieves his goal, and the fox demon is no match for him at all."

Earlier Shen Yao had mentioned Hua Yue's fate; not returning to Jiangning might still have a good ending, but returning to Jiangning probably wouldn't leave even bone fragments.

Waving her hand to have the servants take away these fox skins and deer skins, Shen Yao turned around and called out Lin Xingzhi.

"Yao Niang"

"Xingzhi"

Shen Yao smiled sweetly, wrapping her arm around Lin Xingzhi's, and spoke of the upcoming mansion arrangements.

For the New Year palace banquet, their family of five needs to enter the palace; after the New Year, their family must leave the capital for an inspection tour. Now there are less than two months until the New Year—should they stay in the Jing Wang Fu in Jingcheng, or go to the Bie Yuan outside the city for a short stay?

"This matter follows Yao Niang's wishes."

Lin Xingzhi felt Jingcheng was not as comfortable as outside the city, but with the year-end, affairs were busy; Yao Niang, as Mistress of Jing Wang Fu, needed to handle daily trivial matters personally.

Previously, because they went to the Bie Yuan for a month, Yao Niang was very busy for some time; now going again... Lin Xingzhi opened his mouth, thinking that Jing Wang Fu did not keep idle people, and those stewards should take on their due responsibilities.

Shen Yao helplessly glared at Lin Xingzhi, but this was also a method; it was just that these stewards needed to help tighten things up frequently, otherwise, if one was slightly careless, the things in Jing Wang Fu would become ownerless old items.

Shen Yao thought that after being busy for a while she would go out of the city for a short stay, but she did not expect plans to change faster than expected; the Old Wang Fei, whose health had been fairly robust before, suddenly fell seriously ill. Shen Yao received the news and had to take a carriage to Yong Wang Fu to visit.

"Mm, this smell."

The carriage stopped at the doorway of Yong Wang Fu. Shen Yao was about to stand up when she was choked by the surging resentment qi and sat back down.

Furrowing her brows, using a technique to shield her overly sharp five senses, Shen Yao got off the carriage with an expressionless face, and was led by the Wangzi Fei who came out to welcome her into the Prince's Mansion.

"Jing Princess Highness, the mansion affairs are busy; please forgive us."

The Wangzi Fei looked somewhat embarrassed. Compared to being well-organized a few months ago, the inside of the Prince's Mansion was now a complete mess with no order at all.

How could this be?

And there was resentment qi constantly swirling above her head that would not disperse.

Shen Yao smiled and told the Wangzi Fei not to be so formal. She asked with concern about the Old Wang Fei's condition, "I heard she fell ill; has an Imperial Physician been invited to treat her?"

Hearing this, the Wangzi Fei's expression turned ugly for a moment, then quickly returned to normal, but Shen Yao still caught it.

It seems there are hidden circumstances here that she herself does not know.

"My mother-in-law's illness, the Imperial Physician said it's fine, it's just my mother-in-law herself..." The Wangzi Fei could not continue, because the Imperial Physician's original words were more blunt and embarrassing, almost pointing at the Old Wang Fei and saying this person was deliberately faking illness.

But the Old Wang Fei acted as if she were truly seriously ill, speaking incoherently without restraint.

"A few days ago, this child Hui Ning accidentally got injured while taking care of my mother-in-law," the Wangzi Fei said intermittently, recounting some of the Old Wang Fei's outrageous behavior.

Especially since neither the doctors nor the Imperial Physicians could diagnose the Old Wang Fei's illness, and even after inviting masters from Huang Jue Si and Daoren from the Dao Guan, they still could not find anything wrong with the Old Wang Fei.

Because of this, Yong Wang ordered that no idle people be allowed to visit the Old Wang Fei, to prevent causing an even bigger joke.

Shen Yao was clearly not among the idle people. Today when she came, not only did the Wangzi Fei come out to welcome and receive her, but also several other Mistresses of Yong Wang Fu. Everyone exchanged greetings in the Old Wang Fei's courtyard.

Looking up, the resentment qi above her head was strong. It seems this indeed has something to do with the Old Wang Fei, but it's unknown whether it's because human hearts are hard to fathom or demons are causing trouble.

Stepping into the room, a rotten smell filled Shen Yao's nostrils. The Wangzi Fei seemed unable to bear it, standing only in Da Tang without moving around.

"Let go of me, let go of me, I, I, I am not the Wang Fei, not the Wang Fei..."

"No, I, I am the Wang Fei, I am the Wang Fei."

"Wang Ye, Wang Ye, save me, save me, it's not just my fault..."

"Ahhhhhhh"

The Wangzi Fei raised her hand with an embarrassed expression to stop Shen Yao, explaining in a low voice that the Old Wang Fei often acted like this when awake, not recognizing people and shouting randomly. "Jing Princess Highness, you'd better not go over."

If she got hurt or bumped into something, it would be Yong Wang Fu's problem. Now Yong Wang Fu is on the decline, while Jing Wang Fu is flourishing.

Simply put, they cannot afford to offend them.

"It's fine," Shen Yao said, soothing the Wangzi Fei, then stepped to the door of Qin Fang, her eyes sweeping over the person sitting on Chuang Shang, trembling.

From outward appearance, Shen Yao found it hard to connect this slovenly and unrestrained woman with the Old Wang Fei, but she was a demon and could confirm it through her five senses.

Hiss

That's strange!

Just as Shen Yao couldn't understand, the person on the bed suddenly shouted, revealing a face full of ravines, eyes bulging, filled with shock.

"Old Wang Fei?"

Shen Yao tentatively called out, but unexpectedly this title, usually called countless times, actually made the Old Wang Fei go even more crazy and collapse.

"No, no, no, I'm not, I'm not, I am, I am Wan Niang."

"That's right, I am Wan Niang, not the master, not the master."

"Master, it's the servant's fault, it's the servant's fault, don't blame me, don't blame me."

Crying and laughing, apologetic and making a scene, occasionally saying meaningless words.

The Wangzi Fei had by now retreated to the doorway, looking outside with an anxious expression.

There were no servants attending in the room. It was said to be because the Old Wang Fei was unwilling; as soon as anyone appeared, she would make a scene without stopping. Usually, her niece Hui Ning took care of her.

Now Hui Ning was injured and recuperating, with no one appearing by the Old Wang Fei's side, only arranging for daily three meals and night watch.

Shen Yao walked forward a few steps, and while the Crown Princess Consort was not paying attention, she formed a hand seal and cast a spell on Old Princess Consort Wang.

"Wan Niang, what is your surname? And who is the master you speak of?"

"I, I have no surname; my master is the Young Lady, the Young Lady of the Wei Family."

Shen Yao tilted her head; Old Princess Consort Wang's maiden family was surnamed Wei—what a coincidence.

"Qiu Wan, I am Qiu Wan, who serves the Young Lady; the Young Lady was unwilling to marry, and it was Prince Wang, Prince Yong, who secretly found a High Person to take the Young Lady……"

Old Princess Consort Wang spoke in a jumble, but because of the Truth Spell's effect, everything she said was correct.

Shen Yao listened like this, slowly piecing together the cause and effect of Old Princess Consort Wang's illness.

Shen Yao: ……

She thought there was some hidden secret inside, but it turned out to be a play where evil is repaid by evil.

Such a bore!

The effect of the Truth Spell disappeared, and Old Princess Consort Wang, having exhausted too much energy, fell headfirst into sleep; Shen Yao wore an indifferent expression as she raised her hand to lightly brush her sleeve, then turned around to wake the Crown Princess Consort, who had been distracted for who knows how long.

Sighing, Shen Yao frankly said Old Princess Consort Wang was tired and had already gone to sleep.

Gone to sleep?

The Crown Princess Consort's eyes brightened slightly; she said "what a pity" with her mouth, but her expression showed not a trace of that feeling, instead looking like deliverance.

Indeed, the sleeping Old Princess Consort could be manipulated without noise or harassment, and the Crown Princess Consort would be glad for it to stay that way.