Chapter 1329: Who Is Protecting Whom? (Begging for Monthly Tickets)

The Prince of Shen's residence, inside the bridal chamber.

At this moment, three people were sitting hand in hand inside this bridal chamber lit by tall red candles, talking freely about life and looking forward to the future!

Most people enter the bridal chamber as a pair, but here at the wealthy lord's place there were three — himself, his principal consort Wu Ahuan, and his secondary consort Ahai.

No one knew what magic he possessed, but he had actually created a blissful scene of one man and two women in perfect harmony.

The three of them were now sitting shoulder to shoulder on the edge of the bed, the wealthy lord holding one hand of each, and they happened to be discussing the matter of going to the United States of Xinzhou!

"Ahuan, Ahai, now that I have established a household, it is about time for me to take up my fief. But the United States of Xinzhou is still a newly founded country, so I intend to keep a Prince of Shen residence here in Yingtian Prefecture. For the next few years I will travel back and forth between the two places. Ahuan, you will stay in Yingtian to look after the Prince of Shen residence, and also attend Jinling Women's University."

As soon as Wu Ahuan heard this, she was a little displeased. Pouting, she said to Zhu Hehao, "Brother Tycoon, Xiaohuan wants to be with you!"

She said it quite affectionately. In fact, the two of them had known each other all along, and they had always liked each other!

The conflict between the Wu and Zheng families had nothing to do with the two of them. Zhu Hehao was not surnamed Zheng, and Wu Ahuan and Wu Sanmei were not related by blood either.

"Xiaohuan!" Zhu Hehao said with a smile to his new bride, "We are separating for now precisely so that later we can live comfortably in the Prefecture of the Americas!"

"Why is that?" Wu Ahuan blinked, looking at the wealthy lord with a slightly bewildered expression.

Zhu Hehao said, "Although I am the King of the United States, I have no foundation over there in the United States. I know no one and am unfamiliar with the place, so how much real power can this king have? Therefore we cannot do without support from the Great Ming. Who can I, the King of the United States, trust? Apart from my mother and your father, there is only you!

So you must stay here in Yingtian Prefecture to manage the overall situation for me. You must know that my mother and your father have never gotten along! You must find a way to mediate between them, to make them work together to support me. Otherwise, once I, the King of the United States, go to the Prefecture of the Americas, I will just be a puppet of the Council Government!"

The Council Government he spoke of was the former Senate of the United States, which had now crossed the ocean to the Prefecture of the Americas. After arriving in the Prefecture of the Americas, the Senate of the United States had been renamed the Council Government, and the councilors had elected eight Grand Secretaries of the cabinet to form the Cabinet Office!

Unlike the situation in the Great Ming, where the Cabinet Office was responsible to the Emperor himself, in the new United States the Council Government was supreme, and the cabinet was elected by the Council Government and could also be dismissed by the Council Government!

The royal power of the King of the United States was based only on appointing thirty percent of the councilors, and because the King of the United States was long absent from the United States, these thirty percent of councilors would not necessarily obey.

"A puppet?" Wu Ahuan was startled. "How is that possible? You are a great king!"

Zhu Hehao smiled. "I am a great king. But the United States is not a kingdom! The king is not the master of the United States, but merely one of the united people! How much real power and profit I can get depends on all of us fighting for it together!"

He turned to Ahai and said, "Ahai, you will come with me to the Prefecture of the Americas. We will go first to make our way, and once we have established a firm footing, we will bring Ahuan over. From then on, the three of us will be of one heart, all right?"

Ahai had not passed the entrance exam for Jinling Women's University, but she had hooked Zhu Hehao instead, so she was naturally very satisfied and willing to listen to him. She nodded at once. "All right, let's go together!"

"Yuying, you are so good!"

The Lucky Crown Prince, wearing nightclothes, leaned against the backrest of a large bed, also holding his wife's small hand — he now knew how good Ding Yuying was!

Ding Yuying had also put on a nightgown, worn loose and baggy, completely concealing her fine figure. With her beautiful hair hanging loose, she leaned against the Lucky Crown Prince's shoulder, her face full of soft charm. When she heard the Crown Prince praise her, her cheeks flushed bright red again, making her look especially innocent.

"My father really had good judgment. From now on, serve me well, and I will certainly treat you well. No one will be allowed to bully you!"

Ding Yuying nodded and gave a soft "mm," clinging to him like a little bird, especially endearing.

Seeing Ding Yuying's gentle, submissive manner, Zhu Hexing said with a smile, "I like you just like this. From now on, you must always be obedient."

Ding Yuying nodded again. "This slave will obey the Crown Prince in everything. With the Crown Prince protecting this slave, this slave fears nothing."

Of course she was playing the little lamb! If she really had to rely on Zhu Hexing to protect her, then she would not be far from ending her own life.

Zhu Cilang's expectation of her was that she should protect the Lucky Crown Prince, Zhu Hexing!

Her current mannerisms had all been taught by Kou Baimen. The Kou family had studied men for generations, so Zhu Hexing's preferences could not possibly be hidden from her.

And Ding Yuying was also a natural actress. She had Zhu Hexing completely wrapped around her finger from the very start. It seemed that before many years passed, the Lucky Crown Prince would be a henpecked Crown Prince!

Looking at her satisfied husband, Ding Yuying thought to herself: My husband, His Majesty is very dissatisfied with your performance, which is why I entered the palace to become Crown Princess. How can you not feel it at all? Never mind, from now on I will be the one to protect you!

"Husband, you said Sister Yuying will become the Emperor's right-hand woman in the future? This Emperor is..."

"Of course it is His Sacred Majesty, that is, eldest brother! So from now on you must get along well with her. Only then can we enjoy wealth and security!"

"Why would the Emperor treat the Crown Princess as his right-hand woman?"

"Because they both want the Crown Prince to do well, and they both want the Great Ming dynasty to continue on in peace and stability! The Crown Prince is simple by nature and has little cunning. Without the Crown Princess assisting at his side, it will not do."

"Is that so?"

"It is! So this Crown Princess, perhaps... she will be the Grand Secretariat of the inner court of the Great Ming!"

Inside the Prince of Fu's residence, the Rent-Collecting King was also holding Luo Xiaohe's hand, discussing Zhu Cilang's special arrangements. The Rent-Collecting King was probably the cleverest of Chongzhen's group of "younger sons," and because he was very close to Zhu Cilang, he also understood this elder brother's thinking.

The one Zhu Cilang truly valued was actually the wealthy lord, Zhu Hehao! But in order to uphold the system of succession by the legitimate eldest son, he had no choice but to make Zhu Hexing the Crown Prince. And in the process of cultivating Zhu Hexing, he had already discovered that Zhu Hexing had one great flaw — he was far too easy to fool, exactly the same as the naive and sweet Empress!

Therefore Ding Yuying was, in fact, a tool used to remedy Zhu Hexing's flaw! If she could not fulfill her mission, Zhu Cilang would discard her without the slightest hesitation.

The Red Fort.

Emperor Zhu was not asleep at this time. Instead, he was holding Princess Nisha's hand and enjoying Indian song and dance together. All twenty maidservants Nisha had brought could sing and dance, and were also proficient in musical instruments. That night, they took turns playing music, singing, and dancing.

And Zhu Cilang seemed so enchanted by their songs and dances that he even forgot to enter the bridal chamber!

It was not until the early hours of the next morning, when Kou Baimen came galloping up on horseback, that Zhu Cilang had the maidservants stop their singing and dancing.

"Baimen, how is the situation?" Zhu Cilang asked urgently when he saw Kou Baimen kneeling before him.

"The Crown Prince has already been captivated by the Crown Princess!" Kou Baimen replied. "The Crown Princess is indeed naturally brilliant."

Zhu Cilang snorted. "Of course. She was selected from thousands — she is clever indeed! But what she needs to do cannot be accomplished by cleverness alone!"

The examinations could only measure Ding Yuying's intelligence and her spirit of diligent study, but these alone could not make her a Crown Princess capable of protecting the Crown Prince.

She also needed other abilities, including the ability to captivate the Crown Prince. If she were a woman the Crown Prince detested, she could not even preserve her own position, so how could she protect the Crown Prince?

"Very well, she has at last passed the test of the Crown Prince! Baimen, you have done well! We shall reward you richly."

"This is all what this slave ought to do."

"Baimen," Zhu Cilang instructed, "arrange for people to keep watch on the Crown Prince and Crown Princess. You must know their every move, and at the same time continue to help the Crown Princess win the Crown Prince's favor."

"This slave obeys the imperial decree!"

Kou Baimen bowed and withdrew from the Red Fort.

Only then did Emperor Zhu turn back to look at Princess Nisha. "Nisha, it is getting late. Let us enter the bridal chamber!"

(End of chapter)