Chapter 511 Heavy Pressure

Naturally, it was impossible for the Eighth Prince to carry a huge sum of twenty thousand taels of silver with him.

But as early as the intense stage of the competition, several princes and princesses who were still participating sent their attendants to withdraw money.

But as the challenge money became more and more outrageous, they gradually lost confidence.

The eighth prince's valet prepared the challenge money without seeing it, and then handed it to him.

The Eighth Prince looked at the twenty-five thousand six hundred taels of silver notes in his hand. He was afraid that Princess Ankang and Zhao Feng would not understand his eyes, so he held them tightly in his hands and did not hand them over immediately.

"Um?"

Zhao Feng had already put his hand on the banknote, but when he saw that the Eighth Prince refused to let go, he couldn't help but frown.

He saw and heard the Eighth Prince's glances and whispers, but he just didn't mean to understand.

What a joke, when the Ministry of Internal Affairs acts in the palace, they only look at the eyes of Emperor Yongyuan, okay?

What's more, with so much money at stake, Zhao Fengcai didn't want to read the eyes of the eighth prince.

"The Eighth Prince forcibly challenges Princess Ankang!"

Zhao Feng sang loudly, and the eighth prince suddenly felt that the hand holding the banknote was numb and weak. He could only helplessly watch the banknote fall into Zhao Feng's hand, and helplessly watch the banknote fall into his arms.

The Eighth Prince was not stupid, so he didn't know that this was Zhao Fengshi's method.

Seeing that Zhao Feng ignored him and seemed to have ignored his proposal, the eighth prince couldn't help but feel a thump in his heart.

"This old guy!"

The Eighth Prince had a premonition that his more than 20,000 taels of challenge money might be wasted.

"Ankang, you can't let your brother down."

The Eighth Prince secretly glared at Zhao Feng a few times, and before he noticed, he turned his hopeful gaze to Princess Ankang.

But when he saw the confused look on Princess Ankang's face across from him, his heart couldn't help but thump again.

"Hey, what does her expression mean?"

"Aren't you usually quite smart?"

"Why aren't you smart now?"

"You're not acting on me, are you?"

The eighth prince winked at Princess Ankang, and Princess Ankang immediately winked at the eighth prince even more innocently.

When Zhao Feng saw the eighth prince winking at him, he immediately urged:

"His Royal Highness, the Eighth Prince, please start first."

"You are the challenger."

"Oh..." The eighth prince replied weakly, as if he were mourning his heir.

"Well, thanks to my being more thoughtful, at least I'm not the biggest loser."

When the Eighth Prince thought about it, he felt less uncomfortable.

"It doesn't matter what the third child has in mind, the boss and the others have no place to run away anyway."

The Eighth Prince glanced at Concubine Zhang who looked as cold as ice in the pavilion in the distance, and chuckled mischievously.

As long as there is an unlucky guy who is more unlucky than him, he is not the clowning one, and he will have fun after all.

As for winning Princess Ankang, the Eighth Prince didn't think much about it.

Rather, if he beat Princess Ankang, he would be the clowniest person today.

He knew very well what kind of hard life Princess Ankang had lived before.

The Eighth Prince gave Princess Ankang a horse before, but he helped her raise it for a long time, and waited until the Jingyang Palace was repaired before sending it to him.

After that, although Jingyang Palace seemed to be prosperous, and Princess Ankang also had such a majestic status as the royal money envoy, according to the eighth prince's understanding of Princess Ankang, I am afraid that he would not use public affairs for personal gain and significantly increase his monthly income. , at most it would be adjusted to a level similar to that of other princes and princesses.

The Eighth Prince participated in the additional competition mostly just to join in the fun and create trouble for people like the Third Prince.

But who would have thought that joining in the fun would cost so much money.

Next, the ignorant Princess Ankang won the eighth prince as expected.

"Bago, I want money."

Princess Ankang extended her hand to the eighth prince.

"Ankang, that's not what happened. Didn't you understand my eyes?"

The eighth prince muttered to Princess Ankang.

"But you don't have anything valuable on you." Princess Ankang's face shrank, and she said helplessly: "Oh, forget it."

Hearing this, the Eighth Prince looked happy, finally letting Princess Ankang understand what he meant.

"For the sake of our friendship, let's use the two remaining clothes on your body to pay for the 20,000 taels of silver." Princess Ankang said in a very generous tone.

Two pieces of rags are worth twenty thousand taels of silver. Princess Ankang is indeed very generous.

But the problem is that the only thing left on the Eighth Prince's body is his pants and fur.

The Eighth Prince's expression froze, and the smile froze on his face.

The next moment, he said seriously: "Ankang, the 20,000 taels will be credited to my account, and I will definitely pay you back in the future."

As soon as the eighth prince finished speaking, Zhao Feng came over at some point and asked loudly:

"Your Royal Highness the Thirteenth Princess, the Eighth Prince requested that the accounts be temporarily recorded and the twenty-five thousand six hundred taels be repaid later."

"Do you agree?"

Hearing this, the Eighth Prince felt distressed in his heart.

"What's wrong with you?"

But he only dared to slander Zhao Feng silently in his heart.

Princess Ankang did not embarrass the eighth prince anymore, and immediately nodded like a chicken pecking at rice.

"Okay, our Ministry of Internal Affairs has recorded this account for Her Royal Highness the Thirteenth Princess."

"I hope His Highness the Eighth Prince can repay you like this."

Zhao Feng finally said to the Eighth Prince with a smile, completely making him stop thinking about defaulting on his debts in the future.

"This old man!"

The Eighth Prince dared not speak out in anger, so he could only smile and nod in agreement.

More than 20,000 taels of silver is not a small amount for him.

His previous challenge money was taken from the small treasury he had accumulated for many years.

In the end, the eighth prince owed a lot of debts and left the stage sadly, ending his additional game.

Next, it was the turn of the third prince, who was also dressed in a minimalist style.

This time, the third prince had to pay a challenge of 51,200 taels of silver.

The third prince strode to the front of the stage and faced Princess Ankang, showing a confident look.

Then, he stretched out his thumb, pointed at himself, and announced loudly:

"I want to force myself to challenge myself!"

"..."

Everyone looked at the third prince in disbelief, whether it was the concubines or the princes and princesses, their faces were full of disbelief.

At this time, the third prince's mother, Concubine Zhao Shu, couldn't help laughing in the pavilion, breaking the silence.

Li Xuan looked at the third prince, then at Concubine Zhao Shufei, and couldn't help thinking in his heart: "This kid is flexible."

He smiled and shook his head, feeling a little regretful that he didn't trick the third prince.

But it's not too bad to let him imitate the Daxing Superman costume in public today.

Li Xuan thought that this guy would find a way to get back after losing such a big person, but he never expected that he would take the initiative to give up.

That's right, no matter how high they expected Princess Ankang's monthly allowance to be, it's really a loss to spend tens of thousands of taels of silver just for the possibility of exchanging monthly allowance.

Even if they really exchanged for Princess Ankang's monthly allowance, it would take several years to get back the money.

If it's to maintain better treatment for a long time, it's still worth it.

But the current royal silver envoy is Princess Ankang. Even if they exchanged for her monthly allowance, it's hard to say what will happen in the future.

And the third prince seemed to have made the decision to give up easily, but no one could understand his inner entanglement.

The finger he pointed at himself was trembling slightly.

At this moment, he personally shattered his own pride.

The achievements that made him proud in the past have now become a thing of the past and meaningless.

After being defeated by Princess Ankang again and again, the third prince finally accepted the reality.

Now he is indeed not as good as Princess Ankang.

His physical strength has declined compared to the beginning, but Princess Ankang was still relaxed when she defeated the eighth prince before.

Even without the challenge, the third prince knew the result, so he chose to give up.

He didn't feel sorry for the tens of thousands of taels of silver. He couldn't afford it, and his mother would naturally help him.

In front of so many people, Concubine Zhao Shu, one of the four concubines, would never destroy her son's stage.

But the third prince finally gave up his unnecessary self-esteem and chose to give up.

His trembling fingers gradually became firm, and the depression in his chest was relieved for a long time.

"Ankang, I am not as good as you now."

"But you can never be sure about it in the future."

The third prince said this to Princess Ankang, and then after handing over the silver to Zhao Feng, he walked off the stage under the gaze of everyone and returned to the pavilion where Concubine Zhao Shu was.

"Mother, I..."

Facing Concubine Zhao Shu, the third prince didn't know what he should say at this moment.

But Concubine Zhao Shu just smiled and tightened the fur coat on the third prince.

"Zhan'er, congratulations."

Hearing his mother say this, the third prince's face showed doubt.

"Your enemy has always been only you."

"And now you have finally taken the first step to defeat yourself."

The third prince thought about it and turned his head to look at the people on the stage.

His eyes swept from the eldest prince to Princess Ankang, and finally fixed on the eighth prince.

The eighth prince saw that he had given up directly before, and wanted to praise him "nicely", but seeing that the third prince was in a bad state, he didn't speak.

The Eighth Prince could see that the Third Prince had become a little different after giving up the game.

And then, he did see the changes in the Third Prince.

The Third Prince smiled at the Eighth Prince, and then retracted his gaze.

"Thank you for your advice, mother. I'll go back first."

After the Third Prince bowed to Concubine Zhao Shu, he did not watch the next game, but left the Imperial Garden with his attendants.

Concubine Zhao Shu looked at her son's back and smiled.

Compared to whether he could win the game, whether the Third Prince could grow up was what she valued more.

But the sudden abandonment of the Third Prince caused many people in the Imperial Garden to talk about it, and there was no shortage of unpleasant words, but Concubine Zhao Shu did not take it to heart.

There are many such gossips in the harem. If you keep all of these in mind, will you still be alive in the future?

And with the withdrawal of the Third Prince from the competition, only the eldest prince and his three siblings are left on the stage with the opportunity to challenge.

The fourth prince looked around and sighed helplessly.

If they didn't consider other things, they would have wanted to withdraw from the competition like the third prince.

It was not worth spending more than 50,000 taels for a chance to win.

But when the three siblings saw the cold face of Concubine Zhang in the audience, they knew they had no way out.

The third prince could afford to lose that person, but they couldn't.

"I'll go first."

The fourth prince said to the other two.

For the three of them, it didn't matter who could beat Princess Ankang. What mattered was that they could really beat her.

Otherwise...

None of the three siblings could imagine the pressure they would endure after failing the challenge.

"I want to forcefully challenge Ankang."

The fourth prince stepped forward and challenged.

"Your Highness, the Fourth Prince, challenges you for 51,200 taels of gold."

Zhao Feng smiled and stretched out his hand.

The fourth prince already understood at this time that no matter what the outcome of this game was, the Ministry of Internal Affairs would be the biggest winner.

Their attendants have already prepared the necessary banknotes.

The three of them couldn't come up with this amount of money.

In the previous business competition, the fourth prince had already lost 77% of his savings and could not afford so much money.

The eldest prince and the sixth princess didn't have the opportunity to make extra money like him, so they didn't accumulate much.

This challenge money was paid by Qingshu Palace, that is, their mother-in-law Zhang Guifei.

This is also the reason why the three brothers and sisters are under great pressure.

Zhao Feng, who collected the money, didn't care whether they were under great pressure or not. He happily accepted the money and arranged for them to compete.

Princess Ankang looked at the stressed expressions of the three brothers and sisters, and secretly shook her head.

She secretly took a look at Concubine Zhang sitting in the pavilion and felt that this person was too serious.

Even the other concubines accompanying him in the pavilion did not dare to take a breath, and the atmosphere was depressing.

Although there were other four concubines sitting in other pavilions, they were at most polite and respectful, and the atmosphere was not dull to that extent.

Zhang Guifei is a person who can obviously bring low pressure wherever she goes.

Contact with such people is a laborious matter.

It's hard enough for the eldest prince and three siblings to have such a mother and concubine.

Looking at Concubine Zhang, Princess Ankang thought of Concubine Xiao and couldn't help but smile tenderly.

In her opinion, the mother-in-law should be someone like Concubine Xiao.

Princess Ankang looked at the fourth prince in front of her and began to sympathize with her brother.

But she had no intention of losing to him.

The Fourth Prince performed exceptionally well in the end and scored four points.

Unfortunately, Princess Ankang scored five points again.

Princess Ankang won by one point.

After the result was announced, the fourth prince was not too surprised, but calmly asked Princess Ankang:

"Do you want a check?"

Princess Ankang nodded silently, but then added: "There are other things that can be left to Manager Zhao to judge. As long as they are of sufficient value, I will accept them."

The fourth prince smiled bitterly, looked at Princess Ankang and said, "Thank you for your kindness, but the decision-making power does not rest with me."

After saying that, the fourth prince looked at Concubine Zhang in the audience.

He was not the one who provided the money, so he certainly had no right to make the decision.

Seeing the eldest prince's three brothers and sisters all looking at her, Concubine Zhang said coldly:

"Here, keep going!"

The fourth prince silently gave up his position and stood aside.

For such a childish game, Qingshu Palace paid one hundred thousand taels of silver.

And if you continue, it will cost at least one hundred thousand taels of silver.

But the fourth prince was convinced that they would not be able to defeat Princess Ankang next.

Princess Ankang's previous mistakes were all staged, and the fourth prince was already convinced through the previous competition with him.

The brothers and sisters all understood that it was time to stop now, otherwise they would just give money to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Princess Ankang in vain.

But in this public place, the fourth prince had no confidence that he could convince Concubine Zhang.

He also didn't think anyone present could stop Zhang Guifei's determination to continue the game to the end.

The sixth princess was pushed forward next.

She couldn't help but feel a little dazed as she held the dozens of large banknotes in her hand.

I don’t know why, but recently I suddenly feel that money is not money anymore, it’s just a series of numbers.

For a royal princess to have such a subversion of her money concept shows how much recent events have affected her.

The Sixth Princess felt sorry for the money in her hands, and she felt even more sorry for her two brothers.

Seeing that the eldest prince and the fourth prince were beaten like eggplants by Shuang, and the people in the imperial garden looked like they were watching a show, the sixth prince couldn't help biting her red lips, and suddenly felt a desire to be willful. A handful, the urge to end the farce in front of you.

But when she made up her mind and raised her head, she accidentally met Zhang Guifei's cold eyes.

At this moment, the fiery impulse in the heart of the Sixth Princess instantly condensed.

"I……"

"I want to forcefully challenge Ankang."

The Sixth Princess lowered her head feebly and handed the banknote to Zhao Feng who was standing aside.