Chapter 513: No Coincidences, No Stories

"Impossible, you must have colluded to deceive us!"

"I've seen something wrong with today's game!"

The Sixth Princess cursed emotionally, not caring about the presence of Zhao Feng and other concubines.

Seeing the Sixth Princess's reaction, Concubine Zhang in the pavilion snorted coldly.

Although she didn't say anything, the Sixth Princess was like a mouse seeing a cat, and she immediately shut her mouth.

However, the unwilling and aggrieved look on the Sixth Princess' face did not diminish at all, and tears flashed in her eyes, and she was about to cry.

Seeing that Concubine Zhang didn't ask the reason, she just felt that she had embarrassed her, and turned her face away angrily, no longer caring about these trivial matters.

Concubine Zhang narrowed her eyes, and her breathing became heavier. Obviously, she was very dissatisfied with the performance of the Sixth Princess.

If it weren't in public, she would have asked the Sixth Princess to kneel down and admit her mistake.

"Sixth sister."

The eldest prince and the fourth prince didn't care to continue studying the amount written on the note, and hurriedly advised.

Having angered their mother, the Sixth Princess will definitely be severely punished when she returns, which is much worse than losing the game.

After being persuaded by her two brothers, the Sixth Princess wiped her tears and turned her face back, but she had lost interest in other things. She lowered her head and looked at the ground, just wanting to finish early and go back to the room to lock herself up.

Seeing the Sixth Princess like this, the First Prince and the Fourth Prince could only sigh silently.

Then, the Fourth Prince took the note and came to Zhao Feng and bowed:

"Sixth sister is emotional, it is inevitable that there will be collisions, please forgive me, General Manager Zhao."

Zhao Feng immediately returned the greeting respectfully and said: "Your Highness the Fourth Prince really embarrassed this old slave."

"As for the monthly allowance of Her Highness the Thirteenth Princess, this old slave expected that it would cause controversy, so I prepared a detailed list of the monthly allowance expenses of Jingyang Palace in these years, please take a look at it, Your Highnesses."

After Zhao Feng finished speaking, a flowery eunuch brought an account book.

The fourth prince was not polite and immediately took it and looked through it carefully with the other two.

"Sixth sister, come and help me look at it. I can't keep up with it."

"Oh."

In response to the fourth prince's request, the sixth princess answered and helped to check it.

When Concubine Zhang in the pavilion saw the sixth princess busying herself, her expression eased a little.

However, the eldest prince's three siblings frowned more and more as they looked at the account book.

"This..."

After confirming that the account book was correct, the three siblings looked at each other in bewilderment. They didn't expect that this was the result of their argument for so long.

Eight coins of silver, plus a bag of brown rice.

This was the entire monthly allowance of Princess Ankang.

They spent hundreds of thousands of taels of silver, pushing the heavy iron ball again and again, knocking down those stubborn bamboo-shaped wooden pillars, and the result they got in the end was just this kind of thing.

The eldest prince's body swayed and he almost couldn't stand. Thanks to the fourth prince's quick eyes and hands, he supported him.

"Listen carefully, don't let it out!"

The fourth prince lowered his voice and said sternly to the eldest prince and the sixth princess.

"At least don't let other people know."

The sixth princess clenched her fists, making a crackling sound, and asked unwillingly: "Are we just going to let it go?"

"I was wondering why she admitted defeat so readily just now, it turns out..."

The sixth princess gnashed her teeth in anger, her face twisted.

"If she doesn't admit defeat, we have to give her 200,000 taels of silver."

"Sixth sister, remember this!"

"This time, we owed Ankang a favor worth 200,000 taels, and we must not hate her for this."

The fourth prince warned the sixth princess seriously.

"What is she doing?"

"Sympathize with us?"

Hearing the fourth prince's words, the sixth princess felt even more sad, and her questioning voice trembled a little.

In response, the eldest prince and the fourth prince could only respond with silent silence.

They didn't want to be sympathized by Princess Ankang, but they couldn't imagine whether Concubine Zhang could bear it if she lost another two hundred thousand taels of silver.

At least, before the monthly allowance in their hands was exposed, Concubine Zhang could still maintain her last dignity.

"We must not let others know. We will avoid mother and wait until we return to Qingshu Palace."

"As long as the real monthly allowance in our hands is not exposed, it may still be a good card."

The fourth prince's brain was working frantically, thinking of all possible remedies.

The sixth princess muttered speechlessly: "With this little money, the dog that feeds the eldest brother will starve to death."

Obviously, she sneered at the idea that this was a good card.

The eldest prince silently stretched out two fingers and pinched the mouth of the sixth princess.

"Sixth sister, from now on, you are not allowed to speak without my and my fourth brother's permission."

"Ankang was able to deceive so many of us today."

"Can't we learn from her?"

The fourth prince's calmness also inspired the eldest prince, and he immediately understood how to use this good card.

The two brothers looked at each other, nodded silently, and then immediately adjusted their expressions, put away the notes in their hands, and then returned the account book to Zhao Feng.

Zhao Feng stood aside and kept observing the reactions of the three siblings.

Seeing that they were calmer than expected and adjusted their expressions immediately, he also nodded silently.

"In the past year, all the princes have made great progress."

Zhao Feng looked at the eldest prince's three siblings, and then looked at the other eight princes and others, and smiled slightly.

Not to mention anything else, the fourth prince and the eighth prince alone have greatly changed in their mental outlook.

The fourth prince was constantly pushed by external pressure led by Princess Ankang, forced to stand on the stage, constantly going all out, but growing up in helpless failures again and again.

And the eighth prince was the one that Zhao Feng felt most relieved about.

The eighth prince's knot showed signs of being untied. Not only did he resume contact with the Qin family, he was no longer as shy about meeting with Duke Hu as before.

His previous style of being ignorant and doing cockfighting and dog walking was also greatly improved.

Only his gentleness towards his younger brothers and sisters has not changed.

"Your Majesty, the Imperial Garden Competition seems to be quite effective."

Zhao Feng couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

But he understood that it was Princess Ankang, the "catfish", who could bring such a significant change.

Since Princess Ankang became active, the pattern in the palace has ushered in unprecedented changes.

Zhao Feng took the account book and saw that the eldest prince and his three siblings seemed to have no other questions, so he said:

"The doubts of the princes seem to have been answered."

"In this case, I should also announce the end of today's game."

The three siblings nodded in unison, and the eldest prince, as a representative, restored his former demeanor:

"Thank you for your help, General Manager Zhao, we are very satisfied with the result of the game."

The eldest prince and Zhao Feng smiled at each other, and their tacit understanding was silent.

The eldest prince's meaning was very clear, there was no problem, so let's end the game immediately.

And Zhao Feng didn't mean to say anything more, because the reactions of other people present also made him feel interesting.

"Hey, the competition is about to end."

"Aren't you going to announce the final result?"

"How much is Princess Ankang's monthly allowance?"

"Just now, I saw the excitement of the Sixth Princess, so I'm afraid it's not a small amount."

"I didn't expect that Ankang looked honest, but she was just like everyone else behind the scenes."

"That is to say, if she continues to be the Royal Money Manager, there will be a lot of holes."

As they talked, the topic shifted to the hatred of Princess Ankang's shocking monthly allowance and the condemnation of corruption.

These people are also very powerful. A few words without a beginning or an end soon became very detailed.

In just a short while, Princess Ankang's monthly allowance was almost as much as the challenge money paid by the eldest prince just now.

Although Zhao Feng wanted to help Princess Ankang explain the matter, he also knew that the time was not right at this moment.

But he couldn't indulge her like this any longer, otherwise it would really be a bit exciting.

"Ladies and princes."

Zhao Feng spoke loudly. His voice was not loud, but he easily overwhelmed everyone.

"The last additional match also ended with the victory of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

This sentence made Concubine Zhang, who was sitting in the pavilion, proudly stand up and slightly raise her white and pointed chin.

The concubines sitting beside her also flattered him at the right time and congratulated the Crown Prince on his victory.

Although it was just an additional match and he did not win any points, he was praised by them as if he had been made the Crown Prince.

In this way, a smile appeared on Concubine Zhang's cold face.

"Today's wooden shooting is over. Please look forward to the Imperial Garden Competition next month."

"Next month will also be the last Imperial Garden Competition this year. His Majesty will have special arrangements. Please look forward to it."

"Then, I will take my leave first and report the results to His Majesty."

After Zhao Feng finished speaking, he took people to pack up their things and left the Imperial Garden directly.

The concubines also said hello and prepared to return to their own palaces.

As the Imperial Garden was just beginning to disperse, the eldest prince and his three siblings exchanged glances, then used their Qinggong skills and left the place separately.

They looked as anxious as they could be. If you didn't know, you might think that their enemies had caught up with them.

"Hey, do you guys have to do that?"

The eighth prince, who had just approached them, didn't even touch their sleeves and cursed angrily.

He originally thought that Princess Ankang's monthly allowance was not that high, but after seeing the reaction of the eldest prince and others just now, he was a little unsure.

The eighth prince was still preparing to make indirect attacks, but these three people just used their Qinggong skills and ran away.

In the pavilion, Concubine Zhang had not yet stood up.

She originally wanted to call the three siblings to show off her achievements today in front of others.

Although she didn't get any points, she also won against Princess Ankang, who had been riding on their heads, and she let out a breath of anger.

But when Concubine Zhang saw the Eighth Prince and others coming forward to harass them, she nodded and didn't say much about the rude way the three siblings left.

"Okay, let's go too."

Concubine Zhang coldly ordered others and prepared to return to Qingshu Palace.

There were many people who were curious about how much the eldest prince had changed his monthly allowance.

But when they saw that even the Eighth Prince didn't stop the three siblings, they gave up the idea of ​​asking now.

The Eighth Prince was the most unrestrained, so he could go up and ask directly.

But others couldn't do that. The concubines were considered elders, so they naturally couldn't act like this. There were also rules, and it was not appropriate for low-level concubines to talk to the eldest prince.

As for the other princes and princesses, although they were also curious, they were not as thick-skinned as the Eighth Prince, and always wanted to find a suitable occasion and time to inquire.

Therefore, everyone in the Imperial Garden could only watch the eldest prince and his three siblings leave.

At this time, the fifth prince also came to the eighth prince. Seeing that he did not stop the three brothers and sisters of the eldest prince, he immediately asked: "Old Eighth, what are you asking about with them?"

"If you are really curious, you might as well ask Ankang."

To be honest, the fifth prince was also very curious about how many months Princess Ankang lived.

But he was a shameless person and felt that it was too cheap for an older brother to inquire about other people's pocket money from his younger sister.

But he also wanted to satisfy his curiosity, so he quietly handed over this important task to the most suitable Eighth Prince.

When the Eighth Prince heard this, he thought so too.

But when they went to find Princess Ankang, she had long since disappeared from the imperial garden.

…

"There should be no one here."

The Royal Garden occupies a very large area. After the three eldest prince brothers and sisters left the place where they used to gather every month, they went straight to the depths of the Royal Garden and came to an uninhabited pond.

The three of them looked around to make sure no one was there before letting the eldest prince take the note out of his arms.

"Burn it. Don't let others know about this."

The fourth prince said, took out the fire folding piece and immediately lit the note.

The three siblings watched silently as the ashes of the note fell into the pond and disappeared, and then they felt relieved.

"Then how do you explain it to the mother-in-law?"

"You can hide it for a while, but you can't hide it forever."

The Sixth Princess said with worry.

They spent hundreds of thousands of taels of silver, only to get less than one tael a month, which would make anyone crazy.

Not to mention their mother-in-law.

When this matter was mentioned, the three brothers and sisters had solemn expressions.

"You definitely can't hide it. It will be exposed as soon as you get the monthly report next month."

"Rather than do this, I can only tell the truth."

The fourth prince said helplessly.

These words made the six princesses shudder.

The eldest prince sighed deeply.

"But don't worry too much. We understand things with emotion and act with reason."

"Explain the value of this note, my concubine..."

"She shouldn't be too harsh on us."

When he said this, even the fourth prince himself had no confidence.

They knew their mother-in-law very well.

But now they have no other choice but to tell the truth.

The three brothers and sisters of the eldest prince sighed together, all feeling uncertain about their future.

"By the way, fourth brother."

"We can't just hide this matter. We have to make arrangements with the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Otherwise, if someone finds the eunuch who delivers the monthly report and inquires, everything will be exposed."

The eldest prince thought of a detail.

"Well, don't worry, brother, I'll go find Mr. Zhao later."

"It's better to keep those things in the Ministry of Internal Affairs. I will say that when we need them, we will go and get them ourselves."

The fourth prince's words made the three siblings shake their heads and smile helplessly.

I'm afraid they won't be able to use the eight pieces of silver and a bag of brown rice every month in their lifetime.

No matter how destitute they are in Qingshu Palace, they will not be in such a state of desolation.

If you look for any palace maid or eunuch in Qingshu Palace, their monthly salary will be higher than this.

"Big brother, fourth brother."

"The account book just now..."

The Sixth Princess suddenly mentioned the account book that Zhao Feng showed them just now.

"Well, I didn't expect Ankang's monthly sales to be so low in recent years."

"During the gathering in the Royal Garden a few years ago, I saw Ankang's face getting worse and worse, and I thought it was all because of her own illness." The eldest prince couldn't help but sigh with emotion.

Before seeing the account book, the three brothers and sisters could not imagine that a royal princess would be treated so poorly in the palace.

That kind of treatment is even worse than that of many eunuchs and maids.

"You know, that's not just for Ankang herself. She also has a little palace maid to take care of her." The fourth prince was also a little shocked.

He felt that his previous guesses about Princess Ankang seemed to have many shortcomings.

Maybe "working hard and tasting courage" is not enough to describe Princess Ankang.

"I have heard from people around me that the little palace maid often sneaks out of the cold palace to do work for others. They all say that the little palace maid wants to escape from the cold palace and keeps hugging her thighs."

"The maids all said that the little maid was shameless. The master who was sick just jumped out of the fire pit without caring about her. Someone reported her for leaving the palace secretly, but no one took care of her."

"It is said that other noble people are willing to watch such a drama and save it as a good show."

"But now it seems that's not the case..."

The Sixth Princess frowned as she spoke.

At this time, the fourth prince said: "It is common for some wealthy palace maids and eunuchs to hire others to help with the heavy work in the palace."

"I guess that little palace maid works for others to make money."

"As for the nobles watching the show, it should be true."

The fourth prince said, looked at the eldest prince and the sixth prince and asked:

"You all just saw how the moonlight in Jingyang Palace was cut all the way down, right?"

The fourth prince's question made both of them silent and lowered their heads.

"The eunuch who appears the most in the records of proposals to reduce monthly routines..."

"Gao Wang, right? I remember that he has always been on good terms with his mother and concubine." The eldest prince interrupted the fourth prince.

"Well, after all this time and again, this monthly routine is in my hands. It can be regarded as a cycle of cause and effect. I'm not happy with my retribution."

The eldest prince twitched his lips.

When they looked at the account book just now, they found that a familiar name appeared frequently. Almost every time the monthly allowance of Jingyang Palace was actually reduced, it was related to this person.

And the fourth prince knew that Gao Wang, the eunuch, was raised by their Zhang family.

The three brothers and sisters were not stupid. They knew that the monthly allowance of Jingyang Palace had been reduced to this point, and their mother had contributed a lot.

And this monthly allowance that was reduced to the limit was back in their hands.

This was also the important reason why they wanted to hide it but dared not hide it from Concubine Zhang.

"It's really no coincidence."