The Fourth Prince, Tu Chen, returned to his residence.
He went straight to the Fourth Prince's wife's courtyard.
"Why are you back so early today?" the Fourth Prince's wife asked.
"I don't have any official business today, so I came back first. Pack a gift and send it to the Crown Prince of Ningguo Province," Tu Chen ordered.
"Why do you want to send a gift to the Crown Prince of Ningguo Province?" The Fourth Prince's wife was a little confused. Her master had never interacted with the courtiers, and he didn't seem to have any ambition.
It seemed that being a carefree king in the future was enough.
But doing this today …
Did this mean that her master wanted to fight for the throne? The Fourth Prince's wife was shocked.
"Today on the street, the Crown Prince of Ningguo Province helped me out.
Naturally, I have to send a gift.
The gift doesn't need to be too expensive, just an ordinary one. "After the Fourth Prince finished speaking, he turned and left.
As for what happened on the street …
He believed that the Fourth Prince's wife would naturally investigate. Although he wasn't favored, he was still a prince.
When his father chose a wife for him,
He would still consider whether this woman was qualified to be the mistress of the prince's residence.
"Yes." The Fourth Prince's wife sent Tu Chen off, then ordered her maid.
She asked her maid to find out.
What exactly happened today.
The maid quickly came back with the news.
The Fourth Prince's wife's face darkened, and she suppressed the anger in her heart. "They're all foxes. Each one of them wants to fly up and become a phoenix. They're crazy."
"Princess, what should we do now?" the Fourth Prince's maid, Ling Long, asked.
"Go to the storeroom and arrange a gift. My master said that an ordinary one is enough, so we'll do it normally," the Fourth Prince's wife said. She had thought that her master had that kind of intention, but now it seemed that she had misunderstood. Since it wasn't to win over the Crown Prince of Ningguo Province, there was no need to make any special arrangements.
"Yes." Ling Long went to the storeroom. An ordinary gift had a fixed number. As the Fourth Prince's wife's maid, she could still arrange this.
The Fourth Prince returned to his study, and not long after, the guard also returned.
"What's the situation?" Tu Chen asked.
"The patrolling guards said that they were delayed by another matter, so they didn't arrive in time. They asked for the Fourth Prince's forgiveness. After that, they said some words of apology. I don't have the time to listen to them. However, I still feel that there is something fishy about this woman today. Master, do you want to investigate her carefully?" The guard suggested.
"There's no need. It's all because of my brothers. Although I'm not favored, I'm still a prince. Since they're fighting over me like a raging fire, they naturally want to win me over. Their usual method of controlling people is to gift them women," sneered Tu Chen. His eyes were cold and he didn't have his usual gentleness.
"Chong Guang, have you investigated why the Crown Prince of Ningguo Province is here today?" Tu Chen asked.
"Did the Crown Prince of Ningguo Province bring his wife back to her parents' home? It's said that the wife of the Crown Prince of Ningguo Province's mother's family is preparing to return to the northwest in a few days. Naturally, the Crown Prince of Ningguo Province wants to bring his wife back to visit her parents' home. Well, he happened to bump into you. However, after seeing the Crown Prince of Ningguo Province today, he doesn't seem like a playboy. He's quite smart and capable, "thought Chong Guang. Today, he was called stupid by Jia Zhen. He was called stupid by the Crown Prince of Ningguo Province, who was rumored to be a playboy. He felt that the whole world was not right.
"Heh, Ningguo Province and Rongguo Province have two Dukes in one family. Among the eight Dukes who accompanied the Grand Emperor to conquer the world and later accompanied my father to conquer the world, there are two Dukes in the Jia family. Moreover, these two Dukes are different in my father's heart. Back then, Jia Daihua served as the Jiedushi of Jingying, while Jia Daishan served as the Commander of the Imperial Army. Among the eight Dukes, the other Dukes have all handed over their military power to others. Jia Daihua and Jia Daishan are the two Dukes in the Emperor's heart. These two brothers are not ordinary people. Ningguo Province has long been transformed from military to civil. Not to mention the former Jia Fu, the current Jia Jing is already a third-rank assistant minister of the Ministry of Personnel. As for Rongguo Province, they also want to be transferred to civil. The wife of the Crown Prince of Rongguo Province, Jia Xie, is a member of the Zhang family." Tu Chen was very optimistic about the prospects of the Ning and Rong Mansions. Most importantly, these two families have no intention of participating in the fight for the throne. It was no wonder that his father favored them.
In the past, many princes wanted to marry the legitimate daughter of Rongguo Province. His father was also in a difficult position at that time. In the end, the Jia Daishan directly went to the emperor and said that his daughter did not want to marry into the imperial family. He said that his daughter was pampered and spoiled. If she were to marry into the imperial family, he and his two sons would not be able to stand up for their daughter if she were to be wronged. After hearing this, his father laughed and said that he would definitely grant a marriage when the Jia Daishan's daughter got married. Sure enough, when the legitimate daughter of Rongguo Province married Lin Ruhai, his father really did grant a marriage. Tu Chen thought that those nobles who kept sending women to his good brothers were all stupid. The Ning and Rong families were the smart ones.
If the legitimate daughter of Rongguo Province really married a prince, his father would definitely not trust the Jia Daishan and Jia Daihua anymore.
"It seems that I have underestimated the heir of Ningguo Province." Hearing Tu Chen's words, Chongguang knew that he was not a simple person.
"As the only son of the Jia Jing, the Jia Zhen naturally has to give him advice and teach him by his side. There are so many pairs of eyes watching his family, so naturally, he has to be more cautious. Moreover, the vortex of fighting for the throne is getting bigger and bigger, so hiding his strength is the best way." Tu Chen agreed with the way Ningguo Province taught his son. He deliberately pretended to be a playboy and acted dumb, which was similar to him. As a prince, he naturally wanted to get the throne. He was not fighting for it now, but it was just a show for others to see.
He still needed to wait. His father's health was not bad, so it was unwise to be in a hurry to cultivate his own followers. He needed to wait and not be too impatient.
"Since I know that Ningguo Province is hiding his strength, why don't we take this opportunity to rope him in? With the support of Ningguo Province, naturally, we will also have the support of Rongguo Province. "Chongguang suggested.
"No hurry, I can't be too impatient. If I am too impatient, the throne will really not be mine." Tu Chen let go of his body, leaned back in the chair, and closed his eyes. Today's matter could only be considered as good karma. The Jia family had already expressed that they would not participate in the fight for the throne. If he rashly tried to rope them in, he would be done for. He just needed to wait a little longer. When his father, the lion, was really old, the opportunity would come.
Seeing Tu Chen like this, Chongguang shut his mouth. In his heart, the one who would get the throne would definitely be the Fourth Prince. He had always believed so.
When the Jia Zhen and Xia Lu arrived at the Xia family's house, they finally got out of the stuffy carriage. Both of them felt that they were about to die from the heat. Seeing this, Xia Xiaofu's mother hurriedly ordered the servants to boil water for the two of them to take a bath first. Fortunately, when a rich family went out, they would prepare another set of clothes.
"We have already prepared a lot of things. Why did you send things over again? Did you let Zheng 'er spend money?" Xia Xiaofu's mother saw the things that the Jia Zhen and Xia Lu brought over and was very happy in her heart. However, she could not help but say a few words. It was like in modern times, when you bought a gift for your mother and her mother scolded you for wasting money, but the smile on her face let people know that she was actually very happy.
"It's not very expensive. Father-in-law and mother-in-law went to the northwest. It's not like the capital there. Everything is lacking there, so I could only prepare some. It's a little gift from your son-in-law," the Jia Zhen said.
"You too. You're obviously happy, so just accept it. When we go to the northwest, we'll send Zheng 'er more furs," Xia Fu said.
Xia Xiaofu's mother glared at Xia Fu. This boorish man was simply a warrior. When accepting gifts, he did not need to be polite. He wanted to let the person who gave the gifts know that he was grateful.
"Okay, okay, okay. You have the final say." Xia Fu gave Xia Xiaofu's mother a glare and compromised. In their family, his wife had the highest status.
Jia Zhen witnessed this and whispered in Xia Lu's ear, "I finally understand who you resemble. Although your martial arts value is similar to Father-in-law's, your personality is similar to Mother-in-law's. Mother-in-law is really powerful."
"Do you have a problem with it?" Xia Lu looked at Jia Zhen, a dangerous glint flashing in his eyes.
"No," Jia Zhen immediately said.
"Pfft." Xia Ji laughed when he saw Jia Zhen and Xia Lu whispering in each other's ears.
Jia Zhen looked over and saw his twelve-year-old brother-in-law. He waved at him and said, "Come here. Brother-in-law has something for you too."
Xia Ji walked over and took the bag from Jia Zhen.
"Open it and see if you like it," Jia Zhen said.
Xia Ji opened the bag and looked at the things inside. His eyes lit up. As a scholar, he could naturally distinguish between good and bad things. For example, he immediately knew that the ink his brother-in-law gave him was Hui Ink. Hui Ink was not something that could be bought just because one wanted to. One had to have the right to buy it. He remembered that his teacher at the border had half a box of Hui Ink and treasured it like a treasure. He did not expect his brother-in-law to give him half a box of Hui Ink.
"Thank you, Brother-in-law." Xia Ji's eyes lit up. He looked at his brother-in-law as if he was a good person.
"Use these first. Write to me when you're done. I'll ask someone to send more to you." Jia Zhen felt that it was not easy for him to treat his brother-in-law especially well since he was in the same situation as him.
"That's right, I also have something to give brother-in-law. Brother-in-law, please wait a moment." Xia Ji brought the things back to her room and then quickly came out with a box in her hands. She handed it to Jia Zhen.
Jia Zhen opened the box and saw a seal inside. Jia Zhen took the seal out and looked at it carefully. The gemstone engraved with the seal was not particularly expensive and the engraved pattern was not particularly gorgeous. However, Jia Zhen liked it at first sight. "Did you engrave this yourself?" Jia Zhen asked.
"Yes. Do you like it?" Xia Ji blushed and was a little embarrassed.
"I like it very much." Jia Zhen did not ask for the box. He directly untied his purse and put the seal inside. "I'll take good care of it." Jia Zhen smiled. This was a gift from his brother-in-law. Thinking about it, the Qian family had received a lot of good things from him before. However, they did not return the gift. His brother-in-law was the best.
"Haha, what about me?" Xia Lu was dissatisfied.
"Haha." Xia Ji pretended to be ignorant and ran away with a smile.
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