The beloved baby has a space

Chapter 628 Selling People
If Old Madam Wang hadn't denied it so quickly and thoroughly, Prince Xiaoyao might have believed her. But he couldn't be sure if the person before him really knew anything about Princess Yongchang.

After all, it was almost 40 years ago. 40 years ago, this old lady should still be living in the village. At that time, Princess Yongchang was famous throughout the country.

But since imperial power doesn't extend to the countryside, news from the royal family might not reach the rural areas either.

While the carefree prince was deep in thought, Old Lady Wang was also watching him.

Old Mrs. Wang had never met Prince Xiaoyao, but he could tell at a glance that Prince Xiaoyao was the late emperor's child because they looked so alike.

It's not just about appearance, but also about the indomitable spirit that emanates from his entire being.

Back when she was Princess Yongchang, most people envied her. There were many rumors among the common people: "Princess Yongchang is nothing special. If it were me, born with a silver spoon in my mouth, I could be the most beautiful woman in the entire continent, let alone the most beautiful woman in Dachang!"

People even discussed her with extremely vulgar theories: "What's the use of being the most beautiful? In the end, she'll still be used for a political marriage. Even if she marries a high-ranking official, she'll still be someone else's wife. Besides, I heard that Princess Yongchang is very particular about everything. If you marry a wife like that, she'll ruin your family in less than two years!"

Princess Yongchang overheard these words by chance. At that time, there were rumors of a disaster in the north. Princess Yongchang not only took out a large sum of her own money to help the disaster victims, but also went to Puji Temple and ate vegetarian food for a month to pray for the disaster victims.

To show her sincerity, Princess Yongchang did not bring many servants with her.

Furthermore, what the world doesn't know is that Princess Yongchang has been learning martial arts from top-tier masters in the inner palace since childhood. Not only can ordinary people not defeat her, but ordinary assassins also cannot harm her.

That's why no one expected that Princess Yongchang would be in Puji Temple, so they didn't hold back when they spoke.

Princess Yongchang took all these words to heart and remained sullen for a while after returning home.

From then on, Princess Yongchang became even more extravagant when she went out. Originally, she thought that everyone's opinion of Princess Yongchang would definitely drop, but unexpectedly, everyone praised her highly, believing that she was the true model of a noble lady and had the demeanor of royalty.

In the eyes of ordinary people, the emperor must have been eating with golden chopsticks and spoons every day, using a golden hoe when he went out, wearing clothes made of gold thread, and even sleeping in a bed made of pure gold.

As for Princess Yongchang, she was pampered by the royal family since childhood, and naturally became a noble lady adorned with jewels.

If she is frugal, people will think it's just a show; if she is extravagant, people will think it's normal and perfectly reasonable.

Legend has it that in Princess Yongchang's mansion, there is a house made of gold and jewels.

However, Princess Yongchang lived in the Duke of Anguo's mansion for many years, and the mansion was left unused.

Even after leaving Princess Yongchang's residence, she encountered several groups of thieves who claimed they wanted to find the golden house.

Upon seeing the carefree prince, Old Lady Wang was reminded of those extravagant yet dull days of the past.

"Your Highness has come to my residence, presumably to improve your leg mobility? As for those other people, they are of no benefit to Your Highness's legs, so let's not mention them," Old Madam Wang said with a smile. "In our village, there is a traveling doctor who carries a dog-beating stick and is very skilled at treating all kinds of leg ailments. My husband and second son were both cured by this doctor. If Your Highness does not mind, I can help introduce you to him."

This was also the reason why Old Mrs. Wang wanted to talk to Prince Xiaoyao. Prince Xiaoyao had come to the Wang family for no reason, so naturally there was a reason. Old Mrs. Wang did not want Prince Xiaoyao's eyes to be fixed on that extraordinary-looking wheelchair, for fear of bringing disaster to Ayu. Therefore, she could only shift the blame.

At that moment, Physician Xue, who was giving the Empress her final treatment in the palace, suddenly sneezed violently.

The carefree prince replied, "What should we do then? I've already paid 40 taels of silver as collateral. Since my crippled legs can be healed, I suppose there's no need to spend any more money—"

Old Mrs. Wang said slowly and deliberately, "The Prince is a noble among nobles, so naturally he wouldn't care about such a small amount of money. But for us, a small family, this amount of money is enough to save lives. Besides, if the Prince thinks that spending 40 taels of silver on those wheelchairs is a waste, perhaps I can make the decision."

The carefree prince resisted the urge to raise an eyebrow, waiting for Old Madam Wang's next words.

Meanwhile, Wang Chuangui learned from the head chef that his one sip of chicken soup had ruined nearly 200 taels of silver worth of ingredients for his mother.

This only covers the price of the ingredients, not other miscellaneous expenses.

Wang Chuangui gasped in shock.

He still owes his mother 300 taels of silver!

Thinking of pleading with the old lady not to keep a record of his debts this time, so that he wouldn't have to worry about repaying the money even after passing the imperial examination. As he was thinking, he learned from the old servant where the old lady was. When he arrived at the backyard, he saw the old lady talking with the carefree prince.

Just as Wang Chuangui was about to retreat, he heard Old Mrs. Wang call out to him, "You've come at the perfect time."

"Mother?" Wang Chuangui asked, puzzled.

As he approached, he heard Old Lady Wang say to Prince Xiaoyao, "We don't have any other family members, just this good-for-nothing son. If he passes the imperial examination with a score of second class or higher, we'll send him to serve under the Prince."

Wang Chuangui: "?"

No, what if he became a disciple of the emperor and worked under a prince?!
What is Mother trying to do?!

He thought to himself, maybe I should just deliberately fail the exam and go back to farming with my older brother.

The village school is certainly short of teachers. He is, after all, a scholar who has passed the imperial examinations. It wouldn't be a problem for him to teach some students to become scholars.

Then, Old Madam Wang said, "If he fails the exam, please don't look down on him, Your Highness. Let him work as a gatekeeper at your residence. It would be just as appropriate. They say that even a third-rank official is important before the prime minister's gate. If Your Highness has a scholar who passed the imperial examination, it will certainly be a source of pride, won't it?"

Wang Chuangui: "..."

King Xiaoyao: “…”

At that moment, Wang Chuangui vaguely seemed to see a hint of sympathy flash in the eyes of the Carefree King.

Haha, it seems the truth about him not being his mother's biological child is about to come out.

Meanwhile, Ayu rushed into the kitchen and, after learning the complicated recipe for Jiu Yi Tang, her eyes widened in amazement.

"When did Grandma fall in love with such expensive soup?" Ayu patted her chest, looking shocked.

Wang Wulang was also extremely surprised. A few years ago, let alone ingredients costing hundreds of taels of silver, even ingredients costing only a few copper coins would not have been allowed to be bought by his grandmother.

The village has all kinds of vegetables, why would anyone dare to spend money?
Just as Wang Wulang was about to say, "Is it hard for Grandma to go from extravagance to frugality now, or is she afraid of being poor in the past and now has the mentality of a nouveau riche?"

He also wanted to find Ayu to be his confidante and talk about his views.

Unexpectedly, Ayu then muttered to herself, "Grandma's hobby is too expensive. I need to earn more money so that Grandma can drink delicious soup every day until she's a hundred years old!"

Wang Wulang: "..."

She then asked the chef, "Is this soup very nourishing?"

The chef was still angry, but he still snorted and replied, "Very nourishing, it can even bring back those taken away by the King of Hell!"

That soup isn't just a simple boiled soup; it takes several days to prepare and various seasonings to make it truly authentic.

A little less or a little more, and it just won't taste right.

Others might not care, but he cares a lot.

“That’s great. My family will drink a bowl every day, and I’ll also send a bowl to Brother Ayou. Oh, my aunt the Empress is not well, so she’ll have a bowl too. The Empress Dowager is old, so she’ll have an extra bowl as well. Hmm, then I’ll have to make some money every day.”

Ayu knew that when you were poor, earning even a few taels of silver a day was incredibly difficult, but once you had capital, earning hundreds of thousands of taels of silver a year was very easy.

"You wish!" The chef was practically spitting fire. "Do you think this is feeding pigs? If you drink this for two days in a row, even the King of Hell on stilts will come and take you away overnight!"

Moreover, if making soup were that easy, why would he need to be the imperial chef?
(End of this chapter)