After I got into the drama, I led the plot astray

I consoled him, "Isn't it just money? We can make back the money from our two shops in a year. Besides, we still have the shops left by mother and the man surnamed Gui. We won't starve to death."

Yiping glared at me angrily, then turned and left.

I saw that Gongsun Wen looked unhappy, so I said, "It seems that His Majesty has learned the idea you gave me, and is thinking of a way to punish you. You should go to the palace to appease His Majesty. The bitter cold place of Xishan is not suitable for you."

Gongsun Wen glanced at me and said, "I'm afraid it will be difficult to be a priest tomorrow, so you better be careful."

I smiled bitterly and said, "Your Majesty is clearly trying to make trouble for me. How can I let him do this? No matter how careful I am, I can only be bullied. Don't worry, I will be fine. But you should be more gentle and say a few nice words to His Majesty. His Majesty will not do anything to you. I will change my clothes and go to the palace with Chief Wei, so I will not keep you for dinner this time. I will ask Yiping to make you something delicious next time there is a chance."

Gongsun Wen looked at me as if he had something to say but couldn't. In the end, he left silently without even saying goodbye.

Yingchun saw that I was shaking so badly and said quickly, "Second Master, go back to your room and change your clothes. I made several pairs of knee pads before. I will give them to you and tie them to your knees. It will not be so uncomfortable to kneel tomorrow."

My eyes lit up and I immediately said, "This is a good thing, go get it for me."

Yingchun agreed with a smile, and after sending me into the house, she went to get the knee pad.

After a while, Yingchun brought me a thick, soft knee pad that looked a bit like a mask.

I put on knee pads and an extra pair of cotton pants. Although they looked a bit bulky, at least they made kneeling less uncomfortable.

After changing clothes, Yingchun helped me to tie my hair.

Yingchun is tall and thin, with delicate facial features. If she were in modern times, with such a figure and appearance, she would definitely be more beautiful than many big stars.

I looked at Yingchun in the mirror and said with a smile, "Did you know from the beginning that I was a woman?"

Yingchun paused, then immediately smiled and said, "Yes, it is precisely because I know that the Second Young Master is a girl that I am willing to enter the room and serve him closely."

I said, "You are quite smart. Do Panchun and the others know about this?"

Yingchun shook her head and said, "I didn't tell them."

I nodded and said, "Try not to let too many people know my true identity. Women are subject to too many restrictions in today's society. It's inconvenient to go out, so I dress like a man. I will probably go to the border with my father after the new year. The border is full of wind and sand, and life is hard. You don't have to go with me. You stay at home and take good care of Miss Three. If you meet your sweetheart in the future, you can tell Miss Three, and I will ask her to prepare a generous dowry for you so that you can marry in style."

Yingchun's eyes immediately turned red when she heard this, and she whispered, "Thank you, Second Young Master."

I smiled and said, "Don't cry, it's not like I won't come back, I'm just going to the war with my father. Tomorrow is New Year's Eve, I'll ask my third sister to get you a set of jewelry, so you can wear it decently during the New Year."

Yingchun's tears finally fell. She wiped her eyes with her sleeve and said, "Thank you, Second Young Master."

I touched my combed hair and said, "I know you took all your money home to support your family, and you didn't even want to buy jewelry. What girl doesn't like beauty? Besides, we can't be too shabby during the New Year, don't you think?"

Yingchun didn't say anything, but just kept nodding.

At this time, Yi Ping came in angrily, walked up to me, stuffed a note into my hand, and said, "Go get the money back first, and we'll find a way to deal with the rest later."

I opened the folder and saw that it was a passbook. I counted it and found that there was as much as 1.2 million taels. The money in it was probably all the silver that Yiping could take out.

Yiping looked fierce on the surface, and I felt so distressed, but I didn't expect that he was going to get my passbook.

I held the passbook and thought about it, then stuffed it back into Yiping's hands and said, "Let's see about the money we owe. There's no rush."

Yi Ping's eyes widened as he said loudly, "What's the hurry? His Majesty has issued an order. Do you want to disobey it?"

I was so angry that I said, "Keep your voice down and don't keep saying I'm disobeying your Majesty. How could I be disobeying your Majesty? I just wanted to ask His Majesty to reduce the fine. The reconstruction of that broken courtyard would only cost tens of thousands of taels at most, but you fined me three million taels. I won't accept it even if you beat me to death, so you can't hand over the money easily. You'd better hide the passbook. If I really need it, I'll ask you for it now."

Yi Ping looked at me doubtfully and asked, "Your Majesty has issued the decree, can you still be exempted? Don't make trouble, just pay the money obediently and feel at ease."

I said angrily, "Don't feel at ease. Three million taels is blackmail! Am I someone who can be blackmailed so easily?"

As he was talking, Jinping came back with a chill in his body. As soon as he entered the door, he asked, "Ah Man, tell me, brother, who dared to blackmail you?"

I glanced at Jinping and asked in confusion, "Where have you been?"

Jinping had already brushed off the snow outside, but there were still some snow flakes on his body. He was afraid that the cold air would pass to us, so he brushed off the snow before daring to come over and said, "I went to invite the teacher to come to the mansion to celebrate the New Year, but the teacher refused. He said that he was used to living in that house and could play chess with Su's father every day. He didn't want to come, so I came back alone."

The house had sufficient supplies of food, meat and vegetables, enough for Master Lu and his people to have a prosperous year over there. Since Master Lu was unwilling to come, I had no choice but to let him go.

I stood up and Yingchun immediately brought a cloak and put it on me.

Jinping saw me going out and said, "It's getting dark, where are you going?"

I sighed and said, "I was summoned to the palace by His Majesty to serve as a priest, and I don't know when I will be back. You don't have to wait for me for lunch tomorrow. I want to eat mutton hotpot for dinner, so remember to wait for me to come back for the reunion dinner."

Yingchun responded, "Yes, Second Young Master."

Jinping's eyes widened as he said, "Tomorrow is New Year's Eve. Why did His Majesty summon you to the palace to serve as a priest?"

After hearing this, Yi Ping hurriedly shouted, "Brother, be careful with your words. How can you guess the emperor's mind? His Majesty must have his reasons for summoning my second brother to the palace. Don't speak nonsense."

When Jinping heard this, he realized that he had been reckless and dared not say anything.

At this time, the servant from the front yard came over and said that Manager Wei was waiting anxiously.

I gathered my cape and said, "You'd better stay at home and don't go out. I have pissed off Grand Tutor Gui and I'm afraid he will come to cause trouble for you."

After saying that, I strode out.

Yi Ping and Jin Ping looked at each other, and finally Yi Ping gritted his teeth and said, "She really dares to do anything, even to offend Grand Tutor Gui."

Jinping shrank his neck and said, "Fortunately nothing happened when I went out today, otherwise I wouldn't be able to come back to see you."

Jinping and Yiping were both frightened, and even Jinping couldn't help scolding me a few times.