Priceless: A widow with a baby asks the prince to marry again

The production of catgut is quite particular and takes two or three days, but not all the time is spent on this, as some processes do not require human supervision.

During this time, Liu Rusi suddenly felt like going to secretly take a look at the scene of the eldest son of the Zhang family reading aloud at the city gate.

Since he had to read the Four Books and Five Classics, which added up to a lot, he hadn't finished half of it after several days. However, Chu Shiyu sent someone to supervise him, saying that if he didn't finish reading, his eyes would be gouged out, so he couldn't be lazy...

If she wanted to go out, she could leave Yang Xuefei and Caiyun behind, or leave Xiao Qinhao behind, but she couldn't leave Chu Shiyu behind.

As for her wanting to go and see secretly, he also gave a solution. Chu Shiyu led her to the gate tower of the South City Gate. The terrain here was open and the view was excellent. As long as she didn't wear anything too eye-catching, she would basically not be noticed.

Looking down from the gate tower, one can immediately find where Zhang Dizi is, because a large group of people are surrounding him at the city gate, pointing and talking.

It was early in the morning, and it was the time when porridge and boiled water were provided at each city gate, so there were many onlookers, both men and women!

Some people just regarded Zhang Dizi as a pastime after dinner! However, the onlookers could not get too close because many servants of the Zhang family surrounded him.

"Being surrounded makes me feel more like a monkey show." Liu Rusi smiled mischievously. She looked at people with impolite eyes. She should also experience being stared at with disrespectful eyes. This is what they call the wheel of fortune!

There were city guards on duty at the gate tower nearby. One of them was straightforward and said with a smile, "There have been fewer people these past two days! On the first day, many people gathered around and were discussing whether it was a man or a woman. They blocked the way into the city! It was better for us brothers to clear the way!"

Liu Rusi smiled even more contentedly. When distinguishing between men and women, there must be a lot of people looking at his sexual characteristics. I wonder if he felt like a bug was crawling on his chest?

After watching for a while, she felt satisfied and planned to go back to the government office. After all, it was better for Chu Shiyu to stay in the office and wait for orders. When he stayed in the kitchen these days, she also came to him for urgent matters.

However, just as she was about to turn around, she saw some people dressed as yamen runners coming forward, trying to push away the servants, arguing as if they wanted to take Zhang Dizi away.

Liu Rusi looked at Chu Shiyu in confusion. Aren't all the yamen runners in Xingzhou City under his jurisdiction now?

Chu Shiyu understood and answered: "These are the runners of the county government, from the patrol station. Look carefully at the color matching of their clothes, they are different from those of the prefecture government office."

"Then...does it have anything to do with you?" Liu Rusi didn't think it was such a coincidence. Zhang Shide was just a bastard of the Zhang family, but he could make Yang Xuefei's father feel wronged. As the legitimate son of Zhang Zhizhou, how could the surrounding county offices dare to arrest him? At present, Zhang Zhizhou's body has not been found... Generally, the county magistrates will choose to wait and see for a while, right?

Chu Shiyu avoided answering and suggested with a mysterious smile: "How about going to the county town together?"

If she had nothing to do, Liu Rusi would want to join in the fun, but now Chu Shiyu has an important responsibility, so she shook her head and said, "No, I'll listen to the whole story when I get the news later."

It was obvious to the naked eye that Chu Shiyu was greatly disappointed...

Liu Rusi narrowed her eyes and asked suspiciously, "You knew I was going to come and see this today, did you arrange this specially?"

"No, we just happened to meet." Chu Shiyu looked sincere. She had just said she wanted to come and see him two minutes ago, so his actions were not so quick.

Liu Rusi nodded doubtfully and said, "Then go back. You may be asked to do disaster relief work later."

Chu Shiyu was speechless. How many times had he been tied down by the disaster relief duties? He should find a way to end it as soon as possible! According to the general disaster relief practice, he would have to stay here for another month or two. He would be so constrained that he would die!

The middle and lower reaches of the river.

A large group of pavilions and towers were surrounded by high walls on all four sides, with palaces stacked one upon another. It was not the imperial palace, but it looked like a smaller one.

Under the glittering glazed tiles, a young woman dressed in pearls and jade hurriedly ran towards a waterside pavilion with carved beams and painted rafters, followed by a group of maids and servants.

"My lady, please run slower, don't fall!"

The young woman ignored the shouting behind her and ran straight to the only bridge leading to the water pavilion, but was stopped by the guards on both sides of the outer corridor door.

"Your Majesty, please stop. You cannot enter the Crow Palace without being summoned."

"I know! Please tell the prince that I have urgent matters to deal with!" The young woman looked anxiously at the two slim beauties sitting by the door of the inner corridor.

Unfortunately, they seemed to be unable to hear the noise here. They all tilted their heads, not knowing where they were looking.

"Your Majesty, please wait a moment." Seeing that Concubine Zhang was indeed very anxious, the guard reached out and pulled the thick rope beside him.

The rope extended from the top of the bridge corridor to the other end. A piece of gauze floated in front of the two beauties. They immediately stood up and looked towards the outer corridor, bowing slightly. One of the beauties hurried in to deliver the message.

Every time Concubine Zhang came to the water pavilion, she didn't know what she felt. The prince stayed in the water pavilion almost every day. These beauties surrounded the prince. Their daily food and clothing were no worse than her, the concubine. When she saw the concubine, she didn't have to act like a subordinate and seemed to be pampered.

But when I think about the fact that they are all deaf and dumb, and are destined not to have children, I can no longer feel jealous...

But Concubine Zhang didn’t have the mind to think about these things now. She was just anxiously urging them in her heart. She didn’t know whether these mutes could express their meaning clearly. She was really anxious!

In fact, she didn't need to worry about the beauty's expression at all. The beauty walked quickly and lightly to the main room in the water pavilion and knocked on the door, but because no sound could be heard, she waited silently for a few breaths before pushing the door open.

After entering the room, she saw their only owner sitting on the ground, leaning on a small table beside her, holding a book in his hand, looking up at her with gentle eyes.

She bowed. She couldn't hear the command to stand up, so she stood up and pointed in the direction of the waterside bridge.

The master smiled at her gently, stretched, sat up, walked to the window, opened it and looked down, just in time to see all the people on the bridge corridor.

However, the cool breeze on the master's face immediately dissipated, and a look of boredom appeared visibly. The master seemed to say something, but she knew that it was not directed at her, so there was no need to guess.

Then the owner turned to look at her and waved to the bridge below.

The beauty understood, bowed again, then turned around and went back to pick up the person at the door.

All the maids and servants were left outside the bridge corridor, only Concubine Zhang was led by the beauty through the corridor with carved railings and jade bricks.

Unlike the maids who walked behind her, the beauty walked in front of her, only turning her head from time to time to see if she was keeping up, and there was not much respect on her face.

Concubine Zhang was anxious and couldn't help feeling unhappy with such an attitude. These beauties were all slaves, so why were they being so disrespectful to her!

She also responded with an unfriendly look, but she did not make trouble with her words or actions. First, the beauties could not hear, and second, although these beauties were considered concubines, they were not like ordinary mansions where their indentures were held by the mistress. Only the prince could control the fate of these beauties in the Kang Palace. If others punished them without the permission of the prince, it would be tantamount to disrespecting the prince.

The graceful beauty stepped aside outside the main room's door, meaning that Concubine Zhang should knock on the door herself.

She was not sure, but she didn't care about it. She adjusted her state and knocked on the door, calling out pitifully, "My Lord, I have something important to ask you..."

"Come in." A slightly weak voice came.

Pushing the door open, Concubine Zhang first glanced at the man sitting beside the table, then knelt softly on the ground, slightly tilting her face to reveal her slender and fragile neck, and said tearfully: "My father was killed in the flood, and his life or death is still unknown, but His Royal Highness Prince Duan is making trouble out of nothing and forcing Zhang Family Manor to pay more than 100,000 yuan in grain! I have no place to appeal, I beg Your Majesty to help me!"

Chu Shikun smiled slightly, his eyes seemed gentle, he raised his hand slightly and said, "Get up first, sit down and talk slowly."

The tone sounded hopeful. Concubine Zhang concealed her joy, stood up tenderly, walked to the table, bowed, and sat down leisurely.

"Do you know why Prince Duan is asking for money and grain?" Prince Kang smiled.

Concubine Zhang's face turned pale, and she said in a whisper: "In the name of fundraising..."

"But that's bullying! If His Royal Highness Prince Duan didn't rely on his status, why would the Zhang family give it to him!" Concubine Zhang argued.

The corners of King Kang's mouth were curled, his eyes slightly lowered, and he said softly: "Although I am in the Crow Palace, I am not blind to the news. You come to me for help, but you are still hiding it. Do you expect me to come forward and ask for the 100,000 taels for your Zhang family without knowing anything?"

Concubine Zhang was immediately on pins and needles. She quickly stood up and knelt down again, saying, "I dare not! I was just too anxious to explain myself clearly..."

"It's not that you failed to explain yourself clearly, it's that you don't understand anything." King Kang sighed to relieve his inner irritation. What fools are acting on their own!

The first time the dike broke, he allocated a batch of food and grass to Zhang Shiliang to store in preparation for disaster relief. After his father appointed Chu Shiyu, he asked Zhang Shiliang to keep his troops on hold, waiting for Chu Shiyu's disaster relief to fail, and then he would take the initiative to help.

However, Zhang Shiliang was greedy for credit and recklessly took the initiative to create an opportunity for disaster relief by having people tamper with the repaired dam. What's even more ridiculous is that he was afraid that he could not bear the responsibility, so he secretly conspired with the governor, who had other ideas and wanted to take the opportunity to get rid of Prince Duan in order to take credit for the work.

These short-sighted people simply don't understand! What he wants is not the small-scale merit of disaster relief, but the opportunity to wake up from his dormant state! If he can't return to the center, what's the point of getting rid of Chu Shiyu? There are so many covetous people who keep coming one after another!

It seems that he still doesn't have enough eyes and ears! If he had control over every move of these people, they wouldn't have done these stupid things on their own initiative!

King Kang looked at the woman who was kneeling on the ground in a pretentious manner. There was a hint of impatience in the depths of his eyes, but his tone was still gentle: "The grain in those private warehouses did not belong to your Zhang family. The bulk of the 100,000 taels was also contributed by the second daughter-in-law of the Zhang family. It has been donated. Just think of it as a way to gain some reputation."

"The second daughter-in-law of the Zhang family is also a member of our Zhang family... By the way, just because she said something wrong, Prince Duan took advantage of it and caused her to be slapped thousands of times! She was completely unrecognizable and unconscious!"

Concubine Zhang did not want to swallow this humiliation. In her opinion, Prince Kang and Prince Duan were of the same status, or even slightly higher. As Prince Kang's woman, Prince Duan had no right to touch her family!

“Hehe…” Chu Shikun chuckled and said faintly: “That’s your Zhang family, but Prince Duan is my third brother.”

Concubine Zhang was stunned. In terms of blood relationship, it was naturally beyond flattery, but how could there be brotherhood in the royal family?

Chu Shikun saw through her clumsy and foolish thoughts, but he would not waste his breath to make her understand that it was not that he and Chu Shiyu had a brotherly relationship, but that the entire Zhang family was not worth him confronting Prince Duan.

Sensing that Prince Kang was unwilling to help, Concubine Zhang felt cold in her heart. She couldn't help but shed tears of grievance, and cried sadly: "Does the prince really not care... Prince Duan is too bullying, maybe my father was also harmed by Prince Duan..."

Chu Shikun felt annoyed when he heard this, but a smile with an ambiguous meaning appeared on his face.

"It is not convenient for me to intervene now. However, I can give you an idea. The Zhang family should be divided immediately, and your mother should give all the servants who have committed crimes to the second branch."

Concubine Zhang paused in her tears, looked up and asked in confusion, "Why?"

Chu Shikun smiled calmly and said, "You said it all, Prince Duan is bullying too much."

Outside the south gate of Xingzhou City.

The yamen runners were pushing and shoving with the Zhang family's servants.

Zhang Dizi in the middle had no idea what was going on and was completely at a loss as to what to do.

After a while, a richly dressed woman with a veil came hurriedly, surrounded by a group of servants.

The woman was naturally Mrs. Zhang. She had been watching secretly nearby since her son started reading aloud at the city gate. After a few days, she felt that apart from losing some face, it didn't seem to be a bad thing. After all, she had never seen her son study so seriously!

The person sent by Prince Duan to monitor was not just watching, but listening carefully with the book in hand. Not a single word could be wrong. If a word was stuttered, the whole passage had to be read from the beginning! Although according to the current progress, it might take half a month to read at the city gate, but who knows, by the time this passage is over, his son will become a talent?

Of course, the focus now is this group of rural yamen runners!

"Do you know who this is? How dare you come to arrest him?!" Mrs. Zhang scolded.

The yamen runners looked at each other, and a brave one stepped forward and said, "A villager has sued the Zhang family for abducting a woman, so we have to take someone with us. Our county magistrate has said that this time it will be a public matter, so please help, Madam Zhang."

"Ransom girl? Who did you rob?" Madam Zhang frowned. Her son had been uncontrollable since he started having sex. Recently, she had found many good-looking girls for him, but they were all in proper indentures...

"There are three or four. There are also people who accuse the Zhang family of allowing slaves to commit crimes and collusion between officials and businessmen. According to the law, the head of the family should be asked to respond to these cases. But now Master Zhang is not here, and Master Zhang is in the manor, so we can't invite him, so we will invite Master Zhang first."

The yamen runners were polite. The Zhang family was a century-old family in Henan Province. The Zhang family was in decline, as the previous generation had produced a second-rank official. Even if they could not produce another high-ranking official, their complicated in-law relationship would not bring them down for the time being.

At this time, the eldest son of the Zhang family understood and came over to say: "I have never robbed anyone, and I have never had such an idea, except to run away..."

Madam Zhang quickly covered his mouth! She quickly looked around! Are you trying to kill yourself?!

It was obviously not her son's fault that the woman was kidnapped. The one who kidnapped the woman should be Zhang Shide. If that was the case, how could she let her son go to the county government with her?

Mrs. Zhang immediately decided to go back to the manor to check on the situation. If she had to go to respond to the lawsuit, she would definitely let Zhang Shide go alone.

He gave the yamen runner some silver money to let him follow him to the farm. When the runner saw the benefits, he readily agreed.