Chapter 31-Part 1

It’s unknown for how long His Highness watched, his face indifferent.

Although everyone knows the principle that ‘when beating a dog, it’s necessary to look at the owner,’

However, recently, rumors have spread that this youth, Young Master Jiang, has become audacious. He slept with the Crown Prince’s promised Crown Princess. Moreover, Young Master Jiang has been absent for a long time.

So everyone thought that this youth had become a plaything of the Crown Prince’s mansion. It’s just that, due to the diplomatic relations between the two countries, they had to employ some covert means.

They planned to announce later, after the turmoil had settled, the news of the accidental death of the Prince of Bo.

But unexpectedly, Young Master Jiang suddenly appeared in front of everyone, still with an arrogant and reckless demeanor!

The mother of Young Master Cai is a princess married off by Great Qi. Although she is not favored and is only a concubine’s child, after all, she is still the younger sister of Emperor Duanqing. Compared to Young Master Jiang, who has no foundation in Luo’an City, she still has some status.

So just now, everyone was filled with indignation and attacked these two brothers.

But when the Crown Prince suddenly appeared, the tone of the situation was obviously not right. For a moment, everyone fell silent, waiting to see the situation clearly before speaking.

But Young Master Cai is someone without any sense of propriety. According to seniority, he is four years older than Feng Liwu, the legitimate cousin of the Great Qi Crown Prince. According to reason, Feng Liwu should support him, right?

He had heard that the ruler of state Bo had no sense of propriety. He actually lent money to the Liang state privately. Isn’t this clearly opposing Great Qi?

Although there’s no mention of Young Master Jiang’s adultery, the Crown Prince probably hasn’t been fond of Jiang Herun for a long time, right?

Based on this, Young Master Cai was unrestrained and pointed directly at Young Master Jiang’s nose, shouting, “Your Highness, this Kingdom Bo envoy relies on his strong servants and dares to make a scene at the Ministry of Rites’s gate, clearly disregarding Great Qi’s laws!”

Feng Liwu didn’t even look at him; he just said slowly, “Aide Jiang is someone from our mansion. Naturally, her servants are also servants of the Crown Prince’s mansion. Young Master Cai seems to be well-versed in Qi’s laws. I’m interested to hear how you plan to accuse him?”

As soon as this was said, Young Master Cai was dumbfounded, unable to follow up.

He couldn’t just say in front of the Crown Prince that the servants of the Crown Prince’s mansion were bullying others, right?

The surrounding people were also silent, not understanding what was going on.

At this moment, the Crown Prince said, “Young Master Cai causes trouble for no reason; go to the judicial office and receive punishment. Although Aide Jiang acted out of brotherly love,he should not cause chaos at the gate of the Ministry of Rites. Those within our mansion should be strictly managed. He will be punished for a year to serve as a warning.”

At first, the Crown Prince’s handling seemed fair and impartial, and he even added a punishment of fifty lashes.

But upon closer examination, sending Young Master Cai to the judicial office meant handling it according to official procedures.

The charge of causing trouble in front of the government office, while not severe, was not light either. Those lashes and a few days in prison couldn’t be smoothed over with money.

On the other hand, although Aide Jiang was “severely punished” by the Crown Prince, the matters within their mansion were kept behind closed doors.

Who knows how severe her punishment would be? Moreover, now all of Young Master Jiang’s expenses are covered by the Crown Prince Mansion. Even the carriage he rode in today is a luxurious one with gold-plated axles and dragon-eye gem inlays. Looking across the street market, which carriage is as precious as her?

Even if she’s punished, the Crown Prince’s favorite aide will still live well.

Jiang Xiurun naturally knew that the Crown Prince was biased, so she obediently accepted the punishment.

No matter how stupid the young master Cai was, he would not point at the Crown Prince and scold him for being partial. He would just kneel down angrily to accept the punishment.

Feng Liwu was impatient with dealing with such mundane matters, so he coldly said to Jiang Zhi, “You’re worried about Aide Jiang’s health, but now you should see that he’s in good spirits. You should rest assured. Your younger brother says you’re wholeheartedly focused on your studies, so you should concentrate on your studies. Always coming to find your brother, Isn’t it a waste of precious study time?”

Jiang Zhi understood that the Crown Prince didn’t like him constantly causing trouble at the mansion. Seeing that his sister didn’t seem to be tortured, he naturally felt relieved and sincerely thanked the Crown Prince for his guidance.

Feng Liwu felt that the meeting of the two brothers at the Ministry of Rites’s gate had lasted long enough. So he asked Jiang Xiurun to accompany him into the palace and wait for him at the palace gate.

Although Jiang Xiurun had a thousand words in her heart to say to her older brother, she couldn’t disobey the Crown Prince’s words.

So she hurriedly followed along, not even getting on her own carriage and instead sitting in the Crown Prince’s luxurious four-horse carriage.

Once inside the carriage, she immediately kneeled properly in front of the Crown Prince.

Feng Liwu’s long lashes flickered slightly, glancing at the water cup. She quickly untied the gold-plated stopper of the water bag in the carriage and poured a cup of hot tea for the Crown Prince.

He extended his long fingers, took the cup, and drank a sip, saying, “The punishment earlier was not just talk. As for the reasons, you should be clear. Although I treat good men generously, I will never tolerate rats stealing from under my nose.”

Jiang Xiurun quickly lowered her head even further.

The Crown Prince meant that her punishment wasn’t for the altercation at the Ministry of Rites but for her embezzlement of funds for the Prince’s mansion banquets and building projects.

To be honest, the amount she embezzled was enough for three to five years of salary. The Crown Prince didn’t reclaim the embezzled money, only imposing a one-year punishment, which was more of a warning than a punishment.

Naturally, she didn’t dare to complain. If she showed a good attitude of admitting her mistake, she should now voluntarily return the stolen money.

But Jiang Xiurun was somewhat reluctant to voluntarily return the embezzled money. For a moment, she was caught in a dilemma.