Harem Daily Life

Chapter 1033 I am clearly in my prime

No, is Prince Jing out of his mind? Why bring up his age?

He Linzhang narrowed his eyes. He was clearly in his prime, still full of vigor!

The empress even boasted that she was well-maintained, with broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and eight-pack abs, and her touch was still endearing.

"Well, everyone has the right to pursue beauty at any age. I think Mr. Yougui's work is full of love and affection, truly touching the heart." After saying this, He Linzhang glared at Prince Jing and went to look at the other paintings on display.

Prince Jing nudged Prince Jing's hand with his elbow and raised an eyebrow, saying, "Brother Jing, didn't you realize that His Majesty likes this painting? Otherwise, why would he have specially organized a calligraphy and painting exhibition and invited everyone to come?"

Prince Jing then realized that he had spoken too bluntly and might have offended Mr. Yougui, thus displeasing His Majesty.

But just now, when he thought about how Mr. Yougui was in his forties and still had feelings for a young girl, he suddenly remembered the questions the princess had asked him that day. He also thought about how he had been pampering Aunt Liu and neglecting the princess these past few months, and a wave of annoyance washed over him.

Now that the words have been spoken, they cannot be taken back, so he had no choice but to keep his mouth shut and never utter another word.

Aunt Liu hadn't seen the Prince for almost nine days. She had repeatedly sent people to the front yard to wait for him, but they were all sent away with various excuses.

"What's going on? The prince neither comes to my courtyard nor goes to the east courtyard. Doesn't he want to be served?" Aunt Liu had been angry and upset these past few days. She had blisters on her lips, and two huge pimples on her forehead and chin. She was very irritable.

The maid brought her a decoction to clear heat and reduce inflammation, and advised, "His Highness may have important matters to attend to. Please wait a couple more days, Aunt. After all, if His Highness comes now, the pimples on your face will not have subsided yet."

Those who rely on their beauty to serve others are most afraid of losing their favor when their beauty fades. The maid had enjoyed a period of leisure with Consort Liu, but she didn't want to serve Consort Liu before she regained her stunning beauty. What if she angered the prince and made him really tired of her?

Aunt Liu was so angry that she smashed the teacup in her hand. After it shattered, she felt sorry for it: "This was a gift from the Prince. It must be worth several taels of silver."

The maid dared not say anything and quickly squatted down to tidy up.

"And what about those accounts? Why can't they ever balance? What did Mr. Li say?" Aunt Liu asked.

The maid's hand trembled, and she almost cut her finger.

"Mr. Li said that of the three thousand taels you embezzled, only a little over sixteen hundred taels have been covered up. The new month's accounts are coming out soon, and his efforts to cover up the losses here and there are no long-term solutions. There will be a major audit before the end of the year, and he is at a loss. He asks his aunt to come up with a solution."

Aunt Liu clutched her handkerchief, her heart filled with even greater anxiety.

"It seems I can only secretly pawn the things in the mansion and redeem them when I have the money."

The maid was shocked and hurriedly said, "The Prince's mansion is not like an ordinary household. Some things are engraved with the Prince's seal. If it is found out..." Selling royal items privately is punishable by death.

Aunt Liu glared at her: "Why don't you go to the storeroom and look for some items without the Prince's mark? There's such a big storeroom, I don't believe you can't find one. Alright, you can go now, let me have some peace and quiet."

The maidservant could only frown and retreat, hurrying to the storeroom to find something.

Originally, the key to the Prince's mansion's treasury was not supposed to be in Liu Yiniang's hands, but Prince Jing thought that there was money in the treasury and he needed to pay monthly allowances. Asking him to get the key every time would take up too much time, so he simply gave it to Liu Yiniang.

This made things easier for Aunt Liu's maid, allowing her to easily enter and leave the storeroom.

Fortunately, she did find a box of unmarked antiques in the corner. It looked quite valuable, so she secretly took it out, planning to pawn it the next day when she could find an opportunity to leave the mansion. But, by sheer coincidence, she was caught red-handed by Granny Zhao and the steward who happened to be passing by.

In a panic, the maid didn't care about anything and turned to run, bumping into the Crown Princess who was walking from the other side, almost knocking her to the ground.

"You ill-mannered servant! Who told you to bump into the Princess Consort without looking where you were going?" Several maids stepped forward and grabbed the person, while Granny Zhao and the steward also rushed over to block the person.

When the steward saw her carrying things from the storeroom, he glanced at Granny Zhao, who gave him a meaningful look. The steward said, "Stealing things from the Prince's mansion, how dare you!"

The maid trembled so badly she could barely speak.

As a witness, the Crown Princess was the most senior person present at the moment, so she spoke up: "You look familiar, are you...one of Concubine Liu's people?"

The maid hurriedly nodded: "Reporting to the Princess Consort, I am here on the orders of Consort Liu to find some ornaments. I am not stealing anything."

The Crown Princess smiled and said, "Whether it is or not, we'll find out by investigating. Steward, go and invite the Prince and Princess; let's go to the West Courtyard together and get to the bottom of this."

The servants were ordered to fetch someone, and the maids hoped that Aunt Liu would be clever enough to smooth things over.

Princess Jing really didn't want to go to the West Courtyard, but she couldn't resist her desire to see gossip, so she had no choice but to go.

Upon entering the courtyard, one could see that it was surrounded by the guards.

Prince Jing sat on the high seat, and standing in front of him was Aunt Liu, who was weeping and wailing.

Princess Jing sat down at the head of the table, glanced at her daughter-in-law, and the Crown Princess recounted the events in a low voice: "...That's roughly it. Aunt Liu said she didn't know how the maid got the storeroom key, and the maid said she was ordered by Aunt Liu to go to the storeroom to find some ornaments. I had people check the items in the box, and none of them had the Prince's seal."

The Crown Princess revealed a lot of information in just a few words. Prince Jing and Princess Jing were not fools. They immediately understood that Concubine Liu was probably sending her maid to the storeroom to find valuable items without the Prince's seal, intending to sell them or keep them for herself.

Concubine Liu cried anxiously, "Your Highness, you must believe me, I know nothing..."

"Enough!" Prince Jing coldly rebuked, "That lowly maidservant should be beaten to death with sticks. Consort Liu has failed in her duties; she shall be fined three months' salary."

After saying that, he turned to look at the silent Princess Jing and asked in a gentle tone, "What does the Princess think?"

Princess Jing smiled, not even glancing at Prince Jing: "This mansion belongs to Your Highness, and the inner courtyard is managed by Concubine Liu. Inviting me here today is redundant. Your Highness can make the decision yourself."

Prince Jing was both annoyed and helpless when he saw that she had no intention of intervening.

"Your Highness, you are, after all, Your Highness. I am asking for your opinion, so you should at least... Never mind, let's leave it at that and disperse." Prince Jing felt a deep sense of powerlessness, feeling that Princess Jing was becoming increasingly distant from him.

Seeing her father-in-law treat her so lightly, the Crown Princess thought she could let Aunt Liu off the hook. She glanced at her mother-in-law, lowered her eyes, and ultimately said nothing.

On the contrary, the maid who was being held in the courtyard, upon hearing that she was to be beaten to death, actually shouted: "Your Highness, Concubine Liu embezzled three thousand taels of silver, and sent me to the treasury to raise money to cover the expenses of the Prince's mansion!"