Chapter 160: Entering the Mansion

“Are these… all going to be brought into the palace?” He had no recollection of any musicians assigned to him by his father, so the eldest prince could not help but point at the group of musicians holding zithers and pipa and ask.

Ye Shuo nodded, as if it was a matter of course: “Of course.”

There are no mobile phones or speakers these days. If you want to listen to some music, don’t you have to rely on manual labour?

The eldest prince paused and said, “Ninth brother, as princes, you and I should set an example for the people and not be so arrogant and extravagant.”

…This sentence always sounds familiar.

Ye Shuo pondered for a moment, then turned his head and said in confusion: “Brother, are you jealous?”

Thinking back to the time when my stepfather and the prince were just like this, they were exactly the same.

“Huh? Am I jealous of you, my ninth brother?” The eldest prince retorted almost instantly.

He, a prince, commands a large army, while Xiaojiu is just an oligarch prince.

So there is nothing to be jealous of.

Ye Shuo couldn’t help but raise his eyebrows when he heard that. That look made the eldest prince feel uncomfortable.

“Forget it, let’s not talk about this.” Ye Shuo was worried about not being able to find a good horse, and now a good horse is delivered to his door.

“Brother, do you have any extra horses? Can you give me one?” Ye Shuo scratched his chin and looked at him expectantly.

As everyone knows, the eldest prince is a military officer, so the horses in his camp will naturally not be bad.

The eldest prince: “…”

This brother is so shameless.

The eldest prince, who had never been asked for anything so directly, didn’t react for a long time.

But this is really not a big deal. Horses are extremely expensive to ordinary people, but they are nothing to the eldest prince.

But the eldest prince didn’t know what he wanted the horse for, so he asked.

Ye Shuo said without hesitation: “Of course, to go out and play!”

He has already moved out, so staying in Beijing won’t be enough to keep him there.

Ye Shuo had specifically asked his grandfather before, and the old Duke Zhen admitted it himself, that with his current skills, he could run anywhere without any problem.

As long as it is not the enemy’s base camp, he can go anywhere.

So Ye Shuo didn’t even need guards, he could just leave whenever he wanted.

“I plan to ride horses to climb mountains, go fishing, and then travel to several nearby cities…” It would definitely be boring to stay in one place all the time. Ye Shuo counted on his fingers one by one, but planned in his mind where to go first.

Ye Shuo thought he had plenty of time, so he didn’t plan to be in a hurry. He would stop and go as he pleased, staying in an inn for ten days or half a month in each place he arrived at. If the local scenery was good and the people were friendly, then staying there for a year or two would not be a problem.

At this rate, he would be able to travel to all the famous cities in the Great Zhou within ten years.

This is the kind of life Ye Shuo has always wanted to live.

The eldest prince was very worried when he heard this. How could he be so relaxed when he was also a prince?

“Didn’t the emperor assign you a job?” Even if it was an honorary position, it didn’t matter whether you went or not. Generally speaking, everyone would go.

Otherwise, if there was a commotion during court, it would be embarrassing.

Then the eldest prince suddenly remembered that his younger brother was very shameless.

“Of course I have my own way.” Ye Shuo cleared his throat and then blinked: “To tell you the truth, brother, my study partner is Xing Yucheng, do you know him?”

“His father is the current Minister of Industry, so…”

There is no need to investigate this matter. If you ask more, you will know. There is no point in Ye Shuo hiding it, so it is better to say it directly.

The eldest prince: “………………”

The eldest prince’s eyes changed again and again. This should be the first time he saw his younger brother take the initiative to confess his power.

But the Minister of Works is a shitty power. Although he is one of the six ministers, he is far from comparable to the other ministers. Only he thinks this is a good thing.

Although it is indeed a good thing for him.

Didn’t you see that his brother was so happy that he almost flew up in the air?

“Brother, I see you must be tired after coming back so late. This is the musician I hired at a high price. Why don’t you just come to my house and have a seat?” Ye Shuo pointed to the Ninth Prince’s house not far away, with a polite and enthusiastic attitude.

However, the eldest prince was so upset that he was in no mood to argue with him any more.

“No need. You should keep this extravagant thing to yourself!”

After saying this, the eldest prince flicked his sleeves and left.

As he walked, the eldest prince suddenly thought of a question. If he achieved great things in the future, would he still have to support him?

This was the son of the imperial concubine, and he had a noble status. As long as he hadn’t made a big mistake, no one could treat him badly.

A rare brother who has no ulterior motives.

But when you think about it, it’s really infuriating.

Thinking of this, the eldest prince suddenly became even angrier.

The eldest prince secretly swore that if such a day really came, he would never spoil him like his father did.

As long as we cut off his subsidies, we will see how he can live freely!

Thinking of this, the eldest prince suddenly felt much more relieved.

Tsk, these people are so stingy.

Ye Shuo waved to the musicians, signalling them to follow.

Ye Shuo quickly arrived at the gate of the Ninth Prince’s Mansion, where a group of maids and servants had been waiting for a long time.

The news from the palace said that he would come out in the morning, but now it was dark and the Ninth Prince had not come yet. Just when everyone thought that the Ninth Prince would not come today, he was suddenly seen outside the door.

“Greetings to the Ninth Prince.” The butler was the first to react and then saluted.

Others followed closely behind.

“Greetings to His Majesty the Ninth Prince.”

“No need to be polite, everyone please stand up.”

“By the way, you’re the housekeeper, right? Have someone settle these people first, and then go shopping with me.”

Speaking of which, Ye Shuo hasn’t seen what his new home looks like yet.

When the butler saw the musicians, he was stunned at first, and then he immediately asked someone to arrange them. It was so efficient that it was obvious that they were carefully selected.

Although the light at night is not very good, under the reflection of lanterns and moonlight, one can still vaguely see the appearance of the entire mansion.

Every house, corridor, pavilion, tower, brick and tile were all carefully selected. Even the bricks and stones inside the mansion were exceptionally smooth. They were all chiselled from the mountains and transported here piece by piece.

The decoration of any room is extremely exquisite, grand but not vulgar.

Especially the crane screen in Ye Shuo’s room was extremely delicate. At first, Ye Shuo thought it was the work of some famous artist, but when he walked closer, he found out it was embroidery.

The total length is over three metres. It is so big and there is not a single mistake. The embroiderer must have put a lot of effort into it.

Ye Shuo’s bed was covered with a brand new ivory mat, which Ye Shuo had previously left for Jian Jian to sleep on. Emperor Jingwen then took out the one that the late emperor had rewarded him with from his private treasury and gave it to his son.

Look at the paintings hanging on the wall. They are all works by famous artists throughout the ages. They are all authentic. Even one painting alone is priceless.

Emperor Jingwen was of an elegant nature and was fond of calligraphy and painting, so he naturally collected quite a few works, and now most of them had arrived at Ye Shuo’s house.

What’s more, Ye Shuo’s entire bed is made of golden nanmu wood, which is extremely luxurious.

Even Ye Shuo couldn’t help but take a deep breath at the generosity of his stepfather.

The other rooms, though inferior, were also extraordinary.

There are nearly twenty such rooms in the entire prince’s mansion.

Further back is a vast garden with a martial arts field and a mountain. There is a small pavilion on the mountain, and in the courtyard at the foot of the mountain is the hot spring water that was specially brought in.

As soon as he got close, a faint smell of sulphur rushed into Ye Shuo’s nostrils.

After finishing the tour and returning, Ye Shuo took a bath on the first night and only came out after soaking until his whole body was warm.

The wet robe was a little loose and stuck to Ye Shuo’s body. Wearing wooden clogs, Ye Shuo walked through the corridor and returned to his room.

The mattresses had been dried in the sun in advance and were full of the smell of sunshine. Ye Shuo didn’t choose any bed and fell asleep after lying on it for a while.

The first night at the prince’s mansion passed quickly.

The next morning, the eldest prince and his entourage came out of the prince’s mansion one after another and rushed to attend the morning court. When they passed by here, they couldn’t help but pause.

I saw that the door of Xiaojiu’s house was closed. Not only the door, but even the two lanterns at the door were not lit. It was obvious that he was not going to get up any time soon.

Now Ye Shuo doesn’t even have to do homework or read books, so naturally he is more indulgent than before.

As expected, Ye Shuo didn’t go to court at all.

Emperor Jingwen was sitting at the top. He looked down and couldn’t help but take a deep breath. He was not surprised at all.

The censor standing by quickly noticed the absence of the Ninth Prince and subconsciously began to criticise him.

However, not to mention Emperor Jingwen, even the eldest prince and others had to speak for him.

It’s better to be lazy than to suddenly fall in love with power without realising it.

No matter how powerful the censor is, he will find it difficult to achieve anything if he is besieged by so many people.

The Minister of Works, who had received the notice in advance, was in tears. His son had taken a house from the Ninth Prince, and now he, as his father, was also implicated.

So why did his son accept the house given by the Ninth Prince? !

The Minister of Industry couldn’t figure it out no matter how hard he tried.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

When the eldest prince and his companions left court, it was almost time for Ye Shuo to get up.

After slowly washing and getting dressed, Ye Shuo faced the rising sun, leisurely walked down the street with Xiao Luzi, and started a new round of play.

When the eldest prince and other ministers came out of the imperial city hungry, they happened to run into the ninth prince, who was eating a bowl of fried liver at a small stall at the foot of the imperial city with a gusto.

The smile on the second prince’s face froze.