RPAGF Chapter 20 First Battle Victory
Chapter 20 First Battle Victory
"Tenth Master, may I come in?" Yin De's voice came from outside the door.
Yin'e was sitting behind his desk, playing with a small porcelain bottle in his hand. Hearing this, he looked up and glanced at the tightly closed door.
He stuffed the porcelain bottle back into his sleeve, stood up, walked over, and unlatched the door.
The door opened a crack, and Yin De slipped in like an eel.
He closed the door and bolted it shut before turning around, his expression a mixture of excitement and nervousness.
"Tenth Master, good news! The news that you ordered us to leave has been spread!"
Yin'e's eyes lit up, and he quickly walked back behind his desk and sat down, gesturing for Yin De to come forward and speak.
Yin De leaned closer, bowed, and began to report with great enthusiasm.
"As you instructed, I did not dare to mention the Crown Prince's name directly. I only said that Huang Tiren, the Vice Minister of Rites, and Xiao Guoxing, the Vice Minister of Justice, borrowed 500,000 taels from the national treasury."
Both of them are protégés of the Crown Prince; who in the entire court doesn't know that?
"Once the servant speaks, everyone knows the truth: this wasn't borrowed by Huang Tiren and Xiao Guoxing; it was clearly borrowed on behalf of the Crown Prince!"
Yin'e nodded, a slight smile playing on his lips, without interrupting him.
Yin De got more and more excited as he spoke, and his voice gradually became louder: "This servant found a few storytellers in teahouses, they are very quick-witted."
The servants instructed them to casually mention the matter during breaks in the storytelling, as if it were just a casual remark, so as not to seem deliberate.
They also found several bartenders and asked them to gossip about it "quietly" while the customers were drinking.
In less than half a day, the news had spread throughout the entire capital!
As he said this, he couldn't help but swallow: "Storytellers love to embellish things. In their mouths, 500,000 taels becomes 800,000, and 800,000 becomes 1 million."
By the time it reached the third person, it had become, "The Crown Prince withdrew one million taels of silver from the national treasury to build the Golden Palace in the Eastern Palace."
Yin'e chuckled and shook his head: "That's quite an absurd rumor."
"The more outrageous the better!" Yin De slapped his thigh. "The more outrageous it is, the more people will believe it."
The common people love to hear this; the gossip about the royal family is more exciting than any opera.
Besides, who would dare to verify the claim that the Crown Prince was building a Golden Palace? The more it's spread, the more believable it seems!
Yin'e's smile faded, and he asked seriously, "How's the effect?"
"The effect was fantastic! After the news spread, there was a commotion at the entrance of the Ministry of Revenue this afternoon!"
Dozens of ministers who owed money, along with officials who had been driven to desperation by Tian Wenjing, all flocked to the Ministry of Revenue to cause trouble.
"This servant took a peek from afar, and the scene...tsk tsk tsk."
He mimicked the ministers, spreading his hands and making a pitiful expression: "They said things like, 'The Crown Prince borrowed 500,000 and hasn't paid it back, why are we being pursued first?', 'The court is unjust,', 'If we're going to die, we'll die together'..."
Several senior officials were also there, weeping and wailing, saying they had knelt at the entrance of the Ministry of Revenue for an entire afternoon, their knees bleeding, but no one had come out to offer any explanation.
Yin'e couldn't help but chuckle.
He could picture Tian Wenjing's face; he wished he could arrest all those troublemaking ministers and kill them as a warning to others, but he dared not.
Because what they said is true, the Crown Prince did borrow money. Do you, Tian Wenjing, dare to go after the Crown Prince?
You don't dare? Then shut up.
"What about the fourth prince?" Yin'e asked again. "What was his reaction?"
"Fourth Master didn't go to the Ministry of Revenue. I sent someone to inquire, and they said he left this morning, but nobody knows where he went."
Yin'e nodded, leaned back in his chair, and the study was quiet for a moment.
"It was right that he didn't go. If he had gone, things would have been much worse. The ministers in the Ministry of Revenue would have surrounded him and asked, 'What about the Crown Prince?' He wouldn't have been able to say whether to pursue him or not."
Going there would only bring shame upon oneself.
He paused, then looked out the window.
"I guess they went to see the Crown Prince."
"Does Tenth Master mean... Fourth Master went to the Crown Prince to discuss countermeasures?"
"It's pretty much true. The Crown Prince must have heard the news too, and he's probably in a panic right now."
When the fourth son went there, he either advised the crown prince to quickly repay the money, fill the hole, and shut everyone up;
They either discussed how to suppress the matter or what pretext to use to portray the news as a rumor.
Either way, it's enough to give them a headache for a while.
Yin De nodded repeatedly, his admiration growing stronger and stronger, almost overflowing.
He suddenly realized that the Tenth Master in front of him was completely different from before.
In the past, when the Tenth Master encountered problems, he would only slam the table and curse, unable to come up with any ideas or solutions.
In the end, only he and the eighth and ninth brothers could clean up the mess.
But now, the Tenth Prince can easily send the entire court into chaos and leave the Crown Prince and the Fourth Prince in a state of utter confusion by releasing a single piece of news.
He had never seen such skill and cunning before.
"Tenth Prince, what's the next step? Should this servant add fuel to the fire? Perhaps we could send a message to the palace so the Emperor can hear it too?"
Yin'e waved his hand.
"No rush, it's almost done cooking, adding any more would make it too hot."
The Crown Prince will definitely try to put out the fire, and the Fourth Prince will also help him cover it up.
If we add fuel to the fire now, we'll only get burned. Let them fend for themselves for a few days; we can just watch the show.
He was silent for a moment, then reached into his sleeve and took out the small porcelain bottle, waving it in front of Yin De.
"This is the next step. This thing is worth two hundred thousand."
Yin De's eyes widened as he stared at the small porcelain bottle: "Tenth Master, what... what kind of treasure is this? Is it worth two hundred thousand?"
Yin'e patted Yin De on the shoulder: "You'll find out soon enough."
"Uncle," Yin'e said solemnly, "go do me a favor."
Yin De immediately bowed and pricked up his ears: "Tenth Master, please give your orders."
"Find a cat or a dog, preferably a medium-sized, sturdy one. Put it in a cage and bring it to my study."
Yin De paused for a moment, then looked up at Yin E, his eyes filled with confusion.
He didn't understand why the Tenth Master wanted these things.
The Tenth Prince has never liked keeping pets; there isn't even a bird in the mansion. Why did he suddenly decide to want a cat or dog?
But he didn't ask any further questions.
Having served for many years, he had long since learned a lesson: don't ask what you shouldn't ask. If the Tenth Master doesn't say, there must be a reason.
"Yes, Your Majesty, I will take care of it immediately."
He turned to leave, but before he could take a step, Yin'e's voice came from behind him again.
"besides."
Yin De turned around, waiting for instructions.
"Go and find out how Ninth Master's illness is."
If it's convenient, ask the servants in Ninth Master's mansion what prescription the doctor wrote, what medicine was used, and how effective it was.
Don't alert Ninth Master himself, and especially don't let anyone know that I'm the one asking the question.
Yin De understood and nodded.
"This servant understands."