Chapter 611: Bullying the Prince of Qin's Mansion
Xi'an Prefecture's most upscale tailor shop once bore a lovely name, "Rainbow Cloud Fabric Store," signifying that its fabrics were as beautiful as a rainbow's hues. It exclusively catered to high-ranking officials and nobles; even the consorts from the Prince of Qin's Mansion would commission garments here.
Unfortunately, the shop was acquired by a new owner, a man named Li, and its style had taken a peculiar turn ever since.
Sure enough, today brought another commotion.
A young woman, dressed in a maid's attire, stood fuming at the fabric store's entrance. "This shop of yours is utterly unreasonable! Our mistress has always ordered her clothes from here. How can a new owner suddenly refuse to serve the Prince of Qin's Mansion?"
Padi Tu stood by the entrance, a smug grin plastered on his face. "I'll do business with anyone else, but not with the Prince of Qin's Mansion."
The maid retorted, "Reason should prevail in all matters. Running a shop and refusing service is simply unreasonable."
Padi Tu clenched his fists, as large as alms bowls. "This is my reason. What about it? Upset? Go on, bring someone to beat me."
The maid's face flushed crimson with anger. "You ruffian! Always spouting off about fighting."
Just then, a handsome young man, carrying a birdcage and looking perfectly respectable, spoke up from inside the shop. "Padi Tu, we are civilized people. Don't always talk about fighting..."
But her joy lasted less than a second, as she heard the young man's tone shift: "Just a beating isn't enough. We should tie their legs with rope, hang them upside down, and dunk them in a water vat, so they can practice holding their breath."
The maid gasped, "You people..."
The maid was beside herself with rage. She had never seen anyone show such utter disrespect for the Prince of Qin's Mansion.
After all, she was just a servant, living in the inner quarters of the Prince of Qin's Mansion, serving her masters. She had no idea what kind of turmoil had been brewing outside these past few days, nor was she sensitive to the political climate. She was completely unaware that the Prince of Qin's Mansion had recently been thoroughly humiliated.
Feeling rather petty, but powerless to do anything, she could only puff out her cheeks and glare.
Emboldened by the Heavenly Lord's backing, Padi Tu grew even more arrogant. "This great hero doesn't strike women. Go quickly and fetch the men from the Prince of Qin's Mansion to face me."
Helpless, the maid turned back. After walking half a street, she unexpectedly ran into a junior steward from the Prince of Qin's outer hall. She quickly stopped him and poured out a torrent of complaints, claiming a fabric store up ahead was bullying people, and so on.
The steward, upon hearing this, exclaimed, "How dare they!" He rolled up his sleeves and dashed towards the fabric store.
Reaching the shop's entrance, the steward bellowed, "Who, who dares to disrespect the Prince of Qin's Mansion?"
Padi Tu emerged from the shop and waved at him. "Well, well, it's you again. Have your bones healed up? Tsk, tsk, the Prince of Qin's doctors certainly have skilled hands."
The moment the steward saw Padi Tu, he deflated like a punctured balloon. "Y-you... it's you... Wu Shen and Shi Kefa's subordinate."
Padi Tu chuckled menacingly.
The steward turned and fled, pulling the maid along. "Quick, let's go! These people are not to be trifled with."
The maid, still utterly bewildered, asked, "Why? Is the Prince of Qin's Mansion really so weak that we can't even deal with a fabric shop now?"
The steward replied, "You wouldn't understand this even if I explained it. Just know that leaving quickly is the right thing to do. Don't cause any more trouble for His Highness, the Heir Apparent..."
The maid protested, "But... Her mistress really likes the clothes made by the tailor at Rainbow Cloud Fabric Store."
The steward shrugged, "Tell Her Mistress to just wear something else and make do."
The maid said nothing.
Was that really something to "make do" with? The maid sensed a scolding was inevitable, but seeing the steward's cowardly demeanor, she knew there was nothing she could do. She would simply have to go back and endure the lecture.
She pitifully returned to the Prince of Qin's Mansion, slipping back into the inner quarters to face her mistress's punishment. To her surprise, she found Zhu Cunji, the Prince of Qin's Heir Apparent, sitting in her mistress's room. The moment the maid reported, Zhu Cunji's face darkened.
The consort's face was filled with curiosity. "What exactly happened? Why would that fabric store dare to defy us?"
Zhu Cunji snorted. "Hmph! That fabric store is backed by Investigating Censor Wu Shen and Xi'an Judge Shi Kefa. Behind those two stands the entire civil official faction. They are deliberately acting against our imperial family."
The consort didn't understand. "Why would they bully our Prince of Qin's Mansion? We haven't done anything wrong, have we?"
Zhu Cunji rolled his eyes. He certainly didn't need to explain to a woman what 'bad things' he might have done. Furthermore, he didn't believe he had done anything wrong in the first place. He always felt that everything he did was only natural and perfectly legitimate for someone of his privileged status.
While he was deeply disgruntled, a steward from the inner mansion slipped in. "Your Highness, our mansion is running low on chicken. Tonight, we may not be able to supply the consorts in the Eastern Palace."
Zhu Cunji fumed, "How can we be short on chicken? Is chicken so expensive? If others hear this, they'll think the Prince of Qin's Mansion can't afford food. Take more money and buy ten chickens, ten for each person."
The steward replied, looking embarrassed, "The farmers who used to supply our mansion with chickens no longer raise them. I heard their chickens were all acquired by the Li family's chicken farm. They claim it's for some unified, scientific breeding program. They've actually done quite well; I hear chicken supplies have surged in recent months."
The consort beside him was greatly surprised. "If supplies have surged, then why are we still short?"
The steward stammered, embarrassed.
Zhu Cunji said gravely, "He refuses to sell to our Prince of Qin's Mansion, is that it?"
The steward replied, a bitter expression on his face, "Yes, he sells to everyone but the Prince of Qin's Mansion. Now we rely on the chickens raised by our tenant farmers for the mansion's supply, but they don't raise enough, so the supply is falling short... But rest assured, Your Highness, we still have enough vegetables and grains."
Zhu Cunji raged, "Wu Shen and Shi Kefa! This is outrageous! Absolutely outrageous!"
He was furious!
Yet, he was utterly helpless!
Left with nothing but impotent rage.
After raging for a good while, Zhu Cunji suddenly calmed down. The higher one's position, the more one understands how to control emotions and avoid impulsive actions. His willingness to offer Wu Shen fifty thousand taels of silver after being reprimanded by Zhu Youjian was a clear sign of his adaptability.
With this new development, he needed to calmly devise a countermeasure even more.
"Someone! Prepare my sedan chair. I need to meet that Li family patriarch."
The consort was utterly bewildered. "Your Highness, shouldn't you be meeting Wu Shen and Shi Kefa? Why go see a mere puppet they put forward?"
Zhu Cunji snorted. "Women are so foolish! Wu Shen and Shi Kefa are stubborn as iron; meeting them is useless, they'll just cling to their principles. But this Li family patriarch, he's just a merchant. Merchants value profit above all else. This Heir Apparent only needs to promise him benefits, and I can win him over, making him help me turn the tables on Wu Shen and Shi Kefa."
Only then did the consort have a sudden realization. "Your Highness is truly brilliant!"
Zhu Cunji chuckled smugly. "The Li family patriarch is currently Wu Shen and Shi Kefa's puppet, but soon, he will be mine."
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