The emperor conferred the title of prince on Du Gu Qing a year ago and also bestowed a marriage upon him, ordering him to get married this year. This major event in his life was thus settled.
"The daughter of the Minister of Rites, I've met her several times. She's a well - behaved and knowledgeable young lady..." As a mother, there's no one who doesn't worry about her own child. Seeing Du Gu Qing looking receptive, Concubine Qin couldn't help but chatter on.
"Alright, you have two more months. Go back and prepare well. If you need anything, come and tell me. There's nothing else. You may go back and rest. Take care of yourself. Do you understand?" After talking for so long, Concubine Qin felt a bit tired and thus sent Du Gu Qing away.
"Yes, your son will follow your teachings. Your son takes his leave." When leaving, Du Gu Qing's steps were still unsteady. Moreover, he seemed even weaker than when he first came. Anyone could tell at a glance that he was in poor health.
"Sixth brother?"
When passing by the Pure Water Lake, a voice made Du Gu Qing stop in his tracks.
"So it's the eldest brother."
The person coming was Du Gu Ming, dressed in a dark - purple court robe embroidered with soaring dragons. He was tall and straight. Although Du Gu Qing was of the same height as him, Du Gu Ming looked much more burly.
"Sixth brother has come to the palace to visit Concubine Qin?" Du Gu Ming's facial features were very different from Du Gu Qing's. Du Gu Ming's face was extremely angular, and his features were very distinct. Especially his cheetah - like eyes made people feel uncomfortable, as if they were the prey being targeted.
"Yes. Mother felt bored today and asked me to come to the palace to chat with her to pass the time." Du Gu Qing coughed lightly. Weariness showed on his face, and his voice was very faint as he spoke.
Seeing Du Gu Qing's frail appearance, Du Gu Ming curled his lips into a contemptuous smile. A sneer flashed across his gloomy eyes. He didn't even bother to put on an act in front of Du Gu Qing. "Sixth brother, you're so weak. I wonder if you'll be able to handle your wedding night in two months?"
This was a blatant mockery, but Du Gu Qing seemed not to notice the sarcasm in his words. His expression remained unchanged as he said, "Thank you for your concern, eldest brother. Your younger brother is not feeling well and will leave first."
"Alright, take your time, brother." Although Du Gu Ming said so, he didn't move out of the way.
Du Gu Qing didn't care when he saw this. Instead, he walked along another path.
Watching Du Gu Qing's departing back, Du Gu Ming's sneer grew even more intense. So what if he was the most favored by the emperor? So what if he was conferred the title of prince early? He was still a good - for - nothing! Anyone who might affect his great cause would never be left alive!
"Your Highness, it seems that it was the people of the Sixth Prince who intervened in the matter at the restaurant..." After Du Gu Qing had left their sight, the man who had been following Du Gu Ming stepped forward and whispered in his ear.
Hearing this, Du Gu Ming raised his eyebrows secretly and snorted. "He has such a meddlesome nature. What's the use of keeping the people under you if they can't even handle such a small matter!" As he said this, a blood - thirsty and fierce light flashed across his eyes.
The man trembled. "Yes, your subordinate will immediately have them dealt with."
"Keep an eye on the Sixth Prince. Make sure nothing goes wrong with him at a critical moment."
"Does Your Highness suspect that the Sixth Prince also has the ambition to fight for the throne?" Could a prince who had been weak and good - for - nothing since childhood and only had an empty title really fight against His Highness?
"No matter whether he has such thoughts or not, he can't become an obstacle for me to ascend the throne. If there's any sign of such improper ambition, I'll nip it in the bud!" Anyone who wanted to compete with him for the throne would never be spared!
"Your subordinate will surely have someone keep a close eye on the Sixth Prince."
"En, how's the matter with Prime Minister Mei?" Thinking of Mei Zhenguo, Du Gu Ming couldn't help but frown. He didn't expect that old thing to be so uncooperative. He had postponed the matter for so long without giving a definite answer.
"Your subordinate heard from Concubine Yu that she summoned Prime Minister Mei's wife again some time ago, but it seems that Prime Minister Mei still has no intention of giving in."
"Humph! That ungrateful old thing!" Du Gu Ming's gloomy eyes darkened. He waved his big hand and swept a half - person - tall potted plant more than ten meters away with a loud bang, scaring the palace servants not far away to hide in the distance for fear of being affected by Du Gu Ming's anger.
"Your Highness, if Prime Minister Mei really can't be used by us, he may become a great threat in the future."
In the current Feng Country, besides the emperor's power and the power of some princes who wanted to fight for the position of crown prince, the most powerful factions in the court were Prime Minister Mei's faction and the faction of the Minister of War. Originally, Du Gu Ming wanted to get the support of Prime Minister Mei's power by marrying Mei Qingxue, but Mei Zhenguo didn't buy it. Since he couldn't get it, he could only find a way to weaken or destroy it!
"Find a way to disrupt the marriage between the Third Prince and the daughter of the Minister of War. They must not be allowed to get married. If the Third Prince gets the support of the Minister of War's power, we'll be at a disadvantage."
"Why doesn't Your Highness consider starting from the Minister of War? The Minister of War is as shrewd as Prime Minister Mei, but he's more greedy than Prime Minister Mei. Since he shows signs of wanting to agree to the Third Prince's proposal, it means that the conditions offered by the Third Prince interest him. Your subordinate thinks that whatever conditions the Third Prince can offer, Your Highness can also offer..."
Hearing this, Du Gu Ming frowned his overbearing sword - shaped eyebrows. This idea was not unfeasible...
After leaving, Du Gu Qing walked straight out of the palace.
"Your Highness, the Eldest Prince is simply going too far!" Han Chao had heard every word the Eldest Prince said just now. Over the years, he had heard no less of the sarcasm from those princes towards the Sixth Prince. Every time he would feel very angry, but the Sixth Prince seemed not to care.
"Let him have his moment of pleasure. Just ignore him." If he cared about everything others said, he would probably be too busy to even eat.
"Your Highness..."
"Don't be so impetuous in the future. Alright, let's go back."
"Yes, Your Highness."
The seemingly ordinary carriage gradually drove out of the magnificent but turbulent palace.
After the incident of someone bringing a dead body to cause trouble, the business of "Welcome Guests Inn" was indeed much worse than before. Mei Qingxue stood on the second floor of the inn, looking at the much emptier first floor. She didn't feel too annoyed. She had expected such a result three days ago, so there was nothing to be surprised about.
That day, she wrote a letter and sent it to An Ying. She thought it wouldn't be long before he returned to the capital.
"Sir, the things you asked me to buy have been bought. I ran all over the carriage shops in the capital to buy the best carriages. The three carriages I bought will definitely not need repairs for several years."
"Good. Close the door after this batch of guests have left. Remember to close the main door before lunch. Put up the notice I wrote. Do you understand?" Just around lunchtime, there would be people coming here for lunch. There would surely be a lot of people, and they would definitely notice the notice she had put on the main door.
"Yes."
An hour before lunch, the waiters cleared the restaurant, and the main door slowly closed. Mei Qingxue had someone put up the notice she had thought of outside the main door. To prevent illiterate people from not understanding the content of the notice, she specifically left a literate waiter outside to explain it to them.
Although the appearance of a dead body in the "Welcome Guests Inn" had affected her business to a certain extent, there were still many people who came here as usual because they liked the food here. As lunchtime approached, many people walked towards the inn. When they saw that the inn was closed, they were all very surprised and curiously looked at the notice on the door.
"I can't read. What on earth does it say in black and white on this? Is the 'Welcome Guests Inn' going to close down and stop doing business from now on?" A rather stocky man who hadn't been educated couldn't understand what was written on the notice, so he shouted out. In this era, there were many illiterate people, so people didn't think it was something very embarrassing.
"Yes, yes. What does the notice say? Is the 'Welcome Guests Inn' going to stop doing business?" Someone began to ask in agreement.
"Dear guests, our 'Welcome Guests Inn' is not going to stop doing business. Instead, our shopkeeper said that in order to thank everyone for their support of our 'Welcome Guests Inn' over the past year, we're going to hold a consumption lottery activity." The waiter beside them had been waiting for someone to ask this question.
"What's a consumption lottery?" As soon as the waiter finished speaking, the crowd immediately became excited. Two or three people were wondering what this activity was.
"Yes, I've never heard of such a thing. Brother, please explain it quickly."
"Don't worry, guests. It's like this. Starting from tomorrow, we're going to hold a lottery activity here. Any guest who spends a certain amount of money will get a chance to draw a lottery. That is to say, as long as you guests spend enough money in our 'Welcome Guests Inn', you'll have a chance to win a bag of rice or a top - notch carriage in the capital."
"What? You can win rice and a carriage just by eating in a restaurant? You're not kidding, are you?"
"Yes, yes. This has never happened before. Don't deceive us."
Since everyone had never participated in such an activity before, they didn't quite understand what was going on.
"Whether it's a deception or not, you'll know tomorrow. Our shopkeeper is very trustworthy and will never do anything to deceive you." Looking at the interested crowd, the waiter secretly admired the shopkeeper for being so smart. He could come up with such a way to attract customers. However, weren't the costs of those three carriages a bit too high?
People came to look at the notice one after another. The waiter was so exhausted from explaining that his mouth was dry, but he was very happy in his heart. He could foresee that starting from tomorrow, the "Welcome Guests Inn" would return to its previous bustling scene, or even be more bustling.