20demayo Chapter 525 Analysis of the Master-Servant Relationship
Chapter 525 Analysis of the Master-Servant Relationship
"You mean, Jiang Qing met the fifth, sixth, and seventh princes at the palace gate?"
"Yes, but it doesn't seem like an encounter. At least the Sixth Prince and the Seventh Prince were clearly waiting there for Lord Jiang."
Moreover, his subsequent attitude was quite impolite; the Fifth Prince, after all, seemed like someone who just happened to be passing by and came to the rescue.
"Similar? That's not necessarily true. These three people might have worked together to deliberately get Lao Wu to curry favor with Jiang Qing."
Heh, two playing the good cop, one the bad cop—how cunning! When did my little brothers start to grow up with their brains?
The second prince ate the dozen or so snacks left over from lunch, taking a bite of each one himself, unlike Jiang Xiaoqi who ate the whole thing.
“The gentleman is right, these pastries are very delicious. Make sure you remember the few things he instructed you to do that you need to ask the chefs to fix.”
To do business, you need to build a good reputation from the start and avoid making mistakes in small things.
Chen Lin was taken aback. Had the topic suddenly jumped to this? Weren't they just talking about the three princes? And now they're talking about the pastry shop?
"Uh, yes, I've got it. I'll keep an eye on the improvements when I leave the palace tomorrow."
"We can't possibly finish all these snacks. Have they been sent to Mother?"
"It has already been sent, and Her Majesty has already tasted it."
"Hmm, what about Father Emperor? Has he sent it yet? If not, send one over. Just say it's from a shop I run outside the palace, and ask Father Emperor to taste it."
Chen Lin was somewhat surprised, not expecting that His Highness would actually remember to send a portion to the Emperor.
Luckily, I brought enough snacks into the palace, otherwise it would have been difficult to distribute them.
"Yes, it's a bit late today. We'll send someone to deliver it to the Emperor first thing tomorrow morning."
"Well, if there are any left over, send one to the princes. There's no need for each of them to receive one. There aren't many left in total, so let them divide them among themselves."
"Just a taste is enough. Oh, and by the way, have the imperial physician examine it on the spot when you deliver it. Only come back if there are no problems, to avoid being slandered by those with ulterior motives."
Chen Lin looked up and said knowingly, "Your Highness, please rest assured, we will definitely leave no hidden dangers. We meant well by sending these things, so we can't let anyone take advantage of us."
The Second Prince nodded, but did not continue the conversation about the Fifth Prince and the others, and Chen Lin did not ask any questions either.
After about half a cup of tea's time, the Second Prince suddenly slammed his fist on the table.
"Duang!"
Chen Lin hurriedly went forward to check, and found that it was made of rosewood, which was very hard.
The Second Prince's hands are delicate and smooth; how could they possibly withstand the hard impact of rosewood?
"Your Highness!"
"It's nothing! It's just that I feel like my treasure has been coveted by thieves. As the saying goes, it's not the thief you should fear, but the one who has his eye on you. That's exactly what I'm feeling right now."
Chen Lin took a moment to process it. Oh, this has jumped back to the matter of the three princes stopping Lord Jiang. My goodness, his prince's thinking is really jumping around now.
Before I knew it, I was falling behind His Highness...
"Your Highness, are you referring to the Fifth Prince?"
Chen Lin immediately thought of the person among the three who was most likely to have feelings for Jiang Xiaoqi, but why would the Fifth Prince set his sights on Lord Jiang, who did not hold a prominent official position?
His Highness has set his sights on Lord Jiang because he has been fascinated by the top scholar Jiang ever since the essay he wrote in the palace examination.
How did the Fifth Prince realize that Lord Jiang was no ordinary person? Did the Fifth Prince possess a discerning eye for talent?
Chen Lin was reluctant to admit it, but he couldn't explain it in a way that made sense.
After all, apart from himself, Lord Jiang had no prominent family background or official position. Even though he had solved cases and made contributions, His Majesty the Emperor had never publicly commended or rewarded him.
What made the Fifth Prince decide that Lord Jiang was an official worth winning over? Was it simply because he was knowledgeable?
"Sigh, who else is there besides the fifth brother? The sixth and seventh brothers? Heh, those two are just dim-witted. They were sold out by the fifth brother and they still want to help him count the money."
Today's whole thing might have been orchestrated by the fifth brother.
Chen Lin thought about the Fifth Prince's character and personality. He had been able to endure hardship and humbly serve the Third Prince, but as soon as the Third Prince fell, he immediately distanced himself from him.
Such a person is indeed capable of taking advantage of his brothers, but the sixth and seventh brothers are rather dim-witted and think that the fifth brother just happened to be passing by.
“Your Highness is right. The Fifth Prince is a deep and cunning man who can easily manipulate people. He spends all his time in the Princes’ quarters and is the oldest among them. He may have already subdued all the younger ones.”
The Second Prince shook his head. "Subdue them? That's not necessarily the case, but they will definitely be used. There are six princes in the Princes' Palace now, and some of them have family backgrounds that are stronger than the Fifth Prince's."
"You mean the Ninth Prince? The grandson of Prime Minister Liu, and the son of Consort Liu!"
How old is the Ninth Prince this year? Oh, a little over eleven, not quite twelve. He looks a lot like Consort Liu and is an extremely handsome prince.
"Not only that, the Ninth Prince has the Prime Minister as his maternal family, and the Tenth Prince also has a General as his maternal family. These two families are one civil and one military, so it's hard to say which one is stronger than the other."
It's just that they're still young and haven't shown any outstanding abilities yet. Do you think the fifth brother wouldn't consider them as rivals?
No, not a hypothetical enemy, but the biggest competitor in the future. Before the fifth brother knows my true situation, he won't be eyeing the older sixth and seventh brothers, but rather the ninth and tenth brothers.
After all, one had the head of the civil service behind him, while the other had 200,000 troops at his disposal.
Haha, these two and He are not the only ones that Lao Wu needs to keep an eye on. We should keep an eye on them too, we can't put all our attention on Lao Wu.
He may seem to have the best chance and the strongest position, but in terms of overall strength, he might not even be able to match the two younger ones. His maternal family isn't very useful.
Chen Lin understood that when things really got serious, words and brains wouldn't last half a round against weapons.
The tenth prince had the confidence to overcome all odds with sheer force.
Consort Liu enjoys undiminished favor in the palace. She has truly made up her mind to whisper sweet nothings in her son's ear. The Emperor may not be moved now, but what will happen when His Majesty gets older in a few years?
As people get older, they become more confused, and when they are confused, they are easily misled and become muddleheaded.
It's hard to guarantee that in a few years, Consort Liu won't try her best to win over the Emperor for her son's sake. Once the imperial edict for the succession is issued, everything will be set in stone.
To save his own life, His Highness would have to pretend to be stupid for the rest of his life. No! Just thinking about that kind of life is terrifying.
Chen Lin shook his head, trying to shake off his previous assumption and make it invalid!
"Brother Lin, what's wrong? Do you have a headache?"
"Uh! No, nothing. My thoughts were just a bit jumbled up. I'm just shaking my head to clear them up."
Chen Lin was afraid that if he didn't explain in time, it would be like last time, when the Second Prince went to great lengths to summon the imperial physician.
As a eunuch, how could I allow Your Highness to be criticized for this?