Chapter 640 - Chapter 640: Selling People
Chapter 640: Selling People
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
If Old Madam Wang hadn’t denied it so quickly and thoroughly, King Xiaoyao might have believed it. However, he wasn’t sure if this person in front of him really knew anything about Princess Yong Chang.
After all, it was almost 40 years ago. At that time, this old lady should still be living in the village. Princess Yong Chang could be said to be famous back then.
However, the imperial power doesn’t reach the countryside, and the news from the royal family may not even reach the rural areas.
While King Xiaoyao was thinking, Old Madam Wang was also looking at him.
Old Madam Wang had never seen King Xiaoyao before, but she could tell at a glance that he’s the child of the previous Emperor because they looked too similar.
It was not just his appearance, but also his unyielding aura.
When she was Princess Yong Chang, the people in the world were mostly envious of her. There was no lack of rumors among the people. “Princess Yong Chang is nothing special. If it were me, and 1 was born with a golden spoon in my mouth, not to mention the number one beauty in Great Chang, 1 can even be the number one beauty in the entire continent!”
People even discuss her in extremely vulgar terms, saying, “What’s the use of being good-looking? Eventually, she will be married off to someone influential and become someone else’s wife. Besides, it is said that Princess Yong Chang has extravagant tastes in food, clothing, and lifestyle. If you marry a wife like her, within two years, your family will be impoverished!”
Princess Yong Chang had also accidentally heard these words. At that time, it was rumored that there was a disaster in the north. Not only did Princess Yong Chang take out a large sum of money to protect the refugees, but she also went to Puji Temple and ate vegetarian food for a month to pray for the refugees.
At that time, in order to fulfill her promise, Princess Yong Chang didn’t bring many servants.
The world didn’t know that Princess Yong Chang had been practicing martial arts with the first-rate experts of the Inner Palace since she was young. Not to mention that ordinary people couldn’t defeat her, ordinary assassins couldn’t hurt her.
It was precisely because of this that the people of the world didn’t expect Princess Yong Chang to be in Puji Temple, so they didn’t have any filters when they spoke.
Princess Yong Chang heard all these words and returned unhappily. She was upset for a period of time.
From then on, Princess Yong Chang became even more extravagant when she went out. She originally thought that everyone’s evaluation of Princess Yong Chang would definitely decrease, but she didn’t expect everyone to praise her so much. They thought that she was a true example of a noble daughter with the bearing of the royal family.
In the eyes of ordinary people, the Emperor must be eating with golden chopsticks and spoons every day. When he went out, he also wore golden shoes. The clothes he wore were also made of golden thread. Even the bed he slept on was made of pure gold.
As for Princess Yong Chang, she had been doted on by the royal family since she was young. She was naturally a noble girl made of gems.
If she was simple, everyone would think that she was putting on a show. If she was extravagant, everyone would think that it was normal and very reasonable.
It was rumored that there was a house made of gold and gems in Princess Yong Chang’s territory.
However, Princess Yong Chang lived in Duke An Manor all year round, and the residence was empty.
When Princess Yong Chang left the manor, she encountered a few groups of thieves, saying that they wanted to find the golden house.
As soon as she saw King Xiaoyao, Old Madam Wang recalled those extravagant but dull days.
“Your Highness, you must have come to my residence to seek improvement for your legs? As for those other people, they would be of no help to your legs and feet, so there is no need to mention them,” Old Madam Wang smiled and said, “In our village, there is a traveling physician who specializes in treating various leg ailments. He possesses a special staff for such purposes. Both my husband and my second son were cured by this physician. If Your Highness doesn’t mind, 1 can help arrange an introduction.”
This was also the reason why Old Madam Wang wanted to talk to King Xiaoyao. There was naturally a reason why King Xiaoyao came to the Wang Family out of the blue. Old Madam Wang didn’t want King Xiaoyao to keep focusing on the extraordinary wheelchair, afraid that it would bring disaster to Ah Yu. In that case, she could only divert the trouble.
At this moment, Divine Doctor Xue, who was giving the Empress the final set of treatment in the palace, suddenly sneezed.
However, King Xiaoyao said, “How could that do? I’ve already paid 400,000 taels of silver as collateral. Since my crippled legs can be cured, I don’t think there’s a need to spend—”
Old Madam Wang said slowly, “Your Highness is a noble among nobles, so you naturally won’t think much of this small sum of money. However, we’re just a small family, so this bit of money is enough to save our lives. Moreover, if Your Highness feels that 400,000 taels of silver is a loss buying those wheelchairs. Perhaps I can make the decision.”
King Xiaoyao resisted the urge to raise his eyebrows and waited for Old Madam Wang to continue.
On the other end, Wang Chuangui learned from the chef that his mouthful of chicken soup had destroyed nearly 200 taels of silver worth of ingredients.
It was only the price of the ingredients, not including the other miscellaneous expenses.
Wang Chuangui gasped.
He still owed his mother 300 taels of silver!
He wanted to plead with the old lady not to record his debt this time, lest he still had to worry about returning the money.
As he thought about it, he found out where Old Madam Wang was from the old servant. He went to the backyard and saw the old lady talking to King Xiaoyao.
Wang Chuangui was about to retreat when he heard Old Madam Wang shout at him, “You came at the right time.”
“Mother?” Wang Chuangui was puzzled.
When he approached, he heard Old Madam Wang say to King Xiaoyao, “We don’t have anything in our family besides this incompetent son of mine. If he manages to pass the examinations with a ranking above the second class, 1 will have him go under your command and take on a position.”
Wang Chuangui:”?”
Wait, if he scored well, he would work for the Prince?!
What was Mother doing!
In that case, he might as well deliberately fail the exam. It would be better to go back and farm with Big Brother.
The village school definitely lacked teachers. After all, he was a provincial scholar. It was not difficult for him to teach some county level students.
Then, he heard Old Madam Wang say, “If he fails the examination, 1 hope Your Highness won’t despise him and allow him to be a gatekeeper at your residence. It’s said that even a third-rank official in front of the Prime Minister’s residence adds prestige. Having a provincial scholar as a gatekeeper would also be considered honorable, wouldn’t it?
Wang Chuangui:”…”
King Xiaoyao:”…”
At that moment, Wang Chuangui seemed to see a hint of sympathy flash across King Xiaoyao’s eyes.
Sob, the fact that he was not her mother’s child couldn’t be hidden anymore.
On the other side, Ah Yu jumped into the kitchen. When she found out about the complicated method of making the Nine One Soup, her eyes widened.
“When did Grandma fall in love with such an expensive soup?” Ah Yu patted her chest in shock.
Wang Wulang was also extremely surprised. A few years ago, not to mention ingredients that cost a few hundred taels of silver, his Grandma wouldn’t even allow them to buy ingredients that cost a few copper coins.
There were all kinds of vegetables in the village, and they still dared to spend money so wantonly?
Wang Wulang was about to ask if it was difficult for Grandma to go from extravagance back to frugality now, or if she was traumatized by poverty in the past. Now, she had the mentality of a nouveau riche.
He also wanted to find Ah Yu to be his confidant and talk about his views.
Unexpectedly, All Yu turned around and muttered, “Grandma’s hobbies are too expensive. I have to earn more money so that Grandma can drink good soup every day until she’s 100 years old!”
Wang Wulang:”…”
She then asked the chef, “Is this soup very nourishing?”
The chef was still angry, but he still snorted and replied, “It’s very nutritious. It can even make up for the years the King of Hell has taken away!”
This soup was not simple at all. It would even take a few days to prepare. All kinds of adjustments were needed for it to reach the most authentic standard.
Any less, or more ingredients would result in it lacking in taste.
Other people could ignore these small flaws, but he cared very much.
“That’s great. Our family will drink one bowl every day and we’ll send another bowl to Big Brother Ah You. Ah, Auntie Empress is not in good health. We’ll send her one bowl too. The Empress Dowager is old, so add another bowl. Hm, then 1 have to earn more money every day.”
Ah Yu knew that when she was poor, it was as difficult as ascending to the heavens to earn a few taels of silver a day. However, now that she had the capital, it was very simple to earn hundreds of thousands of taels of silver a year.
“In your dreams!” The chef’s nose was about to spew fire. “Do you think you’re feeding the pigs? If you drink this for more than two days in a row, the King of Hell will come and carry you away overnight on stilts!”
Moreover, if the Nine One Soup was so easy to make, why would he be a mere imperial chef!