Chapter 158 - 51: Top-grade Playboy

Words : 2016 Updated : Sep 19th, 2025

Within the Empress Dowager’s palace, Lie Rou had not informed Yue Jinghua about the awkward matchmaking farce that had occurred afterwards. In fact, Lie Rou’s thoughts had been too simple; she initially thought it was just a casual match made by the Empress Dowager without much thought, but she couldn’t have imagined that this marriage arrangement would ultimately change the entire political landscape of the Shang Kingdom. There’s a saying that goes, "A man explodes in rage for the sake of a beautiful woman," but who knows that sometimes this rage is not only applicable to men of valor. Lie Rou and Yue Chen went out of the palace to look for Yue Jinghua, and it was not long before the three of them met up. Lie Rou inevitably asked Yue Jinghua where she had been and what had delayed her. Yue Jinghua used Sha Fei as an excuse, saving much trouble. Just as the three were about to leave the palace, they saw Eunuch Chen, the Empress Dowager’s chief eunuch, who ran up to them, panting: "Lady, Miss, please wait, the Empress Dowager has decreed for the young lady to join Prince Fa for a boat ride on Cuiwei Lake three days from now." Upon hearing this, Lie Rou glanced at Yue Jinghua without showing any emotions; seeing no reaction from her, it was the little boy Yue Chen who tugged at her hand and tightened his grip for no apparent reason. "A Lake tour? Touring the lake in the autumn indeed has its own unique flavor. Besides Prince Fa and myself, will there be anyone else joining the lake tour?" thought Yue Jinghua inwardly with a sneer, yet her face showed a look of delight, appearing quite pleased with the news to others. "The Prince and Miss’s boat trip is at a location specially appointed by the Empress Dowager, and naturally, no one else is allowed to disturb," said Eunuch Chen with a beaming smile. "That’s good to hear. I appreciate it, Eunuch Chen," mused Yue Jinghua, handing over a bottle. "Here are a few Elixir Pills, the same kind the Empress Dowager takes. I hear Eunuch Chen’s spouse is quite a beauty." It’s well known that eunuchs and palace maids in the palace often engage in illicit trading of favors. Remarkably, Yue Jinghua was not only aware of but adept at navigating such intricacies, prompting Eunuch Chen to view her in a new light. As for the effects of the Elixir Pills she concocted, Eunuch Chen had seen them with his own eyes and was secretly pleased as he took the pills and whispered into Yue Jinghua’s ear, "Prince Fa is most fond of drinking Osmanthus Brew and eating squirrelfish. The Empress Dowager has specially granted a century-aged jar of Osmanthus Brew. Miss Yue, you should make an effort." Upon hearing this, the little boy Yue Chen bit his crimson lips and remained silent. Lie Rou simply sighed softly. When the three of them returned to the Lie Family Mansion, they happened to meet Lie Sisi descending from her sedan chair. Lie Sisi could indeed be considered a character of her own; the exchange between the two sisters earlier in the day was still fresh in memory, and after just a couple of hours, she greeted Yue Jinghua with a beaming smile. "I heard that big sister is going to tour the lake with Prince Fa," said Lie Sisi, with a hint of sorrow in her expressive eyes, evoking pity. "Sister is certainly well-informed. I only knew about it a mere quarter of an hour before you," Yue Jinghua did not deny. "Then big sister must be careful. I’ve heard that the waters of Cuiwei Lake are very deep. Be sure not to be careless..." The cunning gleam in Lie Sisi’s beautiful eyes flickered and disappeared. "Don’t worry, if the sky falls, Prince Fa will be there to back me up," Yue Jinghua replied with a half-forced smile. Their eye contact was brief but filled with an explosive tension. Lie Rou, too, was tired today. After returning to the Jingxin Courtyard, she went to rest. Hongling recounted what had happened during the day to Yue Jinghua and mentioned General Tianwei. Yue Jinghua, however, interrupted Hongling and asked several more questions about General Tianwei’s background. "Miss, the Lady has made it clear that she intends to wait for the master’s return. She went against the Empress Dowager and the Monarch’s good intentions this time. I fear they will take the opportunity to trouble the Lady in the future," said Hongling with a worried look. "Hongling, Yue Nian... what kind of person is my father exactly?" From Fa Xiaoyi’s narrative, Yue Jinghua’s understanding of Yue Nian remained at the level of a father with quirky interests. "The master is a great hero," Hongling said, her eyes filled with a hint of girlhood admiration. It was then that Hongling heard the sound of saliva dripping, and a sleazy voice came from under her feet, "Beauty, beauty, another lusciously gorgeous beauty." Feeling a tickle on the back of her foot, she looked down to find a fat, wriggling white worm, indistinguishable in body, face or buttocks, rubbing incessantly against her ankle. The Gold Eater Worm had been heartbroken just a moment ago at the thought of leaving the Little Shang Palace. However, upon realizing that both Yue Jinghua’s mother and maid were beautiful women, its broken heart and entrails miraculously mended on the spot. "Snap," without any hesitation, the super maid who could recite family trees and cookbooks, and kill villains and cockroaches, stamped her foot down without a second thought. The large white worm immediately flattened and let out a few "ow ow" cries before its body inflated back like it was being pumped up with air. "All men in the world are fickle, and all worms are loyal dogs. Let the beautiful mother and beautiful maid throw themselves into this worm lord’s embrace, ow ow. Ugly mother, what are you doing?" Yue Jinghua pinched the meat worm’s chubby short body and threw it out, finally enjoying some peace and quiet. "Miss, what was that monster just now?" Hongling asked in wonder. "Just call it a lustful worm, it’s nothing but a dirty thing that our bad luck has brought us, not worth fussing over. Continue with your story, what kind of person was my father in the end? And why exactly did he go bankrupt and disappear? Is it really like the outside world says, that he was a top-grade profligate?" Although Lie Rou had never mentioned it, Yue Jinghua knew that the beautiful mother longed for Yue Nian day after day, and over such a long period, it was very detrimental to the beautiful mother’s health. "Those are all false rumors, the master was a great man. He had some strange hobbies, such as his particular liking for shiny objects, always collecting things that look good but are useless, often being deceived, but he was indeed an extraordinary good person. No other duke or noble had ever done what he did—allowing the children and servants in his household to learn to read and practice martial arts, recommending them based on their strengths," Hongling’s affection for Yue Jinghua and the rest was largely built on the foundation of Yue Nian. Hongling’s parents were forced to sell themselves into slavery after a famine. Because Hongling’s father could read and manage accounts, he quickly gained Yue Nian’s appreciation. Yue Nian also selected Hongling, who was under seven years old at the time, and sent her to the Lie Family Mansion to serve as a personal maid to Lie Rou, who was pregnant at the time. "Hearing you say that, my father doesn’t seem to be a complete waste of space. Moreover, with the help of talented individuals like your father managing the family’s affairs, how could it suddenly go bankrupt for no reason," the once affluent Blood Cherry Duke Mansion, with numerous estates, earned as much in taxes alone each year as the national treasury. How could such a financial giant be hollowed out? Could it be that Yue Nian spent money at the speed of light? "If he had only depended on the master’s personal expenses, even with ten more masters like him, the Duke Mansion could have easily borne it," Hongling wasn’t sure whether to speak or not, "However, the year before the Duke Mansion went bankrupt, there was unrest in the Northern Border of Longzhan Country, coinciding with a domestic flood. The Minister of the Ministry of Revenue of Longzhan Country personally visited the master to ask for disaster relief, and the master, in a moment of weakness, donated nearly half of his family’s fortune. In the following year, the Duke Mansion’s estates had successive poor harvests and were plagued by bandits. After getting drunk once, the master gambled lavishly and lost the entire fortunes of the Duke Mansion." After speaking, Hongling let out a long sigh. "Isn’t this all too coincidental? Lost everything? They couldn’t have lost people as well, right?" Yue Jinghua felt more and more mystified the more she heard. The image of Yue Nian, as described by Fa Xiaoyi, the cunning and dark-hearted Grand Duke, was quite different, was it not? "After that gambling spree, it was rumored outside that the master felt too ashamed to face the Lady and in a fit of anger, went to hang himself under the tree of lingering thoughts to the south of the city. By the time the Lady heard the news and rushed over in a hurry, all that was left was the master’s belt, swaying in the air hung up on the tree," Hongling wiped the corner of her eye. Yue Jinghua coughed loudly, afraid that she couldn’t help but burst into laughter. Could a great profligate like Yue Nian really feel embarrassed and hang himself on a southeastern branch? This was not scientific. "Are you sure it’s not just rumors spread by outsiders?" "Sure, in fact, no one else could impersonate him," Hongling was very steadfast, including her, all the servants of the Yue Residence firmly believed that it was Yue Nian’s belt, "In this world, no one else would have a pure gold threaded belt like Lord Yue, embedded with eighteen types of the most precious Xuan Beast Xuan Pills." "Eighteen types of the most precious Xuan Beast Xuan Pills?! Where is that belt now?" Yue Jinghua caught the key point, whether the profligate father committed suicide was secondary, that belt was definitely a real treasure. "Miss, don’t you remember? That night, you also accompanied the Lady to the south of the city, didn’t you?" Hongling wiped the tears from her reddened eyes and was puzzled by the gleam in Yue Jinghua’s eyes. "I was just too heartbroken at the time and forgot. I think maybe that belt could help us find Yue Nian... my father’s whereabouts," Yue Jinghua said shamelessly. Qing Pu and a certain meat worm outside the window both spat out in unison, "Clearly motivated by greed for wealth." "That belt was taken by Lord Yue’s biggest creditor," Hongling sighed, the Miss was right to say so, "The biggest creditor? Who? Dare to take away my father’s relic... no, a clue." Yue Jinghua thought of the eighteen precious Elixir Pills and felt her blood boiling. "That person, Miss, you also know," Hongling seemed cautious, hesitating as she spoke. "Oh? Who is it?" Yue Jinghua asked curiously. "Long Ao," Hongling finally uttered the name. "Long Ao? The name does sound familiar. When I return to Longzhan Country in the future, the first thing I will do is find that old rascal Long Ao to take back my father’s belt," Yue Jinghua said indignantly. "Miss, Lord Dragon Ao is the National Guardian of Longzhan, and one of the Ten Strongest. Besides, he wanders the Four Seas all year round and is said to return to Longzhan Country only once every twenty years," Hongling’s voice was getting weaker. Outside the window, several crows flew by, emitting ear-piercing caws.

Chapter 158 - 51: Top-grade Playboy

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