Chapter 216 - The Carefree Young Master
Discover the story in "Quick Transmigration: Drama Queen's Daily Life" Chapter 217: Chapter 216: Chapter 211: The Carefree Young Master"Your Majesty." Chang cautiously reminded Ye Ling, looking... Continue exploring!
Chapter 216: Chapter 211: The Carefree Young Master"Your Majesty." Chang cautiously reminded Ye Ling, looking at his bruised complexion, "Duke Shen and General Chen are still waiting for you in the council hall."
Ye Ling, considering the recent unrest at the border, ultimately decided that state affairs were more important and chose to let this youngster off for now.
Ye Qiu was unaware that he had once again been blacklisted by his elder brother. He was planning to slip out of the palace for fun. Out of pity for his young age and the loss of his father, the Emperor had granted him a title but had not sent him to his fief. Instead, he was given an Imperial Mansion within the capital for his amusement.
The Imperial Mansion was located near the palace, with both its geographical position and feng shui scenery being top-notch. Inside there was even a natural hot spring, most suitable for vacationing.
Ye Qiu did not want to be punished to copy the ’Ritual Records’. He thought about sneaking out, hoping that by the time he returned, the elder brother might have forgotten the matter.
With the idea in mind, that very day Ye Qiu took the token given by the Empress Sister-in-law and went to the Imperial Mansion, completely disregarding the Second Prince’s heartbroken crying.
Some thought that the Palace Attendants had a masochistic tendency, given how the Second Prince, despite usually being bullied by Prince An, always ending up in tears, would still always cling to Prince An. Because of this, Noble Consort Zhang had cursed Ye Qiu countless times behind his back.
"Young Master, please spare Old Man Li and my granddaughter," an elderly man wearing patched rough cloth knelt on the ground, his voice breaking with tears.
"Compensate? With what will you compensate?" The richly dressed young master ruthlessly kicked him, pointing at the heap of porcelain shards by his feet and viciously said, "These are fine white porcelain vases, just bought from the Jinxiu Pavilion, costing me 200 taels of silver. What will you compensate with?"
"Two hundred taels?" The old man was startled by the amount, his face turning pale and stuttering out his response.
Seeing him like this, the young master sneered with a hint of pride in his eyes, "I suppose you can’t afford it, so let your granddaughter come with me instead."
Having said that, two followers behind the young master reached out to grab the young girl standing behind Old Man Li. She looked terrified, her beauty evident despite wearing coarse cloth, her pale face and slightly reddened eyes portraying a frailty that easily evoked others’ protective instincts.
Although there were many onlookers enjoying the spectacle, no one intervened. The reason was simple: the richly dressed young master belonged to Noble Consort Zhang’s family, and no one dared to provoke him. Moreover, it was evident that today’s event had been orchestrated by Young Master Zhang from the start.
"Alas, Old Man Li can’t escape his fate today. Who made his granddaughter catch Young Master Zhang’s attention?" the people in the crowd whispered among themselves upon witnessing the scene.
"How pitiable! But who can compare to the powerful Zhang family, that is the Noble Consort’s maternal family, after all. I’ve heard that Noble Consort Zhang has the Emperor wrapped around her finger. It looks like today, Young Master Zhang has set his sights on Li Xiaolian."
"If you ask me, Old Man Li should not have refused. What kind of family is the Zhang family? Even becoming a slave there could bring prosperity to the Li family."
"You don’t understand. I’ve heard that Young Master Zhang loves to torment young girls. I have a fellow villager who works as a servant in the Zhang Mansion, and I’ve heard that Young Master Zhang has tortured countless women to death!"
"This... isn’t there anyone who will intervene?" someone else exclaimed in surprise.
The person looked around cautiously and, seeing that Ye Qiu was just a child and not to be taken seriously, said softly, "Who dares to meddle in the affairs of the Zhang family without fearing for their head?" The person then pointed to the sky, "Those above are all protecting each other, who would stand up for the common folk?"
"Hiss... I actually didn’t know about this, right under the shadow of the Imperial City."
"Alas... brother, I’m telling you this because I see you as familiar, but don’t spread the word, or you may invite great disaster."
"I know, I know, I won’t speak of it outside."
Hearing this, Ye Qiu’s face turned dark as he watched the unclear expressions of the Li family’s grandfather and granddaughter in the center of the crowd.
As far as he knew, although Noble Princess Consort Zhang was arrogant, the Zhang Family wouldn’t dare to so blatantly disregard the law within the Imperial City, and today’s events were nothing but a deliberate scheme by some schemer to target the descendants of the Zhang Family and to ensure that he, Ye Qiu, would witness it.
As for that Li Xiaolian, she was nothing more than a spy planted by some manipulator by his side.
In his previous life, when he was young and naive, he was swayed by the provocation of those around him and ended up beating up Young Master Zhang while taking Li Xiaolian to his side.
Because of this, he had not only made an enemy of Noble Princess Consort Zhang, but in the days that followed, he gradually harbored ill feelings towards the elder brother under Li Xiaolian’s instigation, which eventually led to others manipulating him. He had harmed not only himself but also his elder brother who had raised him since childhood, allowing others to reap the profits amidst the chaos.
The events of his past life flashed before Ye Qiu’s eyes, making his gaze towards the Li family’s grandfather and granddaughter even colder.
"Young Master Zhang, I beg you, please let us go. Hereafter, I swear I will repay your great kindness and mercy, praying for your blessing before Buddha every day. Young Master Zhang, Xiaolian is not worthy of you; please spare her," Old Man Li pleaded while kowtowing so hard that blood began to seep from his forehead.
His granddaughter, Li Xiaolian, knelt behind him, her pale little face hanging low, stirring even more pity and heartache.
The surrounding commoners’ gaze toward Young Master Zhang grew increasingly dissatisfied, and although no one dared step forward to take charge, their discussions had already mentioned the Zhang family members’ rampant bullying of the commoners while riding on Noble Princess Consort Zhang’s favoritism. Ye Qiu estimated that if no one intervened in this scene, it would lead to malicious gossip about his elder brother’s incompetence and misrule.
"Are you asking me?" Young Master Zhang sneered, "Alright then, if you won’t let your granddaughter come with me, you’ll have to pay – 200 taels, not a single coin less."
"But... but I..." Old Man Li stammered, a difficult expression on his face, as a gust of autumn wind blew over his patch-covered sleeve, highlighting his bleak situation even more.
"No money? If you don’t have the money and are unwilling to let your granddaughter come with me, then what do you propose we do?" Young Master Zhang was becoming impatient with the surrounding murmurs. He had set his heart on that white porcelain flower-entwined vase, tirelessly begging Old Madam for pocket money to buy it, only for it to be accidentally shattered by this careless old man – how could he not be distressed?
He saw Old Man Li looked like he couldn’t afford the compensation. His granddaughter was rather beautiful, so he thought of letting her come into the mansion to work. The treatment of maids in the mansion was not bad; even the lowest-ranking Maids had a monthly salary of half a tael of Silver, so if he couldn’t pay back the money, working off the debt in the mansion seemed reasonable, didn’t it?
He did not anticipate that in the midst of the discussion, Young Master Zhang would suddenly be seen as a tyrant forcefully taking a girl from the people. Filled with indignant fire, his look towards the Li family’s grandfather and granddaughter grew increasingly hostile.
"Alas, it seems there’s no way out for Li Xiaolian in the future."
"What a pity, she is quite a beauty; no wonder Young Master Zhang has his eyes on her."
Ye Qiu, seeing the growing murmurs of the crowd, stepped forward to the front of the Li family’s grandfather and granddaughter. Although he was young, his words calmed the crowd: "200 taels, is it? I’ll pay it."