Tianhuang nobleman

Chapter 40

Qi Xiao had been sitting in Fenghua Palace until Sishi before he was free, and there was no errand ahead, Qi Xiao went out of the palace and went directly to Lingnan Palace.

Now everyone in the imperial city thinks that Qi Xiao and Bai Ren got acquainted because of the marriage between Rou Jia and He Fu, so the two have passed the clear road, and their relationship is not as mysterious as it was at the beginning , according to Qi Xiao's words, the more legitimate and generous, the less likely to attract people's attention.

Qi Xiao didn't ask anyone to notify him in advance. When he arrived at Lingnan Prince's Mansion, the concierge was startled when he saw Qi Xiao. Go find him."

All the servants were sweating in their hearts. The scene of Qi Xiao cleaning the entire Lingnan Palace last time was still vivid in his memory. Everyone thought that the King of Hades had come to look for them again, so they were trembling and refused to let them go. No one dared to talk too much in the notification, and stood aside in a well-behaved manner.

Knowing that Bairen was behind the cashier, Qi Xiao didn't need anyone to lead the way, so he gathered the fox fur and held the stove in his hand to find it all the way.

In the account room, Bai Ren sat in front of the case and listened to the old housekeeper tell him about the accounts for this month. Take those things and sell them off. The day before yesterday, I had the guts to exchange Curry’s 100 taels of Ruyi’s gold nude for 1000 taels of silver. That’s how I’ve filled up the losses I’ve lost in the past few days. , there are still many places to use silver, but there is nothing in our treasury that can be exchanged for money, Your Highness, this..."

Bai Ren looked at the account book carefully, he spent a lot of money on inquiring about Rou Jia when he first came to the imperial city, and now there is not much left, so it seems that his family's accounts have nowhere to go, he Now there is no job, no salary and no filial piety, even his 1 households still belong to Lingnan. At that time, the King of Lingnan only gave him [-] taels of silver. Although there was still some money that the princess gave him privately and the money he had accumulated over the years, after half a year, it was almost enough.

The imperial city is different from Lingnan, there are too many etiquettes under the festival, it is rare that Bairen has never done these things before and can handle them properly, but it is difficult for a clever woman to cook without rice, and when the new year is over, there will be no money.

Bai Ren directly turned to the last page of the account book, remembering clearly the things sent by Lingnan half a month ago, there were leather, clothing and playthings, but there was no banknote.

Knowing that the next year is the time to spend money, Biansheng just gave this little thing without any pain, and Bai Ren knew whose idea it was without even thinking about it.

Bai Ren closed the account book, pursed his lips, and said for a long time: "Remember, there is still a set of gold lamps in Curry. There are no extra-standard patterns on it. You can take them out. I remember that set. There must be dozens of taels of gold wares, although the quality is not very good, but 500 taels of silver can still be exchanged, so I pawned them."

The old butler looked at Bai Ren's childish face and couldn't help but feel distressed. In the New Year's Eve, the old man was so emotional that he couldn't help but redden his eyes: "The princess is far away and can't see her. If she knows that the son is suffering such a hardship here, I'm afraid it will be so painful." My heart is going to break..."

Bai Ren paused for a moment and laughed, "Don't say that..."

In fact, Bai Ren didn't feel anything, he was used to hardships, this hardship was far worse than the anxiety he felt when he thought that Rou Jia was going to marry Qi Xiao, but it was just a little tight, at worst he was cheeky, He no longer rewarded his servants, and he also prevaricated at will when returning gifts during the year. Anyway, it was the entire Lingnan Palace that was lost. His father didn't understand him, and he didn't have to grit his teeth to save face for others.

But Bai Ren couldn't help but feel a little uncomfortable hearing what the old housekeeper said. It's Chinese New Year, and his mother and sister don't know what to do.

When Qi Xiao walked into the cashier's room, he happened to hear the old butler's words, raised his eyebrows and said, "What's wrong with your son?"

Bai Ren was taken aback for a moment, then stood up and frowned and said to the outside: "Why didn't you report the prince's arrival?"

"Don't blame them, I'm trying to coax you to play." Qi Xiao approached and took the account book and flipped through it, and laughed when he saw the final balance: "Where's the money in your house?"

Bai Ren didn't want to embarrass himself in front of Qi Xiao, so he took the ledger and said, "No, this is not the general ledger."

Qi Xiao didn't believe it at all, and turned to look at the old housekeeper: "He is the only master in your house, with limited food and clothing, how much money can he have? How come there is nothing left?"

The old housekeeper took a look at Bai Ren, and after weighing in his mind, he pretended not to see Bai Ren's wink, then lowered his head and said: "Our son's expenses are not big, but we can't stand the consumption of getting in and out. It's the end of the year. Etiquette exchange is a large amount of money, this is not counting the money that will be rewarded to these people in the mansion next year, these are still small things, when the princess comes over after the year, if there is no income, then..."

Qi Xiao looked at Bai Ren's expression, and after thinking about the words he heard just now, he realized that these were probably the little shoes that the side concubine from Lingnan gave Bai Ren to wear again.

Qi Xiao put the account book aside casually, turned his head and said to the people who followed him: "Go back to the government to send 5000 taels of silver."

Before Bai Ren could speak, Qi Xiao smiled and said, "Don't talk too much, can you make money yourself?"

At a loss for words, the old housekeeper was overjoyed and thanked him again and again, Qi Xiao smiled: "In the future, if there is anything short, go to my house and say, your son is thin-skinned, you should be more considerate for him."

The old housekeeper never expected Qi Xiao to be so talkative in private, so he went there with a thousand gratitude.

Qi Xiao smiled at Bai Ren: "Okay, the matter here is over, don't you ask Gu to sit in the Nuan Pavilion and have a cup of hot tea?"

Bai Ren's face was slightly flushed with shame, he bit his lower lip and said nothing, Qi Xiao knew that he couldn't hold back, so he smiled and said: "What's the matter, come here and I have something important to tell you."

Bai Ren nodded, and followed Qi Xiao to the front, and after entering the Nuan Pavilion, Qi Xiao retreated from the crowd, smiled at Bai Ren, and said, "Xiao Da, His Royal Highness has rewarded those servants with empty treasuries, shouldn't I be rewarded too?" what?"

Bai Ren was still thinking about the matter just now, he hesitated and said: "Thank you, Your Highness, for solving my urgent need, I... I will let them send me my food town in Lingnan in the coming year..."

Qi Xiao couldn't help laughing: "Your food town? How much is there?"

Bai Ren knew that Qi Xiao wasn't trying to ridicule him, so he said in a low voice, "There are some."

Qi Xiao laughed mockingly: "For the sake of the little money, I advise you not to say that, and let your side concubine save the medicine to eat... Don't interrupt, I'm asking you, but what have you prepared for me?"

Bai Ren was stunned, thought for a while, turned and went into the inner room, took out a half-new small box with gold lacquer carvings, handed it to Qi Xiao and said, "This is... it was given to me by my mother and concubine before I came to Beijing." , although it is not an ancient relic, but it is still an object, if His Highness does not dislike it, then accept it."

Qi Xiao was just teasing Bai Ren, but he didn't expect Bai Ren to take it seriously, but everyone took out everything, no matter what it was, he would accept it, Qi Xiao opened the box, and there was a jade jade ring in the box , the jade ring is of very fine color, warm to the touch, and a lot of Sanskrit characters are engraved densely on it, which seems to be words and pictures, but Qi Xiao doesn't recognize them. Let people put on tassels and put them on."

Bai Ren hesitated to speak, nodded for a while and said: "This is for safety, Your Highness... take it with you."

Qi Xiao smiled, got up and sat down with Bai Ren, and said with a soft smile, "You gave me such a great gift, don't you ask me what I have prepared for you?"

Bai Ren looked at Qi Xiao, Qi Xiao knew that he would not joke around with others, so he stopped teasing him, smiled and took out a letter from his pocket and handed it to him: "Look for yourself."

Bai Ren took the letter and looked at it, his eyes suddenly turned red... There were four words written on the envelope: From my son, this is the handwriting of Princess Lingnan!

Bai Ren's hands trembled a little, he pursed his lower lip, and carefully opened the envelope, fearing that the letter inside would be torn, slowly took out the letter, and read it word by word.

Qi Xiao felt a little distressed in his eyes, and sighed softly: "I heard from people in Lingnan that the princess is doing well now, Princess Roujia is engaged, and the King of Lingnan treats the princess well for the sake of the eldest princess. Quite a lot, even with your mother and concubine in the palace, it's much easier."

"This is the letter from the Eldest Princess's people when they went to Lingnan to give the concubine and princess a New Year's gift. If you miss your mother and concubine in the future, I will ask the Eldest Princess to send someone to go around again." Qi Xiao spoiled with a smile, "Your father will not know these letters, and you can write them with confidence if you have anything to say."

Bai Ren read the letter over and over several times, tried his best to hold back his tears, and said in a hoarse voice: "Thank... Thank you, Your Highness..."

Qi Xiao suddenly remembered what the old housekeeper said just now, and softly persuaded him: "Like the things just now, you just need to tell me openly, as you know, gold and silver things are not for me. There is never any shortage. You only need to say a word, and I can help you take care of it. Why not do it? Although I always love to tease you, you also know in your heart that I really take your affairs to heart Bar?"

Bai Renhong nodded with red eyes, and Qi Xiao smiled: "So, in order not to make your mother and concubine think about it day and night, you should be more obedient, and when you are wronged in the future, think about your mother and concubine. She wants to feel bad for you..."

Bai Ren was afraid that his voice would become hoarse as soon as he opened his mouth, so he closed his lips and just nodded, Qi Xiao sighed softly: "Okay... don't feel bad, it's a New Year's Eve, it's unlucky to cry."

Bai Ren nodded and let out a long breath: "Thanks... Thank you, Your Highness."

Qi Xiao took Bai Ren's hand and squeezed it, and said with a soft smile, "Thank you?"

Bai Ren was stunned for a moment, he didn't know where he was thinking, his face flushed slightly, he clutched Qi Xiao's clothes with shame, leaned closer and kissed Qi Xiao's lips, the lips parted as soon as they touched, Qi Xiao embraced her. He was not allowed to run on the waist of the white blade, and said with a light smile: "Today is New Year's Eve, I am bored in the mansion by myself, why don't you go and accompany me as a thank you gift, how about it?"

The two were very close, Qi Xiao's breath would sweep over Bai Ren's face when he spoke like this, Bai Ren's cheeks flushed, he paused and nodded.