inspire-indiana Chapter 223 Finale 5
Chapter 223 Finale 5
The gatekeeper hurriedly replied, "Your Highness, this person is from the Rongxi Prince's residence."
Prince Duan: "Lichun, go to the Rongxi Prince's residence and have the steward of the Rongxi Prince's residence come and take the person away in person!"
"Yes, Your Highness!" Lichun immediately accepted the order and left.
Immediately afterwards, three more people came to ask for vegetables, two of whom were not very polite. Although they didn't exactly insult the gatekeeper or the Prince's mansion, they acted as if it were their own private vegetable garden.
The gatekeeper said, "I'm sorry, please wait here for a moment. Someone will bring the vegetables here shortly. His Highness has ordered that no one who is not a member of this Prince's residence is allowed to wander around the Prince's residence at will!"
One of the people ordering food said, "Who do you think you are? When I came to the Prince's mansion before, I could move around freely. Why can't I do that here?"
Gatekeeper: "This is the Prince's order, and it's not directed at you alone. Please forgive us!"
The man pointed at the gatekeeper and said, "Forgive me, my foot! You're just a watchdog, what right do you have to treat me like this? Let me tell you, I'm the steward of Prince Su's household, much more noble than a watchdog like you! You only bother with me because of Prince Duan; otherwise, I'd feel like I'm wasting my eyes if I even glanced at you!"
. . . . . .
Prince Duan, hiding behind a large tree, saw the two men's faces clearly, and his anger surged. He stepped out from behind the tree, his hands behind his back, his gaze as sharp as knives, terrifying the two men. Their legs went weak, and they knelt on the ground: "Your Highness, please spare our lives! We were just talking nonsense! Your Highness, please spare our lives!"
The two men spoke in unison, as if they had rehearsed it beforehand.
Prince Duan kicked the two men hard, making them howl in pain. Prince Duan sneered, "Shut up, both of you! If you squeal like pigs again, I'll have you beaten to death!"
The two were terrified, and their voices stopped abruptly.
Prince Duan then said to the gatekeeper, "Go find two ropes and tie them all up for me, so they won't come up with any more bad ideas!"
Tie it up, and you'll be done with it once and for all; you won't have to worry about watching over it anymore.
The gatekeeper immediately and respectfully agreed. He quickly found two ropes and, with the help of the guards, tied the two unfortunate men up and threw them under a big tree.
Prince Duan then turned his gaze to another person who came to order food: "Which prefecture are you from?"
The man immediately knelt on the ground and respectfully replied, "Your Highness, I am from the Prince Qing's residence."
Prince Duan nodded: "Get up, no need to kneel. Here's what we'll do: go back and tell your master to come and collect the vegetables every ten days. Wait a moment, I'll have someone bring the vegetables and fruits here, then you can take them and leave! Please also spread the word about what happened today, just tell the truth!"
The man quickly kowtowed to him again, saying, "Thank you, Your Highness, I understand!" He then stood up, respectfully withdrew, and stood aside to wait for the food to arrive.
Prince Duan then said to Li Zheng, "Go to the vegetable garden yourself and pick some of all kinds of green vegetables and fruits. These are to be sent to Prince Qing's residence. Pick as much as you can."
Li Zheng hurriedly and respectfully accepted the order, and quickly left to carry it out.
Zisu had already arranged for the baskets to be used to carry vegetables to each household. They were all small and exquisite, each capable of holding about twenty catties of vegetables. In Zisu's opinion, these baskets were just the right size. If they were too big, it would take a lot of vegetables to fill them; if they were too small, it would seem stingy.
Moreover, if every household uses the same size basket, everyone will feel more at ease. Otherwise, people might say that Prince Duan is showing favoritism, which would be bad. He wouldn't have done a good deed but would still be blamed.
Lizheng quickly returned with a basket full of vegetables.
The men from Prince Qing's residence thanked him profusely once more, then, carrying their baskets, boarded their carriages and sped away. On their way back, they encountered an acquaintance, a guard from another residence. They recounted the day's events in detail, earnestly extolling the two men's misdeeds on behalf of Prince Duan.
In less than two days, news of the wicked servants of Prince Rongxi and Prince Su causing trouble and acting arrogantly at Prince Duan's residence spread like wildfire, reaching almost every corner of the capital.
Thus, Prince Duan had a reason to easily send away many people who came to ask for food. Besides Prince Qing's residence, five other families who came to ask for food successfully took the food back to their residences.
These families all had close ties with Prince Duan, and they were all considered good families.
Prince Rongxi and Prince Su were both furious, and they had their servant who had gone to Prince Duan's residence to cause trouble beaten to death. From then on, they dared not send anyone to Prince Duan's residence to ask for food again. Firstly, they would lose face; secondly, they were afraid that the people from Prince Duan's residence might have poisoned the food.
When the Emperor Emeritus learned of this, he was furious and severely punished Prince Rongxi and Prince Su, sending messengers to reprimand them. He also summoned all the imperial relatives and gave them a stern lecture, ordering them: "You must control your families and servants! Do not allow them to misbehave! A servant from a prince's residence dares to act so arrogantly in Prince Duan's residence. If the master of the prince's residence hadn't given them the courage, how could they be so audacious?!"
The servants are unruly and commit wrongdoing; as the master, you certainly bear responsibility! This means that if the upper beam is crooked, the lower beam will be crooked too. If the master were good, how would the servants dare to act recklessly?! This time, consider it a lesson. But if I hear of any servants abusing their power to bully others next time, I won't be so lenient! Dismissing them from their official positions is a small matter; in a fit of anger, I might even exterminate their entire clan!
What?! It's that serious? They're going to exterminate the entire clan?!
Upon hearing this, everyone trembled inwardly, secretly vowing to immediately discipline their masters and servants the moment they returned home. They were determined to act swiftly and decisively, to avoid giving anyone any leverage against them—that would be disastrous!
While they were still in shock, the Emperor Emeritus added, "You may report on each other, but you must be truthful and not fabricate facts or falsely accuse innocent people. Otherwise, you will be severely punished! In particularly serious cases, your property will be confiscated and you will be exiled. There will be no leniency!"
The Emperor Emeritus's words stirred up a huge wave in everyone's hearts.
Prince Rongxi, who had originally intended to spread rumors and cause trouble for Prince Duan's family, was now filled with fear upon hearing the Emperor Emeritus's words. Fortunately, he hadn't had a chance to retaliate against Prince Duan's family yet; otherwise, the Emperor Emeritus would certainly not have let him off the hook!
As a result, those families who were refused entry to ask for food quickly extinguished their anger towards the Prince Duan's mansion and dared not show it again.
Zisu couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
To be honest, letting everyone ask for food and giving them as much as they wanted was still quite frustrating. Not giving them any would definitely offend people. However, the Emperor Emeritus's actions were like a timely rain, greatly helping the Prince Duan's residence.
She deeply felt that as long as the Emperor Emeritus was around, the Prince Duan's residence would never encounter any trouble. As long as the Emperor Emeritus was around, the Prince Duan's glory would endure forever.
From then on, she planned to personally pick all the vegetables and fruits sent to the palace every day. Every single vegetable would be the finest and best, without a single yellow leaf. Not only that, she also had a special sealed bucket with a lid made, which she would fill with well water most of the time each day, and then pour a large ladle of stream water into it.
The vegetables and buckets of water were all personally delivered to the palace by Lichun.
Zisu instructed Lichun: "You must personally deliver this bucket of water to the Emperor Emeritus and tell him to use it to cook rice and make tea."
After saying that, he still felt uneasy, so he decided to go to the palace himself.
Before entering the palace, she approached Prince Duan and said, "Your Highness, I have something very important to tell you. Please come with me to the private room to discuss this in detail."
Prince Duan was taken aback. What secret did she have that she wanted to discuss in a secret room? However, although he was surprised, he did not press her for details and readily followed her into the secret room.
The two sat facing each other in the secret room. Prince Duan said to her, "Speak, don't hold back. No matter what the secret is, I will stand by your side and will never have a bad opinion of you!" He looked at Zisu with a smile, as if he was all ears.
Zisu hesitated for a moment before finally speaking, "I was reborn. I have memories of my past life, and I also have a magical space..."
Upon hearing her story, Prince Duan was utterly shocked.
Seeing this, Zisu couldn't help but worry, and asked in a trembling voice, "You, you don't think I'm a monster, do you?"
Prince Duan suddenly came to his senses and quickly waved his hand: "No, how could that be? How could a kind and good girl like you be a monster? In the past, I always thought you were a fairy descended to earth, and I still think so now!"
Perhaps she was actually a fairy descended to earth. Otherwise, why would the heavens be so kind to her, allowing her to be reborn with the memories of her previous life? After her rebirth, how many great deeds did she do for the country and its people, and how much benefit did she bring to the common people and the Western Liang Kingdom?
Zisu said gratefully, "Thank you. This secret is unknown even to my parents. It has been in my heart for more than ten years. I was afraid that if I told everyone, they would think I was a monster."
Prince Duan suddenly realized something: "Zisu, is it because of you that the Emperor Emeritus's condition has improved so much?"
Zisu: "Yes, I add a ladle of water from the spatial stream to the wells in the vegetable garden, as well as the wells in Rongrui Hall and Rongfu Hall, every ten days or so. Although the water in that magical space cannot cure all diseases, it can strengthen the body and prolong life!"
Prince Duan couldn't help but exclaim, "No wonder! Every time I go to Little Stone Pool or the General's Mansion, after drinking tea and eating, I feel a warm current flowing through my heart. My internal energy also seems to have increased greatly, as if I have inexhaustible strength all over my body. It's quite magical. I've always been puzzled and didn't understand what the reason was. I even thought there was something magical about the well water in Little Stone Pool and the General's Mansion!"
Later, the well water in the Prince's mansion also inexplicably acquired miraculous effects. I guessed it was thanks to you, perhaps because you used some kind of magic. I never imagined you would possess a magical space, and within that space, a magical stream! Zisu, to be able to marry you in this life is truly the greatest blessing of all!
Yes, someone possessing a magical space—who wouldn't believe she wasn't a fairy descended from heaven? It's precisely because she was a fairy descended from heaven that Heaven favored her so much, allowing her to be reborn and change her destiny. At the same time, Heaven sent her to change the fate of the Western Liang Kingdom, and also to change his destiny!
Now, he has a wife as beautiful as an angel, and two intelligent and adorable children. This is all thanks to Zisu; if he had married another woman, how could he have fathered such intelligent and lovely children?
Zisu couldn't help but cry tears of joy.
Her husband's tenderness, tolerance, and love warmed her heart. She smiled through her tears, "Thank you for your trust, thank you for being so good to me! I don't know if I'm a fairy descended from heaven; I only know that in my past life I suffered terribly, my family was destroyed, and I lost everything."
Having been reborn, I worked so hard and risked my life to protect my family and my uncle's family. To be honest, I am very grateful to God for giving me the opportunity to be reborn, allowing me to enjoy the love of my parents and my husband.
Hearing what you just said fills me with immense satisfaction. From now on, I will love you even more, love our child even more, and love all my sincere relatives and friends even more! The reason I confided my deepest secret to you is because I trust you, I trust you won't see me as an outsider and have me burned alive!