A Poor Family’s Hereditary Scumbag (8) Qin Jingzhou waited until Ling Jing—who had transmigrated into the Fifth Princess—sat down beside the Tenth Prince, then softly asked, “Just arrived?”
Ling Jing, unable to break character in front of a crowd of bargain-bin cousins, sent him a seductive glance. From head to toe, she radiated just how satisfied she was with Qin Jingzhou. “Just arrived.”
The Tenth Prince frowned slightly, raised his wine cup toward Mr. Yu, and said, “Instant soulmates?”
His tone was subtle—he trusted the other party would understand perfectly.
Even if Fifth Sister used persuading Father Emperor as “bait,” he was extremely tempted, but after careful thought, he still wasn’t willing to pitfall Mr. Yu like this. A man accomplished in both civil and military affairs, bold yet meticulous, and with mutual knowledge of each other’s bottom lines—he had intended to cultivate him into a trusted pillar of his own faction.
As for his marriage with Xiao Li—he had managed it in his previous life. There was no reason he’d do worse this time.
Both the Young Prince and the Tenth Prince’s cousin followed the Tenth Prince’s lead unquestioningly and immediately stepped in to help.
The Young Prince deliberately asked, “Fifth Sister, which young talent have you taken a liking to recently?”
The cousin smiled as well, though the smile didn’t reach his eyes. “Didn’t the Princess recently have something going on with that young master from the Zhang family… talking marriage and all?”
Ling Jing laughed. “You all think so little of me? So sure that I’m tireless in corrupting others and incapable of sincerity?” She gave a soft snort. “Just wait and see.”
With that, she rose swiftly, pointed at Prince Li’s second son, and signaled to the guards.
The guards understood immediately. Grabbing Prince Li’s second son by the shoulder, they dragged him straight out…
Prince Li’s second son was utterly baffled. He’d thought the Fifth Princess would fall out with the Tenth Prince and the others—who could have imagined he’d be the first to get dealt with?
He couldn’t figure it out, but he didn’t dare resist. Every guard by the Fifth Princess’s side had been personally assigned by His Majesty. If the Fifth Princess was displeased with him and turned around to complain to the Emperor, his father and elder brother might escape punishment—but he certainly wouldn’t.
Fifth Sister came and went like a gust of wind. Even the Tenth Prince, who knew her fairly well, was surprised. “A sudden whim… a change of nature?”
The Young Prince said, “Tenth Brother, what if Princess Zhaoming goes back to the palace to ask His Majesty to bestow a marriage…”
The cousin blurted out, “That’d be bad.”
The Tenth Prince couldn’t help but grow worried as well. “I need to return to the palace.”
Qin Jingzhou smiled faintly. “Your Highness, trust me this once. It’ll be fine.”
The cousin said, “Mr. Yu doesn’t know how notorious Princess Zhaoming is.” He then proactively began recounting Princess Zhaoming’s “glorious achievements” after becoming a widow.
In short, Princess Zhaoming was someone who, after her beloved died of illness, completely let herself go—a full-blown depraved libertine.
Of course, if Princess Zhaoming only set her sights on handsome youths of ordinary background, the Tenth Prince and the others wouldn’t be so alarmed. At most, they’d treat it as a piece of royal scandal and laugh it off.
But the problem was—Princess Zhaoming favored young talents. Every single talented man who’d been entangled with her either went mad or faded into mediocrity, without exception.
Qin Jingzhou smiled and shook his head. “Your Highness needn’t worry… Princess Zhaoming and I truly are instant soulmates. Just like when I first met Your Highness, I felt you looked… incredibly familiar.”
Tenth Prince: …Should I say you have unique taste, or that you’re blind?
The cousin, who had wasted a great deal of breath, was practically choking. “Why are you jumping into a fire pit when you know full well it’s one?”
Qin Jingzhou replied, “If the Princess asks His Majesty to bestow the marriage, do you have any way to stop it? Besides, becoming a Prince Consort isn’t a bad thing.”
In Great Liang, the treatment and privileges of a Prince Consort were closer to those of the Qing dynasty—not only was there no so-called rank ceiling, but entering the Emperor’s sight early also gave one a decisive head start.
In the eyes of the Young Prince and the cousin, Qin Jingzhou’s move carried a hint of sacrificing himself for the greater good. Both of them were more or less moved.
After all, Qin Jingzhou had saved them before and had personally participated in operations against Prince Li’s faction. His stance was beyond doubt. If he really could make Princess Zhaoming lean toward their side… with benefits laid out so clearly, outright refusal was something they truly couldn’t bear.
After hesitating for a moment, the Tenth Prince finally said, “…There’s really no need to go this far.”
Qin Jingzhou knew the words came from the Tenth Prince’s heart. That only made him find the Tenth Prince more agreeable the more he looked at him. “I truly do think Princess Zhaoming is quite good.”
Good grief—so it wasn’t instant familiarity, it was love at first sight?!
For a moment, the three brothers were all left speechless.
…
On the other side, Ling Jing tossed Prince Li’s second son back at the Prince Li residence and went straight into the palace.
Princess Zhaoming was the only child of the Emperor’s true love—a true love who had died saving the Emperor. She was also the only child the Emperor had personally raised. When the Princess was young, she spent most of her time living in a side hall of the Qianqing Palace.
If the Emperor wanted to see someone immediately, there was only one person in the world who could manage it: Princess Zhaoming.
The Emperor was still reviewing memorials when his precious daughter stormed in, complaining angrily, “Prince Li is getting more and more outrageous. I know he wants to curry favor with me so I’ll put in a good word for him with you, Father Emperor, so he keeps having his son play matchmaker for me… Fine, I’ll take the benefits and not do the job. Let’s see what he can do about it.”
As soon as those words were spoken, even the head eunuch standing beside the Emperor lowered his gaze slightly.
The Emperor frowned deeply. “What matchmaker nonsense—how can you speak like that?” He gathered himself, then scolded, “Vulgar!”
Ling Jing strode forward and hugged the Emperor. “Daddy! I’m just furious! Prince Li has started trying to sow discord between me and my brothers!”
The original Princess Zhaoming seemed to indulge in pleasure, but in truth she played dumb while knowing exactly what she was doing—complaining while acting cute was simply her standard routine.
With his precious daughter being clear-headed, the Emperor was quite gratified.
But just as her subtext implied—if Prince Li had already extended his hand toward the Princess, what about his sons… how could they possibly be spared? Combined with the secret memorial Old Ten had submitted, Prince Li’s ambitions were clearly growing ever larger.
Prince Li couldn’t rebel outright—not because he didn’t want to, but because he couldn’t. But he could incite the princes and recreate another succession struggle like the previous generation.
The Emperor raised a hand and pressed his temples. “Your father had twenty brothers in total. By the time he ascended the throne, only five remained. If it hadn’t been so bloody, how could your imperial grandfather have left an edict ordering good treatment of brothers and nephews?”
Ling Jing immediately said, “Father Emperor, you’ve already done all that benevolence and righteousness demand. You’ve kept your word—but Prince Li… that’s a textbook case of turning a peck of rice’s kindness into a peck of rice’s hatred.”
The Emperor said nothing.
But Ling Jing knew her cheap father had definitely taken it to heart.
That evening, not only did he keep her for dinner, he also had her stay overnight in the palace.
The next morning, when she left the palace to return to her Princess Residence, she happened to run into the Tenth Prince after court. To the hesitant Tenth Prince, she said, “I’m serious this time. And I won’t act recklessly.”
The Tenth Prince let out a long sigh. “Alright.”
No matter how free-spirited Fifth Sister was, she generally kept her word. He would trust her this once.
After returning to her Princess Residence, Ling Jing personally wrote a letter and ordered a trusted aide to deliver it to Qin Jingzhou.
She was determined to meet Qin Jingzhou alone at least once.
Qin Jingzhou accepted the invitation gladly.
The dinner location was one of Princess Zhaoming’s properties, ensuring a certain degree of privacy.
Once seated, Qin Jingzhou got straight to the point. “When I transmigrated, the male and female leads were the Tenth Prince and Rui Li.”
Ling Jing wasn’t surprised in the slightest. “I could tell. I haven’t interacted with Rui Li, but even the original host said Old Ten didn’t fight or contend, yet had the bearing of a wise ruler. But in the plot I received, he was the final villain. The male lead really went all out just to kill him.”
Qin Jingzhou lifted his teacup and took a sip. “So in the plot you received, who are the male and female leads?”
Ling Jing didn’t beat around the bush. “The Prince Li Heir and his delicate, beautiful kept woman.”
Before Qin Jingzhou could speak, the system piped up, “The Prince Li Heir is just a background board in our storyline!” Ignoring the system, Qin Jingzhou asked Ling Jing, “If I remember correctly, you specialize in dealing with male and female leads with twisted values?”
Ling Jing corrected him. “Male and female leads with twisted values who don’t meet a good end aren’t my responsibility.”
Qin Jingzhou smiled and nodded. “I understand.”
Ling Jing continued, “There’s nothing I can’t say. With the help of that mistress of unusual background, the Prince Li Heir poisoned all his rivals and finally ascended the throne. On the eve of his coronation, he discarded the millstone and rewarded the meritorious mistress with a length of white silk. But before his throne was even secure, war broke out. At the first coup a year later, he was finished.”
Qin Jingzhou pinched the bridge of his nose. “Anyone can be a male lead these days, huh.”
After waiting a bit, Ling Jing asked, “Cooperate? I don’t know your mission, but I believe it doesn’t conflict much with mine.”
“My mission is four words—great peace under heaven.” Qin Jingzhou proactively extended his hand. “Happy cooperation?”
Ling Jing also extended her hand. “Happy cooperation.”
As their hands clasped, Qin Jingzhou asked again, “So… a fake marriage for the sake of the mission?”
Ling Jing said seriously, “Doing missions—nothing shameful about that.” Then she fixed her gaze on Qin Jingzhou. “With you as the partner, I’m not losing out.”
Qin Jingzhou said softly, “You make it sound like I’m the one taking a loss.”
They exchanged a smile.
After parting from Qin Jingzhou, Ling Jing turned around and entered the palace again. She knew her movements were no secret to many people. Having just met a provincial graduate who had come to the capital for the spring examinations, she needed an explanation.
When Ling Jing saw her cheap father again, she hugged his arm as usual. “Daddy, your daughter has taken a liking to someone and wants to choose him as my Prince Consort!”
Even though the Emperor was currently troubled over how to deal with Prince Li, he was startled by this. “You’ve only met him a few times and you want him to be your Prince Consort?”
Ling Jing held up two fingers. “Twice. I’ve made up my mind.”
For all these years, no matter how many male favorites his daughter kept, she’d never shown any intention of remarrying.
For someone to make her decide after only two meetings—this man had to have something extraordinary about him. The Emperor thus ordered a trusted aide to investigate.
The aide soon submitted a secret report. The Emperor took a look: the man was exceptionally handsome—and had handled Prince Li’s pair of illegitimate children together with the Tenth Prince.
The Emperor remembered clearly: that pair of illegitimate children had taken full advantage of their position to skim profits from the salt administration. Old Ten bringing them back to the capital was also a measured warning to Prince Li.
Moreover, the trusted aide had used over a hundred characters just to describe how beautiful the man was…
The Emperor instantly understood his daughter’s thoughts. Handsome enough to leave his name in the history books, openly opposing Prince Li, and likely to do well in the imperial examinations… If he achieved a good ranking in this palace exam, he’d indeed be a fine Prince Consort candidate.
As for the fact that his original wife had died young, leaving behind a son and a daughter—and that the son was rather unfilial—these were all minor matters. The Emperor, known for his open-mindedness, didn’t care.
That very day, the Emperor summoned his precious daughter. “If he passes and becomes a second-class jinshi, Father Emperor will grant your wish.”
Ling Jing said solemnly, “Daddy, you can’t go back on your word.”
When the news reached Qin Jingzhou’s ears, he laughed. “Looks like the pressure’s on me now.”
The Tenth Prince felt both happy and worried. “Should I help you hire a tutor?”
Qin Jingzhou waved his hand. “Your Highness just needs to help me find some books explaining salt administration.”
Half a month later, the metropolitan examination’s policy essay topic happened to be: On Salt Administration.
The Tenth Prince once again felt both joy and worry.
Solid—no problem.
But that also meant… Mr. Yu really was going to become his Fifth Brother-in-law.
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