readytorunbook Chapter 408 Little Jiangzi
Chapter 408 Little Jiangzi
"Your Majesty, would you like to go to the princess's place for dinner?" the skinny monkey asked.
When I looked up, the sun was already setting.
Zhou Chang was upset and wanted to talk to someone: "Okay."
So the two of them turned and went to the back hall.
Before reaching the gate of the bedroom, I saw from afar that Manager Li and four maids were heading towards the small kitchen in the west.
The skinny monkey only had the eyes of a foodie: "Your Majesty, Manager Li and the others must have gone to see the dinner."
Zhou Chang, however, was not in a good mood. He felt that if this situation was over, he would not be able to help but talk to Yuan Qi about ** Hong again. But what was the use? It would only ruin Yuan Qi's mood. The dead cannot be resurrected.
Thinking this, Zhou Chang was already close and hesitant about whether to go in.
At this moment, a loud shout came from behind the east wall.
In the blink of an eye, Yuan Qi's bodyguard Zhou Ling, with a group of people, came out from the back wall, escorting a man.
Zhou Ling was the security guard brought by Yuan Qi. His main responsibility was to look after the large amount of dowry in the east mansion. However, there were not many soldiers in Prince Yi's mansion and there was a shortage of manpower. Therefore, Zhou Chang also agreed to let Zhou Ling lead people to maintain the safety of the east courtyard bedroom where Yuan Qi lived.
Zhou Ling turned back and shouted as he walked away: "Stop talking nonsense, we'll talk it out clearly when we get to the prince and princess."
When he turned around, he suddenly saw Prince Yi standing in front of him. He hurriedly bowed and said, "Your Highness, I am sorry for my rudeness."
"What's the matter?" Zhou Chang glanced behind Zhou Ling. Behind him were four guards escorting a man, who was Xiao Jiangzi.
Although Zhou Ling said that he wanted to find the prince and princess, it seemed that he wanted to send them to Yuan Qi first for a decision. However, he didn't expect to run into Zhou Chang first.
Just as he was hesitating about how to respond, Xiao Jiangzi saw Zhou Chang from behind and shouted, "Your Highness, Your Highness..., I am innocent, Your Highness, please save me."
"What happened?" Zhou Chang frowned and asked Zhou Ling.
Zhou Ling looked cautious and reported with a fist: "Your Highness, this man has been spotted many times by the guards during the past month. He often wanders around the back hall of the palace, day or night, and his whereabouts are sneaky. Just now, my guards spotted him hiding near the east gate, looking for something, so we arrested him."
Zhou Ling is a middle-aged man in his forties, with a square face, curly beard, medium build, and a strong and sturdy build. He has more than twenty people under him. He is usually taciturn, but he is decisive in his actions.
Zhou Chang raised his eyes and looked at Xiao Jiangzi again: "What are you looking at?"
Xiao Jiangzi cried, "It's unfair, Your Highness. I didn't see anything. I just went to buy wine for Uncle Qiu, but I took the wrong road and was caught by them."
Xiao Jiangzi was indeed holding a small jar of wine in his hand.
"Huyuan Zhou said that you have been sneaking around many times. Even if you took the wrong road this time, what happened before that?" Zhou Chang didn't want to favor either side.
Little Jiangzi's face was pale and pitiful. "Really not, Your Highness, they are talking nonsense. I was either guarding the door for Uncle Qiu or going out to get wine for him. Even if I walked to the back hall, it was only after I had just recovered from my injury. At that time, I didn't know the way very well and often went the wrong way."
"The palace is so small. If you find someone to take you around during the day, you should have known each other for a long time." Zhou Ling retorted, "Eunuch Jiang came from the palace. It's not like he still can't tell where he should go and where he shouldn't go after such a long time, right?"
Apparently he had discovered this more than once or twice.
Zhou Chang didn't see why there was anything to make a fuss about. "Huyuan Zhou, did you find anything missing, or did he do anything wrong?"
"That's not the case, but..." Zhou Ling answered straightforwardly, but turned his head and saw Manager Li coming back with four maids carrying food boxes. "They have all seen it, not only in the East Courtyard, but also in the back garden and the main courtyard of the rear hall, especially at night. The rear hall was full of female relatives at that time. What was he doing sneaking around?"
"What can I do? I've already said that I just got lost." Xiao Jiangzi cried out in injustice.
As they were talking, Manager Li and his entourage had already approached.
Just at this moment, perhaps Yuan Qi got the news in the bedroom, and came out with Lu Ju and Lu Ping.
Zhou Ling then told the story again.
If Manager Li had known about this, he would not have been surprised. He just hated that he did not have a stick in his hand. It was even more difficult for him to say more in front of Prince Yi, so he could only look at Yuan Qi.
"Maybe it's just a misunderstanding." Yuan Qi glanced at him casually, "But since everyone is here, just say it clearly if you have anything to say."
Zhou Chang also agreed that many times, things that were not a problem at all were caused by insufficient communication.
Manager Li turned around and signaled Xixiao who was hiding behind him to speak.
She leaned out of her body and said softly, "We saw Eunuch Jiang wandering around the bedroom last night. When we went to ask him, he ran away."
"I didn't. Your Highness, please believe me. I didn't come to the back hall last night." Xiao Jiangzi argued.
It's pointless to say such things without evidence. Besides, we just said that no one lost anything. It would be ridiculous to convict someone just because of his suspicious behavior.
Li, the head of the palace, looked long as he added, "It wasn't just yesterday. It has happened many times in the past two months. That's why I discussed with Guardian Zhou and asked him to keep a closer eye on them. If we say that we are all servants in the palace and have to go in and out during the day, it's understandable. But if we still do this at night, it's bound to cause criticism."
Yuan Qi listened in and wondered, "How many times have you seen Xiao Jiangzi but didn't notice what he was doing?"
"Yes..." Several maids answered almost in unison.
"Since nothing was lost, maybe it was just a misunderstanding." Yuan Qi glanced at Zhou Chang, not wanting to make the matter bigger.
The thin monkey whispered in Zhou Chang's ear: "Your Highness, Xiao Jiangzi is just like a servant. So what if he runs to the back? You see, he is as thin as a cucumber stick. What can he do? Maybe he is used to serving the ladies in the palace and likes to hang out with women. This is a bad habit he has developed."
Zhou Chang also thought so after being reminded, and smiled at Li, "Don't mind it, Xiao Jiangzi was originally a eunuch, it's probably a misunderstanding, just warn him not to come to the back hall in the future."
After Prince Yi spoke, no one could say anything.
Only the head clerk Li, with a horse face, was still unwilling to let go.
Zhou Chang also warned Xiao Jiangzi: "No matter what, it's all because you didn't act cautiously enough. Now that you've left the palace, you have to change some of your habits. Listen to the monkey more in the future, okay?"
"Yes, yes, I understand." Little Jiangzi was timid and always dared not look people in the eye.
Such a servile image can indeed easily give people a feeling of being vulgar and sneaky.
Zhou Chang has always adhered to the principle of treating people equally and is unwilling to judge people by their appearance, so he doesn't take it to heart.
These days, with Xiao Jiangzi around, most of Uncle Qiu's work is done by him.
Uncle Qiu finally had some free time.
Moreover, every time Zhou Chang went in and out of the palace, Xiao Jiangzi was extremely attentive, welcoming and seeing him off, and being very polite. In terms of his attentiveness alone, he was a hundred times better than Uncle Qiu.
Finally, Zhou Chang reminded the skinny monkey: "Look after Xiao Jiangzi and ask him to be more careful."
"Yes..." The skinny monkey was trying to help Xiao Jiangzi out. "Don't blame me, Your Majesty. When Xiao Jiangzi was in the palace, Uncle Qiu and I knew him. He just likes to talk and have fun. He likes to find out gossip. Otherwise, he would say something to others when the palace is boring."
"It's okay, everyone can go away." Zhou Chang said as he dispersed the crowd.
Yuan Qi also nodded.
Manager Li and Zhou Ling looked at each other and said no more. They released Xiao Jiangzi and each took their men away.
Xiao Jiangzi was released and came up to thank Zhou Chang profusely.
Zhou Chang just used his eyes to tell the skinny monkey to send the man away.
Afterwards, Yuan Qi naturally invited Zhou Chang to have dinner together.
After such an incident, if he passed by the door without entering, he was afraid that people would think too much, so Zhou Chang followed him even though he didn't feel hungry.