novelraw Chapter 667 - 656: The Cuckolded Prince
Chapter 667 - 656: The Cuckolded Prince
"Father-in-law, father-in-law, wait for me." On this day, Ye Qiu went to the palace to pay his respects to the Empress, and "coincidentally" ran into Lin Jingxian’s father as he was leaving the palace, and he hurriedly called out.
Upon hearing Ye Qiu’s voice, Lin Xueyuan frowned slightly, then quickly returned to his usual expressionless face. Probably, Lin Jingxian’s ability to change her demeanor so quickly was learned right from here.
"Your Highness." Even though he was speaking to his own son-in-law, Lin Xueyuan would never break protocol, greeting him respectfully with a bow.
The colleagues who had left the court with him unconsciously slowed down their pace to see what the discordant father-in-law and son-in-law would say to each other. It was not that they were gossipy, but rather Lin Xueyuan usually made remarks about his son-in-law’s lack of propriety while on duty, as if he looked down on him.
But no matter how much disdain he held or dissatisfaction he felt, the Fifth Prince was still His Majesty’s son, and it was not the place of these people to comment. Until the Fifth Prince committed a grave error that shocked the world, even the Imperial Censor could be rebuked by His Majesty for speaking too much, let alone them.
Usually, the Fifth Prince would not attend court, so they had not witnessed this father-in-law and son-in-law together before. Now, seeing that the Fifth Prince seemed to be very attentive to Dean Lin, the rumor seemed to be true; it appeared that although the Fifth Prince was wanton, he still deeply loved the Fifth Princess Consort.
"Father-in-law, let’s walk together, and by the way, stop by the bank to cash the silver note for you," Ye Qiu said as he walked beside Lin Xueyuan, speaking intimately and clearly. His voice was loud, and the surrounding officials simultaneously stopped their discussions, all ears to the conversation.
What did the Fifth Prince mean by saying this? Cash out money for Lin Xueyuan? What money?
Feeling his colleagues’ gossipy demeanor, Lin Xueyuan took a deep breath and then said in a serious tone, "What do you mean by this, Your Highness? When did I ask you to cash out money?"
"Huh? You don’t know, father-in-law?" Ye Qiu looked extremely surprised, "Just yesterday, the Princess Consort told me about it. She said mother-in-law came to our mansion weeping about how poor the family is and worried it would disgrace Marquis Zhengyuan’s Mansion’s legitimate daughter, so she wanted to borrow a sum of money from me to refurbish our home. I think mother-in-law and big brother-in-law are too courteous. We’re all family here. What’s this talk of borrowing? It’s just tens of thousands of taels of silver. Consider it a congratulatory gift from me to big brother-in-law."
Ye Qiu’s voice was not soft as he spoke, and his expression was open and honest, which did not resemble that of someone who was lying. Thus, no one doubted the authenticity of his words. After all, the fact that Lin Xueyuan’s family had become in-laws with Marquis Zhengyuan’s Mansion was common knowledge. Not long ago, Mr. Lin even mentioned inviting them for drinks to celebrate after the Mid-Autumn Festival! So, was the upright and incorruptible Mr. Lin actually going to borrow money from his son-in-law to marry off his son?
Tsk, tsk, who would have guessed! Had it not been for the chance encounter with the Fifth Prince today, they would never have known about such a maneuver from Mr. Lin! To put it nicely, it’s a loan, but based on the salary he earns, when would he be able to repay those tens of thousands of taels of silver?
It’s only because the Fifth Prince deeply loves his daughter that he’s like this; if it were any other son-in-law, who would offer tens of thousands of taels of silver to his brother-in-law for a marriage? This is like treating the Fifth Prince’s wealth as if it were the bank’s!
Although appearing so clean and righteous on the surface, it turns out they’re no better than the rest of us behind closed doors. At least, they wouldn’t do something like asking their son-in-law for money to marry off a son.
Feeling the unusual gaze from his colleagues around, Lin Xueyuan furrowed his brows and then seriously looked at Ye Qiu and said assertively, "Your Highness, one must be responsible for their words. When did I ever ask Your Highness for money?"
"Just yesterday!" Ye Qiu looked at him utterly baffled, seemingly not understanding why he would say such a thing, "Yesterday, mother-in-law personally visited our mansion. The Princess Consort was even considerate enough to understand that I might be uncomfortable making a decision on such a large amount, but I told her that although tens of thousands of taels of silver is quite a sum, we are all family, and there’s nothing to worry about. You are simply being too polite."
Ye Qiu’s words were forthright and well-grounded, almost convincing everyone present. They inwardly criticized Lin Xueyuan for not being honorable, clearly wanting silver but refusing to admit he borrowed any. Did he want to have his cake and eat it too?
"Prince, I have never borrowed any silver from Your Highness, please do not insult my reputation here." Lin Xueyuan’s tone carried a tinge of anger and his forehead veins were visibly throbbing.
"What’s so insulting about borrowing some silver? Father-in-law, have you read so much that your brain has become muddled?" Ye Qiu scratched his head, appearing genuinely perplexed as to why Lin Xueyuan would say such things.
The observing Ministers sighed; the rumors that the Fifth Prince was absurd and foolish were not unfounded. Could he really not see the obvious intent of his father-in-law?
"Fifth Prince," Lin Xueyuan raised his voice, "I dare to assure you on Confucius’ name that I have not borrowed any silver from you, and I do not need your silver either."
Upon hearing this, the onlookers grew suspicious again. Lin Xueyuan could lie to them, but he shouldn’t lie to Confucius. After all, he was a scholar who had once been the Dean of an academy and now was the Dean of the Hanlin Academy. All the students who came to the capital to take exams were his disciples. It didn’t seem like he would do such a thing.
"You didn’t ask me for it yourself, but it was your mother-in-law who did." Ye Qiu still looked puzzled, "It’s just a small amount of money; why are you so agitated?"
"Prince! What’s done is done, and what’s not is not. I don’t know what my Lady and daughter have told you, but today I solemnly declare I will never want a penny of your money."
"You didn’t ask for it, but the Princess Consort told me it was a loan. I just thought it meaningless for family to borrow from each other and decided it’s a gift." Ye Qiu continued to feign ignorance, "Alright, now that I understand your sentiments, Father-in-law, can we go to the bank now?"
Lin Xueyuan’s face alternated between shades of green and white, and he faintly heard snickers from others, unbearable for a man who valued his reputation so dearly.
He looked at Ye Qiu, defending himself seriously: "Your Highness, you have misunderstood my intentions. No matter whether the silver is borrowed or given by you, I won’t accept it. As for my wife and Jingxian, I will speak to them when I return. She is now your Princess Consort, please instruct her to understand the limits in her actions."
"Wait, isn’t Brother-in-law about to marry the legitimate daughter of Marquis Zhengyuan’s Mansion? Wouldn’t not renovating the mansion be a disservice to the Eldest Lady? What’s all this about limits?" Ye Qiu wore an innocent look, seemingly still not grasping the gravity of the situation.
Lin Xueyuan spoke with integrity: "That is the state of my family, and if the Marquis Zhengyuan’s Mansion values vulgar gold and silver, they need not marry their legitimate daughter to us."
Hearing this, Ye Qiu was dissatisfied: "How is gold and silver vulgar? Father-in-law, your words are not proper. Life in this world involves eating, dressing, housing, and traveling; all require gold and silver. Even the disaster relief in the Southwest and the military defense in the Northwest require silver. These are the foundation of our people; how can it be called vulgar?"
"I..." Lin Xueyuan, flustered by Ye Qiu’s twisted logic, turned from green to white to red in quick succession, which made for quite a spectacle.