Chapter 151

Chapter 151

[After Zhu Yuanzhang Returned to the Great Ming – 2]

Tao Chuqing was a delicate beauty made of water. How could she withstand such rough treatment? With her neck caught in his grip and no air reaching her lungs, her lovely face flushed scarlet. She was moments from suffocating.

Zhu Yuanzhang wanted money, not her life. He gave a cold snort and shoved her away.

Tao Chuqing’s father had been an imperial merchant in Luoyang, commissioned to supply the inner palace with silk, satin, and goldware. The goods were scheduled for delivery to the capital in June. Yet in late May, someone had tampered with the tribute silk and goldware, ruining the entire shipment.

The goods might have been ruined, but the transaction could not be. As an imperial merchant, Tao’s father did business with the imperial household. Who would dare miss such a deadline?

Terrified that failure to deliver would cost his whole family their lives, Father Tao turned his attention to a batch of silk and goldware that Prince Lu’s Estate had ordered earlier.

One order was for a prince’s estate and the other for the imperial palace. Though the specifications differed in minor ways, most of the standards were similar. So long as none of the items reserved exclusively for the Emperor or Empress Dowager were involved, a few alterations would be enough to pass them off.

The goods ordered by Prince Lu’s Estate were sent to the capital, averting the immediate disaster. Father Tao still did not dare relax. He dispatched men to Yangzhou, Hangzhou, and elsewhere, hoping to replace Prince Lu’s commandeered order as quickly as possible.

The imperial household could not be offended, but did that mean Prince Lu could?

Some things could not be rushed. The moment one rushed, mistakes followed. After the Tao Family’s eldest son reached Hangzhou, he failed to procure either silk or goldware. Worse, he was swindled. The money vanished, and he received no goods in return.

When the news reached Luoyang, Father Tao was furious and frantic, yet helpless. Fortunately, the steward responsible for procurement at Prince Lu’s Estate was related to the Tao Family: he had married Father Tao’s younger sister. His beloved wife pleaded bitterly with him, while his brother-in-law and sister-in-law remained on their knees. Unable to harden his heart, the man gritted his teeth and suppressed the matter for the time being, all while urging the Taos to ready the goods as fast as they could.

Prince Lu had not yet married and had no mistress of the inner residence. The silk was meant for shops owned by the estate, where it would be sold in Luoyang. Delaying it for a while was unlikely to draw the Prince’s notice. As for the estate’s goldware, it suffered little wear and the storerooms held reserves. Those could cover the shortfall for a time. Surely they could muddle through.

The Tao Family and the steward thought their scheme sound. They never expected Prince Lu to take it into his head to audit the accounts. The steward merely handled procurement; he did not control the estate single-handedly. The truth was soon exposed.

Prince Lu might be rich, but he was no fool waiting to be fleeced. The Tao Family had failed at its task and then allowed itself to be swindled. Every debt had its debtor. Why should Prince Lu’s Estate clean up their mess?

As soon as the affair came to light, the steward was dragged away and given fifty strokes. By the end, he breathed out far more than he breathed in. Then he was thrown into prison. Barring a miracle, he would die there with maggots crawling over his body.

After so many years working in the estate, the steward naturally had a few pageboys he knew well. The moment disaster struck, one of them sensed how bad things were and raced to warn the steward’s wife, Madam Tao. She had to think of something. Otherwise, not only would her husband die, but her maiden family would be finished as well. If the Prince had punished the steward, why would he spare the Tao Family?

Madam Tao cared for her maiden family, but neither would she abandon her husband. She was a woman of the inner quarters, and her children were not yet married. If she lost her husband now, how was she supposed to live?

With catastrophe at the door, her mind raced faster than ever. Prince Lu was nearly twenty, yet had no concubine attending him. Her niece, meanwhile, was a born enchantress of peerless beauty. An idea came to her at once. She hurried back to her maiden home by carriage and proposed offering the girl to the Prince.

Madam Tao’s face was red with shame, anger, and urgency. “Sister-in-law, what do you mean by this? Do you think I am doing this solely to save myself? Or do you believe that because my husband has been beaten and thrown into prison, the matter is over and the Tao Family is in the clear?! You and my elder brother were the ones who knelt before me and begged over and over. I only asked my husband to help because I could not ignore the bond of blood. Now that disaster has befallen him, how can you refuse to act? My husband was at fault, and the Prince has already beaten him. That settles the affair between the two of us. The Prince never ordered me beaten or killed along with him. Who do you think I rushed here to warn?” By the end, she was choking on sobs.

The Tao Family had caused the entire affair, and their son-in-law had suffered on their account. Now that his younger sister stood before him, Father Tao could not in good conscience abandon her.

Doing so would only make the consequences worse.

Father Tao sighed heavily, tears rolling down his cheeks. “Little Sister, don’t worry. No matter what happens, I will not abandon you or your husband…”

Madam Tao’s face tightened in anger. “You!”

Father Tao met her gaze, his eyes full of helplessness. “Do you have another solution?”

Apart from their stunningly beautiful daughter, what did the Tao Family possess that Prince Lu might value?

Madam Tao burst into anguished sobs.

Tao Chuqing had heard everything from behind a screen. Her heart turned cold and her face went deathly pale. Listening to her father’s sighs and her mother’s weeping, she had no idea how she managed to walk out. By the time she returned to her senses, she was already kneeling before her parents. “Father, Mother, I am willing. I will go and serve Prince Lu…”

That single sentence emerged broken and halting.

At that very moment, the gatekeeper hurried in with panic written across his face. A steward from Prince Lu’s Estate had arrived. Prince Lu had ordered Father Tao to appear before him immediately, without delay.

Everyone in the front hall panicked. Father Tao’s expression shifted several times. When he looked at Tao Chuqing again, he seemed to see a lifeline. He hastily signaled his wife to tidy their daughter’s appearance, then went out personally to welcome the visitor and humbly, courteously invited him in for tea.

The steward was extremely impatient. “His Highness is waiting. Where would I find the time to sit here chatting with you? We leave now!”

Father Tao slipped him a gold ingot and pleaded, “Please sit for just a moment and allow this humble one to say a few words to his wife and daughter.”
Once the steward saw there was profit to be made, his expression eased. “Fifteen minutes at most. You had better not keep His Highness waiting!”

“Of course, of course!”

Father Tao agreed at once and again invited him inside for tea, which Madam Tao served personally.

Her husband had also been a procurement steward in the estate and had dealt with this man before. For that reason, the visitor felt obliged to show her a little courtesy. At the sight of Madam Tao, sympathy crossed his face. After a few polite exchanges, his manner softened somewhat.

That was when Madam Tao led her daughter out.

Tao Chuqing was extraordinarily beautiful. Her small face was as radiant as peach blossoms in March, gathering all the splendor of spring into itself. Every turn of her eyes bewitched the soul.

The steward stared, entranced. At that moment, Father Tao slipped him another gold ingot and said with an ingratiating smile, “My daughter is sixteen and possesses a modest degree of beauty. She is willing to tend His Highness’s rooms and serve at his side.”

No one who had risen to the steward’s position could be a fool. His earlier coldness stemmed from the fact that the Tao Family was doomed and no longer worth treating kindly. Now he saw that their daughter was a true beauty. Prince Lu had no intimate companion of her kind, either. His thoughts began to race, and his manner warmed considerably.

Father Tao knew at once that the matter was as good as settled. Eager to establish a closer connection, he said, “The gates of a prince’s estate are too lofty for a merchant household like ours to reach. Since you serve within the estate, I hope you will look after my daughter…”

The steward understood the implication immediately. If the Tao girl won the Prince’s favor and remembered today’s kindness, she would surely repay him in the future. He laughed heartily and agreed without hesitation. His courtesy toward Father Tao grew so effusive that he even began addressing him as a brother.

Father Tao heaved a long sigh of relief. Without delaying any further, he left with the steward to answer Prince Lu’s summons.

After the two men departed, Madam Tao and her sister-in-law relaxed as well. Tao Chuqing rejoiced that her family’s calamity had been averted for the moment, but grieved that she would soon be sent to Prince Lu’s Estate. Joy and sorrow warred within her, leaving her emotions in turmoil.

Madam Tao felt a pang of sadness at the sight. Taking her niece’s hand, she said, “Your uncle has served at Prince Lu’s Estate for many years and knows quite a few senior maids. I will visit them at once and ask them to look after you. His Highness has neither a Princess Consort nor a Secondary Consort, so the inner residence is peaceful…”

Tao Chuqing found her unbearably hypocritical. She coldly pushed Madam Tao’s hand away and replied with a barb, “I would not dare trouble you, Aunt. For your own benefit, you could send me to the Prince’s estate, yet now you suddenly pretend to be loving!”

Tao Chuqing’s mother set down a cup of tea to dismiss their guest. With a stony face, she said, “Younger Sister, your husband did the Tao Family a great kindness when he helped conceal the matter. Today, our family is sending our daughter into the estate, which repays that kindness. But a coldhearted sister-in-law like you truly chills the blood. Now that neither side owes the other, let us have nothing more to do with each other!”

“You… both of you…”

Madam Tao did not know whether to laugh or cry at the absurdity of it. “Sister-in-law, this was hardly your attitude when you and my brother came begging me for help! The Tao Family caused this affair. If the Prince assigns blame, the Taos bear the greatest guilt. Chuqing’s entry into the estate might indeed help save my husband, but isn’t protecting every life in the Tao Family even more important? And even if my husband is released, he truly endured those fifty strokes!”

“Fine. Very well!”

Madam Tao clenched her teeth, flung her sleeves, and strode away. “Today has certainly opened my eyes!”

Tao Chuqing’s mother watched her disappear, the corners of her lips turning down coldly. When she turned toward her daughter, who stood as dazed as a wooden puppet, grief surged through her. “With a few words, she has washed her hands clean. You are the one who must suffer, my child…”

Tao Chuqing’s tearful gaze was fragile and lost. “Mother, do you and Father truly not want me anymore?”

Suppressing her heartache, her mother comforted her. “Chuqing, give us a little time. As soon as we raise the money, we will bring you home!”

When Father Tao arrived at Prince Lu’s Estate with the steward, he fell to his knees before Prince Lu could question him. He poured out a heartrending account of the Tao Family’s run of ill fortune, then lamented the disasters that had struck his household one after another. Only after wringing every last drop of pity from the tale did he reveal his true purpose: his youngest daughter possessed a little humble beauty and was willing to enter the estate to serve Prince Lu, thereby atoning for her father’s crime.

The steward, eager to curry favor, loudly praised the Tao girl’s beauty as peerless and heaven-bestowed.

Their enthusiastic salesmanship piqued Prince Lu’s interest. Finding the proposal mildly intriguing, he casually agreed. He set aside the Tao Family’s offense for the moment and ordered someone to bring their daughter into the estate. That led to the scene Zhu Yuanzhang had found himself in upon his arrival.

They sent over one daughter and expected that to wipe out a debt of more than six hundred thousand taels…

Zhu Yuanzhang: What the actual hell?!

Even Chang’e descending from the moon would not be worth that much money!!!

One moment she called him a vile bastard, the next she warned him not to touch her. Did she think she had come to Prince Lu’s Estate to serve as the Empress Dowager?

Zhu Yuanzhang flung Tao Chuqing to the floor, planted himself squarely on the couch, and looked down at her. “Go back the way you came! Tell your father that the man who can owe this Prince money has yet to be born. If he doesn’t want to discover what methods I have at my disposal, he had better repay me at once!”

Tao Chuqing coughed violently for a long while. A trace of red colored the corners of her eyes, making her all the more alluring. She realized Prince Lu was no tenderhearted admirer of beauty and had no patience for a spoiled girl’s charms. Faced with his merciless rebuke, panic stirred in her, and she humbled herself accordingly.

“Your Highness, more than six hundred thousand taels is far too great a sum. We truly cannot raise it at a moment’s notice…”

“Why the hell should I care?”

Zhu Yuanzhang showed no mercy. “Either repay it, or I confiscate your property and flay the lot of you. I am an imperial prince. Do you expect me to let a merchant household walk all over me? I would not fear this lawsuit even if you took it all the way to Beijing!”

Tao Chuqing had never heard such threats before. The mere words *confiscate your property and flay you* terrified her.

Fear overwhelmed all concern for dignity. She shuffled forward on her knees and clutched his leg, tears glimmering in her eyes. “Your Highness, please don’t. I… I am already here. Why are you still talking about the money?”
“That’s not right.” Zhu Yuanzhang kicked her away and sneered. “Weren’t you calling me a vile bastard just now and telling me not to come near you? Why have you changed your tune?”

Tao Chuqing had only meant to play hard to get. Instead, the game had gone so badly that she had fallen straight off the bridge and into the river. Bitterly regretting her mistake, she pleaded through soft sobs, “This young woman was spoiled at home. Having only just arrived today, I did not understand the rules and offended Your Highness…”

She mumbled as if her mouth were stuffed with yarn, and Zhu Yuanzhang’s irritation mounted. “Speak properly!”

His expression remained harsh. “If you’re here to settle a debt, then act like it. You came here to serve, so why are you putting on airs like a mistress of the house? All this coyness and posturing! Anyone who knows the situation understands that the Tao Family owes me. Anyone who doesn’t might think I owe the Tao Family!”

The Taos might be wealthy imperial merchants, but they remained merchants. Sending their daughter to become a prince’s concubine was hardly beneath her. Besides, Prince Lu was young and had neither a Princess Consort nor Secondary Consort. If Tao Chuqing bore him children first, a son would become a Commandery Prince and a daughter a County Princess. The Tao Family would then have powerful support for the future.

Tao Chuqing understood the logic. Even so, she could not help feeling aggrieved. Her parents had doted on her since childhood. Now she was entering the estate without formal betrothal, the exchange of birth dates, or any recognized status. Resentment festered, and she had inevitably tried to act spoiled and indulge her temper.

Now Prince Lu stripped away every shred of dignity and called her nothing more than goods offered against a debt. All color drained from her small face. Crystal tears flooded her eyes, and her cherry-red lips pressed into a tight line.

The tears fell even faster as she said, “I entered the estate because I sincerely wished to serve Your Highness. Whatever Your Highness desires, you need only command me…”

Zhu Yuanzhang’s brow furrowed deeply enough to crush a nest of flies. He scoffed, propped his chin on one hand, and asked, “How exactly can you serve me? What tricks do you know in bed? What talents do you possess beneath the covers? Do you know how much it costs to buy a decent-looking maid? Do you know what the most sought-after courtesan in Luoyang is worth? Or how much it costs to redeem a perceptive virgin courtesan accomplished in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting?”

With every question, Tao Chuqing’s shame and fear deepened.

Zhu Yuanzhang shifted position and continued mockingly, “A ducal or marquis household can marry off a daughter in perfect splendor for ten thousand taels. Yet you stroll in here to sell yourself and expect to take more than six hundred thousand taels home in return? Have you lost your mind, or do you think I have? With that much money, I could go to a disaster-stricken region and buy more than six hundred thousand maids. I could sleep with a different one every day and never finish before I died!”

Cold light entered his eyes. “You have no interest in me? Excellent. I don’t think you’re worth that much money, either. Go home and tell your father to raise the full amount at once. Otherwise… hmph!”

How could Tao Chuqing dare leave?

The Tao Family’s debt had already been exposed, and Prince Lu was their largest creditor. How could they survive in Luoyang now?

If she entered the estate one moment and was thrown out the next, everyone else would lose their fear and trample the Tao Family into the ground.

Swallowing her humiliation, Tao Chuqing humbled herself again and again. “Your Highness, I entered the estate because I have long admired you and wished wholeheartedly to serve you. It was not merely to settle the debt. Please see the truth of my devotion…”

Zhu Yuanzhang lowered his gaze to her. “You don’t want to leave?”

Tao Chuqing shook her head. “Now that I have entered Prince Lu’s Estate, I belong to Your Highness. How could I leave?”

Zhu Yuanzhang’s gaze traveled over her begonia-bright face, and temptation stirred in him. A moment later, however, hesitation returned. “Prepare yourself. No matter what happens, you are not worth six hundred thousand taels. Understand?”

Tao Chuqing lowered her lashes, enduring the humiliation. “After everything Your Highness has just said, how could I fail to understand?”

Zhu Yuanzhang reached out and lifted her chin. Tao Chuqing raised her face with his hand, revealing shimmering eyes, peach-blossom cheeks, and captivating grace.

He grew a little intoxicated and said dreamily, “I have to admit, you really are beautiful…”

Tao Chuqing blushed and pouted. “Your Highness!”

The emperors, who had watched the entire exchange: “…”

Liu Che stared in disbelief. “Has Old Zhu lost his mind?”

Ying Zheng sneered. “Lust has gone to his head.”

Emperor Gaozu shook his head. “Not necessarily.”

Li Shimin calmly finished the thought. “Stinginess is his true nature. Old Zhu can never escape it.”

The man’s palm bore a thin layer of calluses. As it stroked her face, it left a faint tickling sensation behind.

Tao Chuqing felt humiliated but also shy. Having learned her lesson, she no longer dared play coy. As she wondered whether she ought to begin undressing and rise to attend him, Prince Lu asked, “You truly won’t return to the Tao Family? You choose to remain in the estate?”

Two clouds of crimson swept across Tao Chuqing’s cheeks. Rather than answer directly, she bashfully bumped her shoulder against his chest and purred, “Your Highness!”

Then she heard Prince Lu add, “Let me make one thing clear in advance. Canceling the debt is impossible. It will never happen. I only take freebies. I don’t pay!”

Tao Chuqing: “…What?”

Thinking she had misheard, Tao Chuqing stared at him. “Y-Your Highness?”

Zhu Yuanzhang gazed at her with deep affection and hopeful eyes. “You’ll let me have you for free, won’t you?”

Tao Chuqing: “…”

A mass of fury, carrying the rolling heat of a volcano on the verge of eruption, exploded in her chest with all the force of a magnitude-ten earthquake.

Tao Chuqing swallowed the mouthful of blood rising in her throat.

Absolutely not.

Goodbye!