Chapter 215: Betting on Both Sides
After working hard for most of the night, the Fourth Prince returned to the mansion at the end of the Yin hour. He had just finished washing up and had not had time to eat when he learned about the Kong family’s riot at Yongding Gate.

The food on the table lay cold.

The Fourth Prince sat silently at the table; the pair of chopsticks and the bowl of rice lay there coldly, untouched.

There was the sound of footsteps, and the butler, covered in snow, strode in.

Walking closer, the butler whispered, “Your Highness, we have checked it out. It is the fourth son of the Kong family’s eldest son.”

The Fourth Prince: “Where is he now?”

Housekeeper: “First, I went to the residence of the Loyal and Brave Earl to pay a visit to Li Hu, and now I am going to the residence of the Duke of Yansheng.”

The Fourth Prince nodded. The Kong family had two Yanshenggong Mansions. Duke Yansheng usually lived in Qufu, Shandong, while the Yanshenggong Mansion in the capital was the temporary residence for Duke Yansheng and the Kong family’s descendants when they came to Beijing to pay homage.

The Mansion of Duke Yansheng was originally located outside Dong’an Gate. During the Tianshun period of the Ming Dynasty, the God of War successfully restored the throne. The current Duke Yansheng went to Beijing overnight to show his loyalty. When the God of War heard that the Mansion of Duke Yansheng was located in a remote area, he granted him a large house on Taipusi Street.

The butler hesitated for a moment, then said, “Should we warn him? Such ostentation will inevitably attract the attention of others.”

Just as the Fourth Prince was about to speak, the captain of the guard came in with a letter and bowed to the Fourth Prince: “Your Highness, this is a letter from Jia Yucun’s servant.” Then he handed the letter over.

The fourth prince took the letter, opened the seal and read it, then smiled, “It’s a really wicked idea to let the descendants of the saints be the henchmen of the court!” He folded the letter and said to the butler, “Don’t pay attention to him, let him make a fuss.”

The housekeeper hesitated again and said, “This kid is too good at causing trouble. If he makes a big fuss, how can we contact him?”

The fourth prince smiled slightly: “I am not afraid of him getting into trouble. It’s good to get into trouble. I am not afraid of things getting out of hand. The bigger the better. It’s easier to fish in troubled waters! If he can push the Kong family to the forefront, I will be grateful to him.” When he said this, he was also stunned, and then slowly looked towards the butler.

The butler was also looking at him with his eyes open.

The fourth prince stood up, walked back and forth a few steps, and then said: “Didn’t the Ministry of War accuse him? Find two censors to impeach him.”

The housekeeper was shocked: “This is the Kong family, which censor dares to impeach them?!”

The fourth prince: “More money! If five hundred taels is not enough, then one thousand taels, two thousand taels, three thousand taels. Remember, in the name of the second prince.”

The housekeeper quickly replied, “Yes,” and was about to leave.

The captain of the guard hurried in again and reported to the Fourth Prince, “Your Highness, this is a letter sent by someone who claims to be the messenger of Duke Yansheng.” Then he handed the letter over.

The fourth prince: “Oh? Where is the person?” He took the letter and tore it open to read.

The captain of the guards replied, “The guards on duty said that the man was covered in a black cloak and left a letter before leaving.”

The fourth prince nodded, and the captain of the guard retreated.

After reading it, the fourth prince folded the letter carefully and said, “A handwritten letter from Duke Yansheng.”

The housekeeper’s eyes lit up.

The fourth prince: “What a cunning old man, Lord Yansheng! That kid is just a discarded child pushed out by Lord Yansheng. The one who is in contact with us secretly is from the second branch of the Kong family.”

The housekeeper rolled his eyes and asked anxiously, “Does that kid know that the Kong family is involved in the fight for the throne?”

The fourth prince thought for a moment and said, “He should know.”

The housekeeper sneered: “What a good Yanshenggong, he is betting on both sides!”

The Fourth Prince was reminded and his face darkened.

Housekeeper: “When will the people from the second house come to Beijing?”

The Fourth Prince: “At the end of the month.”

The butler’s eyes rolled around, and then he leaned over to the Fourth Prince’s ear and whispered something.

The Fourth Prince’s eyes lit up and he nodded.

Li Hu got up early, went to the Yangxin Palace first, and then went to the Yuqing Palace. In the end, he didn’t get to eat and came back hungry.

In an era without mobile phones and it was snowing, Li Hu played chess with Lin Daiyu to kill time and help digest food.

Lin Daiyu casually spread out a piece of rice cake, picked up a small piece of honey cake and started eating happily.

Seeing her enjoying her meal, Li Hu was a little worried: “You’re eating cakes right after dinner. Do you really think you won’t get fat?”

“Are you starting to dislike me?”

“How do you say this?”

“You dislike me for being fat.”

“.Eat, eat, as long as you are happy.”

Lin Daiyu blinked, “Are you angry?”

Li Hu smiled and said, “I’m not that petty.” Then he placed a piece on the table.

Lin Daiyu looked at him with a smile, picked up a piece of honey cake and put it to Li Hu’s mouth. Li Hu ate it.

Lin Daiyu smiled, took out a handkerchief from her body and wiped the snack residue from the corner of his mouth, and said, “Let’s go for a walk in the back garden.”

Li Hu: “It’s snowing hard outside. It would be terrible if we got caught in the cold.”

“Wear something thicker.”

“Wait until the weather clears up.”

“Oh, I’m so bored when you’re not at home. I’ve been to that hill before. The hills and waters, combined with the heavy snow, are really interesting.”

Lin Daiyu coquettishly pulled Li Hu’s hand and begged, “Please, second brother~”

Who can resist the coquettish Lin Daiyu? Li Hu hesitated for a moment, then nodded and said, “Wear something thicker.”

Lin Daiyu clapped her hands and jumped up, shouting happily: “Zijuan, Zijuan, find my clothes for watching the snow.”

Zijuan came in in response.

After a while, Lin Daiyu changed into suede boots, wrapped a white fox fur scarf around her neck, put a snow hat on her head, then tied on a cloak and put on fox fur sleeves.

Li Hu looked at her with a smile and adjusted her snow hat for her: “Let’s go.” Then he put his arm around her waist and walked out.

Fortunately, the wind and snow had subsided at this time, so Zijuan and the others did not have to follow them. The two of them stepped on the snow on the road, making a crackling sound, which added a special charm in the silent garden.

Li Hu had just returned, and before he had time to ask about the project, the two of them walked along the road by the lake towards the hill, talking about the project. The back garden had been completed, and the west courtyard was almost done as well, and would be completed before the end of the year.

As they were talking, they walked around the bamboo forest and Li Hu embraced Lin Daiyu and arrived at the foot of the mountain.

Li Hu glanced at the water pavilion at the foot of the hill, then looked towards the small hill. Except for the courtyard on the ridge, the entire hill was bare and there was nothing to see. He didn’t know why Lin Daiyu insisted on coming to see it.

Lin Daiyu smiled and said, “I’ve already thought about it. Next year I’m going to plant a patch of wintersweets on this hill. That would be really interesting.” As she spoke, she walked towards the hill on the snow without waiting for Li Hu to say anything.

Li Hu was worried that she would slip, so he hurriedly followed her and supported her.

After walking just over a hundred steps, the two men arrived at the ridge. There was a lock on the door. Li Hu gently pushed open the gate and was about to go in to avoid the snow.

Lin Daiyu smiled and said, “Look down the mountain.”

Li Hu turned around and looked, and was slightly stunned. His eyes were filled with pure white snow, which seemed to be connected with the sky, like a fairyland.

Lin Daiyu asked with a smile: “Is it beautiful?”

Li Hu glanced around and had to admit that this girl was very sentimental and tasteful. Everything in front of him was very poetic. It was a pity that he had no knowledge of literature and could not compose poetry.

After waiting for a long time without seeing Lin Daiyu reciting a poem, Li Hu asked with a smile: “In this situation, why don’t you recite a poem?”

Lin Daiyu took a long while to utter one word: “Cold.”

“Oh, then hurry up and get on with it.”

“Why are you like this!”

Seeing her coquettish look, Li Hu also reacted. He swept his eyes across the hall, quickly dragged a chair over, sat down on the chair next to the door, holding Lin Daiyu in his arms.

Lin Daiyu leaned tightly in Li Hu’s arms, looking at the snow scene in the distance, and said with a smile: “Last time, I came here with my second sister and Bao sister, and we drew plaques for these places.”

Li Hu held her hand tightly and interrupted her with a smile: “You must have come up with the best one.”

Lin Daiyu snorted proudly, and then said, “This place is called Tuobi Villa, and down the hill is Aojing Pavilion. How about it?”

“Sister Lin is so smart!” Li Hu praised tactfully.

“Let’s have hotpot tonight.” Lin Daiyu suddenly said.

Li Hu was stunned. Wasn’t the change in style too fast?

“You are not allowed to think I am fat.”

“Okay, I don’t mind you being fat.”

“I want to eat the barbecue you make.”

“Okay, I’ll bake it for you myself.”

“Hee, I also want to eat the eight delicacies from the mountains, the eight delicacies from the sea, the eight delicacies from birds, and the eight delicacies from grasses.”

“Just eat me.”

“Hate.”

(End of this chapter)