She Became A Downfall Noble Lady
Chapter 634 - 632 Unwilling

Chapter 634: Chapter 632 Unwilling

Prince Fu naturally knew these things, but he still felt discontent, "Previously, we thought to draw Ye Xinyan into our fold through marriage, but that failed without bearing any fruit. Now that Jiang Yifan has returned to the capital, he has been very close to Duke An’s Mansion. In my view, he intends to ask for Ye Xinyan’s hand in marriage again. Jiang Yifan is good friends with Lao Liu. If Lao Liu joins the struggle for the throne in the future, who knows if Duke An will lean towards him?"

Wang Xian weighed in thoughtfully, "Prince Yu? Not worth fearing, right? Even though Prince Yu goes to court every day and can sit in the Ministry of Personnel for some time, he ultimately does not show much enthusiasm. On the contrary, he’s very diligent in summoning the local managers and inquiring into the trade, especially when it comes to the cheese business being sent into the capital—he asks about it constantly."

Liu Yu, however, disagreed, his expression serious, "Your Highness once said that among the princes who studied together, Prince Yu was the cleverest. Even if he is naturally indifferent and lacks the ambition to fight for the throne, if His Majesty truly lets him attend the Imperial Court and gradually begins to show him favor, naturally people will cozy up to him and encourage Prince Yu to seize the throne, seeking to gain credit for supporting his rise."

"That’s exactly what I’m worried about," said Prince Fu, frowning. Then he asked, "What’s the deal with Wong Qiao? Have you inquired about him?"

Liu Yu promptly replied, "I have, and he truly is a figure of interest. Last year, not long after he returned from the capital to Clear Water Village, he got engaged to the Second Miss Zhou, the daughter of Zhou Bingyi, the Prefect of Yuyuan Prefecture. It’s said Second Miss Zhou is especially cherished by Zhou Bingyi and his wife. Her name is Zhou Biyao, and it has already been settled that when Zhou Bingyi returns to the capital next year for his official report, he’ll bring his family along to the capital, and concurrently have his daughter marry Wong Qiao."

Prince Fu immediately placed his teacup down in surprise and asked, "No matter how unusual he may be, he’s still just a craftsman. I know Zhou Bingyi to some extent; he’s a thoughtful man. Why would he not keep his daughter for a better match and marry her off to a craftsman?"

Wang Xian was also confused. While sipping tea, he listened for Liu Yu to continue.

Liu Yu said, "That’s why I said Wong Qiao is a figure of interest. When he came to the capital last year, Prince Yu and the guards from Duke An’s Mansion kept a tight watch on Wong Qiao and his party the whole time. Probably because Wong Qiao truly has exceptional skills, and Prince Yu was afraid that he would be poached by another family, so he was guarded closely."

Wang Xian couldn’t help but interject, "Really? I had once arranged for officials from the Ministry of Works to chat with Wong Qiao and his fellow craftsmen. Wong Qiao and those craftsmen all said that the lathe and screw fasteners were developed by a senior in the workshop, but since the old craftsman didn’t wish to travel long distances, they sent them over instead."

Prince Fu snorted, "Those are just excuses to fool others. Wherever Wong Qiao and his fellows went, people from Lao Liu were with them, naturally speaking as Jiang Yifan instructed. Bear in mind, when Lao Liu came up with all those contraptions, Clear Water Village only had Ye Xinyan, Wong Qiao, and some regular craftsmen—there wasn’t any such senior craftsman."

Perhaps it was the arrogance of the literati at play, but Wang Xian simply couldn’t favor the craftsman Wong Qiao. Puzzled, he said, "Wong Qiao is just a craftsman. Do we really need to go to the trouble of winning him over?"

Liu Yu nodded, "It’s not necessary to go to great trouble, but we can make an attempt. Wong Qiao’s father and Qi Younian are sworn brothers, very close to each other. And now, he’s also Zhou Bingyi’s son-in-law. If Wong Qiao truly has the potential of a master craftsman, and he comes to serve under Your Highness, many of our endeavors would become much easier."

...

Prince Fu had been dealt an unexpected blow. Not only did he suffer losses, but he also had to bear the risks, and, naturally, he was very angry. Even the Crown Prince’s side, despite having some preparation, only learned of the situation two days prior and couldn’t prevent it beforehand.

Given the Crown Prince’s temperament, he couldn’t accept such an outcome.

After leaving the imperial hall, the Crown Prince no longer controlled his emotions and returned to the Eastern Palace with an angry expression.

He strode into the front hall, where he usually worked, and kicked over a chair with his foot. The servants who followed to attend to the Crown Prince’s dressing saw this and inwardly lamented, immediately retreating to one side and kneeling to admit guilt.

Whether they were at fault or not wasn’t important; what mattered was to kneel early to avoid attending to him, thereby dodging the Crown Prince’s ire. If the Crown Prince were to kick someone in a vital area and something were to happen, to whom would they turn?

The Crown Prince swept the teapot and teacup from the tray beside him to the ground, the crisp sound of the porcelain shattering and the sight of the broken shards scattering across the floor finally made him feel somewhat appeased.

"You worthless dogs! Why are you just kneeling there like fools? Get up and attend to me as I change my clothes!"

Seeing that the Crown Prince seemed less furious, the two attendants quickly got up, tiptoed around the broken porcelain on the floor, and began to help him out of his outer garments.

Just as Tan Weixian, the registrar of the Crown Prince’s Mansion, had ushered in Yu Shiqing, the Minister of Revenue, and Xing Bin, the Minor Prefect of Honglu Temple, he heard the commotion inside and hurriedly summoned the servants to clean up the mess.

Gazing upon the shards strewn across the floor, Tan Weixian sighed inwardly, gave his respects to the Crown Prince along with Yu Shiqing and Xing Bin, and then inquired, "Has the Imperial Court already decided to adopt the wooden railways?"

Two days prior when Tan Weixian had heard about the Emperor possessing a trial document for wooden railways, he knew it was not good news.

The consumption of iron rails was immense. If wooden rails were proved to be functional, they would certainly replace iron. Wood indeed did not withstand wind and rain well, but if it were treated with tung oil or other preservatives, its durability would not be much less than that of iron, yet its cost was barely a tenth or a twentieth of that of iron.

With such convenience, not to mention all, but at least the vast majority of court officials would agree to the use of wooden railways, which was to be expected. Tan Weixian’s only reason to help the Crown Prince arrange opposition in the court was to cater to the Crown Prince’s mood, it was merely an attempt to find a cure in a desperate situation.

The Crown Prince, still visibly angry, took a seat on a nearby chair, then gestured for Yu Shiqing and Tan Weixian to sit as well, and said indignantly, "What do you mean the decision was made by the court? As soon as the Cabinet released the proposal to replace iron rails with wooden ones, I immediately voiced my objections. Then the court officials followed suit, with everyone else watching from the sidelines."

Tan Weixian upon hearing this glanced at Yu Shiqing and Xing Bin.

Xing Bin, not having the right to attend court, was unaware of the events that had transpired there. Seeing Tan Weixian’s glance, he shook his head gently to show his ignorance.

Yu Shiqing, who had been present at the time, couldn’t help but smile bitterly and said to the Crown Prince, "Your Highness, since you have already arranged for us to raise objections, why did you take the lead yourself? You are well aware that His Majesty is very keen on using wooden railways. Why would Your Highness touch this sore spot and displease His Majesty?"

The Crown Prince paused for a moment, feeling somewhat embarrassed, as he truly had not restrained himself, and he regretted it after leaving the court.

Yet he couldn’t admit his mistake in front of his subordinates, and instead turned his anger toward Han Yanhui by saying, "It was all because of that old cur, Han Yanhui. There was an utterance of objection throughout the court and seeing that Imperial Father was displeased, no one stood their ground. Then out of nowhere, Han Yanhui stepped forward in agreement, providing Imperial Father with the reason to proceed with the wooden railways."

Tan Weixian was momentarily speechless, the Crown Prince was admitting to being the instigator.

After a moment, Tan Weixian advised, "Your Highness need not be too troubled. If His Majesty plans to introduce wooden railways, he naturally has his reasons. Prime Minister Han is a pillar of the court, he will naturally support His Majesty’s decisions fully."

The Crown Prince retorted angrily, "I am the heir to the throne, do I not deserve his support?"