CHAPTER 400: CHAPTER 400: SERIOUS

Marquis Jibei sat on horseback, watching for quite a while, and still wasn’t noticed.

Until——

Young Master Su had a falling out with the Ninth Prince.

The Ninth Prince angrily turned to leave.

But after a few steps, he realized Young Master Su didn’t stop him.

He turned back for a look.

Young Master Su was busy buying a jade hairpin.

The vendor selling the jade hairpins asked, "What does the young master need a jade hairpin for?"

"For my mother," Young Master Su replied.

Young Master Su kept picking and choosing.

The Ninth Prince felt sullen, wanted to reconcile but couldn’t bring himself to, yet didn’t dare to wander around alone.

Young Master Su was almost knocked out and sent to the palace, nearly really becoming a little eunuch.

Eunuch Fu said, there are not many with such good luck as the Dongxiang Marquis Mansion in this world.

He can’t guarantee he’d be so lucky.

But returning just like this, he’d definitely be mocked.

Even together, the Marquis Jibei didn’t feel at ease, let alone when the two had a falling out.

He rode over, got down from his horse, and asked, "What’s wrong with the Ninth Prince?"

The Ninth Prince was a bit confused.

He pointed at himself, "You know me?"

"I’ve seen you in the palace, naturally, I know," Marquis Jibei smiled.

He turned to Young Master Su and asked, "Why did you fall out with Yangyang?"

Yangyang?

The Ninth Prince was taken aback.

Not only did he know him, but he also knew Su Yang?

Seeing his gentle demeanor, the Ninth Prince vaguely remembered Young Master Su mentioning him.

"Are you the Marquis Jibei?" the Ninth Prince asked.

Marquis Jibei nodded.

The Ninth Prince was then at ease, looked at Su Yang, and said, "He said others don’t recognize words, but I don’t recognize money."

Just now while shopping, he mistook ten taels of silver for five and paid the small vendor.

Young Master Su scoffed at him.

The Ninth Prince’s little face couldn’t hold onto dignity.

Of course——

The Ninth Prince is not someone to hold grudges over small things.

It was just that Young Master Su had said it several times.

The Ninth Prince, young and on his first outing from the palace, had no concept of money’s purchasing power.

Buying a sugar-coated haws skewer, he directly handed over a hundred taels’ silver note.

After giving it, he just left.

He never considered that change was needed.

And the small vendor couldn’t make change either.

Young Master Su called him the biggest spendthrift he had ever seen.

The Ninth Prince didn’t recognize money, but he understood what a spendthrift meant.

Repeated mistakes, Young Master Su spoke frankly, and the Ninth Prince couldn’t save face, so they had a falling out.

Of course, there was a bit of embarrassment.

He was a few months older than Young Master Su, who used to be a little bandit, and he was a prince.

He knew less than Young Master Su did, fearing others might mock him behind his back if they found out.

Marquis Jibei couldn’t help but laugh.

Young Master Su had yet to see the Ninth Prince come over and was a bit worried after choosing jade hairpins for so long.

He was the one who brought him out, so he had to ensure his safety.

He couldn’t afford to lose the Emperor’s son.

The people on Qingyun Mountain always finished what they started.

He glanced over and saw Marquis Jibei.

He put down the jade hairpin and happily ran over.

Hmm.

After just a few steps, the thing around his neck fell off.

He bent down to pick it up and hurriedly went over.

"Grandpa Shen!" he shouted.

Young Master Su had a particularly sweet mouth.

Marquis Jibei felt completely at ease.

Young Master Su looked at him and asked, "Are you also here to shop?"

Marquis Jibei looked at him and said, "How did you two sneak out of the palace?"

The Emperor couldn’t have allowed the Ninth Prince to go shopping with Young Master Su.

If he had agreed, it would be impossible not to have sent someone to follow them.

Young Master Su said, "We didn’t sneak out, we walked out of the palace gates openly."

After the palace maid and eunuchs in the Ninth Prince’s bedroom got food poisoning, they wouldn’t give him chicken at the Imperial Kitchen.

Even when he took out the Jade Pendant, the Imperial Chef ignored him.

Young Master Su had no choice but to think of another way to leave the palace.

He gave up on beggar’s chicken and directly set fire to the palace walls.

Hmm.

As soon as the fire started, it attracted the guards.

The guards wouldn’t let them burn the walls, saying that if they insisted, they could only report to the Emperor, as they couldn’t bear the responsibility if something happened.

Young Master Su knew there were many rules in the palace.

He also knew that the palace was not the same as the Dongxiang Marquis Mansion, where one person does something, one person takes responsibility.

If the Ninth Prince made a mistake, it was the palace maids and eunuchs punished because he was young.

Young Master Su didn’t make things difficult for them.

Hmm.

He was so agreeable because he found out the palace walls were much thicker than those at the Dongxiang Marquis Mansion, making them hard to burn.

But without burning the palace walls, he couldn’t think of another way to leave the palace.

He hovered around the palace gates and finally tried his Jade Pendant.

Very good.

Very effective.

Not only could he leave, but he also brought the Ninth Prince out.

He told the guards not to inform the Emperor, and they dared not refuse.

Then——

Young Master Su brought the Ninth Prince out of the palace.

They’d been out for nearly half an hour, having a great time.

Especially the Ninth Prince.

But encountering Marquis Jibei made their day even better.

When buying things themselves, they had to carry them, which was inconvenient with too much stuff, so Marquis Jibei helped carry them.

And since Young Master Su had been knocked out once, he was somewhat afraid of being targeted again.

Now with Marquis Jibei following, they didn’t need to worry.

Play, play, play.

Buy, buy, buy.

While Young Master Su and the Ninth Prince were happy, Marquis Jibei was covered in black lines.

He was, after all, a Marquis.

And not young, over fifty.

With a gourd around his neck, two kites on his back, holding Young Master Su’s unfinished candy man, his return rate was exceptionally high.

Others aside, Old Master Shen and Third Master Shen from Jibei Marquis Mansion went looking for Marquis Jibei.

Finding he hadn’t gone to the government office, they decided to check the palace.

Passing through a bustling street, they saw Marquis Jibei laden with belongings.

Truly.

The two Masters Shen couldn’t help but stare wide-eyed.

After a long look, they confirmed it was indeed their father.

Their always serious father, actually trailing two little brats, carrying things...

If they were his own sons, that would be one thing.

But one was the Emperor’s son, the other the Dongxiang Marquis’s son.

They walked over and heard the Ninth Prince sigh, "Having money is great, you can buy anything."

"Not everything," Young Master Su said, "but money can buy many things."

"My dad says issues solvable with money aren’t real issues."

"Most things in this world, eight or nine out of ten, relate to money."

With that, Young Master Su gazed at the sky, melancholic.

"I can’t solve any problems that money can fix."

Old Master Shen coughed.

Marquis Jibei turned around and saw him, "You came just in time, take the Ninth Prince back to the palace."

The joy vanished from the Ninth Prince’s little face, and looking at Su Yang he asked, "What about him?"

"Don’t send me back to the Dongxiang Marquis Mansion, I’m not going back," Young Master Su called out.

Then, looking at Marquis Jibei, he suggested, "Why not let me stay at the Jibei Marquis Mansion for a few more days?"

"I’ll go too!" the Ninth Prince chimed in.

Marquis Jibei felt his head spin.

Never seen a marquis raise aster like this before.

After all, I’m also a Marquis.

Normally, kids don’t want to leave their parents and aren’t used to living elsewhere, right?

Nonetheless, the young masters were delighted, and Marquis Jibei was all flustered.

He never saw this before, children who didn’t want to stay home.

They usually hate being away from their parents and don’t adjust to staying with others, right?

Marquis Jibei was amused and exasperated.

Looking back at the Old Master Shen, he said, "Go and inform the Emperor, I’ll keep the Ninth Prince at Jibei Marquis Mansion for a few days."

The Old Master Shen came over with a sigh.

"There’s no one like dad, spoiling someone else’s son," he said.