Chapter 5391 The Prince's Mansion Sends Gifts

Chapter 5391 The Prince's Mansion Sends Gifts
Rejected by Wu Meiniang, Fang Jun quickly looked at Princess Gaoyang. The princess rolled her eyes and took Fang Jing's hand, saying, "Jing'er, sleep with me tonight."

Fang Jun then looked at Xiao Shu'er, who was heavily pregnant and gave an apologetic smile.

Looking at Qiao'er again, the little girl felt a strange sense of terror and quickly shook her head.

Before he could even look at Jin Shengman, the latter had already laughed heartily and walked away hand in hand with Qiao'er...

Fang Jun's eyes were filled with grief and indignation: "Ladies, have you ever heard a story about a monk?"

The wives and concubines cast curious glances at him.

Fang Jun said expressionlessly, "One monk carries water to drink, two monks share the burden, three monks have no water to drink..."

"..."

The wives and concubines were taken aback at first, but then burst into laughter and became all dolled up.

Princess Gaoyang barely managed to suppress her laughter, and said irritably, "How dare you make fun of family members? That's disrespectful."

Fang Jun shrugged: "Is this a joke? This is clearly sympathy for the monks!"

Surrounded by a group of beautiful wives and concubines, yet forced to spend his nights alone in an empty room, unable to sleep, how is he any different from a monk?
Wu Meiniang, with her beautiful features and captivating eyes, said, "My lord, you are wronging the monk. Not all monks are celibate and ascetic; they may be much more carefree and pleasure-seeking than you are right now."

"Pooh!"

Princess Gaoyang said angrily, "You two should be husband and wife, yet your filthy thoughts are exactly the same!"

Xiao Shuer blushed as well: "It's not right to slander monks like that."

……

The wind and snow were even worse during the night shift.

Fang Jun lay tossing and turning on the bed in the study, his restless heart unable to calm down. Finally, he jumped up. Don't be fooled by Wu Meiniang's feigned "deep love for her son." As husband and wife, how could she not know that he too was parched and desperately needed nourishment? What had just happened was merely a tacit agreement among his wives and concubines, used to punish him for his debauchery with Princess Baling in Huating Town.

All he had to do was sneak into the bedroom and take his two sleeping sons away; how could his beautiful wife resist? She would surely have a delicious feast.

However, before he could act, he heard light footsteps outside the door, followed by two gentle knocks on the door.

Fang Jun was puzzled. He got up, slipped on his shoes, and opened the door. A soft, fragrant body slid into his arms with a gust of cold wind.

Fang Junzhang put his arm around her and closed the door behind him.

……

The next morning.

During breakfast, the wives and concubines looked at Fang Jun's refreshed and smug appearance with some suspicion.

Princess Gaoyang rolled her eyes and looked at Wu Meiniang, saying with a look of disappointment, "You really can't even stand it for a day? If he gets his way so easily, he'll only become more and more reckless in the future!"

Wu Zetian innocently replied, "How could it be me? I slept soundly with my two children until dawn last night!"

"Ok?"

She didn't think Wu Meiniang would lie, so she looked suspiciously at Jin Shengman and Qiao'er.

The two women quickly shook their heads.

Princess Gaoyang felt that the two of them would not dare to openly violate the "tacit understanding" that everyone had made, but the young man's expression already showed that he was sure to succeed.

Who could that be?

It was absolutely impossible for a maid to seduce him; no one would dare to do so, and he wouldn't break the rules he had established for himself.

Could it be...

Finally, the women all stared at Xiao Shu'er with suspicion.

Xiao Shu'er lowered her head, her face flushed, and finally couldn't bear the embarrassment any longer. She slammed her chopsticks on the table, raised her head, and glared at her husband, saying coquettishly, "It's all your fault!"

The girls stared at Xiao Shu'er in shock, their gazes first falling on her stomach and then fixed on her naturally red lips.

A pregnant woman would naturally not take such a risk.

That is to say...

Xiao Shu'er was overwhelmed with shame. There was nothing wrong with doing certain things when a couple was in the mood for intimacy, but to be caught in the act here made her feel as if her cheeks were on fire. She felt like she was sitting on pins and needles, as if she were sitting on pins and needles...

He left with a hurried "I'm full" and fled.

Princess Gaoyang stared speechlessly at her smug, raised-brow husband, before finally managing to utter, "You're really something!"

Fang Jun laughed heartily, feeling smug about breaking the "tacit understanding" between his wives and concubines.

They actually want to gang up on me and give me a hard time?

Hmph, we can resolve this by defeating them one by one!
……

After breakfast, the steward came to inform us that the gifts had been loaded onto the truck according to the pre-arranged gift list.

Fang Jun had already finished washing up. He was still wearing a round-necked casual suit, a turban, and a fox fur cloak. He then led his personal guards out of the house, rode his horse out of the house, and headed to the Prince of Han's residence to deliver New Year's gifts.

Upon arriving at the Prince of Han's residence, the chief steward of the residence was already waiting outside the gate. He personally stepped forward to help Fang Jun take off his horse and put it in the stirrup. The side gate was opened to allow more than ten carriages filled with New Year's gifts to enter the residence before welcoming Fang Jun into the residence.

Many stewards, servants, and laborers from the royal palace were in the storeroom. As soon as the carriage arrived, they began unloading, creating a noisy and bustling scene.

Although the princess's family would send New Year's gifts during every festival, the gifts at the end of the year were always the most valuable. The Fang family was the wealthiest in the world, with assets worth hundreds of millions. The princess was the eldest daughter in the family, and Fang Jun respected and loved this elder sister very much. Therefore, the New Year's gifts were always extremely valuable, including goods from all over the country and rare items from home and abroad, in a dazzling array and countless.

As Fang Jun walked towards the inner courtyard, he said with a smile, "Entering the Prince's mansion is like entering a deep sea. Walking is too far, it's easier to ride a horse."

Despite the dead of winter, the Chief Clerk broke out in a cold sweat and smiled apologetically, saying, "Grand Commandant, you jest."

But he was filled with unease. Could it be that his prince had offended this fellow in some way?
After all, the "horse trampling the Han Prince's mansion" incident had already become a well-known joke in Chang'an. If it happened again, His Highness the Han Prince would probably be too ashamed to face anyone...

Fortunately, this person seemed to be joking. When he arrived at the inner hall and saw the princess leaning against the door looking into the distance, he quickly stepped forward, bowed, and said, "Why is Your Highness waiting here? It's cold outside, please don't catch a cold."

The princess smiled and said, "It's been so long since I've seen you. I've missed you terribly. How did you get dressed... Did you come on horseback?"

"Yes."

"You still dare to criticize me? In this freezing weather, one should travel by carriage. Riding a horse around the streets would only make one more susceptible to catching a cold. You need to be more dignified. Now you are a high-ranking official of the empire, of noble status. Your conduct must adhere to etiquette. You can no longer be as impulsive and reckless as before..."

The chief clerk was surprised to find that this Grand Commandant, whose reputation as a "clueless fool" was known throughout the land, not only showed no impatience when faced with the princess's nagging and endless admonitions, but also listened respectfully with a smile, nodding and agreeing from time to time.

"Yes, yes, yes, you're right, I'll be more careful in the future."

"Don't worry, sister. I won't dare to ride around like that again. I'll take a carriage when I go out."

The princess scolded her younger brother, and seeing that he was remorseful, she patted him on the shoulder with satisfaction, took off his fox fur cloak and handed it to a maid, then pulled him by the sleeve and led him into the inner hall.

The hall was warm and cozy, and Li Yuanjia, dressed in casual clothes and with his hair tied up in a jade crown, sat in the main seat.

Although Fang Jun was the Grand Commandant of the court, he was also an imperial prince and Fang Jun's brother-in-law, so whether or not he went out to greet him was entirely up to him.

Today, he's sitting there so imposingly, sipping tea, ignoring the princess talking to Fang Jun at the door without getting up; clearly, he's not in a good mood...

The princess sat to one side.

Fang Jun stepped forward to pay his respects, saying with utmost deference, "Your humble servant greets Your Highness, the Prince of Han."

Li Yuanjia was taken aback. After a moment's thought, he put down his teacup and put on a friendly smile: "Second Brother, there's no need for such formalities. Please take a seat. Someone, bring tea!"

Fang Jun quickly said, "Thank you, Your Highness!"

He then sat on only half of the chair at the lower end, turning slightly towards the main seat, and respectfully said, "Please enlighten me, Your Highness."

Li Yuanjia was bewildered: "What am I supposed to teach you? You are a Grand Commandant, how dare I teach you?"

"Although I am a subject, I am also Your Highness's brother-in-law. My elder sister has made a mistake, so it is only natural that I, her younger brother, should bear the responsibility."

The princess's eyebrows twitched slightly, and the corners of her lips curved up as she slowly took a sip of tea.

It feels so good to have your family support you the moment they walk in the door...

Li Yuanjia asked curiously, "Where did you get that from, Erlang?"

Fang Jun sighed, his face full of worry: "Your Highness, why hide it? I already know that my elder sister intends to use the treasures left behind by Consort Yuwen in order to prepare a dowry for my younger sister. This is absolutely wrong."

Li Yuanjia breathed a sigh of relief. This blockhead was always protective of his own, consistently siding with the Princess Consort regardless of the matter or reason. This time, the Princess Consort's intention to take several treasures entrusted to him by the Yuwen family to add to Fang Xiaomei's dowry had caused chaos in the Prince's mansion, and he had initially thought Fang Jun's attitude indicated he was about to interrogate him…

Seeing that Fang Jun seemed to agree with him and, unusually, stood on his side, he suddenly felt a sense of "kindred spirit" and couldn't help but pour out his grievances.

"Second Brother, you misunderstand. Those treasures are not things left by Mother. They were previously kept by the Yuwen family in Mother's possession and then entrusted to me for safekeeping. The Yuwen family has never taken them. It's not that I'm stingy with a few treasures. My younger sister is my sister-in-law, and it's only right that I, as her brother-in-law, add some dowry to her marriage. As for anything belonging to the Prince's Mansion, feel free to take it... It's just that those things don't really belong to me. How can I explain to the Yuwen family if I give them away like this? But the Princess only says that I'm reluctant to part with them. I can't convince her with any reason. She's just being unreasonable!"

"Humph!"

The princess snorted, but though she was dissatisfied, she held back and didn't retort, knowing that her younger brother would support her.

Fang Jun nodded: "Your Highness is right, my elder sister is indeed being unreasonable."

Li Yuanjia: "..."

This doesn't sound quite right, does it?

He quickly coughed, trying to salvage the situation: "It can't be said that way. After all, the princess didn't know the details of those treasures beforehand. She only thought they belonged to the household, so she mistakenly thought I was stingy and unwilling to part with them."

Fang Jun asked curiously, "The Princess Consort doesn't even know whether the items in the storeroom belong to her own family or are being stored by someone else?"

He clicked his tongue, turned to look at his eldest sister, and complained, "It's not that I'm being rude, but I just can't help but say a few words to you. A princess consort who doesn't even know her own family's situation, it's obvious that you're practically useless in this palace. The eldest daughter of the Fang family can't even manage the household properly, no wonder His Highness Prince Han dislikes you. If the family finds out about this, do you know how disappointed Father and Mother will be?"

Li Yuanjia: "..."

Is that what I mean?