Phoenix Reborn: the Prime Minister’s Scheming Daughter - Chapter 374

Listening to the exclamations around him, the Fourth Prince looked around proudly, but he was befuddled when he met Shen Ninghua’s dark eyes, which were cold and sharp with a hint of blade-alike light. Stunned at first, he wanted to observe her carefully but found that she had already lowered her eyes.

Suppressing the anger inside him, Baili Qingcang looked at the Fourth Prince coldly and quipped, “Wow, your first gift is so precious. Your second gift must be extraordinary. Lift the cloth and show it to us.”

At this moment, the Fourth Prince felt that something was out of his control, but he was at a point of no return, so he had no choice but to lift the red cloth covering the second gift sheepishly. Everyone instantly gasped in utter shock. “Heavens! It’s… It’s…”

Under the red cloth was a mirror that no one had seen before. The mirror was as tall as a person, and the mirror was as bright and clear as water. The reflection of the person was clearly visible in the mirror, and Baili Qingcang could even see the tiny pores on his face.

Baili Qingcang was astounded as this was the first time he saw his own reflection so clearly. If it weren’t for the experience and bearing of an Emperor, he would have jumped in shock. “What is this?”

“Father Emperor, this is a mirror I bought from the people of the west. They called it the Mercury Mirror, which can reflect all the details of a person’s facial features many times clearer than the bronze mirror. I will give this mirror to Mother and wish her eternal youth and beauty.”

Hearing the Fourth Prince’s words, Baili Qingcang was no longer shocked, and the shock was replaced by coldness. “I have never seen this mirror before.”

Hearing this, the Fourth Prince felt a little proud and smug. “Yes. The western merchants who dealt with me said that this is the only one they sent to the Da’an Kingdom.”

Hearing this, Noble Consort Li was utterly bewildered, and there was not a trace of smile on her already tense face. She stood up abruptly and interjected, sounding anxious and jittery, “Your Majesty, he is young and ignorant, and all he thinks about is showing off and excelling others. He wants to impress everyone on my birthday, so he presented such a precious birthday gift to me. It is my fault for not guiding him well. Please punish me, Your Majesty.”

Baili Qingcang smiled. “Why did you say these words, Noble Consort? He gives you the gift because he cares about you. Do you think I will punish you or him on this?”

Seeing him like this, Noble Consort Li felt even more uneasy. “Your Majesty…”

“Noble Consort, sit down. His filial piety is commendable. I’m very pleased,” Baili Qingcang said in a flat tone, but it frightened Noble Consort Li even more.

The Fourth Prince, Baili Jinjing, was sweating in fear. Only now did he realize how dangerous his behavior was. It was the one and only mirror in the kingdom. What did it mean? It meant that even Father Emperor did not have such a thing! As the Master of Da’an Kingdom, Father Emperor had not seen the mirror, but he presented it to his mother. This was not a birthday gift, but a disaster!

“Father Emperor, I…”

“Alright, you can leave now. Let’s see what my fifth son has given Noble Consort.” Baili Qingcang waved his hand to stop the Fourth Prince’s argument and asked him to leave.

Baili Junyi stood up with a slight smile on his face as if he had not felt the surge of darkness just now. “Father Emperor, I am not as generous as the Crown Prince, nor am I as meticulous as Third Elder Brother and Fourth Elder Brother. Just like Second Royal Brother, I have prepared ordinary gifts for Her Grace. Please forgive me, Noble Consort Li.”

At this time, Noble Consort Li was most afraid that the Fifth Prince also gave her a generous gift. Hearing him say that it was ordinary, she secretly hoped that his gift was ordinary and plain. She was in big trouble now. If Baili Junyi gave her something expensive, the Emperor might be exasperated. Hence, she quickly said, “Oh, you’re too polite. The birthday gift is just a formality. I don’t mind what you give me as long as you are sincere. I’m equally thrilled.”

Baili Junyi smiled and quickly ordered the palace servants at the side, “I’m relieved to hear you say this, Your Grace. Hey, quickly bring my birthday gift here.”

As the eunuchs carried one after another box over, Noble Consort Li’s relaxed smile suddenly froze on her face. Didn’t he say that it was just an ordinary gift? There were at least a dozen boxes! Was this a trick?

“Open the boxes.”

The eunuchs opened the boxes simultaneously. The content of the boxes was full to the brim, yet they were all brocades, silk, porcelain, and so on, just like the gifts the Second Prince had given her. They were indeed ordinary birthday gifts. However, they were not ordinary at all when they were placed together.

Everyone was taken aback. They originally thought that the other princes were generous enough, but the Fifth Prince was the richest one of all! The brocade and jewelry were piled up together, and they were dazzling and charming. Even if many people used up their wealth, they would not be able to come up with so many boxes of prized items.

Baili Qingcang’s face darkened slightly. “Junyi, you really have quite a generous gift.” This was twice as much as the usual birthday gift for a Noble Consort!

Baili Junyi had a carefree smile on his face. “Father Emperor, I have earned a lot of money from Huajun Pharmacy over the years. I don’t usually spend the money, so I might as well take advantage of the opportunity to send a generous gift to the Noble Consort. Actually, it’s not as much as you think. When it comes to Father Emperor’s birthday, I have to bring in several dozens of boxes of gifts too even if I have to spend all my assets on the gifts.”

Noble Consort Li’s expression suddenly changed. It was only at this time that she suddenly realized the purpose of Baili Junyi giving her such a lavish gift. He was not celebrating her birthday, but he was trying to kill her! She turned to look at Baili Qingcang. Sure enough, she noticed his obviously enraged expression.

“Okay, it is understandable the Fifth Prince can give such lavish gifts since he has an income from Huajun Pharmacy. What about the rest of you? Your gifts are so precious and expensive. Where did you get the money to prepare the gifts?”

The Crown Prince used to be wealthy due to the support from the Empress and the Zhao Family. Now that he had eradicated the Empress and the Zhao Family, where did he get the money to buy such a precious coral tree? In addition, the Second Prince, Third Prince, and Fourth Prince were taking the imperial court’s salaries. Some time ago, they were punished because of the corruption case. It was already extremely difficult for them to support a large family in the mansion with their existing assets. Where did they get the extra money to buy precious gifts?

“Your Majesty…” Noble Consort Li opened her mouth and wanted to beg for forgiveness. She wanted to find a way to get the Third Prince and the Fourth Prince out of trouble!

However, Baili Qingcang did not give her the chance to speak. “Noble Consort, it’s your birthday today. Just sit quietly.”

Noble Consort Li bit her lips. If she stayed quiet, both her sons would be implicated! What should she do? She hated Baili Junyi thoroughly. If she could kill with her glare, Baili Junyi and Shen Ninghua would have been sliced to death countless times.

Baili Qingcang turned to the Crown Prince. “Crown Prince, tell me, how much is the value of your coral tree? How did you get the money?”

The Crown Prince stood up and hesitated for a moment before speaking, looking a bit dejected, “Father Emperor, the coral tree cost 20,000 taels of silver. Originally, I prepared to give it to Mother Empress on her birthday, but she passed away before her birthday… I felt sad whenever I saw the tree. When I heard that it was Noble Consort Li’s birthday, I decided to give the tree to her.”

Hearing this, Baili Qingcang froze for a short while. It sounded reasonable enough if he prepared the gift for Zhao Huiying. At that time, the Zhao Family was still standing strong, and the Crown Prince was rich, so he could definitely afford 20,000 taels of silver.

When Noble Consort Li heard this, she only felt a burst of disgust in her heart, and she disdained the tree now. Was the gift meant to be given to Zhao Huiying? She and Zhao Huiying were archenemies. After being bullied by the Empress for so many years, she had finally made a comeback, yet she received a gift that should be given to the Empress. No matter how she thought about it, she felt annoyed.

Baili Qingcang only wanted to intimidate the princes and had no intention to have a fallout with them. After all, there were many outsiders present. “Alright, the Crown Prince’s explanation makes sense. Second Prince, although you offer many items, they are all ordinary things. It is reasonable. What about the Third and Fourth Princes? The gifts you send will cost at least tens of thousands of taels of silver. I remember that I punished you by cutting off your salary before. Where did you get so much silver?”

The Third Prince and the Fourth Prince quickly knelt down. The Emperor’s remarks sent chills down their spines. How should they explain it? If they claimed that the Lin Family gave them the money, how could they explain why the Lin Family had so much money? From their underlings? It would prove that they were corrupt and accepted bribery! The princes accepted bribes and plundered the wealth of the people. It would damage the royal family’s reputation severely.

The Third Prince had an idea and took the lead to explain himself, “Father Emperor, the gift was actually Bu Tinghe’s item.”

“What did you say? Bu Tinghe?”

“Yes.” Even if it was embarrassing, the Third Prince insisted on saying, “Bu Tinghe brought a lot of dowries when she married me, but unfortunately, she died on our wedding day. Her items were in my mansion since then. Since today is Mother’s birthday, I took the precious ones and gave them to Mother as a token of adoration from me and Tinghe.”

Shen Ninghua slightly narrowed her eyes, and her gaze was full of sneer. The Third Prince was really shameless. How could he sound so righteous when he used a woman’s dowry and claim it as a token of adoration? Wasn’t he afraid that Bu Tinghe would turn into a spirit to confront him in the middle of the night? It was extremely shameful to utilize a woman’s dowry in Da’an Kingdom!

Noble Consort Li felt icky when she received the Crown Prince’s gift, but when she heard the Third Prince’s words, she genuinely felt disgusted from deep down. It was Bu Tinghe’s dowry! What was up to the Third Prince that he had done such a nasty thing?!

The other ladies present looked at the Third Prince in contempt. It was extremely shameless for a man to get his hand on a woman’s dowry. Even the poor people would not do this unless they had no other choice. Was the Third Prince so poor that he had to come to this resort?

Baili Qingcang’s face darkened. He also did not expect his son to be so “filial”. How could he not feel ashamed?

“Fourth Prince, tell me, what about yours?”

“Father Emperor, the gift… um… please forgive me, Father Emperor!”

“Huh? What crime did you commit?”

“The screen and mirror were exchanged from the western merchants. They especially like our porcelain and embroidery, so I exchanged some porcelain and embroidery for these two things.” As the Fourth Prince spoke, his face turned slightly red as if he was extremely embarrassed.