Reborn as Powerful Minister's Beloved
Chapter 267: One More

Chapter 267: Chapter 267: One More

House servants of Prince Duan’s Mansion led people into the front courtyard and lined them up. Elder Can, seizing this opportunity, pulled his young master to a relatively forward position at last.

Housekeeper He personally reviewed the crowd; although the quality was mixed, there were a few robust individuals who caught his eye.

Housekeeper He then went to invite Prince Duan.

Elder Can glanced at the people around and didn’t think they differed much from him and the young master, so he confidently lifted his head.

Prince Duan slowly emerged from inside, glanced at the people in the courtyard, and furrowed his brow at first sight. What kind of people are these?

Looking over the crowd—tall and short, fat and thin—it resembled a refugee camp.

Housekeeper He immediately drew close to Prince Duan.

"Prince, the current situation is dire. Even the citizens of Zheng Capital are having a hard time. Don’t be fooled by appearances; change their clothes, and they’ll look human," Housekeeper He quickly said.

Prince Duan said nothing further. He indeed needed workers urgently, but he was not reassured by mere appearances.

"Have them come forward one by one and walk past. Keep the capable ones. They don’t need to know much; we can teach them slowly," Prince Duan waved his hand. Lin Gen had already brought out a chair, and Prince Duan sat down in the corridor while Housekeeper He urged Lin Qu to start.

The commoners, unaccustomed to such settings, shivered and hesitated to approach. Lin Qu scolded them a couple of times before they began slowly walking toward Prince Duan, starting from the first row.

"Your humble subject pays respects to your lordship——" Prince Duan looked at the applicant standing in the middle, who dared only gaze at his own feet, his arms trembling. How could someone like this stand in Prince Duan’s Mansion?

Housekeeper He knew differently, aware that Prince Duan had never endured hardships like these people, different from the house servants of the mansion.

"Prince, he’s starving. Look, his bones are sticking out, but he’s tall. Give him a month of white rice, and he’ll be stronger than He Bing," Housekeeper He quickly insisted. The better candidates had all been pushed to the front; those remaining were less promising, and if none were chosen, the prince would be upset again.

"Then let’s keep him——" he said, finding some sense in the argument; such a servant could be well nurtured.

"Prince, this one is good too. Look at his big feet; he surely can run both steadily and swiftly."

"Then let’s keep him too——"

"This one isn’t bad, either. Although he’s slight in build, he’s also young. Working as a kitchen helper in the mansion, he could learn the ropes in a few years."

Prince Duan nodded his head.

Elder Can grew anxious. This was not a good sign. If all the recruits were chosen before their turn, wouldn’t they be overlooked completely?

At that moment, a middle-aged man stepped forward two paces.

Housekeeper He prepared to speak again.

"Prince, this one is excellent for guarding the gate; standing sturdy like half a wall..."

Without being noticed, Elder Can secretly gestured and the man suddenly changed his expression, yelling out loud as he slapped his own behind.

"Who, who hit me——" the man shouted, pulling at his throat; everyone behind him kept their heads down, with no one responding.

"Why the clamor——"

"Ah, you—you—" The man was desperate by now, and immediately threw a punch at the man behind him, but he was not alone; he had a companion, and the three of them instantly got into a fight.

"How dare you, how dare you, get them out of here now—" Housekeeper He shouted in a panic, and several house servants joined forces to eject the fighting trio.

Yin He was already standing at the forefront.

"I think we should call it a day." Prince Duan no longer wanted to watch. Seeing this, Housekeeper He was about to dismiss the crowd.

Yin He was slightly stunned, wondering how they could just stop hiring without hiring anyone?

Elder Can was shocked. How could this do? Although he hadn’t fully figured out the Young Master’s temperament, he had a good idea that there might be trouble tonight. Elder Can wasn’t afraid of Yin He causing trouble, but he was worried that any trouble might backfire and spoil everything.

Elder Can decisively stepped forward, gripped his Young Master’s sleeve, and when most people had left, he knelt before Housekeeper He and Prince Duan with a thud.

"Master, Master, please give us some food. We escaped from the Hexi Area. Along the way, of my three sons, only this only son remains, and of a family of eleven, only we two are left. I haven’t eaten in two days," Elder Can cried out.

Housekeeper He was shocked, realizing the severity of the flood disaster in the Hexi Area.

Prince Duan was slightly taken aback and re-examined Elder Can’s appearance: skin and bones. The words just spoken now seemed more credible upon seeing the frail young man, head bowed.

"Master—" Since they hadn’t filled the positions, and here were a father and son who could be long-term, Housekeeper He looked to Prince Duan for direction.

Elder Can saw that Prince Duan had not spoken and grew anxious, immediately knocking his head on the ground again.

"Master, we wandered aimlessly on the road, so hungry we barely had the strength to walk. Then we saw a rosy glow in the direction of your mansion, it was like seeing a deity descending to earth, so we followed it all the way here and saw that your mansion was hiring, so we came in," he elaborated.

At these words, Prince Duan was visibly moved.

"That suggests fate between our mansion and you and your son. In that case, you may stay." The rosy glow this morning—wasn’t it a sign that Nian Ru’s return to the mansion was a good omen? Prince Duan, regardless of the truth, felt an increased cheerfulness in his heart. Listening to the elder on the ground, although old, he was articulate and seemed capable of handling matters.

"Go with them. There will be someone to teach you the rules," Prince Duan personally intervened, not waiting for Housekeeper He to command.

Elder Can, immensely grateful, knocked his head on the ground again. Prince Duan, considering the recruitment nearly complete, decided to wait and see how things would unfold over some time.

...

In the afternoon, the Zong Sheng Residence sent over many toys, and though Prince Duan didn’t like some of the items sent, he still waved a hand, letting them be delivered into Nian Ru’s quarters.

"Let them be—" Nian Ru eyed the delivered items; they were neither good nor bad. Having been Empress Dowager for so long, she had seen many fine things, and ordinary treasures hardly caught her eye. Yet, she could tell that Zong Yunqian’s surface effort was commendable. The items looked valuable but were chosen without much heart, certainly not picked personally.

Zheng Congyuan’s gifts were different; every item showed traces of careful selection, even a single earring, the pearl used would certainly be the most perfect, almost impossible to find an exact match.

The toys were not only valuable but also exquisitely unique, a testament to having perused many such treasures to choose the very best one.

Nian Ru regretted not bringing out the items from Qishun Building, but those items truly couldn’t be shown to Prince Duan, not only to avoid unnecessary suspicion. Nian Ru felt that this time, the relationship between her and Zheng Congyuan might truly be over.

Elder Can and Yin He ended up in Nian Ru’s quarters as they wished, although only to attend to mundane tasks in the outer courtyard. Although they couldn’t even see Nian Ru’s face at the moment, Elder Can could sense his Young Master was very pleased.

But Elder Can was not pleased. Was the Young Master satisfied just standing outside every day? To guard the door for the Commandery Princess?