The Good Grandson of the Red Chamber

Chapter 73: The Title is Secure, the Prince's Mansion

Xia Chengzhi said with dissatisfaction, "You have so many fish at home, and we only caught a few. Why are you being so stingy?"

Xia Chengkun said, "That's right, I even gave you some delicious food last time!"

Lin Daiyu's big eyes filled with tears, and she burst into tears.

She shook Xia Chengzong's finger and said, "Third brother, they're bullying me."

Xia Chengzong picked her up and said, "Alright, don't cry, don't cry. I won't let them catch me, okay?"

"Yes, Third Brother is the best!"

Xia Chengzong said to the children, "If you really want goldfish, go catch some at Uncle Wu's house next time."

"His goldfish are more numerous and bigger than here. Every time you go, you only care about the good food and drinks and the opera, and you never go to see them."

"I've seen it with my own eyes. How about I take you there to catch it?"

Xia Caiwei nodded and said, "Then you have to keep your word and take us to catch it."

Xia Chengzhi snorted and said, "You're just siding with Lin Daiyu."

Upon hearing this, Lin Daiyu snorted and raised her little fist at Xia Chengzhi.

After watching the fish for a while, the children went off to do other things.

Lin Daiyu climbed down from Xia Chengzong's arms, took his finger, and whispered, "Third Brother, they are bad guys. Don't play with them."

"Come with me, I'll show you some good stuff!"

After saying this, Lin Daiyu pulled Xia Chengzong into the house and showed him several stones she had collected, as if presenting a treasure.

Xia Chengzong praised her a few times, and Lin Daiyu immediately became happy.

Although the Lin family home wasn't large, the children had a great time playing together and were very happy.

They didn't return home until after the afternoon banquet.

Upon returning, Xia Chengzong thought of Lin Daiyu's few little baby teeth and found them incredibly cute.

It would be great if I had a camera to take a picture and keep it as a souvenir!

By the way, you can draw it even without a camera.

As a retro craft content creator, he has excellent sketching skills.

Of course, it's just enough, nothing particularly outstanding.

However, he can exchange for entries.

With the idea that having more skills is never a bad thing, and the thought that painting can be used in the future.

Xia Chengzong directly exchanged for a painting skill and upgraded it to cyan.

After acquiring the supernatural ability to paint, his original painting skills were greatly improved.

When I started painting again, it was as if I had divine assistance.

He tried to draw a picture, and after finishing it, he found that the painting was incredibly lifelike and vivid.

He immediately laid out a sheet of Xuan paper and began to paint.

The painting depicts, of course, Lin Daiyu.

In the painting, she points her little finger at the goldfish in the lake, smiles happily, and reveals a few cute baby teeth.

This painting is so lifelike, it's like seeing the real Lin Daiyu.

After letting it air out for a while, Xia Chengzong put the scroll away.

He planned to paint a portrait of Lin Daiyu every now and then.

Then I'll give it to her as a gift when she grows up.

He couldn't help but laugh when he thought of Lin Daiyu's surprised expression when she saw the gift.

……

Half a month later, his title was granted, and he was named the Prince of Ping'an.

The title of a prince is usually named after his fief.

Xia Chengzong's fief was in Ping'an Prefecture, hence his title was Prince of Ping'an.

Speaking of Ping'an Prefecture, Xia Chengzong suddenly thought that Jia She and the military governor of Ping'an Prefecture seemed to have an unclear relationship.

However, although his fief was in Ping'an Prefecture, he had no jurisdiction over Ping'an Prefecture.

He didn't need to go to his fiefdom, so it wasn't really his concern.

As for his royal residence, it has also been secured.

His palace did not need to be rebuilt; instead, an existing vacant palace was converted.

This mansion, named after Prince Yigong, was where Emperor Yonglong lived before he ascended the throne.

Emperor Yonglong was not the crown prince at the time, and after he ascended the throne, the palace was left vacant.

Afterwards, when his sons were enfeoffed as kings, he did not bestow this royal palace upon them.

At this time, the prize was directly bestowed upon the grandson of the emperor, Xia Chengzong.

This shows Emperor Yonglong's fondness for Xia Chengzong.

The Prince Yigong Mansion is of the rank of a prince, while Xia Chengzong is only a prince of the second rank.

Granting the Prince Yigong Mansion to Xia Chengzong was actually beyond the proper scope.

Therefore, apart from needing repairs after being uninhabited for many years, the Prince's Mansion also needed renovations.

Some areas that violated regulations still need to be reformed, which will take several months.

Of course, if Prince Zhongzheng successfully ascends the throne in the future, then Xia Chengzong's Prince's Mansion will be successfully upgraded to a Prince's Mansion without any violation of regulations.

Therefore, Emperor Yonglong's act of bestowing the residence has sparked much speculation.

Loyal Prince's negative emotions +10 +10 +10

Prince Chung-shin's negative emotions +10 +10 +10

Prince Chungkang's negative emotions +10 +10 +10

The Crown Prince's unexpected elimination greatly boosted the confidence of the fourth, sixth, and eighth princes.

Recently, due to the involvement of treason cases, a large number of officials have been dismissed, resulting in numerous vacancies.

These three princes, each vying for the throne, went to great lengths to win over officials, trying every means to place their own people in positions of power and sabotage each other's plans, engaging in a fierce power struggle.

Just as the three sides were engaged in a chaotic battle, they suddenly discovered that someone was sneaking into their base from behind.

This immediately put the three princes on their guard.

They planned to unite and remove this troublemaker from the game to prevent him from causing trouble behind the scenes.

However, they soon discovered that they could not eliminate him from the game first.

Because their good third brother hasn't even entered the game yet.

He wasn't even in charge of the Six Ministries, so even if someone wanted to scheme against him, they wouldn't find an opportunity.

After some scrutiny, they were astonished to discover that their good third brother was utterly useless!

It's all because she has a good son!

This made the three princes both despise and envy him.

If they have such a good son, why would they not stand out from the crowd?

However, from then on, Prince Zhongzheng became a thorn in their side, and they began to pay close attention to the movements of Prince Zhongzheng's residence.

……

As the days passed, the weather gradually became hot.

Xia Chengzong discovered that Lin Daiyu had an amazing talent for languages.

It is difficult for a child who is just over one year old to speak in long sentences.

Many of them even use two or three characters at a time.

Lin Daiyu, on the other hand, was able to speak long sentences clearly, and not only that, her speech became increasingly clear.

Lin Ruhai and Jia Min, a married couple, have even started teaching her to recite poems.

This meant that every time they met, Lin Daiyu could recite several more poems.

Now, when Lin Daiyu sees him, she not only shows him the poems she has learned, but also asks Xia Chengzong to teach her new poems.

She usually memorizes a simple five-character quatrain after learning it three to five times.

This made Xia Chengzong exclaim that it was a monster.

Even by today's standards, he would definitely be considered a child prodigy!

No wonder Lin Daiyu in Dream of the Red Chamber, at such a young age, not only read extensively but also possessed extraordinary talent, writing many insightful poems.

When August arrived, his Ping'an Prince's Mansion was finally completed, and he was able to move into his new residence.