Great, it's just a lackey, we're saved!

Chapter 238 You must try your best to live, Yue Lin!

"Yes."

The eldest princess said coldly, "What you have said and done is enough for me to kill you without hesitation. Now that you are only being placed under house arrest, it seems I am being too lenient."

The Third Prince's expression turned extremely ugly. He sat in his chair, frantically pounding on the armrests and cursing.

"Jiang Yueli! I just helped you resolve the palace coup crisis, and you actually turn your back on me? You are ungrateful and deserve to die a horrible death."

"May they die a horrible death?"

The eldest princess was almost laughing in anger.

"You've murdered so many innocent people, and you're still alive and well. How could I possibly suffer a terrible death?"

"However, you have reminded me that you have contributed to this palace coup, even if you did not achieve great merit. Now that I am the Crown Princess, I will naturally reward my only younger brother according to his merits."

Even now, the Third Prince still couldn't believe that Jiang Yueli would be so ruthless towards him.

Upon hearing this, he said arrogantly, "So now you know how to curry favor with me and reward those who have contributed? How come you were so capable when you were talking about confinement earlier?"

"Let me tell you this: I don't care for your reward!"

The princess sneered and ignored him.

She simply gave the order: "Seeing the state of your palace, I know it has suffered heavy losses. I will give you three million taels as a reward."

Even though the Third Prince had just said some harsh words, he couldn't hide his shock when faced with the huge sum of three million taels of silver, and couldn't help but swallow hard.

"What did you say? Three million taels?"

He had three million to rebuild a royal palace and still had some money left over, yet Jiang Yueli just gave it to him like that.

The Third Prince became even more smug!

What confinement? It's just a bunch of tricks they used to scare him, like they did with Consort Li.

After all, she and Jiang Yueli are siblings from the same mother, so why would Jiang Yueli really make a move?

However, the Third Prince's smugness didn't last long before the Eldest Princess continued, "But I see that you don't know how to manage a household, and you always hand over your money to that Steward Yang to manage, so I can't change your habits."

"We'll choose a new housekeeper for you, and from now on, she'll manage all your money."

The third prince vaguely sensed that something was wrong, but he couldn't pinpoint what it was.

They could only watch helplessly as the princess questioned the maid who had just held the whip.

"What's your name?"

"My name is Lan Cui."

The eldest princess nodded: "Lan Cui, Yue Lin killed your sister, so in principle, he should pay with his life."

Upon hearing this, Lan Cui looked at the princess with a terrified expression and knelt on the ground again.

The eldest princess did not tell her to get up, but continued, "But Yue Lin is, after all, my own younger brother, a prince of the Great Zhou Dynasty, of noble status. Since ancient times, there has never been a reason for a prince to pay for a servant's life. This is a matter of social hierarchy, you should understand?"

Lan Cui quickly kowtowed: "This servant understands. The Princess helped this servant kill the chief villain, Steward Yang, which is already a great kindness. This servant dares not ask for more."

The eldest princess looked at her with a smile and asked, "Is it that you dare not, or that you cannot?"

Just as Lan Cui was about to speak, the Princess said again, "Think carefully before you answer this question."

Lan Cui knelt on the ground, her forehead beaded with sweat from nervousness, biting her lip tightly, and finally spoke after a long while.

"Princess, please forgive me... I... I cannot."

Her words were somewhat presumptuous and disrespectful; she knew she might not survive even before she uttered them.

But my sister died tragically. Although Steward Yang has been executed, it was the Third Prince who killed my sister with his own hands!

Just because he has a noble status, does that mean he can disregard human life?

Lan Cui desperately wanted to kill the Third Prince, but she couldn't.

It feels much easier to say it now.

Given her status and position, the revenge for her sister could only end there.

To everyone's surprise, the eldest princess did not get angry as expected; instead, she showed an approving smile.

"Very well, if you say you dare not, then I will not use you."

The eldest princess glanced at everyone in the courtyard and finally instructed, "From today onwards, Lan Cui will be the steward of the Third Prince's residence, responsible for all affairs within the residence. Except for matters concerning the Third Prince's life, Lan Cui will make all other decisions."

Upon hearing this, the Third Prince immediately roared in protest: "Royal sister! I just killed this vile woman's sister! Are you trying to kill me by making her my steward?"

The eldest princess looked at him with a smile: "Since you know that, then you should try even harder to live on."

"Now that I am the Crown Princess, who in this Great Zhou Dynasty, besides my father, is more noble than you and my brother?"

"When he ascends the throne in Japan, you will be second only to the emperor! So, you must strive to survive, Yue Lin!"

Although the princess was smiling, her words sent chills down one's spine.

The Third Prince is almost scared out of his wits!

He always felt that his elder sister was very different from before.

Unable to persuade the eldest princess, the third prince could only glare at Lan Cui and say, "You vile woman, if you dare to mistreat me, I will make sure you suffer a terrible death."

Lan Cui was still in shock when she heard this and looked at the eldest princess.

The eldest princess gave her a reassuring smile: "It's alright, I will assign one hundred Imperial Guards to serve you."

Upon hearing that Jiang Yueli was actually going to send the Imperial Guards to take over the Prince's residence, the Third Prince could no longer bear it.

He pounded on the chair frantically, shouting, "Jiang Yueli, I am a prince, a member of the Great Zhou royal family, and your own brother! How dare you let these vile women humiliate me?"

The eldest princess looked at him coldly: "If you weren't my own brother, you'd be overgrown with weeds by now."

After saying that, Jiang Yueli ignored the Third Prince and turned to leave.

Lan Cui quickly got into character and immediately ordered, "Guards, in accordance with Her Highness the Crown Prince's order, lock the Third Prince in his room. No one is to let him out without Her Highness's permission."

The servants in the mansion now knew who was in charge of the Third Prince's residence, and dared not disobey in the slightest. They helped the Third Prince and walked towards the inner courtyard.

The third prince cursed and swore all the way, but because of his broken leg, he could not break free from the two strong servants and could only be dragged along.

Zhou Wei remained where she was and did not leave with the princess.

Lan Cui reacted quickly; when no one was in the courtyard, she knelt on the ground and begged Zhou Wei for clarification.

"Aunt Zhou, please save me!"

Zhou Wei helped her up and comforted her, "You don't need to be afraid. The princess just said that she trusts you to take charge of the household."

Lan Cui asked, puzzled, "But this servant doesn't understand the meaning of 'dare not' and 'cannot'?"

“If you say you dare not, then you lack courage, and this matter cannot be entrusted to you,” Zhou Wei explained slowly. “If you say you cannot, then you have enough courage, but because you remember the Third Prince’s status and know the difference between superiors and inferiors, you cannot lay a hand on him.”

"Therefore, the princess is very reassured in entrusting the Third Prince to you."

Lan Cui understood now that although the eldest princess wanted to punish the third prince, she wouldn't really take his life.

But how to punish them? Lan Cui really didn't know.

Zhou Wei, seeing this through to the end, guided her, saying, "Don't you know how to be a steward? You're in charge of managing this entire manor. Such a large manor has such high expenses. Five hundred taels for a steamed bun is quite reasonable, isn't it?"

Lan Cui was taken aback for a moment, then realized what was happening.

"A bucket of bathwater costs a thousand taels, a chicken costs a thousand taels, and a thick quilt costs two thousand taels. That's reasonable, isn't it?"

Lan Cui clicked her tongue in amazement. If Zhou Wei continued to plunder like this, the three million taels given by the Princess would soon be gone.

The Third Prince has a secret stash of money, and even the steward, Old Yang, doesn't know where he hides it.

If prices remain at this level, it won't be long before the Third Prince is destitute.

That was more painful than having his heart ripped out!

"Aunt Zhou, what if His Highness runs out of money?"

"If you don't have money, then go hungry! Even if you're a prince, you can't just freeload, can you?"

Zhou Wei further suggested, "An adult man can go without food or water for three to five days, repeatedly, over and over again."

"Of course, there will always be times when your household is poorly managed. When people are extremely hungry, they may steal. If they make a mistake, they will be punished severely as a warning."

"I think the Third Prince's whip is quite good. Doesn't he like to whip people until their skin is torn and bleeding? You can whip him a few times at will, and he'll be very happy!"

"Of course, he's a man, young and strong. If the wound doesn't fester, there's no need to bother treating it."

"It'll get better eventually. It's just a little painful and painful, but you won't die, right?"

Lan Cui was utterly shocked!

Zhou Wei's words were telling her that she could target the Third Prince, but she shouldn't let him die.

But if he really did that, I wonder how many days the pampered Third Prince could last?

(The Capital City arc is coming to an end, and the Blessed Land arc is coming up soon. Then all the timelines will converge, so we need to speed up the pace and rhythm. *bows*)