The misty rain of Jiangnan blurred the landscape, while flowers along the riverbank fell here and there, carpeting the ground in scattered blossoms.
Inside Lin’an City’s largest teahouse, several grain merchants were huddled together, speaking in hushed voices.
“Have you heard? Jiangnan’s weather and soil have been excellent this year. Both the early and late rice harvests are abundant.”
“Of course. Several major granaries over in Lizhou have already started accumulating surplus grain. At this rate, I reckon Jiangnan’s grain prices will fall again in another half a month.”
“Ah, if we don’t sell quickly while we can, once the autumn harvest comes and the new grain hits the market, the grain in our hands will be worth even less than mud!”
The news was not baseless. Jiangnan had indeed enjoyed a bumper harvest this year.
Yet within only a few days, this anxiety that “grain prices are bound to fall” spread through the entire Jiangnan merchant community like a plague.
At the same time, another piece of news was quietly making its way into the ears of these Jiangnan grain merchants through grain-shipping guilds, escort agencies, and money houses across the various regions.
“The war in the north has been frequent. I heard grain prices in the three northern prefectures have skyrocketed!”
“Skyrocketed? That’s putting it mildly! His Highness Prince Su’s army is frantically buying up military provisions. If we can safely deliver the grain to Beiming Port, even after deducting shipping fees, spoilage, and checkpoint expenses, there’s still nearly a hundred percent profit!”
“I heard the Zhang family already sent ships north yesterday. The Wang family even chartered ten grain barges overnight. As long as we can get the grain to Beiming Port, we’ll make money!”
Low-priced place of production, high-priced market.
It was the oldest—and most deadly—temptation in the world of commerce.
The beast called the market had begun to move on its own.
“Quick! Gather all the grain from our warehouses and load it onto ships. Send it north!”
The rumor began multiplying on its own. One merchant ship after another, loaded to the brim with grain, sailed northward toward Beiming Port in a vast, surging procession, like countless carp swimming upstream.
But there were also those who remained on the sidelines, watching.
◇◆◇◆◇
Thousands of miles away, in the capital, inside a secluded waterside courtyard of Prince Yi’s residence.
Xiao Ying was dressed in a thin sleeping robe, languidly reclining against an exquisite soft couch.
His handsome brows were faintly furrowed, his raven-black hair spilling loosely across the couch. The half-open collar revealed a hint of his cold-white collarbones, and his entire person exuded a decadent, seductive beauty.
After two light knocks, the door was pushed open. A young man dressed in a dark-blue crossed-collar robe entered carrying a wooden tray.
On the tray sat a bowl of thick, black medicinal broth, still steaming faintly.
Along with the crack in the opening door, an elegant white shadow slipped inside.
It was a snow lion cat presented as tribute from the Western Regions. Its entire body was flawless white, its fur fluffy, and its eyes were an odd pair—one blue and one yellow. This was Silver Sand, the cat Xiao Ying doted on most.
Silver Sand padded lightly over to the couch, sprang gracefully onto it, and familiarly nudged its head against Xiao Ying’s palm, asking to be petted.
“Your Highness, the hangover soup is ready.”
The young man merely raised his eyes slightly. After taking in the languid state of his master, he calmly looked away, as though he had long since grown accustomed to it.
Xiao Ying lifted his eyes slightly and glanced at the bowl of dark, viscous liquid. His already-furrowed brows immediately tightened further, as though he were staring at a bowl of poison.
“What did you put in it? Just looking at it makes my stomach turn from the bitterness.”
“To answer Your Highness, it is the Pueraria Blossom Hangover Decoction prescribed by the residence’s physicians. Its main ingredients are kudzu flowers, atractylodes, poria, and dried tangerine peel. Seeing Your Highness repeatedly rubbing your temples after waking this morning, I took the liberty of having the physicians add ligusticum, kudzu root, and angelica dahurica. They can dispel wind, relieve pain, and ease the headache caused by the hangover.”
The man’s answer was respectful and meticulous, his clear voice carrying not the slightest unnecessary fluctuation of emotion.
Xiao Ying was speechless for a moment before finally deigning to move his gaze from the “poison” to the man before him—his chief administrator, Lan Ningcheng.
He was not bad-looking. In fact, he could even be considered handsome.
Monolid eyes, a clean appearance, refined and scholarly.
It was simply that the owner of that face seemed never to believe there was any use in being “handsome.” He always kept himself impeccably dressed, restrained and rigorous to an almost excessive degree.
His gaze was not cold. It simply held no warmth.
When he looked at a person, there was little difference between that and the way he looked at a page of accounts.
Sometimes Xiao Ying felt that this man certainly had ability. He was simply far too serious.
And people who were too serious in court were often among the first to die.
Lan Ningcheng was an anomaly.
At nineteen, he had passed the imperial examination as a second-class Presented Scholar. By all rights, he should have entered the Hanlin Academy and then served through the Six Ministries, with a bright and straightforward future ahead of him.
Yet when he was twenty, the Ministry of Personnel had casually waved a stroke of the brush and “happened” to send him to the residence of Prince Yi, who had only recently been granted his title.
To take a spirited young scholar and throw him to an idle, ridiculous prince was no different from breaking his wings and ruining his political career.
In outsiders’ eyes, Lan Ningcheng was an extremely rigid and cautious man. Wearing an expression of “dutiful yet helpless suffering,” he struggled to maintain the dignity of the Prince Yi’s residence, which seemed to be tottering on the verge of collapse. Many people could not help but lament his misfortune.
In truth, Xiao Ying had never been able to figure out why Lan Ningcheng had not simply walked away back then.
Even if this appointment had been the result of Consort Wan secretly pulling strings through her maternal family, with Lan Ningcheng’s talent, he could easily have pretended to be ill and refused the appointment. That would still have been better than following a prince with no power, who spent his days indulging in pleasure and women, and who might at any moment be purged in the undercurrents of the succession struggle.
Yet over the past two years, Lan Ningcheng had remained neither arrogant nor impatient, diligently handling every tedious matter inside and outside the residence for him.
But that had indeed saved Xiao Ying considerable effort, allowing him to lie around and loaf about with even greater peace of mind.
“…Chief Administrator Lan, what I mean is, this medicine is too bitter.”
Xiao Ying helplessly rubbed his brow and simply made himself clear.
Lan Ningcheng’s expression did not change. He merely took a plate of glossy osmanthus-sugar-coated plums from the lower compartment of the tray and calmly held it out.
Only then did Xiao Ying, brows deeply furrowed, pick up the porcelain bowl. As though preparing to die, he downed the entire bowl of bitter, astringent medicine in one go, then quickly pinched up a plum and popped it onto his tongue.
The sweet-and-sour flavor finally dispelled the bitterness in his mouth. He casually gathered Silver Sand into his arms, his long, jade-like fingers kneading the cat’s ears with interest and stroking its silky white fur.
Silver Sand comfortably purred.
Xiao Ying rested his head against the cushion again. Stroking the cat’s back absentmindedly, he closed his eyes and said lazily, “Now, tell me the important part.”
Lan Ningcheng took one step forward, lowering his voice to a whisper.
“The wind from Jiangnan has already begun blowing north.”
“Has the Lin family’s main merchant fleet moved?” Xiao Ying’s voice sounded weak and listless.
“To answer Your Highness, yes. The Lin family’s main fleet is still following its original route and will not touch a single grain of rice.”
Xiao Ying nodded slightly before asking, “What about Guangji Trading?”
“The connection has been made. All transactions with the northern grain merchants will be handled by Guangji Trading.”
The languid peach-blossom eyes that had been half-asleep moments ago finally revealed a rare, cold clarity as his gaze shifted.
“Remember. What I want is for the northern border to have grain available to buy.”
His tone was no longer lazy. It carried a heavy coldness that brooked no argument.
“If anyone follows the account books and traces them back to the Lin family, or even traces them to Mother and me, then we’ve lost this entire game.”
“This subordinate understands. We’ve cleaned up all loose ends.”
Lan Ningcheng’s answer was firm.
There were many secrets within Prince Yi’s residence that could never be spoken aloud. The matters he handled most frequently were the residence’s secret accounts.
Coming from a Jiangnan merchant family himself, he was exceptionally skilled at handling such accounts.
On the surface, Prince Yi’s residence was merely the home of an “idle prince.” There was enough legitimate income to maintain the residence and allow Prince Yi to preserve the outward image of a pleasure-loving prince.
But beneath the surface, Xiao Ying possessed many sources of money that could not see the light of day.
It was not that the money came from illegal sources. Rather, it was necessary to prevent anyone from becoming suspicious.
He had to maintain the image that he had plenty of money, but simply squandered it all.
Xiao Ying asked casually, “How high have grain prices in the northern border risen now?”
“The black market is approaching eighteen taels per dan.”
“Still too high. Send word to Guangji Trading. Take tea and salt there.”
Lan Ningcheng froze slightly.
“Tea and salt?”
“Yes. Have Guangji Trading release large quantities of goods in the northern border.” A cold, mocking smile tugged at the corner of Xiao Ying’s lips. “Once the supply of tea and salt increases, prices will naturally fall. Then give those merchant houses a few extra days of credit.”
“If the merchants hoarding grain have their silver tied up in tea and salt, someone will eventually be unable to hold out. Once they need cash to keep their businesses moving, naturally someone will be willing to release their grain.”
Lan Ningcheng said quietly, “Guangji Trading’s salt permits only cover Jiangnan. Selling salt in the northern border will require another solution.”
Xiao Ying’s tone remained unhurried.
“Then have Guangji Trading handle it. Exchange permits, form joint ventures, whatever works. I don’t care about the process.”
“Also, what about that matter in the capital? How is the investigation going?”
This time, there was not a trace of his earlier languor in Xiao Ying’s voice.
Lan Ningcheng took a thin secret letter from inside his robes.
“I was just about to report to Your Highness.”
He placed the secret letter on the table but did not immediately open it.
“Regarding the ‘three months to reclaim the lost territory’ that Young Master Lu Ming mentioned at Qiyun Tower, I have traced it backward.”
“How far did you get?”
“Lu Ming did not lie,” Lan Ningcheng said. “He really did hear it from Lu Chuan, the Vice Minister of Rites. But Lu Chuan was not the first person to know.”
Xiao Ying’s brows lifted slightly.
Only then did Lan Ningcheng open the secret letter and hand it over.
“I traced the information upward from Lu Chuan and discovered that before it entered the social circles of the officials of the Ministry of Rites, it had briefly appeared in two places. One was a private banquet hosted by a Clerk in the Ministry of War. The other was a drinking gathering attended by an Eastern Palace aide and several sons of meritorious nobles.”
“The sources of the information in both places claimed they had ‘heard it from the palace.'”
Xiao Ying’s brows furrowed slightly.
“In other words, the Eastern Palace was merely one of the relay points.”
“Yes.”
“What about the Ministry of War?”
“Also a relay point.” Lan Ningcheng paused. “I have yet to find the place where the two lines truly converge.”
Xiao Ying suddenly laughed, but there was not the slightest warmth in that laugh.
“Interesting. They want everyone to know, yet they don’t want anyone to know who made everyone know.”
He leaned back against the couch, the languor in his eyes fading somewhat.
“Is there a trace of the Eastern Palace?”
“I originally suspected the same. But after investigating, it actually doesn’t seem so. There are certainly people in the Eastern Palace stirring things up, but if this were personally ordered by the Crown Prince, the risk would be too great.”
“It’s not that the risk is too great.” Xiao Ying said calmly. “It’s that he wouldn’t do it.”
Lan Ningcheng raised his eyes slightly.
“Your Highness believes the Crown Prince wouldn’t?”
“He wants Seventh Brother dead. That’s true.”
The corner of Xiao Ying’s lips curved faintly, but there was not the slightest trace of amusement in his eyes.
“But he wants to secure the Eastern Palace even more.”
“The northern border is a matter of national military importance, and Father is most wary of anyone interfering with military authority. If this information ultimately reveals even the slightest hint of collusion with the enemy, the first person Father will suspect is the Eastern Palace. No matter how foolish the Crown Prince is, he would never risk his position as Crown Prince just to die alongside Seventh Brother.”
Lan Ningcheng fell silent for a moment.
“So… someone borrowed the Eastern Palace’s influence?”
“No.” Xiao Ying lightly tapped the tabletop.
“Someone knows what the people in the Eastern Palace will say, and which pieces of information will interest them. Then…”
He paused.
“…they simply put it right into their mouths.”
“After Your Highness deliberately released the information at Qiyun Tower and Shuyu Pavilion last time—that His Majesty had given Prince Su fifty thousand troops, and that Baishui Pass was unstable—several groups of people took action that very night.”
Lan Ningcheng paused before continuing.
“After the information was released at Qiyun Tower, three people immediately sent people out that night. After the mention of Baishui Pass at Shuyu Pavilion, two people did not return home. Instead, they went to an inconspicuous teahouse in the southern part of the city. One of them sent people the following day to inquire with northern merchants about the grain routes near Baishui Pass.”
The room fell silent for a moment.
Xiao Ying picked up the sheet of paper and casually glanced over it.
“Investigate further. I want to know which rats are hiding in the capital. Keep it discreet. Don’t let anyone notice what we’re doing.”
“I also discovered something else.”
Lan Ningcheng’s tone shifted.
Xiao Ying raised a brow.
“What?”
“The grain in the northern border.”
This time, Xiao Ying did not answer immediately.
He raised his eyes toward Lan Ningcheng. The languidness of his hangover had completely disappeared.
“Speak.”
Lan Ningcheng said, “Recently, people in the capital have been repeatedly asking about grain prices in the northern border. At first, they merely asked how much a dan of grain was worth in the three prefectures. Later, people began asking how many grain ships entered Beiming Port each day, and how many grain carts left.”
Xiao Ying lightly tapped the edge of the couch with his fingertip.
“Merchants?”
“There are merchants, as well as several people who don’t deal in grain at all.”
The room fell silent for an instant.
Xiao Ying narrowed his eyes slightly, sensing something unusual.
He straightened a little.
“Now that’s interesting.”
He knew that grain prices in the northern border were currently absurdly high.
Xiao Yuan was buying large quantities of grain.
Some merchants were taking advantage of the chaos to hoard grain and profit from scarcity, pushing prices higher and higher.
The northern border was already suffering from a grain shortage. That was not strange.
What was truly strange was this—
Beiming Port clearly still had large quantities of grain coming in.
“Have you investigated the grain at Beiming Port?”
Lan Ningcheng opened another dossier.
“Over the past two months, the number of grain ships entering Beiming Port has been thirty percent higher than the same period in previous years. Yet the amount registered as entering the city’s granaries has not increased accordingly.”
Xiao Ying stared at the sheet of paper for a moment.
“The number of grain ships entering the port has increased by thirty percent, but the amount entering the official granaries has not increased accordingly?”
“Correct.”
“Then don’t say that any of it is ‘missing’ yet.”
Xiao Ying lifted his eyes, his gaze sharp.
“Grain doesn’t simply disappear into thin air. What we need to investigate now isn’t how much is missing. It’s whose warehouse it ultimately ended up in.”
Lan Ningcheng’s eyes shifted slightly.
“What if we discover that it was taken out of the pass?”
Xiao Ying fell silent for a moment.
“Then things will truly become interesting.”
“If northern grain merchants are simply hoarding supplies, I can understand that. But if someone is taking the grain from Beiming Port, bypassing the normal grain market, or even bypassing official inspection and release to transport it elsewhere…”
His smile gradually vanished from his eyes.
“Then this isn’t simply merchant greed.”
“Where, exactly, did all this grain go?”
Lan Ningcheng’s expression changed slightly.
“Could Your Highness mean…?”
“I’m only guessing.” Xiao Ying leaned back against the soft couch. “The grain at Beiming Port isn’t going to grow legs and walk away by itself.”
He thought for a moment.
If even he could detect something unusual, then surely Seventh Brother had already noticed it as well, and might have even begun taking action.
If someone in the northern grain trade was supplying the enemy, then this was no small matter—and certainly not something he could interfere with himself.
Lan Ningcheng pondered for a moment before saying,
“I had someone reorganize all the northern-border rumors circulating in the capital over the past ten days. We discovered something. The same piece of information, after passing through different people’s mouths, becomes three different versions.”
“The first is: ‘Prince Su is about to suffer defeat.'”
“The second is: ‘The northern border is already facing a grain shortage, and grain prices will continue to rise.'”
“The third is: ‘Grain is cheap in Jiangnan this year. If we can buy large quantities now, then wait for northern grain prices to rise another round, we can make several times our investment.'”
Xiao Ying narrowed his eyes and gave a cold snort.
“Interesting.”
He sat up slightly.
“The first moves people’s hearts. The second moves grain prices in the northern border. The third moves Jiangnan’s grain supply.”
Lan Ningcheng nodded.
“The three pieces of information appear to be spreading independently, but in reality, they are driving one another.”
“Someone hears that Prince Su is going to lose, so they believe the northern border is bound to descend into chaos. Once they believe the northern border will descend into chaos, they believe grain prices will continue to rise. Once grain prices rise, Jiangnan’s grain merchants become even more willing to hoard their grain and wait for higher prices.”
Xiao Ying’s fingertip stopped on the small table.
“That means… the more desperate the northern border’s grain shortage becomes, the more people in Jiangnan will be unwilling to sell.”
“Exactly.”
A cold smile appeared on Xiao Ying’s lips.
“What a way to cut off the roots beneath the pot.”
The situation seemed even deeper and more unfathomable than he had anticipated.
But since he had already entered the game himself, he would not allow these people with ulterior motives to manipulate the market however they pleased.
Lan Ningcheng was silent for a moment.
“I suspect this isn’t an ordinary rumor. Someone is deliberately guiding the market.”
Xiao Ying gave a cold order.
“Find the people who spread the three versions of the rumor. As for the grain that disappeared from Beiming Port, let Seventh Brother investigate it himself. We don’t touch it.”
He paused, then added in a solemn voice,
“And don’t touch anyone from the Crown Prince’s faction.”
Lan Ningcheng was slightly taken aback.
Xiao Ying said calmly, “If there really is a problem with the people in the Eastern Palace, I’ll find out naturally. Moving against them now will only alert the enemy and let the person truly hiding behind all this realize that someone has noticed the game.”
Lan Ningcheng nodded in acknowledgment, then added, “I understand. However, regarding the trail behind the original ‘three months to reclaim the lost territory’ message, I followed the clues and found a rather subtle coincidence.”
“Oh?”
Xiao Ying raised a brow.
Lan Ningcheng lowered his voice.
“The person who first spread the message had no direct contact with the Eastern Palace. But I discovered that he once ran errands for a section chief in the Ministry of Revenue. More recently, he also passed on instructions for someone to keep an eye on grain prices in several Jiangnan prefectures.”
He paused slightly and met Xiao Ying’s gaze.
“Does Your Highness remember that some time ago, you mentioned hearing people at Qiyun Tower discussing the confiscation of Vice Minister Wang of the Ministry of Revenue’s property for embezzling treasury funds?”
Xiao Ying’s fingertip paused.
He had almost forgotten about it. At the time, after returning from Qiyun Tower, he had merely casually repeated the gossip he had heard from those spoiled young masters to Lan Ningcheng.
“What? Did that fire burn out something new?”
“Now that Vice Minister Wang has been convicted, the Ministry of Revenue naturally needs someone to take over the grain administration documents he previously handled. Left Vice Minister Sheng was ordered by the Minister to assist in investigating part of them.”
Lan Ningcheng spoke slowly.
“I discovered that several old files concerning Jiangnan grain prices, grain transport, and records of ships entering Beiming Port were recently pulled out separately. Vice Minister Wang had previously been responsible for accounting for grain shipments, so these old files were originally among the records he handled.”
The light in Xiao Ying’s eyes darkened.
“Who pulled them?”
Lan Ningcheng was silent for a moment.
“The records in the archives state that a section chief from the Ministry of Revenue retrieved them under orders.”
Xiao Ying stared at him.
“Which section chief?”
Meeting his gaze, Lan Ningcheng lowered his voice.
“Someone under Left Vice Minister Sheng. Left Vice Minister Sheng was ordered by the Minister to assist in investigating Vice Minister Wang’s old accounts.”
He paused.
“It is the very same section chief who had someone keep an eye on Jiangnan grain prices.”
The room fell silent once again.
Everything made perfect sense. Everything was legitimate. There was not the slightest flaw to be found.
There was no need to personally spread rumors, nor any need to send people to Jiangnan to establish connections.
Left Vice Minister Sheng had been ordered to investigate the accounts, and his subordinate had retrieved the old records.
As long as he was in the Ministry of Revenue and held authority over grain administration, he could use “investigating the accounts” as the perfect cover to gain complete knowledge of Jiangnan’s grain situation, the schedules of grain shipments, and even the volume of goods passing through Beiming Port.
All he had to do was let certain “interested people” happen to see those astonishing figures at the right moment, or “accidentally” let a few words slip during a drinking gathering.
The merchants’ greed for profit would naturally become the invisible hand pushing the market, stirring up a monstrous wave.
Even if someone investigated afterward, all they could find would be a perfectly ordinary “audit by the Ministry of Revenue.”
“What a clean and effortless way to go with the flow.”
A cold smile curled at the corner of Xiao Ying’s lips. His eyes held both appreciation for the man’s insight and a trace of wariness.
“Those hands are hidden so deeply.”
He realized—
There was someone in the shadows simultaneously manipulating military intelligence, grain prices, and trade routes.
If it were only one of these things, it could still be explained away as coincidence or simple greed.
But if all three were being manipulated at once, then whatever lay behind it was certainly not simple.
Xiao Ying’s gaze darkened completely.
The capital, Jiangnan, the northern border, and the Northern Di had already become intertwined in a dense, impenetrable web of undercurrents.
In this enormous game of chess, besides the Emperor, the Crown Prince, Prince Su, and the Northern Di, there was clearly another invisible hand lurking in the shadows.
But he could not understand.
If all these people’s ultimate target was Prince Su and the northern border, what was their motive?
The Crown Prince hated Xiao Yuan. That much he could understand.
Xiao Yuan’s presence in the northern border was too dazzling. If he were not suppressed with all one’s might, it would make the Crown Prince, who sat securely in the Eastern Palace, appear mediocre and incompetent, shaking the confidence of the Crown Prince’s faction.
As for the Emperor, that man’s thoughts were meticulous and unfathomable. Suppressing Xiao Yuan might be because he feared that Xiao Yuan’s prestige within the military had grown too great—a method of maintaining balance through imperial statecraft.
But why was this “invisible hand” also so eager to send Xiao Yuan to his death?
What was its purpose?
Xiao Yuan was extremely low-key in the capital. He rarely made enemies, and he had never had any direct conflict with the Ministry of Revenue.
He rapidly reorganized the clues in his mind.
Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue—Sheng Yuanli, one of the core members of the Crown Prince’s faction.
In the past, when the northern border army repeatedly failed to receive its grain and military provisions, part of the obstruction and deliberate delays had come from him.
There was no need to guess who had given the order.
It was precisely the Crown Prince, who was determined to kill Xiao Yuan.
In Xiao Ying’s impression, Sheng Yuanli was low-key in his conduct and scrupulously kept to his duties, like the most obedient dog in the Eastern Palace.
Yet someone normally so quiet that he barely attracted attention had appeared at this critical juncture.
That, instead, gave Xiao Ying an indistinct sense of danger.
In this treacherous court, the quieter a person was, the more likely it was that they were either desperately avoiding something or concealing something deep beneath the surface.
The chaotic pieces of information rearranged themselves in his mind, gradually forming an outline that sent a chill down his spine.
The fingers that had been stroking Silver Sand unconsciously came to a stop.
Seeing that its master had not moved for a long time, Silver Sand impatiently nudged its head against his palm and gave a coquettish little meow.
The pain in Xiao Ying’s temples, already throbbing faintly from his hangover, now pulsed even more sharply.
He had no mind to attend to the cat in his arms and coldly pushed Silver Sand aside.
Having been rebuffed, Silver Sand curled up at the corner of the couch and did not dare make another sound.
Xiao Ying could not help wondering—
Had Vice Minister Wang of the Ministry of Revenue really fallen because of simple embezzlement?
And had the suddenly gravely ill and unexpectedly deceased Consort Zhao, whose imperial favor had been at its height, really died because “fate could not be defied”?
Perhaps none of these things were as simple as they appeared on the surface.
In this imperial city, the slightest misstep could mean that what happened to these people today would become the fate of Prince Yi’s residence tomorrow.
In the end, Xiao Ying simply fell back onto the soft couch, filled with helplessness.
He had only wanted to be an idle prince who ate and waited for death.
How had he gotten farther and farther away from that ideal?
“Investigate… Keep investigating. Investigate Consort Zhao’s matter as well.”
Xiao Ying spoke lazily, but his tone brooked no argument.
“But remember. Do not touch the Ministry of Revenue. And especially, do not touch Sheng Yuanli.”
Lan Ningcheng frowned slightly, unable to understand.
“Your Highness, why stop here?”
The answer might be hidden within the Ministry of Revenue. He could not understand why they would not press their advantage.
Xiao Ying rubbed his head, lifting his eyelids slightly. His tone was lazy as he answered with another question.
“Chief Administrator Lan, why do you think… Father suddenly issued that secret decree ordering the lost territory to be reclaimed within three months?”
Lan Ningcheng fell silent.
He did not dare speculate openly on imperial intentions. Some things, even if he understood them perfectly well in his heart, could not be spoken by the chief administrator of a prince’s residence.
Xiao Ying knew he had his concerns and simply stated it bluntly.
“Father has sent Seventh Brother to the northern border five times. On the surface, it was to suppress the Northern Di’s rebellion. But everyone with eyes in court knows perfectly well that it was little different from exile.”
“And that secret decree was another death warrant.”
Yet each time in the past, Xiao Yuan had not only completed his assignments perfectly, but had repeatedly managed, under extraordinarily harsh conditions, to firmly grasp both the people’s loyalty and the army’s morale in the northern border.
That was precisely what had drawn the Emperor’s deeper suspicion.
“Think about it carefully. How could a prince with no foundation in court and no maternal clan supporting him rebuild the northern border’s foremost military city, which had been neglected for more than twenty years, while the Crown Prince repeatedly obstructed him and Father tacitly allowed his grain and military provisions to be withheld?”
A knowing, cold smile lingered at Xiao Ying’s lips.
His Seventh Brother was hiding far too deeply. He was absolutely not as empty-handed as he appeared.
“Every expense behind this is a bottomless pit. Without money, you can’t take a single step.”
“Expanding the army, repairing the city, maintaining the troops, providing disaster relief, building defensive fortifications, purchasing military supplies, maintaining the northern trade routes, and even fighting a war of attrition against the Northern Di.”
“All of this requires mountains of gold and seas of silver to fill.”
“The meager stipend from Prince Su’s residence and the rewards from the imperial court aren’t even enough to fill the gaps between his teeth.”
“So Xiao Yuan’s true trump card isn’t just his army.”
“It is also his bottomless financial power.”
“This isn’t strength that could have been accumulated over a few days. It is the result of long-term cultivation in the shadows.”
“If you told me Xiao Yuan didn’t have some hidden financial source that couldn’t see the light of day, I’d be the first not to believe it.”
Lan Ningcheng realized that the Prince Su who was always so low-key in the capital, and who was even rumored to keep a favored concubine, was hiding much more than anyone imagined.
The Emperor’s move in sending Xiao Yuan to the northern border might have inadvertently played directly into Prince Su’s hands.
Now, a new city had risen in the northern border, and a new order was quietly taking shape.
The Emperor’s three-month death sentence was meant to snuff out this potential threat before it could grow into a blaze.
Seeing that Lan Ningcheng had finally understood, Xiao Ying slowly said,
“I once heard from a friend that a rather interesting physician had appeared in the northern border. Supposedly, this person came from an overseas medical school called the ‘Guichen Medical Sect.’ His medical skills are extraordinary, and he brought many overseas medicines and medical devices no one had ever heard of.”
“More interestingly, the largest trading house in the northern border, Tingxue Pavilion, is the exclusive distributor of these medical devices.”
Xiao Ying looked at Lan Ningcheng.
“What do you think is hidden in this piece of information?”
Lan Ningcheng thought for a moment before answering.
“I’ve heard of Tingxue Pavilion as well. It dominates the northern border and also has extremely deep roots in the capital, specializing in all kinds of expensive rarities…”
“Do you mean Tingxue Pavilion is connected to His Highness Prince Su?”
“I don’t yet know how deep the connection between Tingxue Pavilion and Seventh Brother runs. But that’s not the important part.”
Xiao Ying lowered the hand that had been rubbing his temple, a sharp glint flashing through his eyes.
Lan Ningcheng quietly waited for him to continue.
“I intend to make a deal with Seventh Brother.”
A faint smile curved Xiao Ying’s lips.
“I’ll sell him the most expensive thing in this world—the thing that is also the hardest to repay. But I need an absolutely safe channel.”
Lan Ningcheng understood instantly.
Prince Yi intended to secretly transfer all the information they had uncovered during this period to Prince Su.
That way, he would neither have to personally risk confronting the hidden enemy nor have to fight the black hand directly, while still making the Prince Su who commanded a powerful army owe him an enormous favor.
“I have a suggestion.”
Lan Ningcheng spoke slowly.
“Guangji Trading is preparing to expand a tea-and-salt trade route into the northern border. If they make contact with Tingxue Pavilion through normal commercial dealings, it wouldn’t seem unusual.”
Xiao Ying nodded slightly.
“That will work. But don’t let anyone know that I want to contact Tingxue Pavilion.”
He thought for a moment before adding calmly,
“Actually… don’t even let the people from Guangji Trading know. Let them establish the connection themselves, then mix the intelligence into ordinary account books and business documents and send it over. Seventh Brother’s people will naturally understand.”
“I obey.”
Xiao Ying returned to his languid appearance and casually ordered,
“Oh, right. When you have time, help me collect a list of unmarried young ladies from respectable families, along with their portraits.”
He said it as casually as if he were asking Lan Ningcheng to go to the market and buy a basket of cabbage.
Lan Ningcheng calmly raised his eyes.
“Has Your Highness finally decided to start a family?”
At that, Xiao Ying could not help giving a cold laugh.
He turned his head toward Lan Ningcheng, the corners of his eyes faintly red from the hangover, and asked with a half-smile,
“Chief Administrator Lan, do you think there is any respectable family in this capital willing to marry their perfectly good daughter to a powerless prince who has been frequenting pleasure houses since the age of fifteen and has now gone so far as to throw around a fortune to keep a male courtesan?”
Lan Ningcheng did not answer immediately.
A trace of bitterness imperceptibly rose from the depths of his heart, only to be firmly suppressed by his self-control.
During these two years at Prince Yi’s residence, he had gone from his initial helpless remonstrance, to cold observation, and finally to complete understanding.
He understood this layer of absurdity that Xiao Ying used as a protective color far too well.
There was a reason Xiao Ying did not marry.
He used an almost self-destructive method to ruin his own reputation, severing every possibility of forming factions or cultivating private alliances, all so that he could survive within this vortex of power that devoured people, protecting both himself and his maternal clan.
The rear courtyard of Prince Yi’s residence housed all kinds of rare birds with gorgeous feathers.
In Lan Ningcheng’s eyes, those birds imprisoned in exquisite cages were undoubtedly a reflection of the master before him.
Seeing him remain silent, Xiao Ying did not mind. He murmured indifferently,
“It’s merely for show, so Mother in the palace can feel a little more at ease.”
Lan Ningcheng lowered his eyes.
“I understand. I’ll have the search made conspicuous enough.”
Xiao Ying was speechless.
“…You don’t need to make it that exaggerated. Wouldn’t that make Yue Xijun uncomfortable? Just put on an act. That’s enough. Also send some brocade, jewelry, and other gifts to Yue Xijun. As for what everyone else thinks, that’s their business.”
After giving all his orders, he rubbed his aching temple again.
“I’m tired. I’ll sleep for a while. I have an appointment tonight. I’m taking Yue Xijun to a pleasure boat to listen to music. Wake me when it’s time.”
Lan Ningcheng looked at his thin sleeping robe and frowned in warning.
“Your Highness, resting on the soft couch makes it easy to catch a chill.”
Xiao Ying merely turned his back, unwilling to move even a finger.
“…I can’t move. My brain is exhausted from overwork.”
Lan Ningcheng stood there for a moment, thinking: What does mental exhaustion have to do with being unable to move your body?
He seriously suspected that Xiao Ying’s performance as an idle prince was simply his true nature.
In the end, he sighed softly and stepped forward.
“Excuse me.”
He bent slightly, his strong arms sliding beneath Xiao Ying’s knees and behind his back, and lifted the seemingly tall but actually slender prince securely from the couch.
Xiao Ying seemed genuinely exhausted. He naturally rested his head against Lan Ningcheng’s chest.
Carrying him into the inner chamber, Lan Ningcheng carefully settled him onto the soft bed, pulled the brocade quilt over him, meticulously tucked the edges, and lowered the bed curtains.
Just as he straightened and prepared to leave, the person on the bed suddenly spoke in a quiet voice.
“…Chief Administrator Lan, have you ever regretted being sent to this chaotic, rotten Prince Yi’s residence?”
Lan Ningcheng’s body paused. He calmly looked toward the figure behind the bed curtains.
“No.”
Xiao Ying gave a soft laugh, tinged with self-mockery.
“Why? I’m a useless prince, after all. You’re a second-class Presented Scholar of distinguished standing. If you spend your whole life following me, I’m afraid you’ll never live to see the day you get promoted.”
This time, Lan Ningcheng finally raised his head and looked directly into Xiao Ying’s eyes.
That glance was extremely brief, yet as deep as an abyss.
The smile at the corner of Xiao Ying’s lips unconsciously faded slightly, because through the semi-transparent gauze curtains, he actually caught the faintest curve at the lips of this man who so rarely smiled.
“If Your Highness is a useless man, then this subordinate must be blind.”
Xiao Ying froze slightly, then turned his face away and muttered,
“…Enough. Leave.”
He closed his eyes and prepared to sleep.
However, Silver Sand, who had been neglected earlier, had somehow quietly slipped into the inner chamber. Seeing its master lying down, it crept silently to the edge of the bed, poking its head around as it extended a front paw, wanting to paw at the bed curtains and disturb Xiao Ying’s sleep.
Before that pale cat paw could touch the gauze curtains, a long, slender hand reached out with perfect precision.
Lan Ningcheng expressionlessly grabbed Silver Sand by the loose skin at the back of its neck and lifted the entire snow lion cat into the air.
Silver Sand’s four legs dangled helplessly as it twisted its body and let out an indignant meow.
But the moment it met Lan Ningcheng’s completely emotionless eyes, its ears immediately drooped and it did not dare move again.
Lan Ningcheng simply carried the cat one-handed in midair, bowed slightly toward the bed, then silently withdrew, casually closing the door behind him and carrying the cat outside before setting it down.
Walking along the corridor, Lan Ningcheng’s expression remained calm as he returned to the private courtyard assigned to him within the prince’s residence.
In truth, he had once written a letter of resignation.
It had been during his first month at Prince Yi’s residence, when he had been at his most disheartened.
But that letter had never been submitted.
It remained in a hidden compartment at the very back of his study, the edges of its pages long since yellowed.
He knew in his heart that Xiao Ying had not asked that question casually just now.
He had been telling him: If you want to leave, then withdraw now, while you still can.
The Emperor had given Xiao Yuan only a little over two months to reclaim the lost territory in the northern border.
Yet the situation was far from optimistic.
Apart from the Emperor and the Northern Di, there seemed to be another hidden force pushing the situation toward some unknown destination.
Lan Ningcheng understood that the road ahead in this game was filled with danger, and their odds of victory were extremely low.
He returned to his study and took the yellowed resignation letter from its hidden compartment, quietly looking at it for a moment.
If the northern border’s shield fell, the capital would inevitably be swept by bloodshed.
The Emperor was growing old. The Crown Prince was suspicious and ruthless. Once the reckoning began, Prince Yi’s residence would be among the first targets, and he himself would inevitably be unable to escape unscathed.
Clearly, withdrawing and leaving was the wisest choice.
He lowered his eyes and neatly folded the resignation letter.
Then he held it over the candle flame.
The fire instantly leapt upward, devouring the yellowed pages.
He did not let go until the flames were almost licking his fingertips.
Only then did he release it, allowing the ashes to drift lightly onto the green brick floor.
Lan Ningcheng stared at the remains, the faint glow of the fire reflected in his eyes.
He felt that he must truly have gone mad.
That resignation letter had been the escape route he had left for himself all those years ago.
Yet now, as he personally burned it, he did not feel the slightest regret.
He simply suddenly realized…
This time, it seemed he truly could not bring himself to turn around and walk away.