Chapter 357: Count Pingye

The eunuch carrying the imperial summons arrived, and for a time the entire Quande Restaurant was thrown into commotion.

Even back when Quande Restaurant had still belonged to the Sixth Prince, the Marquis of Zhenbei had visited, and the Marquis of Jingnan had visited, but an imperial summons had never come through its doors.

Quite a few people immediately began guessing.

Could it be that His Majesty himself had grown curious about Quande Restaurant’s famous duck and sent a palace eunuch to buy one and bring it back for a taste?

Heavens.

If that were true, would Quande Restaurant’s roast duck not practically become an imperial tribute item?

Of course, if the Sixth Prince still controlled the business, there was no possibility he would waste an opportunity like this. He would certainly have people spread the story everywhere through insinuation, half-denial, and conspicuously obvious secrecy.

One duck was not worth much to the nobles and grandees of Yanjing.

There was not much profit in selling duck by itself.

The real money lay in everything attached to the duck.

In other words, face.

Things like the perfume that brother of his surnamed Zheng had come up with?

Those were genuine money-printing machines.

Then again, even back in those days, hardly anyone had actually known who stood behind Quande Restaurant.

Palace guards cleared the way.

The eunuch carrying the oral decree hurried upstairs.

Standing at the stairwell, with a strong Yanjing drawl and a deliberately ingratiating tone, he called softly:

“Your Highness?

“Your Highness?”

No one in the neighboring private rooms dared answer by mistake.

One careless “Yes?” and perhaps their head would move houses before the end of the day.

The disturbance downstairs had already drawn attention above. Doors opened from several private rooms as people leaned out to watch.

He Chu was one of them.

He had been sitting closest to the door, so he opened it and peered outside curiously.

Then he withdrew his head, half-covered his mouth with one hand, and whispered to Chief Constable Yan and his sister:

“That palace eunuch has a whole lot of powder on his face.”

Eunuchs liked cosmetics.

Because of their physical mutilation, quite a few of them had difficulty even urinating cleanly. Some residue and leakage were unavoidable, which could leave an unpleasant smell on the body.

They could hardly allow that smell to reach their masters.

So they covered it with perfumes.

And once perfume was already being used, applying powder and rouge along with it was hardly a great leap.

The largest cosmetics shop in Yanjing even had an elderly master working permanently inside it—a former palace eunuch released after growing old and later hired by the shop.

That cosmetics shop was called Willow Blossom Lane.

And once upon a time, it too had been one of the Sixth Prince’s businesses.

At He Chu’s whispered comment, He Si covered her mouth and laughed.

Brother and sister were both visiting Yanjing for the first time and had never seen a eunuch before.

Naturally, they found the sight novel.

Chief Constable Yan, however, burst out laughing without restraint.

“Aiyo!”

He Chu nearly jumped out of his skin.

His brother-in-law had laughed that loudly.

Was he trying to get himself killed?

That was a palace eunuch!

If they offended someone like that, what good ending could possibly follow?

“Aiyo!”

Then another “aiyo” sounded directly behind He Chu.

His entire body snapped straight as though someone had stabbed a blade into his spine.

That voice wasn’t that the eunuch?

He Si was frightened too. She stared blankly toward the doorway.

Chief Constable Yan remained seated as naturally as ever.

“Aiyo, Sixth Highness! You’ve made this old slave search everywhere for you.

“This slave greets Sixth Highness. May Sixth Highness enjoy health and peace!”

Eunuch Qin bent deeply and dropped to his knees before Chief Constable Yan.

“...”

He Chu.

His mind had stopped turning.

What the hell?

He Si covered her mouth, disbelief covering her face.

“Tsk. What a coincidence, Old Qin. I was just worrying about how I’d pay for this meal.

“First time bringing my newly married wife home, you see.

“Couldn’t make it too shabby. Figured I’d bring her here for duck.

“Old Qin, take a look at the clothes I’m wearing and you’ll understand what I’ve been doing for the last half year. How could my little salary possibly cover a meal here?

“And now—perfect timing. You arrived.

“Come.

“Wife.

“Greet him.

“Call him Uncle Qin.”

He Si’s mind was still in chaos. She had no idea what exactly was happening.

But instinctively, she followed her husband.

He told her to greet someone.

So she greeted him.

“Greetings, Uncle Qin.”

“Aiyo! Aiyo! Aiyo!”

Eunuch Qin cried out three times in succession and immediately knocked his forehead heavily against the floor before He Si.

“How could this old slave accept that?

“How could I possibly accept that!”

A prince’s woman was she not effectively a Princess Consort?

For a Princess Consort to call a castrated old eunuch “Uncle” how could he possibly bear such an honor?

“The bill...” Chief Constable Yan drawled.

“Your Highness, listen to what you’re saying. This isn’t the first time you’ve used this old slave to fill your stomach.

“This old slave understands.

“Put the bill on me.”

“Very proper of you.

“Then what about the greeting gift?”

As he spoke, Chief Constable Yan pointed toward his lovely wife again.

Did Eunuch Qin really think that one “Uncle” had been free?

Eunuch Qin smiled broadly and reached into his sleeve.

His first instinct was to take out silver.

Then he immediately felt that would be far too crude and lacking in propriety.

So he untied a small jade pendant from his waist and offered it to He Si with both hands.

“Honored Lady, this is only a small token from this old slave. Please accept it.”

He Si looked at Chief Constable Yan.

He nodded.

Only then did she obediently accept the pendant.

“Thank you, Uncle Qin.”

“Aiyo! Aiyo! Aiyo!”

Eunuch Qin was so frightened he kowtowed again.

When he rose, he instinctively wiped at the corners of his eyes.

Money?

Great eunuchs important enough to carry imperial decrees were rarely short of money.

Nor were they short of disciples and godsons.

What did they lack?

Respect.

The palace eunuchs often discussed the imperial princes privately.

The First Prince heroic.

The Second Prince, now Crown Prince noble.

The Third Prince scholarly.

The Fourth Prince unyielding.

The Fifth Prince amiable.

The Seventh Prince mischievous.

As for the Sixth Prince, the usual evaluation went something like:

“Him?

“Tch.”

*A ruler must give people what they need and accommodate what they desire. Only then can he win their hearts and put them to use.*

Those were words Imperial Father had once spoken while holding the young Ji Chengjue on his knees.

And that was why a peripheral agent of the Secret Intelligence Department hidden inside Qian had, by an extraordinary coincidence, suddenly overheard important information from the residence of a Qian minister and sent back a secret report.

And that was why—

Little Seventh had suddenly remembered the kite Sixth Brother gave him half a year ago, taken it out to fly, and then “accidentally” fallen into the pond.

They were all small people.

Minor pieces.

Most of the time, no one paid attention to them.

But at the critical moment they could produce the result that truly mattered.

...

Eunuch Qin rose.

His expression became solemn.

“His Majesty’s oral decree!”

Chief Constable Yan immediately left his seat and knelt.

“Long live my Emperor! Long live! Long live!”

He Si hurriedly knelt beside him.

Her mind was still buzzing.

He Chu simply collapsed onto the floor.

Strictly speaking, it was not kneeling.

But his entire body was flat against the ground, which was close enough to full prostration that no one could really fault him.

Eunuch Qin first cupped his hands toward the imperial palace.

“His Sacred Majesty is well.”

Then he looked toward Chief Constable Yan and continued:

“His Majesty’s oral decree:

‘You bastard, get your ass into the palace and come see Us!’”

“This son receives the decree!”

Ji Chengjue rose from the floor and casually dusted his knees.

Then he reached down and helped his wife to her feet.

As for his brother-in-law—

He Chu was still glued flat to the floor and had not yet recovered.

“Your Highness, a carriage for the palace is already prepared.”

Ji Chengjue pointed toward He Si beside him.

“His Majesty’s meaning is that everyone goes.”

They were coming to meet the in-laws.

Naturally, the in-laws had to go too.

Ji Chengjue smiled in satisfaction.

Eunuch Qin lowered his voice.

“Your Highness, you’ve suffered. You’ve grown noticeably thinner.”

“Of course.

“Now— this Prince is back.”

He had returned.

And he had no intention of leaving again.

...

Three people sat inside the carriage.

He Chu no longer needed to drive.

Ji Chengjue occupied the main seat.

He Si sat to one side.

He Chu sat opposite.

Throughout the journey, Ji Chengjue did not speak.

He Si and He Chu did not dare speak either.

From time to time, He Si glanced toward her husband.

Her elder brother did not even dare look at him.

Ji Chengjue was not deliberately putting on airs or pretending to be profound.

He was about to see his father again.

He needed to calculate carefully.

The great victory across the Three Jin had arrived at exactly the moment when his father’s mood was relaxing.

Meanwhile, to the south, Qian was sharpening its weapons and clearly possessed ambitions of its own. For a Yan that had just fought another massive war and suffered enormous consumption of national strength, that was already becoming a genuine threat.

And that was enough to irritate his father.

When true experts exchanged blows, what mattered most was often psychology.

Ji Chengjue had been taught by his father for ten years.

And abused by his father for another ten.

To everyone else, the Emperor of Yan was incomparably majestic.

But in Ji Chengjue’s eyes, there were not actually that many mysteries left.

His father certainly deserved to be called a great sovereign of the age.

But his gaze was always directed too high.

Far too high.

That was why Ji Chengjue had been able to make little arrangements beneath his father’s nose over the years.

Heh.

He could hardly allow himself to be abused for ten years without learning anything from it.

But once he truly stood before his father—once that gaze fell directly upon him—if he still wanted to conceal something, deceive him, play some clever little trick, or arrange some performance...

Possible.

Certainly possible.

It merely cost lives.

The carriage arrived at the palace gate.

Eunuch Qin presented his token, and they were quickly admitted.

Once the carriage passed through the main inner gate, Ji Chengjue rolled his wrists and stepped down.

Wei Zhonghe stood waiting ahead.

“Your Highness, please enter first. The He family will wait here for now.

“This old slave will make suitable arrangements.”

Ji Chengjue nodded.

“Thank you for the trouble.”

“Your Highness is too courteous. This old slave does not deserve it.”

Ji Chengjue looked back at his wife.

He smiled and nodded to her.

There was no time now to comfort her pale face.

Her husband had something he needed to do.

And if he did it badly, everyone might be finished.

Only after watching his brother-in-law disappear through the inner gate did He Chu finally seem to awaken from a dream.

He looked around at the deep palace walls and the carved beams and painted rafters.

Then he muttered:

“Dad... you said you wanted the in-laws to see our family foundation.

“Even if you sold a hundred pigs every single day, we still couldn’t begin to compare with theirs.”

Then he looked at the rows of guards standing nearby.

“Dad... you even made me bring the butcher knife along. Said I should scare the in-laws a little, see if they still dared mistreat Little Sister.

“Your son wants to pull the knife and wave it around.

“I really do.

“But your son genuinely can’t do it.”

At last, He Chu turned toward his sister.

If he still could not guess the identity of that “Chief Constable Yan” after reaching this point, then there would genuinely have been something wrong with his brain.

This entire affair was more dramatic than anything in an opera.

And yet everything before his eyes was unmistakably real.

It was not that He Chu suddenly coveted wealth and honor.

Nor was he thinking about riding his sister’s fortune.

He was simply standing here as her elder brother.

That night, his little sister had pressed a hairpin to her own throat and insisted on delivering meat.

He and Father had tried to stop her.

If they really had stopped her would they not have ruined the greatest opportunity of her life?

“Dad... this wasn’t our cabbage somehow getting rooted up by a pig.

“Our cabbage went out and picked itself a golden pig for a husband.”

“You two, this way please.”

Wei Zhonghe gestured courteously.

He Si nodded and dipped into a small bow.

He Chu remained somewhat dazed.

By instinct, he shoved a hand into his sleeve and pulled out a small piece of broken silver.

His father had taught him this before he came to the capital.

It was the same principle as running the pork stall. Whenever constables or servants from some lord’s household came to buy meat, one always gave a little extra.

Wei Zhonghe naturally saw the silver.

So he waited.

Unfortunately, He Chu’s hands were trembling so badly that several copper coins and fragments of silver spilled directly onto the ground.

“Ah!”

He Chu cried out in fright.

Wei Zhonghe immediately said:

“Many thanks for Master He’s generous reward.

“What are you standing around for? Pick it up.”

As he spoke, Wei Zhonghe bent down first and picked up one small fragment of silver.

At once, the eunuchs behind him hurried over to gather the fallen coins, calling out their thanks for the reward.

The butcher He Chu could only cup his hands awkwardly in return.

“Master He, come along. This slave will invite you to tea and have some refreshments brought over.

“I’ll also teach you a little palace etiquette before you meet His Majesty later...”

*Thump!*

The moment He Chu heard the words *meet His Majesty*, he dropped straight to his knees.

Dear fucking father your son is going to meet the Emperor!

...

Compared with all the noisy human dealings outside, the interior was utterly quiet.

Ji Chengjue followed the small path and reached the Imperial Study.

He paused briefly outside.

Clearly, the area had been deliberately cleared of everyone else.

There was not even a junior eunuch in sight.

Ji Chengjue took another step forward, ready to enter and face the arena that belonged solely to him and his father only to see a familiar figure in a purplish-red dragon robe sitting below the imperial desk.

The Crown Prince.

His father sat above.

Both men were reviewing memorials.

The sight stirred no great emotion in Ji Chengjue.

He merely found it slightly amusing.

The scene truly did resemble an imperial father and son.

As for why that was amusing...

Heh.

Surely he was not supposed to cry over it.

When Ji Chengjue entered, the Crown Prince looked up first.

Surprise and delight appeared across his face.

He rose, left his seat, and walked over.

“Sixth Brother! You’ve recovered?

“You had your elder brother worried to death.”

Ji Chengjue immediately stepped back.

First, he knelt toward his father above.

“This son greets Imperial Father.”

Then he turned and saluted the Crown Prince.

“Greetings, Crown Prince.”

“Get up, get up. You and I are brothers of the same flesh and blood. Why be so distant?”

The Crown Prince reached down to help him.

Ji Chengjue allowed himself to be raised naturally.

Truthfully, Ji Chengjue did not particularly enjoy acting out this sort of scene.

It wasted time.

His Second Brother had agents planted in Nan’an County watching him.

What genuine surprise could there possibly be that his “illness” had recovered?

Brothers pretending to love and respect one another what was the point?

It was not as though their father was some sentimental man who liked watching his sons cling affectionately to one another.

The Emperor of Yan raised his head and looked at Ji Chengjue.

He said nothing.

Ji Chengjue stood facing him with his head lowered slightly.

His gaze rested upon the floor tiles.

The Imperial Study.

He had entered the Imperial Study again.

Ji Chengjue knew perfectly well why he had been summoned here.

What had truly earned him this audience?

The He family’s daughter was merely an excuse.

The arrangements made through Eunuch Zhang only supplied a convenient opening.

Ji Chengjue understood his father well enough to know that the man was naturally cold in temperament but possessed an extraordinarily proud heart.

The true reason his father had summoned him was nothing more complicated than money and grain.

A war against the savages that had never been part of the original plan had completely hollowed out what appeared from the outside to be an enormous Great Yan.

The soldiers were exhausted.

The treasury was empty.

The devastated lands of the Three Jin could only drain resources right now. They could not yet provide any meaningful return.

Great Yan looked as though its national fortunes were soaring.

In truth, signs of outward strength and inner exhaustion had already begun to appear.

What was his father’s goal?

Attack Qian.

He absolutely had to cut down this genuine rival.

That was his father’s lifelong ambition.

He wanted to accomplish in one reign what normally required several generations, then leave a stable realm to his descendants and to Yan.

But without money and grain, there could be no more war.

So, finally his father remembered what Ji Chengjue was useful for.

More than that, ever since Ji Chengjue’s businesses had been handed over to the Ministry of Revenue, their income had declined year after year.

His father surely knew that too.

After spending half a year as a Chief Constable in Nan’an County, Ji Chengjue had gained direct knowledge of conditions among the people.

Great Yan had not yet reached a true crisis.

But years of warfare had already begun consuming the state’s foundations.

Most importantly, there was now a vacuum left after the great clans had been trampled down.

The court had certainly feasted once on their accumulated wealth, gaining enough confidence and resources to launch several consecutive wars.

But everything that existed had existed for some reason.

The great clans had indeed severely constrained central authority.

Yet when it came to developing and operating local economies, culture, and society, they had often done far better than the government.

One was managing his own land.

The other was managing public property.

Which one would care more?

There was no need to ask.

And the repeated mass conscription of laborers had already exhausted the strength of the population in many places.

Perhaps, in his father’s eyes, the immediate problem was simply a shortage of money and grain preventing continued territorial expansion.

But in Ji Chengjue’s view, if measures were not taken soon to control and reverse the situation, then even if Yan stopped fighting entirely, the state’s strength would begin declining.

That was the real reason his father had summoned him.

Little Seventh was still young.

Still cute.

So Father could play with him.

But the rest of the brothers were grown.

Perhaps, in Father’s eyes, they were no longer amusing.

Deep father–son affection?

Go to hell.

Third Brother was still sitting in that pavilion in the middle of the lake writing poetry.

There was no preamble.

No explanation.

The Emperor of Yan’s attitude was far more direct than the Crown Prince’s.

Truthfully, this was the style Ji Chengjue was accustomed to.

If there was business, discuss business.

Who had time to perform useless surface etiquette?

Of course, Second Brother had not yet reached the level where he could afford to ignore appearances the way Father did.

After becoming Crown Prince, every word and every movement he made had instead become even more constrained.

The Emperor spoke.

“In the Marquis of Jingnan’s memorial, there is one matter.

“He recommends that Zheng Fan, formerly General of Shengle, be appointed Chief Commander of Snow Sea Pass.

“Chengjue.

“What do you think?”

Look at that.

As expected of his father.

They were supposedly here to discuss in-laws.

And the first thing out of his mouth was state business.

It showed perfectly how much ordinary father-and-son affection ranked inside the Emperor’s heart.

The Crown Prince returned to his seat once official business began and sat upright.

Chief Commander of Snow Sea Pass?

So it really was that.

Ji Chengjue felt no surprise.

He had guessed it long ago.

All he could say was that brother of his surnamed Zheng possessed genuine genius when it came to flattering powerful men.

When the two of them first met, Zheng Fan had needed only a few days to talk Ji Chengjue into funding the beginning of his career.

Once Zheng Fan had squeezed him dry, the bastard immediately embraced the Marquis of Jingnan’s thigh.

And for a while, he had even flirted outrageously with the Marquis of Zhenbei.

That skill at navigating life there was truly nothing one could say.

Returning to the matter at hand, after an army won a major campaign, the new cake was always divided.

The court took one share.

The commander-in-chief kept another share to reward his own officers.

That had been standard practice since ancient times.

But a commander needed to understand what he could request openly, what he must not request, what he should hint at, and what would violate a taboo.

The three passes of Jin were Nanmen Pass, Zhennan Pass, and Snow Sea Pass.

Snow Sea Pass was unquestionably the most important.

It checked the snowfields to the north and supported Zhennan Pass to the south.

A position that critical should naturally be occupied by a great general appointed directly by the court.

Yet the Marquis of Jingnan had named Zheng Fan directly.

In effect, he had torn through the unspoken understanding between commander and court.

Then again, there was no point discussing whether the Marquis of Jingnan was arrogant or overbearing.

Two eunuchs carrying imperial decrees had already smashed themselves to death outside his residence.

“Reporting to Imperial Father, this son believes Zheng Fan is fully capable of bearing this responsibility!”

Ji Chengjue’s answer landed with absolute certainty.

A trace of light shifted through the Crown Prince’s eyes.

Everyone with eyes knew that Zheng Fan had deep ties with Sixth Brother.

For an imperial prince, military authority was like a scalding yam.

You were hungry.

You wanted to eat it.

But it could burn you badly.

The Emperor of Yan looked at his sixth son.

He considered for a moment.

Then said:

“Zheng Fan’s ability—

We know it.”

Clearly, the Emperor did not doubt Zheng Fan’s ability to hold Snow Sea Pass.

Nor did he doubt Zheng Fan’s qualifications.

In this campaign, Zheng Fan unquestionably held foremost merit.

The experience Yan had accumulated across several centuries of warfare with the desert barbarians was simple: defeating tribal peoples was easy.

Truly breaking their bones and crippling them for generations was difficult.

Without Zheng Fan holding Snow Sea Pass with an isolated army, even if the savages had eventually been driven out, the snowfields themselves would not have suffered any serious loss.

Nor could anyone have spoken of lasting peace there.

And yet the question and answer between father and son felt almost too simple.

But inside that simplicity, everything had already been said.

Did you know the relationship between Zheng Fan and me?

You did.

Yet I answered directly anyway:

He is suitable.

Did I know that once the Marquis of Jingnan explicitly demanded Zheng Fan be made Chief Commander of Snow Sea Pass, the court would have to swallow any discomfort and approve it?

I did.

Yet you still asked me.

What else could I say?

What else was I supposed to say?

The Marquis of Jingnan had just won a monumental victory and made only one explicit demand.

Could you refuse him?

Would the court dare?

As for raising Tian Wujing to princely rank did the man even care?

His son was already “dead.”

Give him a princely title hereditary without reduction would he care?

The Tian Clan might once have cared.

But now there was no Tian Clan left to care.

The Emperor of Yan slowly exhaled and studied the son standing below him once more.

Ji Chengjue maintained the posture he had adopted after answering.

Between an imperial father and son like these, speaking too much about affection would be excessive.

Perhaps other imperial households possessed such things.

This one did not.

And when the Emperor looked at this son, he seemed to be looking at his younger self.

The son, meanwhile, knew perfectly well that he resembled his father in his youth.

So neither man bothered with sentimentality.

The Crown Prince opened his mouth as though he wanted to say something.

Then he stopped.

Inside this atmosphere, his identity was too sensitive.

Do too much and it looked false.

Do too little and he risked becoming the brother who showed no concern for his own kin.

At last, Ji Chengjue spoke first and broke the brief silence.

There was one rule he understood clearly: never leave your father hanging.

In an ordinary household, a son could sulk at his father.

No great problem.

With his own father?

You did not play that game.

Ji Chengjue knelt.

“Imperial Father, this son wishes to take back the businesses he surrendered before.”

A faint smile appeared at the corner of the Emperor’s mouth.

Then vanished almost instantly.

The Emperor knew.

This son had guessed it.

If their positions were reversed, he himself would probably have guessed it too.

The Emperor disliked that feeling.

In truth, once upon a time he had liked it.

He had genuinely liked it.

What father did not enjoy seeing his son resemble himself—unless the father himself was a complete failure?

The Emperor of Yan was certainly no failure.

He was a great sovereign of the age.

But when father and son understood each other like worms living in one another’s stomachs if the relationship between them was good, that was one thing.

That was called hearts joined between father and son.

Now that father and son had become strangers, it was merely irritating.

According to the ordinary script, the Emperor should ask:

“Couldn’t bear to give them up?”

Then the brat below would explain his reasons and act obedient.

The Emperor would scold him.

Knock him down a little.

Then the brat would admit fault and accept another beating.

After that, the Emperor could raise the stakes.

Not merely return the businesses, but hand part of the Ministry of Revenue’s work over to him as well.

The Emperor knew perfectly well that this son possessed real talent for commerce and finance.

Consort Min’s natal Min Clan had once been the greatest merchant house in all of Yan.

And right now, the state’s situation was genuinely giving him a headache.

He urgently needed someone skilled in commerce and fiscal administration to help nurse this exhausted empire back into condition.

He needed money.

He needed grain.

He needed national strength.

Because before he died, he still wanted to destroy Qian.

He did not dare leave that rival state to his descendants.

He did not dare imagine how strong Qian might become if given still more time to sharpen its weapons and train its armies.

At that point, would Great Yan still be marching south?

Or would Qian launch another Northern Expedition?

No one could say.

Most importantly, the Emperor of Qian was younger than he was.

And the man knew how to preserve his health.

*He is my opponent.*

*Before I, Ji Runhao, die—*

*I must break him for Great Yan.*

But the Emperor of Yan did not want to act through the expected script.

He did not want the performance.

On this point, father and son truly resembled each other too much.

There were no outsiders in the Imperial Study.

Who exactly were they supposed to perform for?

Well.

The only person who could truly be called an outsider here was probably the Crown Prince.

The Crown Prince, still sitting below in his own dragon robe, had no idea that he had somehow become the “outsider.”

And the next sentence made him feel that status even more sharply.

Before, Father had asked one question and Sixth Brother had answered one.

Then silence.

Now Sixth Brother asked one question and Father replied with four words:

“Observe affairs at the Ministry of Revenue.”

Ji Chengjue immediately kowtowed.

“This son will not disappoint Imperial Father’s expectations!”

One question.

One answer.

Then another question.

Another answer.

Done.

The Crown Prince instinctively felt that the entire exchange was absurd.

The first question and answer had settled the appointment of the Chief Commander of Snow Sea Pass.

The second had somehow returned Sixth Brother to the center of power.

The older imperial princes all remembered how much Father had doted upon Sixth Brother when the boy was young.

And yet at this moment, the Crown Prince truly felt like an outsider.

There was nothing for him to say.

No atmosphere he needed to smooth over.

No tension requiring mediation.

There was not even a disagreement into which he might insert a balancing opinion.

What was he supposed to do?

Cough twice and remind Father to ask what he thought?

To “observe affairs at the Ministry of Revenue” meant sending an imperial prince into the ministry to study its work.

It was one method of cultivating a prince.

The authority attached to it could be large or small.

Its flexibility was enormous.

After a pause, Ji Chengjue, still kneeling, added:

“Within three years, this son will ensure Great Yan possesses abundant money and grain!”

The Emperor’s breathing caught slightly.

A small smile appeared at the corner of Ji Chengjue’s mouth.

*You know that I know what you’re thinking.*

*You also know that I know you know what I’m thinking.*

*But I’m deliberately telling you that I know that you know what I know you’re thinking.*

*Uncomfortable, isn’t it?*

*Good.*

*I’m doing it on purpose.*

The Emperor’s eyes narrowed slightly.

His instincts told him to suppress this son a little more.

That had always been his method.

Back then, every time Zheng Fan advanced another step, he peeled another layer of skin from this son as a warning.

But after years of peeling the Emperor suddenly realized there did not seem to be much left on this boy that could still be stripped away.

The He family?

At that moment, Ji Chengjue rose.

Then he bowed first to the Emperor and then to the Crown Prince.

“Imperial Father, this son behaved recklessly and privately pledged himself to a common woman.

“This son begs Imperial Father to grant the marriage!”

After speaking, he knelt again.

The Emperor’s breathing caught a second time.

The bastard had guessed what he was thinking again!

Truthfully, fighting against yourself like this was genuinely unpleasant.

It felt like your left hand punching your right.

In the past, this son had clearly still wanted to hide his true ability, deliberately acting foolish and eccentric.

The Emperor knew he had been pretending.

But today the boy had stopped pretending.

*Heh.*

*You think We are forced to use you now, so you have nothing left to fear?*

The Crown Prince smiled and said:

“Sixth Brother, is it true?

“A woman from the He family?”

Ji Chengjue answered with a slightly bashful expression:

“Imperial Brother is wise. She is from the He family.”

The Crown Prince froze.

“What He family?”

“Imperial Brother.

“The He family.”

“The He family?”

“The He family.”

Only then did the Crown Prince realize—

He was simply the surname.

“Imperial Brother, the He family are butchers in Nan’an County.”

“Butchers?”

The Crown Prince’s expression became fascinating.

His own fiancée was the Commandery Princess of the Marquis of Zhenbei’s Residence.

First Brother was going to marry the Barbarian King’s daughter.

And this younger brother wanted to marry a butcher’s daughter?

For a moment, the Crown Prince once again had no idea what to say.

He could only look toward his father.

The Emperor did not answer immediately.

His face remained dark.

Ji Chengjue continued:

“Imperial Father, before this son left Nan’an County for the capital, my father-in-law from the He family told me something.

“He said the He family might not possess much, but every New Year and festival, cured pork and smoked pork would never be missing.

“As long as Old He’s household has one mouthful of meat to eat, Your Majesty’s bowl will never lack even a little glint of oil!”

“...”

The Emperor of Yan.

Old He had genuinely thumped his chest and said those exact words.

And when he said them, his confidence had been magnificent.

Of course, at the time he had possessed absolutely no idea who his future in-law actually was.

He simply knew that pork was among the finest things in the world.

Used here, however, the meaning changed.

*Try touching the He family again.*

*See whether I let your bowl contain even one drop of oil.*

It was a roundabout way of expressing Ji Chengjue’s position.

You want me to work for you?

Fine.

You have stripped me down again and again in the past?

Fine.

But this time, do not imagine you can skin me alive once more and expect me to keep smiling afterward while praising your knife work.

Ji Chengjue truly had been provoked.

Provoked by Zheng Fan.

He could no longer keep lying low.

And he no longer wanted to.

Because he had realized something very clearly: if he did not start accomplishing something again if he did not raise the signboard of “imperial prince” and make it visible once more then to put it unpleasantly, friendship was like a string of coins.

Once the gap in status between two men grew too large, what exactly would the Sixth Prince still mean in Zheng Fan’s eyes?

If Ji Chengjue went hungry, Zheng Fan might send him cornmeal.

But if one day Ji Chengjue were about to die, Zheng Fan might very well stand across the river and watch the fire.

Ji Chengjue knew Zheng Fan well enough to believe the bastard was entirely capable of that.

That man had built his military merit upon heaps of enemy corpses.

How could he possess some unrealistic, soft-hearted sentimentality?

And as Zheng Fan rose higher, more and more people gathered beneath him.

There were things Zheng Fan himself might no longer fully control.

Even if Zheng Fan still wanted to help and still remembered their old friendship, his subordinates might look down upon a fallen prince and remain unmoved.

We both have tempers.

Neither of us is old.

Why the hell should I, Ji Chengjue, live worse than he does?

The Emperor spoke.

“Three years?”

He was willing to make this deal.

Ji Chengjue immediately answered:

“One year to show results.

“Two years to establish the foundation.

“Three years to settle it completely!”

“You said that yourself.”

“Imperial Father, there are no idle words before the sovereign.”

Ji Chengjue had issued his military pledge.

The Emperor nodded faintly.

He was reasonably satisfied with the bargain.

One year to see results.

Compared with having Qian ready to conquer in three years, almost anything else was something on which he could compromise.

The only issue was this son before him...

The Emperor waved.

“Go.”

“This son still has one matter to report.”

Ji Chengjue reached into his robe and produced a sheet of red paper, holding it up as a memorial.

The Crown Prince rose and took it.

He discovered it was a dowry list.

Among all the items, the words **TWO HIND LEGS OF PORK** had been deliberately written in especially large characters.

The Crown Prince carried the list to the Emperor.

The Emperor accepted it and looked.

As he read, he could almost imagine Old He, the butcher, sitting there while this list was prepared with magnificent, heaven-piercing pride.

No.

The handwriting was too neat.

Old He probably had not written it himself.

He must have paid a scholar to prepare it.

And he had specifically instructed the man to write “two hind legs of pork” one size larger than everything else.

Was this... the butcher of Nan’an County showing off the He family’s... wealth?

“Heh heh heh.”

The Emperor lifted one hand and rubbed his forehead.

He laughed.

The Crown Prince stared in astonishment.

Today, looking at the older man and younger man before him, he genuinely felt that he was unnecessary.

As though he simply could not enter the world shared between them.

The feeling made him deeply uncomfortable.

Yet there was nowhere to vent it.

And he absolutely could not show it.

A faint softness appeared in the Emperor’s eyes.

He remembered the year he took Consort Min.

Old Master Min had sent a dowry list into the palace so long that it seemed endless, item after item displaying the family’s wealth until it was almost a deliberate provocation.

The Min Clan had not been a century-old great clan.

But it had unquestionably been the richest merchant house in all Great Yan.

That day, as the younger Ji Runhao held the list in his hands, he had felt no excitement and no joy.

Only anger.

Compared with that this dowry list was far more pleasant to look at.

And the darkness of the ink varied slightly from line to line.

Clearly, new things had been added afterward.

That butcher father in Nan’an County had kept thinking of ways to give his daughter a little more.

Then a little more.

As much as he possibly could.

The Emperor waved one hand.

He signaled for the Crown Prince to move aside.

The Crown Prince, feeling inexplicably wounded, stepped out of the way.

The Emperor could once again see Ji Chengjue kneeling below.

“Chengjue.”

“This son is here.”

“You... will not regret it?”

Ji Chengjue kowtowed.

Both hands spread flat against the floor.

His voice was sincere.

“May the direct descendants of my Ji Clan hereafter all marry daughters of common households.

“May the imperial clan and the common people share fortune and calamity as one.”

The Emperor gave no other reaction.

He did not even tell Ji Chengjue to rise.

Instead, he looked toward the Crown Prince.

“Imperial Father?”

“Following this dowry list—send double as the betrothal gifts.”

As the elder brother, with Ji Wujiang still not yet returned, the Crown Prince naturally had to handle the marriage arrangements.

That was proper ritual.

“Yes, Imperial Father.”

The Crown Prince turned to leave.

Then the Emperor spoke again.

“Wait.”

“Yes, Imperial Father.”

“For the pork hind legs—send eight.”

“...”

The Crown Prince.

*We will defeat you on the very thing you, Old He, are most proud of—pork!*

“Yes, Imperial Father.”

The Crown Prince sat again.

He still found the entire situation absurd.

His father, a man who almost never joked or smiled, was actually competing with a county butcher over... wealth.

The Emperor still did not tell Ji Chengjue to rise.

Instead, he ordered:

“Draft the decree.”

“Yes.”

The Crown Prince spread out an imperial edict and prepared to write.

Once drafted, the decree still needed Zhao Jiulang’s countersignature, representing approval from the ministers.

After that it would go to Wei Zhonghe to receive the imperial seal.

Only then would it formally take effect.

Of course, when the emperor was powerful enough, all of that was mostly procedure.

“Appoint Zheng Fan, formerly General of Shengle, as Chief Commander of Snow Sea Pass.”

The Crown Prince began writing.

This part did not surprise him in the slightest.

From the moment he saw the Marquis of Jingnan’s memorial, he had known the recommendation would certainly be approved.

But the next sentence made the Crown Prince’s hand tremble slightly.

“Enfeoff Zheng Fan, Chief Commander of Snow Sea Pass— as Count Pingye.”

[End of Chapter 357]