Haojing had become unreasonably hot lately. People carrying meat were far more careful than usual, terrified that if they dropped it and bent down to pick it up, one side might already be roasted.
Naturally, the imperial palace was better than most places. At the very least, there was no shortage of ice. Enormous blocks of thick ice stood in all four corners of the palace hall, forcibly dragging the indoor temperature down.
Every time summer arrived, Emperor Jianhong found himself thinking about the Fu family. The ice-making method presented by the Fu family’s little fatty had brought the imperial household considerable income, while the Deputy Commander position he had promised Fu Xuan had already fallen through.
Thinking of this, he ordered someone to bring over the imperial decree drafted by the Grand Secretariat. He added several rewards, considered the wording once more, then ordered it rushed to Jiangling by fast horse.
Fu Fu had done well in Jiangling. In only a few months, he had used Fu Xi Yan’s soap business to establish ties with the Four-Way Merchant Alliance, then used a marriage alliance between their children to ease tensions with Liu Tan Du. Fu Xuan had also entered the army smoothly. His current rank was only chiliarch, but with the Fu family’s influence in the military, his future prospects were excellent.
A chess piece he had only reluctantly placed as a trial had produced unexpectedly great results. Naturally, the chess player felt his own face had gained considerable glory. Granting Fu Fu the position of Hubei Governor therefore did not hurt at all. With that arrangement in place, even if something happened with the Liu family later, someone in the south would be able to help stabilize the situation.
Zhang A Gu entered carrying medicine and found the emperor, who had supposedly gone to take his afternoon rest, sitting at his desk again.
“Your Majesty.” He cautiously reminded him, “The imperial physician said the poison has not completely left your body. You still need more rest.”
Emperor Jianhong tossed several completed memorials onto the desk and rose to return to the couch. “All right. I know.”
Zhang A Gu took a tiny silver spoon and, directly in front of him, scooped up some medicine and drank it himself. “The temperature is just right. Your Majesty, please take your medicine.”
Emperor Jianhong drained the bowl in one go. Weariness settled between his brows. “One poisoning, and the body I carefully maintained for decades has practically collapsed.”
The circumstances surrounding Emperor Jianhong’s poisoning at the Temple of Heaven were extremely strange. Outside the palace, everyone said the City of Ten Thousand Beasts had arranged it. After all, Tong Fang Yu’s infiltration of Haojing to investigate Consort Rong’s death had hardly remained a secret.
But Zhang A Gu served directly beside the emperor and knew precisely how tight the security surrounding him was. The probability of a venomous snake reaching him was absurdly low. So Zhang A Gu had always suspected another truth lay beneath the surface.
But when it came to imperial schemes, merely glimpsing one corner could already place a person over a mountain of blades and a sea of fire. How could he dare investigate further?
He immediately reined in his thoughts and followed the emperor’s words with several comforting remarks.
Emperor Jianhong remained expressionless. Only after a long silence did he say, “Delay the move to Luoyang again. Let Third rest a while too. Tell him not to rush so desperately that he creates another disaster.”
Zhang A Gu lowered his voice. “The Third Prince is only being filial.”
Emperor Jianhong ignored that point. “Do not issue the funds for the second half of the year yet. Have Third make do with what he already has. Once the silver runs short, naturally he’ll understand the principle that excessive haste prevents success.”
＊
Fu Xi Yan had only been away in Southern Yu for a few months, and Jiangcheng had not changed very much. But his own points of attention had changed, which gave him the strange sensation of seeing the place anew. For example, previously, the only things along a street that interested him were foods. Now he found his eyes unconsciously drifting toward women’s clothing.
The outfit he currently wore had been bought in Jiuzi. The fabric was light, the colors bright, the embroidery lively, emphasizing a graceful softness. Women in Jiangcheng, by comparison, wore even bolder and brighter colors, and their rouge was noticeably redder.
Pei Yuan Jin noticed his eyes repeatedly following women and unhappily tugged his hand.
Fu Xi Yan returned to himself and felt as though these clothes were slowly breaking his brain. He hurriedly said, “Let’s find somewhere to change back.”
“So soon?” Pei Yuan Jin sounded reluctant.
Fu Xi Yan’s face darkened. He smiled without smiling. “If Young Master likes it that much, perhaps we can swap outfits.”
Pei Yuan Jin shook his head. Fu Xi Yan’s features were soft enough that dressing as a woman looked almost seamless. If Pei Yuan Jin tried the same thing, the result would probably look so strange that everyone would recognize him immediately.
Fu Xi Yan clearly had not expected his suggestion to be accepted anyway. He dragged Pei Yuan Jin into an inn and happily changed back into men’s clothing.
Still, the experience had left him with one new habit.
For example…
Applying face cream.
Even in summer, skin became a little dry if one did not use face cream.
Once he changed back into men’s clothing and looked at the street again, Fu Xi Yan’s strange compulsion to study women’s outfits vanished. Both he and Pei Yuan Jin secretly relaxed.
Jiangcheng was not far from Jiangling. Pei Yuan Jin asked whether he wanted to go home for a visit.
Of course Fu Xi Yan wanted to.
But calculating the time, he had been away less than half a year. Making a special detour seemed unnecessary. Fu Fu might even find him annoying if he suddenly appeared. The thought made the corners of Fu Xi Yan’s mouth lift, but he still declined the suggestion.
Strictly speaking, Young Master Pei had been away from home even longer. And after the battle in the new city, nobody knew whether Palace Lord Pei and the elders had suffered any lingering injuries from intervening. Yet Pei Yuan Jin’s first thought had been Fu Xi Yan’s feelings. Fu Xi Yan was touched. Then he could not help examining whether he had been far too passive in their relationship. How had Young Master Pei beaten him to the position of being gentle and considerate?
And so, beneath the blazing summer sun, Young Master Pei abruptly received spring-breeze-like care from his other half. He had no idea why, but it felt pleasant, so he calmly accepted all of it.
They did not alert any Immortal Treasury Palace divisions stationed in Jiangcheng. Instead, they went to a carriage company and hired a spacious carriage for the northern journey. During the past six months, they had taken so many boats, and every single boat somehow produced trouble. For everyone’s sake, perhaps it was best to stop tempting fate.
“I hope this trip goes smoothly.”
Before boarding, Fu Xi Yan lit a stick of incense for the carriage and prayed to the God of Carriages for protection, good weather, and universal good fortune.
At first, everything really did go smoothly.
But once they left Jiangcheng, people kept trying to hitch rides. Fu Xi Yan finally asked the driver what was happening and learned that carriages of this particular size were basically Jiangcheng’s equivalent of public buses.
…
All right. Public buses in his previous life had not been cheap either. He could consider this a luxury car.
They refused people several times. Then they encountered an elderly grandmother standing beside the road with her young grandson, both panting beneath the scorching sun. Fu Xi Yan’s heart softened. Once they accepted one customer, naturally there was a second.
Eventually, every time the carriage stopped, he could naturally ask, “Where are you going? How many people? …Mm. Six wen altogether.”
They still charged money. Mostly because he did not want the passengers to feel they had received charity and spend the entire ride sitting nervously. This way, they had paid for their seats and could sit as equals. They could chat when they felt cheerful, sleep when tired, and everyone remained relaxed.
By the time they traveled from Jiangcheng to Luoyang, Fu Xi Yan had earned more than one tael. Naturally, that did not cover the carriage fare, but it was just enough for a good meal after entering the city.
He and Pei Yuan Jin had first met in Peijie Town. Their second meeting had been in Luoyang.
Returning to the old place did not produce much nostalgia. Back then, they had not really known each other. Both still carried resistance and awkwardness toward the other.
Unlike now… Fu Xi Yan leaned over and affectionately rubbed himself against Pei Yuan Jin’s arm.
Pei Yuan Jin lowered his head.
Fu Xi Yan licked his lips. “I miss Auspicious Snow Divine Beef.”
Pei Yuan Jin missed it too.
And so, once again, a wealthy Luoyang merchant became a middleman earning absolutely no profit. Fortunately, after realizing that the Third Prince truly adored the divine cattle, the merchants had gone to tremendous effort and expense to purchase breeding stock and raise their own herd. Selling one mature cow no longer hurt quite so much.
Their only lingering question was:
“Why does the Immortal Treasury Palace keep buying cattle from us?”
It was not as though the Palace owned livestock businesses.
…
Southern Yu’s now-retired spy network quietly hid its achievements and fame.
＊
Auspicious Cloud Cloth Shop had reopened. The original workers were still there and remembered them. They happily prepared rooms for the pair. The shopkeeper then reported earnings for the past six months.
Profits had increased significantly.
“Mostly because once the Third Prince began constructing the Luoyang imperial palace, everyone became convinced that moving the capital was practically certain. Every business in the city became easier to operate.” The shopkeeper paused, then lowered his voice. “Officials and noble families from every direction have all come to take a share. The only ones suffering are people without backing. They can only sell their land and houses cheaply and move elsewhere.”
Pei Yuan Jin’s eyelids lifted. “And you?”
Naturally, he meant Luoyang’s Rain Division.
The shopkeeper looked somewhat uncomfortable and smiled apologetically. “We naturally would never ruin another person’s business.” But once someone else ruined it, they had certainly participated in plenty of cases of swallowing the black after the black had already struck.
Luoyang’s commercial world had become a chaotic battlefield. Haojing nobles, jianghu factions, local great clans, and even traces of Southern Yu and the Northern Lands had all appeared. Everyone seemed to have identified the same enormous piece of fat and wanted to gorge themselves.
Fu Xi Yan frowned. “His Majesty hasn’t done anything?”
The Third Prince was personally in Luoyang. That was practically equivalent to Emperor Jianhong sending a duplicate of himself to sit there. Was he simply watching while these groups disrupted prices and order?
The shopkeeper said, “The family eating the largest share while hiding the deepest is surnamed Jin. They supposedly have imperial backing. Previously, a local great clan tried to seize meat from the tiger’s mouth, and the Third Prince had the prefect issue them a warning. Aside from that, nobody has seen the Third Prince do much.”
Fu Xi Yan’s eyebrow twitched. That really was strange. Moving the capital meant reshuffling the entire board. Had Emperor Jianhong not suppressed the great clans precisely so he could strengthen forces loyal to himself?
Luoyang was to become the new capital. This was the perfect opportunity to establish an entirely new balance. Issue a series of policies, stabilize prices, clean up official corruption, maintain order. With those steps alone, the goal could easily be achieved. Why remain hidden behind the curtain?
After the new-city affair, Fu Xi Yan had inevitably developed a certain prejudice toward emperors sitting high above everyone else. Whenever they failed to act, he instinctively suspected some plan was hiding behind the inaction.
He asked, “I heard people died during construction of the Luoyang imperial palace?”
The shopkeeper nodded. “Several laborers were literally worked to death. The Third Prince pushed the schedule too hard. Work continued day and night without pause. It was practically exchanging money for lives. Originally, the court paid the compensation properly and the matter ended. Somehow, though, it flared up again recently and even drew protests from students of several academies.”
Fu Xi Yan remembered that Third Brother was studying at an academy. He casually asked, “Which academies? Purple Thorn Academy?”
The shopkeeper nodded again. “Yes. Purple Thorn Academy is actually leading them.”
Fu Xi Yan: “…”
Surely he had not returned home only to immediately encounter his brother in a foreign city.
Pei Yuan Jin said, “Investigate whether there’s a student named Fu Dong Wen.”
The instant the shopkeeper heard the surname Fu, he knew this had to be one of the Young Madam’s relatives. He immediately accepted the order and hurried away with astonishing enthusiasm.
Fu Xi Yan also had one of the workers find the chef who had prepared Auspicious Snow Divine Beef the last time. He intended to relive the experience.
The beef was still cooking when the shopkeeper returned with Fu Dong Wen.
They had not seen each other in half a year. Fu Dong Wen seemed more mature. There was even a touch of coldness in his eyes that made him seem difficult to approach. The instant he saw Fu Xi Yan, that frost melted.
Alone, far from home, traveling to study. How difficult must life have been…
Fu Xi Yan could not help sighing emotionally.
Fu Dong Wen looked utterly speechless. “Probably not as difficult as breaking into Southern Yu’s imperial palace.”
Fu Xi Yan immediately became speechless too.
The brothers stared at each other for a long moment. Fu Dong Wen finally broke the silence. “Was the Southern Yu emperor really that deserving of a beating?”
Fu Xi Yan looked toward the ceiling. “I originally thought the Northern Zhou emperor already stood at the pinnacle of the field. Never did I imagine that beyond people there are always more people, and beyond heaven there is always another heaven.”
…
Fu Dong Wen abruptly lost all desire to ask just how terrible the Southern Yu emperor was.
Fu Xi Yan did not want to discuss that tragedy either. He changed the subject. “Tell me about yourself. Why are you in Luoyang?”
Fu Dong Wen immediately pierced to the center of the issue. “Someone wants to obstruct construction of the Luoyang imperial palace.”
Fu Xi Yan was surprised. “People from Purple Thorn Academy?”
Fu Dong Wen shook his head. “The academy has factions too.”
When he first entered, naturally he had intended to study hard and build a future. After all, he had given up sitting for the metropolitan examination to come here. If he failed to make something of himself, would he not have wasted the best years of his youth? But after entering the academy, he discovered it was nowhere near as ideal as he had imagined. There were cliques, academic monopolies, and factional struggles.
The legendary Purple Thorn Academy that filled the world with students and treated everyone equally was no longer what the stories claimed.
At first, things had been manageable. He was still the son of a noble family, and nobody dared openly provoke him. Later, after Fu Fu left Haojing without imperial permission, the atmosphere around him changed. There were mocking remarks and deliberate provocations.
Fortunately, after entering the academy, Fu Dong Wen had helped quite a few impoverished students. Those students united around him and provided support, so he had not been completely bullied. But his admiration for the academy had declined steadily.
“Did you hear Father was appointed Hubei Governor?” Fu Dong Wen suddenly asked.
Fu Xi Yan shook his head in surprise. “The emperor finally gave him a sweetener?” Apparently his father and uncle had done quite well in Jiangling.
Fu Dong Wen said, “The marriage with the Liu family has also been settled. It will take place next March.”
Although Fu Dong Wen had gone to Purple Thorn Academy to study, he still exchanged letters with the family. And since he had remained inside Northern Zhou, he naturally knew far more than Fu Xi Yan, who had only just returned from Southern Yu.
Fu Xi Yan firmly memorized the date.
His younger sister getting married… No. His elder sister getting married. Naturally, as her younger brother, he had to be there to support her.
He turned toward Pei Yuan Jin. “You’re coming too.”
Pei Yuan Jin nodded.
Fu Dong Wen watched them. They hardly exchanged any words, but the intimate air between them, the complete absence of boundaries separating one from the other, could not be faked. His heart relaxed slightly.
At that moment, the chef began bringing out the dishes.
Braised beef, stir-fried beef, cold sliced beef… Naturally, conversation immediately stopped.
This was Fu Dong Wen’s first experience with Auspicious Snow Divine Beef. He became so immersed in its unique flavor that he slightly overate and accidentally burped.
Fu Xi Yan laughed. “Third Brother, I don’t think you’ve burped since you were eight.” When Fu Dong Wen was eight, his concubine-born mother had severely reprimanded him in private for burping. Fu Xi Yan had secretly witnessed it.
Fu Dong Wen glanced at him. “You’ve always ignored every taboo.”
Fu Xi Yan swung his feet. “My concubine mother wouldn’t scold me.”
Fu Dong Wen stopped speaking. He probably feared reminding Fu Xi Yan of losing his mother at a young age.
Pei Yuan Jin silently brewed a pot of tea and poured cups for both brothers. Fu Dong Wen looked almost overwhelmed by the honor. He had not interacted much with Pei Yuan Jin and still had not adjusted to thinking of this man as his brother-in-law. When Pei Yuan Jin handed him tea, Fu Dong Wen instinctively stood to accept it.
Fu Xi Yan remained calmly seated. “How far does your academy plan to take this protest?”
Fu Dong Wen said, “I heard the emperor already suspended funding for the second half of the year. Without money, construction cannot continue. Naturally, there’s no reason for the protest to continue either.”
Fu Xi Yan froze. “Put that way, it almost sounds as though the emperor ordered Purple Thorn Academy to create the trouble.”
Otherwise, the timing of protest and funding suspension was far too coordinated.
Fu Dong Wen said, “That is possible.” Purple Thorn Academy sounded lofty and pure, but its major factions all had the shadows of high officials and great clans behind them. And the person who had proposed this particular protest was the academy head himself. If the emperor stood behind him, everything made sense.
“But why would a father deliberately hold his own son back?”
Fu Xi Yan genuinely did not understand.
＊
He was not the only one. The Third Prince was confused too. “Where exactly have I displeased Father?” He felt so wronged he practically wanted to write an emotional confession letter on the spot.
As far as the deaths of the laborers were concerned, he believed himself completely innocent. His father disliked forced labor, so the Third Prince had offered generous pay instead. The three men who died had chosen to work extra hours for the money. Yet in the end, the incident somehow became evidence that he had no compassion for the people and exploited them cruelly.
What did that have to do with him? If a man himself did not know whether his body could endure something, how was a prince supposed to know?
Chen Yi comforted him. “His Majesty is far away in Haojing. Naturally, he cannot know Your Highness’s grievances.”
The Third Prince said, “I don’t believe Chu Guang failed to explain everything in his letters.”
After spending so much time together, the Third Prince and Chu Guang had never explicitly declared themselves passengers on the same ship, but their private relationship had certainly grown closer. Even without that relationship, merely reporting the truth should have been enough. The Third Prince did not think anything he had done deserved condemnation.
“I paid every required compensation. I even added money from my own pocket. Isn’t that enough? What are those sour scholars from Purple Thorn Academy interfering for?”
Chen Yi possessed the instincts of a strategist. Naturally, he sensed something abnormal. “Purple Thorn Academy has students across the realm. Every movement attracts the attention of literary circles. This attack is genuinely strange.”
The Third Prince’s face darkened. “You think someone is planning behind the scenes?”
Chen Yi smiled bitterly. “I cannot imagine who.”
The Third Prince was the only adult prince. His age advantage was overwhelming. Even if someone wanted to support one of the younger princes, revealing themselves now would be far too early. There was simply no need.
The Third Prince remained silent for a while. Then he slowly said, “If we cannot imagine who it is, doesn’t that itself give us the answer?”
Chen Yi abruptly stiffened.
The Third Prince said, “Can Mister Chen think of the reason?”
Chen Yi pondered for a very long time before sighing. “If matters truly are as Your Highness suspects, perhaps we focused on the wrong thing from the beginning.”
“What do you mean?”
“Perhaps we should not have been so anxious to construct the palace.”
The Third Prince frowned. “But Father clearly said the capital would move by the end of the year. If I don’t rush, it will never be completed in time.”
Since the Third Prince had already spoken openly of “Father,” Chen Yi no longer concealed his thoughts. “Could His Majesty have changed his mind?”
The Third Prince asked, “Changed his mind about what? Don’t tell me…”
Chen Yi looked at the Third Prince.
The Third Prince looked at him.
Their position was extremely simple. They wanted the Third Prince to sit upon the supreme throne after Emperor Jianhong’s hundred years ended. So naturally, all their thinking habitually revolved around that subject.
Chen Yi had another thought. Even if Emperor Jianhong no longer wanted to move the capital so quickly, even if he wanted palace construction to slow down, having an academy create a public disturbance and ordering the Ministry of Revenue to suspend funding did not resemble communication between father and son. What could not simply be said directly? Was Emperor Jianhong actually afraid the Third Prince would defy him?
But Chen Yi could not be the one to say that. Speaking those words would mean deliberately driving a wedge between imperial father and son. That was a capital crime.
The Third Prince was not stupid. Those who stayed near vermilion became red, and those near ink became black. After spending so long with Chen Yi, he had learned to follow the strategist’s way of thinking. He quickly reached the same conclusion. “Father is still in the prime of life.”
Did an emperor in the prime of life truly need an adult son standing nearby at all times, prepared to inherit the throne?
Putting himself in his father’s position, cold sweat soaked the Third Prince’s back.
＊
After finishing Auspicious Snow Divine Beef, drinking West Lake Dragon Well personally brewed by the Young Master, and exchanging a round of warm family concern, the moon was already high. Fu Xi Yan rose and escorted Fu Dong Wen back to his inn.
Along the road, he repeatedly reminded Third Brother to run whenever danger appeared and absolutely never stupidly rush forward.
Fu Dong Wen: “…” Somehow he could see the shadow of his own concubine mother in his younger brother.
Finally, Fu Dong Wen could no longer endure it and interrupted him. “Relax. Father already wrote. He intends to send Zhong Xin and Geng Geng to stay with me.”
Hearing the names of two companions he had not seen in ages, Fu Xi Yan immediately brightened. “They’re here? Where are they?” Right. He had almost forgotten. Back then, Zhong Xin and Geng Geng had loved Auspicious Snow Divine Beef too.
Fu Dong Wen said, “Chu Guang refuses to release them. They’re still staying in the military camp. Uncle already wrote to Chu Guang. This time, he should agree.”
Fu Xi Yan remembered how Chu Guang and Chu Shao Yang had made things difficult for him in the past. He gave a sinister little chuckle. “Why trouble Uncle with something like this? I’ll handle it for you.”
They had already reached the entrance of Fu Dong Wen’s inn.
Fu Dong Wen immediately grabbed his arm. “Do not act recklessly. Southern Yu already has a warrant out for you. If Northern Zhou issues one too, the next time I see you I’ll have to accompany Father to the Northern Lands.” The Third Prince was still living in the Jinyiwei camp. Charging into a prince’s camp was not exactly a minor crime.
Fu Xi Yan’s mouth acted faster than his brain. “We could also go to the western frontier.” He was still Lord Xuanwu of the City of Ten Thousand Beasts, after all… No. Pei Yuan Jin had killed Lord Qilin and then Xi Mo Ya. The western frontier was probably unavailable too.
Unexpectedly, Heaven and Earth were enormous… and somehow the Northern Lands still remained. Truly, Heaven never sealed every road.
Fu Xi Yan’s thoughts had already flown far away.
Fu Dong Wen considered his words. Then, astonishingly, he released his arm. “That would work too. Uncle-in-law could look after you there.”
Fu Xi Yan: “…” Biological brother, you accepted the possibility of your little brother becoming an outlaw awfully quickly.
Fu Xi Yan felt something about this was wrong. He sincerely suggested, “Maybe… try persuading me again?”
Fu Dong Wen obediently said, “Take Young Master Pei with you.”
Fu Xi Yan was confused. “Why?”
Fu Dong Wen said, “Hopefully borrowing the tiger’s authority will help.”
…
Fu Xi Yan cleared his throat and modestly announced, “I’m already at the Dao-Entry Stage.”
Fu Dong Wen asked, “And Young Master Pei?”
“…Martial King.”
Fu Dong Wen reserved judgment. “Mm.”
Did bullying Chu Guang really require a Martial King?
Fu Xi Yan confidently said, “Why use an ox cleaver to kill a chicken?”
With those words, he turned around in magnificent style.
The ox cleaver was standing not far away, gleaming beneath the moonlight.