Chapter 47#

What the Xiao family thought no longer mattered to Ying Fusheng.#

He would visit the Dali Temple from time to time. When the Dali Temple passed judgments smoothly, it made certain people in the court uncomfortable. Unfortunately, his imperial father was vigorously pushing this matter forward—those who should be investigated were investigated, those who should be confiscated were confiscated, and money flowed endlessly into the national treasury.

The problems brought by the war in recent years had been alleviated, and the government agencies were able to function. By the year-end settlement, the treasury was actually found to be abundant. The Emperor was overjoyed and ordered a revision of the tax policies to benefit the people. When the news reached the capital, the common people spread the word joyfully, and it quickly spread throughout the Great Yuan Dynasty.

“Your essay was strongly recommended by the great scholars of the Imperial Academy. His Highness also praised it several times. His Majesty handed the tax reform policy to the Grand Secretariat for revision, and it has already benefited the capital area. Soon it will reach other parts of Great Yuan.” Shen Yunfei pulled Weng Yanqing aside, telling him about recent events. “The treasury is full, the people are relieved—my father says this is an excellent thing.”

Weng Yanqing knew this very well, but he never expected that those few tax reform policies would actually be adopted by the court, especially without any regard for the fact that they had come from a leaked exam essay. He quickly turned around and knelt to thank: “This commoner thanks Your Highness for your guidance and patronage.”

Ying Fusheng was sitting not far away, quietly sipping warm tea as the two discussed the matter. He frowned when he heard Weng Yanqing say this and had Shen Yunfei pull the man up. “Why thank me? This is your idea. If you had been born at the right time, there would be a place for you in the court as well.”

Weng Yanqing looked at the Sixth Prince, who seemed unwilling to take credit. It was always like this—whenever credit was mentioned, he would avoid the topic.

But if His Highness hadn’t pushed things forward at the Imperial Academy, how could a simple case from the Shuntian Prefecture have snowballed into a full-scale anti-corruption investigation across the entire court? All the money seized during this period was what enabled the Great Yuan Dynasty to reform its tax system. Sometimes, human effort has its limits, and finding the right opportunity is extremely difficult.

Moreover, moving against so many officials at once would certainly destabilize the government. Promoting the imperial examinations and cleaning out the Censorate happened to stabilize the chaotic court at that time, allowing His Majesty to implement good policies.

If even one link in this chain had been missing, it would have been nearly impossible to achieve.

Ying Fusheng grew weary listening to the two of them talk. When he left, Weng Yanqing and Shen Yunfei wanted to see him off, but he waved them away.

As he stepped outside, light snow began to fall. Seeing Ying Fusheng get into his carriage, Shen Yunfei said, “The winter month has arrived. His Highness always becomes very uncomfortable during winter.”

Every winter month, the prince’s tendency to doze off would act up. Lately, even his lessons at Wenhua Hall had been postponed several times.

The carriage was warm. After Ying Fusheng got in, he picked up the hand warmer that Song’an had prepared earlier. “The Grand Tutor of Wenhua Hall sent someone to ask—Your Highness has already missed several lessons.”

“And the Imperial Academy…”

Before he could finish, Song’an saw that the prince was already leaning against the window frame, unable to keep his eyes open.

Song’an had to stop speaking and covered the prince with an outer robe. “Song’an-gonggong, what about the Imperial Academy…”

Earlier, after the Sixth Prince had been appointed as a supervising censor of the Dali Temple, His Majesty assigned two great scholars as his teachers. Since then, the prince had to attend lessons at Wenhua Hall and then go to the Imperial Academy for the great scholars’ classes. Asking for leave had been common before, but after all these events, the great scholars’ gazes toward the prince had changed—they now wished to impart all their knowledge to him.

Unfortunately, the prince’s health was poor, especially during the winter month when cold-related ailments frequently flared up. The great scholars were at their wit’s end with his condition. It was said they even went to the Imperial Academy of Medicine and ordered the imperial physicians to cure the prince—only to be chased out with dark faces by those very physicians.

“Just find an excuse to brush it off,” Song’an said.

The palace attendant had no choice but to deliver a message to the Imperial Academy.

Ying Fusheng slept until they were about to reach Cining Palace before slowly waking up.

“Are we there?” Ying Fusheng asked groggily.

He had long since become numb to hot and cold, but after getting used to it, he still disliked the winter month. As soon as winter arrived, the chill deep in his bones would surge up again, making his mind feel sluggish and his body stiff.

Some time ago, it had been the Empress Dowager’s birthday. This year, her birthday banquet was kept simple. The Emperor followed the Empress Dowager’s wishes and didn’t allow excessive extravagance—everything was kept modest. After the event, the gifts from the palace banquet were all sent to Cining Palace. Among the gifts from the Xiao family, an extra piece of jade was sent. The Empress Dowager only glanced at it before having Yu-gugu send it to Ying Fusheng.

The jade was wrapped in silk. Its design was simple, except for a small character “Xiao” carved on the back.

The Empress Dowager’s meaning was clear—this was a gift from the Xiao family, for Ying Fusheng.

The Xiao family had been busy with the Censorate affairs recently. Xiao Yan acted decisively, and in less than half a year, he had regained control of the Censorate, restoring its function of overseeing the officials. Only after things had settled did Xiao Yan send the Xiao family jade—clearly a gesture of Take a stand —and he had the Empress Dowager pass it to Ying Fusheng.

“The Eighth Prince is in the palace,” Song’an reminded.

When Ying Fusheng entered the hall, he heard the Eighth Prince talking with the Empress Dowager, making her laugh. He slowed his steps. Inside, he saw Xiaoqing flying chaotically around the hall, with the Eighth Prince teasing the bird, making it dip and rise, much to the Empress Dowager’s delight.

When Xiaoqing saw Ying Fusheng enter, it ignored everything else and flew straight toward him.

Ying Fusheng had no choice but to extend his hand and let it land steadily.

The Eighth Prince had been teasing the bird, but when he saw who had arrived, he stopped and glanced at Ying Fusheng. “Sixth Brother.”

Ying Fusheng nodded. “Eighth Brother.”

The Eighth Prince wanted to step closer, but seemed to think better of it and kept his distance. He sat down at an outer seat, occasionally glancing in Ying Fusheng’s direction as he chatted with the Empress Dowager.

“Xiaoqing always calms down whenever it sees His Highness the Sixth Prince,” Yu-gugu said with a smile.

The Empress Dowager beckoned Ying Fusheng to sit. “It’s gotten heavier lately. You’re not in good health, so sit down first.”

She then looked at the Eighth Prince in the distance. “Xiao Ba, come closer. Why are you sitting so far away?”

Only then did the Eighth Prince get up and move nearer. Since the Empress Dowager had fallen ill a few months ago, she often stayed in Cining Palace. She was fond of the younger generation who came to visit and frequently kept them for conversations.

Ying Fusheng listened as she chatted, noticing the gaze from beside him. The Eighth Prince kept stealing glances at him. He pretended not to notice, listening as the Eighth Prince talked with their grandmother. Unlike other princes who flattered with sweet words, this eighth brother was more straightforward. He was the only one who dared to mock Xiaoqing in front of the Empress Dowager, and perhaps for that reason, he was quite favored by her.

Ying Fusheng stayed the entire time until the Empress Dowager began to show signs of fatigue. Then he asked Yu-gugu to take her to rest. The hall was left with only him and the Eighth Prince. He rose to leave, but was suddenly called back.

The Eighth Prince stopped him, seeming to have been holding it in for a while. “Is your health any better?”

“Thank you for your concern, Eighth Brother. It’s nothing serious,” Ying Fusheng said.

“You haven’t been to Wenhua Hall for days. I came to visit Grandmother today and also to check on you.” The Eighth Prince looked at the person sitting before him, hesitated for a moment, then muttered, “Are those imperial physicians in the Academy of Medicine all quacks? Why can’t they cure you?”

“That has nothing to do with the physicians,” Ying Fusheng said, hearing the naive reproach in his tone. It was as if, in his eyes, any illness could be cured by a doctor—an innocent assumption. “Even if Hua Tuo were alive today, some illnesses cannot be cured overnight. My condition is already much better than last year.”

“Then if you’re not going to Wenhua Hall, is it because you don’t want to attend class?” the Eighth Prince asked.

Ying Fusheng paused slightly. “Something like that. I get drowsy, so I don’t feel like going.”

The Eighth Prince seemed to relax a little upon hearing this, as if some burden had been lifted. “Before, Empress said you were unwell and told me not to come play with you.”

At the mention of Empress Xu, Ying Fusheng’s gaze flickered. He half-lowered his eyelids. “Is that so?”

Just because of his health… Since the Censorate case, the Crown Prince had become much more composed. The Xu family’s maneuvering in the court was subtle, enough to completely detach the Eastern Palace from the matter. But anyone with clear eyes could see that if it hadn’t been for him “taking charge of the affair,” things wouldn’t have gone this far.

Because of this, even Consort Yun, who had been showing him favor for a while, had gone quiet. In Wenhua Hall, the Seventh Prince no longer associated closely with him either—everyone was on guard. The Xu family couldn’t have failed to notice him. In his past life, Empress Xu had schemed until the very end for the false Crown Prince… Based on that alone, Empress Xu could not be without resentment.

The Eighth Prince didn’t think there was anything wrong with what he had said. Seeing Ying Fusheng silent for a long time, he asked cautiously, “Can I come play with you from now on?”

Empress Xu had never let him get involved in schemes and intrigues, raising him to be this carefree. It was truly rare for someone in the imperial family to live without worries. Though somewhat spoiled, he had a good nature and knew his limits. As long as he didn’t get caught up in the struggle for the throne, he could live a peaceful life and become a leisurely idle prince.

When Ying Fusheng looked up again, his gaze was gentle. “Of course you can.”

The Eighth Prince’s eyes lit up with excitement. “That’s great!”

As he spoke, Xiaoqing flew over, drawing the Eighth Prince’s attention away.

After the Eighth Prince had gone far, the smile faded from Ying Fusheng’s face.

He half-lowered his eyes, his gaze dark and unreadable. “How is Kunning Palace lately?”

“Her Highness the Empress is sharing the Empress Dowager’s burdens. Most palace affairs now fall to Kunning Palace. As a result, many new attendants have been brought into Kunning Palace recently. This servant has looked into their identities, and there is one suspicious point.” Song’an lowered his voice. “Two attendants have records of entering the palace three years ago… but when this servant inquired, some old eunuchs said they had never seen them before.”

If they had entered the palace three years ago, how could no one have seen them?

Being transferred into Kunning Palace meant they should have had some reputation in the palace, even if not prominent.

“The Empress tacitly allowed it. They are people brought in through the Xu family’s connections.” Ying Fusheng thought to himself, So it’s as I suspected. From the Empress Dowager’s collapse to the turmoil in the court, this behind-the-scenes manipulator had been patient enough to only now start planting people.

But as long as he made a move, there would be traces.

Song’an said, “This servant has already sent people to watch them. They will inform Your Highness as soon as anything happens.”

Inside Cining Palace, the sounds of the Eighth Prince playing with Xiaoqing echoed. Xiaoqing was hopping up and down while the Eighth Prince chased it, and the Cining Palace attendants were following the two little troublemakers closely to prevent any accidents.

Ying Fusheng watched calmly, unaware of how long he had been standing there.

When evening fell, an attendant from Kunning Palace came to invite the Eighth Prince back. Though unwilling, the Eighth Prince had to say goodbye to Ying Fusheng upon hearing it was Empress Xu’s order, promising to visit again.

As the lively sounds faded, Ying Fusheng realized he had been standing for a long time. When he came to, his body had already grown cold.

He had barely taken a few steps when the Eighth Prince suddenly ran back. He stopped in front of Ying Fusheng and said, “Sixth Brother, hold out your hand.”

Ying Fusheng frowned, but the Eighth Prince didn’t wait for him. He reached out and grabbed Ying Fusheng’s wrist.

There were faint red marks on his forearm, hidden by his clothes, but Xiaoqing’s claws had left traces when it landed. Seeing this, the Eighth Prince muttered, “I knew it.” By the time Ying Fusheng realized what was happening, a warm object had been slipped onto his arm.

“It fits well.” The Eighth Prince put it on for him. “I used to think you were pretending to know things, but you don’t even wear an arm guard when playing with Xiaoqing. You’ll get scratched easily.”

After putting it on, he nodded with satisfaction. Hearing the palace attendant calling him, he grumbled a little, then said, “I’m leaving! See you next time!”