RMACAUH Chapter 15

Chapter 15 Chapter 15 Wei Silang was the first to… when he had the accident.

Chapter 15 Chapter 15 Wei Silang was the first to… when he had the accident.

If he hadn’t had the experiences of his previous life, Feng Yue thought, he would never have put up with such nonsense given his original temperament. He used to be most annoyed by these pedantic scholars.

It wasn’t until he was sentenced for treason in the palace and had his legs cut off, being dragged out of the palace like a dead dog, that the officials who knelt before the throne to plead for him turned out to be these pedantic and annoying old men.

Led by Liu Wenyong, they knelt before the throne for days and nights without food or drink, requesting a retrial of the Guangling Prince’s treason charge.

Everyone knew the truth: this was the inevitable result of a power struggle within the imperial family. How could one mountain accommodate two tigers?

Yet these scholars were so proud and unyielding, unafraid of death and not intimidated by power, seeking only justice in the world.

After that, he didn’t know what happened to these little old men, but after all, they were veterans of three dynasties. The new emperor wouldn’t execute his key officials as soon as he ascended the throne, as that would surely cause widespread chaos.

Feng Yue snapped out of his reverie and made a respectful bow: “What Master Liu says is true. [Shuhua] will definitely arrive early tomorrow.”

[Shuhua] was Feng Yue’s courtesy name, commonly used when he was studying as a child. Later, the brothers in the army didn’t care about such formalities, and he almost forgot it himself.

The little old men quickly exchanged glances, looking at each other in surprise.

Feng Yue was, after all, a member of the imperial family. No matter how stubborn Liu Wenyong was, he wouldn’t really make things difficult for him.

“It is fortunate for the country and the people that the prince is so humble and eager to learn.”

“Master Liu, you can call me [Shuhua]. You are knowledgeable and erudite, and in the future, [Shuhua] will have many shortcomings that will require Master Liu’s generous guidance.”

These words sounded a bit flowery, but Liu Wenyong was very pleased. He re-examined Feng Yue, seeing in him some of the bearing of a future crown prince.

The Wenyuan Pavilion only required sorting through some registered documents and helping the emperor come up with strategies for governing the country on weekdays. It looked like it wasn’t busy, but it was mentally exhausting.

Liu Wenyong arranged for Feng Yue to go to his desk, gave him two stacks of past documents and national governance strategy proposals to read on his own, and then they each went about their business.

Feng Yue sat at the desk, honestly opened the documents and read them, and took notes when he saw some key points.

When it was almost noon, Liu Wenyong saw him recording something with a serious expression, and out of curiosity, he walked behind him to take a look, his face showing disgust.

“Tsk, this handwriting is too ugly!”

“Cough…” Feng Yue smiled awkwardly: “I’ve made Master Liu laugh.”

“I’ll find you some calligraphy copybooks later, and you can take them back and practice.”

Feng Yue readily agreed: “Then [Shuhua] will thank Master Liu in advance. I really… haven’t written with a brush in a long time.”

Liu Wenyong stroked his beard and waved his hand magnanimously: “What is there to thank? Now that the prince has come to the Wenyuan Pavilion, as per the emperor’s request, it is only natural that we should give you some pointers.”

The Wenyuan Pavilion was relaxed and measured. What needed to be discussed was discussed, what needed to be decided was decided, what needed to be reviewed was reviewed, and then everyone went their own way.

It was only just past [Shen Shi] (3-5 pm), and the little old men had all left, leaving only Feng Yue alone still reading documents.

Only then did Feng Yue relax a little, leaning back in his chair, preparing to finish reading the scroll in his hand and then go home.

Liu Wenyong and the others left through the South Palace Gate, a habit they had developed after working together for nearly twenty years.

They would often chat about trivial matters on the way back.

“Master Liu, does the emperor’s arrangement of the Guangling Prince to the Wenyuan Pavilion mean he intends to establish him as the heir?”

Liu Wenyong’s eyes were deep, and after thinking carefully, he replied: “The Guangling Prince recovered the four provinces, which is an undeniable achievement. Now his power in the capital is at its zenith, and he is too sharp, which is not a good sign.”

“Master Liu’s remarks…” The accompanying colleague couldn’t help but lower his voice: “Could it be that the emperor has other plans?”

“If a tree stands out in the forest, the wind will surely blow it down; when the moon is full, it wanes, and when water is full, it overflows. How could the emperor not know this principle?”

“Doesn’t the Guangling Prince’s mother’s family still have the Duke of Zhenguo to support him?”

“Haha… I wonder when the emperor will summon the Duke of Zhenguo back to the capital?”

The few people fell into a long silence, and finally sighed: “The imperial heart is unfathomable!”

Liu Wenyong smiled meaningfully, “Let’s just watch and see, the future is long.”

*

When Feng Yue left, he locked the Wenyuan Pavilion. The maidservant waiting outside hurried to greet him and curtsied: “Greetings to the prince. Her Majesty the Empress has sent this servant to ask you if you will dine in the palace?”

Thinking of Wei Xiaofeng still at home, Feng Yue decisively said: “Decline Her Majesty on my behalf. I still have many official documents to read today, so I will not stay in the palace.”

“Yes.”

Feng Yue hurried back to the mansion in his carriage. As soon as he got off the carriage, Eunuch Yuan and Steward Zhao were waiting outside the door as usual.

“What would the prince like to eat for dinner? Now is the perfect time to tell the kitchen staff to prepare it.” Steward Zhao said with eagerness.

Feng Yue thought for a moment and said, “Prepare some nourishing ingredients and send them to the Yanyu Pavilion in the East Courtyard.”

“Yes, Your Highness.” Steward Zhao saluted and went down to give instructions.

Eunuch Yuan accompanied him all the way into the courtyard.

“How’s the investigation going?”

“The one surnamed Wang who works in the Ministry of Revenue is named Wang Zongyao. He is the father of Wang Taichuan, who is the eldest son in the family. His mother is Tan, the daughter of a salt merchant from Jincheng. The Tan family obtained the salt monopoly from the government, dominating the merchants of Jincheng and becoming extremely wealthy. There is a huge amount of collusion between officials and merchants in this.”

“Wang Taichuan is a man who bullies men and women, is ignorant and unskilled, and is addicted to gambling. His reputation in the capital has long been tarnished, but no one dares to speak out.”

Feng Yue took a breath. Only now did he remember that in his previous life, not long after Feng Xiao ascended the throne, the national treasury was empty, and he turned his attention to these wealthy merchants.

The first to bear the brunt was the Tan family of Jincheng, and the Wan family of Chuting (Southern City), Wan Xiaofeng’s maternal family.

The Tan family obtained the salt monopoly, while the Wan family’s merchant fleet spread throughout the country, responsible for escorting salt to various places for sale.

Feng Xiao had him marry Wei Xiaofeng, pretending to go south to the Wan family to look for evidence of collusion between officials and merchants, but he lived in the Wan family for more than two months and found no evidence.

Perhaps he discovered some clues, but he had no intention of seeking proof or exploring further.

Wan Chuyi was a shrewd merchant, but he was not entirely a conscienceless merchant. The Wan family not only transported salt, but also escorted grain to the border. The grain sent by the Wan family was the best among all the merchant caravans, and the soldiers’ morale would rise whenever they saw the Wan family’s flag.

Feng Yue thought at the time that if Wan Chuyi was taken down and replaced with someone else, it might be some kind of evil creature that would plague the area.

Perhaps it was also from this incident that Feng Xiao’s suspicion and distrust of him grew, leading to the self-directed and self-acted treason case later on.

Feng Yue played with the iridescent jade marrow in his hand with a deep gaze, “I understand.”

After a moment of silence, Feng Yue said again, “It is not a matter of one day for the ice to freeze three feet deep. We won’t touch the Tan and Wang families for now, but if we leave them unchecked, it will eventually become a major problem. As for Wang Taichuan, find some trouble for him, let him go to the [yamen] to squat for a few days and restrain his temper.”

“Yes.”

“Is there any news from the Wei family?” Wei Xiaofeng, such a big living person, had disappeared. Shouldn’t the Self-Combing Hall be held responsible?

“Uh…” Eunuch Yuan suddenly became reticent.

Feng Yue frowned: “It must not be good news. Just say it.”

“The day after Fifth Master Wei disappeared, someone from the Self-Combing Hall went to the Wei family to report the news. Now it is being spread in the capital that Fifth Master Wei ran away with his lover. It is said with great detail. It was originally a damaging trick thought up by the Self-Combing Hall because they were afraid of taking responsibility.”

“They deserve to die!”

“The Prince is right.”

“Go and prepare. Tonight, this prince will personally meet with this group of demons and monsters.”

“Yes.”

Feng Yue returned to his room, changed into casual clothes, took the silver mask and put it on, then hurried to Yanyu Pavilion.

Wei Xiaofeng had been lying in bed all day, bored out of his mind because of his injured feet. He didn’t feel too much pain at the time, but now that he had come to his senses, it really hurt so much that he was alarmed by even a slight touch.

Hearing a steady sound of footsteps coming from outside the house, Wei Xiaofeng was overjoyed. He suddenly sat up, and before he could even see the person, he shouted in the house: “Ah Yue brother, is that you?”

Hearing his cheerful voice, Feng Yue’s whole body felt lighter, and he quickened his pace.

He lifted the beaded curtain and walked into the room, asking with a smile: “How did you know it was me?”

Wei Xiaofeng smiled triumphantly: “My ears are very sharp. I can tell who it is by the sound of their footsteps. I haven’t been wrong once so far.”

Feng Yue was surprised: “That’s really amazing!”

“Do you really think so?”

“Yes, not everyone has this ability. It’s your strength.”

“Ah Yue brother, you’re so nice. In other people’s eyes, I’m useless, but you always praise me.”

“You are already a very good person. Why worry about those who don’t like you?”

Wei Xiaofeng’s eyes lit up a little, “There must be a lot of people who like you, right?”

“No one likes me. It’s easy to get a thousand pieces of gold in this world, but it’s hard to find true love. Until the end of life, no one knows who is truly sincere.”

Wei Xiaofeng sighed sadly: “You’re right, people are the most fickle. How can there be true sincerity for a lifetime?”

“If it were you, if one day you met someone you truly liked, no matter what happened in between, would you follow him and like him for the rest of your life?”

Wei Xiaofeng made a bitter face and hesitated, “Although, although true love is hard to find, but… if I have to live a hard life for the sake of loving someone, then let’s forget it. I can’t do it.”

Feng Yue was stunned for a moment, then couldn’t help but laugh: “So you’re still too soft-hearted.”

“Ah?”

“You must firmly remember what you said today. Once a person is soft-hearted, they will suffer. Silly brother.”

Wei Xiaofeng felt awkward for a while: “Why are you suddenly saying this?”

“Then I won’t say it.” Feng Yue brought a stool and sat in front of the bed, looking at his feet: “Did the doctor come to change the dressing today?”

“Yes, it was changed once, but it hurt so much!”

“It will get better after a few more treatments.”

“I don’t know how [Sangcai] is doing. Can you let him come and live with me? It’s not good to take care of each other when we live so far apart.”

Although Feng Yue didn’t like [Sangcai] in his heart, the reason was probably that Wei Xiaofeng had suffered these hardships because of him, and he felt uncomfortable.

But now that they were in the mansion, Xiaofeng only knew this [Sangcai]. The maidservants in the mansion would not get too close to Xiaofeng without his order. Leaving him alone here all day was really inappropriate.

“Okay, tonight I will arrange for that [Sangcai] to come and live with you.”

Wei Xiaofeng smiled happily: “That’s great! You don’t know, I’ve been suffocating to death all day. I want to go out and play.”

“The New Yuan Festival is approaching, and the curfew in the capital will be lifted. If there is a chance, I will take you to stroll through the night market, how about that?”

“How long will that take?”

“About two or three days!”

“It’s still going to take so long?” Wei Xiaofeng looked worried, “I don’t know if my father will let me go home for the New Yuan Festival. My mother is still there alone! My fourth brother is focused on studying to take the imperial examination and rarely gets close to me and my mother. He probably won’t accompany my mother.”

Feng Yue remembered that when he had the accident, Wei Silang was the first person to stand up and disclaim any relationship with Wei Xiaofeng.

That was also why Xiaofeng had never seen his mother again before he left.