Free Web NovelChapter 602: A Contest of Wits and Arts
Though He Xiao was not from Chiyan, he still bore the title of special envoy of Chiyan. He had contributed no small merit in the elixir of youth case, and at present, he was one of Lingxu City’s most talked-about figures. Yet, the gods had not considered any of that at all. They had invaded him simply because they wished to.
Seeing Fushan Yue’s expression darken, He Lingchuan patted his shoulder. “Enough. What can be done? Without the gods, there would be no Beijia.”
Fushan Yue’s face remained tense. “I’m afraid they’ll deal with me the same way.”
“They didn’t attack you along with me tonight, so they probably won’t later.” He Lingchuan was fairly open-minded about it. “You’re different from me. You’re the proper Crown Prince of Chiyan. Even the gods would have difficulty explaining themselves if they casually attacked the heir of a vassal monster king, wouldn’t they?”
Something unexpected had seemed to happen at the end of the gods’ invasion. He did not know whether that was why they had given up testing Fushan Yue.
He changed the subject. “What did the Lord Emperor say about Crown Prince Huan killing people and setting fires? Did they catch the instigator?”
Fushan Yue shook his head. “The Lord Emperor received me and spoke gently to soothe me.”
In truth, after entering Heaven-Reaching Peak and seeing the Lord Emperor, Fushan Yue had dropped straight to his knees and knocked his head against the floor several times, but refused to say a word.
That was a posture of deep grievance, a declaration of determination and attitude, a declaration that he had to have justice.
The Lord Emperor spoke warmly to comfort him. Fushan Yue lifted his head and launched into a barrage.
He insisted that the person who had incited the Lingxu Crown Prince to murder and arson had to be the Minister of Finance’s Yao Family.
The Lord Emperor asked whether he had evidence. Fushan Yue appealed to emotion and reason, recounting how difficult the elixir of youth investigation had been. The more he spoke, the more emotional he became, stopping just short of tears.
But he had no evidence.
No evidence? That did not matter. Go out onto the street, grab anyone at random, and ask who they thought the mastermind was.
Ninety-nine percent of them would tell you it had to be the Minister of Finance or Madame Cen.
Even if she could not save her husband, she still wanted to vent her anger. Was that not obvious? Was that not human nature?
The Lord Emperor said, “Without solid evidence, it may not be the Minister of Finance’s household.”
Fushan Yue sneered. “If his household didn’t harm me, why did they send me a great residence?”
At that retort, even the mighty Monster Emperor fell speechless.
In the end, left with no choice, he summoned the Minister of Finance, who had been waiting outside.
Fushan Yue was already reckless by nature, and even before the person involved, he showed no fear whatsoever. He pushed Yao Mao so hard that the man could not display even a temper.
However, Yao Xingning never appeared from beginning to end. The Lord Emperor was probably afraid that both of them had explosive tempers, and if they confronted each other directly, the place would turn into a vegetable market quarrel.
As Fushan Yue described the process, he and He Lingchuan slapped the table and laughed.
He Lingchuan laughed only a few times before clutching his head.
Ah, fuck, it hurts!
In any case, the Minister of Finance knew his family had left a terrible impression on the entire state’s gossip-loving masses. No matter how he defended himself, it was useless. He could only state that the Yao Family would assist fully in investigating the mastermind of the incident, thereby proving their own innocence.
Fushan Yue accepted happily and declared before the Lord Emperor that he would visit the Minister of Finance every few days to ask about the progress.
Lord Emperor did not object. That meant he had agreed.
So when Fushan Yue went to the Minister of Finance later, it would be called questioning under imperial order.
The Minister of Finance knew this was bad, but could not say anything.
At this point, Fushan Yue slapped several deed papers onto the table and laughed loudly. “The land deed to Fragrant Snow Residence! Hahaha, I took it from the Minister of Finance right in front of the Lord Emperor!”
“The Minister of Finance offered other compensation too. That’s all mine.” He pushed the deed papers toward He Lingchuan. “Here. This Fragrant Snow Residence is yours, as compensation for Mount Pan Residence being burned down!”
He had fulfilled his promise to recover compensation for He Lingchuan, and he was very pleased with himself.
He Lingchuan accepted the deed and sincerely thanked him.
Fushan Yue was not a good man, but he kept his word.
“And then?” He asked Fushan Yue. “Was the matter settled after that?”
“No. There’s more.”
After the Minister of Finance withdrew, the Lord Emperor summoned Crown Prince Huan and had him apologize to Fushan Yue in court.
Only then did Fushan Yue repeatedly say he did not dare accept it, as if he truly did not dare.
Seeing how that little brat Crown Prince Huan had strutted around yesterday, only to keep its eyes lowered today, it had clearly already been fiercely reprimanded by the Lord Emperor.
Of course, Fushan Yue knew it was unconvinced in its heart. It was only because its father demanded it that it had no choice but to apologize.
“Crown Prince Huan claimed that it really had not seen Yao Xingning lately. The palace only told it that Yao Xingning had gone out on public business. It overheard several palace servants gossiping in private and only then learned that Yao Xingning had been weeping all day because of her husband’s troubles. It became furious and came to make trouble for me.”
He Lingchuan shook his head. “That foolish child truly treats Yao Xingning well. Instead, it threw the mess onto its own father’s head.”
If no one had incited him, then Crown Prince Huan’s actions had been voluntary. In the end, the one forced to clean up after him could only be the Lord Emperor.
Heh, who else could bear that responsibility if not him?
“The Lord Emperor didn’t want to take it either, so he ordered Crown Prince Huan’s personal guards to be interrogated severely,” Fushan Yue said. “They remain at Crown Prince Huan’s side at all times. Wherever Crown Prince Huan goes, they would know. How hard would it be to arrange a few palace servants along Crown Prince Huan’s route in advance, have them gossip a little, and fan the flames? Severe interrogation means that torture can be used. Among them is no shortage of the killers and arsonists from last night.”
This was also the Lord Emperor soothing Fushan Yue, secretly letting him vent some anger. ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom
“Can they get anything out of them?”
“That depends on the Court Commandant’s methods.” Fushan Yue exhaled. “The Lord Emperor said he would certainly urge progress on the elixir of youth case.”
“Oh, right. On my way out of the palace, I also ran into several envoys from the State of Baoshu, the State of Xuluo, and others. They had all come to offer condolences.”
He Lingchuan understood. These states had already been like Chiyan, determined to pursue the elixir of youth case to the end. Now that the Chiyan Crown Prince had been endangered twice in Lingxu City, they not only came to offer sympathy, but also to express firm support and strengthen Chiyan’s momentum. The State of Chiyan had initiated the pursuit of the elixir of youth case, and all the vassal monster states shared common interests on this matter.
Helping the State of Chiyan meant helping themselves.
Hearing this, He Lingchuan also let out a breath.
Crown Prince Huan had killed people and set fires, putting the royal household deeply in the wrong. In the days to come, neither the Lord Emperor nor Bai Ziqi would want to provoke the Chiyan people again. And the gods had tested He Lingchuan as well, so they would not move against him again for the time being.
The strongest official forces had restrained themselves. For He Lingchuan, that was enormously good news.
“Also, the Lord Emperor hopes I’ll move back to the floating islands, as the security there is better. Mm, I declined politely and said the Lower City is more convenient for pursuing the case. So the Lord Emperor assigned me Fleeting Thoughts Manor on Mount Qilin. It was once the old residence of the convicted Chunyu Family. Their household was found guilty seven years ago, their property confiscated, and the imperial court has been selling it off all these years without finishing.”
“It sounds like they were once a great household too.”
Lingxu City was truly a place where power walked everywhere, and wealthy men were as common as dogs.
“Of course, the Chunyu family operated in Lingxu City for over two hundred years. They produced two prime ministers, had immense wealth, and possessed countless businesses. They weren’t comparable to some small nouveau riche household.”
He Lingchuan asked curiously, “Then how did their family fall?”
A deeply rooted aristocratic family like this usually grew into a local colossus, one that no one could easily move, much less expect to decline on its own.
Usually, only changes in the times and irresistible external force could make such a family decay all the way down.
Fushan Yue glanced toward the door twice, instinctively lowering his voice, “The sky changed.”
“Hm?” He Lingchuan did not quite understand.
“Ten years ago, a new sovereign ascended.” Fushan Yue gave a light cough. “Before that, the Chunyu Family had stood in the wrong position. They once gave the current Lord Emperor a very harsh setback.”
He Lingchuan drew out a long “ohh,” and understood.
Just like Hong Chenglue, then. A misjudgment.
The Chunyu Family had stood for over two hundred years and had probably seen all kinds of storms in Lingxu City. The only thing they had not experienced was a change of dynasty. After all, the previous emperor had ruled for over three hundred years.
And there it was, lack of experience had led to mistakes, and mistakes had prices.
“Can you choose not to live in Fleeting Thoughts Manor?”
“That was personally assigned by the Lord Emperor, without room for refusal.” Fushan Yue smiled bitterly. “Not going is not an option. And the Lord Emperor also reprimanded the south city government office for poor security. He intends to transfer people from the Tongxin Guard to protect Fleeting Thoughts Villa.”
He Lingchuan blurted, “What the hell?!” Isn’t that just protective imprisonment?
In name, protection; in truth, surveillance. The Crown Prince of Chiyan had caused so much trouble the moment he entered Lingxu City, so the Lord Emperor simply placed him under his own eyelids and assigned people to watch him closely.
And the people assigned were none other than the Tongxin Guard, who had a private grudge against them.
It seems that enemies really are fated to meet. Is the Lord Emperor doing this on purpose?
Strictly speaking, this kind of designated residence carried a half-coercive, half-house-arrest nature. Using it on a vassal monster king or crown prince who had committed no crime could easily provoke backlash and intensify conflict between the two sides.
The Monster Emperor probably would not normally act this way. But who told Fushan Yue to suffer two attacks? To ensure the Crown Prince of Chiyan’s personal safety, was there not now sufficient reason?
Sending people to watch you is for your own good.
“Most likely because you were too aggressive on Heaven-Reaching Peak and embarrassed the Lord Emperor.” However much a vassal state’s crown prince put on airs, the Lord Emperor could retaliate with a flip of his hand.
Fushan Yue rubbed his nose.
Indeed, when he had complained about the Minister of Finance earlier, he had been a little intense. The Lord Emperor’s open and hidden hints had been useless, so he was bound to be annoyed.
If Fushan Yue had not been the victim, the Lord Emperor might have already told him to get lost.
“Actually, if you think of it positively, the Fan brothers will be miserable too. They have to watch a house and guard the gates for their enemy, while even more people nearby will watch and point at them. If anything happens to you, the Lord Emperor will ask only them, and the next punishment definitely won’t be light.” He Lingchuan patted his shoulder. “Besides, in the imperial capital where every inch of land is gold, getting a manor for free—and one personally granted by Lord Emperor at that—isn’t that a beautiful thing?”
The Mount Pan Residence had been destroyed. As Crown Prince of Chiyan, Fushan Yue truly did need a fixed residence in the Lower City, and he also had so many subordinates to settle. The Mount Pan Residence had originally been too small to house that many people anyway. If the Lord Emperor’s assigned manor did not contain other private intentions, it could even be considered thoughtful.
Fushan Yue pulled the corner of his mouth. He had not thought from the Fan brothers’ perspective earlier.
After He Lingchuan put it that way, he felt much more comfortable.
But deep down, He Lingchuan understood that the Lord Emperor was killing two birds with one stone.
The gods and the Lord Emperor were both investigating clues related to the Generous Pot. Fushan Yue had appeared in both places Bai Ziqi had investigated, and thus naturally became one of the suspects.
By pressing him into Fleeting Thoughts Villa, the Lord Emperor could conveniently monitor his every move.
This move was played beautifully, leaving Fushan Yue unable to make a sound.
As expected of a monarch.
