In the eldest prince's estate, the smell of medicine in the bedroom was so thick it could not be dispersed.
Fuhai knelt on the floor, holding up a tray with both hands. The bowl of dark brown medicine on the tray was steaming.
"Your Highness, the medicine is warm now. It was personally brewed by the head of the Imperial Hospital. Please have a sip. If His Majesty finds out that you refuse to drink even the medicine, he will probably punish you again."
Xiao Jingxing stared at the medicine bowl. The dark brown liquid sloshed against the white porcelain, giving off a pungent bitter smell.
He reached out his right hand and picked up the medicine.
Fuhai secretly breathed a sigh of relief and was about to offer some candied fruit to suppress the bitterness.
However, Xiao Jingxing did not drink the medicine. He simply lifted the gold-threaded python-patterned brocade quilt, stepped barefoot onto the cold gold bricks, and walked slowly to the welcoming pine bonsai by the window.
The medicine poured down and watered the soil at the roots of the bonsai.
The soil quickly absorbed the liquid, leaving a layer of cloudy white foam on the surface.
Fuhai was terrified and prostrated himself on the floor, kowtowing repeatedly, his forehead hitting the gold bricks with a dull thud.
"Calm down, Your Highness! This is His Majesty's grace!"
Xiao Jingxing casually threw the empty bowl onto the red sandalwood high table, and the porcelain and wood clinked together with a crisp sound.
"Grace?" Xiao Jingxing sneered, his eyes filled with ambition and unwillingness. "Royal Father asked me to go to Zhenbei City to reward the army. Nominally, it's for experience, but in fact, he gave me a huge problem!"
He stood with his hands behind his back, his voice cold and hard. "What kind of mess is the Northern Frontier now? The Helian people are besieging the city, and the grain and forage are cut off."
"Royal Father asked me to clean up the mess and take the opportunity to restrain that Xu Qinghuan and make some so-called political achievements. His original intention was good, but I want to be nailed to the Northern Frontier!"
Fuhai lay on the ground, not daring to answer. His body trembled like a sieve, and his teeth chattered.
Xiao Jingxing turned around and sat back on the edge of the bed, irritably loosening the frog buttons at his collar.
"The second and third brothers are safely making friends with courtiers and buying people's hearts in the capital. If I go to that bitterly cold place, when will I be able to get out? By the time I make a contribution and come back, the position of the Eastern Palace will have probably changed hands!"
His eyes swept over Fuhai on the ground like a knife. "Go tell the Imperial Hospital that this prince drank the medicine, but his condition worsened, and he couldn't even get out of bed."
"If anyone dares to say half a word more, this prince will pull out his tongue!"
...
In Changchun Palace, the auspicious incense was burning.
Blue smoke curled up and scattered into nothingness in midair.
Noble Consort Wan sat upright on the phoenix couch, gently waving a gold-painted folding fan in her hand. The peony painting on the fan surface was exceptionally enchanting in the candlelight.
Wang En stood bowing to the side, reporting all the movements in the eldest prince's estate, not even leaving out the details of pouring the medicine.
Hearing this, Noble Consort Wan closed the folding fan and placed it on the small table with a soft sound.
"He's not completely stupid." A cold smile appeared on Noble Consort Wan's lips. "He knows that Zhenbei City is a trapping quagmire. If he really stupidly took the decree and left the capital, that would be giving up a great situation to others."
The door of the side hall was pushed open.
Uncle Wan, dressed in a gray cloth straight gown, walked in with his head down. He walked hurriedly, with a bit of urgency.
Walking to the center of the hall, Uncle Wan knelt on both knees and bowed deeply.
Noble Consort Wan raised her hand, motioning for Wang En to bring a brocade stool.
Uncle Wan thanked her for the seat, sat down with half of his body against the brocade stool, raised his hand to wipe the fine sweat from his forehead, and smoothed the hem of his clothes.
"Your Highness, the sky outside is about to change." Uncle Wan lowered his voice, his tone filled with anxiety. "That Xu Youde from the Ministry of Revenue took His Majesty's imperial decree and thoroughly investigated the money and grain accounts of the autumn examination!"
"The deficit in the Jiangbei Circuit has all been dug out, implicating several officials from the Provincial Administration Commission."
The heads of the Cui, Zheng, and Lu families gathered at the Xie residence overnight to discuss countermeasures. They sent someone to pass a message to me to test Your Highness's tone."
Noble Consort Wan picked up her teacup, skimmed off the foam but did not drink, and then put it down heavily again.
"Test my tone? They want to use the Wan family as a shield." Noble Consort Wan sneered, her eyes full of disdain. "His Majesty is targeting the autumn examination this time, and the next steps will be the spring examination, salt tax, and grain transport!"
"These families are deeply rooted in the local areas and have fattened themselves on these funds and provisions."
"Now His Majesty wants to take back power and cut off their source of wealth. They are anxious and want to drag Jingxing down with them so that His Majesty will be hesitant to act."
Uncle Wan nodded repeatedly, rubbing his hands uneasily on his knees.
"Your Highness is wise! But now His Majesty has issued an explicit decree for the eldest prince to go to Zhenbei City... The eldest prince pretending to be sick in the estate every day is not a long-term solution! What if His Majesty gets angry and sends an imperial physician to forcibly treat him? That would be the crime of deceiving the emperor!"
Noble Consort Wan stood up, walked to the gold-inlaid Boshan censer, and reached out to stir the incense ashes with a silver pick.
The ashes flew up, giving off a strong scent of agarwood.
"His Majesty won't send anyone to investigate." Noble Consort Wan's tone was full of certainty. "I've already arranged everything with the Imperial Hospital. It's written clearly in the medical records that Jingxing is infected with evil qi! His Majesty's mind is all on how to pave the way for the new emperor. How could he have time to care about Jingxing?"
Uncle Wan was startled, stood up suddenly, and took half a step forward.
"Your Highness means that His Majesty has already decided on the crown prince? Is it the second prince or the third prince?"
Noble Consort Wan turned her head to stare at Uncle Wan, her face cold and hard as iron.
"Didn't you read the medical records from the Imperial Hospital? The medicine His Majesty uses is all strong medicine to keep him alive! Ginseng and aconite are boiled down pound by pound. He won't last much longer."
Noble Consort Wan sneered. "People always do crazy things before they die. He is now eager to take back the financial power from the aristocratic families because he wants to hand over a clean court to the new emperor."
"If Jingxing goes to the Northern Frontier at this time, once His Majesty passes away, he won't even have an excuse to return for the funeral, and he'll be directly squeezed out! Staying in the capital, even if he's pretending to be sick, he still has a trump card to turn the tables."
Uncle Wan broke out in a cold sweat, his back completely wet.
"Then how should we respond? We can't just watch Jingxing be trapped in the estate, drinking those bitter medicinal soups every day."
Noble Consort Wan walked back to the phoenix couch and sat down, smoothing her skirt with unhurried movements.
"Since His Majesty wants to take back power and the aristocratic families want to keep it, let's find them a bigger excuse and completely muddy the waters."
"Only when the situation is chaotic can we pull chestnuts out of the fire."
Uncle Wan took two steps closer and asked in a low voice, "What is Your Highness's brilliant idea?"
"Move the capital to Jiangnan."
Uncle Wan stood frozen in place, his lips slightly parted, unable to recover his senses for a long time.
"Move the capital? This... this is a major event that will shake the foundation of the country! The founding emperor established the capital here to guard the country's gates for the Son of Heaven. How could His Majesty agree to move south?"
Noble Consort Wan revealed a bit of chilling calculation.
"Of course His Majesty won't agree, but the aristocratic families in the north will agree, and the aristocratic families in Jiangnan will agree too!"
"What has the Northern Frontier been beaten into by the Helian people now? Zhenbei City is in imminent danger."
"The capital is only a few hundred miles away from Yinshan. Once Zhenbei City falls, the capital will be a dead city! The northern foundation of the aristocratic families has already been targeted by His Majesty. What they want to do most now is to secure their retreat to Jiangnan."
Noble Consort Wan picked up her teacup to moisten her throat and continued, "After you go out, secretly contact those officials from Jiangnan and ask them to submit a memorial to the court, pleading for the court to move south to avoid the enemy's sharp edge."
"Once this trend takes hold, even His Majesty won't be able to suppress it! When the time comes, the court will be in absolute chaos, arguing over moving the capital every single day. Who would still have the mind to care whether Jingxing goes to Zhenbei City or not?"
"Besides, he himself harbors thoughts of moving the capital to Jiangnan!"
Uncle Wan was suddenly enlightened. He cupped his hands repeatedly, the gloomy look on his face swept away completely.
"Your Ladyship is brilliant! This masterstroke not only resolves the First Prince's dilemma, but it will also make the noble families deeply grateful to him! I will go back and make the arrangements right now. I guarantee that those imperial censors will start submitting memorials by tomorrow."
Noble Consort Wan waved her hand, signaling him to withdraw.
"Go and get it done, and make sure your hands are clean. Tell those people that the memorials must be written with earnest and sincere emotion, and every sentence must be under the guise of considering the state and the future of the Great Qian Dynasty."
...
In the middle of the night, the palace gates had long been locked.
Xiao Jingxing changed into a eunuch's attire, lowered his head, and followed behind Wang En, sneaking into Changchun Palace through a side gate. His steps were hurried, terrified of drawing any attention.
Arriving before Noble Consort Wan, Xiao Jingxing fell to his knees and performed a grand kowtow.
"Your son pays his respects to Imperial Mother."
Noble Consort Wan looked at her son and pointed to a red sandalwood folding chair nearby.
"Sit. Calling you here in the middle of the night—you didn't alarm anyone on the way, did you?"
Xiao Jingxing stood up and took a seat, a hint of caution revealing itself in his expression.
"To answer Imperial Mother, your son came out hiding in a swill cart. No one noticed."
"It's just... Imperial Mother summoned your son into the palace late at night, has there been a change in the political situation?"
Noble Consort Wan laid out the plan to move the capital in its entirety, clearly explaining the details of how to use the noble families and disrupt the court.
Hearing this, Xiao Jingxing's breath hitched slightly.
"Imperial Mother's plan is truly a world-shaking scheme," a sharp light flashed in Xiao Jingxing's eyes, though accompanied by some apprehension. "However, Imperial Father is suspicious by nature. If he finds out that we are the ones fueling the flames behind the scenes, I'm afraid he will be furiously enraged."
Noble Consort Wan slammed her hand on the table, causing the teacup on the desk to tremble.
"What are you afraid of! You don't need to show your face in this matter at all. If anything happens, the noble families will be the ones taking the hit in the front!"
Noble Consort Wan stared at him and said earnestly, "What you need to do is continue feigning illness in your estate while secretly receiving those officials who hail from Jiangnan."
"You must let them know that you support the southward relocation and that you stand on their side."
"As long as you become the pillar of the southward relocation faction, you will have an unshakable place in this court! When that time comes, even if a new emperor ascends the throne, he won't dare to move against you easily!"
Xiao Jingxing was completely awakened by these words. He nodded repeatedly, the ambition in the depths of his eyes no longer able to be concealed.
"Your son understands! Once I return, I will have someone contact the hidden agents of the Jiangnan Provincial Administration Commission in the capital."
Noble Consort Wan softened her tone, looking deeply at him. "Jingxing, the situation in this world is complicated and intricate. Your imperial father manipulates things from behind the scenes, and the noble families are at his disposal. You cannot just be a chess piece at the mercy of others."
"You must learn to jump out of this chessboard and be the one who overturns it! Your maternal grandfather's family has been operating in Great Qian for many years!"
Xiao Jingxing stood up and solemnly performed a grand bow.
"Your son will strictly remember Imperial Mother's teachings!"
