"Father, do you think the tutor can make Rong Lingchen talk?"
Song Shihuan sat before a table piled high with candied fruits and pastries, the treats nearly obscuring her small face entirely.
"Ah-Huan, you know Shen San's methods well enough—he could frighten the living daylights out of anyone." Song Yu frowned as he struggled to see his precious daughter's face behind the mountain of snacks.
"Lately, His Majesty has been... excessive. It’s as if he’s trying to empty the entire palace, sending everything to the Qin Prince's Mansion."
Even Ah-Huan’s usual snacks were being delivered.
Leaving him, her own father, with no room to dote on her!
"I also think the tutor can do it."
Song Shihuan giggled. "Father, I like it when Grandfather treats me well."
After all, watching Emperor Yuanyou favor Song Xiyan was like having her heart fried in boiling oil.
Better to be spoiled rotten instead.
"Once the tutor gets Rong Lingchen to talk, this matter can serve as one of the justifications for attacking Dayue next year."
As Shen Qingping’s disciple, the young princess clearly wasn’t all that innocent either.
Song Shihuan continued, "We can also find a few more excuses—like Song Yanzheng suddenly meeting an untimely end, or Dayue soldiers harassing our border villagers. Throughout history, victorious armies have always marched under righteous banners!"
Song Yu froze for a moment.
Then cursed under his breath.
Damn you, Shen San—you’ve corrupted my daughter!
......
Prince Qi's Mansion.
"His Highness still refuses to leave his study?"
Gou Wu, receiving a nod from the servant, grew increasingly worried. Ever since the banquet welcoming Prince Min, the prince had seemed utterly dispirited.
With this in mind, Gou Wu walked to the study door and knocked lightly.
"I said not to disturb me."
"Your Highness, it is I—Gou Wu."
The noise inside quieted briefly before Prince Qi’s muffled voice replied, "Leave me, Master Gou. I have no interest in discussing politics."
"Does Your Highness intend to give up?"
Gou Wu cut straight to the point. "If you abandon this path now, all the officials we painstakingly won over will fall into Prince Qin’s hands."
"In that case, I too shall take my leave, retreating to the mountains in seclusion."
Creak—
The study door swung open.
Prince Qi stood there, hair disheveled, eyes hollow, as though he had suffered a devastating blow.
"Master Gou, in Father’s heart, I will never measure up to Song Yu."
For the first time, Prince Qi understood Emperor Yuanyou’s stance with painful clarity. "That’s why I’ll never be named Crown Prince."
"Your Highness, what we seek was never merely the title of Crown Prince. Prince Ping held that position for years—but did it do him any good?" Gou Wu spoke rapidly, pressing against Prince Qi’s resolve.
"Your Highness, what we strive for is the throne itself!"
"The throne..." Prince Qi laughed bitterly.
"Trust me, Your Highness. I will ensure you ascend to it." Gou Wu knelt, pressing his forehead to the ground.
"Very well."
Prince Qi looked up at the sky, feeling only desolation.
"Your Highness, in the coming days, spend more time in the inner courtyard. Strive to give His Majesty a royal grandson as soon as possible."
......
By late November, heavy snow began to fall across Daqi, the sudden cold driving people indoors and leaving the streets nearly empty.
Beneath the pristine snow lay the stirrings of Daqi’s largest military mobilization in decades.
Gu Family Residence.
“Your Highness, a hundred thousand elite troops from the capital have been divided into three forces, each dispatched to these locations.”
As he spoke, Gu Zheng marked the spots on the map.
"Additionally, seventy thousand soldiers from Ji'an Prefecture and Wencao Prefecture have been stationed along our borders, while the northern deserts have also reinforced their garrisons." At the mention of war, Gu Zheng’s eyes gleamed.
For a military man, glory could only be won on the battlefield.
"This ensures that when we mobilize next year, Daqi’s vital territories will remain secure, free from unrest."
"General Gu’s arrangements are thorough."
Song Shihuan nodded. "Moving troops now, under the cover of winter, is least likely to raise suspicion. Though the bitter cold will be hard on the soldiers."
"A soldier fears neither hardship nor exhaustion."
"As for provisions, rest assured, General Gu—I will handle them." Song Shihuan rose. "That’s all for today. I must return to the Qin Prince's Mansion."
Otherwise, her father would grumble again about being left alone to slog through imperial exam preparations.
“Farewell, Princess.”
Stepping outside, the icy wind stung Song Shihuan’s face.
"Baoxia, summon the tutor to the Qin Prince's Mansion. Only he can oversee the provisions to my satisfaction."
"Also, did you memorize the locations General Gu mentioned earlier?"
"Princess, this servant remembers them all." Inside, Baoxia had felt her blood stir with excitement.
"Find discreet seamstresses and send them to those areas to sew winter coats for the troops."
Song Shihuan’s breath misted in the cold as she tightened her grip on the hand warmer.
The soldiers must not freeze.
Days later, Emperor Yuanyou urgently summoned Song Yu and Song Shihuan to the palace.
Purple Dawn Hall.
"Our spies in Dayue report that this year’s blizzards have caused widespread famine—many commoners are starving to death."
Emperor Yuanyou’s eyes glinted. "Da Qi could... act on this."
"Grandfather is absolutely right."
Before Song Yu could react, Song Shihuan voiced her agreement.
"This granddaughter suggests we pack grain and leave it along the border for Dayue’s people. Have our spies spread word of our generosity—so their citizens feel gratitude toward Da Qi."
When the invasion came next year, resistance would be weaker.
Emperor Yuanyou smiled. Ah-Huan understood him perfectly.
"Dayue’s court will assume we seek friendship and never suspect an attack next year." Song Shihuan’s eyes curved like crescents. "Killing two birds with one stone—why not?"
"Free grain never comes without a price." Emperor Yuanyou chuckled. "But this grain, I give willingly."
Then, grandfather and granddaughter both turned to Song Yu.
He offered an awkward smile. So he was slower than Ah-Huan—
What did it matter? His daughter’s brilliance was enough.
......
By the end of November, Emperor Yuanyou ordered vast shipments of grain sent to the Daqi-Dayue border.
Dayue’s starving refugees received the food with tearful gratitude.
As for Dayue’s imperial court—
"What do my ministers make of Daqi’s actions?" Emperor Mingde asked slowly.
"Your Majesty, this subject believes it’s guilt—they traded our vigorous Prince Min for their crippled royal grandson. Let Dayue take the grain without concern."
"True enough."
Emperor Mingde smirked. It seemed the old emperor of Daqi was growing senile after all.
She could no longer wield the sharp blade.
