Jiang Qiang and Jiang Sheng, two death warriors sent by Princess Fucheng, arrived in Ning County, northeast of Qingxia County, in late February disguised as traveling merchant brothers with travel permits forged in their early years.
During the day, the two carried loads on their shoulders and pretended to go to the villages near the Fengyan Canal to sell cloth, hairpins, and other small goods. In secret, they were looking for a suitable section of the canal to make their move. They saw large expanses of barren land caused by years of drought, and they also saw the large and small canals shuttling through the plain like roots.
On the first day of March, Di Xian, the magistrate of Qingxia County, officially opened the sluice gate to divert water. This grand event not only brought out the people who would benefit from the canal to watch, but also the people from the surrounding villages and counties. Those who had money traveled in horse-drawn carriages and mule carts, while those without money relied on their own two feet to walk over. Amidst the hustle and bustle, the Jiang brothers carried their loads and sold snacks, doing a brisk business while waiting for the government to open the sluice gate. They looked just like normal traveling merchants.
A stone tablet had already been erected in front of the head of the canal, detailing the story of Magistrate Di and his son building the canal. The commoners crowded around the stone tablet in waves to watch the excitement, and naturally, there were literate people reading it aloud. Although Jiang Qiang and Jiang Sheng were some distance away, they still heard the words "Emperor Yongchang," "Prince Hui," and "Prince Kang."
The two exchanged glances several times.
Wealth is sought in danger. Since Princess Fucheng had sent them out to do this dirty deed of framing the two princes and destroying the canal and fields, they naturally had to prepare a way out for themselves and their families.
Jiang Qiang and Jiang Sheng were not brothers, but after this experience, they were like brothers. On the way here, they had already discussed it. After the matter was completed, Jiang Qiang would go back alone to report to the princess, take the other half of the reward, and take their two families to a neighboring country to live incognito. Jiang Sheng would hide in the dark. Once the princess tried to silence them, Jiang Sheng would go to the government to surrender, thereby forcing Princess Fucheng to keep her promise.
When the auspicious time arrived, following an order from Magistrate Di, the heavy sluice gate slowly rose, and the muddy yellow waters of the Yellow River immediately roared into the wide canal newly built last year, surging forward along the canal, which was more than ten zhang wide, like a mighty army. The river water crashed against the heavy canal walls on both sides, splashing up droplets of water that fell on the faces of the commoners standing nearby.
Jiang Qiang and Jiang Sheng both looked stern. If they were to breach the canal here, firstly, it would take them several days of digging day and night, and secondly, once they dug through, the turbulent waters of the Yellow River would probably swallow them up immediately.
Fortunately, the princess only wanted a minor disaster that would flood some of the fields.
According to Magistrate Di's decree of irrigating once every ten days, they were in no hurry to make their move today. The princess had also said that they should carefully plan and act in April. After all, no matter how bold the officials were, they would not dare to build a canal that would break after just one use. If the canal breached after three or four diversions, it would further prove that the officials who built the canal had cut corners and done shoddy work.
.
The capital.
On the fifth day of March, taking advantage of the strong midday sun and the floor heating specially lit in the room, Yao Huang took a quick bath, served by Nanny Jin and the senior maids. After washing, she quickly dressed warmly and sat on the heated couch in the east side room, drying her hair in the warm sun coming through the window.
Her dried long hair was fluffy and carried a faint scent of osmanthus. Yao Huang herself loved it to death.
At dusk, Prince Hui returned to the manor from the palace. As usual, he bathed and changed clothes in the front yard to remove all the foul air from outside before coming to the backyard.
Nanny Jin, the wet nurse, Aji, and the other senior maids all knew that the prince would come at this time. After finishing their duties, they retreated to the main room and waited for the masters to call before entering.
Prince Hui pushed his three-wheeled wheelchair into the side room and habitually looked towards the couch. He saw the princess wearing a begonia-red long dress leaning against the window, holding a book high in her hand to block her face. The swaddling clothes were placed next to the princess in a place out of the setting sun. The child, only nine days old, was so small that his face couldn't be seen at all lying in the swaddling clothes.
Zhao Sui moved to the couch, but the princess's book was still held high.
For a moment, Zhao Sui couldn't tell if the princess was reading so intently that she didn't notice him come in, or if she was deliberately waiting for him to get on the couch.
To be safe, Zhao Sui asked, "What are you reading?"
The princess hid behind the book and smiled. "Isn't it written on the cover?"
Zhao Sui: "..."
His gaze swept over the words on the cover facing him. Prince Hui propped his hands on the edge of the couch and skillfully hoisted himself up.
After straightening his wheelchair and lifting his legs, Zhao Sui slowly shifted towards the swaddling clothes.
Yun'er was actually awake, his phoenix eyes, which took after his father's, open wide. His two small hands rested on his chest, clasped together. His mother was quietly reading a book, and he was quietly lying there.
Zhao Sui slipped his index finger into Yun'er's loosely clasped hands.
The little fellow's lips curled into a smile.
Because the princess was reading too intently, Prince Hui simply played with the child until the familiar faint scent of osmanthus finally caught his attention. Prince Hui thought of something and asked the princess, who was holding the book high, "You washed your hair?"
The princess replied, "Yes, and I even took a bath. It's been two and a half shichen since I finished washing, and I'm perfectly fine. Physician Li also checked my pulse just before Your Highness returned, so Your Highness doesn't need to worry about me catching a cold and getting sick."
Zhao Sui: "..."
After a moment of silence, he took the book from the princess's hands.
Yao Huang hadn't meant to read the book at all; she was just covering her face to give Prince Hui a surprise. But she had waited so long before Prince Hui finally made a move.
She wanted to glare at Prince Hui, but she hadn't seen him looking so fresh and clean for several days, so Yao Huang felt a little shy. She lowered her eyelids early, avoiding Prince Hui's eyes.
The princess Zhao Sui saw had a fluffy bun like a cloud, with the ruby peony hairpin bestowed by his imperial father inserted in it.
The princess's face was flushed red for some reason. Just looking at her, he could feel the warmth of her delicate skin.
The princess who hadn't washed her hair yesterday was also beautiful, but the princess at this moment was so beautiful that it made people drool.
Suddenly, the princess's eyelashes fluttered.
Before the princess looked over, Zhao Sui lowered his eyes in time and casually hooked Yun'er's small hand in the swaddling clothes, as if he hadn't noticed the princess's completely new beauty after bathing.
Yao Huang: "..."
Although she guessed that Prince Hui might be pretending, she was still unhappy, so unhappy that she wanted to pull out her hairpin and prick him.
With a soft snort, Yao Huang picked up the book again and leaned against the opposite wall to read, only extending her two feet wearing socks towards Prince Hui, with one resting on the other.
Prince Hui still had his eyes on the swaddling clothes; only he knew who was occupying his mind.
After dinner, the wet nurse carried the young master away. Prince Hui first returned to the front yard for a two-quarter-hour massage, wiped himself down again, and then came to the backyard.
The princess was already lying in bed.
Zhao Sui put out the lamp. After sitting on the bed, he directly hugged the princess from behind.
The princess's body hadn't fully recovered yet, but this kind of hugging was fine, unlike the last few months of pregnancy when she had to be careful even when turning over.
Yao Huang threw off the arm Prince Hui had placed on her.
Zhao Sui stopped hugging her and just brushed aside the hair scattered on her neck, lowering his head to kiss her.
Yao Huang tried to hide inward like a loach. This time, Prince Hui's arm instantly wrapped around her, pulling the princess, who had moved a distance away, heavily back into his arms.
Sitting in his wheelchair, Prince Hui looked even more powerless than a frail scholar, as if anyone could bully him. Only Yao Huang knew how strong his arms truly were. With just a simple movement—a movement Prince Hui hadn't dared to do to her since she became pregnant—Yao Huang was provoked into a short gasp.
Zhao Sui's body tensed, and he loosened his grip. "Did I hurt you?"
Yao Huang said, "...Yes, Your Highness, let go quickly."
Zhao Sui could distinguish his princess's tone. Instead of letting go, he turned her around. After brushing aside her long hair with his right hand, he naturally cradled her flushed face.
Yao Huang closed her eyes.
Zhao Sui started kissing from the top of the princess's head, trailing all the way down to the thick dark hair at the nape of her neck. Everywhere smelled of the floral dew she always used.
As he kissed her, his hand brushed open the collar of her inner robe.
Yao Huang's bones were turning to jelly, but she didn't forget to tease him, "I thought Your Highness didn't care at all whether I had bathed or not."
Zhao Sui said, "I was afraid you would catch a cold."
Yao Huang replied, "But Your Highness's hands are cold too, colder than my bathwater and the sunlight that dried my hair. It makes me so uncomfortable."
Prince Hui paused, then cooperatively pulled his hand away.
Just as Yao Huang was about to curse him as a fool in her heart, Prince Hui scooped her up.
The princess, warmed just as she wished, went soft in Prince Hui's arms and hummed melodies for nearly half an hour.
.
This year's spring was warmer than the previous two years. On the twenty-sixth of the third month, the little master of Prince Hui's manor had just celebrated his one-month milestone. The very next day, the Secretariat received a memorial submitted by Xu Dongyang, the county magistrate of Lingshan. It stated that the Solomon's seal planted in the eight hundred acres of mountainous medicinal fields he had experimentally reclaimed around Lingshan Town last year had all successfully sprouted. Furthermore, the Solomon's seal planted in the test plot the year prior was still growing well, proving once again that planting Solomon's seal in the forests of Lingshan was viable.
Therefore, Xu Dongyang requested the imperial court to approve another sum of silver. This year, he aimed to encourage the commoners to open up five thousand acres of new medicinal fields on suitable mountains around the entirety of Lingshan, specifically for planting Solomon's seal.
The two chancellors presented this memorial to Emperor Yongchang.
Emperor Yongchang had been waiting for exactly this memorial from Xu Dongyang. After reading it, he ordered someone to summon Prince Kang and Prince Qing.
The two princes arrived very quickly.
After the New Year, the twenty-eight-year-old Prince Kang was as radiant as ever, still as dignified and honest as before. However, the twenty-two-year-old Prince Qing was different. His imperial father refused to give him the opportunity to gain experience in other ministries, and his maternal grandfather had long since stopped favoring him. This left Prince Qing disheartened and lethargic, lacking his previous competitive drive, making him look as if he had aged several years.
Emperor Yongchang pretended not to notice and let the two brothers read Xu Dongyang's memorial.
Prince Kang said happily, "Excellent. Those mountains were just sitting there barren anyway. Now that they have become medicinal fields planted with Solomon's seal, which has wonderful nourishing properties, there will be no worry about sales once they are fully grown. By then, the local commoners will have more income, and the imperial court will also gain more tax revenue."
Prince Qing, who was usually more eloquent than him, merely chimed in with a few words of praise.
Emperor Yongchang said, "Local officials, for the sake of their political achievements, can exaggerate a single piece of good news tenfold. The imperial court still needs to send someone to verify whether those eight hundred acres of Solomon's seal are truly growing well. Lingshan is close by, and the spring scenery is nice. The two of you brothers shall make a trip on my behalf. The reclaimed medicinal fields must be inspected carefully, and the five thousand acres of wild forest prepared for reclamation must also be examined to see if they are suitable. You must also secretly visit the commoners who reclaimed land last year. If it is truly a good policy that benefits the people, they will naturally support it. But if Xu Dongyang is only making it sound nice while the commoners are full of complaints about this initiative, then there must be a problem."
Prince Kang and Prince Qing accepted the order.
After leaving the imperial study, Prince Qing walked silently for a while before suddenly looking at Prince Kang. "This matter of reclaiming land in Lingshan to plant Solomon's seal... could it be that Second Brother also had a hand in it?"
He remembered his mother mentioning the year before last that their imperial father had received the local specialty of Solomon's seal brought back by their second brother and sister-in-law from their summer retreat, and had praised it extensively to the concubines.
Prince Kang also remembered this matter, but at that time, his second brother was still acting lifeless, and it was his second sister-in-law who had taken the initiative to gift the local specialty of Solomon's seal.
His second brother merely had a good memory; it wasn't like he was a god who could dip his hands into every possible achievement.
That stinking third brother was trying to sow discord again!
Ignoring Prince Qing, Prince Kang flicked his sleeves and strode away.
