Chapter 43

Chapter 43

Qi Hanzhou saw Ying Fusheng retracting his hands; he seemed accustomed to warming them this way to alleviate the chill. Suihongzi had left him with a condition of cold intolerance, which did not ease in summer and would likely worsen in winter. Even so, he at most added a few more layers of clothing or carried a hand warmer, never speaking of his illness in private.

With his ambition, if he could gain the Empress Dowager's favor in the future and secure her assistance, the Xiao family would eventually stand behind him.

But now he had offended Xiao Yao, and by extension, the entire clan of Xiao elders. Rather than supporting such a thorny figure, it would be better to seek out other princes in the court who could be molded into a puppet emperor. This was also why, despite the intense rivalry between the Xu and Yun families in recent years, they had refrained from taking sides while maintaining good relations with them.

"Who said I offended the Xiao family?" Ying Fusheng raised an eyebrow. "Didn't two people from the Xiao family show up today?"

"You mean Xiao Yan?" Qi Hanzhou looked at him, detecting a hint of cunning and calculation in his eyes.

Xiao Yan's attitude in court was rather peculiar.

To say he was inactive—yet he became the Right Vice Censor-in-Chief at a young age, handling affairs efficiently and earning the Emperor's favor.

To say he was active—his actions today followed exactly what Xiao Yao had done, using the same reasoning, merely adding a restaurant. That was a way to give the Xiao family a graceful exit, to cover for Xiao Yao's lie, and to extricate the Xiao family from the matter.

"Xiao Yan is ambitious," Ying Fusheng said thoughtfully. "But he can't control the Xiao family yet; he has to defer to the clan elders."

At this moment, the Xiao family was secretly cooperating with the Factions, inadvertently becoming someone else's pawn. If the Emperor moved against the Xiao family, the Court and Country would descend into chaos, which was exactly what the person behind the scenes wanted. This way, the Emperor's attention would shift to court affairs, leaving more room to manipulate things in the harem or even exploit minor ailments of the Empress Dowager—opportunities to frame others or create disturbances.

One move, multiple contingencies—this person was deeply calculating.

The Xiao family was no longer what it had been under the previous Emperor. After his father ascended the throne, some members of the Xiao family had grown ambitious. The Emperor had been preoccupied with wars; over the years, civil officials' minds had been corrupted by power. The Xiao family might once have been incorruptible, but now it was a thorn in the Emperor's side.

The Censorate had once been the royal overseer of all civil and military officials.

If these eyes were still clear, how could the court have degenerated to such a state? With a slight provocation from the person behind the scenes, anyone could become a piece on the chessboard stirring up the court.

"The Xiao family has sent visit requests to Cining Palace twice, but my grandmother refused to see them," Ying Fusheng said softly. During his time at Cining Palace, he hadn't seen a single member of the Xiao family enter the palace. "These eyes are half-blind, but not entirely useless. Rather than letting my father discard these eyes, it's better to treat them a little."

As he spoke, the carriage arrived.

They stopped at an extravagantly decorated restaurant.

Seeing Qi Hanzhou frown, Ying Fusheng took Song An's hand as he descended from the carriage, then turned back and said, "I bought it, no need to worry, Junior General."

He couldn't keep going to the restaurant under the First Prince's patronage. The previous meetings had been convenient, but after the exam-cheating scandal, his elder brother would be watching his movements. So it was especially important to establish his own properties in advance.

"I can't keep making Adjutant Ye hang from the beams—it's hard on the hands," Ying Fusheng glanced downward, "and also hard on the legs."

Ye Xuanjiu noticed the Junior General's gaze and quickly said in a low voice, "His Highness used the shops gifted by the First Prince to secretly acquire these properties, handled through those dandy nobles."

In other words, he was leveraging the First Prince's connections in the capital to quietly plant his own informants and acquire assets, taking root in the city. With many wealthy young men in the capital, by channeling his property acquisitions through the First Prince's network, anyone else investigating would only trace it back to the First Prince's people.

Qi Hanzhou stared unblinkingly at the young man walking ahead. While appearing to frolic with the dandies, he had silently accomplished a great deal. He waved his hand; the subordinates lurking in the distance melted away. Only then did he withdraw his gaze and follow Ying Fusheng.

When they entered the private room, someone was already waiting inside.

That person bowed respectfully when he saw Ying Fusheng: "Your Highness."

It was Weng Yanqing.

Weng Yanqing looked completely different from before. He had changed into a proper set of casual clothes, his face slightly altered with the help of the Brocade Guard, and now he could freely come and go from the Court of the Imperial Stud, serving as Shen Changcun's nominal subordinate—not on the court's payroll, but wielding real power.

Qi Hanzhou said, "When the Brocade Guard entered the Court of Judicial Review repository, a few extra names appeared on the list."

With the anti-corruption campaign underway, the Brocade Guard had already been monitoring suspicious individuals.

The Emperor had only spared their lives; that didn't mean the Brocade Guard wouldn't investigate. But the list Ying Fusheng had submitted included not only those under Brocade Guard surveillance, but also names that had never appeared on the anti-corruption lists—meaning this was an additional source of information.

Song An brought today's medicinal broth. Ying Fusheng took two sips. "He compiled it."

Weng Yanqing bowed: "Greetings, Deputy Commander. This humble one is unworthy; this is merely my duty."

Qi Hanzhou: "How did you investigate?"

"Your subject sorted through the commoners' petitions, and those submitted to the Court of Judicial Review passed through my hands," Weng Yanqing said, turning to look at Ying Fusheng. With Ying Fusheng's permission, he continued, "The Court of the Imperial Stud controls the movement of carriages and horses inside and outside the capital. During this period, who entered which post station has all been recorded. With a little screening, suspicious individuals can be identified."

"Among them are people from the Ministry of Justice and the Censorate."

Ye Xuanjiu was astonished. Weng Yanqing had only been under Shen Changcun's command for a short time, yet he had already compiled such a list so quickly—and without error... How was that man's brain structured?

Qi Hanzhou glanced sideways at the man drinking his medicine. "You shouldn't have revealed this. Shen Changcun is your eyes."

Ying Fusheng lowered his gaze, drinking the medicine in small sips. When he had a moment, he said, "I know about Ye Xuanjiu; you should know about Shen Changcun. That way, our cooperation can last, don't you think?"

Knowing each other's foundations prevents suspicion.

Qi Hanzhou averted his eyes. This man had calculated everything clearly, even after multiple collaborations.

"What do you want to do now?" Qi Hanzhou asked.

Ying Fusheng said, "My father wants an investigation. The Brocade Guard and the Court of Judicial Review are to investigate... so naturally, I'll investigate corrupt officials."

He spoke too quickly and couldn't suppress a cough. Qi Hanzhou frowned and stepped forward, feeling his pulse; it was weak and floating, and his wrist was warm. For an ordinary person, warmth was normal, but Qi Hanzhou had touched his hands before—this warmth meant he had a low-grade fever. "You have a fever."

"Your Highness, excessive cleverness is harmful." Qi Hanzhou said sternly.

"I'm already taking medicine, it's nothing serious." Ying Fusheng withdrew his hand and hid it in his sleeve. And 'excessive cleverness is harmful'—what did that have to do with him?

Qi Hanzhou looked at him, seeing his indifference.

With so many details, even the Brocade Guard would need some time to investigate. But Ying Fusheng often proposed strategies or completed tasks in half a day or less. These details couldn't be determined overnight; it showed that this man was constantly prepared, and he was likely already plotting against the Xiao family now.

Seeing that he was about to cough again, Qi Hanzhou handed him a bottle of pills. "If Your Highness feels unwell in the future, you can use these. They won't conflict with the medicine prescribed by the imperial physicians."

Ying Fusheng was curious: "What is this?"

"Cough suppressant, a military secret formula."

Qi Hanzhou rose to take his leave: "Your Highness needs rest today. The Court of Judicial Review and the Xiao family matters will be handled by the Brocade Guard. Your Highness need not worry."

Ying Fusheng paused; he thought he was fine at the moment.

Qi Hanzhou had already risen and left. As the door closed, Ye Xuanjiu called from behind, "Junior General, that bottle of medicine wasn't—"

"Commander, please wait!" A voice came from behind.

It was Weng Yanqing catching up, calling out to him.

Ye Xuanjiu's words stopped.

"The petitions submitted to Your subject were written by certain students. The backgrounds of those students, whom they were impeaching, and on whose behalf they sought redress—all are recorded in this scroll." Weng Yanqing handed it over. "His Highness instructed that this be given to the Deputy Commander."

A while ago, commoners had been submitting petitions, with students writing on their behalf. All the current impeachment documents in the court had come from these sources.

But with so many petitions, it was inevitable that some were secretly planted by various factions to bring down their rivals. If Weng Yanqing's list was given to the Brocade Guard, they could distinguish which petitions were genuinely from the people and which were products of factional attacks—and which were instigated by the hand behind the scenes.

Qi Hanzhou took it and turned to leave. "Thank the Sixth Prince for me."

From above, Ying Fusheng watched Qi Hanzhou walk away, a hint of hesitation in his expression. "Is Qi Hanzhou angry?"

He had even given him a sleep aid; that medicine was clearly not for cough relief—he had seen it in his previous life.

He murmured to himself, "No... he's a quiet one, he doesn't get angry."

"Isn't the Junior General always like this?" Song An asked, puzzled. Everyone in the court knew the Junior General was not easy to talk to.

"Really?" Ying Fusheng hesitated slightly. In his previous life, he had never fully figured out Qi Hanzhou. Sometimes he seemed incredibly easy to read, other times he felt like he had something on his mind. In this life, to cooperate with Qi Hanzhou, he had carefully tailored his behavior to suit his temperament. But just now, for a moment, he couldn't figure out what Qi Hanzhou was thinking.

Suddenly, he recalled that feeling. In his previous life, there was once when he used the Embroidered Uniform Guard to scheme against court officials and suffered an underhanded attack. He almost drank the poison meant for him, and Qi Hanzhou rushed in to deal with the palace attendants. At that moment, his expression was exactly the same as just now.

What happened afterward... Ying Fusheng tried to remember, but a sharp pain began at his forehead, and he swayed dizzily and pitched forward.

Song An was startled and quickly grabbed him. "Your Highness?"

The prince had almost fallen—this was the second floor!

"I've been in the wind too long; my hands are weak," Ying Fusheng said, coming back to his senses. In the distance, Qi Hanzhou had already disappeared from view.

Never mind, there were plenty of things he couldn't figure out.

Given how his mind had been ruined by poison in his previous life, he would have to figure out many things again in this one to understand how the mastermind laid their traps. Eliminating Chen Yuanli was only the removal of the mastermind's scheme in the Ministry of Rites; behind this lay the other five ministries, as well as the Grand Secretariat. The Embroidered Uniform Guard was the emperor's blade, reaching every corner, but some things were difficult to ascertain given their position.

The Qi family was the blade... the Xiao family was the eyes.

Since the mastermind had targeted the Empress Dowager, they wanted not only to stir trouble in the palace but also to make a move within the Xiao family. The Qi family was like an iron wall, impossible to infiltrate, so the only option was to blind the emperor.

"Did you have the Xiao family watched?" Ying Fusheng asked as he saw Weng Yanqing return.

"Lord Shen is already making arrangements, awaiting your orders," Weng Yanqing said. "What does Your Highness wish to do? I can help share your burden."

Ying Fusheng looked at Weng Yanqing. He had indeed told Qi Hanzhou less than he should have. He was not just investigating these matters; he also needed to know who filled which positions in the court, how they got there, and who backed them.

These things were hard to accomplish with only Shen Changcun.

He also wanted the eyes of the Censorate.