“Wang Ye hasn’t set foot in this courtyard again after Xiao Si passed!” Consort Xiao said indifferently (referring to the last chapter).

The Marchioness of Dingnan looked at her carefully and couldn’t help frowning. The Xiao family’s eldest daughter used to be very intelligent, and her current attitude of blaming others without rhyme or reason didn’t seem like her. Although she didn’t want to deal with this, the house of the Marquis of Dingnan and Rui Wang’s household were already grasshoppers on the same rope. If this young mistress lost her power, even if Jing Chen ascended the throne later, they wouldn’t benefit at all. Thinking this, she couldn’t help but look cold. “Didn’t you cause all of this yourself?”

Consort Xiao heard this and glared coldly at her stepmother. “Mother, if there is nothing important, then you should go back. I’m tired.”

“The great sage you mentioned has already hung herself in Jade Cloud Temple.” The Marchioness of Dingnan gripped the handkerchief in her hand and tried to restrain her emotions and speak calmly.

“What?” Consort Xiao’s eyes widened.

“That Mo Bei usually swindles food and drink from noble households, but you believed in her the most. Now that Xiao Si is gone, she must have been afraid that Wang Ye would blame her, so she committed suicide.” The Marchioness of Dingnan took a deep breath. “I know you won’t listen to my words; I only advise you to remember: even if you are Rui Wang Fei, you are nothing without Wang Ye’s respect!” Finished with what she had to say, she didn’t even look at Rui Wang Fei’s expression before getting up to leave.

On the way back, the Marchioness of Dingnan was still very angry. She herself was born of a concubine. The previous Marchioness of Dingnan had been born from an official wife, so only after she passed was she able to become the new marchioness. She always hated the official wives who, when they encountered misfortune, always blamed it on the bastard sons and daughters.

“Madam, with the Wang Fei like this, what will happen if His Highness Rui Wang’s heart cools toward her?” The maid at her side saw that her mistress was angry, and also began to reproach Rui Wang Fei.

“If she still has an ounce of sense, she should quickly bring the bastard son from the other courtyard back to her side to raise.” The Marchioness of Dingnan said a few words, exhaled, then didn’t say any more. She just sneered in her heart. Her elder sister (previous wife of Marquis Dingnan) had raised such a daughter and taught her to run the inner household this way; their treatment and attitude toward bastard sons were probably the same.

Jing Shao and his Wang Fei returned to their palace. When the carriage stopped, the person in Jing Shao’s arms was already asleep. The coachman lifted the curtain of the carriage, and the sun shone in so that Jun Qing’s eyelashes cast long shadows. Jing Shao gestured for everyone to be silent, picked up the man in his arms and got off the carriage carefully.

The weather was already very hot. Although there was a jade mat in the carriage, they still sweated a lot when sitting so close together. Jing Shao didn’t care much, but now that he was moving Jun Qing to sleep inside the room, he was afraid that he would be hot, so he put the man on the soft divan on the veranda.

Just as he touched the soft divan, Mu Hanzhang woke up and opened his eyes slowly.

“Sleep a little longer; I’ll call you when it’s lunchtime.” Jing Shao took the wet cloth from the maid and wiped his face. Seeing that the man on the couch had opened his eyes, he also wiped his face for him.

The cool towel wiped away the stickiness on his face, and a gentle breeze blew through the veranda; it was very refreshing. Mu Hanzhang couldn’t help narrowing his eyes in comfort. In his heart, he thought that Jing Shao was becoming increasingly decent in the role of the wife of Marquis Wenyuan, but he didn’t dare say it. After all, his waist was still sore now.

Jing Shao didn’t understand the smile in his Wang Fei’s eyes, and he stretched out his hands to untie his sash.

“What are you doing?” Mu Hanzhang hurriedly grabbed the hands that were reaching for his waist; he hadn’t said anything out loud, so why was this man making a move?

“Isn’t it hot to wear such a thick court uniform?” Seeing Mu Hanzhang’s slightly red face, Jing Shao’s heart thumped and he slowly leaned over. “What are you thinking about? En?”

Mu Hanzhang looked at the handsome face coming close and glared at him. “It’s very hot. I’ll change.” He was about to get up, but was firmly pressed down by the person on top of him so that he was unable to move even a little.

“Tbe’gf algfv. P’ii tfiq sbe mtjcuf,” Alcu Vtjb rjlv klat j uglc. Coafg afjglcu bqfc atbrf mbega mibatfr bcmf, tf ibnfv ab qijs klat jii atfrf mbwqilmjafv qlfmfr bo Zjgdelr Qfcsejc’r mbega eclobgw. Lf frqfmljiis ilxfv atf qgbmfrr bo vlrjrrfwyilcu la qlfmf ys qlfmf.

“Rb, cb…” Ktlr kjr atf nfgjcvj bo atf wjlc tberf lc atf fjra mbega. Vfgnjcar mbeiv mbwf ja jcs alwf. Ze Ljchtjcu kjr kbgglfv jcv yiegafv bea, “Tbe’nf gfjiis ubaafc lcab atf gbif bo Zjgdelr Qfcsejc’r klof, tjnfc’a sbe?”

Jing Shao immediately paused. His eyes gradually turned dangerous, but his tone was calm. “Jun Qing, what are you talking about?”

“No, nothing.” Mu Hanzhang was stunned. He realized what he had said and subconsciously backtracked. “There’s something I forgot to tell you: the eldest prince today… Ah…”

Jing Shao quickly grabbed the two hands trying to push him away, then held Mu Hanzhang’s wrists together and pressed them over his head. “It seems we have to reestablish who is husband and who is wife today?” Then, he put his other hand to his mouth, blew on it and, with an evil grin, sought out the ticklish spots of the man under him.

“Ah… Hahaha… Don’t… wu…” Mu Hanzhang struggled, but was miserably disciplined by Cheng Wang.

In front of the main house in the east court was a small garden, where green bamboo and short trees had been planted. Miao Xi, who came to deliver tea, had just stepped through the moon gate, when she heard the Wang Fei’s gasps, and she stopped at once. She couldn’t really see through the bamboo, and only vaguely saw the Wang Ye pressing the Wang Fei down… The little maid immediately blushed. This Wang Ye was too impetuous. She didn’t dare deliver the tea anymore, and just ran away quickly.

After playing around for a long time, both of them were sweating. Jing Shao simply lay down on his Wang Fei and didn’t move. The exquisite court uniform was pulled open to reveal a smooth chest, a thin layer of glittering and translucent sweat over it.

Mu Hanzhang gasped for breath and pushed at the big head stuck to his chest. The head was pushed back an inch, before it spontaneously moved back up two inches. He couldn’t help rolling his eyes. However, he still needed to talk to Jing Shao about the move which the eldest prince had made today. “Today, brother mentioned that he wanted to try setting up a port. Unexpectedly, the eldest prince didn’t object, but even suggested that he wanted me to go take care of it.”

In fact, this had been the plan from the beginning; Mu Hanzhang also wanted to personally go to the port and familiarize himself with this kind of business. He had always wanted to get involved in maritime business, but since the imperial court hadn’t recognized maritime merchants before this, whether he was the Cheng Wang Fei or Marquis Wenyuan, he couldn’t get involved. Even if it couldn’t compare with price-gouging in the salt trade, it would still provoke castigation.

Jing Shao stared at a pink bean next to him; there were also his red bite marks from last night on the surrounding skin. It looked very alluring. “Naturally, he wouldn’t be so kind. I guess he just wants to send you away quickly. I’m also trapped in the house, so I wouldn’t know anything.”

“I don’t think it’s that simple. Will they tamper with the port?” Mu Hanzhang frowned. He always felt that after the eldest prince returned from Yunnan-Tibet, he was a lot gloomier than before.

“Don’t worry, do what you want. No one can mess with you when I’m supporting you.” Jing Shao scooted up again; he was like a big dog who was too lazy to stand up when it saw a piece of meat, and he just tried to stick his tongue out as far as it could go to lick the slightly reddened and swollen little bean in front of him.

There has been no good news from Jiangnan at all. As soon as the fourth prince arrived in Jiangnan, he took all the military power into his own hands, and the general of the Jiangnan army wasn’t allowed to follow him onto the battlefield as the fourth prince was afraid that the soldiers wouldn’t know who to listen to. Lu Zhanpeng was also happy to be idle, and prepared to leisurely watch the excitement from the side. Since he didn’t go to the battlefield, he naturally didn’t have to write a war report for the emperor.

Emperor Hong Zheng couldn’t help frowning at the memorial sent back by Jing Yu. It only said that the Huainan King had withdrawn to the city gate towers and didn’t dare come out to fight. At present, there was still no progress.

In fact, the fourth prince was suffering really badly. The Huainan King was on the city gate towers, but his generals were under the city gate towers! Every day, a general was sent out to play with him. Pitter-patter, they would fight a bout and then run away, waiting for him to give chase. When he went after them, however, he would be met either with horse tripping ropes or sharp spike traps, which made him extremely furious.

At this time, the North Marquis’s residence was currently celebrating the first full month of the North Marquis’s youngest son.

Jing Shao really wanted to go and see his brother-in-law, who had just turned one full month old, because he heard that he looked very similar to Mu Hanzhang when he was a child. However, because he had run out once already when the fourth child in Rui Wang’s residence died prematurely, and because the North Marquis’s residence would be full of influential bigwigs from the capital this time, the Cheng Wang, who was still under house arrest, couldn’t go.

The North Marquis smiled from ear to ear as he spoke to the guests and accepted all the compliments people gave him, regardless whether they were genuine or just for the sake of courtesy. Mu Hanzhang greeted his father and then entered the inner residence to see his mother who had just completed her month of confinement after giving birth to his little brother.

“Lin’er, be good. You will get to see your brother soon.” Consort Qiu was wearing a soft dress as she sat on the bed and teased her young son in her arms. His slightly chubby face looked shiny and rosy, and his eyes, similar to Mu Hanzhang’s, were full of affection.

Mu Hanzhang looked at the peaceful and beautiful scene in front of him. He couldn’t help but smile as he leaned over the bed to look at his brother.

Mu Long Ling’s newborn redness had faded and his wrinkled little face had also smoothed out. He was white and delicate, pleasing to behold, and he was quiet and didn’t cry noisily. A pair of big eyes moved slowly. Seeing Mu Hanzhang, he was very curious and kept staring at him.

“Lin’er, this is your brother. Quickly call your brother.” Consort Qiu smiled and held the child in front of Mu Hanzhang.

“Mother, it’s only been one month; how can he call me brother?” Mu Hanzhang was amused by his mother’s behavior.

“If we teach him earlier, he can speak earlier. Back then, you could speak when you were seven months old,” Consort Qiu said, before her smile faded. When he was a child, Hanzhang couldn’t stay and she couldn’t raise him. She could only go and have a look at him every few days, instead of being able to hold him in her arms like she did with Lin’er every day. She couldn’t help sighing, and said instead, “I heard that Rui Wang Fei took back the bastard son from Wang Ji whom she had sent to the other courtyard.”

“Why does mother always worry about Rui Wang’s household?” Mu Hanzhang found it funny. She didn’t even worry over the North Marquis’s household, but was always concerned about other people’s households. He had already stopped caring about these inner household issues for a long time now.

“It would be best for Rui Wang Fei to accept the situation and move on.” Consort Qiu sighed. “Even if the relationship between Wang Ye and his brother Rui Wang is good, it is unavoidable for small mistakes and resentments to pile up. You should encourage Wang Ye to open up to his brother and speak freely so that there aren’t any misunderstandings.”

Mu Hanzhang looked at his mother in some surprise. She could infer so accurately based just on the rumors shared between all wives. It seemed that his own approach had been right. He hadn’t let Jing Shao investigate the matter of Jade Cloud Temple because he was afraid that Jing Shao would be implicated in some conspiracy should he get involved. Jing Chen was much more shrewd than Jing Shao. Such people often thought too much, so the best was to be straightforward and not shy away from communication, so as to reduce the conflict between the brothers.

After dealing with relatives all day, Mu Hanzhang felt very tired when he left the North Marquis’s household. He had left behind the vexing matters of the inner household for a long time now. Having to deal with them now truly was annoying. The simple and peaceful Cheng Wang residence was truly a home where he could be at ease. Thinking this, when he got into the carriage and saw that his Wang Ye had secretly run out to pick him up again, he couldn’t help but give him a kiss.

The matter of the maritime port was finally settled; the statutes and regulatory requirements from all the ministries were drawn up, and the courtiers had no objections to opening a temporary port. After the morning court, Emperor Hong Zheng called Mu Hanzhang to the imperial study.

“Chen hopes to go,” Mu Hanzhang said firmly.

“Where do you think would be suitable for a port?” Emperor Hong Zheng asked as he looked at the maps full of mountains and rivers.

“Chen believes it’s better to open the port in Jiangnan.” Mu Hanzhang looked down, and spoke before Emperor Hong Zheng could question it. “For one thing, the southeast vassal state has just been taken back and the region is not stable, while Jiangnan is rich in products. We can have the foreign merchants buy and sell everything there, so as to prevent them from staying too long in Dachen and causing trouble.”

Emperor Hong Zheng turned around and looked at him quietly for a long while. He took out written instructions from his sleeve and gave them to Mu Hanzhang. “Zhen has sent someone to arrange it. You’ll leave for Luzhou in a few days.”

Mu Hanzhang took the bright yellow scroll with his hands and knelt to receive the decree.

“Luzhou?” Jing Shao looked at his father’s decree. Luzhou wasn’t a province (zhou = province), but the name of a place. It wasn’t far from Pingjiang city. Because it was an estuary of a large river, there was a sandbank where egrets (Egrets = Bai Lu) often roamed, so it was called Luzhou.

“Imperial father told me to leave in a few days. What should I do?” Mu Hanzhang looked at Jing Shao. He had thought it would take some time to prepare, but who would have thought that Emperor Hong Zheng was even more eager than he was? Jing Shao was still under house arrest. Didn’t that mean that they would have to separate?

Jing Shao was also obviously thinking the same thing, and gradually frowned. He thought to himself, exactly what was Gu Huaiqing doing? It had already been so long; why hadn’t he beaten Jing Yu until he was crying and running back to the capital?

The next morning, Emperor Hong Zheng announced that Marquis Wenyuan was appointed the special imperial envoy to Luzhou to organise a trade relationship. Marquis Wenyuan would be in charge of presenting tribute to other countries. As he was the one who had suggested overseas trade, sending him was wholly justified.

Mu Hanzhang was secretly worried. When he saw the glint in the eldest prince’s eyes, he had a bad feeling in his heart.

Jing Chen also frowned. This time, the eldest prince actually didn’t try to obstruct them; with his brother-in-law going alone, he really felt that something might happen.

“Reporting -” Just then, there was a loud and clear announcement from outside the palace hall. “An urgent matter 800 li away!”

Emperor Hong Zheng immediately had them hand the report over. This urgent letter had been sent by the general of the Jiangnan army. The language in it was simple and clear. It only said one thing: the Huainan King had taken the initiative to move troops and had defeated the fourth prince’s army. Now, he had already captured two cities in a row, and was about to invade Pingjiang city!

“Bastard!” Emperor Hong Zheng was so angry that his hands trembled.

The courtiers looked at each other. The fourth prince had attacked Huainan for more than a month. It was fine if he couldn’t capture a city, but he even lost two cities. This was really…

“Your Majesty, Jiangnan is only 800 li from the capital. Once Pingjiang falls, the capital will be in danger!” The Minister of War spoke loudly in a resonant voice which he didn’t normally use.

After crossing Pingjiang, the army could go up along the canal, gallop across some flat land, and then directly reach the hinterland of the capital. This was also the reason why the successive emperors of the Chen Dynasty were afraid of the Huainan King. He was like a knife perpetually poised over their throats, and he could suddenly usurp them without warning.

“The fourth prince’s war report never mentioned this. Perhaps the general of the Jiangnan army is exaggerating?” Duke Mao held back his horror and tried to speak calmly.

“Emperor, in any case, we can’t let the Huainan King capture Pingjiang!” The Marquis of Dingnan had guarded Pingjiang city when he was young. Naturally, he knew what the consequences could be, and spoke earnestly.

“Imperial father, Erchen feels that this matter is too urgent and everything else should be put aside for now; we must quickly send Cheng Wang to fight!” Jing Chen stepped out of the ranks and said in a deep voice.

There was a moment of silence in court. Everyone was well aware what the so-called “everything else” was. Now was not the time to care about some “training exercise” for the youngest prince or some house arrest order.

“This subject also believes that Cheng Wang should be sent on the campaign!” the Minister of War declared loudly.

“This official seconds this!”

“This official agrees!”