The Crown Prince’s regard for Ji Xiu was not solely for the sake of contending for power with the other princes.
He was eighteen this year. With the emperor’s permission, he had already established a small court, the Eastern Palace Secretariat, within the Eastern Palace and had begun learning to govern.
All the matters he handled were assigned personally by the emperor. If done well, there were rewards. If done poorly, he would be reprimanded at the grand court assembly, publicly chastised.
The Crown Prince was stubborn by nature, proud and self-assured. As the future ruler of the realm, he carried an inherent burden of dignity and face. He absolutely could not allow himself to lose face before the civil and military officials. For this reason, he handled every task the emperor assigned him personally, fearing that mishandling them would not only disgrace him but also disappoint the emperor.
Before Ji Xiu arrived, he often governed alone until dawn.
Ji Xiu’s arrival resolved his urgent predicament. With someone to consult, many matters were settled far faster than when he had been trapped thinking them through alone.
Moreover, Ji Xiu possessed great talent. With just a few words, he could untangle troubles that had plagued the Crown Prince’s heart for a long time. Whenever difficulties arose, seeking his advice always brought answers.
Over time, the Crown Prince had come to regard Ji Xiu as an indispensable right-hand man, relying on him heavily.
“Teacher, you came at just the right time. Earlier, Father Emperor ordered me to handle the matter of the river floods in Jiangnan. However, the situation there has always been complicated. The people I sent could not even speak with authority and were fooled instead. Now the flood season is fast approaching. If this is still not handled properly, I fear Father Emperor will reprimand me. I ask Teacher to help me come up with a plan.”
After welcoming Ji Xiu into the main hall, the Crown Prince immediately took out the memorial he had just received and sought Ji Xiu’s counsel.
Ji Xiu’s expression was calm. “Your Highness, please do not be anxious. Allow this minister to take a look at the details.”
The Crown Prince had been anxious. Seeing Ji Xiu so composed, he inexplicably calmed down as well. He handed over the document and quietly knelt across from him, waiting for Ji Xiu to speak.
Ji Xiu knelt at the low table and read through the document once.
Putting it down, he smiled gently. “This matter is easy to handle.”
The Crown Prince’s eyes lit up with surprise and anticipation.
This issue had troubled him for two months, and he had been unable to think of a solution. Could Teacher really come up with a method after just one look?
Ji Xiu spoke unhurriedly. “Your Highness may dispatch Assistant Director Song to Jiangnan.”
The Crown Prince frowned upon hearing this. “Teacher may not know that Assistant Director Song stands behind the Minister Song clan. Minister Song has secretly aligned himself with the Second Prince. He will certainly not act sincerely on my behalf. Even if he is sent to Jiangnan, I fear it will be of no help.”
“Your Highness is mistaken. Assistant Director Song does belong to the Second Prince’s faction, but please look here.”
Ji Xiu tapped the text on the document. “The Jiangnan region is headed by the Yangzhou Prefect, Feng Rao. Feng Rao has long since pledged allegiance to the Eldest Prince. Most of the disaster relief silver issued by the court has been delivered into the Eldest Prince’s hands. If Feng Rao is brought down, it will be equivalent to severing one of the Eldest Prince’s arms. At the same time, it will cause the Eldest Prince to lose the emperor’s favor, incur punishment, and lose his qualification to contend for the position of Crown Prince.”
“With such a good opportunity, do you think the Second Prince’s faction would be willing to let it pass?”
The Crown Prince was stunned. “This…”
Ji Xiu continued. “The Second Prince will certainly be unwilling to miss such a chance and will secretly assist Assistant Director Song.”
Although the princes often joined forces to set traps for the Crown Prince, they were far from peaceful behind the scenes and fought each other fiercely.
Borrowing strength to strike strength, borrowing the Second Prince’s power to strike the Eldest Prince. If successful, one contender for the Eastern Palace would be eliminated.
And after the Eldest Prince suffered defeat, how could he possibly spare the Second Prince, who had harmed him?
After finishing this, Ji Xiu continued his analysis. “Your Highness resides in the Eastern Palace and has no capable officials at hand. On the contrary, the Second Prince’s maternal grandfather is the Left Chancellor. He will not lack manpower, and his influence far surpasses that of Your Highness and the other princes. Yet he hides beneath Your Highness, using you as a shield while developing his own power. If he is allowed to continue growing, he may truly become an obstacle to Your Highness. In this minister’s view, this matter can be used to draw the Second Prince into the open, directing the other princes’ attention toward him. Only then can his power be restrained, allowing Your Highness to develop in secret.”
When a tree stands taller than the forest, the wind will surely destroy it.
Previously, only the Crown Prince stood out. Naturally, everyone sought to bring him down. But the Crown Prince was, after all, the legitimate heir of the realm. His prominence was justified, and the princes’ hatred had not yet grown too deep. There remained a trace of reverence for imperial authority.
But what was the Second Prince?
Once the Second Prince’s vast network surfaced, the princes’ gaze would naturally shift from the Crown Prince to him.
After digesting Ji Xiu’s words, the Crown Prince’s eyes brightened. He looked at Ji Xiu with admiration. “Teacher is truly talented. This plan achieves three aims at once.”
Destroying the Eldest Prince, trapping the Second Prince, and gaining time for his own secret development.
Ji Xiu smiled. “Your Highness flatters me.”
The Crown Prince seemed to glimpse a bright future ahead. His emotions surged as he grasped Ji Xiu’s arm. “Teacher, I have long resided in the Eastern Palace and am unfamiliar with the connections among the officials. I ask Teacher to instruct me on how to develop in secret.”
“As for that, it is also simple.”
Ji Xiu pondered briefly before answering. “Once the Second Prince’s power emerges into the open, I ask that Your Highness appear weak to the outside.”
The Crown Prince was the rightful future emperor. Even if officials wished to gain merit by following the dragon, they would not choose the Crown Prince, because the benefit was too small. Adding flowers to brocade was never as valuable as providing help in the snow.
Only when the Crown Prince appeared weak and outsiders saw an opportunity would they scramble to pledge allegiance.
Ji Xiu smiled with slight embarrassment. “This minister is the same, so I can only ask Your Highness to suffer some grievance and play the pitiful one for a while.”
Crown Prince: “…”
Ji Xiu’s frank words made him feel both relieved and helpless.
Relieved, because with Ji Xiu’s guidance, the predicaments that had once kept him awake at night now seemed insignificant, with a bright road ahead.
Helpless, because Ji Xiu was simply too direct.
He had pierced his mask so bluntly. Despite being the dignified Crown Prince, in the eyes of the officials he was nothing more than a valuable opportunity to be exploited. This dealt a heavy blow to his pride.
“Let everything proceed as Teacher says.” The Crown Prince pretended not to hear the latter part of Ji Xiu’s words, maintaining his dignity as he issued orders calmly. “I will summon Assistant Director Song at once and assign him the matter of going to Jiangnan.”
Ji Xiu rose. “This minister will withdraw for the moment.”
His allegiance to the Crown Prince was not yet known to anyone. Because the Ministry of Works was lax, many officials would leave after roll call under the pretext of inspecting river embankments or palace structures. Ji Xiu left with the crowd and did not draw attention.
Before the Crown Prince received the emperor’s reward and could transfer him from the Ministry of Works to the Eastern Palace Secretariat, Ji Xiu had no intention of making his connection with the Crown Prince public, lest it arouse outside vigilance.
The Crown Prince quickly stood. “Teacher, go rest in the rear hall for a while.”
Ji Xiu nodded, took the teacup and pastry plate he had used, and strolled leisurely toward the rear hall.
This was not the first time he had offered counsel to the Crown Prince, nor the first time he had avoided the Eastern Palace personnel. He was already well accustomed to it.
Soon, Assistant Director Song arrived.
Separated by a wall, Ji Xiu listened as the Crown Prince issued his commands with authority. After hesitating repeatedly, Assistant Director Song reluctantly agreed and withdrew from the main hall.
Ji Xiu nodded in satisfaction and prepared to leave with his teacup and plate.
At that moment, a burst of delighted footsteps sounded behind him.
Then a soft, gentle female voice rang out. “Your Highness, why are you here?”
Before the words fell, a fragrant breeze rushed close, the woman making to kneel and salute.
Ji Xiu turned in time and saw a beautiful woman rushing toward him. His brows knit slightly as he sidestepped her kneeling direction and lowered his head in greeting. “Greetings, Consort.”
The woman froze, then stood up and lifted her head to look at Ji Xiu.
Ji Xiu clasped his hands in salute, his head slightly lowered. One could not see his face clearly, but from his voice alone it was obvious he was not the Crown Prince.
The woman’s expression changed instantly. Humiliated and enraged, she scolded sharply, “How dare you. Who are you, to walk about the rear hall of the Eastern Palace!”
Ji Xiu sighed inwardly. An undeserved calamity.
The newcomer was none other than the Crown Prince’s current favorite, Consort Lin. It was said she had been brought back to the palace by the Crown Prince during a southern inspection with the emperor. She was stunningly beautiful, peerless and refined, and deeply favored.
A few days ago, to show how much he valued Ji Xiu, the Crown Prince had even wanted to give this woman to Ji Xiu.
Ji Xiu had refused outright. The Crown Prince stubbornly believed Ji Xiu had rejected the offer because he had never seen Consort Lin’s appearance and did not know her beauty. He had dragged Ji Xiu to the garden to watch Consort Lin catching butterflies.
Ji Xiu had been quite helpless then. This dynasty’s attitude toward common women was particularly casual. There was Princess Dongzhu, who would kill at the slightest disagreement, and there was the Crown Prince, who treated women as goods to be given away at will.
Even someone of a consort’s rank could be sent out to serve another man.
Ji Xiu had firmly refused at the time. After persuading him twice without success, the Crown Prince had dropped the matter. He had not expected to encounter Consort Lin again here.
However, compared to the naive girl fluttering after butterflies that he had observed from afar the first time, the current Consort Lin, flushed with anger and surrounded by attendants fawning on her, radiated hostility.
“Who are you? Speak. How did you come to be in the Eastern Palace?” Consort Lin asked again.
Ji Xiu came back to his senses and replied mildly, “This minister is a Supervisor in the Ministry of Works, here to seek an audience with His Highness the Crown Prince.”
Consort Lin paused. “A Supervisor of the Ministry of Works. What rank is that?”
Ji Xiu said, “Replying to Consort, a Supervisor is a sixth-rank official.”
A trace of disdain and smugness flashed through Consort Lin’s eyes. “So merely a sixth-rank official.”
She stared at Ji Xiu with a cold sneer, disgust written all over her face, her words carrying insinuation. “You have great courage. A mere sixth-rank minor official, barging into the Eastern Palace, and even daring to impersonate the Crown Prince to fool me.”
Ji Xiu: “…”
When had he impersonated the Crown Prince?
It seemed this consort not only had poor eyesight, but also a poor heart. His build and height were nothing like the Crown Prince’s. They were merely wearing the same color of casual robes.
She had mistaken him and, to cover her own mistake, wanted to pin the blame on someone else.
“What, are you dissatisfied?” Having lost face before the servants, Consort Lin hated Ji Xiu to the bone. She did not fear him denying it. She feared him admitting it.
The more he argued, the easier it would be for her to complain to the Crown Prince.
As a consort, she had no authority to deal with a Six Ministries official.
But a sixth-rank official from the Ministry of Works, even if he came to see the Crown Prince, normally would not meet him directly. How things unfolded afterward would be entirely up to her to say.
A vicious glint flashed through Consort Lin’s eyes. She ordered the eunuchs behind her to restrain Ji Xiu. Then she deliberately messed up her hair and rushed toward the front hall, shouting in anger and grievance, “Your Highness!”
Separated by only a wall, the Crown Prince heard the commotion and soon appeared with his people. “What happened?”
Consort Lin’s eyes lit up. She rushed forward, tears streaming down, and buried herself in the Crown Prince’s chest. “Your Highness…”
Ji Xiu watched coldly, observing her performance.
With Consort Lin’s acting skills, if she had lived in modern times, she might well have become a top-tier film queen.
First, the innocent and charming butterfly-catching in the garden.
Then, mistaking the Crown Prince, turning hostile, and falsely accusing.
Now, the aggrieved complaint, pure and pitiful.
If it had not been him today, but any random sixth-rank official, she might truly have succeeded.
Ji Xiu wanted to apologize to the Crown Prince. Just earlier, he had disdained the Crown Prince for wanting to give away his consort. Now it seemed that this consort was hardly innocent.
To be able to seize the Crown Prince’s favor as a common woman during the southern inspection and be brought back to the Eastern Palace and established as a consort…
He had underestimated Consort Lin.
Any woman in this palace was not someone he could sympathize with.
This level of scheming and cruelty was in no way inferior to Princess Dongzhu.
…
“Your Highness, someone attempted to violate this concubine!” Consort Lin sobbed before the Crown Prince. Only after crying for a long while did she finally spit out the accusation, her face filled with grievance.
The Crown Prince was stunned upon hearing this and looked up at Ji Xiu.
Ji Xiu’s expression remained calm. He did not explain.
The Crown Prince frowned. “Teacher, is the matter truly as Consort Lin says?”
Before Ji Xiu could answer, he sighed and spoke earnestly. “If Teacher likes this sort of thing, you could have told me directly. Why be so rash? I said just the other day that I would give the consort to Teacher. Teacher insisted on refusing, so I had no choice but to drop it. So it turns out Teacher prefers force. Very well. I will immediately send the consort to Teacher’s residence. I only ask that Teacher be gentler. Even in matters of the bedchamber, one should cherish and pity the fair.”
Consort Lin, still hiding in the Crown Prince’s arms, slowly stiffened. “…”