CH 24

From the moment Jing Qi walked past the gate of the First Prince's Residence until the very moment he settled down inside his carriage, the expression of sheer indignation belonging to a much gullible, inexperienced youth remained completely intact on his countenance. The face that had been forced into playing this charade for such a long time seemed to be in need of an immediate respite, as hints of dullness resided on his expression throughout the entire ride. Jing Qi remained motionless in his seat, quietly mulling things over.

Waiting until the carriage had arrived at their mansion, Ping An, who had been choking back all the words wanting to escape from his mouth, immediately dragged himself over to stand next to Jing Qi, using those honest and innocent eyes to accuse this young master for once again committing those "prodigal" deeds.

At first, Jing Qi pretended not to see him; however, he didn't expect this lad to have such an extraordinary supply of willpower to chase him around nonstop like that. Without saying a single word, Ping An just followed Jing Qi behind and matched his own footsteps with the other's, simply looking at his master with an earnest gaze that could give others a stomachache.1

In the end, Jing Qi could no longer pretend to ignore him, thus heaved a sigh: "Come on, Ping An..."

Ping An resentfully looked up, grievance and hurt written all over his face.

Jing Qi took a deep breath. After several attempts of formulating all the things he wanted to say in mind, he still ended up swallowing them back, and could only knead the bridge between his brows: "What? You think that I have spent too much today?"

Ping An gritted his teeth: "Not even a bit. When these lords and ministers deal with each other, they throw away a hundred thousand liang of silver like it is nothing. You only used fifty thousand liang - that's stingy!"

The implication was, although the spent amount was not meager, it certainly wouldn't be considered a fortune that was impossible to afford - if both sides had been back and forth on a regular basis, that would be an acceptable amount; however, if this money was meant for cozying up with the other party and entrusting them with purchase of human lives, it was simply nothing.

From Ping An's point of view, squandering money on these unfathomable matters, from redeeming freedom for a random girl to dealing with this Young Master Cai who jumped out from nowhere, was absolutely for naught - in the end, this amount was solely used to fund no other things but his own master's entertainment.

Ping An could not comprehend what practical meaning this kind of behavior that involved going around in a circle hundreds of times in order to deliver money to one's door could serve - the only thing that he could almost certain about was, this young lord was wrecking the family's fortune just simply for the sake of it.

Jing Qi heaved a sigh: "Since I already gave him that much money, what I need from him is naturally something of importance. However, when I came to find him for that trifling reason, if the gift had been too great in value, Helian Zhao who is already overly cautious would be on his guard even more. It is not that I didn't think about it - anything more than that wouldn't do. And, I certainly couldn't reduce that amount either. In the eyes of all these big shots living in the capital city, isn't your current master the prodigal son who kicks up a row for no good reason and squanders money like skimming stones? Wouldn't sending a lesser amount arouse suspicion from him?"1

Ping An wished if only he could just weep until dawn: from one to another, both these young men kept using whatever excuse, calling it hiding one's light under the bushel or something. One was trying to keep a low profile by having rendezvous with a performer, and this one over here splurging on money was also for the sake of hiding his shine and biding his time?

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Ping An was aware of his own folly; however, he felt that with this group of five or six deadpan, dignified-looking young masters, on their lips there always existed the "I really had no other choice" statement, but, in fact, it was all about finding pleasure for themselves...

Jing Qi held out one hand - Ping An, who had already been finely trained, immediately poured a cup of tea and delivered directly in front of his master. Jing Qi took a throat-clearing sip before continuing in a low voice: "Regarding today's matter, if that had been Helian Qi, he might have either completely ignored my request since it was anything but of his concern, or taken advantage of this opportunity to rope me into siding with him, or perhaps asked for something else in return. If the same request had been brought to the Crown Prince, he would definitely feel that this person who came to him was seeking to accomplish something else. With his terribly careful nature, the Crown Prince would definitely not agree. However, Helian Zhao was different. Since birth, this person has always liked others to obey him; he is obsessed with the feeling of being able to do everything and unstoppable by anything, expecting that everyone will crawl like pets under his feet. If someone comes up to him and curry favor in their times of need, depending on whether he is happy or not, he may even reward them with a little something."

Jing Qi paused for a moment, and a smile came into sight: "In his eyes, even wealth and money may not even be as appealing as having someone who fawns on him and begs for his help - that already can make him feel elated, let alone this matter... Helian Zhao will definitely step up and lend us a hand."

Ping An listened to the point of turning dull, the teapot thus remained in his hand in the exact spot as he completely forgot to put it back down on the table. He then finally asked: "Why is that?"

A slightly quirky smile budded on Jing Qi's lips as his voice grew even lower: "I heard that the sixth concubine of Minister Cai, Lady Hu, is only 23 - clearly in the bloom of youth, her appearance much comely and full of spring... I also heard that Lady Hu hadn't felt very hearty lately, and as the doctor's diagnosis came about, it turned out... that she had been pregnant for two months already."

A shade of crimson immediately washed over Ping An's face: "Mas...master... you, how in the world did you learn about these kinds of things?"

Jing Qi smiled: "What's so surprising about this? Lady Hu stuffed silver in that doctor's face, ordering him to cover up this information and never breathe a word about it. Who would have known that there was nothing honest and trustworthy about this doctor from the beginning with - as soon as the money reached his hand, he immediately sold this piece of information to someone else with a different price."

"To Young Master Zhou?" Ping An's brain was finally at work, but he still ended up scratching his head: "But... but isn't this supposed to be a good thing? Why did she want to hide it from others?"

"It's because Minister Cai has long been impotent." Jing Qi commented, his voice light as a feather, "As for who the lover is, there also happened to be an interesting rumor travelling around among the servants at the minister's residence. They said that the person who had been climbing over the wall and sneaking into the mansion every night carried some resemblance to Butler Zhuo from the First Prince's Residence."6

Ping An almost forgot how to breathe.

Jing Qi rose to his feet then decided to add one more thing: "Although that Butler Zhuo is a ladies' man, his heart is full of sentiments - how regretful he must have felt unable to see his woman one last time before she was married to someone else... What are you still standing over there for? I am going to rest for a bit. Wake me up an hour later. I didn't take a nap at noon today, I am tired."1

Ping An remained motionless at the same spot.

However, after barely two steps, Jing Qi turned around unexpectedly and walked back: "About the farmland that I told you to secretly go buy last time, how did it go?"

It was only then that Ping An finally came back to his senses; he immediately nodded: "It is almost done. Let me go fetch the account book for you to look over."

"No need. As long as you have a good grasp of the matter, I am fine with it. You can take care of all of the property out there however you want. You may as well take in a few confidants, I don't mind. But there is one thing you must remember: no matter whether it is about the store's business or managing estate, you have to do it as quietly as possible for me, and don't ever let anyone find out that the money is coming from Nan Ning Wang Residence. Everything else..." the corners of Jing Qi's smiling eyes curved lightly, "I can trust you."

After finishing his speech, Jing Qi turned on his heel and walked away. Ping An's eyes were brimming with tears - obviously, he wasn't touched or anything; it was rather because this lord right here, albeit spending like water without understanding what it meant to throttle back, for the better or worse, still had some awareness of where all this money came from. Heaven didn't treat him so badly after all!

As soon as Jing Qi turned his back around, the cheeky grin and frivolous expression that he had earlier during his conversation with Ping An were also revoked from sight. The fact that he had to rack his brain and deliberate schemes incessantly like this, wasn't it simply because of his lack of influence compared to others? After one good, thorough look across the entire current court, who else, apart from Helian Zhao, was capable of lending him the power of the eastern wind? (1)

Why couldn't he just be born 30 years earlier...

Wei Cheng's case had triggered an outburst of noises and heated discussions across the capital city. One could only be afraid that even Wei Cheng himself would have not been able to imagine that he had stirred up a great storm that was about to take place within the royal court.

A throng of people followed one after another being knocked down from their horses - at first, no one knew what had actually been going on; in any case, people with discerning eyes still ended up realizing that there certainly had been someone reshuffling the cards in the middle of the game. There had been all sorts of attempts, coming in waves after waves, of fishing in troubled waters, letting go of one's money instead of their own life, and shooting down an already fallen man. The disaster, ultimately, even descended upon the Six Ministers and the Nine Chamberlains.

The first arrow plummeted straight at the Minister of Revenue, Cai Jianxing.

For his entire life, this old man had been playing the crafty game of deceit and lounging on his seat without doing a stroke of work - in the end, not a single thing could help preserve the last sliver of his old age's integrity. Helian Pei did not expect to see the minister whom he had trusted and personally appointed for the position make him lose face like that - in a fit of rage, His Majesty issued an order to search and seize the Minister's Residence then finally banished him and the entire family to Da Xin Ling.

Catastrophes knocked on his door in succession, sending Cai Jianxing utterly petrified - he ended up going to see Emperor Taizu (t/n: the first emperor of the dynasty) before the trip had even begun. And yet, during that trip of exile, nobody had once noticed a lady surnamed Hu was missing.

Of course, Jing Qi was also in haste. He wished that there would be a stream of turbid water, the muddier the better, so that he could borrow the strength of its billows and waves, sweeping all of the wheedling, coercing, and suppressing rubbish from this royal court that didn't even have enough clean hands from the beginning with, and so that the dark circles underneath their eyes would be unveiled for the first time in their lives. The Crown Prince Party thereby would have the opportunity to flourish from a group of a few exceptionally talented yet powerless young men to those who could establish their own influence and wield their force.

Wei Cheng eventually ended up dying a silent death inside the Supreme Court's jail, which was reported to be a suicide - however, everyone knew very well in their hearts what actually had happened.

No one was inherently counting on this small-fry eunuch who had already gone to meet the maker to bite Helian Qi out of his den. During this time, it still nonetheless threw His Highness the Second Prince into a messy plight, beating him black and blue, and forcing him unable to secure one thing without losing another - this brought about secret giggles from those fellows with "conscience and aspirations."

The key thing that Old Jiang originally intended to do, however, was striking the bell to alert His Majesty about the danger hovering over the Northwest; but in the end, his concern was only met with a simple "Subject Jiang, you all have worried too much." statement from the tired emperor before being completely disregarded.1

Even Lu Shen could not help but heave a rueful sigh in his heart. Being a person in court was similar to small boats entering the sea - even when the sea was calm, they still could not avoid encountering three-foot waves. No one knew which direction the wind would blow, and they could only wait and see who would ultimately be able to preserve the smile on their own face.

His Majesty's Longevity Ceremony was approaching closer and closer, and Jing Qi held a banquet to express his appreciation for Helian Zhao's help.

After maintaining this acquaintance for a period of time, the last remnant of doubt Helian Zhao held toward Jing Qi had dissipated at last. Helian Zhao thought to himself that this person, after all, was only a fifteen or sixteen-year-old youth who hadn't even reached his coming-of-age - he was confident that he couldn't be incompetent to the point of mistaking a kiddie like that.

Jing Qi's attitude toward him had still embraced certain parts of unfamiliarity and politeness at first, but his manner soon grew into something incredibly casual and affectionate, and it even became increasingly inappropriate - not only that, he also hit it off extremely well with Butler Zhuo Silai.

Zhuo Silai won his belle, Lady Hu, back to his hands - although this victory was not meant to be shared with outsiders, he couldn't resist but start having a somewhat favorable impression of this Nan Ning Wang who "raised storms on his behalf." After coming in contact with this prince more frequently, Zhuo Silai discovered that the other was also an expert in revelling and fooling around - every time they conversed about romance and other boisterous topics, he always felt like he had met a soulmate of this lifetime.1

As soon as Helian Zhao entered through the door, he was immediately grabbed by Jing Qi and rushed inside: "Your Highness, come here. I have something great to show you."

With his background and experience in the military, Helian Zhao thus had a strong and powerful build. Naturally, he wouldn't let the other hale him around as wished; yet, because his mood had been exceptionally good lately, he did not take such action to heart and simply followed Jing Qi's pull to trot along for a few steps, laughter mingled in his words: "Why are you in such a hurry? What kind of treasure can this be?"

Jing Qi simply smiled: "You will know when you see it."

He took Helian Zhao to a little garden as words were leaving his mouth. This garden that he owned was marked with immense grace: by the entrance, there resided two plum trees, behind the garden lay a row of bamboo groves along with pavilions, towers, and a cup of wine afloat on a winding brook (2). Although the dimensions of this place was on a modest scale, every corner was embellished with the delicacy of carved jade, exuding an air of antiquityncientness and humility yet still preserving the quality of its craftsmanship.

Jing Qi dragged Helian Zhao to his seat then asked Zhuo Silai to join as well. Zhuo Silai panicked and hastily answered that he dared not, declining over and over again. It was not until Helian Zhao nodded his head that the butler finally settled down on one side.

Once the food and wine had been arranged on the table, Jing Qi ordered: "Go and bring it here."

Moments after, a beautiful woman dressed in fine silk gracefully emerged in their view, her steps small and graceful as if she was floating across the room. In that instant, a whiff of peculiar fragrance began to invade the air, and everyone in the garden could not resist but take a deep breath and inhale a lungful of this aroma.

Zhuo Silai could not help but give his praise: "This is truly 'a beauty's tilted reflection, her subtle fragrance afloat'!" (3)

The beauty bowed her head, a faint smile grazing her lips as she knelt and paid them respect. It was only then that Helian Zhao's group caught sight of a kitten embraced in her arms.

With a smile on his face, Jing Qi commented: "Your Highness, Brother Zhuo, you both might have misunderstood. The fragrance is certainly not from her body."

Helian Zhao was astonished: "Then where did it come from?"

With a few waves of his hand, Jing Qi beckoned the beautiful woman over: "Bring it here so that His Highness could sense it better."

The beauty stepped closer and presented to Helian Zhao the kitten in her arms. The cat was no bigger than the size of both hands of an adult male put together, its entire body covered in snowy white, with a pinch of brown, slightly spired fur on the forehead that resembled the look of the widow's peak on a person's forehead. The beautiful woman spoke gently, "Your Royal Highness, try to smell it. Isn't it true that the fragrance is coming from its body?"

Helian Zhao leaned forward and sniffed at the creature - assailed his nostrils was indeed that quaint fragrance, and he couldn't help but click his tongue in wonder.

Jing Qi continued with a smile: "There is still more to come." Then, with a signaling glance from him, the beautiful lady accepted the xiao (4) handed over by an attendant who was standing on the side, and the kitten was freed onto the ground. She barely tried a few tunes, and immediately the cat seemed like it had just been enlivened with ample spirit - it straightened up its neck and widened its pair of already wide round eyes.

As the sound of the xiao matured into a melody, the cat, as if it had understood, lifted its front paws off the ground and started to waggle along in a standing position.

Helian Zhao watched with widened eyes. After the performance was concluded, he leaned down to personally pick the kitten up and put it in his embrace: "This one is truly a rare treasure". He wasn't necessarily too fond of this strange little cat - it was just that the thought of His Majesty's soon-to-happen Longevity Ceremony suddenly flashed his mind, and if he could offer this rare creature, it would undeniably make that other person more jubilant than gifting any mountain of gold and silver.

Jing Qi smiled cheerfully: "Your Highness allowed me to vent my anger. It is a pity that my Nan Ning Wang Residence is in impoverished condition and has nothing decent to offer. Luckily, I happened to see this cat at the Young Sorcerer's mansion, thus promptly made a brazen-faced move and begged to bring it back. Think of it as me being impudent this one time and presenting borrowed flowers to Buddha. (5)"

Helian Zhao's smile immediately froze on his face. He put the kitten down on the table and nonchalantly picked up a piece of meat with his chopsticks to feed it with as his gaze, full of profound meaning, landed on Jing Qi. After surveying the other party's unruffled countenance as if nothing wrong had occurred, Helian Zhao finally drawled: "This is something the Young Sorcerer gifted to you, yet Your Royal Highness is giving it away to someone else while keeping him in the dark; this doesn't sound very good, does it? A man of noble character will not take advantage of other people. This thing... I am afraid that it is not convenient for me to receive."

Jing Qi gave a few waves of his hand: "How is that even possible? If I had allowed that to happen, and as he learned that I had hidden the truth from him and given away his gift, wouldn't that make him want to put together a straw doll to cast a curse on me with it? Even cutting all the ties and no longer wanting to associate with me for the rest of his life? Of course I had already let him know at the same time when I was attempting to procure the cat."

Helian Zhao found this revelation rather unexpected; unveiled on his face was a faint smile whose emotion remained indecipherable: "Since this is the item of great rarity coming from the Young Sorcerer, I do not dare to accept. From then until now, I have not done him any merit, thus I don't deserve this reward."

Jing Qi pondered for a moment then added arbitrarily: "Your Highness, how is it even possible that you are receiving something without earning it? I owe you a favor, and he owes me a favor from last time. The timing is just right, all he does is simply expressing gratitude toward Your Highness on my behalf."

Helian Zhao had no idea if this Nan Ning Wang was an actual fool or just faking it, thus could not help but shoot him a look. It is a favor being owed, not money - is there even such a calculation?

Then he heard Jing Qi continue: "On top of that, he has always dwelled upon the time when he just arrived here, and, due to his young age, committed mischief at the Great Hall. After finding out that it had caused His Highness to lose face, his heart has always laden with apologetic thoughts. However, he is not good at talking. He is afraid that His Highness will be even more displeased if he just hastily drops by your residence. Therefore, he has been wondering about what he can do to apologize."

Indeed, Jing Qi intentionally tried to pull Wu Xi in this matter, albeit fully aware that the other person was not willing to.

Helian Qi unlawfully harbored Black Sorcerers from South Xinjiang - if this matter was exposed in the future, Helian Zhao would undoubtedly not back out on this opportunity of tearing the other party apart. To Da Qing people, there was no difference between Black Sorcerers or White Sorcerers - they only knew that all of them shared the same name, called Barbarians from the South.

By that time, it was positive that Helian Zhao, not wanting to take the trouble, would definitely make an expeditious move and drag this Young Sorcerer, the eyesore that he loathed, into the mire.

Whether it was privately communicating with foreigners, secretly harboring assassins, or tampering with the art of sorcery, whichever was brought out would all be punishable by death.

Jing Qi sighed heavily in his heart and thought to himself, Little Venom, don't blame me. I am just taking necessary precautions (6) for the sake of keeping that little life of yours.

However, to one's surprise, after a moment of contemplation, Helian Zhao suddenly said: "I heard that the Young Sorcerer's mansion is right next door, am I correct? Since it is only a few steps away, why don't you ask him to come over and join the fun?"

Jing Qi immediately froze on the spot.2

Author's note:

Wu Xi will come out in the next chapter~ Trust me.

----- End of chapter 24 ----

Translator's note:

Sorry for the late update! February has been very busy for both of us...

(1) "To use the eastern wind" (借东风): figuratively means to borrow somebody's help.

(2) "A floating cup on a winding brook" (流觞曲水): an ancient drinking game in which participants pick up a floating cup as it stops before them, drink the wine in it, and intone poems

(3) These lines were originally from a poem called 山园小梅二首 (The Little Plum Tree in My Garden) by 林逋 (Lin Bu). Zhuo Silai did change one character: 疏影, which indicated the mirrored reflection of the plum branches, to 倩影, which indicated the image of a beautiful woman.

(4) Xiao (箫): the vertical end-blown flute made of bamboo

(5) "To present borrowed flowers to Buddha" (借花献佛): to borrow something and make a gift out of it

(6) Original text is 未雨绸缪 (lit. "before it rains, bind around with silk"). This is an idiom from the Book of Songs (詩經).