Ye Jingkuan didn’t even bother changing his clothes. He took the cup of tea Cui Xing handed him from the side and drained it in one gulp, waving his hand dismissively. “Never mind that. I’m in no mood for tea right now—where is Dongping?”

Seeing him ask about Prince Dongping the moment he arrived, Cui Yingshu knew he had come for the Prince. His mind stirred, and he asked, “You tell me first. I also have a matter concerning the Prince to tell you. Perhaps our paths converge.”

Ye Jingkuan furrowed his brow. There was nothing he couldn’t say in front of Cui Yingshu, so he explained his purpose in coming to Hubei, then added, “Though I know the imperial bloodline cannot be mistaken, there’s no guarantee Dongping hasn’t been misled by slanderous words. Besides, keeping him in hand will always have some use.”

He didn’t specify exactly what use, but Cui Yingshu had already figured it out. He knitted his brows. “You in the capital also received news? How did the capital learn of this matter?”

Cui Yingshu seemed to already know about it. Ye Jingkuan’s previously agitated heart instantly calmed, and he looked at Cui Yingshu with some puzzlement. Recalling that he had just said not to be anxious, that he too had a matter concerning Prince Dongping to discuss, he felt somewhat chilled. “Dongping hasn’t run into trouble, has he?”

Could it be as Song Chuyi and the others had worried before he left—that Han Zhengqing had already taken Prince Dongping away?

Cui Yingshu shook his head and instructed Cui Xing to fetch Prince Dongping, then smiled at Ye Jingkuan. “So it really is about the same matter. Has the situation in the capital deteriorated to such an extent?”

He had been managing disaster relief here in Hubei, and with Jiang Tianping’s interference, his information channels were not smooth. His knowledge of capital affairs was currently limited to knowing that Prince Gong had died—naturally, officially he was dead, though Cui Yingshu absolutely did not believe that nonsense about remnants of Ma Yuantong.

But while he knew something had gone wrong with Prince Gong, he hadn’t expected it to be such an enormous scheme.

Ye Jingkuan snorted coldly. “Before I left, the Cabinet had already drafted an imperial edict urgently summoning Marquis Jinxiang back to the capital.”

“Han Zhengqing won’t comply with the edict.” Cui Yingshu stated his view with a calm expression, then looked up at Ye Jingkuan. “What I wanted to tell you is precisely this matter. Here, thanks to His Highness Prince Dongping, we’ve captured an important person.”

Only then did Ye Jingkuan learn that Han Zhengqing had actually sent someone to Hubei intending to take Prince Dongping away. He couldn’t help but draw in a sharp breath. “What exactly does Han Zhengqing want to do?”

What he wanted to do—in their hearts, they had already reached a conclusion. There was really no confusion about it. His question was merely an expression of his belief that Han Zhengqing had truly gone mad.

A dignified Marquis Jinxiang, controlling Datong and serving as the northern gateway, yet insisting on squandering in one stroke all the family business and reputation accumulated by his ancestors.

What was the point? Ye Jingkuan found Han Zhengqing utterly ridiculous, but ridiculous or not, now was not the time to lament over someone’s absurdity. Without delaying a single moment, he first met with Prince Dongping and thoroughly questioned every detail of what Han Cheng had said to him. Only then did he pat Prince Dongping on the shoulder. “Dongping, you did very well in this matter.”

He had never particularly liked this nephew before, and Princess Rongcheng didn’t care much for this nephew either. His mother was truly not a likable person, and her excessively aggressive attitude toward Princess Consort Lu was genuinely repulsive.

But now, he suddenly discovered that Prince Dongping was actually not very much like his mother—not even very much like his father. Knowing full well what refusing Han Zhengqing meant, he had still done it.

Prince Dongping gave a bitter smile. “Uncle, you needn’t praise me. It wasn’t really about righteousness or anything grand. It’s just that if I had truly left with him, my mother’s reputation wouldn’t matter—it’s already not very good. But how would my father handle himself? Besides, to have me wag my tail and beg Prince Gong Uncle for a bite to eat—I cannot do that.”

He felt that the only supremely clever thing he had done in his life was this—just as Chen Dezhong, Qian Ying, and the others had discussed afterward, his identity could not possibly be as disgraceful as Han Zhengqing claimed. If it wasn’t, then he was Emperor Jianzhang’s legitimate grandson.

And he had not been deceived by traitors—he had even proactively exposed them. In Emperor Jianzhang’s eyes, this would at least earn him some face.

To ask him to seek a way out from Han Zhengqing and Prince Gong’s side, becoming like a rat crossing the street from then on—he would rather seek a thread of survival for himself with dignity and honor. If he failed, if Zhou Weizhao and the others were determined to use this matter to destroy him, then at least he would die a worthy death.

Even in death, he would die as Prince Dongping.

His words were forthright and honest. Ye Jingkuan had nothing more to say and turned back to ask Cui Yingshu, “Where is Han Cheng?”

He had come to Hubei precisely to prevent Han Zhengqing from getting there first, and fortunately Prince Dongping had, for once, shown clear judgment and sharp perception—which worked in his favor.

Cui Yingshu explained how he had used Han Cheng to draw out Jiang Tianping. “Truth be told, most of the chaos in Hubei was stirred up by this menace. The hateful thing is he knows how to hide. I’ve exhausted every method, but always end up one step behind just as I’m about to catch him. Now with Han Cheng serving as a bridge, we should finally get some leads.”

Cui Yingshu had already been in Hubei for half a year. The disaster relief progress in Xiangfan had proceeded smoothly, but the areas where Jiang Tianping and his associates had entrenched themselves had become stubborn holdouts. Dragging this out indefinitely was truly not a solution—many censors in the court had submitted memorials impeaching Cui Yingshu for incompetence. If they could now use Han Cheng and Han Zhengqing to capture Jiang Tianping, it would indeed be an extraordinarily fortunate turn of events.

The reply Jiang Tianping sent to Han Cheng said to meet in Pei City in seven days. He waited the full seven days, then disguised himself as a guard and accompanied Han Cheng to Pei City.

Whatever else could be said about the old fox Jiang Tianping, his vigilance was first-rate. He stayed with Han Cheng for several more days, changing locations multiple times, before finally meeting the man in person at a private residence south of Pei City.

Even meeting in a private residence, Jiang Tianping didn’t relax his guard—the surroundings were filled with his men. Fortunately, during the time he had been moving around with Han Cheng, he had already deployed most of the people Cui Yingshu’s side had provided.

When the signal came from outside, inside Jiang Tianping and Han Cheng had already reached the topic of how to deal with Cui Yingshu and how to muddy the waters in Hubei. Ye Jingkuan didn’t hesitate for a moment—he immediately seized Jiang Tianping by the throat.

Born into a military official’s family, he had trained with weapons since childhood and had never slackened in his training over the years. His strike was swift as a leopard—he accurately captured Jiang Tianping. At almost the same instant, his men burst through the door and swarmed in, binding up both the few trusted aides Jiang Tianping had brought and Han Cheng together again.

Though Jiang Tianping’s side reacted quickly and immediately sealed the city after discovering the disturbance, Ye Jingkuan had already bribed and persuaded the Pei City magistrate to defect. After considerable effort, they still managed to successfully bring Jiang Tianping’s group back to Xiangfan.