Xiao Liu shook his head. “It was bound to happen sooner or later. The first and second Imperial Brothers no longer have any opportunity, and the fifth Imperial Brother is destined to have no connection to that seat by virtue of his birth. Right now it is the third and fourth Imperial Brothers contending with each other. Neither of them can tolerate my existence — they are more likely to join hands first and deal with me, and then fight each other to the death, just as the fourth Imperial Prince and the eldest Imperial Brother did before. My one concern is my maternal grandfather’s side.”

Hua Zhi signaled Liu Xiang to brew a fresh pot of tea for Xiao Liu. “General Sun has only you as a grandson, and in all these years he has not had any thought of adopting an heir. I have confirmed this with your maternal grandmother — nor do they have any such intention for the future. A border general who holds the frontier with no successor — the threat he poses as an imperial in-law’s family is far weaker than you imagine. I only ask you this: setting aside all these external factors, do you have it in your heart to contend for the throne?”

“Before now, I did not.” Xiao Liu looked at his slightly frowning Hua Jiejie, and seeing that she had misunderstood something, he remained unruffled. “On that day when the eldest Imperial Brother and the fourth Imperial Prince schemed against me like that, as I hid in the teahouse I thought to myself — they want to be rid of me as a threat, don’t they? If I survive, then I will truly contend for it. Even if I cannot win, I will ensure they find no peace. Hua Jiejie, you need not think that you have drawn me into this contention — as an Imperial Prince, it was never something I could escape from. And besides, I am no longer fighting alone now. With you here and with Elder Brother Yanxi here, the situation is already far better than I had expected.”

“You are not being forced?”

“I am not.”

Hua Zhi, seeing that he did not appear to be lying, set her mind at ease. If Xiao Liu had no desire for it, she would have found another way rather than draw him in.

She had been overthinking it, however. Imperial Princes had never had the right to say no. Even a prince who harbored no desire for the throne would be swept into the currents — who would ever believe an Imperial Prince had no interest in it?

After a warm, hearty meal, Xiao Liu — exhausted as he was — had no time to rest. He needed to enter the palace immediately, and he also needed to make a visit to his maternal grandparents’ home to confer with his grandmother, and most importantly, to request personnel from the Sun Family. He had far too few people he could rely on around him right now.

Hua Zhi did not guide him step by step on what to do. She simply broke down the tasks at hand and explained them to him as clearly as she could. As for how to handle the Emperor — she trusted that he knew what to do.

The most important person had now returned, and everything she had at hand needed to be set in motion.

Several name cards were sent out. Because the Hua Family had many women in the household, she arranged the meeting to take place at the vegetarian restaurant, and the guests she invited numbered only three: Zhu Bowen, Lady Sun, and Duke of Annan Lu Chenyun.

Hua Zhi had not originally intended to involve the Lu Family. It was Gu Yanxi who brought it up of his own accord — the Duke of Annan’s stronghold was in Xuzhou, close to Qingzhou, and the Lu Family’s connections ran deep and wide. They might be able to open up the network of relationships in Qingzhou, which would make future operations considerably more convenient.

Moreover, the Lu Family had kept to themselves quietly for many years. Everyone knew they were living in constrained circumstances. Now that they were stepping forward again to take charge of affairs, even the Emperor could hardly bring himself to say a word against it.

Xiao Liu returned from his round of visits and continued staying at the Hua Family. Hua Zhi treated him exactly as she always had. Seeing him so exhausted he could barely keep his eyes open, she restrained herself from asking about Bailin’s situation and urged him to go to sleep quickly. Yet it was Xiao Liu himself who volunteered a few words.

“The method for dealing with the plague was something Bailin came up with. He said he had once heard you speak of it. The scene there was beyond imagining unless you saw it with your own eyes — so many people with barely a stitch of clothing to cover themselves, drinking great gulps of water just because they were hungry, their bodies swollen all over, each press leaving a hollow. They say not many people died in this great disaster, but in truth no small number starved to death afterward — though most likely no one dared report it upward.”

Xiao Liu’s expression was calm and flat, yet his eyes could not conceal the grief within them. They had rushed about everywhere trying to persuade wealthy households to open their stores of grain and relieve the people, but no one paid them any heed. He had truly come to understand in the most visceral way what it meant that wine and meat rot behind the vermilion gates while the road is lined with those who have frozen to death — their helplessness, their despair, and the eyes of those who died with them still open. He would never forget it for the rest of his life.

“And then you revealed your identity?”

“I had no other option. No matter what we said, they would not listen. No matter how many doors we knocked on, they could all pretend no one was home.” Xiao Liu smiled with cold derision. “Yet the moment my identity was revealed, I didn’t need to say another word — they brought out the grain of their own accord. What we had shouted ourselves hoarse over before, with no one paying any attention, they immediately gave orders to carry out. How laughable.”

Hua Zhi shook her head. “It is only that you have seen too little of the world. Things like this are beyond counting, yet those people can never wait for an Imperial Prince to come to them.”

“If the officials were honest and capable, why would they need to wait for an Imperial Prince to come?”

“Honesty does not make a good official.”

Xiao Liu was puzzled. “Why not? If he doesn’t even take bribes…”

“An upright official whose mouth is full of the sages’ teachings but who accomplishes nothing — and a capable administrator who may have his partialities and personal desires but who gets real things done for the common people — which of the two is the greater blessing to the people?”

Xiao Liu bit his lip and fell silent. This was different from what the Grand Tutors in the palace had taught him.

“Water that is too clear holds no fish. Though for my part, I believe the disposition of officials is absolutely linked to whoever holds power. If the one in power is fond of pleasure and luxury, the officials’ minds will run mostly to schemes for that end. If the one in power favors military might, the status of military generals in the court will rise. If the one in power is weak and yielding, those with the loudest voice in the court will be those of the appeasement faction. If the one in power loves the people as his own children, the officials will not dare show contempt for them either.” Hua Zhi smiled. “If the one in power favors a particular style of calligraphy, the entire court will practice that style to please their superior. If the one in power is a person of vast and encompassing mind — Xiao Liu, what do you think would come of that?”

Xiao Liu’s eyes brightened. The fog that had filled his heart seemed to be parting, slowly yet surely, revealing within it a broad and luminous world.

“In the matter of Xiangyang — if you had never thought to keep the people alive and had only cared for your own comfort, you would never have been unable to knock open the doors of the powerful. They would have welcomed you in and entertained you so comfortably and attentively that you would have thought Xiangyang had never suffered a flood at all. You would never have known that the common people were struggling for water and food. Those people would not have been saved because of you. Do not think you are far removed from the common people — in truth you are very close, and everything is interconnected. When you have the power, a single word from you can determine whether their days are good or bad. And in return, they will give back to you a stronger and more prosperous Great Qing.”

Seeing the increasingly luminous look in Xiao Liu’s eyes, Hua Zhi lowered her gaze. These words, laden with inspiration, were not entirely born of pure and benevolent guidance on her part. She wanted to kindle in Xiao Liu a desire to strive and contend — not to be passively led by others’ arrangements. That initiative was something she did not want to hold, and for the sake of the future, could not hold. She hoped that every step Xiao Liu took would be his own, so that if he ever looked back upon it, he would not feel that someone had governed his life.

Even the deepest of affections could not survive suspicion — and suspicion was the chronic ailment of emperors. No one was an exception.

The Hua Family and Xiao Liu were now lashed together on one vessel. What she had to do was ensure that from the very beginning, she left no opening for suspicion — both to protect the Hua Family, and to safeguard this bond, which perhaps would gradually fade in the years to come. She would tend to it carefully until Xiao Liu discarded it of his own accord.

That was, of course, provided that what they were scheming could succeed.