The over-sixty-year-old Minister Yan walked briskly with vigorous steps, crossing out of the office in a flash, and even considerately helped Prince Hui close the door behind him.

Zhao Sui sat in his wheelchair, looking at the closed door, then at the nearly emptied food container Yan Lun had left behind, and thought of that memorial.

Yan Lun probably didn’t know that he and the Princess Consort had spent a summer in Lingshan Town, so he had no way to deduce that Zhao Sui had participated in the proposal for developing Lingshan. Father Emperor…

Zhao Sui shook his head slightly.

According to his temperament before going to Lingshan for the summer, he and Father Emperor rarely met, and when they did meet, Father Emperor wouldn’t chat with him about trivial matters.

Originally, he could have concealed the fact that he spent summer in Lingshan, but the Princess Consort said that before going to visit her father and mother, they should first go pay respects to Father Emperor. The Princess Consort asked him if Father Emperor brought up where the two of them had spent the summer, should she tell the truth? Of course she should—he didn’t want the Princess Consort to bear the crime of deceiving the sovereign over such a small matter. Following that, the Princess Consort also said she wanted to give Father Emperor some nine-processed yellow essence.

Zhao Sui couldn’t refuse, because the Princess Consort had also prepared some for her father and mother. If her father and mother both received gifts but he didn’t want to give any to Father Emperor, wouldn’t that make him unfilial?

At that time, Zhao Sui thought that if she gave it, so be it. Father Emperor had to handle so many state affairs daily—by the time Xu Dongyang submitted his memorial next year, Father Emperor might not even remember this matter.

However, in October, under his Princess Consort’s encouragement, he entered the Ministry of Works and began appearing frequently before Father Emperor.

Zhao Sui had instructed Yan Lun to keep Di Xian’s canal repair project secret, but at the congratulatory banquet, when Father Emperor asked for Prince Kang and Prince Qing’s opinions but specifically didn’t ask him—such deliberate neglect didn’t match Father Emperor’s usual attitude toward him. Zhao Sui then understood that something had slipped from Yan Lun’s end and Father Emperor had seen through it.

It had only been a month since recommending Di Xian, and now Xu Dongyang’s memorial arrived, mentioning both Lingshan Town and yellow essence. Father Emperor…

At the hour of Shen, when the afternoon sunlight was no longer so harsh, the Imperial Study sent a young eunuch to say the Emperor had summoned Prince Hui to the Imperial Study.

Zhao Sui had no choice but to change to the four-wheeled outdoor wheelchair.

When Qing Ai pushed Prince Hui onto the straight palace road leading to Chengtian Gate of the inner palace city, both master and servant saw Prince Kang and Prince Qing walking side by side ahead.

Prince Kang was at the Ministry of Revenue and was the first of the three princes to receive the oral decree. When he was walking in alone, he was called out by Prince Qing coming from the Ministry of Rites. Prince Kang waited for him a while, speculating that Father Emperor was going to test all of them simultaneously again. Prince Qing wasn’t afraid of such occasions, but Prince Kang was nervous. Unexpectedly, as they walked, there was more commotion behind them. Looking back, Father Emperor had even summoned Second Brother!

This time, Prince Qing also became nervous, because if it were just him and Eldest Brother, even if he answered poorly, Eldest Brother would be there to cushion his fall. But with Second Brother coming, if Second Brother answered better than him, Father Emperor’s look at him would probably become: Look, your second brother sitting in a wheelchair is still better than you!

Once Prince Qing worried, Prince Kang relaxed instead. They were both at the bottom anyway, but with Second Brother coming, Third Brother wouldn’t be able to steal the spotlight.

“Let me do it.”

After waiting a moment for Qing Ai to draw near, Prince Kang once again took over the wheelchair.

Prince Hui sat while Prince Qing could only lower his head and ask, “Does Second Brother know why Father Emperor summoned us?”

Zhao Sui: “I don’t know.”

He had originally thought Father Emperor wanted to ask about developing Lingshan, but seeing Prince Kang and Prince Qing, Zhao Sui overturned his previous speculation.

They arrived at the Imperial Study.

The three princes lined up outside the door. Eunuch Wang went in to announce them, then came out and invited Prince Kang to enter first.

Prince Kang: “…”

After Prince Kang entered, Prince Qing tried to concentrate and listen, but the outer hall of the Imperial Study and the inner study were both very spacious. Unless Emperor Yongchang got angry and scolded someone, or Prince Qing went right up to the window base in front of the palace servants and imperial guards, they couldn’t hear anything from normal conversation outside.

After waiting about a quarter-hour, Prince Kang came out with a relieved expression.

Prince Qing was somewhat disappointed, but since Eldest Brother hadn’t been scolded, he would be even safer.

“Second Imperial Highness, it’s your turn. Shall this old servant push you in?” Eunuch Wang asked with a bow.

Zhao Sui nodded.

After Eunuch Wang pushed Prince Hui inside, Prince Qing asked Prince Kang, who was still standing there and hadn’t left, in a low voice, “What did Father Emperor say to Eldest Brother?”

Prince Kang: “He just asked what matters I’d been busy with during this period after New Year.”

Inside, Eunuch Wang pushed Prince Hui in front of Emperor Yongchang’s desk and then withdrew.

Emperor Yongchang looked at his second son and asked in a low voice, “That method of Xu Dongyang’s—you taught him?”

Zhao Sui lowered his eyes and said, “Although I taught him, whether it could be done and whether he dared to do it were both his decisions. I have neither the energy to personally oversee it nor, if this matter succeeds, will it be anyone’s political achievement but County Magistrate Xu’s alone.”

Emperor Yongchang: “I had no intention of investigating his responsibility for deceiving the sovereign. I’m just curious how you thought of it.”

His own second son—no matter how you looked at it, he had nothing to do with cultivating medicinal herbs.

Zhao Sui recalled for a moment and said, “That day, the neighboring Elder Qi was celebrating his birthday. I and the Princess Consort went to attend the feast. The Princess Consort heard the women at the banquet mention yellow essence, saying that in earlier years, yellow essence was very common on Lingshan, but as medicine merchants came to collect yellow essence with increasing frequency, the villagers dug it up extensively, causing yellow essence on the mountain to decline sharply, so they could only search in the deep mountains.”

“Because of the Princess Consort’s words, I deduced that yellow essence could easily survive in Lingshan, so I had the accompanying physician go up the mountain to investigate whether yellow essence could be planted under trees.”

Emperor Yongchang said meaningfully, “That wife of yours really does prattle on to you about every little trivial matter.”

Zhao Sui: “…At that time, I was living in seclusion and rarely going out. Hearing her talk about these things was actually quite interesting.”

Emperor Yongchang: “You didn’t just find it interesting—you heard a good idea for solving the local people’s livelihood difficulties.”

Zhao Sui was about to speak when Emperor Yongchang blocked his modesty, saying calmly, “No need to overthink it. I’m happy to have a son who cares about the people’s welfare.”

The eldest lacked decisiveness—even if he saw problems, he was easily swayed by those around him and couldn’t follow through to the end. The third was arrogant, looking down even on the newly selected jinshi from the spring examinations. How could Emperor Yongchang expect the third to personally cultivate worthy ministers and capable generals? Just wanting to use ready-made capable ministers and famous generals—which capable minister or famous general wasn’t trained step by step?

Because Prince Hui’s words were concise, he didn’t even stay inside for a quarter-hour before coming out.

This time, it was Prince Qing’s turn to go in.

This year’s civil and military spring examinations had gone fairly smoothly, and the selected jinshi also satisfied Emperor Yongchang quite well. Emperor Yongchang briefly praised his third son, then took out a memorial and let Prince Qing read it himself.

This was a memorial submitted by the prefects of Jingzhou and Tanzhou, stating that locally there were three bandit chiefs—Chen Wei, Wang Sheng, and Liu Siyi—who had gathered over a thousand followers to terrorize the countryside, killing and plundering passing land merchants and boat merchants. Tanzhou’s official troops had mobilized three times but failed because the bandits hid deep in the mountains and occupied advantageous terrain. The people couldn’t bear the disturbance and complaints were rampant. The prefect requested the court dispatch troops to suppress them.

Prince Qing’s eyes lit up. The Ministry of Rites, aside from the imperial examinations, rarely offered opportunities to display capability. He had long wanted to change posts, and these mountain bandits appeared at just the right time!

“Father Emperor, your son is willing to go to Tanzhou to suppress the bandits!”

Emperor Yongchang asked, “Then first tell me how you plan to suppress them.”

Prince Qing was well-versed in military strategy. After some thought, he said, “After your son arrives in Tanzhou, I’ll first find woodcutters and hunters familiar with the mountain terrain to inquire clearly about all the mountain paths, to see if there are small trails for the army to enter the mountains and eliminate the bandits. If we cannot enter the mountains, your son will arrange a merchant caravan as large bait to lure them out. If we can catch them all in one net, that’s best. If not, we can still capture a batch, then use threats and inducements to make these prisoners lead the army into the mountains.”

Emperor Yongchang: “How many troops do you think this bandit suppression requires?”

Prince Qing: “Tanzhou has one thousand official troops. If Father Emperor transfers another thousand naval troops and thousand infantry from the Jingzhou army, that should suffice. Any more would easily alert them.”

Emperor Yongchang looked at his twenty-one-year-old third son before him and said, “I’ll transfer five thousand to you. You must not underestimate the enemy because the bandit group is small.”

Prince Qing’s heart warmed as he cupped his hands and said, “Your son respectfully remembers Father Emperor’s teachings!”

Emperor Yongchang continued, “Tanzhou has many mountains and much water. When in doubt, you can discuss with the local commanders. Strive to suppress the bandit rebellion with the least casualties. If progress goes smoothly, that’s naturally good. If there are setbacks, that’s also fine—send a memorial and I’ll help you figure something out. Remember not to rashly advance seeking glory. It’s training—occasionally stumbling over small matters is actually a good thing. Remember the lesson, and in the future when shouldering great responsibilities, you’ll consider things more cautiously and thoroughly.”

Prince Qing understood—Father Emperor didn’t quite trust him.

Second Brother had gone south to lead troops at eighteen and won his first battle. If at twenty-one he went to fight over a thousand bandits and still failed, even if Father Emperor didn’t mind, he himself would have no face to return to the capital.

Although Father Emperor’s instructions were somewhat unnecessary, Prince Qing, having obtained this opportunity, was still very happy. When he stepped out of the Imperial Study, his face carried some spring breeze pride.

Seeing his two elder brothers waiting outside, Prince Qing smiled and said, “Eldest Brother and Second Brother are still waiting for me? I thought you’d left long ago.”

Zhao Sui: “…”

He actually wanted to leave, but Prince Kang controlled the wheelchair and insisted on waiting for Prince Qing, so he could only wait along.

Prince Kang, meeting the pride in Prince Qing’s eyes, felt his heart skip. After they’d moved away from the Imperial Study, he asked with feigned casualness, “Seeing Third Brother’s delighted expression, is there some good news?”

Prince Qing glanced at his second brother who was a head shorter than them, and sighed, “There’s a gang of audacious mountain bandits in Jingzhou who are burning, killing, and plundering everywhere, simply not taking the court seriously. Father Emperor is sending me to suppress the bandits. Ah, departing at this time, by the time I get there it’ll be the hot season. I just fear the bandits will also find it too hot and hide in the mountains refusing to come out, leaving me with troops but nowhere to deploy them.”

Prince Kang: “…”

Prince Qing: “I won’t say more. I’ll first go to the Ministry of War to inquire about the Jingzhou army’s situation.”

Leaving behind the two brothers who had waited for him for at least two cups of tea, Prince Qing moved his two long legs, like a fine horse finally released from its cage to frolic, and walked away happily.

Prince Kang secretly gritted his teeth and lowered his head to say to his second brother in the wheelchair, “Third Brother’s temperament—still so fond of showing off.”

It’s just suppressing bandits. If he went, he could do it too. Unfortunately, his martial skills weren’t as good as the third’s. When encountering this kind of military assignment, Father Emperor would have difficulty thinking of him first.

His second brother remained silent.

In Prince Qing’s faction’s view, this bandit suppression was a tremendous opportunity. Even if the military achievement wasn’t great, they could boast it up. The fear was being like Prince Kang, only able to work the abacus at the Ministry of Revenue without even a chance to establish small merits.

In just two short days, Consort Shen, Princess Imperial Fucheng, Minister of Personnel Shen Shiyan, and Prince Qing’s consort Zheng Yuanzhen all gave Prince Qing detailed instructions, directly annoying Prince Qing and making him even more eager to leave the capital with a squad of personal guards.

Prince Hui wouldn’t mention matters unrelated to his wife and himself to his Princess Consort. It wasn’t until the Dragon Boat Festival when Yao Huang accompanied Prince Hui into the palace to attend the palace banquet and heard Empress Zhou mention to Consort Shen that Prince Qing should have already arrived in Jingzhou by now that Yao Huang noticed that indeed one figure was missing from Emperor Yongchang and his sons.

However, compared to Prince Qing going to suppress bandits, Yao Huang was more curious about those bandits—how bold were they to dare cause trouble in times of peace and prosperity?

Unfortunately, Empress Zhou and Consort Shen only cared about Prince Qing and didn’t mention these details.

It was time for archery on horseback again. Yao Huang secretly looked toward her Prince Hui.

Prince Hui sat upright with eyes looking straight ahead. Even if the Princess Consort coveted the champion’s one hundred taels of gold, it wouldn’t do for him to compete for this honor year after year.

Yao Huang certainly wouldn’t resent Prince Hui for this, but that didn’t prevent her from teasing him about it.

“Just one year after marrying, the Prince is already too lazy to make me happy. Knowing I like gold, he won’t even go win it back for me.”

In the carriage on the way back to the manor, Yao Huang sat in Prince Hui’s lap, her arms around his neck, swaying and pouting.

Summer clothing was thin, and Prince Hui couldn’t withstand his Princess Consort acting coquettish like this.

He closed his eyes and announced the good news in advance: “This year, Father Emperor will go to the Northern Garden to escape the summer heat, departing in late May and staying until the grand military review in mid-September ends.”

The Princess Consort immediately stopped pouting: “We can go too?”

Zhao Sui nodded.

Yao Huang was overjoyed. Not long ago, she had been regretting that Prince Hui, now holding office, could no longer accompany her to escape the summer heat and travel outside. This year they could actually go to the imperial Northern Garden palace!

“Wonderful! Prince, quickly tell me—what’s it like inside the Northern Garden?”

“…Sit properly first, then I’ll tell you.”