Not counting the night he first returned to the capital, Prince Qing had already been confined to his residence for nine days.

When being interrogated by the Emperor, Prince Qing had truly believed that the irrigation channels in Liangzhou had been destroyed, and that it was his maternal grandfather Shen Shiyan who had sent people to do it. That was why the Emperor scolded him, interrogated him, and kicked him. When he saw the dispirited Zheng Yuanzhen with handprint marks on her face at the palace gates, Prince Qing had thought his cousin had suffered on his account and received a slap from the Emperor before he did.

Once in the carriage, Zheng Yuanzhen knelt beside him begging him to plead more with the Emperor for her aunt’s sake, for San Lang’s sake. Only then did Prince Qing realize with shock that he had jumped into a trap in the Emperor’s words due to his preconceived notions, and had confessed his own malicious thoughts. In reality, none of this had anything to do with him or his maternal grandfather. It was that self-righteous poisonous woman, Princess Imperial Fucheng, who had caused him to be kicked twice by the Emperor and lose the Emperor’s favor completely. And the slap Zheng Yuanzhen received was from his mother consort!

In that moment, Prince Qing was equally consumed by rage, equally raising his hand to strike Zheng Yuanzhen.

From the carriage behind where the wet nurse sat came San Lang’s sudden crying.

Looking again at Zheng Yuanzhen’s tear-streaked face, Prince Qing could not bring himself to strike. He collapsed dejectedly onto the carriage couch.

What would hitting her accomplish? Would it make the Emperor stop being angry with him?

If it had only been the Princess Imperial who excavated the channels, he could still extricate himself. But he too had entertained thoughts of digging channels, and the Emperor knew about it.

So there it was—he was finished. He needn’t think about being Crown Prince anymore. Whether he could even keep his current princely title was uncertain.

If hitting his cousin could undo all this, Prince Qing would definitely do it. But it wouldn’t undo anything, so what use was there in hitting her?

Returning to his princely residence, Prince Qing shut himself in the front courtyard, refusing to see anyone, thinking through countless scenarios but all to no avail.

Until yesterday afternoon when the Emperor sent a eunuch to tell him to bring his princess consort and child to attend the Dragon Boat Festival palace banquet in good spirits, and not to mention anything else.

Prince Qing knelt on the ground with tears streaming down his face. The Emperor still thought of him, still thought of him!

Just like in previous years, the dragon boat races and willow shooting took place before the palace banquet.

This was Yao Huang’s first time feeling so uncomfortable at such an occasion.

Because she was still seated between Chen Ying and Zheng Yuanzhen. To her left, Chen Ying was pregnant and full of joy. To her right, Zheng Yuanzhen was surrounded by an aura of death.

Yao Huang was all too familiar with this death aura. When they first married, Prince Hui had been like this. But Prince Hui was her husband—if she wanted to console him she would, and if she didn’t want to, she’d just go walk in the gardens by herself. Whether she consoled him or not, no outsiders would know. Now Zheng Yuanzhen sat right beside her. If she truly acted as if nothing was wrong and only chatted and laughed with Chen Ying, what would Zheng Yuanzhen think of her? What would the Emperor and Empress seated in the center think of her?

But making her just sit there doing nothing made Yao Huang uncomfortable all over.

To be safe, Yao Huang chose to zone out by herself.

So many imperial relatives had come, yet only Princess Imperial Fucheng had not appeared. Combined with the death aura surrounding Prince Qing and his wife, and the imperial consorts’ complete avoidance of mentioning Princess Imperial Fucheng, had the Princess Imperial and her husband done something to anger Emperor Yongchang? Was claiming illness and declining visitors just their cover for being snubbed by Emperor Yongchang?

Princess Imperial Fucheng was Emperor Yongchang’s blood sister, just as she was her brother’s blood sister.

They were close enough, but Yao Huang had heard a saying: “The imperial family has no true father-son bonds.”

Even imperial fathers and sons could kill each other, let alone brothers and sisters?

Based on what Yao Huang had heard in teahouses or read in storybooks, had Princess Imperial Fucheng oppressed the common people, or colluded with officials in embezzlement and bribery?

Rebellion seemed unlikely. Princess Imperial Fucheng and the Marquis of Jining had no military forces, and if it were rebellion, it couldn’t be as simple as mere house confinement.

To frighten Prince Qing and his wife to such an extent, the matter shouldn’t be small. Yet Emperor Yongchang was still willing to let them attend the palace banquet, so it shouldn’t be too serious either?

Lost in these thoughts, the dragon boat race ended. There were five dragon boats in total, sent by the four major capital garrisons and the Imperial Guards, all crewed by skilled oarsmen. Only the championship boat could come before the Emperor to receive rewards.

This year’s champions were from the Northern Garrison—twenty-two men in total, all with robust and upright physiques.

Finally finding some entertainment, Yao Huang couldn’t help leaning forward to watch. As she looked, her gaze shifted and actually met Prince Hui’s eyes where he sat not far from Emperor Yongchang.

The twenty-two Northern Garrison elite soldiers had rowed around the moat until their faces turned red from exhaustion. Prince Kang and Prince Qing, seated on either side of Prince Hui, had spent a month running at Lingshan and were tanned to a wheat-brown color. Whether red or dark-skinned, they made Prince Hui appear even paler and more handsome by contrast.

Yao Huang secretly winked at Prince Hui.

Prince Hui silently lowered his eyelids, no longer looking at her.

Yao Huang smiled and continued surveying those twenty-two valiant faces, then watched as Eunuch Wang handed a tray of gold ingots to the lead helmsman.

Having bestowed rewards, next should come the willow shooting.

Emperor Yongchang suddenly looked toward his four sons: “Will you all try this year?”

The Fourth Prince was already fifteen years old and had participated in hunting at the Northern Park last year.

Prince Kang immediately led by standing up, expressing his willingness to make a poor showing before the Emperor.

Emperor Yongchang smiled and waved his hand, indicating they could set off.

Prince Kang turned and grasped the handles of his second brother’s wheelchair. Ramps wide enough for wheelchair passage had been built in the middle of the stairs on both sides of the platform two years ago, and the red sandalwood wheelchair his second brother now sat in was very lightweight.

To be safe, when the wheelchair reached the top of the ramp, Prince Kang still gave Prince Qing a look, having him walk in front to prevent the wheelchair from rolling away out of control.

Prince Qing walked to the front like a walking corpse. The Fourth Prince glanced at him and cleverly stood on the stairs on the other side of the ramp.

Second brother was finished, third brother clearly was about to be finished too, and eldest brother was so dull—perhaps he could still catch a small opportunity?

The Fourth Prince had never coveted these things before, but now that heaven seemed ready to hand that position to him voluntarily, of course he wanted to strive for it.

Soon the four brothers stood side by side on the bank of the moat.

Yao Huang secretly glanced toward Emperor Yongchang.

Emperor Yongchang caught his second daughter-in-law’s furtive peek, smiled, and looked toward the two princesses: “If you want to watch, all go to the front.”

Since the Emperor had spoken, Yao Huang helped Chen Ying stand up. Because Zheng Yuanzhen never joined in such excitement, there was no need to invite her with unnecessary words. She simply accompanied Chen Ying and the two princesses to the railing, watching the competition from their elevated position.

The Second Princess called out teasingly: “It’ll definitely be Second Brother who wins first place again. When Second Brother receives his reward, Second Sister-in-law, will you give me a gold ingot?”

Yao Huang laughed: “If that truly happens, I’ll give each of you sisters one, as an advance addition to your trousseau.”

The First Princess, who would marry on the ninth day of the month, immediately blushed.

As the drumbeat sounded, willow shooting began.

Yao Huang’s gaze closely followed the arrow Prince Hui shot. She saw that arrow, just like two years ago, shatter most of the gourd tied to a willow branch on the opposite bank into pieces.

A snow-white dove flapped its wings toward the sky.

Yao Huang’s lips curved up. The First Princess and Second Princess both smiled, while Chen Ying looked at the gourd Prince Kang had successfully shot through, looked at the dove that escaped slowly but still flew toward the sky, and was also very happy for her prince. Because Prince Hui winning first place in archery was normal, while her prince being able to shoot through the gourd was already a pleasant surprise.

Chen Ying also knew that Prince Kang wouldn’t be unhappy about losing to Prince Hui in archery.

Indeed, Prince Kang had already gone to Prince Hui’s side to congratulate him.

The First Princess teased Yao Huang: “Why isn’t Second Sister-in-law going down to meet Second Brother this year?”

Having this old matter brought up, Yao Huang’s face grew slightly warm. Back then she had been excited because she didn’t know that Prince Hui, sitting in a wheelchair, could still be so formidable. Now she already understood Prince Hui’s various capabilities—what would running down there now mean?

The four sisters-in-law returned to their seats. Before long, the four brothers of Prince Kang came up. Only Prince Hui had won first place; second and third places both went to military officials Yao Huang didn’t recognize.

Fei Quan accepted the tray holding twenty small gold ingots on behalf of Prince Hui.

Just when everyone thought willow shooting had ended and the imperial procession would proceed to the great hall to begin the feast, Emperor Yongchang gave Eunuch Wang a look.

Eunuch Wang then stepped forward to the platform and announced loudly: “The Emperor has a decree! All officials are summoned to come before the Emperor to hear it proclaimed!”

All those seated on the platform were imperial relatives. As the voices of the eunuchs spread from platform to ground, civil and military officials seated on both sides of the ground quickly left their seats and soon arranged themselves by rank, proceeding here in orderly fashion, finally forming ranks below the platform just as when attending morning court.

Emperor Yongchang stepped forward, surveying the officials below with a sweeping gaze. His eyes paused briefly on the face of seventh-rank County Magistrate Xu Dongyang standing in the very last row. He picked up a yellowish-brown item divided into sections from a tray held by a small eunuch beside him and extended it beyond the platform for the officials below to see: “This is solomon’s seal, also called chicken-head ginseng. It can nourish yin and supplement qi, strengthen the spleen and moisten the lungs. It can be made into medicine or used directly in soup. Three-year solomon’s seal can sell for a hundred copper coins per catty among the common people, and properly processed dried solomon’s seal can sell for five or six qian of silver per catty…”

The officials who guessed whom Emperor Yongchang was about to praise already looked back toward Xu Dongyang.

Yao Huang observed her nose and her nose observed her heart, knowing that Prince Hui didn’t want this limelight.

Emperor Yongchang put down the solomon’s seal and looked down at the assembled officials: “Our Great Qi has vast lands and abundant resources. Mountain delicacies like this are countless. Some can only grow in deep mountain forests and cannot be cultivated, requiring common people to risk bone-breaking falls to gather and dig them. But some mountain delicacies, like this solomon’s seal, require someone with dedication to carefully investigate, and then they can be promoted among the common people.”

“You should all have heard about Xu Dongyang clearing wasteland to plant solomon’s seal at Lingshan. I know some of you may think I overly value him. In past years when officials discovered iron or gold mines, I did not summon them to the capital for personal commendation. But that’s because mineral deposits are rare, while mountain delicacies and medicinal herbs are common. I commend Xu Dongyang not solely for this political achievement, but because of his wholehearted devotion to loving the people!”

“I am the Emperor. These ten thousand li of rivers and mountains are mine, and the people across these rivers and mountains are all my people. They say enlightened rulers should love the people as their own children. I truly have a heart that loves the people, but I am only one person. Even dedicating my entire life, I cannot personally look after the people in every region. Therefore, I, like emperors throughout history, must select talented individuals from across the realm to serve as officials, to be my eyes and my hands and feet, and go to various regions in my stead to look after the common people.”

“Some officials receive salaries from the court with one hand while extracting the people’s fat and blood with the other, fattening themselves until their intestines are full and brains are stuffed, ignoring the people’s yellowed faces and emaciated bodies.”

“Then there are parent officials like Xu Dongyang who, because they can see the suffering of people falling while gathering medicine, because they can see the profit when solomon’s seal enters the market, fearlessly climb treacherous mountain paths to verify where solomon’s seal grows, then exhaust their mental efforts to find a path out of poverty for the people. If all officials throughout the realm had Xu Dongyang’s heart for loving and serving the people, why would I worry about the people not prospering and Great Qi not flourishing!”

At these words, the two Prime Ministers immediately led all officials in kneeling, responding loudly: “We officials will certainly heed the Emperor’s teachings, harbor hearts devoted to the people, and share the Emperor’s burdens!”

As the officials knelt, Prince Kang, Prince Qing, and the Fourth Prince standing behind Emperor Yongchang also knelt down.

The imperial consorts and female relatives on the platform didn’t need to kneel, but Yao Huang actually felt her heart warming at Emperor Yongchang’s words. Forgetting everything else, she looked directly toward Prince Hui, who had truly proposed the wasteland clearing strategy.

Zhao Sui sat alone in his wheelchair, eyes lowered.

Beside him, Prince Qing’s complexion grew even worse. He finally understood that the Emperor had summoned him to the palace not because he was no longer angry, but because the Emperor deliberately wanted him to hear these words with his own ears, to make him feel ashamed of his heart that harmed the people.

Prince Qing felt deeply guilty and full of regret. As long as the Emperor could forgive him, he would definitely treat the common people outside as his own flesh and blood!

After a long silence, Emperor Yongchang told everyone to dispense with ceremony, then called toward the distance: “Xu Dongyang, step forward. I will reward you with four characters.”

Xu Dongyang walked from the very last row with lowered head to stand before the two Prime Ministers, lifting his robe hem and kneeling on both knees.

Two eunuchs who had long been waiting nearby carried over a plaque. Eunuch Wang removed the red silk covering the plaque on behalf of the Emperor.

Civil and military officials craned their necks to look. On that imperially bestowed plaque with its black background, they saw four large characters in brilliant gold, imposing as charging bulls:  Wholehearted Devotion to the People!