“Regarding the canal construction, Qin Shangzhi mentioned it to me before. Master Qin indeed has detailed plans for the canal work, and I’m still considering it!”
Qin Shangzhi had made very detailed plans, but the Crown Prince had been busy with many matters recently… and had already forgotten about it.
“That’s good. Your Highness is now managing state affairs on His Majesty’s behalf—with countless matters to attend to, it’s inevitable that some things might be overlooked… Having people around who can remind you of these matters can be considered sharing Your Highness’s burdens!” Bai Qingyan nodded to the Crown Prince.
The Crown Prince sat for a short while before returning to summon Old Fang, Qin Shangzhi, and Ren Shijie to his study.
There were mainly two matters to discuss…
The first was the construction of the Grand River Canal. Qin Shangzhi was in good spirits—since coming to the Crown Prince’s mansion, there hadn’t been many of his suggestions that the Crown Prince had adopted. This time, the Crown Prince had specifically called them all together, so presumably this matter would be put on the agenda.
Ren Shijie was quite supportive. In Ren Shijie’s mind, Great Yan had an ambitious ruler with grand aspirations—they would unify the world in the future. If the Jin Kingdom was willing to expend manpower and resources to repair this Grand River Canal now, Ren Shijie naturally couldn’t ask for more.
“What does Old Fang think?” The Crown Prince looked toward Old Fang.
Old Fang glanced at Qin Shangzhi, stroked his goatee, and smiled: “Constructing water conservancy projects benefits both the Kingdom and the people—this old man naturally has no objection. Since Master Qin proposed this matter, and I see that Master Qin has already outlined detailed procedures and selected hydraulic engineers capable of undertaking this Grand River Canal construction, why not… have Your Highness entrust this matter to Master Qin! What does Your Highness think?”
Seeing the Crown Prince frowning in thought, Old Fang continued: “Historically, water conservancy projects have always been lucrative positions—those in charge inevitably think of profiting from them! But Master Qin has always regarded gold and silver as worthless as dirt. With Master Qin involved… Your Highness naturally need not worry about corruption!”
Old Fang intended to use this opportunity to send Qin Shangzhi away. As long as Qin Shangzhi wasn’t in the capital, wasn’t in the Crown Prince’s mansion, Old Fang wouldn’t need to spend effort guarding against Qin Shangzhi anymore.
Hearing these words, Qin Shangzhi understood Old Fang’s meaning. He simply rose and bowed deeply to the Crown Prince: “If Your Highness trusts me, Qin Shangzhi will certainly handle this matter properly!”
“Good!” The Crown Prince nodded. “Tomorrow at morning court, I… will discuss this matter with Father Emperor.”
When the Crown Prince proposed the Grand River Canal construction matter in court, he immediately received Chancellor Lu’s support… Chancellor Lu said they should temporarily halt construction of the Nine-Tiered Platform and use all financial resources and energy on the canal project.
However, the Crown Prince didn’t agree, saying that building the Nine-Tiered Platform to pray for Jin Kingdom’s fortune was as important as canal construction to benefit the people, and neither could be delayed. The Emperor praised the Crown Prince and agreed to let the Crown Prince proceed with this matter.
Seeing the Emperor’s good mood, the Crown Prince originally wanted to tell the Emperor about Prince Liang ordering Li Mingrui to rescue the rebel Wang Qiulu. Remembering Hong Mei’s words on the bed, not wanting to spoil the Emperor’s mood, he went to the Emperor’s chambers after morning court and spoke of how Prince Liang had coerced Li Mingrui into rescuing the Nandu traitor Wang Qiulu, fearing Prince Liang still harbored treacherous thoughts.
After listening, the Emperor remained silent for a long time, his slightly clouded eyes looking up at the Crown Prince: “You say… You also called Lu Jin over for this matter?”
The Crown Prince quickly kowtowed to the Emperor: “Previously, when Li Mingrui falsely accused Princess Zhenguo, I thought to have Lu Jin investigate the matter thoroughly. Who knew… later, when Li Mingrui came, he would implicate Prince Liang. But regarding Lu Jin’s side… I’ve already given him instructions not to spread this around.”
Beside the Emperor, a gilded lotus lion incense burner sat on the sandalwood table, burning incense with wisps of light smoke rising silently.
If the Crown Prince truly intended to drag Lu Jin into destroying Prince Liang, he would have spoken of this matter in the court hall. Since he came to find his father emperor privately after court to discuss this matter in detail, he still had his father emperor in his heart.
The Emperor gazed at the glazed screen, remembering Prince Liang kneeling at his feet, crying inconsolably. He didn’t know if he was getting old—whether his heart had softened, or if he simply couldn’t bring himself to kill Prince Liang.
“There’s also Left Chancellor Li Mao!” The Crown Prince looked up at the Emperor, who sat cross-legged on the ginger-yellow soft couch with one elbow resting on a hidden cushion. He took out the letter Bai Jinxiu had given him yesterday from his sleeve and held it high above his head: “The reason Li Mingrui intended to frame Princess Zhenguo was because Princess Zhenguo recently discovered several personal letters between Left Chancellor Li Mao and the Second Prince. This time, Princess Zhenguo even came to the capital personally, but because Imperial Teacher Old Tan and Lord Shoushan haven’t examined them yet, not knowing their authenticity, she hasn’t submitted them. After Li Mingrui learned of this matter, he wanted to use Wang Qiulu’s incident… to make Father Emperor and I reduce our trust in Princess Zhenguo. This is what Li Mingrui personally admitted.”
The Emperor’s chief eunuch, Gao Demao, was about to step forward to receive the letter, but the Emperor raised his hand to stop him. Gao Demao quickly retreated to the Emperor’s side, holding his whisk.
“Why is it Princess Zhenguo again? Her health isn’t good—instead of recuperating properly in Shouyang, what’s she doing running to the capital?” The Emperor was displeased. Whenever there was Bai Qingyan, troublesome matters occurred. The Emperor looked thoroughly impatient: “Enough, let this matter end here. I know about Left Chancellor Li Mao and the Second Prince’s affairs. I won’t look at that letter—let’s pretend it never happened. Handle that traitor properly, and you take care of this matter…”
“Yes!” The Crown Prince quickly kowtowed to the Emperor, thinking to himself that it seemed Father Emperor still wanted to spare Prince Liang’s life. Fortunately, he hadn’t revealed this matter in the court hall.
“Right now, the most important thing is the spring examinations. Keep a close watch—don’t let any more troubles arise!” The Emperor waved his hand at the Crown Prince. “Go tell Princess Zhenguo to behave herself and cause fewer troubles to vex me!”
Remembering how last year’s beating of the Drum of Grievances had exposed the imperial examination fraud case, forcing a re-examination, it was simply a farce.
The Crown Prince acknowledged and was leaving the hall when he encountered the Celestial Master coming to deliver elixirs to the Emperor.
Although the Crown Prince didn’t like this Celestial Master, since he currently enjoyed the Emperor’s great favor, the Crown Prince didn’t put on airs before him. After inquiring about the Emperor’s recent condition, he left.
Today was the first day of the metropolitan examinations.
Qin Lang finished dressing and was adjusting his sleeves when he turned around to see Bai Jinxiu beyond the screen, holding Wang Ge’er in one arm while checking his examination supplies with Cuibi, her expression full of warm smiles.
Qin Lang smiled and walked to Bai Jinxiu’s side, taking Wang Ge’er in his arms and laughing: “Does our little Wang Ge’er know that daddy is taking the examination today, so he got up early to see daddy off?”
Little Wang Ge’er’s bright black eyes blinked as he reached out for Bai Jinxiu to hold him, giving Qin Lang no face at all.
Cuibi laughed: “Our young master is afraid of tiring the son-in-law and affecting his writing!”
Bai Jinxiu took Wang Ge’er back and said to Qin Lang: “Cuibi is right—you’d better not hold Wang Ge’er. This little fellow is quite heavy now and has some real weight to him!”