The Crown Prince couldn’t help but think of what Zhou Weiqi had mentioned—that sum of over two hundred thousand taels of silver that Elder Chen had left in the Chen family’s hands in Xiangfan. The exact amount was unknown, but it was definitely no less than two hundred thirty thousand taels. If he could obtain such a large sum of silver, the previous deficit could be temporarily filled, and the suggestion that Fu Youde and Zhen De had proposed wouldn’t be too difficult to accomplish. He truly needed to make Emperor Jianzhang happy. Although he never took a single word Empress Lu said to heart, there was one thing he knew she was right about—he was the Crown Prince, and if a reputation for being greedy for wealth spread, it would be of no benefit to him whatsoever.
Moreover, he absolutely could not let Prince Gong steal the spotlight. Thinking of this younger brother, his expression grew even uglier. Even after returning to Fan Liangdi’s bedchamber, his complexion still hadn’t recovered, frightening Nanny Fang and all the other servants into trembling caution.
Before long, Zhou Weiqi came in to pay his respects. Only then did this oppressive atmosphere somewhat improve. The Crown Prince watched as tea was served, glanced toward Sanbao, and Sanbao sensibly led everyone out, leaving the bedchamber to the father and son.
Zhou Weiqi had just received Han Zhengqing’s reply. In the letter, Han Zhengqing said he didn’t blame Fan Liangdi for past matters, and naturally bore no grudge against him either, telling him to rest assured. Although Zhou Weiqi felt that no matter how he looked at it, Han Zhengqing didn’t seem like a normal person, he really did need that old ginseng Han Zhengqing had given him, and he needed Han Zhengqing himself even more. So he ignored the strange aspect of Han Zhengqing being able to behave this way even after his wife and children had all fallen victim to his own mother’s hands, and enjoyed the benefits Han Zhengqing brought with a clear conscience.
This time he didn’t hesitate. Just as he was about to hand the item to his father, he heard the Crown Prince ask, “On the Xiangfan side, hasn’t there been any movement at all?”
After he had laid everything out to the Crown Prince, he hadn’t really managed Wei Yansheng’s affairs. In fact, although he wanted to manage them, he simply couldn’t get involved. He was merely a prince, and compared to a Minister of Personnel and a second-rank earl, he really seemed rather lacking in weight. The Xiangfan prefect wouldn’t offend Song Chengru, the Song family, or the Cui family for his sake. Moreover, the Crown Prince had also told him not to interfere in this matter anymore. He shook his head. “Wei Yansheng sent letters back at first, but later the letters stopped coming.”
The Crown Prince nodded. He bent his fingers and tapped slowly and rhythmically on the table for a while, spacing out for a moment. When he came back to his senses, he looked at Zhou Weiqi and asked him, “Before the spring examinations incident erupted, didn’t you get along quite well with that group of examination candidates who came to take the exams? I heard that today, Second Master Li’s future daughter-in-law held a banquet at home. Do you know about this?”
Zhou Weiqi was somewhat bewildered. After quite a while, he finally realized who the Crown Prince meant by Second Master Li. After thinking about it, he suddenly understood. “You mean the second son of Provincial Governor Li? I heard about it. Isn’t he the one who’s engaged to that young lady who was adopted back into Earl Changning’s household? Because of this connection, he doesn’t give your son much face. I invited him several times, but he never came.”
The Crown Prince made a sound of acknowledgment, then fell silent for a long time before instructing him, “Recently the vassal princes are coming to the capital. You just focus on doing your own duties properly and don’t meddle in other matters.”
Zhou Weiqi already knew this in his heart even without the Crown Prince’s instruction. Qian Ying and Huang Yiqing were practically reciting it in his ear every day, telling him to restrain himself lately and absolutely not cause any trouble at this critical juncture. He also knew that his father had grievances with Prince Gong, Prince Su was rather restless, and only Prince Lu had behaved himself because of Prince Duan’s incident—though who knew if he was genuinely behaving. Now that he had just lost his mother, he was treading on thin ice. This time with the Xiangfan matter, he had honestly yielded everything to the Crown Prince. How would he dare have any other ideas? He quickly nodded in agreement.
After agreeing, he finally had the opportunity to hand over that treasure that Han Zhengqing had voluntarily presented to the Crown Prince. When the words reached his lips, he changed tack. “This is what Mother painstakingly sought out for you before. I heard it can prolong life, ward off illness and disaster. Uncle-in-law sent it back.”
He had now learned to be like his mother, having figured out the Crown Prince’s temperament and knowing full well that he most detested others deceiving him. He simply told him the truth about these matters.
The Crown Prince’s expression indeed softened considerably. He coughed a few times and accepted the box, looked deeply at him, and said softly, “You’re thoughtful.” He paused, then suddenly said without any context, “Rest assured, he won’t surpass you.”
He now felt that everything related to anyone surnamed Lu disgusted him. Zhou Weizhao, who carried Lu family blood, was the same. This son simply couldn’t be won over—sooner or later he would belong to the Lu family, to the Song family. In any case, no matter what, he would never be of one heart with him. Since that was the case, rather than waiting for Empress Lu and Crown Princess Lu to cultivate him and have him threaten his own position, it was better to act as if he didn’t exist.
Zhou Weiqi took quite a while to react. After he figured out that the “he” the Crown Prince meant by “won’t let him surpass you” referred to Zhou Weizhao, he didn’t dare respond to this on the spot. Upon returning, he specifically mentioned the Crown Prince’s words to Qian Ying and Huang Yiqing. “Father’s meaning…”
Huang Yiqing laughed out loud without any hesitation. “This is good news! His Highness originally favored Liangdi and Your Highness anyway. Now that he’s said this, what are you still worried about?”
Qian Ying spoke more directly and thought even further ahead. “Hasn’t His Highness been flying into a rage every time he enters and exits Mingcui Palace lately? His relationship with Her Majesty the Empress and the Crown Princess is clearly becoming more and more strained.” Qian Ying thought for a moment, and his voice unconsciously dropped much lower. “Since His Highness said this, I’m afraid it’s not just empty talk.”
This was probably because he felt that Zhou Weizhao’s side, after gaining the support of the Song and Cui families, would threaten his own position. Moreover, after Sixth Miss Song recently drove Fan Liangdi to her death, she could speak effectively with the Empress, and had recently mobilized her family’s power to set a trap for Prince Dongping to fall into. Therefore he had become even more disgusted with Mingcui Palace and Song Chuyi than before.
He always felt that since the Crown Prince could collude with major local officials, he wasn’t as magnanimous and tolerant as he appeared on the surface. Although it was the Empress who drove Fan Liangdi to death, Song Chuyi had a share in it too. The Crown Prince couldn’t deal with the Empress and couldn’t do anything to her, but surely he could deal with Song Chuyi?
Since the Crown Prince had said he wouldn’t let Zhou Weizhao surpass Zhou Weiqi, didn’t that also indicate that in matters of marriage, he wouldn’t let Zhou Weizhao surpass Zhou Weiqi either? But if he truly didn’t want Zhou Weizhao to surpass Zhou Weiqi, given that Zhou Weizhao was already engaged, what could be done to prevent Zhou Weizhao from surpassing him?
Having thought this through, he reminded Zhou Weiqi, “I’m afraid His Highness is about to help Liangdi vent her grievances. You just act as if you know nothing. Recently, continue to do your duties properly and don’t interfere with anything.”
This was also what the Crown Prince had instructed and enjoined. Zhou Weiqi had settled this matter of Han Zhengqing on his mind, and the Xiangfan affair no longer required his concern. He was more than happy to watch the show from the sidelines. Hearing Qian Ying say this, he agreed without hesitation.