Zhu Qiyue said: “On the day the Zhao residence holds its banquet, I may have military duties.” He then said to Qi Huan, “If I cannot make time to attend the banquet, you shall deliver the congratulatory gifts on my behalf.”

Qi Huan replied: “Your subject wife understands.”

Qi Ling looked at Zhu Qiyue, then at Qi Huan, and smiled with pursed lips: “Brother-in-law rarely returns to the residence. He should spend good time with elder sister. Ruyu won’t disturb you.” Seeing that Qi Huan seemed to want to keep her, she raised her hand in a gentle blocking gesture and smiled again, “The brocade can be embroidered early or late. At worst, tomorrow I’ll drag Rong Xin over and stay up all night with elder sister. Elder sister needn’t worry about running out of time.”

With that, she bowed slightly to Zhu Qiyue again and headed out of the prince’s residence.

Once Qi Ling left, Qi Huan tidied up her needlework while saying to Zhu Qiyue: “Has Your Highness had breakfast yet? Your subject wife will have someone prepare it immediately.” Having carefully arranged the thread ends on the satin, she raised her eyes to look at Zhu Qiyue and saw that he was still gazing in the direction Qi Ling had departed. After a quiet moment, she added, “Perhaps your subject wife should personally prepare the meal for Your Highness.”

Hearing the dejection in her tone, Zhu Qiyue couldn’t help but turn back. He took her hand and said: “Don’t misunderstand. I was just thinking about Thirteenth Brother’s affairs.”

“His Highness the Crown Prince’s affairs?”

Zhu Qiyue made a sound of acknowledgment and called a maidservant in to tidy the main hall. Leading Qi Huan to the corridor of the rear garden, he had her sit beside him before continuing: “Now that Thirteenth Brother has become Crown Prince, the establishment of a consort and taking of concubines concerns the realm and its succession. These past few days, Minister Luo from the Ministry of Rites has come to find me several times, asking me to advise Thirteenth Brother to take your sister as his primary consort. He says that after much consideration, among the noble ladies of prince’s residences over these years, Thirteenth Brother has only been close to your sister.”

Qi Huan froze for a moment, lowered her face, and said quietly: “But didn’t we say earlier that after the Mid-Autumn Festival passes, Ruyu would return to the South with your subject wife and Your Highness?”

Zhu Qiyue smiled: “What would she do in the South?” He extended his arm to embrace Qi Huan, letting her lean against him, and continued in a warm voice, “I know you’ve carried a knot in your heart all these years. Ruyu is wonderful, and I truly had feelings for her in my youth, but those are all matters of the past. Now in my heart, there is only you.”

The person in his embrace trembled slightly. Zhu Qiyue extended his hand from her shoulder down to her wrist, holding her even tighter, and continued: “I was just thinking that although Minister Luo asked me to make this recommendation, I cannot bring myself to do so. Ruyu has harbored deep feelings for Thirteenth Brother since childhood, but he has no place for her in his heart. After we leave in a few days, she’ll be left without clarity or understanding, and you’ll worry about her constantly from afar.”

Qi Huan raised her head from Zhu Qiyue’s embrace and asked: “Does Your Highness mean that His Highness the Crown Prince already has someone in his heart?”

“Yes,” Zhu Qiyue said. “And it’s someone he shouldn’t care for.”

Qi Huan paused, did not respond to this, but after a moment, she laughed softly.

Zhu Qiyue lowered his face to look at her: “What are you laughing at?”

Qi Huan said: “In the past, Your Highness was always bound up in military affairs and never spoke with your subject wife about such domestic trifles. Today, I don’t know why you’ve said so much. Even though it’s a serious matter concerning His Highness the Crown Prince taking a consort, at least your subject wife could follow Your Highness’s conversation.”

Zhu Qiyue laughed: “Then from now on I’ll accompany you in conversation every day.” He then asked: “Where is Le’er?”

“After eating this morning, he went back to sleep. The wet nurse is watching over him. Does Your Highness wish to see him?”

Zhu Qiyue shook his head, staring at the clusters of white hibiscus blooming abundantly in the garden, thinking that when he had first returned to the capital last year, the courtyard had been desolate—these flowers hadn’t been there.

“Did you have these transplanted?”

“Yes,” Qi Huan said. “Your Highness’s prince’s residence needs flowers and plants to have vitality.”

She was always like this. Wherever she followed him—prosperous as the capital, desolate as the South—she could meticulously take care of every detail in the light of day. He used to think her somewhat rigid, but now he discovered that such attentiveness was her own unique way of finding joy in life.

Looking at it this way, the days ahead, as long as she alone accompanied him, would surely be very good.

“Huanhuan,” Zhu Qiyue said. “In a few more days, let’s leave.”

“In a few more days?” Qi Huan said in surprise. “Is Your Highness going on campaign?”

Zhu Qiyue said: “Whether on campaign or returning to the South, I no longer wish to remain in the capital.” He paused and continued, “I don’t want to concern myself with matters here anymore. Once we leave, I never want to return for the rest of my life. It will only be an inconvenience to you—if you follow me in leaving, perhaps for a very long time you won’t be able to return to the Qi residence.”

Qi Huan shook her head: “As long as I can be with Your Highness, I can find peace of mind anywhere.” Having said this, even her mood became cheerful. Thinking this seemed to be the first time in all these years of marriage that she had spoken so candidly and honestly from the heart, she said: “The seventh is Wanwan’s betrothal banquet, the eighth is the day of A’Jing and the late Crown Prince’s grand funeral procession. After these two joyous and sorrowful events pass, I shall pack Your Highness’s traveling bags.”

Zhu Qiyue looked at her and nodded: “I’ll follow your lead.”

In just a few days, it was the seventh day of the seventh month.

Since the beginning of the month when news arrived of Chili mobilizing troops, the problem of military supplies and expenses for the Northwest urgently needed resolution. As soon as Minister Shen Xi of the Ministry of Finance saw the face of Minister Gong of the Ministry of War, his head ached. After being pestered by him for a full two days, he simply barred the doors of the public hall and refused to receive visitors.

Gong Quan had no choice. However, burning with anxiety, every day he could only take turns disturbing the Ministries of Rites, Personnel, and Works, urging them to reduce expenditures for autumn ceremonies, conferral of honors, and temple repairs—everything should be simplified.

It could be said that among the Six Ministries, aside from Su Jin’s Ministry of Justice, the other ministries were all thrown into chaos by Gong Quan’s urgings.

However, each ministry had its own regulations. Not everything could be decided immediately just because someone made a fuss. Robbing Peter to pay Paul in desperation was by no means the best strategy.

Thus, Minister Luo Songtang and several other ministers put their heads together and actually wrote both a complaint and a memorial. The complaint was delivered to Liu Yun at the Imperial Censorate, accusing Minister of War Gong Quan of improper conduct and disrupting the affairs of the Six Ministries; the memorial was delivered to Crown Prince Zhu Nanxian, impeaching Minister of War Gong Quan for seeking quick success and harboring unrealistic ambitions.

In truth, Zhu Nanxian and Liu Chaoming had absolutely no desire to deal with this matter. On one hand, they felt that Minister Luo Songtang and the other ministers were correct—haste makes waste, they should wait until Shen Xi secured the available silver and then fill in wherever there were shortages. On the other hand, having Gong Quan push these ministerial offices to work like a firecracker wasn’t necessarily bad—just considering the habitually idle Ministry of Rites, their handling of official business these past few days had been more than three times faster than usual.

But whether they wanted to deal with it was one thing; whether they needed to deal with it was another matter entirely.

Luo Songtang and the others were ministers after all. Today at the meeting of the Seven Ministers, Shen Xi didn’t attend. When Zhu Nanxian and Liu Chaoming were about to leave, they were actually blocked by the other four working together, saying they needed them to arbitrate fairly and make the matter clear within Fengtian Hall.

Seeing this situation, Su Jin hurriedly withdrew from the hall and walked away without looking back.

When she returned to the Ministry of Justice and had roughly managed the day’s official business, she glanced out the window—it was already the shen hour, time to leave duty.

Wu Jizhi came in to deliver case records and said with a smile: “Lord Su usually keeps close company with His Highness the Crown Prince and Lord Liu. I heard those two are still blocked in Fengtian Hall by several minister lords arguing endlessly. Won’t Lord Su go take a look?”

Su Jin also smiled: “What use would it be for me to go? I’d only be pulled by Lord Luo and Lord Gong to echo whichever side, left or right. This matter originally has no resolution. Rather than go over there to stand with His Highness and Lord Liu until our ears grow calluses, I might as well handle several proper matters.”

As she spoke, she glanced at the delivered case records, closed them and said: “I’ll look at them tonight.”

Wu Jizhi said: “Is Lord going to attend the banquet at the Zhao residence?”

Su Jin nodded: “Yes. The Zhao residence is in the western part of the city—it takes some time to get there. Tomorrow at dawn I must see off the Annan envoy, and the round trip will take another two days. Today I’ll go early and return early, and manage the Ministry of Justice’s affairs before daybreak.”

As she spoke, she went to the adjacent room to change into civilian clothes, then circled around to the Ministry of Finance and knocked on Shen Xi’s door.

These past few days, aside from Su Shiyu, Shen Xi wouldn’t open the door for anyone who knocked. Hearing Su Jin announce herself, he finally opened the door a crack and asked: “Are Thirteenth Brother and Liu Yun still blocked in Fengtian Hall?”

Su Jin said: “Hurry up. If we delay a bit longer and Gong Quan and Luo Songtang return, you’ll be the one getting blocked.”

Shen Xi made a sound of acknowledgment, returned to his room to quickly change into civilian clothes as well, and came out saying to Su Jin: “Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go.”

The two left the Six Ministries offices together. Along the way, officials and eunuchs of all ranks moved aside to the roadside to pay their respects to the two of them. Tan Zhaolin was already waiting with the carriage at the Chengtian Gate.

Seeing only one carriage, Su Jin asked: “Why didn’t the Fourth Prince’s Consort come?”

Tan Zhaolin said: “I went to the North Barracks early this morning to fetch her. General Shen said Lord Shen had already angered her to death, and told us to bring Lord Shen to the Zhao residence, lest she see Lord Shen and, unable to restrain herself, draw a blade at someone’s betrothal banquet.”

Su Jin said in bewilderment: “What did you do to provoke the Prince’s Consort?”

“Trivial matters,” Shen Xi said. Lifting the carriage curtain, he boarded the carriage, tapped the dust from his boot tips, then took out a cloth to wipe his hands before saying methodically: “A few days ago she said that years ago Second Sister originally wanted me to marry Zhao Wan. With great difficulty, we’ve waited until Zhao Wan reached marriageable age, but this matter fell through. She told me to take advantage of the fact that the Zhao residence hasn’t yet held the banquet to go chat with Zhao Yan and see if there’s any possibility of having Zhao Wan’s engagement with Gu Yunjian also fall through. I was unwilling, so she moved to the North Barracks.”

Su Jin had already guessed that Shen Jun’s anger was about this matter, but she also felt this was Shen Xi’s private affair and she shouldn’t interfere. She only asked: “What are your thoughts?”

“How would I have time to think about this?” Shen Xi laughed rather indifferently. “These past few days I’ve practically been driven to obsession by the matter of military supplies and expenses for the Northwest. When I see Gong Quan’s face, it’s like seeing the King of Hell. I dream every night about worshipping money trees, and when I wake the next day, all I see are gold ingots floating in midair before my eyes.”

Su Jin laughed aloud: “Let me give you an idea. The other day when I was going through case files, I noticed the silver confiscated from the Third Prince’s and Fourteenth Prince’s residences hasn’t been touched yet. Since Zhu Jiyou and Zhu Mixiao had vast estates and there’s still a group of people in their residences who need to be settled, another day you should submit a request to His Highness to throw all these household servants to the Ministries of Personnel and Rites, let them figure out how to settle them, and take the silver to first resolve the urgent crisis.”

“I’ve already thought of that, but no one knows how long this war will last. Besides resolving the urgent crisis, there should be a long-term plan.” Shen Xi said, “Actually, it’s not without leads. Recently, while reviewing the account books from the beginning of the year, I discovered some irregularities. I want to move this matter forward and investigate it thoroughly before discussing anything else.”

“Account books from the beginning of the year?”

“Yes,” Shen Xi replied. “The account books for when the Ministry of Finance prepared military supplies and expenses at the beginning of the year when General Luo went on campaign to the South. I keep feeling someone tampered with them. I’m a bit concerned.”

Su Jin paused in surprise. The account books for military supplies and expenses from the beginning of the year had been carefully verified—every penny of silver, every penny in the accounts was recorded clearly. How could there be problems?

She was just about to ask for details when Shen Xi changed the subject and asked her about the items and silver confiscated by the Ministry of Justice from the Third Prince’s residence.

The two were discussing carefully when, without realizing it, they suddenly heard a horse whinny—they had arrived at the Zhao residence.