The situation in Jiangzhe had grown too chaotic.

Feng Qiting knew he had caused trouble, but he pressed his lips together and dared not speak. After Consort Shang finished scolding him, he said in a low voice: “Mother, when it comes to using people, one shouldn’t be bound by convention. This man has business dealings with many officials at the court. Even if he has leverage over me, so what? If he promotes me to become Emperor, he would be like Lü Buwei, a rare commodity for trade. What benefit would he gain from bringing me down? Besides, I’m not the only one he has leverage over; the connections in his hands are not to be underestimated. Now, he has shown a willingness to support me and has even sent me a list of officials I can use. Why should we reject him? Does Mother think that with just those useless wine sacks and rice bags from the Shang family, we can secure my position as crown prince?”

Consort Shang took a deep breath, sat down, and looked at the black invitation card again.

“I’ve seen the list he provided, and indeed, they are all people in key positions. If he truly intends to support you, it would be a significant help. The only fear is…”

Feng Qiting replied: “Let me take this opportunity to meet him. Whether he can be used or not will be clear after one try.”

Consort Shang closed her eyes and thought. Currently, the newly entered Tang woman in the palace had greatly won the Emperor’s favor, seemingly poised to claim the position of new empress.

This gave Consort Shang, who had battled with the Tang woman for half her life, a feeling of exhausted resentment, as if history were repeating itself.

Why? Just after defeating the old witch with her graying hair, along came the youthful and flourishing Consort Yi.

Seeing Tang Mi’s charming face, even more beautiful than her own in her youth, Consort Shang felt a self-confidence that had always sustained her gradually collapsing within.

Consort Shang had tested Tang Mi several times. Despite her young age, her words and actions were flawless, truly making her impossible to underestimate!

If this Consort Yi gave birth to a son in the future, what could she, already old and fading in beauty, still fight for on behalf of her son Feng Qiting?

After battling the Tang family for half her life, everything had returned to square one. Consort Shang looked at the few remaining chips in her hand and, unable to resist temptation, decided to try this “Master.”

The mother and son of the Western Palace secretly planned to align with the “Master,” hoping to borrow his influence.

Yet they didn’t know for whom this influence had originally been prepared.

Fan Shiqi never approached Feng Yuan again, and the list of supporters that the Master had promised to give Feng Yuan had been transferred to the Second Prince’s hands.

This novice prince, relying on his strategist Ge Danian and Xiao Tianyang’s jianghu support, had presumed to break free from the influence of Xiaoyun Mountain Manor. The Master naturally wanted to “teach” Feng Yuan a lesson, to show him the consequences of disobedience.

Suddenly, the carrier pigeons that had frequently visited Feng Yuan stopped coming, his intelligence network was no longer smooth, and even most of the people around him had withdrawn.

Meanwhile, at court, what should have been the case of Shang Youdao being instructed by the palace to collude with Wei was instead concluded as Shang Youdao privately colluding with Wei bandits to disrupt local governance, seemingly making a clean break with the Western Palace mother and son.

However, Elder Teng remained stubborn and pressed on, forcing His Majesty to discipline the imperial harem’s relatives.

After the first snow of winter, Consort Shang of the Western Palace, dressed in plain white hemp clothes, with her hair loose and feet bare, knelt outside His Majesty’s study. With tears streaming down her face, she willingly accepted His Majesty’s punishment, saying she had failed to discipline her maternal family, allowing a treacherous descendant like Shang Youdao to betray the country and harm the people.

To admonish her maternal family, she requested to be demoted to a palace servant as a warning to others.

That day happened to be when court ministers came to His Majesty’s study to discuss state affairs.

When they saw that Consort Shang, who had accompanied His Majesty since his days as a hidden prince, was dressed like a banished official slave, the ministers quickly turned their heads to avoid seeing the consort in disarray.

Emperor Chunde had already neglected the Western Palace for over a month. Who would have thought that upon seeing Consort Shang again, she would appear in such a state?

For a moment, memories blurred and overlapped. He vaguely seemed to see Zhanxue from those years, also barefoot in the snow with frostbite, carrying broken fragments that couldn’t be pieced together, gritting her teeth and holding back tears, walking step by step toward the Dafeng army, and finally fainting in the vast white snow…

Of the wives and concubines who had fought alongside him from his days as a hidden prince, only Madam Shang remained. Today, she too had removed her gold hairpins and jade pendants, reduced to such a miserable state.

The promise of future glory he, Feng Qishu, had made to them—could it not be fulfilled?

What a huge joke for an emperor!

The usual regret he felt for owing a debt to the Ye family was now neatly projected onto Madam Shang, kneeling barefoot in the snow.

This matter with Shang Youdao originally had nothing to do with her, a woman of the harem. It was just that Elder Teng at court refused to let go, and Emperor Chunde did not want the Shang family to follow the old path of relatives causing trouble, so he had taken the opportunity to admonish her.

But Madam Shang was virtuous and understanding, also giving His Majesty a perfect way to save face in front of the court officials.

So when Madam Shang shivered and fainted on the steps of His Majesty’s study, Emperor Chunde quickly walked out of his study, summoned palace servants and imperial physicians, and had Madam Shang carried away for treatment.

When Elder Teng once again remonstrated that there was someone behind Shang Youdao who had instructed him, a minister stepped forward to state that while Shang Youdao’s betrayal of the country was hateful, he had already been punished by heaven, killed by bandits.

Since that was the case, why keep dwelling on a dead man’s case? In his view, someone was trying to use this matter to implicate the imperial harem and princes, which was a treasonous intent!

Perhaps Consort Shang’s pitiful self-accusation had aroused the ministers’ compassion. After one person spoke up, three or five old officials who had been with the Emperor since his days as a hidden prince stood up and asked His Majesty to see clearly and not punish the innocent consort in the palace for the crimes of her relatives.

They all knew of Madam Shang’s virtue from their days in the hidden prince’s residence. When His Majesty had insufficient military provisions on the battlefield, it was Madam Shang who persuaded her maternal family to sell fields and shops to raise supplies for the army.

Such a virtuous woman was now, because of a distant nephew, pleading for punishment with the humility of a criminal. They begged His Majesty to remember old affections and show her some mercy.

Elder Teng, seeing the situation, was furious. His stubborn nature resurfaced, and without regard for His Majesty’s expression, he still insisted on a thorough investigation, directly stating that the trouble with the Shang family went beyond this!

For a while, the study was in an uproar.

Feng Yuan stood to the side, observing coldly.

Today’s circumstances clearly showed that the Shang family had received guidance from someone of high position, capturing Emperor Chunde’s sympathetic thoughts by imitating his mother’s appearance, evoking His Majesty’s pity.

For a moment, Feng Yuan truly wanted to whip the woman who was pretending to faint in the hall.

Wasn’t she trying to imitate his mother? Without a body covered in scars from cruel punishments and hot irons, how could her pampered and delicate skin ever resemble his mother’s?

Feng Yuan needed to close his eyes for a moment to suppress the feeling of nausea inside.

However, there was a problem before him now—whether he should handle Elder Teng, this stubborn old man.

If it were up to Feng Yuan’s preferences, he would never have been inclined to actively socialize with others.

At court, he had no friendships with officials and felt particularly indifferent toward Elder Teng.

However, Xiaoying was quite fond of this old man. She had previously pleaded desperately for him, which had prevented the tragedy of the Crown Prince faking his death and forcing the old man to jump into the river.

Given the current situation, the old man’s insistence on pursuing the Shang family would inevitably lead to verbal conflicts with the court officials, and there was even a suspicion that he was forcing His Majesty to punish an innocent consort.

Seeing that Elder Teng couldn’t change his tune, he began citing classics and saying things like “the rise of Yin was due to having You and Xin, while its fall was due to favoring Da Ji.”

As Emperor Chunde was about to be compared to King You of Zhou and King Zhou of Shang, his face grew increasingly difficult to bear.

Feng Yuan finally stepped forward and said, “This son believes that Elder Teng is not doing his job properly!”

At these words, the entire hall fell silent. Especially the Second Prince, who had been hiding in a corner watching the excitement, was so shocked that his eyebrows shot up.

He had mistakenly thought that the Grand Prince was like Mu Hanjiang, both recruited by the Fourth Prince, and part of the Crown Prince’s faction, and would support Elder Teng.

But now it seemed that a madman was indeed a madman, ready to stab someone at any time!

Elder Teng, too, was so angry that his beard quivered as he asked: “May I ask the Grand Prince, in what way has this old minister been remiss?”

Feng Yuan didn’t even look at him, but said to His Majesty that he had found weapons of the same high-quality cast iron on both the Wei people who attacked the courier station and the bandits who colluded with Shang Youdao.

Yet Elder Teng was not investigating where Shang Youdao obtained the cast iron or how it was sold to Wei, but was only fixated on whether Shang Youdao had colluded with someone in the palace. This was indeed being remiss in his duties, using effort in the wrong direction.

“This son believes that a consort of the harem like Consort Shang, how could she have private iron mines or weapons forging connections of this magnitude?

For Shang Youdao, a local official, to execute such a major case, he must have been colluding with those with significant means who sell weapons privately!”

At these words, the entire hall fell silent.

In Dafeng’s earlier days, what was called cast iron was merely craftsmen’s experimentation, with purity not particularly high.

But from the time the previous Emperor began his rise, his army suddenly had a large batch of improved high-purity cast iron, giving them unparalleled combat power.

This cast iron formula was Dafeng’s untransmitted secret. Yet now Wei Country also had it! Wasn’t this like giving fangs and claws to tigers and wolves?

At once, everyone realized the severity of the situation, and no one had the heart to argue with Elder Teng.

They all gathered around the Grand Prince, asking for the basis of his statement.

Feng Yuan ordered people to bring the curved blades he had confiscated for His Majesty and the officials to examine.

Then, as people gathered around, Feng Yuan grabbed the wrist of Elder Teng, who was still fixated on his point, pulled him aside, and said in a low voice: “Elder, the Crown Prince asked me to convey a message to you. He remains in Jiangzhe because he is investigating the hidden network of cast iron. This matter concerns the foundation of the nation, and I hope Elder can take care of himself and not be dragged into the power struggles among princes!”

As soon as Feng Yuan mentioned the Crown Prince, it was as if Elder Teng had water poured on his head, suddenly clearing his mind. His eyes filled with hot tears, and he said shamefully in a low voice: “I have lived in vain for decades, yet my vision is not as broad as His Highness the Crown Prince. I am ashamed…”

Seeing that Elder Teng had finally changed his mind, Feng Yuan said no more. He merely looked past the crowd and coldly met the slightly uneasy gaze of the Second Prince.

Looking at the ministers who were supporting the Second Prince today, Feng Yuan understood that the “Master” had not bet on just one prince in the palace.

It seemed that to punish him for his disobedience, the court support originally promised to him had now all been given to the Second Prince.

But this fool would need to be able to digest this windfall of good fortune!

The attack on Master Ge and his wife in Yusui Village—did they think using Wei people as scapegoats would end it?

Feng Yuan felt that since the “Master” wanted to “teach” him a lesson, it would be ungrateful not to respond with a spray of venom, considering the “Master’s” years of poisonous cultivation.

The Second Prince, trying to maintain his composure, cleared his throat and gave a glance to the side.

Immediately, someone understood and said: “Just a few curved blades, how can that be called cast iron smuggling? For someone like Chen Xifan’s disciples, with their vast abilities, obtaining some cast iron from Dafeng to make weapons is not surprising.”

Even without him saying it, everyone was thinking the same. Cast iron was something that Wei Country couldn’t produce, but if they were willing to pay a high price, they could still buy quite a bit.

But at this moment, Ye Zhong looked at the blade’s edge thoughtfully and said: “Your Majesty, this is not ordinary cast iron. Looking at it, doesn’t it resemble the Geng iron that my late sister refined?”

Hearing this, Emperor Chunde examined the curved blade more carefully, his expression gradually becoming grave.

Although cast iron was Dafeng’s untransmitted secret and monopolized by the government, cast iron like the curved blade before them, giving off a faint purple glow, had been refined by only one person.

In those years, the Ye family’s daughter had wide-ranging interests. She loved to travel, enjoyed weapons, liked arranging battle formations, and particularly enjoyed forging weapons.

To forge a suitable Miao sword for herself, she had used the Ye family’s wealth to gather ironsmiths from various places. Personally mixing the cast iron formula and adding iron ore she had found in a certain western mountain, she produced the high-purity cast iron that later equipped the previous Emperor’s army.

Because the first batch of iron ore was found in a certain western mountain, Zhanxue took the seventh heavenly stem, Geng (which symbolizes west), and named it “Geng iron.”

The weapons Zhanxue forged were incredibly sharp, with blades that gleamed purple in the sunlight. They needed no oil and wouldn’t rust even when exposed to rainwater—truly comparable to the legendary Gan Jiang and Mo Ye swords.

However, when the previous Emperor asked her to surrender the secret formula for mass production, Zhanxue refused, with a rather whimsical reason:

“The western mountains are breathtakingly beautiful, yet they contain this extraordinary iron. My sin was bringing it into the world unintentionally. How could I let greed and killing lead to this mountain being hollowed out?”

Such an absurd reason for refusal could only come from the Ye family’s daughter.

Therefore, subsequent cast iron continued to be forged according to the formula provided by Ye Zhanxue’s craftsmen. However, without the western mountain’s iron, it was not the same as the original batch of Geng iron.

The Geng iron that forged blades with a purple glow had disappeared from the world with Zhanxue’s early death.

This cast iron, which should have been extinct, had somehow been obtained by the Wei people. Moreover, looking at the manufacturing dates engraved on the weapon handles, they had been newly made just last year.

How could Emperor Chunde remain calm about this?

When that curved blade made of Geng iron was displayed before the court ministers, everyone’s hearts were thrown into a boiling pot of oil over a fierce fire.

His Majesty no longer had any intention of taking the case of Shang Youdao lightly. With furrowed brows, he ordered the Court of Judicial Review and the Dragon Scale Shadow Guards to investigate this case separately and thoroughly.

Even if they had to dig three feet into the ground, they must find out where this mysterious Geng iron was manufactured and how it flowed to Wei Country, apprehending all those involved in the crime.

When the Second Prince, almost frightened out of his wits, angrily found Fan Shiqi, he cursed loudly: “Have you all gone mad? Selling regular cast iron would be fine, but where did you get Geng iron from? Now Father has sworn to dig three feet into the ground to investigate who is behind Shang Youdao. How am I supposed to protect myself?”

Fan Shiqi didn’t wait to hear the Second Prince’s full rebuke but hurried to the mountain manor to report this matter to the Master.

“Master, the cast iron transported and sold privately by the Second Prince was the most ordinary kind. I truly don’t know how Chen Xifan’s disciples came to have curved blades forged from purple-glowing Geng iron.”

The man with a hood, gently watering snow-soaked orchids, softly caressed the slender leaves and said indifferently: “What’s so strange about that? Since Feng Yuan is Zhanxue’s child and knows the Geng iron formula, it’s not surprising that he could make a few curved blades following the pattern.”

Fan Shiqi was shocked: “You mean, the curved blades the Grand Prince presented today weren’t ones he had confiscated, but ones he made separately? What was his intention in doing so?”

“Naturally, to outmaneuver me! This tactic of diverting trouble elsewhere is truly brilliant! If it were ordinary cast iron smuggling, it would merely result in the closure of a few private workshops, and then the matter would be dropped. But this is the Geng iron that dazzled the world and is impossible to obtain, and it has ‘fallen’ into Wei’s hands. I fear His Majesty, thinking of this, will be unable to sleep day and night! Even if it means turning over every smelting workshop in Dafeng, he will want to find the source of this Geng iron!”

Upon hearing this, Fan Shiqi finally realized: “Then… our workshops…”

“Having finally established a connection with the Western Palace, we need to keep it for some time. Shut down all the workshops; the furnaces won’t be lit for a year or more… Also, all knowledgeable chief craftsmen, without exception, should be dealt with cleanly.”

The voice, gentle yet forceful, issued the order of death. Fan Shiqi’s forehead began to break out in cold sweat. He dared not say more and immediately left with his men in a hurry.

When the hall returned to silence, the man suddenly laughed softly: “A few curved blades have halted Xiaoyun Mountain Manor’s most profitable business. I didn’t expect that the small Tianlu Palace would nurture such a formidable poison! A pity that he doesn’t obey, otherwise, he would be much more useful than that fool of a Second Prince…”

“Axue, you were truly not obedient, actually leaving so many contingencies for that bastard!”

As he spoke, the precious orchid that had been carefully nurtured for more than a month was mercilessly pulled up by a large hand lined with blue veins, exposing its fragile roots, which were crushed and ground underfoot…

Although Feng Yuan had been granted a prince’s residence, the mansion bestowed by His Majesty had not yet been renovated and handed over, so he still had to temporarily reside in Chuweng Palace.

However, these days, he would leave the palace for half a day at a time.

After all, a little concubine was waiting eagerly for him to feed her.

Feng Yuan had also realized Xiaoying’s true capabilities, greatly discounting Meng Zhun’s words about her being well-suited for home and hearth.

No matter how busy he was, he would return once a day to wash vegetables and cook for Xiaoying, taking care of the supposedly domestically inclined young lady’s meals.

Today, Feng Yuan also roughly told Xiaoying about what had happened in the study.

Xiaoying widened her eyes in astonishment: “You sent people to find that western mountain!”

When she had been idling away her time at Tingxin Garden in Jiangzhe, she had read quite a few of Ye Zhanxue’s travel journals.

Although Xiaoying also longed to travel to famous mountains, she had been busy making a living with her father and had never had such leisure. So she had satisfied her eyes and experienced it vicariously through the annotations in Consort Ye’s travel journals.

As a result, while reading a mountain travel journal, she unexpectedly discovered an inconspicuous line of military code in the annotations, which looked very much like the military code Feng Yuan had used to communicate with Xiao Tianyang.

She had shown this line to Feng Yuan at the time and learned that this military code had been created by Ye Zhanxue and Xiao Tianyang for communication, just for fun.

But after Consort Ye passed away, Xiao Tianyang taught this code to Feng Yuan.

When Feng Yuan saw it, he told her that a secret worth a thousand gold in Dafeng had been discovered by Xiaoying.

So the credit for today’s frame-up should go first and foremost to the book-loving Lady Xiaoying!

After hearing Feng Yuan’s methods, Xiaoying sighed quietly: “This way, you’ve completely severed ties with that mysterious Master. Now he’s aligned with the Western Palace. If it were just the Second Prince, he wouldn’t be worth fearing, but that Western Palace consort is not easy to deal with!”

Feng Yuan gave a cold laugh. This trump card was one he had originally not wanted to use.

It was precisely because the Western Palace consort had to go barefoot with loose hair, imitating Dong Shi trying to copy Xi Shi’s frown, evoking his bastard father’s pity, that Feng Yuan had been thoroughly provoked.

So when Xiaoying asked this, he didn’t care at all, just glanced at her and said: “Is the Little King of Hell difficult to deal with?”

Xiaoying refused to acknowledge this. She was no longer the Little King of Hell but a fresh and lively little concubine.

So while Feng Yuan was peeling green peas, Xiaoying rested her cheek on his arm and swayed back and forth, putting on an aggrieved appearance: “Prince Ruixiang, you’re already a prince, but I’m still in a dilapidated house, keeping an empty chamber alone. How does this look like a favored concubine? Why not go back to being the Little King of Hell! At least with a group of brothers under my command, I wouldn’t be lonely wherever I go!”

With her spirited looks, deliberately speaking in a sweet voice, she perfectly portrayed the image of a vain woman who sought to climb the social ladder.

Feng Yuan most disliked hearing her talk about returning to Jiangzhe. He put down a handful of green peas and couldn’t help but pinch her tender face: “Be good, the prince’s residence is being renovated. When it’s ready, I’ll move out of the palace, and you’ll also come to live with me in the residence.”

Xiaoying had originally just been indulging her habit of teasing, using Feng Yuan for fun.

She was very clear that her resemblance to the Crown Prince, if shown in public, would cause an enormous uproar.

Feng Yuan would not parade her around in public, let alone bring her to the prince’s residence.

It was precisely because of this sense of security that she had teased him about it.

But Feng Yuan’s words made the young lady unable to laugh anymore.