Right there before the Emperor, Gu Yanxi wrote his comments on each memorial in turn and handed them to Laifu. Laifu had listened carefully throughout and naturally knew which tasks to assign to whom.

“Your Majesty, Yuan Shifang is at his breaking point.”

The Emperor gave a cold snort. “The fact that he has held out this long already speaks to the strong constitution he inherited from the Chaoli tribe. Has anything further been extracted?”

“Every method the judicial hall possesses has been used. It seems he truly has nothing more to confess.” Gu Yanxi picked up the topmost ledger on the desk and turned to the most recent entry. At the Emperor’s request, the Imperial Physicians recorded their daily pulse readings in this ledger, allowing him to know the Emperor’s condition at all times.

The Emperor’s expression visibly softened when he noticed the gesture.

“The Chaoli tribe has grown wiser. Although they put their full effort into cultivating Yuan Shifang, they also took precautions against him — they let him know what he needed to know, but they never allowed him to make contact with others of his status. What Yuan Shifang learned, he discovered on his own by piecing together certain clues. Following those clues, the Seven Constellation Division apprehended two individuals who are currently being escorted back.”

Recalling the many complications that had arisen during the previous escort of Yuan Shifang, the Emperor frowned. “Is the number of people dispatched sufficient?”

“Yes. Every precaution has been taken.”

“I trust you in all things. Question them thoroughly — I want to know just how deeply they have infiltrated my empire!”

“Yes.” Gu Yanxi set down the ledger and settled back into the seat below the Emperor’s. “Imperial Uncle, I have recently become involved in a business venture.”

The moment he heard that form of address, the Emperor’s eyes lit up with a smile. Whenever this young man addressed him this way, it meant the matter was personal. “Tell me — what kind of business could have caught your eye?”

“Cultivated mushrooms.”

“Mushrooms?”

“Not wild-foraged mushrooms, but cultivated ones — available all four seasons of the year.”

These things can actually be grown? The Emperor stroked his chin. If they truly were available year-round, it was indeed a fine business — no wonder Yanxi had taken notice. But if it were just a business deal, this young man would not have bothered to come and mention it specially. The Emperor suddenly found himself with the satisfaction of stepping in to look out for the younger generation, and said with a smile, “Go ahead — what do you need me to do?”

“Nothing from you, Your Majesty. Only — the person who cultivated these mushrooms is someone I felt I ought to inform you of.”

“Oh? Who is this person?”

Gu Yanxi’s heart quickened slightly. “It is the daughter of the Hua Family.”

The Hua Family… daughter? The Emperor’s smile dimmed. “The granddaughter of Hua Yizheng?”

“Yes. Her name is Hua Zhi — the legitimate eldest granddaughter of Hua Yizheng and daughter of Hua Pingyu.”

The Emperor fell silent. He had not paid attention to the Hua Family for some time. When the surname suddenly reached his ears, he abruptly remembered that Hua Yizheng had been sent into exile nearly a year ago, that the Hua Family women had been protected by the Empress Dowager, and that before the new year even the Hua Family’s elderly matriarch had passed away.

“What is their situation like now?”

“Manageable. After the passing of the Hua matriarch, Hua Zhi took charge of the household. Under her management the Hua Family has shown no signs of falling apart — and she has considerable talent for business.” Gu Yanxi’s expression was the same as it was when reporting any other matter. Yet inwardly he was tightly coiled, choosing every word with careful deliberation — making sure the Emperor knew of Hua Zhi, without making him think too much about her.

The Emperor laughed. “A daughter of the Hua Family who excels at business — how interesting. I wonder how that old fellow Hua Yizheng would feel if he knew.”

“I would say there’s nothing wrong with it. At the very least, she has allowed the Hua Family to find its footing again after such a great upheaval, without having to go begging.”

“Oh? Yanxi seems to hold her in rather high regard.”

Gu Yanxi signaled a palace maid to come and change the tea. “Does Your Majesty not think that compared to the He Family, the Hua Family’s approach is a shrewder move? Conducting business may be beneath the dignity of the Hua name — yet from another angle, it has preserved their self-respect.”

Put that way, it did make sense. With the comparison before him, the Emperor found Yanxi’s favorable view of the Hua Family entirely reasonable. Whatever else might be said, the Hua Family had stood back up on their own merits — a fact that commanded a measure of respect.

“She came to you?”

“Shizi rarely leaves the manor — where would she go to find me?” Gu Yanxi placed the teacup into the Emperor’s hands. “She opened a food establishment that has gained considerable renown in the capital. The establishment has no set menu — guests choose their ingredients, and no matter which ingredients are chosen, the establishment must produce twelve dishes from them. The Lu Family’s cousins invited me to dine there once. On that occasion we had the mushroom banquet — some preparations I had never even heard of, yet the flavor was extraordinary. My young cousin mentioned that the mushrooms were cultivated by the eldest daughter of the Hua Family herself, and that a fair number of people had already set their sights on the operation. She is a perceptive woman — she knows that the current Hua Family cannot protect such a lucrative business on their own.”

The Emperor teased him, “And so you delivered yourself to her door?”

Gu Yanxi looked down at the teacup in his own hands. “The Lu Family once gave everything they had to send their daughter off in marriage, and that dowry still sits in my Shizi Manor to this day. Your Majesty is no doubt already aware of how the Lu Family is faring now — ‘regulars at the pawnshop’ would not be an inaccurate description. I have no shortage of silver. The Lu Family does. Yet they have never been ones to take advantage of others, so this venture has been entered with me taking the lead, with one share belonging to each of us.”

As he spoke, Gu Yanxi curved his lips slightly. “The Lu Family, being of a rather spirited temperament, also extended something of a protective hand over the food establishment in passing. All things considered, the Hua Family came out rather advantageously.”

The mention of the Lu Family brought a smile to the Emperor’s face as well. If one were to name the most notorious ruffians in all of the Daqing dynasty, three out of ten would be from the Lu Family. What a peculiar household — seemingly bred specifically for that type. Yet if one were to ask which household among all his civil and military officials he trusted most, that too would be the Lu Family. Their roughness and their loyalty always came together, generation after generation.

He had heard that the Lu Family was struggling to make ends meet. Many regarded them as a joke. When all was said and done, it was his brother who was at fault in the matter, yet the Lu Family was too proud to yield. Not even Yanxi could easily help them — most households would not accept such gestures. This time, having found a way to extend some assistance was a good thing. He too could not bear to see such a family living off the things they pawned from their storerooms.

“I understand. The Hua Family was disciplined by me, but that is no reason to forbid them from finding ways to survive. As you said, this way of theirs is far better than the He Family, who sought to stir up trouble through marrying off their daughters.”

“Yes. I think so too.”

“Always thinking so much — and you make a special trip here just for this?” The Emperor pointed at him with a tone of rebuke that carried unmistakable satisfaction. “Laifu.”

“This old servant is here.”

“Go and fetch that pair of night-luminescent pearls that arrived yesterday and bring them to our Shizi.”

Laifu acknowledged the order with a smile and was just turning to leave when the Emperor added, “Wait — Yanxi, go to the treasury yourself and pick out a few suitable pieces to send to the Lu Family. They’ve pawned so much — I’ll add a few items to their storeroom.”

Gu Yanxi rejected this outright. “No matter how much you bestow, it would serve no purpose. Would they dare to pawn gifts from you?”

The Emperor picked up the document beside him and tossed it over. “Can you not at least say they came from your own storeroom?”

“Even a plain piece of paper from me and they would treasure it like a family heirloom.”

Gu Yanxi bent down to pick up the document. In doing so, almost by chance, his eyes caught a line of text: “Send a thousand acres of fertile land on the fourth day of the fourth month; a further thousand acres to be sent in the fifth month.”

As though he had seen nothing at all, Gu Yanxi placed the document back, stepped two paces back, and said, “I’ll come for the night-luminescent pearls another day. There is still business to attend to at the Seven Constellation Division. I take my leave.”

The Emperor watched him walk away with that decisive stride, caught between amusement and exasperation. He complained to Laifu, “What do you make of him — even accepting gifts from me and he’s the one with the attitude.”

Laifu smoothly replied, “That is precisely because the Shizi does not stand on ceremony with you, knowing Your Majesty would not hold it against him.”

“Little wretch.” The Emperor laughed and cursed him lightly, then looked back at the document, and the smile slowly faded. “Go and find out whether those mushrooms are truly cultivated by that Hua woman — I cannot have Yanxi taken advantage of.”

“Yes.”

“Have this sent to the Ministry of Justice.” The Emperor slammed the document down in front of Laifu. “Daring to reach out this far — I’ll dare to cut off those hands. Strip the Xu Family of all their property and execute every last member of their clan. Tell that old thing Xu Shisong — whose empire is this, and what family name does it bear!”

Laifu’s forehead broke into sweat. He bent lower still. “This old servant obeys.”