Chapter 26
Chapter 26
After Xie Chengze reached the prefectural yamen, the first thing he did was inspect the silver vault.
Liang Wanda had prepared well. Even though only a few chests of silver remained in the vault, he said without the slightest shame, “Of Yizhou’s one hundred and two counties, nearly half have suffered flooding. The closer a county lies to the middle reaches of the Min River, the worse the damage. Once the silver was divided among them, hardly anything remained. This humble official even contributed quite a sum from his own pocket.”
Xie Chengze glanced at him.
Although more than half of Yizhou’s counties had been affected, the court’s allocation of three hundred thousand taels of silver was intended primarily for the worst-hit counties and the reconstruction of the river embankment. Counties that had suffered only light damage could survive if they endured a little hardship. They did not require disaster relief at all.
But Xie Chengze would not concern himself with that.
He told Liang Wanda, “This prince has faith in Prefect Liang’s abilities. You will surely handle the relief effort well. You may use your own judgment in everything that follows.”
“This humble official will not fail Your Highness’s trust!” Liang Wanda hurriedly saluted, though a trace of understanding and disdain flashed through his eyes.
He saw it now. The Second Prince had merely come to gild his reputation. Once the troubles in Yizhou were resolved, he could claim all the credit and return to the capital with an achievement to present to His Majesty.
Liang Wanda liked such easily fooled men. Had it been anyone else, they might have gone to inspect the granary first.
“This prince will be going, then. Prefect Liang, attend to your own work.” Xie Chengze waved a hand and sauntered lazily out of the silver vault.
He had only come to make a token appearance. As for inspecting the granary and such, did he not have a perfectly good source of free labor right there?
Nothing for him to worry about~
“Farewell, Your Highness!” Liang Wanda hastily bowed to see him off. Once Xie Chengze had left, he stroked his beard and chuckled, delighted and satisfied by how easy the prince was to fool.
“What is Prefect Liang laughing about?”
The sudden voice beside him startled Liang Wanda. He turned and discovered it was Shen Yuan, who had accompanied the two princes to supervise the relief effort.
He had already made inquiries. Shen Yuan was the grandson of the retired Grand Tutor Shen. Because he enjoyed considerable imperial favor, he had been appointed Vice Director of the Ministry of Rites and now concurrently served as Commissioner of Military Affairs on this supervisory mission. In other words, he was a complete newcomer.
A newcomer would be even easier to deceive. Liang Wanda did not take Shen Yuan seriously at all, though he still had to show him a measure of courtesy. Thus, he replied, “This humble official was merely thinking that the people of Yizhou are truly blessed to have a prince like His Second Highness who cares so deeply for them!”
Shen Yuan gave a derisive laugh.
Hearing the mockery in it, Liang Wanda looked toward the young Commissioner of Military Affairs.
Could this Commissioner of Military Affairs be at odds with the Second Prince?
As Liang Wanda pondered this, Shen Yuan said mildly, “This official was ordered to supervise the relief effort. Judging by the amount of silver presently held in the yamen’s vault, Prefect Liang must have finished distributing the relief funds and recorded the sums allocated to every county. I ask that Prefect Liang produce the account books so this official may look them over.”
Liang Wanda smiled. “Naturally. Please wait a moment, Lord Shen.”
Young men were young men. What did it matter if he was full of zeal to benefit the people? Understanding all the twists and turns of officialdom was not so simple.
What could one account book reveal? Surely Shen Yuan would not take it from yamen to yamen and verify every entry?
No one would undertake such arduous and thankless work.
Liang Wanda quickly fetched the account book and handed it to Shen Yuan.
Shen Yuan skimmed it. Because the disaster-relief allocation was one hundred thousand taels larger than in his previous life, the recorded figures differed somewhat. There was no question, however, that every entry in the book was false.
Excellent. As long as Liang Wanda had still embezzled the money, Shen Yuan could gather the evidence and shatter Xie Chengze’s dream of ascending the throne.
Shen Yuan tucked the account book into his robe. Copies existed, so there was no issue with taking this one. Still, to lower Liang Wanda’s guard, he said, “Mm. I see no problems.”
Liang Wanda immediately smiled. “Naturally. This humble official would never dare embezzle public funds or pervert the law.”
“Mm. Let us inspect the granary.” Shen Yuan turned and walked out of the treasury office, his voice indifferent.
Liang Wanda: “…”
The Second Prince had not even inspected the granary. Why was a newcomer like him going there? Was he trying to show everyone he was cleverer than the Second Prince?
But he certainly would not see anything amiss even if he did inspect it. Liang Wanda followed Shen Yuan, his smile full of hidden meaning. “This humble official will lead the way. After you, my lord.”
…
That night.
After Xie Chengze bathed and changed, his ink-black hair cascaded down like a waterfall. Droplets fell from the slender ends, staining the begonias on his snow-white inner robe a translucent pink.
He sat at the desk, gripping a slender writing brush that did not sit comfortably in his hand and laboriously scribbling and sketching across hemp paper. The candle flame suddenly flickered, and a black-clad figure appeared beside the desk to hand him a letter.
Wuhen said, “A letter from His Majesty, delivered by eight-hundred-li express.”
Xie Chengze: “?”
Why was that rotten old man sending him a letter? And in such a hurry? He did not recall anything important happening at court around this time.
Puzzled, Xie Chengze opened the envelope and scanned the page. His little face immediately twitched with speechless exasperation.
It essentially said: My son has traveled far, and We miss him dearly. This-and-that has happened at court recently, blah blah blah blah blah. What does Our son think?
What did he think? What could he possibly think? He foresaw nothing but darkness in the Jian’an Dynasty’s future!
You are the damn emperor! Why aren’t you solving your own problems instead of sending an eight-hundred-li express all this way to ask me? Are you sick in the head?!
Xie Chengze wrote his reply directly on the back of the letter: Your son is busy! Ask the Crown Prince! Already bald, do not disturb!
Having never practiced brush calligraphy, he produced an exceptionally hideous scrawl that perfectly conveyed its writer’s furious helplessness.
Emperor Jian would surely feel it.
Once he finished, Xie Chengze contentedly sealed the letter and handed it to Wuhen. “Send it back.”
The candle flame trembled as Wuhen turned and vanished. Not long afterward, a pale blue figure vaulted through the window. Wuji, absent for over a month, dropped to one knee beside the desk and produced an account book from inside his robe. “Your Highness, what you asked for.”
Xie Chengze put down his brush and leafed through the account book.
After a long moment, he sighed.
“If I don’t become emperor, having two top-tier assets like you and Wuhen is really going to waste,” Xie Chengze could not help lamenting.
Wuji cocked his head. “Your Highness wants to become emperor? Then shall this subordinate go back and cut down Emperor Jian?”
“No, no, no! Absolutely unnecessary!” Xie Chengze hastily refused. “I was just saying it! Only an idiot would become emperor!”
Emperor Jian, far away: “?”
Xie Chengze wanted nothing more than to preserve his present life as a wealthy idler. Even this journey to Yizhou had nothing to do with earning political merit. He simply feared that Shen Yuan and the Crown Prince might join forces against him. If the two ganged up to ostracize him, his comfortable days would be over.
Emperor Jian would eventually die of illness. If Xie Chengze wanted to preserve his wealth and comfort without being purged by the reborn Shen Yuan, he had to keep his head down, avoid provoking corrupt officials, and win more honest officials to his side. Then Shen Yuan would have no grounds to act against him!
That old stick-in-the-mud could not kill him without evidence!
Heh heh!
He truly was a clever little devil!
Xie Chengze bent over the drawing on the table and resumed his struggle. Wuji knelt behind him and carefully dried his wet hair. Out of curiosity, he glanced at the page, only for the incomprehensible scribbles to leave him utterly baffled.
His Highness’s drawing skills… really had not improved in the slightest.
“Your Highness, what is this?” Wuji asked.
Xie Chengze added the final stroke, held the drawing up to admire it in the candlelight, and smiled with unfathomable mystery. “This is… something that can make a man immortal!”
Wuji: “?”
No wonder His Highness was unwilling to become emperor. So he had found a way to attain immortality.
Wuji studied the drawing with a slightly grave expression. Unfortunately, even after staring at it for ages, he still could not grasp its deeper meaning.
It appeared he lacked the aptitude to become an immortal… No, once Wuhen returned, he would ask whether Wuhen could understand it.