The crackling of the burning silver charcoal brought a touch of vitality to the quiet Kaiyang Palace.
Xiao Ci was the first to turn his head, looking at the scattered pieces on the chessboard. “What does Your Highness intend to do?”
“Even a bandit going up a mountain must first pay respects to the local chieftain; naturally, I shall not let your lordship down.” Qin Ziyu sat across from Xiao Ci, tucking his sleeves as he looked around. “As the grand Governor of the West Depot, how is it that you only have these two basins of charcoal? Has the national treasury truly become so empty?”
Xiao Ci replied, “Your Highness rarely leaves the palace. Even when you do, it is merely for leisure boating, admiring flowers, or viewing the scenery. Naturally, you wouldn’t know how the common people live.”
Two basins of silver charcoal were enough to cover a common household’s expenses for an entire year.
Qin Ziyu admitted, “You are right. However, these things are meant to be used. Isn’t it a waste to let them sit?”
“People traveled a long way to deliver them, consuming untold manpower and resources, and the silver has already been paid.”
“Furthermore, if no one used it, silver charcoal would become useless. How then would those charcoal miners earn a living?”
“So, the charcoal miners should thank Your Highness?” Xiao Ci heard this reasoning for the first time. While his tone was sarcastic, he actually found it somewhat logical.
Qin Ziyu shook his head. “That is unnecessary. It is merely a transaction—they provide the labor, and I provide the money. It is a mutually beneficial relationship.”
He placed his hand-warmer on the tea table. The cloisonné hand-warmer was wrapped in a bright red cloth cover embroidered with gold thread, keeping it warm without burning his hands.
“Your Highness seems to be very fond of gaudy colors.”
Xiao Ci noted the slender fingers resting casually on the hand-warmer; they appeared even more fair and tender, clearly belonging to someone who had never done a day’s work in his life.
Qin Ziyu smiled and asked, “Is it not good-looking?”
His smile was exceptionally dazzling under the candlelight. Xiao Ci leaned back as if indifferent, his eyes falling on the small mole at the corner of Qin Ziyu’s eye. He wondered if it was the contrast of the clothes making it look even redder.
Qin Ziyu didn’t expect any kind words from him and naturally brought up the events of the previous night.
“I heard that your lordship redeployed the Golden Guards and caught the servants of the Zhiyu Pavilion passing messages out privately. Is this true?”
Xiao Ci fiddled with his teacup. “Your Highness’s information is always well-informed.”
“Merely passing messages is not enough. Even if you capture the thief and interrogate them, the crime would be nothing more than private spying. Father has always been lenient with them. Is your lordship not afraid that years of painstaking effort will result in nothing?” Qin Ziyu pinched a pastry from the plate. “The osmanthus cakes here look fresher. Are they sweet?”
Xiao Ci did not answer, staring at him coldly as if looking at a dead man.
Qin Ziyu took a bite. It was soft and not too sweet; it was perfect for his taste.
“Not bad. It is better here after all. Qing’an never lets me eat these. Look, am I not perfectly fine?”
“Making a mountain out of a molehill.”
Qin Ziyu spoke while eating, pretending not to feel the murderous aura in the air.
“What else do you know?” Xiao Ci interrupted him.
Qin Ziyu swallowed the food and thought for a moment. “Mmm… a lot. It depends on what your lordship wishes to know.”
“I am here today to pay my respects to the ‘chieftain.’ I’ll give your lordship one piece of news for free. In return for my sincerity, I hope your lordship will answer one question for me.”
Seeing Xiao Ci grow wary, Qin Ziyu waved his hand dismissively. It was an unrefined gesture, yet it seemed perfectly natural and uniquely elegant on him.
“Your Highness is right. One truly should be tied up and interrogated thoroughly,” Xiao Ci said. Especially that unchanging smile—it made him want to tear it apart to see what was hidden beneath the mask.
Qin Ziyu raised his hands, pressing them together and holding them out toward Xiao Ci. “Do you want to tie me up?”
Xiao Ci ignored him.
Qin Ziyu withdrew his hands. “Alright, no more joking. I am a serious person.”
“Years ago, before Prince Nankang and Prince Puning received their titles, they were quite debauched. Their methods of debauchery were somewhat different. Because of the restrictions of their status, they couldn’t display their ‘talents,’ and their hearts were filled with a resentment they had no place to vent. They felt they were born at the wrong time. When dissatisfaction with the status quo reaches a certain point, it explodes.”
“The number of people who died at their hands is not small. They were all daughters of good families. There were even a few… pregnant women. Two lives in one body.”
Xiao Ci’s pupils constricted. The crackling of the silver charcoal grew even more piercing.
“How does Your Highness know of these old matters from years ago?”
Qin Ziyu said, “Precisely because they are old matters, only someone as idle and high-status as I would know.”
“They didn’t just beat people to death; they also seized thousands of acres of fertile land in Jiangnan, leaving the commoners in miserable suffering. They deserve to die.”
Hearing the words “deserve to die” fall from his lips, the blockage that had been in Xiao Ci’s heart for years was suddenly pulled away, and his entire body felt clear.
Qin Ziyu shifted the topic: “I know that the Jiangnan floods years ago left you displaced. Had it not been for the things they did, your family would not have been left without even the grain to survive the winter.”
They were forced to flee north to seek help, gambling for a chance to live.
Xiao Ci silently clenched his fists.
“There was an account book back then. It should have been destroyed, but the man working for them at the time feared being discarded after the bridge was crossed. To save his life, he recorded the account book and everything they had done and hid it away.”
“Where is it?” Xiao Ci asked.
Qin Ziyu did not hide it from him, his face turning solemn. “At the residence of Lord Li, the Left Assistant of the Office of Transmission.”
“The man working for them back then was this Lord Li. He relied on those connections to climb the official ladder. Unfortunately, his talent is limited, and he has only reached the fifth rank.”
Though his rank wasn’t high, the Office of Transmission was crucial. When memorials from local officials arrived in Chang’an, they passed through there first. It was the place the Emperor trusted most, and also the easiest place for information to leak.
Xiao Ci struck the table. “So it was him!”
He had searched for so long, going in circles for years, only to find the answer had been right under his nose.
That very night, the famous thief of Chang’an broke into the Li residence, stealing a family heirloom jade vase and a certain account book that would make all of Chang’an tremble.
“What question does Your Highness wish to ask?”
In light of Qin Ziyu’s “sincerity,” Xiao Ci rarely gave him a pleasant look.
Qin Ziyu put down the half-eaten osmanthus cake, realizing that Qing’an had a point in stopping him. His stomach felt slightly uncomfortable.
He hugged the hand-warmer to his chest. “It’s very simple. I want to know the whereabouts of Nanny Jiang.”
Xiao Ci’s fingers curled. He didn’t take his eyes off Qin Ziyu. To think he wouldn’t ask about Imperial Physician Li?
Qin Ziyu saw through his thoughts. “The man is gone; he can be searched for slowly.”
Living people were more important.
“However, if it is related to your lordship, I hope you can show me a way forward.”
Xiao Ci scoffed disdainfully. “I wouldn’t go so far as to make things difficult for an old imperial physician.”
Qin Ziyu nodded. “Mmm. I also believe your lordship wouldn’t.”
“Nanny Jiang has been sent to Jiangnan. Jiangnan has been peaceful and free of disasters these past few years; Your Highness can rest easy,” Xiao Ci said.
Qin Ziyu had suspected this before, and now he finally didn’t have to worry. When he read the novel, he felt that Xiao Ci wasn’t an absolute villain; he had principles and only sought revenge on those who had harmed him, not caring to stain his hands with the “small fry.” As for why he ended up in a life-and-death struggle with the male lead, it could only be said to be the trickery of fate.
Qin Ziyu yawned, the mental energy he had been forcing himself to maintain finally began to sag.
“I am tired. The wind and snow haven’t stopped outside. May I stay at the Kaiyang Palace tonight?”
Xiao Ci’s thoughts were still on what had been said the foul deeds of the two Princes that had caused his parents to lose their lives and his sister and brother to vanish. He had been investigating since he came into power, yet he had no useful information until today.
Hearing Qin Ziyu’s words, his eyelid twitched twice.
Could Qin Ziyu know [about them]?
Xiao Ci imperceptibly dismissed the thought. Qin Ziyu knew about those past events because he was a member of the Imperial Family; there were always leads if one looked. But as for him…
“Mmm, I’m really sleepy.” Qin Ziyu couldn’t wait any longer. He stood up unsteadily from the chair, stumbling forward as he felt top-heavy.
In his alarm, Qin Ziyu gasped. Before he could even scream, his wrist was caught and he was easily fished back.
A lapful of pear blossom fragrance followed. Xiao Ci’s hand supported Qin Ziyu’s lower back, letting go once he was steady. The scent beneath his nose grew stronger, lingering without end.
Qin Ziyu curled his lips. “Thank you, Lord Xiao.”
“I must also trouble your lordship to prepare the bed for me. I truly have no strength left.”
Xiao Ci: “…”
Seeing his face shift, yet he still went to make the bed, the smile on Qin Ziyu’s face widened.
After Xiao Ci finished making the bed, he realized he had been far too obedient. In his stiffness, the veins on his hands stood out, and he nearly flipped the bed over.
Qin Ziyu lay down with his clothes on and beckoned Xiao Ci. “I am afraid of the cold. Could your lordship stay with me?”
Xiao Ci turned and left.
The Taihe Palace without underfloor heating was indeed cold. Especially in the latter half of the night, once the hand-warmer lost its effect, the single basin of charcoal fire in the inner room was far from enough to fight the chill.
Qin Ziyu was woken up by pain. In his daze, his stomach cramped repeatedly, causing him to break out in a cold sweat and gasp for air.
Xiao Ci vaguely heard a cry of pain. He rushed in to find Qin Ziyu curled into a ball, his hands and feet ice cold, the hair at his forehead soaked with sweat. He was clutching the blanket tightly and wouldn’t let go.
“Your Highness?”
Xiao Ci’s voice cut through the room. “Xiao Wenzi!”
“Go to the Eastern Palace and bring Imperial Physician Chen here!”
Qing’an was pacing in a frantic circle, his face wrinkled with worry, wishing he could bear the pain himself.
“It hurts…” Qin Ziyu bit his lip hard. He remembered drinking with a client until he had gastric bleeding; it was this kind of pain.
Fearing he would bite himself, Xiao Ci reached out to pry Qin Ziyu’s jaw open, only to have his hand caught and stuffed directly onto Qin Ziyu’s stomach.
Qin Ziyu’s consciousness was blurred; he couldn’t distinguish between reality and dreams. Having finally found a source of heat, he naturally pressed it to the painful area, attempting to use that touch of warmth to dispel the cold.
Xiao Ci tried to withdraw his hand several times without success. Qin Ziyu’s lips moved constantly, whispering something.
He pressed his ear close and heard Qin Ziyu’s blurred, slurred voice:
“Zizhen…”
Xiao Ci’s entire body went cold.