On this day, a public holiday, Xiao Yanshi had only just risen when Xiao Yue led a man into the courtyard.
“You Xiao the Second, if I didn’t come to look for you, I think you’d have forgotten I even existed!” The visitor wore a navy-blue fitted outfit with auspicious cloud and bat patterns. A white jade pendant hung from his dark brown rhinoceros horn belt, and he moved with a sweeping, vigorous grace.
As soon as Xiao Yanshi saw him, he couldn’t help but laugh. “I truly had forgotten.”
“Looking for a beating!”
The next moment, the two moved like a hare and a falcon, trading blows in a blur of motion. Xiao Yanshi struck out with his palm, his waist and knees gathering power, but his opponent narrowly dodged, swiveled his body, and countered by grabbing at Xiao Yanshi’s shoulder. Xiao Yanshi tapped his toes, transformed his palm into a fist, and as he ducked sideways, he kicked out diagonally with his right foot.
“Xiao the Second, that move was too ruthless! I’m done, I’m done!”
The two simultaneously withdrew their stances.
Xiao Yanshi shook his sleeves. “I was planning to find you for a drink today, but to my surprise, you came first. I heard you were promoted again a month ago—how is it going, Master Xie?”
Xie Kaiji waved his hands repeatedly. “Don’t poke fun at me. This position as Commander is a lucrative post, but it has the word ‘Deputy’ tacked onto the front. Moreover, the palace is filled with ancestors who cannot be offended; being a ‘Deputy’ means I’m living with my head on the chopping block every day…”
“Is that so?” Xiao Yanshi narrowed his eyes. “But why have I heard that you’ve been living quite luxuriously lately? Everyone says you are favored by the Emperor and repeatedly rewarded—even the Seventh Prince has practically become your little tail.”
“Xiao the Second!” Xie Kaiji hastily interrupted him. “Show mercy, I beg you. These past few days have been hellish; you have no idea what I’ve been through. That Seventh Prince causes me trouble every single day… how can a child the size of a bean be so restless!”
The person speaking was Xie Kaiji, the Prince of Fengyang. He lost both his parents at a young age and was raised by a concubine. Before he moved estates, he lived only a wall away from the Pingbei Marquis Estate.
Xiao Yanshi’s mother and Xie Kaiji’s birth mother were close friends. From the moment the two children were born, both families treated the other’s child as their own. This continued until Xie Kaiji was three years old, when his father drowned due to alcoholism, and half a year later, his mother died of a severe illness. Xiao Yanshi’s mother could not bear to see Xie Kaiji left without care and took him directly back to their estate.
However, that only lasted for half a year. The sole master of the Prince of Fengyang’s estate was Xie Kaiji. Living long-term in the Pingbei Marquis Estate was inevitably a breach of etiquette, and with cruel gossip swirling, Xie Kaiji was eventually taken back by his family’s elder uncle and raised by his concubine.
Back then, Xie Kaiji was frail and prone to tears, which always worried Xiao Yanshi’s mother. So, she let Xiao Yanshi run to the Prince’s estate every day to play with him. Every holiday or outing to appreciate the spring, Xie Kaiji’s mother would bring little Kaiji along.
Xiao Yanshi and Xie Kaiji grew up together from childhood until they were eight, remaining almost inseparable. Even when they entered the palace as pages, they could not avoid sticking together, which frequently drew Xue Shao’s dissatisfaction.
Not long after, an incident occurred. Xiao Yanshi left the palace and accompanied his parents to the Northern Frontier. Xie Kaiji naturally had to remain in Jiangling.
In the past, they could come and go freely while separated by a mere wall, but the Northern Frontier… was ultimately unreachable.
“So today…” Xiao Yanshi raised an eyebrow, “you surely didn’t come just to drink with me.”
Xue Kaiji grinned. “Drinking hinders business; I’m taking you to a manor to hunt.”
Xiao Yanshi kicked him. “What do you mean by that…” What “hinders business”? He was clearly mocking him for being trapped and getting into a romantic debt a few days ago.
Xue Kaiji wasn’t annoyed by the kick and laughed heartily. He never imagined that a fellow like Xiao Yanshi would one day be schemed against especially since he’d walked straight into the trap himself.
The two traded barbs as they rode their horses out of the city from the direction of the leisure market.
The first Prince of Fengyang was the favorite nephew of Emperor Xiaoxuan of the previous dynasty. When the estate was first established, two plots of land were granted to build it as one. The estate had exceeded the standards of its status, with pavilions, rockeries, and mirror lakes in every corner; even the courtyards where servants lived were more luxurious than the main quarters of fifth or sixth-rank officials.
But favor is as fleeting as the wind.
Emperor Xiaoxuan passed away early. Although the succeeding Emperor Xiaozhao was a cousin to the Prince of Fengyang, he did not share the late Emperor’s fondness for him. Before ascending the throne, Emperor Xiaozhao had already been eyeing that estate. Barely three years into his reign, he used an old incident to split the Prince’s estate in two. And he gave the deliberately shrunken portion to the Prince of Fengyang.
All the land under heaven belongs to the King, and no matter how favored the Prince was, that was only the good fortune of the previous Emperor’s time.
However, Emperor Xiaozhao felt guilty for carving such a large piece out of someone’s estate, so after the split, he partitioned several manors and land from other nobles as compensation. The manor Xie Kaiji brought Xiao Yanshi to was one of those.
The weather was clear and the breeze gentle that day; were it not for the snow-covered branches along the road, one might have been fooled into thinking spring had arrived.
The climate in Jiangling was humid and hot; even in winter, it was warmer than a Northern spring. After galloping for half an hour, Xiao Yanshi had worked up a light sweat. When they reached the manor, the manor head had long been waiting outside, followed by seven or eight sturdy men—all of them large, capable-looking fellows who clearly knew martial arts.
“My humble self welcomes the Prince and the Heir!”
Xue Kaiji waved his hand. “Enough, dispense with the empty formalities.”
The manor head, named He Wu, was thirty-seven years old and walked with a steady, firm pace. Xiao Yanshi observed him for a moment, then tossed his horse whip aside and followed Xie Kaiji inside.
Seen from the outside, the manor didn’t look like anything special, but inside, it was a different world. The front courtyard was not small, and apart from a steaming hot spring pool, there were a dozen patches of densely planted crops that Xiao Yanshi could not identify. They were covered in a layer of thin, transparent membrane something Xiao Yanshi had never heard of or seen.
Seeing his curiosity, Xie Kaiji explained:
“Two years ago, some rare vegetables were brought in from foreign lands. They said they required specially cultivated soil to yield juicy, uniquely flavored produce; all the nobles in Jiangling consider them rare. I secretly had someone acquire some, and to my surprise, they are quite easy to grow—though they did exhaust one of my hot spring pools!”
Xue Kaiji removed his cloak and had the servants wash them one by one before serving them. Soon after, four or five platters were placed on the table in the flower hall. Each contained two varieties: some round and cute, others crystal clear, and some even like beads of jade.
Xiao Yanshi picked one up to examine it. “Vibrant colors usually mean poison…” A corner of his mouth curled. Xie Kaiji understood his teasing and laughed aloud. “Even if they were poisonous, they would be worth a taste. Try one.”
Xiao Yanshi popped it into his mouth, and a refreshing fragrance bloomed on his tongue. Unlike ordinary fruit, this tasted sweet at first, with a hint of subtle tartness in the aftertaste. It was both appetizing and refreshing. Xiao Yanshi picked up the others to sample them as well.
“How is it?” Xie Kaiji asked, intrigued. “Are they delicious?”
“They are quite fresh,” Xiao Yanshi wiped his hands clean. “But the sin of holding a treasure is a crime. If one day your manor is eyed by others, I fear it will be like the previous dynasty… even an acre of land will be carved up by people.”
Xiao Yanshi was bold enough to use the splitting of the previous Prince’s estate as a comparison, but Xie Kaiji didn’t feel insulted and bit into a small, scarlet fruit. “I have naturally considered this. But this business is already underway. That visible, massive profit is too tempting. I cannot, and am unwilling, to let go and let mountains of silver flow away with the water…”
Xie Kaiji rummaged for a booklet and tossed it to Xiao Yanshi. “Take a look.”
“Is this… the manor’s ledger?” Xiao Yanshi quickly closed it after seeing the cover. “Why are you showing me this?”
No matter how close their relationship was, he felt uncomfortable scrutinizing something as private as income records.
“Why are you being so distant?!” Xie Kaiji glared at him. “Don’t tell me you don’t understand these accounts. I’ve heard that in the Northern Frontier, all such matters for the Marquis Estate were managed by you and Sister Yanxun…”
“But…” Before Xiao Yanshi could finish, Xie Kaiji blocked him. “Enough with the ‘buts.’ Hurry up and look, then tell me what you think.”
Xiao Yanshi met his gaze and saw an expectant look in his eyes that he had anticipated. He rubbed his fingertips over the page and finally opened the ledger.
After a cup of tea, Xie Kaiji met Xiao Yanshi’s gaze, looking radiant. “Well?”
“…Massive profit!” Xiao Yanshi took a deep breath. “Truly massive profit.”
Although these fruits and vegetables were fresh, their yield rate was significantly higher than local crops. Take the small scarlet fruit, for instance the yield was nearly seven times higher. And the price was exorbitantly high, standing at five to eight times that of ordinary produce.
However, even the cleverest housewife cannot cook without rice; Xie Kaiji lacked land.
Xue Kaiji only had a few manors, and cultivating these in winter required hot spring water. As a result, Xie Kaiji truly only had two places suitable for growing them.
In addition, there was the soil.
Xiao Yanshi walked outside for a circle. “The topography of your manor is still a bit too low… Jiangling has much snow in winter, and this place is hot. Once it snows, it turns to water. Over time, the soil becomes too damp, which is unfavorable for the growth of these items. Worse still, soil erosion leads to a lack of nutrients… they won’t last long.”
“That is why I came to find you…” Xie Kaiji stood beside Xiao Yanshi. “Putting aside our relationship, just based on this… it is necessary for the two of us to cooperate.”
Xiao Yanshi realized Xie Kaiji’s intention the moment he saw the ledger. His brother was looking for a partner.
“With such massive profits, who wouldn’t want a piece of the action,” Xiao Yanshi placed a hand on Xie Kaiji’s shoulder. “But the Marquis Estate is even poorer than your Prince’s estate. You have several hot spring manors, while I am empty-handed, I have nothing at all…”
Xiao Yanshi wore an expression of helplessness. Xie Kaiji turned his head to look at him, then suddenly curled his lips into a smile. “That is why I invited someone else as well…”
Xiao Yanshi was stunned. “Who? Do I know them?”
“Not only do you know them, but you also have an unusual relationship with them!” Xie Kaiji laughed quite maliciously.
Xiao Yanshi’s heart skipped a beat. For some reason, an impossible conjecture suddenly popped into his mind.
Seeing the look in his eyes, Xie Kaiji laughed even more brazenly. “Since you’ve already guessed… then, He Wu, please invite the guest out.”
No sooner had the words left his mouth than Xiao Yanshi turned instinctively. From behind the shadow wall where they had been talking, a person slowly emerged.
“Greetings to the Heir, the Prince.” The clouds parted slightly, and the person stood bathed in the gentle light, elegant and solemn, like a cool breeze under a pine tree. He drifted slightly into the core of Xiao Yanshi’s heart.
Xiao Yanshi froze. “It’s you…”