Another three months passed in a flash.
In the blink of an eye, it had already been a year since Shen Mingyuan arrived in this world.
Luming County had undergone earth-shaking changes, yet it remained obscure to the outside world—still that low-key, remote little town, as if someone were deliberately preventing news from spreading.
Yan Gui had become the largest merchant association in Da Yin. While the world knew its chief merchant as "Zhang Mingquan," only a few high-ranking officials and nobles were aware that the true master behind Yan Gui was named "Shen Mingyuan."
Shen Mingyuan was a man of Prince Qi. By extension, Yan Gui was Prince Qi's merchant association.
Prince Qi, too, was no longer the same as before. A year had passed, and his relationship with the Crown Prince seemed to have grown somewhat distant. He had begun to reveal his sharp edges, and the two princes now subtly stood as rivals.
Many wished to use Shen Mingyuan to connect with Prince Qi but struggled to find him.
No one knew that Shen Mingyuan resided in Luming, just as no one knew that Luming now boasted neat, wide roads and orderly houses, resembling a paradise on earth.
Zheng Honglin and You Zhonglun traveled to the capital to participate in the imperial examinations and both achieved success on the golden list.
Though they did not rank among the top three, their essays during the palace examination earned personal praise from the emperor. To have their names remembered by the emperor meant that these two were undoubtedly destined for boundless prospects and prosperous official careers.
Yet both men personally stated that their achievements today were entirely due to their teacher's excellent guidance.
While Zheng Honglin and You Zhonglun answered questions fluently and with dignity during the palace examination, they spoke of this "teacher" with great humility: "The teacher never formally accepted us as disciples, so we dare not presumptuously claim to be his students. However, the knowledge he imparted will benefit us for a lifetime, and we are endlessly grateful."
This erudite and profoundly learned teacher, whom even two imperial scholars could not impress, was named "Shen Mingyuan."
Following the relief efforts in Yuzhou a year earlier, the name Shen Mingyuan once again resounded throughout the land.
Yun Qi was overjoyed, wishing he could raise a trumpet to remind everyone once more that Shen Mingyuan was his strategist, loyal and devoted to him.
To have such a worthy talent actively seek him out—let it be said again—he was surely the heaven-ordained ruler.
While Yun Qi basked in the limelight brought by Shen Mingyuan, news also arrived from the border.
A great victory in Mobei.
Three months earlier, the emperor had granted Yun Shen's request and rejected the conditions set by the Wuhuan king.
Three months later, Yun Shen fulfilled his promise, driving Wuhuan back to the grasslands, stripping them of any qualification to bargain with Da Yin.
From then on, the border was pacified.
The emperor summoned the Sixth Prince back to the capital to receive his rewards.
This time, Yun Shen did not bring many people with him on his return journey. Along the way, he could not suppress the resurgence of joy and anticipation in his heart, making his steps back feel almost impatient.
He was seventeen this year. For the first time, the emperor’s imperial edict showered him with lavish praise, much like how the emperor had praised Prince Qi during the Yuzhou incident.
…He had thought he no longer held any expectations for familial affection within the royal family, only to realize now how weak-willed he truly was.
Yun Shen mocked himself inwardly. The Crown Prince had once called him lowly, and perhaps that wasn’t entirely wrong.
But he couldn’t help it—he simply yearned for someone to love him. Was that too much to ask?
In his previous life, Yun Shen had been an orphan. His father was abusive and had beaten his mother to death, later being imprisoned himself.
Yun Shen became a great burden. Relatives avoided him at all costs, and after being passed around, he lived a life of dependence before finally being sent to an orphanage.
The children in the orphanage knew his father was a murderer and avoided him, calling him "the son of a criminal is also a criminal."
He was one of the few healthy and sound children in the orphanage, yet his little companions were adopted one by one, while he was left behind.
It wasn’t that there were no uncles or aunts who liked him, but as soon as they learned about his background, they would either distance themselves with disgust or pity.
At first, he thought he wasn’t good enough. He tried hard to be obedient, sensible, and considerate. He studied diligently, always ranking at the top of his class.
He made himself meet all the standards of a "good child" in society, proving he was different from his father.
But it was useless. He still stayed in the orphanage until adulthood.
Yet it wasn’t all for nothing. He was admitted to a prestigious university, far from the city where he was born.
He would start a new life, and he would have a bright future.
During summer vacation, he wanted to take on some part-time jobs to earn some living expenses. On the way, he saw an out-of-control car heading toward a child on the roadside. He leaped forward and pushed the child away.
When he woke up again, he had become the sixth prince, just born in Da Yin.
His birth mother was a palace maid serving the empress.
Once, when the emperor was drunk, he went to the empress’s palace looking for her. Unfortunately, the empress was away paying respects to the empress dowager, and the drunken emperor mistook someone else.
At that time, the emperor and empress were deeply in love. Moreover, favoring a palace maid in the empress’s palace was undoubtedly a great scandal.
They said, in the end, it was because the palace maid didn’t resist or deny it.
They also said that perhaps it was the palace maid who deliberately seduced him.
The palace maid was forced to drink contraceptive soup, but for some reason, she still became pregnant.
Before Yun Shen was born, the emperor already had three sons and two daughters. Unfortunately, during the earlier struggles for succession, two princes died young, leaving only the eldest prince born to the empress.
The emperor had few heirs, so he tacitly allowed the palace maid to give birth to the child but ultimately never gave her a title.
Without the emperor’s favor, the palace maid and the sixth prince lived in poverty and hardship.
The empress was kind-hearted and didn’t make things difficult for her. Seeing their plight, she even allowed her to return to serve by her side. Who would have thought she had a venomous heart and actually poisoned the seventh prince, who was only two years old?
Fortunately, it was discovered in time, but the seventh prince fell seriously ill and nearly died.
Naturally, such a person could not be tolerated.
The palace maid was ordered to hang herself with a white silk ribbon.
But what made Yun Shen feel most sorrowful was that he knew his birth mother was indeed not innocent.
He was reborn with memories. Ordinary people wouldn’t hide things from a child, so he knew his mother had indeed deliberately seduced the emperor and that she had poisoned the seventh prince out of jealousy and resentment.
But he was too young at the time to stop it. He could only make a commotion to draw attention to the seventh prince’s condition.
Yun Shen felt guilty.
He knew his mother in this life still didn’t love him. She had once deliberately soaked him in cold water in freezing weather to make him fall ill, hoping to use it as an excuse to get the emperor to visit them.
But before her death, she begged the emperor not to blame Yun Shen, saying Yun Shen was a good child.
For those words, Yun Shen couldn’t bring himself to hate her.
Yun Shen also couldn’t hate his father or the empress. In the end, it was his mother who intruded into their lives, affected their relationship, and nearly killed Yun Qi.
Yun Shen knew his father didn’t love him, but he still longed for forgiveness.
If he were sensible enough, ambitious enough, capable enough, could his father spare him a few glances? Not many—he wouldn’t compete with the Crown Prince or Prince Qi—just a little would do.
How innocent he was back then. All he wanted was a normal family.
But that was all in the distant past. He had won a great victory, his father was treating him kindly, and his fifth elder sister no longer had to marry for political alliance. Everything was moving in a better direction.
"Hyah—"
Yun Shen flicked the reins and couldn’t help but smile.
Du Xiao was happy for him too. "Your Highness, you’ve finally made it. You’ve pacified Mobei—the greatest military achievement since the founding of the dynasty. His Majesty will surely grant you a princedom. When that happens, the brothers will come to your palace to celebrate."
Yun Shen carried no airs of a prince, and the soldiers under his command interacted with him casually.
Yun Shen smiled with a hint of pride, though his words were insincere. "Don’t talk nonsense. Defending the country requires no reward. Even if Father doesn’t grant me anything, it doesn’t matter."
But deep down, he still hoped.
Yun Qi, younger than him, had already been granted the title of Prince Qi long ago—"Qi," a title of utmost honor throughout history.
In the Da Yin Dynasty, princes were typically granted titles between the ages of fourteen and sixteen. He was already seventeen, long past that age.
If he were to be granted a title, what would his father choose for him?
Shen Mingyuan bid farewell to Lu Shaozhi.
Lu Shaozhi looked up from his cluttered desk, puzzled. "You’re actually telling me in advance? Don’t you usually just leave whenever you want, at most leaving a note, or at most saying a word if I happen to catch you?"
Shen Mingyuan was restless by nature. With the merchant guild now expanded across the entire dynasty, thorny problems inevitably arose, and he often went to handle them personally.
Thus, Lu Shaozhi had grown accustomed to his occasional departures.
Shen Mingyuan spoke seriously. "Because this time, I’ll likely be gone for a long while."
Lu Shaozhi was taken aback. "Where are you going? What are you planning to do?"
He had known Shen Mingyuan for a year. In that time, they had become confidants who shared everything and comrades with the same aspirations.
He had grown used to discussing matters with Shen Mingyuan and sharing special experiences with him first.
Shen Mingyuan had truly entered his life, and he had never imagined they would one day part ways.
Lu Shaozhi set down his brush, his mind momentarily blank.
Shen Mingyuan sat down opposite him, answering each question in turn. "To Shengjing, to see someone."
"Prince Qi?"
"No."
Lu Shaozhi asked, "Can’t you tell me?"
"You’re the one who asked," Shen Mingyuan smiled at him. "To see the Sixth Prince."
Lu Shaozhi slowly furrowed his brow, deep in thought.
Shen Mingyuan had always been inscrutable. He couldn’t always guess this man’s thoughts, but having spent considerable time together, and with Shen Mingyuan never hiding his actions from him, a sudden realization flashed through his mind in that instant.
Lu Shaozhi exclaimed in shock, "So you really intend to get involved in the succession struggle. The one you’re supporting is the Sixth Prince?"
Shen Mingyuan rested his chin on his hand, nonchalant. "Is that not allowed?"
Lu Shaozhi took a deep breath, forcing himself to remain calm. "Why the Sixth Prince?"
Shen Mingyuan’s interest was piqued. He straightened up, speaking earnestly, as if boasting. "Because he’s a good kid."
Lu Shaozhi: "?"
Lu Shaozhi asked, "Do you know how difficult it is for the Sixth Prince to ascend the throne? The Sixth Prince was born to a palace maid, not favored by His Majesty. At fourteen, when he became eligible to participate in political affairs, he was sent far away to Mobei, effectively cutting him off from the court. As a result, he is politically isolated and receives no support."
"Although he is brave and skilled in battle, first, the main armies are stationed at the borders, and second, the troops may not be willing to rebel with him. You should know how low the chances of success are."
Shen Mingyuan smiled. "When I choose someone, I only consider whether that person is worthy of my support. Why should I care about the odds of success? With me here, it is destiny's will."
He remained as confident as ever.
"I'm not trying to stop you," Lu Shaozhi asked, puzzled. "Since you’ve chosen the Sixth Prince, why don’t you rebel yourself?"
It seemed Shen Mingyuan’s chances of success in rebelling were higher than supporting the Sixth Prince.
"Huh?" Shen Mingyuan was stunned.
Lu Shaozhi, Magistrate Lu, you are no longer loyal.
Author's Note:
Lu Shaozhi: Going to see Prince Qi?
Shen Mingyuan: No, what’s there to see about Prince Qi’s ugly face?
System: Ugly? Prince Qi is quite handsome.
Shen Mingyuan (shocked): You look at my face all day, and you can still appreciate others?