Meanwhile, inside Prince Rui’s Mansion.
Prince Rui received a message. The men he had sent to Jiangnan to seize the private salt business had discovered Jin Wang investigating the matter and sent word back to him.
Prince Rui was, after all, the male lead’s father. Besides the male lead’s halo, his own abilities were top-notch, and he had many capable people under him. Otherwise, how could he have quietly developed his power amidst the struggle between the Crown Prince and the Third Prince, ultimately becoming the true winner?
Upon receiving the news, Prince Rui realized that Old Ninth was actually investigating the private salt case. Old Ninth’s trip was publicly announced as an inspection of officials, but unexpectedly, he was looking into private salt. It must have been on their father the Emperor’s orders.
It will be troublesome if Father the Emperor finds out, Prince Rui thought. He immediately sent for Xiao Chengyu.
Prince Rui’s eldest son, Xiao Chenghong, and his fifth son, Xiao Chengyu, were both born to his Wangfei. His eldest son was rigid and inflexible, while his fifth son was outstanding in all aspects. As a legitimate son, he was also his favorite.
A short while later, Xiao Chengyu arrived.
“Greetings, Father. For what matter has Father summoned your son?”
“You’re here, Yu’er. Come and take a look at this.” As he spoke, he handed the letter he had just received to Xiao Chengyu.
After reading the letter, Xiao Chengyu fell into thought for a moment. “What are your thoughts, Father?”
Prince Rui said, “We cannot let your Ninth Imperial Uncle investigate the private salt case. If he uncovers the truth, the matter of the Third Prince raising a private army will also be exposed. Then, it will be difficult to ensure the Third Prince and Shen Hong are charged with rebellion. If it’s not for the crime of treason, it won’t be so easy to move against the Third Prince and Shen Hong later.”
Xiao Chengyu agreed with Prince Rui. Shen Hong commanded troops and acted with arrogance. If the Third Imperial Uncle was discovered for trafficking private salt and maintaining a private army, the most severe punishment would be exile to his fiefdom with no return to the capital unless summoned. Or, out of consideration for the Shen Family, he might just be confined to his own prince’s mansion, unable to leave without permission.
As long as the Shen Family stood, the Third Imperial Uncle would have a chance to make a comeback. Therefore, the Shen Family had to fall first, and then the Third Imperial Uncle would be no threat. Neither the private salt nor the private army was directly linked to the Shen Family. Exposing the Third Imperial Uncle’s trafficking of private salt and maintenance of a private army now was not the best time.
Exposing it now would only inflict a superficial wound on the Shen Family. For them, such a punishment would be trivial, something they could recover from in a few days. They still had to wait for April of next year, as Wan’er had said, for the best opportunity.
“That is indeed the case. Does Father have any good suggestions?”
Prince Rui said, “Send men to stop Old Ninth. If necessary, kill him directly.”
Hearing his father’s words, Xiao Chengyu immediately said, “No. If something happens to Ninth Imperial Uncle, given Royal Grandfather’s affection for him, he will definitely order a thorough investigation. At that point, forget the private salt and private army; even we would find it hard to escape involvement.”
Hearing his son say this, Prince Rui gave a somewhat sarcastic, cold laugh. “Father the Emperor is truly biased, isn’t he? His heart is filled with only Old Ninth, while he doesn’t care one bit about the rest of us sons. Noble Consort Chen truly has her methods, bewitching Father the Emperor into favoring her and her son so much.
“But it’s a good thing Old Ninth is infertile. Even if he had a child, it would be sickly and short-lived. Otherwise, Father the Emperor would surely give him the throne. The rest of us sons wouldn’t even need to think about it.”
Xiao Chengyu did not reply to his father’s words, but he agreed in his heart. He had once accidentally overheard Wan’er muttering to herself that later on, even though Ninth Imperial Uncle had no heirs, Royal Grandfather had intended to pass the throne to him and even planned to have one of his own sons adopted by Ninth Imperial Uncle as an heir. Of course, he had not told his father any of this.
Then he heard his father ask, “Then what do you suggest we do?”
Xiao Chengyu thought for a moment and said, “It’s not just us who are worried; I suspect Royal Grandfather is worried too. Although he sent Ninth Imperial Uncle to investigate, Royal Grandfather might not necessarily expose it now. Royal Grandfather is also very wary of the Shen Family. If the Shen Family isn’t crushed in one fell swoop, dealing with them later will be difficult. So I guess it’s not impossible that Royal Grandfather might play along with their scheme and use this opportunity to eradicate the Shen Family completely.
“But we can also take this opportunity to send men to injure Ninth Imperial Uncle, as long as his life is not in danger. Then we can frame the Third Imperial Uncle for it. When that happens, Royal Grandfather will spare no effort to punish the Third Imperial Uncle and his faction even more severely. The men we send must have no connection to us.
“Moreover, we can no longer make a play for the private salt. Royal Grandfather is already aware of this matter, lest we get implicated if it’s investigated later.”
After hearing Xiao Chengyu’s analysis, Prince Rui also felt it made sense. The Shen Family commanded troops and acted with impunity; Father the Emperor was probably even more anxious to deal with them than he was. How could he miss this opportunity?
Having figured this out, Prince Rui laughed heartily. “It is my son who sees things clearly.”
Xiao Chengyu said humbly, “Your son merely offered an objective analysis. It is Father who is more formidable, to have discovered that Ninth Imperial Uncle was investigating the private salt case, allowing us to withdraw in time. I estimate the Third Imperial Uncle’s side hasn’t even noticed yet, or they wouldn’t be so calm.”
Hearing his son praise his formidability, Prince Rui was pleased. His mother’s maternal family did not have the powerful backing of Shen Gui Fei or the Empress, so he could only rely on himself to secretly build his network of connections.
Among the several princes, besides Old Ninth, he was the most capable. But without a prominent maternal family to support him, he could only bide his time and wait for an opportunity. It was also fortunate that Old Ninth was infertile.
“If it weren’t for the Shen Family’s help, Prince Heng would be nothing. He’s cruel and inhumane, spending all his days surrounded by women, and he walks around with his nose in the air. It’s just not our time to reveal our abilities yet. But it will be soon.” At this thought, a fiery passion lit up his eyes.
“I will send people to stop Old Ninth’s side. You should also go ask that side-consort of yours. Everything she said before has come true. See if there’s anything else, so we can prepare in advance.” He patted Xiao Chengyu’s shoulder as he spoke.
“Yes, Father.”
“You may go. Leave the rest to me.”
At these words, Xiao Chengyu clasped his hands in a salute and turned to leave.
Watching Xiao Chengyu depart, Prince Rui beckoned with his hand, and a man in black appeared before him.
“Find some men to make a move on Jin Wang. They don’t need to be too skilled, just enough to injure him. Make it look like they are Prince Heng’s men. Be careful not to be traced.”
“Yes.” With that, the man turned and vanished in a flash.
After leaving Prince Rui’s courtyard, the novel’s male lead, Xiao Chengyu, went to the courtyard of the female lead, Lin Wanrou.
“What is Wan’er doing?”
Lin Wanrou, who had been thinking about her past life, jumped in fright at his words. “My lord, you scared this concubine to death.”
Xiao Chengyu’s tone was teasing. “I came in and you didn’t even notice. What were you thinking about so intently that you’re blaming me now? Come, let me see how frightened our Wan’er is.” He took Lin Wanrou’s hand as he spoke.
Lin Wanrou let Xiao Chengyu hold her hand and said in a soft, coquettish voice, “My lord just loves to tease this concubine. Is there something you came to see me about?”
Speaking of serious matters, Xiao Chengyu’s expression sobered. He dismissed the servants and led Lin Wanrou into the room before saying, “There is something. Father summoned me just now to talk about the private salt matter.”
Lin Wanrou heard this and asked, “Did something happen over there?”
“Ninth Imperial Uncle is investigating the private salt case.”
Lin Wanrou was astonished. “What?” She didn’t remember hearing about Jin Wang investigating the private salt case in her previous life.
Seeing Lin Wanrou’s surprise, Xiao Chengyu knew that she was also unaware of this matter.
Lin Wanrou asked nervously, “With Jin Wang investigating, will it affect…”
She didn’t finish her sentence, but Xiao Chengyu knew what she meant. He shook his head at her. “It probably won’t have a major impact.”
Hearing this, Lin Wanrou breathed a sigh of relief. She was afraid that events would change too much, rendering her foreknowledge from her rebirth useless. How would she get her revenge then?
Noticing the change in Lin Wanrou’s expression, Xiao Chengyu asked casually, “Have you dreamed of anything else recently?”
Lin Wanrou said coquettishly, “No, this concubine hasn’t had any dreams for a long time.”
Lin Wanrou had revealed things from her past life to Xiao Chengyu under the guise of having dreamed them. She didn’t dare say she was reborn, and she was even more afraid that Xiao Chengyu would discover she had been married to Ye Siyuan in her past life.
Hearing her words, a glint flashed in Xiao Chengyu’s eyes, but he didn’t press the matter further.
“Alright then. I still have things to do. You get some rest. I’ll come see you again when I have time.” After speaking, he kissed Lin Wanrou’s cheek and turned to leave.
With her mind preoccupied, Lin Wanrou did not try to make him stay, merely putting on a show of reluctance to part.