The Third Prince grew interested and swept his eyes over Qian Xingzhi several times. "Awaiting me for a long time?"
Though dressed in tatters, this "young man" was clean and tidy, not gaunt and sallow like the refugees, and had an unconventional and handsome appearance.
"Five days ago, I divined that at Nanchuan's Pear-Reed River, the Son of Heaven would arrive."
The Third Prince was silent for five seconds. As he digested those words, it felt like an electric current shot from his fingertips to the back of his head, and goosebumps instantly covered his body.
Son of Heaven... did it mean him?
The lure of power didn't immediately cloud his mind. The Third Prince sneered, "Where does this lowborn come from, swindling here? Seize him for me!"
The guards were about to step forward, but Qian Xingzhi stood unmoved. "When Your Highness was born, auspicious clouds descended; in your coming-of-age year, a bumper harvest blessed ten thousand households; now that you have entered Nanchuan, the days of continuous rain have ceased. Even if Your Highness does not believe me, can you not believe that you can become the Son of Heaven?"
The Third Prince's eyes turned fierce, and he moved closer. "Do you know what you're saying?"
"Man proposes, Heaven disposes. If Your Highness trusts me, as long as you allow me to assist you, Heaven will surely protect you."
"Fine, then divine for me: when will I ascend the throne?"
Even though this was just a fleeting memory in Qian Xingzhi's mind, she could still feel the original owner's excitement and nervousness. The thrill filling her chest was not born of greed for power or profit, but another emotion that Qian Xingzhi had yet to understand.
She spoke again, with a firm, fervent tone. Just three words, like a sharp blade, pierced the Third Prince's last psychological defense: "Two years later."
The Third Prince was completely stunned. Such a bizarre, untrustworthy freak had delivered a magnificent oracle in less than the time it takes an incense stick to burn. Instinct told him he should immediately execute this commoner who spoke so wildly, but his heart felt like a small hand was scratching it, aching with irritation.
He calmed himself again and again, then probed, "Since that's the case, what move should I make first?"
Qian Xingzhi laughed out loud. "Why not start with disaster relief? Disease is spreading in Nanchuan; the relief silver has all gone into the Crown Prince's pockets. Now His Majesty has sent you to investigate—this is a good opportunity to establish your authority and strike a blow to the Crown Prince."
As it turned out, the thinking of a prince was indeed different from ordinary people. Qian Xingzhi, a normal person, simply couldn't predict how things would unfold.
The Third Prince thought to himself: the Governor of Nanchuan was indeed the Crown Prince's man, but exposing this would only make the Crown Prince lose a governor of a backward province. As for the relief silver, he couldn't let the Crown Prince take it all.
As for Qian Xingzhi, this person was quite good at playing tricks. He had heard that the Imperial Astronomical Bureau was also lucrative; he could stuff Qian Xingzhi in there to help him skim silver.
As for the claim of being the Son of Heaven... better to believe it than not. Squeezing Qian Xingzhi to death would be easy enough. If his words proved true, he could reward him after ascending the throne. If he proved useless, he could just kill him.
The Third Prince smacked his lips, quite satisfied with his plan. "I can give you this opportunity, but there is one condition..."
Qian Xingzhi maintained a decent smile, even a bit eager. "As Your Highness commands."
"Within three months of your taking office, I want to see three hundred thousand taels of silver. As for the rest, I have my own arrangements." He stared at Qian Xingzhi's expression, as if he could spot a flaw. But so close, he could even smell the cheap soap on Qian Xingzhi. When he spoke again, something unknown had seized control of his reason: "Or, if you're willing to belong to me..."
Qian Xingzhi's perfect composure, which she had prided herself on, indeed cracked. She could always underestimate the baseness and shamelessness of those people...
Seeing Qian Xingzhi long silent, the Third Prince lost interest. After interrogating his background and having his attendants verify it, the answers all came back that this person was a refugee with no family, and only insisted that he was skilled in divination and communicating with spirits.
A handsome boy with no family, displaced, who acknowledged him as the Son of Heaven. The Third Prince felt he should slowly take advantage of Qian Xingzhi and not be too hasty.
When the Third Prince rushed back to the capital with Qian Xingzhi, the matter of the Nanchuan Governor's embezzlement and bribery was somehow exposed by someone. The Crown Prince indeed sacrificed the pawn to save the king, extricating himself completely. The governor somehow dragged the Director of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau into the mess. Coincidentally, that very night, Director Fu died suddenly.
This played right into the Third Prince's hands. He quickly pushed Qian Xingzhi into the position and expressed his concern for the suffering of Nanchuan's people to Jun Anche. The last batch of relief silver was allocated, and after going through many channels, a full two hundred thousand taels ended up in the Third Prince's pockets.
But he still thought it wasn't enough, and falsely reported an additional eight hundred thousand taels in relief expenses, which naturally came from the Ministry of Revenue's treasury. As for how to make up the shortfall? Our brilliantly clever Third Prince had it all figured out—
Three hundred thousand taels from Qian Xingzhi, three hundred thousand taels from cashing out Full Moon Tower, and the remaining two hundred thousand could easily be pulled from his past corruption.
If Qian Xingzhi couldn't come up with the money, he could just make Qian Xingzhi take the fall.
This memory flashed by in an instant.
The Third Prince hadn't expected that just after the New Year, first there was the assassination, then some lowborn splashed mud on him, and before he could fill the gaps, the Crown Prince sent people to bite him.
Qian Xingzhi also hadn't expected that when the stick was swung at the Third Prince, it would hit her too.
"You," Jun Anche's tone was gloomy. He pointed at Qian Xingzhi, each word hammering on her nerves. "You speak."
Just like Yama checking attendance.
Qian Xingzhi quickly knelt and moved to the center. "Your Majesty, your humble servant can testify for the Third Prince."
Whether she would die or not was secondary; her attitude must be proper.
She swallowed. Though her little heart was trembling, her voice didn't waver. Her skill at lying through her teeth had improved another level. "The disaster relief in Nanchuan was mishandled, and the disaster was severe. His Highness, concerned for the victims, wanted to request additional relief funds, only to discover the national treasury was in deficit. Your servant is incompetent and failed to share the prince's worries. Thus, His Highness, in a moment of thoughtlessness, resorted to this inferior strategy, intending to make up the shortfall through Full Moon Tower's business."
As these words landed, the atmosphere in the hall shifted to another dimension of weirdness.
Qian Xingzhi was gambling. She bet that Jun Anche didn't want the situation to reach a point where the Third Prince would be severely held accountable. If he publicly punished the Third Prince now, the scandal of his frequenting male brothels would be confirmed among the people, and he would also be charged with embezzling the national treasury. Moreover, he had to consider the face and family of Consort Yan.
The succession struggle had already begun. Jun Anche must understand that pulling one hair affects the whole body. Even if he truly wanted to punish the Third Prince, he couldn't do it in open court.
If she could argue a plausible innocence for the Third Prince, she could be temporarily spared.
After a long while, Jun Anche said meaningfully, "Third son, this Lord Qian is indeed, as you said, worthy of great use."
The stepping stone had been delivered to his face, so the Third Prince naturally rolled down smoothly. "Lord Qian's words are all true. Father Emperor, your son was momentarily confused, but your son sincerely wished to share your worries. I beg your forgiveness."
Shut up, ancestor, if you say two more words, my head really will be twisted off.
"Since it was for the people, Third son, the post of Nanchuan Governor has been vacant for long. I will send you to Nanchuan again, and you must handle the remaining affairs there well. Minister Liang, what do you think?"
The Censor-in-Chief had lost his earlier fire. "Your Majesty is wise."
Even though everyone in the hall knew Qian Xingzhi's words were nonsense, since Jun Anche said the Third Prince was innocent, he was innocent.
Having escaped great disaster, Qian Xingzhi had already forgotten how she dazedly returned to the Qian mansion. Many colleagues spoke to her, but she was in a daze and didn't know what she replied.
The sun grew stronger, and a trace of warmth from the sunlight made Qian Xingzhi realize she had been standing in the middle of the courtyard for a long time. Her cold sweat had glued her court robe to her body. Finally, she felt a hint of joy at surviving the disaster.
I want to go home. Qian Xingzhi closed her eyes in pain, thinking, nothing could make her smile again.
Just then, the door knocker sounded. Qian Xingzhi turned to look and saw Lu Yu. Yuan Bai led several servants carrying in large chests. When they opened them neatly, real gold and silver in the sunlight directly dazzled Qian Xingzhi's eyes.
Even the most indifferent person would smile. But Qian Xingzhi actually gave a bitter smile. She didn't want to risk her head just for money and power. Now, even if she were so poor she had to beg, she didn't want to do this business of trading her life for money.
Lu Yu hadn't changed out of his court robe either; it seemed he had come straight from court with the money. "Lord Qian, a person of importance is apt to forget. You forgot to collect the year's salary that His Majesty rewarded at the celebration. I took the liberty, to save you the trouble."
Qian Xingzhi had no mood to act. She simply didn't have the energy to play games with Lu Yu. "Thank you, Lord Lu. Unfortunately, the Qian Mansion has nothing good to entertain you. I don't wish to receive guests today. I'm truly sorry. Please go back."
Lu Yu lowered his eyelids. Earlier, seeing Qian Xingzhi dazed, he had thought the sight of money would revive her. He hadn't expected she was so frightened. He said softly, "His Majesty dotes on Consort Yan and trusts the Third Prince most among the princes. Unless absolutely necessary, he won't easily touch him. Even if you hadn't managed today, you wouldn't have been executed."
"Moreover," Lu Yu paused and added, "as long as you aren't executed on the spot, even if you are thrown into prison, I can rescue you."
Qian Xingzhi finally looked at Lu Yu squarely and smiled. "What does Lord Lu mean? Am I that important to Lord Lu?"
Lu Yu nodded, without evasion. "Naturally. The position of Director of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau is much more important to me than you imagine. If something goes wrong, it will be very troublesome."
Using me is using me, but saying it so ambiguously—people might think we're as close as brothers. Combining favors and threats, Lord Lu truly has a fine hand at managing people.
Though Qian Xingzhi sneered inwardly, she was genuinely relieved. This was best. As long as she had enough value to be used, she could rest a little easier.
Qian Xingzhi's attention finally shifted to counting money. "What is the annual salary of a fifth-rank civil official?"
Lu Yu replied, "Eighty taels of silver, eighty hu of grain."
Qian Xingzhi sighed. For ordinary people, this was already a huge sum, but three hundred thousand taels were barely enough for the Third Prince's pocket change.
Seeing her sigh, Lu Yu teased, "What, the salary of a fifth-rank civil official doesn't suit Lord Qian's taste?"
Qian Xingzhi retorted, "Then what is the annual salary of a first-rank civil official?"
Lu Yu indulged her question and answered casually, "One hundred eighty taels, one hundred eighty hu."
"Does the salary of a first-rank official suit Lord Lu's taste?"
Seeing that she had become flippant again, Lu Yu answered as he turned to leave, "Who in this world would complain about having too much salary?"
The Qian Mansion finally returned to its usual quiet. Just as Qian Xingzhi was about to check the valuables, the door knocker sounded again.
Today truly allowed not a moment of peace.
"Lord Qian, the Third Prince invites you to the prince's residence for a talk."