That very night, upon returning to the Rong Manor, Rong Shuang had Old Ge draft a memorial claiming they had discovered a secret treasure from the previous dynasty. He sent people to deliver it to the palace immediately, seizing the auspicious atmosphere of the grand blessing ceremony to sweep all the treasures from the imperial treasury in one fell swoop. 

However, because the scale of the operation was so vast, the palace issued an imperial decree allowing the treasures to remain temporarily at the Rong Manor. 

With this maneuver, the Rong Manor effectively became the de facto national treasury and Ministry of Revenue; from then on, whenever anyone inquired, they would simply claim to be safeguarding the treasures on behalf of His Majesty.

Even though the matter wouldn’t stand up to close scrutiny, the money had ultimately been turned over to the state, and with the Emperor’s approval, no one dared to stir up trouble for no reason. This cover-up was just barely good enough to pass muster, and the next day at court, Emperor Ying Wujiu—in an unprecedented move—told him, “I am deeply gratified.”

As long as he’s pleased, that’s all that matters. After all, wasn’t the whole point of this elaborate maneuver to make him pleased? 

Rong Shuang was finally free of financial burdens. For the next two days, he greeted everyone with a cheerful smile, wishing them good fortune, promotions, and wealth. His colleagues were all quick to respond: “You’re too kind, Senior Grand Secretary.”

Rong Shuang: “Not at all, not at all.”

“Lord Rong, you look much better since returning from Lingfu Temple.”

Rong Shuang: “That’s right, that’s right. Lingfu Temple is truly a place of auspicious feng shui—whoever goes there comes back better off! I’ll definitely go again if I get the chance!” 

“With you, Senior Grand Secretary, here, you’re sure to secure a bright future for our Great Liang Dynasty for generations to come.”

Rong Shuang: “Hahahahaha.”

That’s a bit of an exaggeration.

Rong Shuang let the flattery go in one ear and out the other, and they continued on their way, exchanging compliments all the while. “Lord Rong! Lord Rong! Wait a moment!”

Rong Shuang turned around and saw Huang Lian reappearing behind him like an NPC respawning at a fixed point. 

His expression was as warm as a spring breeze: “Eunuch Huang, what brings you here?”

Huang Lian: “Oh my, Lord Rong, have you forgotten? From now on, after morning court every day, you’re supposed to go to His Majesty’s chambers to recite sutras and offer prayers.” 

Rong Shuang: “?”

Oh my goodness, Ying Wujiu was serious.

Huang Lian: “Hurry and follow this servant—we mustn’t keep His Majesty waiting.”

The few colleagues who had just been exchanging flattery with him took off faster than anyone else upon hearing this. Rong Shuang pulled his gaze away and hurried to catch up with Huang Lian.

Returning to Qide Hall after many days, Rong Shuang was extremely cautious; he deliberately chose a very safe spot in the center of the hall to kneel, not wanting to be cornered from behind by Ying Wujiu like before—it was very strange.

“This humble subject pays his respects to Your Majesty.”

The hall was deathly quiet, as if no one were there again. He peered around cautiously, glancing here and there.

Was there really no one there?

And yet just a moment ago, Huang Lian had been in such a rush to summon him—haha, just another one of the boss’s usual tricks.

After kneeling for a while, Rong Shuang grew tired. He straightened up, secretly patting his aching lower back with his hand, then rubbing his knees. Kneeling like this all the time really isn’t fit for a human being. 

Just as he was muttering to himself, a series of footsteps sounded from behind him.

Deep, steady, heavy, slow.

Ying Wujiu.

Rong Shuang immediately dropped back down, and his first thought after doing so was, “Why is he in this ‘soap-picking’ position again?”

His second thought was, “Ying Wujiu can’t possibly be blocking him from behind again, can he?” 

In the split second he hesitated between changing his position and crawling forward, the Emperor’s footsteps were already right by his ear. 

“Hah.”

A condescending snort—very typical of Ying Wujiu, very cutting. 

With his face buried in the ground, Rong Shuang mumbled, “This humble subject pays his respects to Your Majesty. I have come to recite sutras and pray for blessings.” The person behind him didn’t move.

Rong Shuang’s heart raced with anxiety. What are you doing standing behind me? Move already! Just move! Are you trying to step on me again??

“Before he left, Abbot Mingjue gave me several consecrated sutras. I believe they will help you purge the impure and lustful energies from your body. From now on, come to Qide Hall to recite and copy sutras every day, and I will spare Huang Lian the trouble of having to summon you specifically. What do you think, Lord Rong”

Rong Shuang dared not say anything else and accepted everything without reservation: “This humble subject understands, will keep it firmly in mind, and will certainly come every day.” 

“It is truly most gratifying that Lord Rong has turned over a new leaf.”

After another moment of silence, Rong Shuang cautiously raised his hand: “Your Majesty, may this humble servant… rise?” 

Ying Wujiu: “Stand up.”

Rong Shuang breathed a huge sigh of relief, thinking to himself that it was truly rare for Ying Wujiu to be willing to act like a normal person today. Really…

Huh? Huh?

Rong Shuang found himself pinned to the ground once more. 

“……”

Damn it.

Without giving anything away, he circled around to try to pull his official robe out from under the emperor’s feet, silently straining. 

Pull—

He couldn’t pull it out.

Rong Shuang chuckled, “Your Majesty… perhaps… you could lift your foot a little higher?”

Ying Wujiu lifted his thin, piercing eyelids ever so slightly. Morning light streamed in through the latticed window, casting a broad shadow across the emperor’s face. His gaze, hidden beneath the shadow, swept over the young man’s slender, graceful figure.

The next second, he released his grip.

Rong Shuang darted backward, stumbling several times before coming to a stop. He scrambled to his feet: “Thank you, Your Majesty! Thank you, Your Majesty!”

That gaze fell upon him even more intensely and heavily. Standing beside him, Rong Shuang scratched his cheek, pretending to be blind. 

Fortunately, Ying Wujiu wasn’t a complete creep all the time; after staring at him for a moment, he turned and walked away.

Next to the imperial desk stood a folding screen; behind it were a meditation cushion and a low table. Rong Shuang knew these were prepared for him, so she obediently walked over, sat down, and brought the sutra book in front of him.

Amitabha, Amitabha.

He opened the first page and read three lines, only to encounter twelve characters he didn’t recognize. 

Rong Shuang: “……”

“In days of old, the Tathāgata, in the %￥# Mountains, together with … ￥#￥%, Mā ￥#%#, ￥%……￥%# True Sutra…”

His voice was as soft as a mosquito’s buzz, for he feared that if he recited any louder, Ying Wujiu would discover that he was illiterate.

After all, Rong Zhihuan was no ordinary man. Though his greed for wealth and power had led him to betray his country and its people, there was no denying that he was a genius with a photographic memory. Rong Shuang’s voice grew even quieter.

Just as he was about to lower his voice even further, the Emperor’s cold, piercing voice rang out from behind the screen: “Come out and recite the sutras.” 

Rong Shuang: “?”

“Huh? Your Majesty? What did you say? I didn’t catch that. I’m reciting sutras—uh, I-I-I… I thought it was a sutra! The secret treasury of all Buddhas and Tathagatas!”

He recited two lines at the top of his lungs, trying to bluff his way out of it, but he’d forgotten that someone like Ying Wujiu wouldn’t fall for that at all. He kept trying to bluff, but Ying Wujiu’s voice remained completely flat—even softer than before.

Another command followed: “Come out and recite the sutras.”

Rong Shuang’s hair stood on end in an instant, triggered by the most primal, animalistic alertness deep within his genes. Daring not to delay any longer, he hurriedly grabbed the sutra and ran outside. 

The moment he peeked out, his gaze collided with the Emperor’s eyes, as deep and mysterious as an ancient pond.

Ying Wujiu was leaning back in his chair, one hand propping up his temple, his deep-set eyes and brows furrowed.

Rong Shuang slid on his knees to the Emperor’s feet, cupped the scripture, and adopted a submissive posture, pleading for mercy. 

Ying Wujiu raised a finger: “Continue.”

Rong Shuang nodded vigorously, skimmed the text at a glance, and selected the lines with the most characters she recognized: “All sentient beings, if they can uphold a heart of utmost sincerity… um…recite… recite…”

The Emperor looked at the memorial in his hand as he listened to Rong Shuang’s stammering recitation.

“Turn around and recite it.”

Rong Shuang hurriedly turned around to face the entrance of the hall and continued stammering.

After being tripped up by the previous passage, he soon encountered even more unfamiliar characters. Gritting his teeth, he mumbled indistinctly: “@#￥%%……@￥……”

Ying Wujiu gazed at the young man’s snow-white nape, lifted his foot ever so slightly, and gave his buttocks a warning tap with the instep of his foot. 

“Ouch!”

Caught off guard, Rong Shuang tumbled backward with a thud, and the sutra flew off a good distance. 

Just as he was about to get back up, he realized the next second…his butt was being held down by a foot. 

“?”

“??”

Wait, what?

The Emperor still maintained that same lazy posture; the foot resting on her seemed to have just happened to land there by accident, but Rong Shuang didn’t dare move a muscle.

“……”

Ying Wujiu could naturally sense the stiffness of the body beneath his feet. He opened his lips and said, “Lord Rong, do you want me to personally teach you how to recite sutras and offer prayers?”

“Or is it that you, Lord Rong, hold the imperial authority and the Buddha in contempt, and do not take these matters seriously?”

Rong Shuang thought to himself. He heard it all, didn’t he? He’s about to pin this on me.

He raised his hands in surrender: “Your Majesty, this humble subject would never dare… um…~.” 

That “um” at the end turned into a very smooth sound, because Ying Wujiu’s foot had shifted another fraction of an inch upward, brushing against his tailbone. 

Damn.

He recalled the two times Ying Wujiu had stepped on his official robe before—those were just foreplay, right? What Ying Wujiu really wanted to step on was him!!

I’ve been stepped on to your heart’s content again.

Rong Shuang held that position for too long, freezing in place and trembling.

He whispered a plea for mercy: “Your Majesty, I know I was wrong. I will definitely go back and study the classics thoroughly.”

Ying Wujiu murmured, “Is that so?” 

“Mm-hmm! Mm-hmm!”

“Then if this happens again, can I charge you with the crime of deceiving the emperor and misleading His Majesty?”

The charge was already laid out in advance.

Rong Shuang squeezed out two tears and said meekly, “Sniff… I won’t.” 

“Look at that, you’re happy again.” 

Rong Shuang：“……”

I really wanted to kick him a couple of times.

Just as Rong Shuang was at a loss for words and had nowhere to run, Huang Lian suddenly walked in.

“Your Majesty, there’s a letter—a letter—a letter—a letter—a letter…?” 

He stared in bewilderment at the postures of the emperor and his minister in the hall, and for a moment found himself in the same predicament as Rong Shuang—at a loss for words, with nowhere to flee.

“Present it.”

Ying Wujiu released the restraining spell, and Rong Shuang immediately scrambled away to the side, not forgetting to pick up the scripture lying in the distance. 

Huang Lian took small, quick steps forward to hand the letter to the emperor. Suppressing his inner thoughts, he whispered, “Prince Ning is riding at full speed and is expected to arrive tomorrow.”

Upon catching the key phrase, Rong Shuang’s ears perked up immediately. Prince Ning is returning to the capital tomorrow?

Ying Wujiu’s expression remained impassive; it was unclear what the letter contained. After reading it, he folded it and casually tucked it beneath the scroll.

Rong Shuang was just pondering this when he recalled that Qin Tianyang had mentioned to him yesterday that Prince Ning was returning to the capital to report on his success in quelling the rebellion led by the Prince of Qi—and there was a good chance he’d be dragged into it again.

No sooner had this thought crossed his mind than he heard Ying Wujiu turn his attention to him: “Lord Rong, it seems you’re quite eager to share this burden with me.” Rong Shuang looked up in bewilderment. What?

“In that case, the Prince Ning will be staying at the Rong residence upon his arrival in the capital. Lord Rong, you must host a proper welcome banquet for him on my behalf.”

A welcome banquet??

Him?? Him?? 

“Do you have any objections, Lord Rong”

Rong Shuang finally snapped out of it and hurriedly accepted the imperial decree: “No, no—this servant obeys the decree!”

This imperial decree came so suddenly and was so complicated that Rong Shuang had absolutely no idea what was going on. For one thing, he didn’t know Prince Ning at all.

Second, Prince Ning is clearly aligned with Ying Wujiu; he is a loyal, brave, and resourceful feudal prince. Furthermore, the original character, Rong Zhihuan, was in cahoots with the Prince of Qi, and the Prince Ning quelled the Prince of Qi’s rebellion.

Finally, Prince Ning is coming to stay at the Rong residence—this is clearly another trap set for him.

My head’s about to explode, man.

Huang Lian had left the Qide Hall at some point, leaving only Rong Shuang kneeling to one side, clutching a scripture. Ying Wujiu sized him up, chuckled softly, and said sarcastically, “My minister, you truly understand My Majesty’s heart.” 

Rong Shuang, forced to accept this: “……” Get lost.

Chapter 12: Lingzhou

Prince Ning is due to arrive in the capital any day now, yet Rong Shuang’s understanding of this feudal prince—who had sacrificed his own kin for the greater good to quell the rebellion—remained limited to this single fact: Prince Ning is due to arrive in the capital any day now.

According to Qin Tianyang, His Highness the Prince Ning is returning to the capital this time to report to Ying Wujiu on the rebellion led by the Prince of Qi in the southeast.

Setting aside what the Prince Ning might do to him, let’s just consider Ying Wujiu: this man suffers from severe paranoia, and now that he has just seized power, it’s impossible for him not to make a move. Do you believe Ying Wujiu won’t try to kill him while he has the chance, or do you believe he’s as trustworthy as Emperor Qin Shihuang? 

Hah.

That said, Ying Wujiu still had to take care of the matters he’d been tasked with. The first thing he did upon returning to the mansion was to instruct Old Ge and Laifu to thoroughly clean out his room and make it ready for the Prince Ning, who was about to arrive in the capital.

Watching his master hunched over packing small bundles in the room, Old Ge couldn’t help but ask, “Sir, where are you going to lie low this time?” 

Rong Shuang: “The west wing next door.”

Old Ge: “Huh?”

“Oh, right. Clear out the West Wing.” Rong Shuang tied a knot in the blue cloth bundle and slung it over his shoulder. “You know, the tables and chairs, the jade artifacts and treasures—pack it all up and send it to His Majesty’s treasury.”

Old Ge had a sudden epiphany, and moments later, two streams of hot tears rolled down his cheeks.

“My Lord, everyone says you’ve gone mad, but only this old servant knows that you’ve turned over a new leaf!”

Rong Shuang, deeply moved, patted Old Ge on the shoulder and said with emotion, “Then let’s return that Huanghuali canopy bed to His Majesty as well and have it officially recorded.” 

Old Ge: “……”

That didn’t seem necessary.

He said aloud, “If the bed in the West Wing is moved to the imperial treasury, where will you sleep at night?” But he thought to himself: No matter how stingy His Majesty is, he wouldn’t go so far as to leave you without a bed!

Rong Shuang: “Don’t worry. Lord Meng is a master craftsman; I’ll ask him to come over and make me a small bed.”

As he spoke, he remembered something. He took off his small bundle, rummaged through it, and pulled out a few copper coins: “Since Lord Meng is making a bed for me, I’ll have to treat him to a meal. Let’s add two liang of pork to today’s order.”

Old Ge accepted the copper coins with tears in his eyes and agreed to do it.

By now, almost everyone who was supposed to leave the Rong Manor had already gone. When the tree falls, the monkeys scatter—few were willing to go to their deaths alongside a corrupt official from the previous dynasty. Those who remained were either genuinely attached to the original master—such as Old Ge, Laifu, and Wangcai—or were elderly, childless, and had nowhere else to go—like Uncle Wang, the dishwasher in the kitchen, who was already sixty-seven this year and wouldn’t even have a place to live if he left the Rong Manor.

Rong Shuang sighed. He couldn’t let all these people die in vain. 

Passing by the East Wing, he waved his hand grandly: “The East Wing shall also be transferred to the national treasury and recorded in the registry.” As he stepped down the stairs, the toe of his shoe kicked a clay flowerpot: “Recorded in the registry!” 

The flowerpot: “……” 

Old Ge saw that his master was at it again and quickly signaled to Wangcai. Wangcai pulled out a small notebook and began taking notes.

Flowerpot: to be turned over to the state. 

Shoe: to be turned over to the state.

The magistrate’s clothes—confiscated. 

“Ouch!! Your Honor! Yaozu can’t be turned over to the state!!!”

Rong Yaozu: “Woof-woof QAQ~~.”

━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

When Meng Han received the letter from the Rong household, he was a bit taken aback. He scratched his ear and asked again, “What?”

Laifu rubbed his hands together sheepishly: “Our master says he’d like to invite you to the mansion to help him build a wooden bed to sleep on.” Meng Han was silent for a moment.

“So has your master been sleeping on the roof beams all this time?”

Laifu: “……”

However, Meng Han didn’t say much; he simply ordered his men to saddle the horses and set out. Just as he stepped out of the alley, he ran into a carriage from the Marquis Xinyi’s mansion.

As the curtain of the palanquin was lifted, Qin Tianyang peered out and asked suspiciously, “Where are you off to?”

Meng Han tugged on the reins. “Lord Rong has invited me to his residence to help him build a wooden bed for sleeping.” 

Qin Tianyang didn’t quite grasp what he’d heard at first: “What??”

Meng Han scratched his head.

Qin Tianyang was stunned: “Where’s the bed at his place?? Has he been sleeping on the roof beam all this time?”

Meanwhile, Rong Shuang had been busy for quite some time, turning the east and west wings upside down, when he heard Old Ge come to announce that Meng Han and Qin Tianyang had arrived.

He wiped the sweat from his brow and sat down on the steps: “Qin Tianyang? What’s he doing here?”

Old Ge: “He said he came to check on how you’re doing.”

Rong Shuang: “……”

“Spell it out—is he here to check on me, or to pay his respects to my ancestors going back eighteen generations?”

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a figure strode through the courtyard gate. Qin Tianyang surveyed the cluttered yard, picking his way through the mess for a few steps. He looked up: “Did His Majesty issue an edict to raid your house?”

Just as I thought—here comes the trouble.

Rong Shuang said with a smile, “Hard to say. Why don’t you go to the palace and ask His Majesty yourself?”

Qin Tianyang looked as if he’d swallowed a fly and stood motionless at the courtyard gate with his hands behind his back.

Meng Han quickly stepped in to smooth things over: “Lord Rong, weren’t you planning to build a wooden bed? The young marquis actually came here to help.” 

Rong Shuang tilted his head to look over.

Qin Tianyang shouted, “I’m not a carpenter! Besides, why should this Marquis have to build a bed for him? If word gets out, what will become of this Marquis’s reputation?”

A quarter of an hour later.

Qin Tianyang was dragging two pieces of lumber along behind him: =_=

 I never had to suffer like this even back in Lingzhou!

Rong Shuang, while secretly learning the ropes from Meng Han, said, “I’ll treat you to dinner tonight—I’ve already sent someone out to buy meat.” 

Meng Han: “How could I possibly accept that, Lord Rong!”

Qin Tianyang huffed and puffed as he dragged the wood over: “Of course it’s acceptable. We’ve put in the hard work—what’s wrong with making him chip in a little silver?”

Rong Shuang was also on board with this fair deal and nodded, saying, “Exactly, exactly.”

It wasn’t until dusk fell, the wooden bed was finished, and Old Ge returned with the meat that Qin Tianyang realized—what silver? This guy had only chipped in a few copper coins!

He stared at the two liang of pork in Old Ge’s hands: “Who’s supposed to eat such a tiny amount?” 

Rong Shuang looked a bit flustered: “Sigh.”

Qin Tianyang: “?” What’s wrong with this guy now?

Rong Shuang: “Look, I don’t really have any real power right now. My salary is so meager—once I’ve paid the monthly wages to the people in the mansion, there’s not much left…” Qin Tianyang felt his views on money and his values being challenged, so he turned to look at Meng Han.

Meng Han was very quiet, looking as if his soul had left his body. Qin Tianyang turned back to Rong Shuang: “You!”

Rong Shuang looked innocent.

“Seriously, how about I climb the tree and pick you a couple of loquats to eat?”

As he spoke, he rolled up his sleeves.

The loquat tree in his courtyard was lush and towering; according to Old Ge, it was apparently over forty years old. Qin Tianyang was impressed.

“Weren’t you the one who used to spend money like water? What’s going on now? Even Meng Han isn’t as stingy as you.”

Rong Shuang was just climbing the tree to pick loquats when he heard this and turned back, saying, “When has Lord Meng ever been stingy? Last time, he even said he’d give me a treasure worth three hundred taels of gold.”

Qin Tianyang suddenly turned to look at Meng Han: “?”

Meng Han snapped back to his senses, flustered beyond belief: “Oh, no, no, that’s not what I meant at all!” 

Qin Tianyang: “You, you, you, you, you, you!”

Meng Han glanced left and right; the person in the tree was still stuffing loquats into his sleeve, so he grabbed Qin Tianyang and dragged him aside. Rong Shuang saw this and surreptitiously plucked a loquat to eat. 

In fact, he didn’t need anyone to tell him—he could guess that these two knew each other. Before Ying Wujiu took control of the capital, his fief was in Lingzhou, and Meng Han and Qin Tianyang were both trusted officials who had accompanied him from Lingzhou—it would be strange if they didn’t know each other.

As for why Qin Tianyang didn’t know that Meng Han had come here to act as an undercover agent, Rong Shuang suspected it was simply because this hothead had too little brainpower—no one had ever intended to involve him in the operation in the first place.

After finishing the loquats, he clapped his hands and picked another handful to tuck into his sleeve.

Turning to Qin Tianyang, who looked utterly incredulous, he said, “Young Marquis, would you like to take some back with you?”

Qin Tianyang still looked completely dumbfounded.

Rong Shuang found it somewhat amusing as he sat on a tree branch, watching his face turn every shade of the rainbow.

He couldn’t resist asking, “You guys are on good terms with His Royal Highness the Prince Ning, aren’t you?”

Qin Tianyang gasped, “How did you know that?!” 

Meng Han didn’t even have time to cover his mouth.

Rong Shuang scratched his cheek: “Because I was bluffing.” He hadn’t expected his bluff to work so easily—these guys were the Lingzhou F3, after all. 

Qin Tianyang: “?”

Meng Han：“……”

Qin Tianyang was furious: “I’m going to report this to His Majesty! You’ve made me and Meng Han work like slaves again, and you won’t even give us anything to eat! And… and…” 

Rong Shuang: “Sigh~”

Qin Tianyang: “What’s wrong with you now?!!” 

Rong Shuang: “Hehe.”

“Take this seriously.”

Qin Tianyang rolled his eyes and nearly fainted from anger.

He was about to storm out right then, but then he thought about how he’d been doing hard labor at the Rong mansion all morning—how could he possibly leave without even a bite to eat? So, fuming, he sat back down.

He hadn’t even suffered like this back in Lingzhou!!

So Qin Tianyang ate two plates of greens, half a liang of pork, a bowl of hot water, and a large plate of loquats. Before leaving, he pocketed a cloth bag. 

As he walked away, he grumbled, “So stingy! This Marquis has never eaten such lousy food in his entire life.”

Rong Shuang followed behind him: “Don’t forget to send some loquats to His Majesty!!” 

Qin Tianyang: “……”

Who on earth said that corrupt officials eat eighty-eight dishes a day??? It’s so infuriating.

That very night, Qin Tianyang went back to the palace to lodge a complaint.

As night fell, the Rong residence was deathly quiet, stripped of its former extravagance and bustle; even the birdcages hanging beneath the eaves were empty. Rong Shuang’s small wooden bed hadn’t been moved back to the west wing yet; it was still left out to air under the loquat tree. He sat cross-legged on it, gazing at the moon and lost in thought.

From the few words they had mentioned that day, Rong Shuang could piece together a few details: the Prince Ning had not yet taken up his fiefdom; in recent years, he had been stationed at the border in Lingzhou with Ying Wujiu; however, shortly after returning to the capital, he had left again to quell a rebellion in the southeast. The time he had spent in the capital could be counted on one hand.

Presumably, he hadn’t yet been granted a residence—no wonder he was staying at the Rong residence.

Of course, it’s also possible that Ying Wujiu sent Prince Ning over to keep an eye on him or set him up. But in any case, it was quite a coincidence, because Rong Shuang had absolutely no desire to stay in this money pit. 

He called out, “Old Ge! Draft a memorial…”

Before he could finish, a figure suddenly emerged from the shadows beside him: “Sir, Uncle Ge has gone to take Young Master Yaozhu for a walk.”

Rong Shuang was startled. Holy shit!

Little Girl-Boy!

He almost forgot—besides Old Ge, Laifu, and Wangcai, with whom he had a close bond, and Uncle Wang, who had no children of his own, there were also a whole bunch of spies from all walks of life planted right beside him. The Rong Mansion was practically riddled with them, and he even had to pay these people their monthly stipends. 

Rong Shuang was at his wits’ end.

After thinking for a while, he said, “Then bring me some paper and a pen. I’ll write this myself.”

━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

Inside the Qide Hall, the scent of incense wafted gently from the crane-beaked bronze censer in the corner. The Emperor leaned back on his couch as Huang Lian gently massaged the temples of the man. It wasn’t until the chattering crowd below had finished speaking that the Emperor raised his hand to stop Huang Lian’s movements.

“After all these years of eating my food, you’ve only grown in height, not in brains.”

Upon hearing this, Huang Lian knew immediately that the Emperor was displeased and retreated stiffly. Sure enough, the Emperor opened his eyes the very next second.

“You learn the hard way, time and time again.” 

“And now you’ve learned it again.”

“Did your father raise a good-for-nothing just to give to me?”

Qin Tianyang, still clutching a pouch of loquats that Rong Shuang had given him: “……”

Ying Wujiu’s eyes narrowed into slits, his gaze cold and menacing as he shot him a sidelong glance.

“He certainly knows how to read people—sending you here to pull this ‘uncorrupted official who is loyal to the emperor and devoted to the nation’ act on me.” 

“Since you’re willing to act as a messenger, then go tell Lord Rong—”

Qin Tianyang waited for quite a while but heard no further words from the Emperor. Just as he was surreptitiously glancing up, he heard the Emperor’s tone suddenly shift, and he let out a chuckle.

“I am concerned for Lord Rong’s health; I invite him to the palace to share a medicinal bath with me.”

Qin Tianyang shuddered violently.