DLWAV CH27

As expected, once the news broke, even the young man who had just arrived not far away couldn’t help but raise his eyebrows.

How had he not noticed before that this Prince An was much more handsome than his idiotic elder brother, the First Prince?

Such a pity he’s so weak, the young man thought indifferently.

However, despite thinking this, his seemingly drunken peach-blossom eyes never left Ao Ruize.

As if sensing something, Ao Ruize abruptly turned his head to look at the young man nearby.

The next second, a gleam of light burst from his eyes.

With just one glance, he recognized that this was Ji Yuanbai, whom he hadn’t seen for fifteen days and three hours.

But the very next second, the expression on his face froze completely.

If he had known he would meet Ji Yuanbai at this time, he definitely wouldn’t have listened to the eunuch Qu Ji’s suggestion to sit in a soft sedan chair to meet these Yunzhou commoners.

—Because his body hadn’t fully recovered yet.

After all, no one knew better than him that in the previous world, the reason Ji Yuanbai initially had the idea of hooking up with him was simply that he craved his body.

So now, his first impression with Ji Yuanbai was probably ruined.

—Because he had been smuggled over by the milk dumpling, he retained his memories. But Ji Yuanbai likely came down through official channels, so in all likelihood, he didn’t have his previous memories.

But before Ao Ruize could show regret, the milk dumpling’s voice suddenly rang in his ear.

“These eyes, this nose, this mouth… wait—”

The milk dumpling racked its brain, trying to dig out every bit of ink in its stomach, and eagerly recited: “A gentleman of twenty with broad shoulders, teeth like shells, lips of vermilion… Such a gentleman should only be seen in paintings; I alone know the ferry to reach him. Even if one travels to the end of the waters and the tips of the sky, he must not be a person of this dusty world…①”

Then thousands of words condensed into one sentence: “I’ve decided, this is my new wife—”

Ao Ruize: “…”

Milk Dumpling: “So, who is he again?”

At this moment, the Confucian scholars below also followed Ao Ruize’s gaze.

They saw that behind them, at some point, a team of troops had arrived. The leading young man sat high on a spirited black horse. Behind him were seven or eight generals and colonels also riding large horses, and further behind was an army stretching as far as the eye could see.

Seeing this scene, they subconsciously made way.

Only then did the young man conceal the emotions in his eyes and lead his men towards Ao Ruize.

He dismounted nimbly, bowed with cupped hands, his voice sounding as pleasant as gold and jade: “Subject Xia Jingyao, acting on the orders of the First Prince, has transported a batch of military provisions here to rescue Yunzhou.”

Milk Dumpling: “Ah, even his voice is so nice, worthy of being my new wife… Wait, what did he say his name was?”

“Xia Jingyao?”

Ao Ruize: “…”

The milk dumpling’s face fell instantly. “How can he be Xia Jingyao?”

Xia Jingyao, twenty years old this year, the current Duke of Wei, holding the official post of Commander of the Left Division of the Five Barracks, one of the four major battalions in the capital. The Supervisor of the Five Barracks and the commanders of the other four battalions were all promoted by the previous Duke of Wei, so these fifty thousand troops of the Five Barracks were effectively controlled by Xia Jingyao.

The key point was, Xia Jingyao was the First Prince’s bootlicker!

—This matter went back to Xia Jingyao’s background.

Although he was the legitimate eldest son of the previous Duke of Wei, his mother died early, and his father favored a concubine over his wife. Moreover, his father’s beloved concubine was ruthless and had the backing of Consort Xian in the palace—the birth mother of the First Prince and the original host—so Xia Jingyao’s childhood was not easy.

The stepmother in the story of “Single Garment for Obedient Mother” from the Twenty-four Filial Exemplars who made cotton clothes out of reed flowers for her stepson was nothing compared to this. His father’s beloved concubine even dared to withhold his food, trying to starve him to death.

Later, the First Prince couldn’t stand it anymore and extended a helping hand to Xia Jingyao multiple times, allowing Xia Jingyao to survive.

As for his father, the beloved concubine, and their two sons, they didn’t meet a good end either.

In the year Xia Jingyao turned fourteen, the Duke of Wei’s residence suddenly caught fire. By the time the fire was extinguished, their bodies had already been burned to charred remains.

Xia Jingyao thus succeeded as the Duke of Wei at the age of fourteen.

From then on, Xia Jingyao began to show his amazing talent. In just under three years, he completely secured his position as Duke of Wei and reclaimed all the power of the Duke’s estate.

However, after succeeding as Duke of Wei, he didn’t seek revenge on Consort Xian’s family.

Because he fell in love with the First Prince, he let go of past grievances and became the most loyal dog under the First Prince’s command, simply because the First Prince had helped him multiple times.

Even though the First Prince had been married for over a decade, and his wife, concubines, and bed-warmers added up to more than his age.

In the milk dumpling’s deduction, after the First Prince failed to seize the throne, Xia Jingyao would be shot dead by the Fourth Prince’s men while trying to rescue the First Prince.

But in fact, according to the original progression of this world, the one who eventually seized the throne would be the First Prince.

Originally, the one sent to Yunzhou for disaster relief was the Fourth Prince.

But he obviously lacked the original host’s courage to personally supervise the work on the dike when it was washed away by floods again.

This led to the complete collapse of the Yunzhou dike later on. The entire Yunzhou was submerged by floods again, turning Yunzhou into a living hell.

And while fleeing Yunzhou, the Fourth Prince accidentally contracted the plague and died directly on the way back to the capital.

Just like that, the First Prince picked up a huge bargain and became the Emperor.

But unfortunately, the Fourth Prince was reborn.

And the first thing he did after rebirth was to jump into ice water and stay there for a whole night, intentionally catching a cold, thus logically declining the assignment of disaster relief in Yunzhou.

He originally thought that if he couldn’t go, the First Prince would definitely rush to petition for the assignment, as this was a great opportunity to win over the people’s hearts.

However, the First Prince was cautious.

Hearing that the Fourth Prince withdrew from the competition for imperial envoy just like that, he couldn’t help but feel suspicious.

So to be safe, he went to Consort Xian and the original host.

Thus, the original host came to Yunzhou.

After all, the original host was his biological younger brother and had long been excluded from the list of heirs to the throne. So if the original host really quelled the disaster in Yunzhou, the credit would eventually be counted towards him.

But these were not important now. What was important was that Xia Jingyao liked the First Prince—

Ao Ruize thought to himself: Have I been cucked?

Milk Dumpling shouted: “Have I been cucked?”

Ao Ruize: “???”

The milk dumpling was overcome with sorrow again.

It was still so young; why was it already tasting the bitterness of love?

And for the second time.

Ao Ruize reacted quickly though.

He had only transmigrated a few days ago, so Ji Yuanbai must have just transmigrated recently as well. Therefore, what did Xia Jingyao liking the First Prince have to do with Ji Yuanbai?

Thinking of this, he calmed down completely.

“Sorry to trouble the Duke of Wei.”

“Please wait a moment, Duke of Wei.”

Then he turned to look at the Confucian scholars below. “Whether providing relief to victims, reinforcing embankments, or punishing corrupt officials, these are originally the duties of this Prince on this trip. How can they be spoken of as kindness?”

“So this Prince truly does not deserve your high praise.”

“If you truly wish to repay this Prince’s dedication, then study literature and martial arts well, so as to better serve the imperial court and seek well-being for the people in the future.”

Hearing this, those Confucian scholars were even more moved by Ao Ruize’s humility and love for the people.

So they bowed again immediately: “We will follow Your Highness’s teachings.”

Seeing this scene, Xia Jingyao raised an eyebrow nearby.

He hadn’t expected this Prince An not only to possess some quick wits but also considerable skill in winning people’s hearts.

He just wondered if this Prince An winning people’s hearts like this was for the First Prince, or did he have other intentions?

Thinking of the secret report he received stating that Prince An’s health was already improving, Xia Jingyao smiled. “Interesting.”

For the next few days, Ao Ruize endured his longing and didn’t go to find Xia Jingyao, instead focusing on recovering his health.

So the disaster relief matters were handed over to Xia Jingyao and his team.

With their help, recruiting laborers, burying bodies to prevent plagues, repairing official roads, and cleaning up silt in cities and counties quickly got on track.

But unexpectedly, although Ao Ruize held back, the milk dumpling couldn’t.

“Don’t blame me for having no bottom line; blame my wife for being too good-looking.”

It sent its divine consciousness out directly.

“It’s twelve o’clock, and wifey is still handling official business.”

“Wifey is actually afraid of the dark and sleeps with a candle lit at night… It must be the psychological trauma caused by that concubine abusing him.”

“Wifey didn’t eat lunch properly again.”

Hearing this, how could Ao Ruize sit still?

He couldn’t help but call Eunuch Qu Ji: “Have the small kitchen make a serving of Twice-Cooked Pork and a serving of Sauerkraut Fish to send to the Duke of Wei.”

Thinking about it, he worried that the dishes made by the small kitchen might not suit Xia Jingyao’s taste.

“Forget it, I’ll cook them myself.”

“What?”

Hearing this, Eunuch Qu Ji was stunned.

Xia Jingyao, who received the food box, was also stunned.

“Prince An ordered this sent over?”

The guard responsible for delivering the food box only said, “Yes.”

“Since the item has been delivered, this humble officer will return to report.”

After his figure disappeared around the corner, a person dressed as a servant walked in hurriedly, then leaned into Xia Jingyao’s ear and whispered a few words.

Xia Jingyao’s gaze instantly fell back on the food box in front of him. “You’re saying these dishes inside were cooked by Prince An personally?”

The servant replied respectfully, “Yes.”

“Interesting.”

Xia Jingyao looked amused. “In the past, whenever Prince An saw me, he regarded me as a sycophant and wished he could beat me away from the First Prince with a stick.”

Simply because Prince An felt that since the First Prince already had wives, concubines, and children, Xia Jingyao’s entanglement with him not only hindered the harmony of the First Prince’s harem but also damaged the First Prince’s reputation.

“But now, he’s actually sending me food?”

What made Prince An’s attitude towards him change so drastically?

Speaking of this, Xia Jingyao smiled, though the smile didn’t reach his eyes.

He said leisurely, “It seems our Prince An is truly restless after a period of inactivity.”

Did he think he could buy him over with just a few dishes?

Should he say this Prince An’s methods were too naive, or that this Prince An underestimated him too much?

However, he was suddenly curious about what it would look like when Prince An and his elder brother, the First Prince, fought each other for the throne.

That scene would surely be spectacular!

Thinking of this, Xia Jingyao turned and instructed, “Go tell Prince An that the food he sent was delicious, and I liked it very much.”

The servant immediately replied, “Yes.”

After speaking, he bowed and retreated.

Xia Jingyao then withdrew his gaze and continued to look through the ledger in front of him.

But perhaps out of curiosity, or for other reasons, his attention returned to the food box beside him.

His hand paused, and finally, unable to resist, he held the brush horizontally and used the tip to pry open the lid of the food box.

A rich aroma instantly assaulted his nose, rousing the hunger in his body.

Xia Jingyao raised an eyebrow. “It actually looks quite good.”

It seemed a pity to just throw it away.

Thinking this, Xia Jingyao threw the brush back onto the rack, took the towel handed over by a nearby attendant, wiped his hands, and then took out all the dishes from the food box.

The moment the Twice-Cooked Pork entered his mouth, Xia Jingyao’s eyes narrowed halfway.

He tasted another mouthful of Sauerkraut Fish, his expression becoming even more pleased.

He hadn’t expected this Prince An to possess such excellent culinary skills.

These two dishes truly hit the spot for him.

Thinking about it this way, perhaps he should pay a little more attention to Prince An.

At least until he got tired of eating Prince An’s cooking, Prince An couldn’t die.

Thinking of this, he instructed the attendant beside him again, “Go, investigate the people around Prince An. Aside from those I sent, find out who sent the others.”

The attendant: “Yes.”

So for the next few days, fresh food was delivered to the Yunzhou Yamen every day.

Xia Jingyao’s mood became increasingly better.

But someone was even happier than him, and that was Emperor Yuanxi.

After reading the urgent report sent from Yunzhou, Emperor Yuanxi shouted “Good” three times on the spot.

“Look at this, look at this—”

He handed the memorial directly to the court officials below.

The Senior Grand Secretary of the Cabinet immediately took the memorial and read it with the others.

Reading further, they couldn’t help but be stunned:

“…To commend the grain merchants of the four prefectures for actively assisting the court in disaster relief, Prince An personally wrote the four characters ‘Merchants of Benevolence and Righteousness’, carved them into thirteen plaques, and presented them to thirteen of the grain merchants.”

“Moved by Prince An’s virtue, the grain merchants of the four prefectures subsequently donated one million one hundred and twenty-three thousand taels of silver to Yunzhou for rebuilding the dike.”

“Precisely because of this, Prince An’s disaster relief in Yunzhou not only didn’t cost the national treasury a single copper coin but also resulted in a surplus of one hundred and thirty-one thousand five hundred and thirty-one taels of silver.”

“Prince An believes that such benevolent merchants must be rewarded, thus petitioning the court to grant one imperial examination quota to each of the ninety-three grain merchant families across the four prefectures.”

Emperor Yuanxi said without hesitation, “I make the decision on this matter. Granted.”

According to the laws of the Great Yang Dynasty, merchants and their descendants for three generations were not allowed to take the imperial examinations.

How could the Senior Grand Secretary and others not know the true purpose of the grain merchants from the four prefectures rushing to transport grain to Yunzhou initially?

But in Prince An’s mouth, it became the grain merchants actively assisting the court in disaster relief—

Merchants value profit. Although officials disliked them, merchants didn’t steal or rob, at least better than corrupt officials.

In this way, although those merchants didn’t make money, they earned a reputation. How could they dare complain about being tricked by Prince An?

Most importantly, with the plaque personally written by Prince An, their prestige locally would surely rise significantly—at least certain petty officials who liked to leech off merchants wouldn’t dare to do so anymore.

Prince An gave them face, so they naturally had to substantiate this face. Thus, they donated over a million taels to the court in one breath.

And what the court and Prince An paid was merely a piece of calligraphy and a few dozen imperial examination quotas.

Some might say this suspected of selling official titles—

But what Prince An promised was merely a few dozen quotas to take the exam, not even the status of a scholar (Xiucai), so what kind of selling official titles was this?

This could be considered a happy ending for everyone.

This Prince An truly handled matters flawlessly!

It was just a pity that Prince An’s health was too poor.

So they didn’t think too much about it and immediately smiled and said, “Prince An has great talent.”

“When I was at this age, I was still studying in the academy, yet Prince An is already able to share the Emperor’s and the court’s burdens.”

…

Hearing them praise Ao Ruize, Emperor Yuanxi also felt honored.

But his joy went far beyond this: “Not only that, Prince An’s health has greatly improved.”

Hearing this, the eyebrows of many heavy-weight officials twitched, but they didn’t show it on their faces: “Congratulations, Your Majesty; congratulations, Prince An.”

“Hahahaha.”

Emperor Yuanxi was overjoyed.

After all, the reason Prince An had been in poor health since childhood, and even predicted by the Imperial Physician not to live past twenty-five, was because he was implicated by the Emperor.

Now that Prince An had recovered, how could he not be happy?

“Yu Zan, draft a decree. Summon Prince An back to the capital—”

The chief eunuch Yu Zan immediately bowed and replied, “Yes.”

Then, as if thinking of something, Emperor Yuanxi turned to look at the First Prince, whose face was also glowing with redness nearby: “Eldest, when the time comes, you personally lead the princes and princesses to welcome Prince An outside the city.”

First Prince: “Yes.”

After speaking, he couldn’t help but shoot a mocking glance at the Fourth Prince behind him.

Seeing this scene, the Fourth Prince couldn’t help but clench his fists inside his sleeves.

Originally, he thought that although he failed to eliminate the First Prince this time, if he could eliminate Prince An, it wouldn’t be bad either.

After all, because of Prince An’s poor health, Emperor Yuanxi loved Prince An the most among the three princes.

Because of this, Consort Xian and the First Prince also basked in reflected glory.

Without Prince An, the First Prince’s weight in Emperor Yuanxi’s heart would be discounted by at least twenty percent.

But he never expected that Prince An not only escaped that calamity but also handled this assignment so beautifully.

Precisely because of this, as soon as he returned to his mansion, the First Prince couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

“Ruize has really given me great face this time.”

He looked at the strategists around him: “You didn’t see how ugly Fourth Brother’s face was at that time.”

Hearing this, the vast majority of strategists present laughed along.

But two of them frowned instead.

Noticing their expressions, the First Prince immediately asked, “Mr. Chen, Mr. Li, what’s wrong?”

The two looked at each other, then stepped forward: “Your Highness, Prince An’s recovery is originally a joyous event, but…”

“His Majesty already favors Prince An. If Prince An also develops… that ambition?”

Hearing this, the smile on the First Prince’s face faded instantly.

The others also quieted down.

But right at this moment, the First Prince’s butler hurriedly pushed the door open and entered, whispering in the First Prince’s ear, “Your Highness, news came from Yunzhou…”

Hearing this, the First Prince’s brow instantly furrowed: “This… how could this be…”

But the next second, as if thinking of something, his furrowed brow slowly relaxed.

Finally, he only said, “I know. You go down first.”

Then he turned his head back to look at the strategist who spoke: “Eighth Brother grew up under my watch. I believe he won’t do anything to betray me, his own brother. So don’t bring this up again, or this Prince will suspect you are deliberately provoking discord between us brothers.”

Seeing this, the strategist knew something must have happened to make the First Prince completely drop his guard against Prince An, so he quickly said, “Yes, yes, yes, this subordinate judged a gentleman’s heart with a petty man’s mind.”

A smile soon rose on the First Prince’s face again: “Good.”

“Next, let’s discuss what kind of etiquette we should use to welcome Eighth Brother when he returns to the capital.”

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