Chapter 0174: Shen Yuan Arranges His Affairs, Sheng Shihai Gains Dark Circles
“However, the matter of confiscating properties might require Your Highness to take charge.”
Under Xie Chengze’s furious glare, Shen Yuan finally raised his hands in surrender and said with a light smile, “This subject’s return to the capital might prove rather uncomfortable.”
“Why do you say that?” Xie Chengze asked, puzzled. He sat up and inquired, “We’ve both accomplished merits this time. Why would it be uncomfortable?”
“There’s no need for Your Highness to know.” Shen Yuan shook his head and straightened Xie Chengze’s outer robe. “The clerk at the Ministry of Justice is my man. If you cannot reach me, you may seek out that clerk to relay messages. He is trustworthy.”
“Why wouldn’t I be able to reach you?” Hearing this, Xie Chengze immediately grew anxious. “Where are you going?”
“This subject remains in the capital. Your Highness need not worry.” Shen Yuan pressed his hand reassuringly, as if transferring strength to him. “After entering the capital, be cautious with food and scented sachets. Never let Wuhen and Wuji leave your side. If it truly comes to the worst, it wouldn’t hurt to utilize Hu Lai.”
“Stop talking as if you’re preparing your final arrangements!” Seeing that Shen Yuan refused to explain anything, Xie Chengze immediately withdrew his hand, his expression full of displeasure.
“How could that be?” Noting his anger, Shen Yuan chuckled lightly and teased, “If this subject were truly making final arrangements, the first thing I’d disclose would be the location of my private savings, so that if Your Highness ever falls into misfortune one day, you could rely on my savings to make a comeback.””
“Oh? You have private savings? How much?”
At the mention of money, Xie Chengze’s attention was immediately captured. His phoenix eyes widened like a rabbit spotting carrots, shining brightly.
“Well, naturally…”
The man’s gentle voice was accompanied by the alternating sounds of rolling wheels and hoofbeats outside the carriage, masking the whispers between the two inside, leaving only warmth and reluctance in the confined space.
It wasn’t until the young man grew weary that he finally fell asleep, using the man’s lap as a pillow.
——
Shen Yuan was imprisoned.
Unexpected, yet expected.
The only place in the capital that could make Shen Yuan uncomfortable was the Imperial City Prison. Emperor Jian, using the pretext that disaster relief grain originally destined for Yingzhou was diverted to Liaozhou causing delays, had the Ministry of Justice investigate. They found that the one who instigated the grain transport official to deliberately miswrite the documents was none other than Shen Yuan, leading to his imprisonment and dismissal from his official post.
The entire Shen family tried to pull strings and plead for Shen Yuan, but all efforts failed. Only after nearly half a month had passed did the officials confirm that Shen Yuan had indeed fallen out of favor.
Killing the donkey after it has done its job.
Although aware that there might be something unusual about the situation, the officials understood that Shen Yuan, after all, had rendered great services. Why would Emperor Jian refuse to overturn the case even after such a long imprisonment?
This was because Emperor Jian feared Shen Yuan and found him an eyesore.
Now that the Second Prince had brought 230,000 taels of silver into the national treasury, his influence was soaring. His repeated friendly interactions with Shen Yuan had completely overshadowed the Crown Prince. Such upstaging naturally wouldn’t be tolerated by the emperor and the Cao family.
To balance the court, Emperor Jian naturally chose to eliminate Shen Yuan, allowing the Crown Prince and Second Prince to return to their original dynamic of “Crown Prince suppressing Second Prince.”
Ministers who saw this situation clearly, who had considered switching to the Second Prince’s faction, now began to reconsider.
Since ancient times, choosing the right master could lead to soaring success, while choosing the wrong one could cost them their lives. With the current situation still unclear, they couldn’t afford to act rashly.
Therefore, when the Second Prince privately extended an olive branch to them, they all politely declined, citing the prohibition of forming cliques for personal gain in the court, and chose to remain on the sidelines.
During those days, Xie Chengze grumbled incessantly, cursing those mediocre officials for their short-sightedness, lamenting the heavens’ lack of discernment, and pitying himself for his untapped talents. This only made the ministers avoid him even more.
Of course, there were also some dim-witted ministers willing to pledge allegiance to Xie Chengze, but he dismissed them with contempt, causing them to storm off in anger and instead align themselves with the Crown Prince’s faction.
“Alas! Woe is me!” Xie Chengze sat on a cold wooden chair, raising his cup to the moon while shaking his head and sighing. “Who understands me? Only Sheng Lang!”
After saying this, he took a fierce gulp of strong liquor, which stung so badly that his small eyes scrunched up. Once he finally recovered, he turned and shouted at Hu Lai, who was busy painting, “Hu Lai! Are you finished yet?”
“Almost, almost, Your Highness, don’t rush.” Hu Lai licked the tip of his brush and swiftly added a few more strokes to the paper, capturing Xie Chengze’s essence. “Done. Your Highness, come and inspect the goods.”
Xie Chengze set down his wine cup and walked over. After being reprimanded by Sheng Shihai for no longer writing storybooks, the former “storybook” had evolved into “Storybook 2.0.” Not only had the paper size expanded to that of a painting scroll, but illustrations were also added to enhance the reading atmosphere, making it even more entertaining.
Except…
“Your painting is a bit abstract,” Xie Chengze bent down, squinting at the enormous sheet of paper. “I remember your painting skills were exceptional, depicting figures vividly. How did this one turn out so…”
Why were his arms and legs drawn like radishes?
Moreover, the style resembled those slightly risqué storybooks in Jingcheng, where men and women intertwined with radish-like limbs…
“You actually used that kind of storybook style to paint me?!” Xie Chengze stared at Hu Lai in disbelief. “How many secret identities do you still have that I don’t know about?”
Hu Lai remained much calmer this time and turned the tables. “What kind of storybook? Which style? Your Highness, care to elaborate?”
Xie Chengze: … “Then why did you paint so ugly?”
“Why paint the enemy so vividly? Let’s just make do.” Hu Lai licked his brush tip again and added a few more strokes. “When you ascend the throne, this humble subject will surely paint a masterpiece for you, one that will be passed down through the ages—”
Xie Chengze: “Mention ascending the throne again, and I’ll dock two months of your monthly salary :)”
“Oh, oh, this humble subject will slap his own mouth.” Hu Lai quickly patted his lips, then added the words Xie Chengze had drunkenly lamented to the painting. “When your Sheng Lang sees this, he will surely come to visit you joyfully.”
That very day, the record—or rather, the illustrated album—documenting the officials who had interacted with the Second Prince during this period was delivered to the Sheng family’s private residence.
“Sir! Hu Lai has sent the Second Prince’s activity records, but…”
Sheng Shihai calmly turned and saw the messenger official holding a large, thick roll of painting paper, three feet wide and five feet long. Anyone unaware might have mistaken it for a talisman painting bought to ward off evil spirits.
Sheng Shihai: …
Is there something wrong with Hu Lai’s brain?
The next day, Sheng Shihai attended court sporting two dark circles under his eyes, drawing concerned inquiries from Emperor Jian. Xie Chengze also offered sympathetic remarks, “Commissioner Sheng, could it be you slept poorly last night? Ah, this prince too tossed and turned, finding sleep elusive.”
Sheng Shihai knew perfectly well why Xie Chengze had struggled to sleep.
With no one at court currently joining his faction, his own subordinates remaining inactive, those fence-sitters having been “provoked” by Xie Chengze into defecting to the Crown Prince’s camp, and Shen Yuan—who could have lent him crucial support—imprisoned, only he, the high official overseeing the Salt and Iron Commission, remained as Xie Chengze’s lifeline to contend against the Crown Prince.