Chapter 0275: A Fortune Can’t Buy Your Happiness, Nor Your Disgust

The night was unbearable.

At dawn, Xie Chengze, who had exhausted himself into a fitful sleep, woke and called for hot water to cleanse himself, emerging once more as the vigorous, proud Prince Regent.

His appetite had severely diminished, yet Xie Chengze forced food down his throat—eating, vomiting, then eating again.

If Zhu Xiaobiao could endure it, so could he.

Sheng Shihai watched him coldly, sneering, “What’s the use of all this effort, Your Highness? If I wish, everything you’re striving for could be rendered futile in an instant.”

Xie Chengze bit into the steamed bun in his hand, giving him a chilly glance. “You’re truly annoying. Can you just leave? You’re ruining my appetite.”

Sheng Shihai shrugged, unbothered by his attitude. “Your Highness should surrender sooner. You know well that if martial artists consume too much knockout drug, they risk losing all their skills.”

If he remained this stubborn, Wuhen and Wuji would lose their martial arts entirely.

Xie Chengze finally reacted like a normal person. He glared at him angrily, then buried his head in his meal again. After finishing, he vomited it all back up, pushing the leftovers and the vomit toward Sheng Shihai while raising a middle finger with its auspicious meaning.

“Eat shit.”

Xie Chengze held out for two more days.

Finally, he timidly sought out Sheng Shihai and conceded, lowering his head. “I think this can’t go on any longer.”

He took a breath and said earnestly, “Let’s make peace.”

Who cared who became emperor? The current Xie Jinyu, reborn, might not even be fit for the throne.

Sheng Shihai’s political strategies were widely recognized. Sensing the disadvantage in the court, he had immediately cut his losses, shifting from the open to the shadows to continue his schemes.

In that novel, many readers noted that Sheng Shihai had the makings of a feudal emperor—pity he encountered Shen Yuan, the male lead from the royalist faction.

“I can follow you, but I have one condition.” Xie Chengze took a deep breath. “Do whatever you want with corruption and bribery, but stop using this poisonous incense.”

This stuff truly must not be touched.

Sheng Shihai raised an eyebrow.

Clearly, he found this demand rather excessive.

To rebel legitimately, he needed a pretext—either the emperor was a tyrant, or some state-sanctioned entity threatened the people’s survival.

He had originally planned to use the poisonous incense to breach the court’s defenses, leveraging officials to pressure the emperor into permitting its use. Once the incense plunged all of Jian’an into chaos, he would lead his privately trained soldiers back, overthrow the “foolish ruler” under the banner of justice, and then ban the incense.

As for the commoners who suffered in the process?

It didn’t matter.

New commoners would always be born.

They were merely making a small sacrifice for his dynasty.

He would compensate the new subjects and lead them to witness a true golden age.

But this little one before him was asking him to abandon this path.

Sheng Shihai tapped his fingers on the table, his lowered lashes hiding his emotions. He seemed genuinely to weigh whether this trade was worth it. After a long while, he lifted his gaze, smiling at Xie Chengze. “Your Highness, what are you prepared to offer in return?”

Xie Chengze had long prepared his explanation. “Collude with the Xiongnu, smuggle horses and ironware, and raise a private army! When our forces are strong, we’ll use the Xiongnu to storm the imperial palace. After the emperor’s death, we’ll turn on the Xiongnu and kill them, directly incorporating the vast grasslands into our territory!”

“If you’re worried about lacking provisions to sustain the army, I can develop the northeast into a granary! You know I have the capability!”

The northeast wasn’t just rich in coal—it also had black soil and petroleum!

A modern heavy industrial development zone was no empty boast!

Sheng Shihai’s eyes flickered, clearly tempted.

“Using poisonous incense to infiltrate the court damages the dynasty’s foundation! Why do that?” Xie Chengze declared with soaring ambition. “Rather than harming our own officials and people, why not use the frontier Xiongnu to reap the spoils? When both internal and external threats are eliminated, wouldn’t that be joyous?”

Sheng Shihai was persuaded.

As Xie Chengze had said, the poisonous incense harmed others without benefiting oneself. It was better to use the frontier Xiongnu, secretly eliminate the entire Xie imperial clan, and then rightfully ascend the throne with the support of all officials.

“If you think smuggling generates too little wealth too slowly,” Xie Chengze began to let loose, “I have many other money-making methods—like usury, illegal fundraising, pyramid schemes, fraud…”

All were methods Sheng Shihai had never heard of.

His gaze toward Xie Chengze shifted subtly. He hadn’t expected the young man to possess countless legitimate ways to earn money, yet also such unconventional and efficient illegal methods.

Capable of both good and evil.

Killing him would truly be a pity, like cutting flesh from one’s own thigh.

“Your Highness has seen reason—this brings me great joy.” Sheng Shihai grew fond of Xie Chengze, watching the young man’s proud expression and chuckling involuntarily. His tone carried a hint of feigned grievance. “I only hope Your Highness won’t deceive me again.”

Xie Chengze gave an awkward laugh. “Let’s not dwell on the past.”

He glanced at Sheng Shihai’s expression before suggesting, “How about dining together tonight? Prepare some Blue Bridge Breeze and Moonlight—I’m craving it.”

Seeming somewhat embarrassed, he crossed his arms, his expression tinged with loneliness. “Wine can ease some of the pain.”

Tonight was precisely when the poison would flare up.

Sheng Shihai paused, observing the lingering shadows under the young man’s eyes and his perpetually bitten, torn lips that never seemed to heal. A rare pang of compassion rose in his heart.

He nodded. “Very well.”

That night, Sheng Shihai brought two jars of Blue Bridge Breeze and Moonlight. Xie Chengze produced a golden wine flask from somewhere, poured wine from the jar into it, then ceremoniously filled two cups.

Sheng Shihai teased him, “So troublesome.”

He preferred drinking directly from the jar—after all, his aim was precise enough to never spill a drop.

Xie Chengze shot him a light glare. “My pleasure is priceless!”

After saying this, he handed the jade cup filled with wine to Sheng Shihai.

Sheng Shihai accepted the cup but didn’t drink, staring at it as if lost in thought.

Xie Chengze drained his cup in one gulp. Seeing the other still hadn’t drunk, he asked curiously, “What’s wrong?”

Sheng Shihai swirled the cup without speaking. Only when Xie Chengze grew impatient and rolled his eyes did he smile and say, “Hmm, afraid Your Highness might have poisoned it?”

Xie Chengze: …

“Ridiculous.” Xie Chengze snatched the cup from him and drank it all. “Satisfied now?”

Sheng Shihai finally smiled, watching as Xie Chengze poured him wine. He deliberately drank from the exact spot on the rim where Xie Chengze’s lips had just touched.

Xie Chengze: “…Sheng Shihai, you’re disgusting.”

“A prince’s disgust is priceless,” Sheng Shihai remarked with a sigh.

Xie Chengze: “…”