Chapter 0034: Rule-Abiding Lord Shen, Smiling Tiger Xie Chengze

Shen Yuan had a headache.

This was indeed a deadly situation. With Shen Yuan stretched thin and unable to be in multiple places at once, given the refugees’ pace, he could at most persuade those from two counties to turn back after they reached Jiangdu Xian.

Just as Shen Yuan was swamped with work, Xie Chengze sneakily hid behind a wooden pillar in the corridor and waved a small hand at the hurriedly passing Shen Yuan.

Shen Yuan initially intended to ignore him, but then Xie Chengze whistled the rogue’s tune often favored by Jingcheng’s dandies, calling out in a “delicate” voice, “Shen Lang~ Come here~”

Shen Yuan instantly broke out in goosebumps and wanted even less to engage with him. However, remembering Xie Chengze’s icy words and utterly disappointed look from that day, he stopped, clenched the hilt of his sword at his waist, and ultimately turned to stride toward him.

With major affairs at hand, it wasn’t the time to completely fall out with Xie Chengze.

“Your Highness, Second Prince, if you have something to say, say it quickly. I am very busy,” he said in a low tone, tinged with a trace of forced compromise and annoyance.

“Ahem, has Lord Shen devised a strategy to deal with those tens of thousands of refugees?” Xie Chengze coughed lightly, pretending to be serious.

“I am incompetent,” Shen Yuan replied, lowering his head and eyes, his brows etched with resentment.

You said I’m incompetent, didn’t you? Then I’ll show you just how incompetent I am.

“Oh, I know you’re incompetent. You don’t need to remind me,” Xie Chengze couldn’t resist being cheeky.

Shen Yuan: …

Shen Yuan turned to leave.

“Hey, hey, hey!” Xie Chengze quickly grabbed him. Why was this man so easy to tease? “Alright, I won’t joke with you anymore. Regarding the refugee matter, I do have an idea.”

Shen Yuan turned back and looked at him suspiciously. “You?”

“Yes, if you beg me, I’ll tell you~” Xie Chengze put on airs once again.

Shen Yuan’s expression instantly darkened. “If Your Highness is truly concerned about the people, then don’t put on this kind of…”

Before he could finish, Xie Chengze shoved a gold-threaded fan into his mouth.

Shen Yuan: ???

“Better if you don’t speak. All you do is use the people’s lives to morally pressure me. Can’t you just beg me based on our pure relationship as ruler and subject, or as friends?” Xie Chengze frowned in distaste, then withdrew the fan and wiped it on Shen Yuan’s robe.

Shen Yuan: …

Shen Yuan took a deep breath and rubbed his forehead in frustration.

Occasionally, he really was both angered and amused by Xie Chengze’s bizarre and unreasonable behavior.

“Fine, so you want me to beg you?” Shen Yuan stepped forward, pressing against the corridor pillar, his tall and slender frame trapping Xie Chengze between his arms, his gaze deep and intense as he stared at him.

Since he wanted to see it, he would do it. He wanted to see what brilliant method Xie Chengze had to settle these thirty thousand refugees.

But when the words came to his lips, for some reason, they were hard to utter.

Perhaps it was because of the burning expectation in Xie Chengze’s bright eyes, or perhaps the obvious playfulness and mockery on his face made him… unconsciously feel a bit ashamed.

Especially up close, he could glimpse Xie Chengze’s slightly upturned crimson lips, proud and self-satisfied, unadorned yet vividly red, as if waiting to be plucked. With his head tilted, a tasseled red pearl earring dangled from his fair earlobe, swaying subtly and inexplicably tugging at one’s heartstrings.

He couldn’t help but take a step back, yet Xie Chengze, noticing this, pressed forward step by step, raising his fan to block his retreat. His voice was soft and slightly teasing, “Lord Shen?”

The beautiful youth raised an eyebrow delicately, as if saying: Lord Shen, are you perhaps incapable?

His heart pounded like a drum, the vibrations ringing in his ears. Shen Yuan’s originally clear gaze trembled slightly, his eyes involuntarily shifting from the other’s lips to the ground beside them.

Parting his lips, his voice came out low and hoarse due to his dry throat, inexplicably tinged with an enticing allure, “Second Prince, please… help this subject, I beg… you…”

After speaking, Shen Quanchen’s ears were already red as dripping blood.

His entire face felt as if it had been placed in a furnace, burning hot and flushed crimson. Completely unaware that he was thoroughly cooked, Shen Yuan feigned composure as he raised his hands in salute, “Is Second Prince satisfied now? Can you tell this subject the strategy you’ve conceived?”

If he dared to mess with him, he would definitely—

“Satisfied, satisfied~” Xie Chengze was inwardly laughing like a pig. He leaned close to Shen Yuan’s crimson ear and whispered a series of words.

On Shen Yuan’s face, expressions shifted from speechlessness to stunned realization, then from surprise to shock, finally settling into a peculiar look.

“You…” He hesitated, his gaze toward Xie Chengze changing multiple times.

This plan was too astonishing. For a moment, he couldn’t determine whether the person before him could truly be the foolish and mediocre Second Prince from his previous life.

The Second Prince would absolutely never conceive such thorough, even… overly peculiar tactics.

Was it because Xie Chengze had reincarnated too early and secretly gathered those talented individuals from their previous life to strategize for him, or was it that he simply…

Shen Yuan suddenly remembered two sentences Xie Chengze had once said.

“My dear Shen, I am not that vicious and ruthless Second Prince.”

“This prince has never owed Lord Shen anything, and Lord Shen has never been my enemy.”

What exactly did those words mean?

Shen Yuan didn’t dare to think further.

“Lord Shen, do you remember the bet I made with you?” Xie Chengze curved his lips in a spring-breeze smile, his radiant and beautiful face somehow making people lose their composure and feel their hearts stir, “When the waters of Min River follow my command, don’t forget to call this prince ‘father’.”

Shen Yuan: …

Shen Yuan ruthlessly strangled the momentary worldly desire he had just felt.

He, Shen Yuan, would rather starve to death, jump off Min Mountain, and drown in the Min River than entertain any improper thoughts about Xie Chengze!

“Since you approve of this prince’s strategy, then the next steps will trouble Lord Shen.” Xie Chengze imitated his saluting posture, saying with a cheerful smile, “Regarding Lizhou and Yuzhou, I’ll have Wuji guard and oversee them. You only need to delay the grain carts from the north and wait for this prince’s signal.”

“Very well.” Shen Yuan looked at him deeply, “I hope Second Prince will keep his word.”

…

After Liang Wan Da gathered the Yamen Runners and Government Soldiers from various regions, he came scrambling toward Xie Chengze in a panic, “Second Prince! The refugees are about to arrive! The scouts say the first group numbers two thousand people!”

“Governor Liang, don’t panic.” Xie Chengze patted his shoulder with full confidence, “Go now and do this, then this, and after that, do that and that.”

He explained in detail. After listening, Liang Wan Da couldn’t help but feel both astonished and worried, “Will this really solve the problem?”

“Governor Liang.” Xie Chengze stepped to his side, placing a hand on his shoulder, a meaningful smile playing at the corners of his lips. “How could merely predicting the mountain flood be enough achievement? This prince also intends to have the scholars of Jian’an paint your heroic figure reconstructing the Jiangdi, admiring the magnificent feat of the Jiangdi blocking the mountain flood.”

Upon hearing this, Governor Liang’s face turned pale.

“Your Highness, regarding the reconstruction of the Jiangdi…” he stammered in terror, “shouldn’t this matter require further consideration?”

It was only at this moment that Liang Wan Da suddenly realized the Second Prince’s extraordinary nature. The words the Second Prince had just spoken were all astonishing and unconventional. Liang Wan Da finally came to his senses and detected something amiss.

On the surface, the Second Prince appeared to be the same type of person as himself, yet all his actions were devoted to loving the people and benefiting the nation—especially the prediction of the mountain flood and heavy rain. His wisdom and decisiveness were admirable and shocking. Even Liang Wan Da himself couldn’t help but be awed by the other’s extraordinary talent.

How could such a person associate with a corrupt official like himself?

After all, Liang Wan Da had been an official for many years. No matter how dull or tempted by profit, he should have realized by now that Xie Chengze was even more formidable than Shen Yuan.

Although Shen Yuan’s behavior was arrogant and forceful, he always abided by the law and followed procedures step by step. But the Second Prince was like a smiling tiger hiding daggers behind his smile—with just a few words, he had completely manipulated him…

Probably the Second Prince had long seen through his collusion with those high-ranking officials but chose not to expose it, waiting only to use him before making an example of him—!

Liang Wan Da suddenly knelt to the ground, crying out loudly, “I beg the Second Prince to spare my life!”

Xie Chengze raised an eyebrow slightly, unfolded his folding fan, and began gently fanning himself. “Oh? What makes Governor Liang say such a thing?”