Chapter 0004: The Ambitious Second Prince, Heh Heh Heh Heh Xie Chengze
Xie Chengze looked over.
Shen Yuan was dressed in a magnificent Moon-Silver White Robe, its edges adorned with a deep indigo silk that added a touch of solemnity. Paired with an Azure Jade Belt fastened around his waist, it accentuated his tall and slender figure, giving him an aura of elegance and grace.
His jet-black hair was half tied up high with a cyan jade crown, while the other half cascaded like a sheer veil over his broad shoulders and back. This style was neither too plain nor overly extravagant, striking just the right balance of refined charm.
Hearing someone enter through the door, the man turned his head slightly, revealing an exceptionally handsome young face.
Shen Yuan carried an air of innate nobility. His two slender eyebrows were as dark as lacquer, beneath which his bright eyes sparkled like flowing starlight, full of vitality. His slightly thin lips held a faint, almost imperceptible smile, unable to conceal his unrestrained and roguish temperament.
However, that smile vanished in the next instant. Xie Chengze keenly noticed that the moment Shen Yuan saw who had arrived, a flicker of disgust flashed in his eyes.
Disgust?
Xie Chengze was puzzled, unsure where he had offended Shen Yuan.
“Ze’er.” Upon seeing Xie Chengze, Emperor Jian smiled kindly and pointed at Shen Yuan, saying, “This is Shen Yuan, the Grand Tutor’s grandson. You two must have met in your childhood.”
The Crown Prince had always been fond of sticking close to Xie Chengze in their youth, and since the Grand Tutor was the Crown Prince’s teacher, Shen Yuan, following the Crown Prince, had naturally encountered Xie Chengze once or twice.
Shen Yuan withdrew his smile, lowered his head slightly, and spoke in a tone that was neither warm nor cold, neither subservient nor arrogant, “Shen Yuan pays his respects to the Second Highness.”
Xie Chengze gave Shen Yuan another surprised glance.
That’s odd. Why did he remember that at this stage, Shen Yuan always referred to himself as “this commoner” or “Shen”? Why was he now using his full name, “Shen Yuan”?
In the original story, the change in Shen Yuan’s self-reference was a reflection of his rising power—from “commoner” to “your humble servant,” from “this official” to “Shen Yuan,” marking his transition from a man without official status to a path of influential minister.
However, Xie Chengze couldn’t be bothered to dwell on such details. In his view, as long as he kept a low profile, refrained from corruption and lawbreaking, and ceased coveting the emperor’s throne, he could rest easy and enjoy a lifetime of luxury as a privileged imperial second generation.
And Shen Yuan would naturally have no reason to kill him.
So his most important task now was to quickly finish his duties, clock out, and go home to sleep.
Nodding briefly as a greeting, he recalled the original host’s demeanor in front of Emperor Jian from the book. He cheerfully sat down by the desk, poured himself a cup of tea, gulped it down, and then exclaimed, “Father! The official who donated the least silver has been identified!”
Hearing this, Shen Yuan lifted his eyelids slightly.
Donation silver?
Emperor Jian enthusiastically summarized the day’s court events for Shen Yuan, praising, “Ze’er and the Crown Prince’s coordination in this move was truly brilliant. With just a few words, they saved the national treasury a considerable amount of silver and alleviated much of my worries!”
Shen Yuan’s heart sank slightly.
In his previous life, at this time, there had been no donation silver affair—only the Crown Prince proposing the additional questions for the Spring Examination in court. Xie Chengze had attempted to steal the spotlight and, after the court session, rushed to the imperial study to ask His Majesty for the position of Spring Examination supervisor.
No wonder he hadn’t encountered Xie Chengze on his way here; he had thought some mishap had occurred. It turned out Xie Chengze had gone to the Ministry of Revenue on business.
Nevertheless, even if these events slightly diverged from his previous life, Xie Chengze’s intention to seek the Spring Examination supervisor position from His Majesty would undoubtedly remain unchanged.
Shen Yuan understood Xie Chengze’s character all too well—a man of wolfish ambition, underhanded methods, lofty but impractical aspirations, and unlikely to achieve great things.
Even if Emperor Jian indulged him, allowing him to shine today by riding on the Crown Prince’s coattails, wasn’t the true beneficiary still the Crown Prince? And wouldn’t the one offending all the officials be Xie Chengze himself?
Still as foolish as ever, completely unaware of it.
Though inwardly sneering, Shen Yuan’s expression remained unchanged as he raised his hands in congratulation. “Your Majesty is blessed to have two such talented princes assisting you—a blessing for Your Majesty, for the Jian’an Dynasty, and for all the people under heaven.”
Xie Chengze stole a glance at Shen Yuan.
Hey, the protagonist was praising him!
Did this mean he’d made a good first impression on Shen Yuan?
“Speak then—who contributed the least donation silver?” Emperor Jian set aside his smile, his expression growing slightly more serious, as if he placed great importance on this answer.
“Well…” Xie Chengze appeared somewhat hesitant. “This son doesn’t know how to put it.”
“What’s the matter?” Emperor Jian asked patiently, though he already had his suspicions.
Corrupt officials naturally wouldn’t dare contribute the smallest amount. The one at the bottom was likely to be a truly honest official—and such an official would inevitably stand opposed to Xie Chengze.
Emperor Jian knew exactly what Xie Chengze would say.
Yet the name Xie Chengze uttered next took the emperor by surprise.
“If we’re counting by the amount of donation silver, the one who contributed the least was your son.” Xie Chengze’s face reddened as if embarrassed. “I donated thirty-nine taels, nine mace, and ninety-nine copper coins.”
Emperor Jian stared at Xie Chengze in disbelief, immediately realizing that the honest official must have contributed exactly forty taels.
But since when had Ze’er learned such tact?
They say no one knows a son better than his father, yet Emperor Jian never imagined that simple-minded Xie Chengze possessed such skill in placating officials and showing consideration for his subordinates.
This would have been utterly impossible in the past.
Could the Crown Prince have taught him secretly out of lingering affection?
But given Ze’er’s stubborn pride—Emperor Jian was quite certain—he would rather offend all the civil and military officials than accept help from the Crown Prince.
The emperor began studying Xie Chengze covertly. He knew exactly what those foolish retainers in Cheng Huan Palace were capable of. Could Xie Chengze have recruited new advisors to devise such a brilliant scheme?
His proposal about confiscating properties in court today had also surprised Emperor Jian. Though Xie Chengze was ruthless in private, he never showed it openly.
If there really were new advisors, they might be promising talents who could guide Ze’er back to the right path. Though if that were the case…
As these thoughts crossed his mind, he heard Xie Chengze hesitating beside him again. “But… Father…”
Seeing his dithering, hemming-and-hawing manner, Emperor Jian instantly felt his hopeless little Ze’er had returned. “What is it?” he asked.
“If we consider only those who made donations, then I indeed contributed the least. But…” Xie Chengze weighed his words carefully, stealing a glance at the emperor and perfectly imitating the original host’s habit of watching the emperor’s expression.
Only his eyes were too clear, lending his demeanor a touch of charming cunning. “But in court, it was stated that all civil and military officials must donate. Those who didn’t contribute at all are actually the ones who gave the least.”
The moment these words left his mouth, the other two present immediately saw through his intended meaning.
Shen Yuan inwardly sneered. He had known all along that nothing good would come from Xie Chengze’s mouth. Those ministers who had held onto a lucky mindset and failed to make their donation deserved whatever misfortune came from being caught by Xie Chengze.
Emperor Jian, meanwhile, already wore an expression of understanding.
Just as Shen Yuan prepared to hear who the unlucky one was, Xie Chengze chuckled and said, “The Crown Prince didn’t donate silver.”
“Cough—” Shen Yuan choked, looking up at Xie Chengze in shock.
How could the Crown Prince be made to take the blame for this?
But then he realized it made perfect sense.
Yes, this was Xie Chengze after all—always fixated on the Crown Prince’s smallest missteps, ready with sarcastic remarks at the slightest opportunity, eager to proclaim far and wide that the Crown Prince was unworthy of his position.
Having contended with Xie Chengze for so long—a full ten years—he had forgotten that during this period, Xie Chengze was still just a petty man who targeted the Crown Prince in underhanded ways, not yet the vicious wolf and venomous snake who would later form factions for personal gain and openly confront the Crown Prince’s faction.
Just as Shen Yuan was feeling contemptuous, he heard Xie Chengze continue with a chuckle, “The Fourth Prince didn’t donate silver either.”
Shen Yuan: ?
Now Shen Yuan was genuinely astonished.
In his previous life, Xie Chengze had disdained to regard the naive Fourth Prince as an enemy, treating him like dust and ignoring him entirely. The Crown Prince, who always valued brotherhood, had never involved the Fourth Prince in the struggle for the throne, to avoid him meeting the same fate as the eldest prince, who held military power.
But today, why was Xie Chengze suddenly targeting the Fourth Prince?
No… After a moment’s thought, Shen Yuan understood his intention.
By naming them both, Xie Chengze was both accusing the Crown Prince of lacking compassion for the disaster victims and avoiding the appearance of deliberate targeting. Xie Chengze’s real target was still the Crown Prince; the Fourth Prince was merely an unlucky casualty caught in the crossfire.
One had to admit, Xie Chengze’s cunning had improved somewhat.
Wait, hold on…
Shen Yuan narrowed his eyes, considering the differences between today and his previous life. An absurd thought suddenly occurred to him.
Could it be… that Xie Chengze had also been reborn?
His right hand instinctively reached for the Azure Sword at his waist, only to remember that all weapons had been confiscated by the palace guards before he entered. His gaze fixed darkly on Xie Chengze, a flash of killing intent rising in his heart.
In his previous life, he had overcome countless obstacles to kill Xie Chengze. In this life, he could do it again.
He would not allow the tragedies of his past life to repeat themselves.