Chapter 55: The Tacit Cooperation (Competition?) of Reborn Ministers
Calm down, think about it calmly...
Wang Chuandao, barely managing to maintain his composure in his frantic state, summoned his trusted aides and pulled them aside, giving them a serious and detailed instruction: "Go and investigate again! Cough cough cough cough..."
"Find out exactly what business the prince has been doing and what crops he has been growing. Either pretend to be a merchant or listen to who is listing the prince's crimes. Verify everything! Do this secretly, behind everyone's back."
He persisted, giving orders to investigate the matter thoroughly from both sides.
It's important to understand that since the new emperor rose to power, he has discovered many useful new crops. Perhaps one of them is what people are referring to as "not doing anything productive and just wasting time and energy"? It's understandable that the people don't understand and rumors circulate.
Or perhaps... the Second Prince had been keeping his activities well hidden in the early days, but this time they came to provide disaster relief. Maybe... things had changed, and the new emperor was prepared? To cover up his own misdeeds?
With doubts in his heart, Wang Chuandao saw everything as shrouded in mystery, and eagerly awaited his confidant to confirm it.
"Yes!" the two trusted confidants replied in unison and left.
Wang Chuandao sat there blankly, his mind a jumbled mess of guesses: "..."
Alright.
He composed himself.
It's a big no-no to let your mind wander and become unable to get anything done before the results are in. He needs to focus on doing his job well first!
Wang Chuandao's expression turned solemn. He glanced at the group of officials in the distance, then leaned over and whispered to the clerks and supervisory officials, "How is it?"
"This plan is exactly the same as the memorial submitted by the local prefect," one of the officials whispered. "When Ma Bao and the others came back just now, they said that there were such pamphlets everywhere outside, and they had been copied throughout the entire Liuzhou Prefecture. The source was the county government, and it is said that they came from a secretary."
“Find him,” Wang Chuandao said decisively.
A minor official gave a wink and opened his tightly clenched palm. Inside was a small wooden plaque, engraved with stars of strange, powerful shapes, and marked with the Bai Family Restaurant logo on the corner—a voucher for a private room at the Bai Family Restaurant.
"Tomorrow at noon," the clerk whispered. This was something a servant had quietly slipped to him along with the food that had just been delivered.
...
"You're going to see the imperial envoy tomorrow, and you're coming to the Prince's residence so openly today? Aren't you afraid of being discovered?" Bai Xuan asked clearly as he ate his fragrant rice.
Today is another day I've been kept here by the prince for a free meal.
"So what if they found out? How can a powerless clerk like me join forces with Magistrate Mu to rebel against the Prefect if I don't climb up to a powerful backer?" Qin Liusong retorted confidently, having even fabricated his own background.
"So you and I are both using every means to curry favor with the prince?" Bai Xuan looked at Qin Liusong in surprise, thinking how audacious he was. Didn't this make the prince appear as a foolish prince, while Qin, the advisor, was a clever and good person who was doing practical things by taking advantage of the prince's high position?
This, this isn't...
"This is something I also agreed to. The Liuzhou County government deserves the most credit, which can never be erased." Qi Chengming came out of the west courtyard to explain, and beckoned the little eunuch following behind him to come forward and serve Mr. Qin a dish as well. "Try it quickly. The taste is a little strange, but it is still braised pork."
"What? Your Highness?" Qin Liusong then noticed that Bai Xuan was eating without looking up, with a plate of the same tempting meat dish in front of him. The "braised pork" had clear layers of fat and lean meat, cut into small, trembling pieces, glistening with oily sauce.
In my memory, this dish seemed to have become popular all over the country, and the main ingredient was pork, which even nobles were unwilling to eat, and was commonly known as "cheap meat"... But it is said that the feeding method has been improved by the new emperor, so it can be eaten normally. Qin Liusong's family was simple, and he was focused on climbing the social ladder, so he didn't have the courage to go out to eat and break through his impressions, and therefore he had never eaten it.
But now...
Did His Highness specially serve him a portion when this dish was first created?!
Qin Liusong sat down without hesitation and picked up a piece of rice with his chopsticks. Bai Xuan pointed to the bowl of rice next to him and reminded him, "It tastes even better with the sauce on top... Mmm!" He squinted his eyes in enjoyment.
Qin Liusong paused for a moment and did as he was told, taking a bite.
An amazing and domineering flavor that I had never experienced before exploded in my mouth. It was fatty but not greasy, lean but not dry, with a rich soy sauce aroma and a perfect balance of sweet and salty... Although it had a bit of the characteristic gamey smell of animals, it was completely different from the pigs that Qin Liusong remembered!
He paused for a moment, then silently buried his head and quickened his eating pace, just like Bai Xuan had been moments before.
"..." Qi Chengming couldn't help but smile, feeling a sense of satisfaction.
They wolfed down their meal.
As the meal progressed, Bai Xuan regained his senses. He patted his slightly protruding belly, let out a soft sigh without making a sound, and asked in confusion, "Your Highness, with such delicious meat, has your method of cultivating it finally succeeded?"
"No, this is also a batch of defective products." Qi Chengming shook his head and denied it. "The piglets from the batch I raised... are still being raised. Didn't Wen Er recommend someone to me to continue raising pigs for him? That's a businessman surnamed Wang."
Qi Chengming found it funny whenever he thought about it.
He never expected things to be so coincidental. That Mr. Wang was the same Mr. Wang who had boasted at the Bai Family Restaurant about knowing the Prince. Mr. Wang had partnered with the Prince's Mansion to run a soap factory, but unexpectedly, in the quiet months that followed, he quietly made a fortune—he had quietly raised a flock of pigs, feeding them fruits and grains and providing them with fine wine and sweet spring water.
Who knows when he met Wen Er and made connections, trying to win the prince's favor with this batch of piglets, but he didn't expect... the prince himself was raising a batch of high-quality piglets. Now he's obediently staying at the estate, recruiting people to diligently learn the technique of castrating pigs, and the batch of two- or three-month-old piglets that he brought, which hadn't been castrated, have become the raw material for braised pork, and are now useless.
After explaining the whole story, Qi Chengming couldn't help but chuckle: "Now that we have Wang the merchant's example, we have another piece of evidence against my extravagance, making it as convincing as can be!"
Listen to this: out of curiosity, he tried eating cheap meat, and someone specially fed him a batch of piglets with the finest grains and wine to present to him. Qi Chengming was already mentally prepared for the imperial envoy to return in a rage and severely impeach him.
In a serious case, Emperor Hongren might even reprimand him and demote him.
"I've actually heard of this Lord Wang..." Qin Liusong said thoughtfully, holding his chopsticks. In his previous life, he had never dealt with him; one was an official stationed in the provinces, and the other was a high-ranking official in the capital, so they had no way to cross paths. However, the Ministry of Personnel was the department in charge of promoting officials. Qin Liusong had thoroughly investigated him in order to curry favor, and among them, this Lord Wang was the only tough nut to crack.
It wasn't just because he favored the image of a loyal minister.
Whatever the emperor appointed him to, he would do without hesitation, switching sides to fulfill his duties without a trace of the supposed lofty integrity expected of a civil official. Yet, he was also extremely shrewd and possessed a delicate mind that belied his rugged appearance. He was a cunning man, but he would refrain from using such tactics in front of the emperor, a trait that made him far more endearing to the emperor than any other civil official.
But for officials... this is somewhat hateful, and many people have expressed their dissatisfaction.
Qin Liusong had always held this Lord Wang in awe, because after pondering for so long, he still couldn't figure out what Lord Wang wanted. Status? Position? Fame? The Emperor's favor? None of these seemed quite right. He was like a tool that could be used anywhere, terrifyingly selfless, the only place where he showed any selfishness was in his excessive soft-heartedness towards ordinary people.
Qin Liusong would never believe that Lord Wang's only selfish motives were for the sake of the people's well-being. How could there be such a person?
Does Wang Chuandao want to become a saint?
This unfathomable terror is probably why the emperor wanted to turn him into a loyal subject.
However, the awe he felt in his previous life did not prevent Qin Liusong from using this limited understanding to his advantage and manipulate the imperial envoy.
"...I'll be able to make good use of his weakness tomorrow." Qin Liusong revealed a confident smile.
Someone who cares so much about the people must not tolerate corrupt and derelict officials, right?
Come, bring disaster relief grain. Let's go... taking these two good-for-nothings with us is just right; they're a special gift from Liuzhou to the Imperial Envoy.
The young advisor with his neatly trimmed beard gave a dangerous and sinister smile, somewhat like a fox.
Bai Xuan shrank back slightly, looking away like a harmless little animal, and continued eating quickly with her cheeks puffed out: "..."
We can't afford to offend him; the prince's men are all capable. He's just a simple, happy small-time businessman with a wife, kids, and a warm bed. We're not getting involved...
...
the next day.
With dark circles under his eyes, Wang Chuandao listened to his confidants' detailed investigation and, with a somber expression, discreetly made his way to the private room through the back door. He was accompanied by two others: an official from the Ministry of Personnel who would be working with him, and an official from the supervisory team.
"I heard... that prince..." The official in the inspection team was an acquaintance of Wang Chuandao. He hesitated, then shook his head. He remembered how anxious Wang Chuandao had been on his journey. The prince was alright now, but... what a tragedy!
Brother Wang has that kind of temperament; now he can only endure things he doesn't like, and I don't know how uncomfortable that is.
"You mean his reputation is bad, right?" Wang Chuandao's expression was grim, but not too bad. Because of his memories from his previous life, he had a different perspective on many things. For example, after carefully listening to what his confidants had found out that night, he no longer thought that His Highness was engaging in strange and frivolous activities or was indulging in extravagance and embezzlement.
These things are only in their initial stages now, but he has seen how much convenience they will bring to the people when they grow up.
Compared to the new emperor's brilliant and ingenious plans, what he wanted to do for the people... was just foolish and a waste of effort. What's that saying again? Inefficiency. Inefficient.
Once this illusion was removed, the miasma before our eyes vanished.
Once Wang Chuandao regained his composure, he began to consider everything he had seen since arriving in Liuzhou. Two of the most suspicious figures, Magistrate Mu and the clerk surnamed Qin, came to the fore. The most suspicious area in Liuzhou—the Bai Family Restaurant—was also fast approaching.
He pondered it carefully:
It's hard to say about others... but Old Master Mu's actions in court this time were highly suspicious. His second son, this young Magistrate Mu, and that illustrious clerk surnamed Qin in the Liuzhou county government, are definitely on the Prince's side!
So, now that the Prince has encountered the Imperial Envoy's disaster relief team, what does he need most?
"..." Wang Chuandao glanced deeply at the two officials behind him, then casually stepped up the stairs, lifted the hem of his shirt in the private room, and sat down leisurely.
Come on, let him see—is this perfect teamwork enough?
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Author's Note: A Little Theater—
Qin Liusong: Hmph, I'm ready to wreak havoc and crush everyone!
Wang Chuandao: I understand his position, and my position... do you two colleagues understand?
The other two wronged officials: ?
We thought today's game would be three against one, but it turned out to be two against two.
...You two, each leading your own group, teamed up to beat up us lowly karami?
.
(My hands will shake after using the medicine. Please point out any typos in the next couple of days, and I will correct them all at once.)
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