The Crown Prince

"What?" Chen Wu was stunned.

Shui Ziyi said, "If you want to kill Qiao Weisheng, you can't do it with just one move."

"What do you mean?"

"Others may not know, but I do. Qiao Weisheng practiced the Muscle-Shifting Bone-Misplacing Secret Manual. At a critical moment, he could shift his internal organs and blood vessels to evade a fatal blow. You'd need at least a second strike to kill him."

"I looked into it, though, and you were driven back by Yang Yuchun after making only one move."

So that was it. No wonder Qiao Weisheng hadn't been afraid that he'd take the money and turn the sham assassination into a real one.

"How does the general know Qiao Weisheng's fundamental martial art?"

"An old friend told me." A look of reminiscence appeared in Shui Ziyi's eyes.

"And he..."

"He's already dead."

How convenient. No one left to verify the story!

"Since you already suspected this, why did you still want to see me?" Chen Wu asked.

"There are countless extraordinary arts and secret techniques in this world. Perhaps your martial arts countered the Muscle-Shifting Bone-Misplacing Secret Manual, and you really could have killed Qiao Weisheng with one move. That's why I wanted to ask you in person."

"Now it seems you know nothing about it, so you certainly weren't the one who killed him."

"If you know all this, why not tell the authorities?" Chen Wu asked, puzzled.

"Although I came from the Sea-Pacifying Palace, my roots are in the Academy of Sciences. I'm not with the Investigation of Things School, so why should I get mixed up in this?" Shui Ziyi spread his hands. "If I let it out and ruin someone's plans, I'd only earn their hatred."

"So I'm stuck carrying the blame?" Chen Wu sneered.

"Someone as skilled as you is afraid of carrying a little blame?"

The problem was, I wasn't skilled!

"I don't like taking the blame!" Chen Wu's voice turned colder.

General Shui was a shrewd man. Hearing the change in Chen Wu's tone, he didn't want to offend him either, so he said, "If you truly don't want to take responsibility, I can testify on your behalf. But then you'll have used up a favor from me, and I can't give you the Sea-Suppressing Medal."

"Well..." Chen Wu hesitated.

Taking the blame for Qiao Weisheng for now wouldn't hurt. The Golden Wind and Drizzle Tower already had more debts than it could worry about, while a favor from General Shui was far more valuable. It would be a pity to waste one so easily.

With that thought, Chen Wu said, "General, you've planned this well. Keeping what you know from the authorities was your mistake in the first place, and now you're turning it into a bargaining chip."

Knowing he was in the wrong, Shui Ziyi laughed twice to cover his embarrassment.

Chen Wu stopped beating around the bush and said, "I can spare you from having to testify. But I hope you'll be equally candid with me."

"Why are you so concerned about Qiao Weisheng's death? What happened at court? What are you really worried about?"

"Alas," Shui Ziyi sighed. "When all's said and done, it comes down to one thing."

"The School of Heavenly Principle and the Crown Prince they support have caused a catastrophe, and the court is shaking to its foundations. At this moment, the Crown Prince and the School of Heavenly Principle can't afford to show weakness, so they're trying to shore up their position. Like mad dogs, they're snapping at everyone they see."

"I'm worried there's more to Qiao Weisheng's death—that it was the Crown Prince's faction killing a chicken to scare the monkeys, as a warning to the Investigation of Things School, which has been making a fuss lately."

"Now that I've confirmed you weren't the killer, my guess is probably spot on."

"When all's said and done, it comes down to one thing!" After the autopsy was over and the others had left, the Star-Pulling Sword spoke with growing impatience. "Your Crown Prince's Mansion needs to stabilize the situation right now, so you've chosen to go on the attack as your defense. Qiao Weisheng may be wealthy, but his father-in-law just died, leaving him rather isolated and helpless. He looked like the easiest person to handle, making him a perfect target to kill as a warning to others."

Standing before Qiao Weisheng's coffin, Yang Yuchun, Crown Prince's Mansion Attendant, looked as if he'd suffered a grave injustice. "Mr. Guo, are you trying to pin the blame on us?"

"Last night, you sneaked in here in disguise and came face to face with me. Don't think I didn't recognize you! And that Mystic Realm expert who came out of nowhere and rescued you—you can't tell me you know nothing about him!" Guo Xuchu pressed him relentlessly.

Yang Yuchun was at a loss for words. "This... That person was indeed someone I hired."

"I'd meant to have him hold you off while I checked whether Qiao Weisheng was really dead." Yang Yuchun gave a bitter smile. "But your reputation is well deserved. The two of us, one in the Mystic Realm and one in the Concentrated Spirit Realm, joined forces and were still defeated by you. We didn't even make it inside to take a look before we had to retreat."

"Did you really send no one else?"

"No! We had no time to find that many experts."

Yang Yuchun's answer was firm enough that Guo Xuchu began to hesitate. "If it wasn't you... then who could it have been?"

"From the looks of it, the Crown Prince's Mansion must be involved somehow." Chen Wu nodded. "But what exactly did the Crown Prince do?"

"Fools are always patting themselves on the back over their foolish schemes!" Shui Ziyi said disdainfully. "The people of E Province saw the profits to be made from cotton and silk in Su-Song, so they began replacing grain crops with cotton and setting up textile businesses."

"When the Crown Prince governed E Province, he saw the chance to make a profit and encouraged private business to pursue cotton cultivation. Besides, Su-Song was the Investigation of Things School's stronghold. Having E Province replace grain with cotton would let it compete with Su-Song and strike a blow against the school."

This was the Great Shun version of turning rice paddies into mulberry fields from Ming Dynasty 1566! The more Chen Wu listened, the more familiar it sounded.

Chen Wu also knew that in the TV drama, the Ming government had forced the people to replace rice with mulberry trees to make money. But reality was completely different. Since cash crops were more profitable, people had always switched from rice to mulberry cultivation of their own accord. The government didn't need to force them; on the contrary, to safeguard food supplies, it would introduce policies to curb the conversion of rice fields to mulberry fields.

He hadn't expected this Crown Prince to value money over his own life and actually encourage people to replace grain with cotton.

Chen Wu regarded the hard-headed Crown Prince with a look of admiration and said sarcastically, "The Crown Prince truly has the makings of a sage."

"Hahaha, you really don't hold back!" Shui Ziyi laughed. "The Crown Prince didn't know that Su-Song had been able to expand its cotton and textile industries without causing major trouble because it had cotton from India, rice from Japan and the Southern Ocean, and beans and wheat from Liaodong to rely on. Seagoing ships could travel with the seasonal winds and ocean currents. Even over thousands of miles, it cost less than going upriver against the Yangtze River."

"In just two years, E Province had widely replaced grain with cotton. No one was planting rice, and food supplies ran short. Last year, the Yangtze flooded, and the Han River rose, cutting the rice harvest even further. By year's end, rice prices had soared. Greedy merchants hoarded grain, and starving people raided government storehouses. The Crown Prince had no choice but to impose a 'rice ban,' forbidding even a single grain of rice from leaving E Province, and urgently bring grain from Sichuan Province. Even so, the people of E Province were furious."

"For the past few months, the Investigation of Things School has taken advantage of the situation to attack the Crown Prince. The Crown Prince and the School of Heavenly Principle have answered in kind, and now the two sides are poised to clash."

"If it were a small mistake, the Crown Prince could take a step back and show that he knew how to admit his errors and mend his ways. But the mistake was so big that he couldn't retreat even a single step."

"No wonder! The people of E Province have my sympathy. That damned Crown Prince has put them through the wringer." Chen Wu didn't feel the least bit sorry for the Crown Prince, who'd made decisions on a whim. He thought the man deserved whatever he got.

"You've truly grasped the essence of the Yongjiu School. No wonder you've reached the Concentrated Spirit Realm at such a young age." Hearing Chen Wu speak so bluntly about the Crown Prince, Shui Ziyi asked, "Do you have any other questions?"

"No." Pretending to be a Concentrated Spirit expert was exhausting. Chen Wu just wanted to be done as soon as possible.

Seeing that Chen Wu seemed impatient, Shui Ziyi took out the Sea-Suppressing Medal and said, "Thank you for honoring me with your time today. I'll give you this Sea-Suppressing Medal. If you ever need anything, come find me with it."

"You should lie low for the next few days. I won't keep you."

"Whether or not it was you, Qiao Weisheng is dead, and you owe me an explanation." Guo Xuchu's tone was firm. "If you and that Mystic Realm expert hadn't drawn me away from Qiao Weisheng last night, he wouldn't have died under such mysterious circumstances."

"So Qiao Weisheng's assassination yesterday was a feint, and he only pretended to die? I knew it..." Yang Yuchun didn't answer. Instead, he brought up Qiao Weisheng's death.

"There's no point discussing it! In any case, I'm giving you seven days. If you can't give me an explanation, I'll get one with my sword. The Crown Prince may have great power, but the Investigation of Things School won't let itself be bullied, and neither will I, Guo Xuchu." Guo Xuchu cut Yang Yuchun off.

"Mr. Guo, are you threatening the Crown Prince's Mansion?"

"Before I threaten the Crown Prince's Mansion, I'll threaten you first!"

Swish—

Guo Xuchu swung his scabbard. Yang Yuchun couldn't react in time and let it slice across his ceremonial headdress.

Smack!

The upper half of the headdress fell to the ground as if severed by a sharp blade.

How could he be this strong? The Star-Pulling Sword had held back during their fight last night! Yang Yuchun was horrified.

"Fine!" Yang Yuchun gritted his teeth, but what came out was an admission of defeat.

"Fine!"

Chen Wu took the Sea-Suppressing Medal and was about to examine it when Shui Ziyi pulled another paper from his robes.

It was a banknote from Zhong'an Bank!

"I really was in the wrong to keep Qiao Weisheng's matter from you. Consider this a small compensation." Shui Ziyi said.

"Well..." Chen Wu had to maintain his image as an expert and didn't want to look so greedy, so he felt awkward.

Shui Ziyi was a shrewd old hand. Seeing Chen Wu hesitate, he immediately offered him an easy way out. "You've just done something momentous, so you'll need to lie low somewhere else for a while. As the saying goes, 'A poor home, a rich road.' You'll need money while you're on the run."

Then Shui Ziyi spoke earnestly. "Besides, no one can predict the future. For the sake of my descendants, I've long wanted to befriend an expert from the Yongjiu School. If you refuse, does that mean you think I, Shui Ziyi, am an official and unworthy of your friendship?"

Well played, Shui Ziyi. No wonder he'd made it to general. He clearly hadn't earned it just by answering exam questions!

"In that case, I won't stand on ceremony." Chen Wu smiled, took the banknote from Shui Ziyi, stood, and took his leave.

As soon as he left River-Viewing Tower, Chen Wu darted into a side street and raced along with lightness skills. In the blink of an eye, after a few twists and turns, he reached a waterwheel by the Yellow River.

This was the place Old Ma had written on yesterday's note. It was one of the Golden Wind and Drizzle Tower's contact points.

But there was someone unexpected here—no, a whole group of them!