Qi Yuan had once bribed a group of bandits to ambush her mid-journey, even going so far as to break her own leg before she finally managed to return to the capital.
Now Qi Wang curled his lips coldly. “Jiangxi doesn’t have much, but if there’s one thing we do have these years, it’s bandits. I don’t have any good gifts to entertain the imperial inspector, let them go!”
Go, go, go and kill Xiao Yunting!
Eunuch Xu sighed silently again. He felt Qi Wang was treating this far too lightly.
This was a huge matter. He lowered his voice and said, “Your Highness, perhaps it would be wise to call in the provincial governor, the prefect of Hongdu, and the assistant magistrate for a joint discussion.”
Floods in Jiangxi were nothing new, but ones with consequences this severe? That was a first.
True, Qi Wang was responsible, but not a single one of those officials would get off scot-free either.
At this point, they were all grasshoppers tied to the same rope.
What was Qi Wang afraid of?
If anything, those officials probably wished even more than he did that Xiao Yunting would die.
Eunuch Xu smiled faintly at the prince. “Your Highness, even if you’ve made mistakes, they can’t be too many. After all, this is only your first year in the fief!”
A new vassal prince, what could he possibly understand?
Even if he wanted to meddle, how much damage could he actually do?
But those officials were different.
Year after year, Jiangxi faced floods. Year after year, the imperial court sent disaster relief funds.
And yet, why were the levees still collapsing?
Why were the people still displaced and homeless?
Why were starving refugees still dying in droves?
Could all of that be blamed on Qi Wang?
Reminded of this, Qi Wang perked up instantly. “Go call them in! I’ll host a banquet!”
Truth be told, the local officials had been waiting for this meal for a long time.
Normally, a vassal prince was expected to oversee both civil and military affairs, but Qi Wang was a rare breed.
His temper shifted like the wind. When he was in a bad mood, he wouldn’t even give the provincial governor the time of day, leaving the poor man standing outside his residence for hours.
So now, with the prince personally inviting them for dinner, it was truly rare!
But Qi Wang wasn’t one for subtlety. The dishes had barely been served and no one had even taken a proper bite when he got straight to the point: “I’m sure you’ve all heard the news. The imperial inspector is on his way, isn’t he?”
The words hit like a bomb. No one at the table could eat another bite.
Everyone set down their chopsticks, knowing full well that the prince had more to say.
Qi Wang didn’t beat around the bush. With a faint smirk, he continued, “That nephew of mine isn’t easy to deal with. I’m sure you’ve all heard, back in the canal corruption case, he had dozens of people executed.”
The table was covered in delicacies, but no one had the appetite for any of it.
The prince’s words hit the mark.
Indeed.
The imperial grandson was a notoriously strict man.
What everyone feared most was an investigation.
And clearly, Xiao Yunting meant to investigate. Throughout his journey, he had refused any ceremonial welcome from local officials, a clear sign of his stance.
The Jiangxi Provincial Governor, Xiong Liangyong, cautiously spoke up: “Your Highness, this is a natural disaster, not a man-made one. It’s truly not our fault.”
The other officials all chimed in to echo him.
Qi Wang smiled and said nothing. He simply lowered his head and drank a cup of tea.
It was the Prefect of Hongdu, Huang Hongzhong, who spoke next in a low voice: “That may be true… but only if the imperial inspector is reasonable.”
Everyone fell silent.
The truth was clear, Xiao Yunting didn’t seem like a man who would be reasonable.
But could any of the men at this table withstand an investigation from the imperial grandson?
You can’t trust a man without a vice.
Xiao Yunting didn’t indulge in women. He lacked for nothing in gold or silver. He was like a slippery fish, impossible to get a hold of.
And for someone like that, the best solution was often… elimination.
Of course, being the imperial grandson, no one had dared think such a thought before.
But now was different. With Qi Wang personally hosting this banquet, wasn’t this him taking the lead?
Many things only required the first person to take the fall.
Huang Hongzhong saw the silent stares around the table and understood, they were all just waiting for someone to be the first villain.
He clenched his teeth, lowered his voice, and said: “The starving refugees outside aren’t even human anymore. Let them go. Send them in.”
Everyone’s eyes lit up.
The imperial court had issued several decrees to open the granaries and release food.
But the problem was, there was no grain left.
Most of it had been embezzled layer by layer long ago.
Now, the granaries were nearly empty.
And that was why the streets outside were filled with refugees.
Among officials, there was a dark, unspoken rule: refugees no longer counted as people.
To stave off hunger, they’d eat anything, Guanyin clay, tree bark, anything that could temporarily fill a belly.
And when the hunger got bad enough…
Even children weren’t off limits.
So when Huang Hongzhong spoke, everyone at the table understood immediately. They exchanged knowing glances.
Qi Wang took the lead with a laugh: “Enough of this talk, let’s drink!”
Everyone broke out in laughter and began fawning over Qi Wang again.
Some even said they hadn’t paid their respects yet and left behind generous gifts.
Once they were gone, Qi Wang looked over the gift lists and sneered, tossing them aside: “Just throw them in the storeroom.”
Those things might be rare to others, but to someone like him, pampered since birth, they weren’t even worth a second look.
Eunuch Xu acknowledged the order and began rolling up the gift lists.
But just then, Qi Wang’s eyes caught something on the last list. He pressed his hand down on the paper.
Pointing at a few characters, he said to Eunuch Xu: “Bring this out. I want to see it.”
Eunuch Xu was puzzled. He hadn’t expected Qi Wang to care about a gift from some local official. But since he was ordered, he didn’t hesitate and quickly brought it over.
Inside the jade box was a pair of tiger fangs.
Qi Wang stared at them in silence.
A long, long while passed before he suddenly picked them up, as if about to smash them, but in the end, he just clenched them tightly in his hand.
His eyes lowered. “Have the embroidery maid in the household string them into a pendant.”
Eunuch Xu was baffled, but of course, obeyed.
Tiger fangs?
Eunuch Xu said he didn’t know how to treat someone well. Qi Yuan said he had no ability to love.
But he remembered, Qi Yuan liked tiger fangs.
So then, if he kidnapped her and gave her this pair of tiger fangs…
Would she change her mind?
Qi Wang clutched his chest in fear.
Something inside him was telling him: this wasn’t right.
No. How could it be?
He was starting to realize it: Qi Yuan was a person who said what she meant. She would never love him. She would never come to him.
So…
He would have to change himself.
Was that it?!
He stared at the pair of tiger fangs in front of him, his face flickering between dark and light.
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