Forbidden City, Fengtian Hall.
The eunuch’s clear voice echoed through the gilded throne room:
“….Second, restore the pastoral lands.”
Propose a new land survey to reestablish boundaries and reinstate the original 1.6 million acres of pastureland.
Recommend severe punishment for officials and elites who have illegally converted pasture into private farmland, with full recovery of illicit profits made from the stolen land.
Advocate for a “Land Reclamation Order”—if those who seized land refuse to comply, officials should be dismissed, soldiers reassigned to frontier garrisons, and civilians sentenced to exile. Any local officials who fail to enforce this policy should also be held accountable.
This proposal was met with no objections and was swiftly approved.
Emperor Jinglong beckoned to Lan Xi.
Lan Xi immediately stepped forward, bowing his head to listen to the emperor’s whispered instructions.
The emperor lowered his voice and said, “Remember to remind the chief scribe to add a line in the official reply—Censorate Inspector Su Yan shall oversee the overall situation and need not personally handle every detail. Matters such as land measurement and reclamation shall be carried out by Inspector General Wei Quan. Inform Wei Quan that if he dares to pay lip service while acting otherwise, I will strip him of his official hat and send him home to plant sweet potatoes.”
Lan Xi bowed his head and repeatedly acknowledged the order, but inwardly, he couldn’t help but complain: The emperor sends people on exhausting journeys, working them to the bone, yet worries about the other person being overworked and finds ways to let them slack off. But last night, when reading Su Yan’s memorial, His Majesty was sighing about how the young inspector had been raised in comfort and was physically weak, hoping he would be able to endure hardships in Shaanxi and handle the horse administration properly. Such contradictory behavior—he might as well have just kept the man in the capital.
The crown prince, sitting close with sharp ears, hurriedly added, “Add another line! Remind him not to neglect his duty as my study companion and to write to the Eastern Palace more often in his spare time. And the letters better not be nonsense about leaves turning yellow or seeing a few wild geese flying by—he should tell me what he really thinks…”
The emperor cleared his throat.
The court officials, assuming the emperor was about to speak, all fell silent at once. Even the eunuch reading aloud became mute, and the hall was filled with silence.
The crown prince glanced at his father awkwardly and stopped talking, feeling somewhat aggrieved.
—Why is it that Su Yan’s memorials are dozens of pages long, and Father can flip through them at leisure, scrutinizing every word as if searching for pearls in a pile of golden beans, while all he gets is a mere greeting letter of just 613 words? Such unfair treatment!
The emperor noticed his son’s discontent but had no intention of comforting him.
After court was dismissed, the emperor said to him, “613 words are already plenty—more than what you wrote for your window lesson. Today, write me an essay on the art of checks and balances, no fewer than 613 words.”
The crown prince’s protests were in vain. Dejected like a defeated rooster, he left sulking.
—
Su Yan had no idea that back in the Forbidden City, the crown prince was struggling with an essay while simultaneously resenting the brevity of his letter and feeling relieved it was only 613 words—just as conflicted as his father.
Su Yan was only wondering: If he used the Imperial Sword to behead a royal relative, would Emperor Jinglong feel that his clan was being humiliated, lose patience with his overreach, and have him arrested and sent back to pay for the offense?
Because he was on the verge of losing control of his arm and cutting down the infuriatingly sarcastic fat man before him.
The fat man’s name was Zhu Yougou.
—
Pingliang County King Zhu Yougou was the grandson of the late Emperor Xianzu. His father, born to a Korean consort and an unfavored prince, was granted the title of Cun Wang and sent to Shaanxi to establish a fief early on.
After Cun Wang passed away, his eldest son inherited the title but died young, ending the Cun Wang lineage. Zhu Yougou, as the second son, only received the rank of Pingliang County King.
By blood, he was Emperor Jinglong’s nephew. But he was well aware that considering the emperor an affectionate uncle would be the height of foolishness.
His Majesty guarded against the imperial clan as if they were thieves. The powerful border princes—Liao, Wei, Gu, and Ning—had all been stripped of their military authority, and even his own full-blooded brothers were confined in the capital. Why would he spare a glance for an obscure nephew?
The emperor probably didn’t even remember what he looked like.
After all, there were over a hundred county princes scattered across the empire, permanently banned from entering the capital without an imperial summons. These royal relatives were essentially kept as idle pensioners in their fiefs, forbidden from meddling in local politics or military affairs, or forming alliances with officials.
With nothing to do, Zhu Yougou spent half his life seeking entertainment—building manors.
He had money, not only from his unearned noble stipend but also from a private gold mine. He built estate after estate, using them as retreats, hunting grounds, and cash cows—cultivating grain, fruit, and spices, hiring runaway soldiers and displaced peasants to farm, and raking in a fortune each year.
He became addicted to building estates. When he ran out of land, he set his sights on the imperial horse pastures.
After all, there were plenty of pastures but not enough horses. If the grass was just going to be eaten by rabbits, why not use the land for farming? At first, he bought land from the Horse Administration at low prices. Then, growing bolder, he simply claimed land by planting boundary markers and seizing it outright.
Local officials, wary of his noble status and well-fed by his bribes, not only turned a blind eye but even partnered with him to develop an extensive agribusiness—on state land, for personal profit, tax-free.
Everything was going smoothly until that d*mn Censorate Inspector Su Yan arrived, demanding the return of the seized land.
Cutting off a man’s source of wealth was like killing his father. Zhu Yougou felt as if his dead father had been murdered all over again. Enraged, he slammed the table, cursed, and expelled the officials sent to reclaim the land.
Not stopping there, he personally led 300 armored guards to patrol his estates, beating any Horse Administration officers caught measuring the land.
A month had passed since the land reclamation decree, yet Zhu Yougou’s estates remained untouched, not a single stalk of wheat removed. Seeing this, other powerful land-grabbers followed his lead, refusing to comply.
“…The decree is difficult to enforce!” complained the newly appointed Siqing of the
Imperial Stables. “Ten of my subordinates were severely beaten, dozens more injured, two died from their wounds, and I had to scrape together funds for their families.”
Su Yan said grimly, “If we don’t remove this entrenched parasite, the land reclamation order will never be implemented. Leave this matter to me. Tend to your men.”
With that, he took the imperial decree and Imperial Sword, gathered Embroidered Uniform Guards under Jinghong Zhui, and marched to the Pingliang County King’s residence.
At the same time, the royal guard tasked with delivering Yu Wang’s message traveled through many regions. He was struck like thunder upon hearing that Censor Su had fallen into a ravine and gone missing, and then felt immense relief upon learning that he had been found. Chasing all the way through Yanan, Lingzhou, and Qingyang, the journey took nearly two months. At last, covered in dust and weary from travel, he finally arrived in Pingliang.
The official who received him informed him that Censor Su had gone to Pingliang County King’s residence and asked him to wait patiently at the yamen.
The imperial guard wasn’t incapable of waiting, but he had been chasing Su Yan’s trail all the way here, and he was utterly exhausted. Now that he finally had concrete information, he was desperate to deliver the letter into Su Yan’s hands, get a reply, and return to the capital as soon as possible to report back—before anything unexpected could happen.
He decided to wait outside Pingliang County King’s residence. Even if it killed him, he would stand guard until Su Yan emerged.
Thus, clutching the burning-hot love letter from Yu Wang, the dust-covered guard squatted at the street corner, gnawing on a sesame flatbread with soy milk while keeping his eyes locked on the gates of the residence.
His gaze was too intense, filled with both urgency and the exhaustion of long travel, making his intentions all too obvious. After more than half an hour, the guards at the residence finally took notice.
Normally, these guards wouldn’t bother with what happened outside the estate, but these were extraordinary times. Conflicts with officials from the two imperial offices had been frequent, forcing them to stay vigilant. As their county king often reminded them, “That Su Twelve is best at catching two birds with one stone. You think he’s kicking you in the front, but he’s lighting a fire behind your back at the same time! So keep your eyes open! Don’t just focus on one spot—watch all six directions and listen in all eight!”
The ever-watchful guards quickly spotted the suspicious man squatting at the end of the street. They suspected he was spying on them—either an agent from the two offices or a secret Embroidered Uniform Guard investigator sent by Su Twelve. They immediately reported to the Wangye.
At this moment, Zhu Yougou was deliberately keeping Su Yan, who had come to collect his debt, waiting in the reception hall. He had ordered the maids to serve him good tea and snacks while he himself feigned illness and refused to show up.
Upon hearing the report from his guards, he slammed the table. “An upright man doesn’t play tricks in the dark! If Su Twelve wants to challenge me, he should come openly. Sneaking around in the shadows—what is he plotting against me? Throw a sack over him, give him a good beating, and drag him into the residence! I’ll interrogate him personally.”
The guards immediately circled around from behind, swiftly bagged the man eating his flatbread, and gave him a sound thrashing before hauling him inside.
From inside the sack, the man howled, “I’m not a criminal! I’m delivering a letter! I’m from Yu Wang’s residence—let me go!”
The sack was suffocating, and he had been beaten black and blue. His speech was slurred, but the guards sneered, “Yu Wang’s residence? Our royal residence doesn’t have any men like you! How dare you impersonate the servants of a royal household? You’re out of luck this time!”
They dragged the sack into the residence, gagged the man, and tied him tightly to a hall pillar, awaiting the county king’s decision. They then searched him, tossing a mix of items onto the table—weapons, a waist plaque, loose silver, a letter…
The head guard picked up the waist plaque, examined the carved characters, and jabbed the prisoner with an elbow, mocking, “Yu Wang’s residence? Of all the places you could impersonate, you had to pick that one? Do you even know where Yu Wang is? He’s in the capital, right under the emperor’s nose, locked up like a caged tiger. He has no power to meddle in outside affairs! He sent you to deliver a letter? To whom? Our county king? As if he even knows who our county king is! What a joke!”
The prisoner’s nose was bleeding profusely, and he desperately tried to explain, but his mouth was still gagged.
At that moment, Zhu Yougou swaggered in, his plump belly shaking. After hearing the report, he took the waist plaque, weighed it in his hand, and squinted. “This waist plaque looks quite authentic. The material and craftsmanship are just right… Could it have been stolen from Yu Wang’s residence?”
He then picked up the letter, examining the wax seal. The private stamp bore two characters: “Jincheng.” A name.
Zhu Yougou found it oddly familiar. He thought for a moment, then suddenly realized—wasn’t Jincheng Yu Wang’s birth name?!
All the former emperor’s sons had the character “Jin” in their names. After the current emperor ascended the throne, all the princes had to change their names, as the character was now taboo. Even Zhu Yougou’s father had to adopt a new name. People in the capital even stopped calling the hibiscus flower “Jin Hua”, renaming it “Fosang Hua” to avoid violating the imperial name taboo.
The only person in the entire empire who still dared to use his original name in private was Yu Wang.
Once, someone had tattled to the emperor, accusing Yu Wang of secretly keeping his old name as a sign of resentment—proof of disloyalty. The emperor didn’t even bother to investigate. He immediately had the informant beheaded and coldly declared, “Just yesterday, I summoned Yu Wang and called him ‘Jincheng’ myself. What, am I now resenting myself? Anyone who dares use such baseless accusations to stir trouble among the imperial clan will have their entire family executed!”
All the other princes and royalty understood the message loud and clear: Yu Wang was the emperor’s true brother. The rest of them? Just distant relatives at best. Their job was simply to stay obedient, enjoy their allowances, and write celebratory letters during festivals. Any ambitions beyond that? Best not even think about it.
Only those closest to Yu Wang would know his birth name.
If this letter was truly from him and bore the forbidden name on its seal, it meant the recipient was someone extremely close to him.
Zhu Yougou suddenly realized that, through a sheer twist of fate, he might have actually beaten up his own uncle’s messenger.
He rushed forward, yanked the cloth from the man’s mouth, and questioned urgently, “Did Yu Wang write this letter? Who is it for?”
The messenger, teeth knocked loose, coughed up blood and panted, refusing to answer.
Zhu Yougou scoffed. “Fine. If you won’t say it, I’ll just read it myself.”
Tearing the envelope open, he unfolded the letter. After scanning just two lines, his face cycled through an astonishing range of colors—red, white, yellow, green—all shifting like an artist’s palette. His expression was truly a sight to behold.
From shock to disbelief, to sudden realization. From disdain to a gleam of understanding, then finally, an air of satisfaction.
Zhu Yougou threw his head back and burst into laughter, utterly delighted.
He gave his head guard a meaningful look, then strolled out with the letter in hand.
Behind him, the messenger furiously roared, “You are a county king and a nephew yourself! How dare you open your royal uncle’s private correspondence? This is blatant insubordination! Are you not afraid of offending Yu Wang or facing the emperor’s wrath?”
Zhu Yougou ignored him, thinking, This letter was meant to fall into my hands—it’s divine intervention!
As for the messenger, well, the offense had already been committed. If push came to shove… he could just silence him permanently.
This was the borderlands, far from the capital. Yu Wang was in the imperial city—how would he ever know where his letter or his man had gone? For all anyone knew, bandits or barbarians could have intercepted them. Dead men tell no tales.
The steward following closely behind the county king saw his master’s good mood and eagerly asked, “Wangye, have you received some good news?”
Zhu Yougou’s lips curled into a strange smile. “A pillow delivered when I’m sleepy—couldn’t be better!”
He climbed onto the sedan chair and instructed the bearers to head to the flower hall. As they walked, the steward asked, “Wangye plans to meet that Censor Su now? No longer keeping him waiting?”
Zhu Yougou stroked his belly. “How long can I really keep him waiting? Feigning illness was just a temporary measure. That Su Twelve is playing the ‘courtesy before force’ card. If I don’t show up today, as soon as he returns, he’ll have no reason to hold back—he’ll just bring troops to flatten my estate. Do you believe it?”
The steward nodded. “I do.”
Zhu Yougou flared up. “Believe, my *ss! That paper tiger thinks he can scare me just because he’s holding an imperial edict and an Imperial Sword? I am a county king! The late emperor’s own grandson! True imperial blood! Even if I stretched out my neck, he wouldn’t dare actually chop it!”
“Of course, of course, Wangye is wise and far-sighted. It was my ignorance to be intimidated by him,” the steward hastily apologized with a bow. But inwardly, he thought: Every time Wangye feels insecure, he doubles down with bluster—this flaw will probably never change. If he truly weren’t afraid of the edict and the sword, why pretend to be sick in the first place?
And what on earth was written in that letter that suddenly gave him the confidence to face the iron-mouthed Su Twelve and his five thousand Embroidered Uniform Guards head-on?
Zhu Yougou read the letter from start to finish again. He found it both titillating and eye-searing. The more he imagined, the more intrigued he became—Yu Wang was infamous for his escapades in the pleasure quarters, and even from distant Pingliang, Zhu Yougou had heard of his dalliances with young and handsome court officials.
But he never expected that this oh-so-righteous Censor Su, who always spoke of state affairs with moral conviction, would secretly have such an illicit entanglement with his debauched royal uncle!
Then again, thinking about it, it wasn’t so surprising. Su Yan had been born with a striking appearance—naturally, Yu Wang would see him as prime prey.
If this letter were made public, even if it didn’t completely ruin Su Yan’s reputation, it would still stain him with the filth of seducing a royalty for personal gain. How could he then hold his head high in the Shaanxi political arena?
With this leverage in hand, Su Yan would have no choice but to think twice before speaking or acting. First, a little intimidation, then some enticement—Zhu Yougou would pull him onto his side.
Money moves hearts. Everyone has a price, high or low. He refused to believe there was anyone in this world who truly didn’t love wealth!
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