Protect Our Patriarch

……

In just a short while, Commandery Prince An and Wang Shouzhe finished discussing their business. Commandery Prince An then eagerly set up a chessboard, picking up the black and white pieces, ready to defeat Wang Shouzhe completely as a form of revenge.

Playing chess with Shouzhe had become Commandery Prince An's favorite pastime recently, simply because his own chess skills were terrible, like a novice—able to fly, but not high or far.

There were countless novices in the world, and Commandery Prince An had played against many, but none gave him the same sense of satisfaction and exhilaration as defeating Wang Shouzhe. Against others, it was tasteless and devoid of pleasure.

Upon reflection, it could only be attributed to Shouzhe's near-perfect nature, always having a plan, making others look up to him. No matter how many times he defeated such a high-level novice, it never got old.

Just then, a family servant came to report that Yao Chengchao from Yao's Air Transport of the Divine Dynasty was here to visit.

"Please invite Young Master Yao in," Wang Shouzhe said.

After the servant left with the order, Commandery Prince An put down his chess piece, somewhat disinterested, and said, "Young Master Yao has been visiting quite frequently lately. Shouzhe, are you planning to develop in the Divine Dynasty?"

"The Divine Dynasty, well, it's always good to see and experience it if there's a chance," Wang Shouzhe replied with a smile. "I've heard that even ordinary tenant farmers and servants there have reached the Qi Refining Realm, which is truly fascinating."

Hearing this, Commandery Prince An also became enthusiastic: "When I was young, I studied in the Divine Dynasty. Under the management of the Celestial Court, the entire Divine Dynasty has a high concentration of spiritual energy, numerous spiritual veins, and countless spiritual farmlands. Their productivity is far beyond that of our Great Qian. For example, a tenant farmer there can often manage two to three hundred acres of farmland, plus several acres of low-grade spiritual farmland, allowing them to afford some low-grade bloodline enhancement pills like the Enlightenment Pill."

"Such a cycle, passed down through generations, has led to a positive cycle. Nowadays, the bloodline purity of the Divine Dynasty's commoners is no less than that of the minor Basalt clans of our Great Qian."

"If our Great Qian could reach this level, our national strength would leap forward. The likes of Western Jin and Southern Qin would be no match at all."

Wang Shouzhe agreed: "Our Wang's Clan is also attempting to mass-produce Enlightenment Pills and select some outstanding individuals with nearly low-grade aptitude from the commoners to enhance their bloodlines. Once they reach the third or fourth layer of the Qi Refining Realm, their physique, strength, and speed are far superior to ordinary people. Especially in pioneering, engineering, and digging river channels, their efficiency is extremely high."

However, despite the high efficiency, the cost of training a Qi Refining Realm worker is extremely expensive. The cost of Enlightenment Pills alone is several hundred Top Gold, even with most of the raw materials produced by ourselves and the alchemist being our own Wang Shouye.

Moreover, Qi Refining Realm workers need spiritual food to replenish their energy and occasionally require small Essence Cultivation Pills to assist in their cultivation. The annual maintenance costs add up to several dozen Top Gold!

Fortunately, the Wang's Clan is quite capable of making money; otherwise, an ordinary family couldn't afford this...

"If I ever have the chance to ascend to the throne, I will dedicate my life to this goal," Commandery Prince An said with aspiration and determination.

"Your Highness Mingyuan has great ambition."

At this moment, a hearty voice sounded at the door. A tall and robust "young" man strode into the courtyard with a smile, saying, "If that day truly comes, the Great Qian could indeed be called a 'Divine Dynasty.'"

"Young Master Yao." Commandery Prince An and Wang Shouzhe stood up to greet him.

"Please, don't flatter me," Yao Chengchao hurriedly returned the courtesy. "One of you is a Quasi-Imperial Heir, and the other is my creditor. I can't afford it."

Creditor?

Commandery Prince An glanced at Wang Shouzhe and Yao Chengchao, unable to suppress a laugh: "The Yao's Clan is a top-grade power in the Divine Dynasty, immensely strong. How could they owe Shouzhe money?"

Speaking of this, Yao Chengchao was somewhat indignant: "Your Highness Mingyuan, once you ascend the throne, you must address the corrupt practices in the Great Qian. Your Emperor extorted us fourfold compensation for the destruction of the 'Divine Dynasty's Twilight' painting, threatening to forbid all families from selling us materials to repair the Yun Yao flying boat if we didn't pay, leaving us stranded..."

Because of a broken painting, Yao Chengchao suffered a direct loss of tens of millions.

Extorting fourfold compensation?

Commandery Prince An's mouth twitched. The Emperor was quite fierce. However, he remembered that the Emperor wasn't like this in the past. In previous years, he was a very dignified and face-conscious Emperor.

Could it be that he was influenced by something negative? Or is it that as he ages, he becomes more shameless?

"That's not all; he also forcibly detained the five little wolf cubs involved in the incident." Yao Chengchao was quite upset and then looked at Wang Shouzhe with resentment, "Those five little wolf cubs are from your Shouzhe little brother's family, which has recently become 'famous'... Your Highness Mingyuan, do you know how much we Yao's Clan lost because of those five little wolf cubs?"

"Uh... haha, I've heard about this matter. My condolences, Young Master Yao..." Commandery Prince An's mouth twitched, and it took a lot of effort to suppress his laughter.

He wouldn't sympathize with the Yao's Clan. The Yao's Clan monopolized the large-scale air transport market with the Yun Yao flying boat, charging exorbitant freight fees and making a fortune.

"The most despicable of all is Shouzhe little brother. You clearly know the five little wolf cubs are in the Emperor's hands," Yao Chengchao was so angry his eyes rolled, "Why are you still demanding the wolf cubs from our Yao's Clan?"

"Brother Chengchao, you're mistaken. Everything must be reasonable, right?" Wang Shouzhe personally brewed a new pot of spiritual tea, handed over a cup, and said with a smile, "Those few little wolf cubs were entrusted to your Yao's Air Transport by our family member Lici, to be delivered to our Wang's Clan. But our Wang's Clan hasn't received the wolf cubs. If we don't ask your Yao's Clan for the consigned items, who should we ask?"

Yao Chengchao took the spiritual tea, gulped it down, drank several more cups, and then sat down, unceremoniously eating various pastries: "Can't you go ask the Emperor?"

"I can't. Our Wang's Clan has no debt relationship with the Emperor," Wang Shouzhe continued to pour him tea, "Moreover, it's said that His Majesty doesn't like me very much. If I go to ask, he will certainly make things difficult for me."

"Doesn't he make things difficult for me too?" Yao Chengchao's face was full of frustration.

He had tried to ask the Emperor several times, only to be thrown out each time.

"We'll discuss this matter later, Brother Chengchao. This is a list I've prepared, and I need you to help bring it next time you come to Eastern Qian." Wang Shouzhe took out a long list.

Yao Chengchao glanced at it and exclaimed, "You're planning to build a Gathering Spirit Array, and it's not a small scale... Those who know will know you're a sixth-grade family; those who don't might think you're a second-grade!"

The scale of a Gathering Spirit Array for a second-grade family is generally not small, but at the core, it's usually just a ninth-grade spiritual plant or a similar-grade rare item. There's a fundamental difference from the Wang's Clan's plan to use an immortal plant as the core.

"Please, Brother Chengchao." Wang Shouzhe cupped his hands.

"Alright, I'll do my best to gather the materials for you, but some special materials will take time and are hard to collect all at once." Yao Chengchao considered for a moment and said, "Also, don't bring up the wolf cubs again; go ask the Emperor yourself."

"That's a separate matter. I've already left a reasonable profit margin for the Yao's Clan on this material order," Wang Shouzhe said calmly, "Unless Brother Chengchao is willing to forgo the profit..."

"Fine, I'll go ask the Emperor again." Yao Chengchao took the list, his eyes rolling, and said, "Shouzhe little brother, have you started eating yet? What delicious food have your two beautiful chefs made for you today?"

"......"

Wang Shouzhe and Commandery Prince An.

……

Zhuozheng Pavilion.

Emperor Longchang lay lazily half-reclined.

Beside him, Prince Deshun had taken Old Yao's place, personally serving him, pouring tea, massaging his back, and showering him with a barrage of flattering words.

The Emperor was served so comfortably that he sighed about how Deshun had become more filial and articulate than in his younger days.

Old Yao rolled his eyes repeatedly. Prince Deshun, you're really good at taking up space, even taking over the old eunuch's job? Why don't you just cut it off and take my old Yao's place?

On the other side, led by Meng Yuanbai, members of the Three Talents Office, Penal Office, and Supervisory Office were reporting the results of recent investigations to the Emperor.

"So, the Wang's Clan really didn't manipulate their taxes?" Emperor Longchang's eyes showed a hint of surprise.

"Your Majesty," Meng Yuanbai replied, "We deployed a large number of experienced tax officials and auditors to thoroughly examine the Wang's Clan's accounts and assets over the past few decades. We found that not only did the Changning Wang's Clan not evade taxes, but they also tended to overpay."

"Additionally, the Wang's Clan frequently spends large sums on infrastructure projects like waterworks and official roads for the Changning Garrison and even the Southern Six Garrisons."

"Your Majesty, the Changning Wang's Clan is truly a model family," Prince Deshun chimed in while massaging the Emperor's back, "I believe they should be rewarded and commended to encourage other families to follow their example."

Although it was flattery, Emperor Longchang found it quite reasonable and nodded, saying, "Indeed, they should be commended. Draft an edict to commend Wang Shouzhe and have him participate in the next grand court assembly."

Speaking of Wang Shouzhe, Emperor Longchang had mixed feelings and found it difficult to express. He genuinely hoped to meet him, but due to his previous bold words, he couldn't bring himself to issue a summons.

What's more annoying is that the guy ignored his hints several times...

As events unfolded, Emperor Longchang's curiosity about Wang Shouzhe had become almost uncontrollable, so he decided to use the commendation edict to have him participate in the grand court assembly. This way, he wouldn't go against his vow not to summon him, while also getting a chance to see Wang Shouzhe at the assembly.

To see what kind of extraordinary person he was, always causing such earth-shattering events.

"Your Majesty, the only point of suspicion about the Wang's Clan is their extremely high demand for iron ore," Meng Yuanbai added, "Although every account is clear, explaining where the iron was used, we can't exactly tear down houses, roadbeds, or city walls to verify, can we?"

It was precisely because of this point of suspicion that the tax investigators, upon detecting anomalies in "smuggling," had a moment of "enlightenment," assuming the Wang's Clan was behind the smuggling.

"I'll personally ask Wang Shouzhe about this at the grand court assembly," Emperor Longchang decided, then asked, "Has the smuggling case involving Zhao Zhikun been thoroughly investigated? Is anyone else implicated, like the Zhao's Clan or Chengsi..."

"Your Majesty, all the evidence, both direct and circumstantial, only implicates Zhao Zhikun and the missing Zhao Kui. There's no evidence to suggest the Zhao's Clan is involved, nor is there evidence implicating His Highness Chengsi," Meng Yuanbai reported truthfully.

With the situation having reached this point, all Meng Yuanbai and his team could do was adhere to the principle of "impartiality and fairness," ensuring they didn't make any missteps.

"Your Majesty, just because there's no evidence doesn't mean he wasn't involved, right?" Prince Deshun began to suggest again, "I've heard that Commandery Prince Kang has already rushed back from the outer region battlefield. Why not have Meng Yuanbai interrogate him?"

"Without evidence, how can we interrogate? Based on the rumors spread by your An lineage?" Emperor Longchang gave him a stern look, "I'm old, but I'm not senile. Have your people rein it in; this mudslinging farce can stop."

"Yes, yes, yes," Prince Deshun replied submissively.

"In that case, Meng Aiqing, you should assist Chengsi in proving his innocence and quelling the rumors, as Chengsi is a Quasi-Imperial Heir, and such rumors are unbecoming," Emperor Longchang waved his hand, "Go."

"Yes, Your Majesty," Meng Yuanbai and the others withdrew.

……

Afterward.

With the return of Commandery Prince Kang, the Three Talents Office, Penal Office, and Supervisory Office were ordered to assist in quelling the "rumors," and those that had been unfavorable to Commandery Prince Kang quickly died down.

In their place, the public began to criticize "loyal and patriotic Zhao Zhikun."

They said that Zhao Zhikun, in order to repay gambling debts, engaged in smuggling and treason, and even after being caught, he refused to repent, attempting to drag Commandery Prince Kang down with him to lessen his own guilt and cover up the Zhao's Clan's disgrace, misleading the public.

Thanks to the results of the Three Talents Office's investigation, Commandery Prince Kang personally delivered a speech, passionately and tearfully proving his innocence.

It turned out that Commandery Prince Kang had been fighting bravely on the outer region battlefield, defending against foreign enemies and bringing glory to the Great Qian, only to be undermined by allies in the rear, forcing him to pause a nearly victorious battle to return to Shangjing City and clear his name.

For a time, titles like "Injustice Cleared for Commandery Prince Kang," "Battlefield God of War Wu Chengsi," and "Model of the Great Qian" began to spread rapidly in Guilong City.

When mentioning the "loyal and patriotic Commandery Prince Kang," everyone gave a thumbs up in praise.

For a time, Commandery Prince Kang's reputation soared.

Unfortunately, just as Commandery Prince Kang was celebrating his cleared name, he unwittingly stepped into a trap...