Chapter 126 Cascades: Uncovered
Qi Jianqiu followed Gan Qingjia as they walked through Chang"an before finally arriving in front of a villa.
"Isn"t this place…" Qi Jianqiu looked at the villa in surprise. She suddenly realised something and asked softly, "Isn"t this the Villa of Mount Baicha? Why did you bring me here?"
"Go in and you will understand." Gan Qingjia was full of smiles.
Qi Jianqiu turned her face away. Gan Qingjia"s smile is so captivating.
Gan Qingjia knocked on the red-coloured door in a specific rhythm and it was quickly opened from the inside. The person saw Gan Qingjia and called out to him. "Master." He stepped aside and directed the two of them into the villa.
Once inside, Gan Qingjia led Qi Jianqiu to the backyard. A huge field of blooming Baicha flower appeared in front of her eyes. The flowers hustled together, elegant and dreamy. Qi Jianqiu couldn"t stop smiling when she saw the Baicha flowers. She liked Baicha, and loved its flowers the most.
"I bought this place because I know that you"ll like it." Gan Qingjia sincerely said, "the villa"s name also contained Baicha. Is this enough to represent my feelings?" Gan Qingjia winked.
"The Villa of Mount Baicha? The name is so bad!" Qi Jianqiu complained, acting as though she was dissatisfied.
"I am so hurt!" Gan Qingjia held his heart in an exaggerated manner.
"You are so overdoing it." Qi Jianqiu gave him a look of disgust. Yet, she couldn"t hide her smile.
"Are you finally admitting that you like me as well?" Gan Qingjia gently pushed Qi Jianqiu like a young child.
Qi Jianqiu wanted to glare at him but she couldn"t do it. She hesitated. Anyway, he was the one who admitted it first, which means that I didn"t lose to him! Even if I admit it now, I"m not going to lose anything! However, Qi Jianqiu continued to contemplate.
Gan Qingjia watched on anxiously. "What are you still worried about? I went to zither parlours because for missions that I can"t tell you about now. You might need to suffer a little bit now but I will tell you once everything is ready."
QI Jianqiu had never seen Gan QIngjia so fl.u.s.tered before. She grinned and put her hands behind her back, "Send me home then."
"Then I"ll take it as you agreed, then." Gan Qingjia nervously followed behind. He heaved a sigh of relief when she didn"t disagree and gave a satisfied smile. Such a stubborn lady.
In the palace, the Heir was troubled.
He had lost most of his power as well as the trust of his father, the Emperor. He wanted to rise in power again, but the number of officials standing by him was dwindling. Adding on to the dire situation, the death of the Imperial Treasurer gave his enemies an opportunity to remove him from his position as the Heir.
His father, the Emperor, had said that he would believe him, but there was no way to stop others from scheming against him. What"s more, the person in charge of the case was the Duke of Anping who had gained the trust of his father and held much military power in his hands, a person whom he was unable to bribe. As he contemplated the problems at hand, his advisory tried to provide a solution.
"Your Highness, I remember that your tutor and the Duke of Anping has a very good relations.h.i.+p. The Duke continues to keep in touch with your tutor even though he is on your side. Why not ask him to find out about the progress of the investigation?"
"Right! There is still Jiang Moyin." The Heir finally remembered his tutor. He quickly gave orders to Yu Ming. "Quickly prepare all the herbs and medicines that are good for health. I am going to visit my teacher."
Yu Ming agreed and went to prepare the gifts.
When the Heir got off his horse carriage, he immediately put on an anxious look as the head steward led them to Jiang Moyin"s room. As the Heir entered the room, Jiang Moyin smiled and got off the bed pay his respects to the Heir.
"Your Highness."
"Please rise." the Heir hurriedly helped Jiang Moyin up and ordered someone to cover him with a cloak. "I feel ashamed that I have not visited you after you have fallen ill. Sigh, this is all because I fell into the villain"s scheme and got confined by my father. Without your strategizing, I am lost."
In the span of a few short sentences and the Heir pushed away all his wrongdoings. If Jiang Moyin had not heard the news from his head steward and attendants, he would have thought the Heir as the same person he"d known.
"I have heard of your situation." Jiang Moyin said indifferently, his tone not as intimate as before. "If you want to keep your position as the Heir, the only way is to dispel the suspicions that the Emperor have of you." Jiang Moyin immediately recognised the main reason for the Heirs visit.
As expected, the Heir couldn"t retain his composure and replied angrily, "So I have to stay and watch the Eight Prince gain an upper hand? What if my father decided to pa.s.s his throne to the Eight Prince?"
"Cough, cough." Yu Ming coughed lightly, shooting a glance at the Heir.
The Heir understood and softened his tone, "My apologies for the slip of my tongue. But it is hard to guess what my father is thinking; I feel that the best solution is still to gain the support of all the officials."
Jiang Moyin smile faded as he looked out of the window. "The Emperor"s thoughts are hard to fathom, but the support of the people is even harder to gain. The Emperor chose you as the Heir because you treat your people with generosity, gaining their support and love. Also, the Xuan Kingdom has finished laying its foundations and he feels that you do not have to resort to such political expediency to get to power. Hence he is very strict with you."
The Heirs face changed rapidly.
Jiang Moyin continued, "The Emperor still believes in you. He believes that you are still the same person as before and can create a new era for the Xuan Kingdom. That is why he forgave you even though you made a huge mistake and hoped that you will learn from your lesson. However, you gave the chance to Eight Prince and continue to play with political power without caring about the people. The Eight Prince does the same thing, but the Emperor overlook it as his power is not as strong as yours and he did submit proposals to the Emperor that aim to better the lives of the people. That is why the Emperor is starting to favour him more by the day. You gave the Eight Prince this opportunity yourself, your Highness."
Yu Ming saw that the Heir"s expression was getting worse, but Jiang Moyin continued on.
"If your Highness still remembers the effort the Minister of the Left and I had put in over the past few years, please listen to my advice and put your priority in gaining the support of the people. Power and political support will come automatically afterwards. This is the kind of Ruler that the Emperor wanted to be but couldn"t. He"d hoped that you can realise this dream of his."
"Enough!" The Heir stood up angrily and stared coldly at Jiang Moyin. "I am not here to have you reprimand me. If you"re not going to help me, I shall not waste my time here anymore. You can continue resting."
"Your Highness!" Yu Ming wanted to persuade the Heir but stopped halfway. The Heir glared at him and Yu Ming quickly backed down, All his power was given by the Heir; he has no right to defy him.
The Heir stalked out of the door, not even bothering to spare a glance at Jiang Moyin. Jiang Moyin thought for a while. "Someone will tell you what you want to know tomorrow. You do not have to worry."
The Heir stopped in his tracks for a moment and turned to leave.
The head steward came to comfort Jiang Moyin. "Please don"t be too affected by his att.i.tude, Grand Tutor. The Heir faced too many problems recently and that is why he acts like this. I"m sure he still respects you in his heart."
However, Jiang Moyin just muttered, "This is his last chance."
"What last chance?" the head steward was confused.
Jiang Moyin stared at the scenery outside the window. "There are no external threats to the Xuan Kingdom now. The people of the Xuan Dynasty should settle down and start farming and trading. That way, riches can be created. Taxes can be implemented and farming should be encouraged…"
The Heir was indignant as he walked out and headed back to the palace.
Yu Ming tried to persuade him. "Please contain your anger, your Highness. The Grand Tutor only said those words out of worry for you; please do not take it to heart."
The Heir stopped and turned back to look at the residence. He closed his eyes for a moment and turned to get onto the horse carriage. However, before the carriage reached the palace gate, his men came and reported to him. "Your Highness, I have found out who is the owner of the Villa of Mount Baicha."
"Really?" the Heir lifted the curtain, his face filled with joy.
The man stepped forward and whispered a name in his ears, showing him the evidence, "This is where the owner of the villa stays."
"This is a very good opportunity." The Heir scratched his chin. After giving it some thought, he ordered, "Let"s go the residence of the Minister of the Left. I am going to make the Head of the Villa my subordinate."
The driver drove the carriage to the residence of the Minister, where he was quickly welcomed by the Minister. The Emperor had just changed the Heir"s confinement from three months to a month and the Heir immediately left the palace. He couldn"t understand what was happening.
"Your Highness." The Minister of the Left paid his respect to the Heir.
"Please rise. I have come today to discuss some matters of importance with you. Shall we go to somewhere quieter?"
The Minister was stunned for a second but quickly recovered, directing the Heir to the study. When they reached the study, the Heir instantly shared the news with the Minister.
"What? My son is the Head of the Villa of Mount Baicha?" The Minister was in shock. "Please don"t joke about such matters, your Highness. My son has just decided to become an official of the court. Why will he do such a silly thing?"
"My subordinate saw it with his own eyes." The Heir was calm. "Your son is not only the owner of the Villa, but he also brought the daughter of the Minister of the Right to the villa. How could you not know of this?"
The Minister"s face trembled. "Would you mind if I summon my son to confirm this matter with him?" He quickly turned to the head steward, requesting for Gan Qingjia"s presence.
When the Minister turned back to the Heir, he saw a faint smile on the face of the Heir. "You have a good son, my Minister. He even managed to keep the secret from his father."
"I apologise on behalf of my son." The Minister tried to probe for the Heir"s att.i.tude on the matter. "If my son really is the Head of the Villa, how will you deal with the matter?"
"How do you wish for me to proceed with this?" The Heir returned the question to him. "Do you wish for me to report the evil deeds of the Villa of Mount Baicha to my father, or to praise it?"
"Though my son is not wise, I am certain that he will not do such evil deeds. Please investigate the issue properly, your Highness!" The Minister tried to control his emotions.
"That is not how it works." The Heir shook his head. "Frankly speaking, it is not important if he did any of those things at all. As you know, I have lost many of my subordinates recently and now urgently need people to work for me. If the Head of the Villa is willing to pledge his allegiance to me, I will definitely speak good words about him to Father."
The Minster of the Left looked at the Heir in disbelief.