Chapter 99: Chapter Ninety-Nine: Stop at Nothing

Shang Xiaomin paced back and forth excitedly in the Study a few steps.

He suddenly shook his head.

"No."

Getting smallpox is not a certain death; those who pull through are not few.

Someone right beside him had once...

"If I have my agent give a secret push at this moment..."

Hearing his words, Cheng Chengxuan widened his eyes in disbelief, but only for an instant; his expression quickly returned to normal.

He sneered inwardly.

Truly, he'll stop at nothing!

"Imperial Prince, you must not!"

Shang Xiaomin turned to look at him, his gaze carrying a hint of puzzlement and scrutiny.

"Why?"

Why?!

Does that even need asking?

This is simply mad!

"The National Lord already harbors suspicions toward the Imperial Prince; the less trouble, the better. It is not the time to stir up incidents."

"The pressing matter is to throw obstacles in the Second Prince's way regarding the assignment, and to change the National Lord's view of the Imperial Prince as quickly as possible—that is what matters most."

Hearing this, Shang Xiaomin nodded.

"Brother Chengxuan speaks reasonably. Then for the winter hunt five days from now, we'll proceed according to our previous plan."

"This matter, I'll have to trouble Brother Chengxuan to take more care of."

Cheng Chengxuan bent slightly at the waist and cupped his hands toward him.

"Then I shall take my leave first."

"Good, go attend to your tasks."

After Cheng Chengxuan left, Shang Xiaomin returned to sit behind the desk.

Personal Guard Qingmu walked in.

"Imperial Prince, these are the messages our people have sent back."

Shang Xiaomin took them, just about to open and read, when he suddenly noticed the guard still kneeling on the ground.

"What else do you have to say?"

That guard glanced at him cautiously.

"What the Imperial Prince just said, that future messages can all be shared with Prince's Son Cheng..."

Qingmu spoke up and cut him off.

"Whatever the Imperial Prince instructs, that is what you do. But as a guard of the Fifth Prince's Residence, you must always remember your own station and mind your bounds!"

So, should I tell him or not?!

"Yes, yes, yes, this Subordinate understands."

Although he still didn't understand, that guard didn't have the nerve to keep asking. He nodded repeatedly in assent, scrambled up from the ground, and retreated out.

"If everyone in this residence could be as clever as you, that would be wonderful."

Shang Xiaomin sighed, then gave Qingmu a look.

Qingmu nodded in understanding.

It seems that guard can no longer be kept around.

After reading the letter, Shang Xiaomin lowered his eyes and thought for a long while, then handed the letter to Qingmu.

Qingmu's expression turned ugly.

"Imperial Prince, that Chen Ying hasn't contacted us this whole time, and when we had him secretly take control of the Cheng Family's womenfolk, he never responded either. Could he have gone back on his word?"

"Hmph!"

Shang Xiaomin let out a cold laugh.

"This Prince's ship—is it one he can board when he likes and leave when he likes?"

Thinking of what had just happened, a cold glint settled in his eyes.

Cheng Chengxuan is indeed a capable man, but many of his ideas run counter to his own; the man has too many principles.

Keeping such a person by his side leaves too many variables. Only by having the Cheng Family in his grasp can he feel at ease.

After thinking it over, Shang Xiaomin said coldly.

"Then let's display our sincerity once more."

Saying so, he beckoned Qingmu over with a wave, signaling him to bring his ear close.

"Go contact the agent in the Second Prince's residence, and have that person handle a matter..."

Meanwhile, Cheng Chengxuan, who had returned to his room, after a thorough check found no one else present, took out the Jade Pendant.

He tapped the small transparent square floating in mid-air.

If anyone were to burst in at this moment, they would surely be startled by his bizarre gesture.

Cheng Chengxuan's brows were tightly knit, his expression grave—one who didn't know might think he was pondering some monumental problem.

In truth, he was editing the dialogue box, deleting here, trimming there; for every line he wrote, he deleted one and a half.

Finally, he solemnly typed out two characters, then tapped send.

Meanwhile, An Luo was in a video meeting with foundation staff when she suddenly heard her phone buzz.

She picked it up and saw a message from Cheng Chengxuan.

"Hold on a moment, I need to reply to a message."

On the other end of the video, the people in the meeting room exchanged glances.

What important message could it be?

Worthy of the boss interrupting the meeting?

Lin Lin gave the others a meaningful look.

The message itself isn't important — I think the person who sent it is.

Then they saw An Luo take a deep breath, as if suppressing her anger.

Everyone: "???"

What's going on?

An Luo had thought something important had happened, so she opened it:

"Are you there?"

Seriously, Big Brother, if you have something to say, just say it!

I interrupted the meeting, thinking it was some urgent matter concerning Zaituan.

And you sent me an "Are you there?!"?

Frustrated, she tapped out a few words with a flurry of keystrokes.

Then she set her phone down heavily on the desk.

She said to the people on the video call.

"Let's continue. Regarding last month's funding project…"

Over in Da Yin.

Hearing a ding, Cheng Chengxuan hurriedly tapped to check.

An Luo: Cheng Sitao has taken Yu'an out on business and isn't here at the moment. If you have anything urgent, please leave a message and I'll pass it along later.

Such a strictly businesslike tone?

"Why does it feel like she's angry?"

He typed out another long passage, recounting what had happened in Ducheng these past few days, mentioning how ruthless a person Shang Xiaomin was, and laying out the plan for the winter hunt in five days.

Then he waited for a reply, full of anticipation.

But this time, the wait stretched all the way to midnight.

It wasn't that An Luo was deliberately replying so late — it was simply that Cheng Sitao didn't get home until the middle of the night.

Meanwhile, Cheng Chengxuan tossed and turned waiting for the message, unable to sleep.

Why hasn't she replied yet?

Didn't she see it?

Or did she forget?

Should I send another one?

But it's already very late — would I be disturbing her rest?

As he was lost in thought, he heard a notification sound. Almost at the same instant, he sat bolt upright and opened the message.

An Luo: Cheng Sitao says your plan is very good. Remember to stay safe.

Stay safe.

She's telling me to stay safe.

Does she care about me?

Cheng Chengxuan went boom — his whole face flushed red, his earlobes so red they looked like they could drip blood.

He pressed a hand to his chest; his heart was pounding fiercely.

He tried hard to steady his breathing and heartbeat, and finally lay back down.

Just as he was about to close his eyes, another message came through.

An Luo: A winter hunt? Sounds like fun. Let's video call that day — I want to see the excitement too. Is that convenient?

Video call!

He can see her again.

Cheng Chengxuan pressed his hand against his wildly thumping chest. The warmth that had just faded from his face flared back up instantly — even redder than before.

He reached out and wrote a single character, stroke by deliberate stroke, feeling his fingertips burn.

"Okay."

"Okay what?"

A voice suddenly sounded by his ear, giving Cheng Chengxuan a fright.

He turned his head and saw Chu Yuan staring at him suspiciously.

"What are you doing?!"

"Shouldn't I be the one asking you that? It's the middle of the night and you're not sleeping — what are you gesturing about here?"

Cheng Chengxuan's heart skipped a beat.

"You — you saw everything?"

Chu Yuan nodded.

"The moment I came in, I saw you sitting here, waving your hand around mysteriously, muttering something about 'okay.'"

Chu Yuan sat over and bumped his shoulder.

"What on earth is going on?"

Looks like he hadn't seen anything either.

Cheng Chengxuan irritably patted the spot he had just touched.

"I was swatting a mosquito!"

Then he gave the blanket a couple of vigorous shakes, fanning Chu Yuan away, and lay down with his face buried.

"I'm sleepy, don't bother me!"

"Wait, then what am I supposed to do?"

Cheng Chengxuan pointed the back of his head at him.

"Either sleep on the floor or get out!"

Chu Yuan took a deep breath and shook his fist at him.

Then he resignedly walked toward the desk, ready to make do in the chair for the night.

He had barely taken two steps when he paused, scratching the back of his head.

"Wait, it's the dead of winter — where would a mosquito come from?"