Chapter 13: The Imperial Seal Valued at Ninety-Five Thousand Taels

Xiao Chengzi handled the matter of smuggling Ling'er out of the palace quite efficiently.

The news was also sealed up tightly, basically not leaking out of the Eastern Palace, yet it had already spread throughout the Eastern Palace internally!

On the morning of the third day of the new year, the Crown Princess learned of Ling'er's matter from Xiao Zhen and was greatly shocked!

But she chose to feign composure, feign ignorance, acting as if she knew nothing about this matter, turning a blind eye.

On the night of the Lantern Festival, after accompanying the Crown Prince to tour the lantern fair, the Crown Princess did not return to the Eastern Palace, but instead went to stay overnight at Lingtai Temple.

That night, He Xiang also came, but before he could ask whether the Seven Times a Night Pill offered any benefit to bedroom affairs, he was first subjected to the Crown Princess's accusatory interrogation!

She even dumped out the entire matter of the Persian cat "A Jing" and the privately kept boy "Ling'er" all at once!

"Did I not instruct you..."

He Xiang rebuked with frustration born of high expectations: "Within two hours, do not let any other woman be near the Crown Prince!"

"..."

The Crown Princess, rendered speechless, wore a face of dejection; she dared not confess to He Xiang the matter of her misplaced wine cup.

He Xiang said: "That Seven Times a Night Pill... is actually just an aphrodisiac; both I and His Majesty have been taking it! It is no fierce or wolfish drug, not so ominous as rumored."

"You and His Majesty!"

The Crown Princess's face showed astonishment.

He Xiang said: "Once that drug is taken, after two cups of tea... strength becomes like a tiger, courage like a wolf! If yin and yang are mutually aided, then water and fire blend, and hearts are in harmony..."

The Crown Princess asked: "And if it is not so?"

He Xiang pondered for a moment, then slowly spoke: "If yin and yang are out of balance... and two yins meet, it is merely clouds and rain passing, rain beating on banana leaves! But if meeting with yang, the consequences are unpredictable... the five viscera will rupture, and the liver and intestines will break into inch-long fragments!"

"Nonsense!"

The Crown Princess continued: "Then how do you explain that cat? It was also one male and one female, yet no harmony of yin and yang was seen!"

"Alas, the dosage for beasts differs from that for humans!"

He Xiang said irritably: "Taking cats as an example, half a pill is sufficient; one pill is an overdose!"

Finally, before departing, He Xiang gifted the Crown Princess a uniquely shaped wine pot, giving her an excuse to invite the Crown Prince to drink together, thereby creating another opportunity to share a bed.

The Crown Princess placed the wine pot on the table and examined it carefully.

This wine pot was about half the thickness of an arm, milky white in color, with a spiral and elegant shape.

The mouth of the wine pot also curled inward in a spiral, its overall form resembling a giant conch shell.

The outer shell of the wine pot was hard and smooth, shimmering with a faint pearl-like luster under the light.

Scattered sporadically across the body of the pot were tiny hollow patterns, particularly obvious near the mouth and the base.

These hollows seemed naturally formed, not affecting the sturdiness of the wine pot, but rather adding a touch of mystery.

At the center of the wine pot's base was a ring of protruding ridges, the outer contour presenting a wavy arc, resembling traces left when the conch adhered to the sea bed during its growth.

"What is this again?" the Crown Princess asked, holding a conch-shaped wine pot the size of half an arm.

"This is a 'Glowing Wine Conch' from 'Sumatra' in the Southern Seas..." He Xiang introduced with pride: "It is said that this kind of conch emits a faint glow on the night of the full moon, quite peculiar! The locals use it as a wine vessel; drinking wine from it offers a unique flavor."

After accepting the Glowing Wine Conch, the Crown Princess had not yet had time to sort out her thoughts or ask for more details when she saw that He Xiang had already boarded his carriage, quickly drove away from Lingtai Temple, and departed triumphantly.

Once the Lantern Festival passed, the Crown Prince resumed his lessons. According to court regulations, the Crown Prince's study life has no end; that is to say, even after reaching adulthood, he must continue reading until he ascends the throne and personally governs.

On the first day after resuming classes, the first lesson was taught by Lu Lu Tanwei, the Minister of Works, Lord Lu.

Everything in the classroom was as usual; the only unusual thing was that before class ended, Lord Lu specially left an envelope sealed with fire-lacquer wax for the Crown Prince.

The Crown Prince did not examine it closely, nor did he hand it to the eunuch attending at his side, but directly passed it to Jiang Jiang Mingyu, instructing him to keep it for now.

It was not until all classes for the day had ended that the Crown Prince invited Jiang Jiang Mingyu to dine at the Eastern Palace that evening, also hinting that he should remember to bring the envelope!

Jiang Jiang Mingyu had originally been confused as to why the Crown Prince had given the envelope to him, but it was not until dusk, when leaving the palace and having the envelope discovered by the inner palace guards searching at the Meridian Gate, that he suddenly understood!

"Lord Jiang, what is this letter of yours? It does not look like a textbook."

A large and burly deputy commander of the Inner Imperial Guard named "Tu Tu Kesiluo," with narrow eyes, a wide jaw, and a square face, speaking with a Mongol accent, asked.

Jiang Jiang Mingyu was not unfamiliar with Tu Tu Kesiluo; during the half-year he had entered the palace to accompany studies, eight times out of ten when passing through the Meridian Gate, he had encountered him on duty.

First time strangers, second time acquaintances, third and fourth times friends, so Jiang Jiang Mingyu without hesitation replied directly: "Nothing much, just letters copied during class... when idle with nothing to do."

"Idle with nothing to do?"

Tu Tu Kesiluo looked suspicious, then asked: "Although this humble officer has not read many books, the sealing wax on this letter does look quite legitimate... Who is this intended for?"

"..."

Jiang Jiang Mingyu was momentarily at a loss for words, falling silent for a long while.

Tu Tu Kesiluo said: "I recall that Lord Jiang's family members... have all moved to live in Jingcheng, have they not? Could it be that there are still close relatives far away in the south?"

"Heh heh heh..."

Jiang Jiang Mingyu smiled and explained: "This humble official indeed has many clan relatives still in the south, but not only clan relatives; the graves of our ancestors are also all in the south. Since the Lantern Festival has just passed and Qingming is immediately approaching, I intended... to write a family letter, praying for ancestral protection and peace for the whole family."

"Oh, that is only natural..."

Tu Tu Kesiluo did not make things difficult for Jiang Jiang Mingyu; after returning the envelope, he immediately allowed him to pass through.

After nightfall, Jiang Jiang Mingyu, keeping his appointment, brought the envelope to the Eastern Palace; only then did the Crown Prince tell him what was actually written inside Lu Lu Tanwei's letter.

The Crown Prince first dismissed the attendants on both sides; at this moment, only the Crown Prince and Jiang Jiang Mingyu remained in the hall. He then took out the contents of the envelope; inside was a sheet of letter paper folded in half, and a small yellow card.

The content of the letter was a copy of a memorial submitted by the Ministry of Works to His Majesty, discussing the quotation for the new imperial seal constructed by His Majesty last summer; the small yellow card was a heated sample of the imperial seal, stamped with a raised seal mark bearing the four characters "Dark Night Star River" written in Small Seal Script.

"Nine... ninety-five thousand taels!"

Holding the letter paper, Jiang Jiang Mingyu muttered in disbelief.

The Crown Prince said: "That is the quotation submitted by the Ministry of Works to His Majesty; look again at the annotation beside it..."

Jiang Jiang Mingyu said: "Eighteen thousand taels..."

The Crown Prince said: "Correct, this is the actual cost of the imperial seal!"

Jiang Jiang Mingyu said: "Eighteen thousand taels to carve a seal... that is too expensive!"

Crown Prince: "The reason I invited you here tonight is to have you privately investigate how much money was actually spent on Father Emperor's newly carved imperial seal!"

"Wasn't it eighteen thousand taels?" Jiang Jiang Mingyu said, puzzled.

"Didn't you just say yourself that eighteen thousand taels for a seal is far too expensive!"

Crown Prince patted Jiang Jiang Mingyu's shoulder, then continued, "With a cost of eighteen thousand taels, they could have inflated the report to ninety-five thousand taels. I suspect... there's still a lot of water in that eighteen thousand taels!"

Jiang Jiang Mingyu looked at the Crown Prince with a face full of panic, speechless for a long while.

"You have only recently taken office, are not yet familiar with officialdom, and your hands are still relatively clean."

Crown Prince continued, "Sending you to check the actual price is the most suitable choice."

Jiang Jiang Mingyu: "But Your Highness, your humble servant does not understand... what is the purpose of this?"

Crown Prince let out a long sigh first, then said with eyes blazing, "I just want to know to what extent the entire court has become a den of corruption!"

After accepting the private mission entrusted by the Crown Prince, Jiang Jiang Mingyu returned home at night, sat before the flickering candlelight, and pondered in silence.

His wife, Tang Yuqi, seeing him lost in thought and unable to sleep all night, came over to ask with concern.

"Isn't that simple!" After learning the full story, Tang Yuqi blurted out this sentence.

Jiang Jiang Mingyu: "How is it simple? Such a tricky mission, if not handled well... will surely offend a whole bunch of people!"

Tang Yuqi: "You aren't even afraid of offending the Emperor, yet you're afraid of offending others?"

Jiang Jiang Mingyu shook his head and sighed, "Back then I was new to officialdom and didn't know better, but things are different now!"

"Alright, what I meant by 'Isn't that simple' just now is..."

Tang Yuqi smiled and said mischievously, "Go find 'Steward Zhang'! He will definitely have a way to help you!"