Chapter 818: Watching the Melon

Taotie Tower was refined, assigning them a large private room, with two attendants bustling around them, attending to their order.

After listening to the menu for a while, Pan Yun directly looked at Pan Yu: "Second brother, you pick."

Pan Yu knew well what was good to eat and drink at Taotie Tower.

Even though he'd never been there before.

He wasn't timid—he ordered a pile of dishes based on everyone's tastes, added some sweet drinks, but no alcohol.

He sighed regretfully: "Too bad Father has to work overtime—he's never even eaten at Taotie Tower."

Pan Yun: "We'll pack him a portion to take home."

She rose and walked to the window, pushing it open to look down—the street below had already calmed.

Wang Tianyi had been dragged away, and the middle-aged man radiating nobility had also left, surrounded by his guards.

The Shopkeeper stood at the door, bowing in apology; outside the private room, attendants rushed up and down, seemingly inspecting every private room.

Pan Yun's lips curled slightly as she closed the window again: "Taotie Tower is impressive."

But the Xiang Wang back at Wang Fu thought otherwise—he was still shaken to this day.

As soon as he entered the room, he tore off his outer robe and hurled it onto his personal attendant, then sat down angrily: "Bad luck! I rarely get the mood to go out, and now I'm stuck with this mess—has he woken up? Was it an accident, or was it deliberate?"

"Your Highness, we've confirmed—he's Wang Ji's nephew, named Wang Tianyi. The one who saved you is Pan Yun, daughter of the Right Deputy of the Honglu Temple, and also a Daoist Priest of Mount Sanqing."

The Xiang Wang frowned slightly: "Is this the Pan Yun who's been causing a stir lately—advocating for the imperial court to reopen maritime trade after her sea expedition to suppress pirates and discovering a silver mountain?"

"Yes."

"Isn't she a Daoist Priest of Long Hushan? How did she become one of Mount Sanqing?"

"She trained at the Long Hushan Academy, but she's officially under Mount Sanqing."

The Xiang Wang rubbed his forehead: "That's not important—what happened to Wang Tianyi? Did he fall by accident?"

He'd been too furious then, thinking Wang Tianyi was committing suicide and trying to drag him down too—but now, on the way back, he'd cooled down. Someone who dined on the fifth floor of Taotie Tower must have substantial wealth—why would he kill himself?

The Xiang Wang: "Did I injure an innocent man? Was he murdered?"

The Xiang Wang thought: If Wang Tianyi was pushed off the building and then beaten by him like that…

Fortunately, the guards quickly dispelled the Xiang Wang's guilt.

"I asked around—Wang Tianyi intended to kill himself. Taotie Tower confirmed: he was dining on the fourth floor, got drunk, then quietly climbed to the fifth floor, found an empty private room, and climbed out the window. There were no traces but his own."

The Xiang Wang immediately dropped his sympathy and slammed his fist on the armrest: "Investigate him!"

Though the Xiang Wang hadn't returned to Jingcheng in years, investigating such matters wasn't hard—especially since he went straight to the palace to lodge a complaint, asking the Emperor to look into it.

The Emperor didn't even need to investigate—he immediately thought of Wang Ji when he heard Wang Tianyi had jumped to his death.

Wang Ji received the news at home and nearly exploded with rage.

"Utterly foolish!" Wang Ji paced furiously. "Is he trying to take all the blame himself? He's forcing me to protect his family! Does he think this will save Wang Shi, save his branch? Stupid, stupid!"

"When the nest is overturned, no egg remains intact—he commits suicide to hide the truth, and now the facts can only be… "

He paused, lowering his voice: "The facts can only be shaped by the Three Departments and… Your Majesty. Then not only his branch, but the entire Wang family will be lost!"

"What do we do?" Wang Ji clenched his eyes shut, sat motionless for a long while, then said: "Prepare my horse—I'll go to the troop camp to drill at dawn tomorrow."

Wang Tai Lady was startled: "Drill troops now…?"

Wang Ji: "My only use is commanding troops and reorganizing military affairs. As long as I'm still useful, Your Majesty will show leniency."

Wang Ji looked as if he'd aged ten years.

He sighed helplessly: "I wanted to retire while the tide was high—I'm at the right age—but alas, alas…"

Sweat beaded on Wang Ji's temple, tears welled in his eyes—he swallowed his rage back into his belly: "I must drill. I must vent. Otherwise, I won't die on the battlefield—I'll die of anger."

Wang Tai Lady: …

"Recall all our business interests in the south—stop meddling in maritime trade," Wang Ji said. "We have honor, we have wealth—tell them to be content."

Wang Tai Lady: "If people could be content, there'd be no such endless strife. You want to withdraw now, but you don't know how many in our clan depend on this for their livelihood, for their wealth—do you think they'll listen to us?"

She added: "If they were willing to listen, Wang Tianyi wouldn't have acted on his own."

Wang Ji said coldly: "I've already taken one wrong step—I won't take a second. Anyone who refuses to stop, I'll tear them open. If I can't tear them open, we'll sever our branch from the clan genealogy."

Wang Tai Lady stared at him in shock.

Seeing her husband's face as dark as water, she knew he meant it.

Wang Tai Lady felt worry rise: "You're going to drill troops now—do you mean to petition for battle? Is there a war coming?"

Wang Ji: "The Luchuan Campaign…"

Wang Tai Lady's face paled: "Again with Luchuan? If you fight again, your reputation in court will be ruined."

Wang Ji sighed: "Do you think I don't know? I was a civil official too—do you think I don't know what they think? The Luchuan Campaign has cost dearly and yielded little—but I must fight it."

"First, the Emperor wants to assert his authority—that's his demand; a loyal minister must not refuse. Second, Great Ming must assert its national prestige—if we lose, Burma, Mubang, Che Li, and Bābāi will all watch and covet—showing weakness to petty barbarians is not wise." He paused, then added: "There was no third reason—but now there is. After this incident, I'm only useful on the battlefield, and only then can I save the Wang family."

Wang Tai Lady: "Didn't you already decide to retire?"

Wang Ji bowed his head: "I wanted to retire while the tide was high—but fate is against me."

Wang Tai Lady took his hand; the couple sat in silent support for a moment, then she was the first to recover, rising: "Husband, attend to your affairs outside. I'll handle the clan. You're right—we must tear it open. Let each branch live its own life. If we keep crowding together, the tail will grow too big and bring disaster."

Her face turned icy, her voice low: "They want us to make one mistake and spiral into more. We'll do the opposite. Even if the path is treacherous, we'll carve out a way—and walk back to the right road."

Wang Ji's lips curled upward; he gripped her hand tightly, relieved: "Exactly! With you, I'm at ease."

Wang Ji went to the troop camp to drill at dawn the next day; Wang Tai Lady first went to comfort Wang Tianyi's family, then prepared gifts to apologize at the Xiang Wang's mansion, and wrote letters to the clan elders, inviting them to gather the heads of each branch in Jingcheng to meet her…

Pan Yun watched the storm stirred by her palm with great amusement; while the court was in uproar over the Ji'an Sanjing Villa corpse pit case and the maritime assassination of the envoy team, she was happily squatting with her second senior brother, eating tofu pudding.

Eating delicious food while watching the ups and downs of Jingcheng—actually, it was quite satisfying.

"Indeed, eating melons is only fun when you're just an observer."