Chapter 378: His Highness Duke of Qin embezzles (2/2)

“Your Majesty, His Highness Duke of Qin and esteemed wangfei suddenly vanished this morning. Their carriage was abandoned by the side of the road, and even the footman and retainers are missing,” reported the scout.

A complicated look flickered past the imperial uncle’s eyes. “The Duke of Qin, what is he…”

“Heheh, he’s stuck no matter what he does this time! The disaster victims want grain, their livelihood! The Duke of Qin can fool around all he wants, but it’s useless!” Emperor Tianhui uttered a cold laugh. He wasn’t being flippant, because he’d ascertained that Long Feiye couldn’t possibly have enough grain on hand to feed the disaster areas. There would be no way for him to transfer more grain, either, especially when his own stock in Jiangnan was just about emptied. The grain left in Tianning Country itself had all been transferred away to different regions or long bought off by grain merchants. Even if Long Feiye had heavenly skills and endless silver, he still wouldn’t be able to produce such a vast amount of grain!

“Your Majesty, this official is simply curious as to why the Duke of Qin would chose to disappear now of all times?” The imperial uncle had always been a cautious type, and he’d only grown more prudent after paying off his silver yesterday. He couldn’t help but feel that the Duke of Qin was a formidable foe in all circumstances.

“Someone come, spread the news!” Emperor Tianhui wasn’t worried at all. Originally, he felt it a pity that rumors of the Duke of Qin’s misconduct couldn’t spread farther. This time, he was going to let all of Tianning Country know of his misdeeds. From time immemorial, the words ‘Duke of Qin’ had always being held in a position of immovable respect to the civil and military officials, nobles from the imperial clan, and in the hearts of the common people. Now he was going to thoroughly ruin Long Feiye’s reputation! Let him taste the consequences of making an enemy out of imperial might!

The imperial uncle didn’t say much in reply. He had already sold off all the grain he had embezzled. Though he took a financial loss, it was probably better to clear out his stock under these circumstances. This way, he’d be able to beat a retreat should Long Feiye have gone missing to investigate his grain. Meanwhile, Long Tianmo had kept silent the entire time as he sat on one side.

“Brother-in-law, you haven’t drank with Zhen for a while,” Emperor Tianhui had to be in a good mood to refer to the imperial uncle so familiarly. Aside from news of Long Feiye’s disappearance, he was also happy because of Chu Qingge. The Chu Clan and the emperor of Western Zhou had already agreed on a wedding date in half a year’s time. He had also promised to make Chu Qingge a Noble Consort–the highest rank of imperial concubine only a level lower than the empress herself. First off, Chu Qingge was someone he fancied; secondly, she came from the strongest military family in Western Zhou. Her marriage to him would prove to be a great source of power for him!

“Your Majesty’s favor is something this humble official shall accept deferentially instead of declining courteously!” the imperial uncle still spoke respectfully while shooting the silent Long Tianmo a look. Unfortunately, Long Tianmo only pretended not to have seen it. Technically, a crown prince like him should try to curry favor while his imperial father was in a good mood. But Long Tianmo wasn’t feeling particularly happy today.

“Imperial father, erchen still has some business to take care of. I shan’t disturb your mood further,” he said simply.

“Any news from General Mu’s estate recently?” Emperor Tianhui asked.

“Everything is as usual. Just yesterday, erchen went with the young general to the training grounds together,” Long Tianmo replied truthfully.

Thanks to the issues with the betrothal gifts and wedding ceremony, Mu Qingwu had been left in a sour mood for days. He’d only agreed to meet with Long Tianmo yesterday. Emperor Tianhui didn’t probe, but waved his hand to dismiss his son. Long Tianmo left just like that, leaving a trace of unhappiness in the imperial uncle’s eyes. However, it was too awkward for him to stop the boy. After the charity auction, he’d not only taught his son a lesson, but the crown prince as well. Although the crown prince ranked above a subject like him, he still had to call him his uncle in private. He was the crown prince’s sole source of support, and the only reason he’d be able to rise up again and marry Mu Liuyue. Of course, the imperial uncle didn’t support the crown prince because they were related, but because the crown prince was his safeguard for the future. Otherwise, my family would be the first to fall when the reins of power switched hands!

The imperial uncle accompanied Emperor Tianhui with his drinking while musing over Chu Qingge’s upcoming wedding. Of the four Noble Consorts in the imperial harem, only two were left currently. One was Noble Consort Xue from the imperial uncle’s estate, while the other was the cavalry General Ning’s young sister, Noble Consort Ning. Once Chu Qingge arrived, the power struggles in the harem would start up again. If Chu Qingge managed to become empress and give birth to a son, there might be another struggle for the position of crown prince!

As the imperial uncle mused and fretted over the possibilities, Long Tianmo continued to be out of sorts. That was because Mu Liuyue was annoying him to death! As soon as he reached the Eastern Palace, Mu Liuyue came to greet him.

“Your Highness, so you’ve returned. Chenqie prepared a thick soup of tremella, lotus seeds, and jujubes, may Your Highness–”

“Withdraw!” Long Tianmo waved his hand impatiently. He didn’t even want to listen to her voice.

Mu Liuyue’s happy little face instantly turned aggrieved. “Your Highness, chenqie personally spent a long time making this.”

Long Tianmo was too lazy to reply. If not for the sake of the general’s estate’s face, he would’ve sent this woman to the western mountains long ago to wait upon his imperial mother. When Mu Liuyue saw that he was about to leave, she couldn’t help but chase after him. “Your Highness, chenqie’s heard of His Highness Duke of Qin’s embezzlement practices. From what chenqie knows of Han Yunxi, this matter must be–

Long Tianmo stopped and spoke, his voice stern, “You’re not qualified to speak of the Duke of Qin and Qin Wangfei’s matters! If this crown prince hears things like that again, be careful I don’t pin you with the crime of meddling in state affairs from the harem!”1

1. meddling in state affairs from the harem (后宫干政) – hougong ganzheng, traditionally speaking, members of the imperial harem had no right to directly interfere with government policies or national politics.