If Qin Jingzhou and Ling Jing could hear the inner thoughts of Fate’s Son Number Three, they would also agree that this guy was thinking pretty sensibly.
Qin Jingzhou had met the original host’s children, and all of them had rather average talent.
To tell the truth, the love he could give as a father was limited—he could only ensure they had enough face, but when it came to their education, he absolutely wouldn’t let up… At any rate, he couldn’t let his children grow up wild. If they turned out like Wei Guangmei and the other Noble Families’ offspring, in the end, he’d have to execute them for wrongdoing without having taught them first.
So, he arranged for the princes and princesses to attend lessons together, studying step by step, and also added a number of practical courses.
This meant assigning trusted attendants to take the children, dressed in ordinary clothes, out to the city and farmlands, so they could see for themselves how the common people lived. After each outing, they had to submit an essay of several hundred words, which Qin Jingzhou personally reviewed.
It had to be said—being born to the Imperial Family, even if these children were only five or six years old, and to Qin Jingzhou’s eyes were rather average, their minds were actually quite sharp.
At first, they were excited simply because they could leave the palace to play, but after seeing the myriad scenes of everyday life with their own eyes, they each gained some insights.
The original host’s second son wrote in his essay: “Father Emperor wants us to truly see the suffering of the people.”
At the family banquet held every half a month, Qin Jingzhou singled out the second son for praise, and said, “Read ten thousand books and travel ten thousand miles. Since you have not yet read ten thousand books, then travel around the Capital and nearby areas more.” He didn’t hide matters from the children, “Within the Capital and the surrounding four provinces, you may roam as you wish. As for farther places, even I, your Father Emperor, cannot guarantee your safety.”
The original host’s second daughter even blurted out, “Noble Families… damn them!”
Ling Jing gently pinched the little girl’s cheek, “You mustn’t judge everyone with one stick.” Then she changed her tone, “Although, you weren’t wrong either.”
The little girl pursed her lips, smiled, and said, “Thank you, Mother Consort.” Then she looked proudly at her birth mother.
The little girl’s mother also squinted her eyes and smiled.
From then on, the princes and princesses left the palace even more frequently.
This year, around half the farming families in the surrounding four provinces had followed the managers sent from the royal manors to learn new methods: signing an agreement to hand over half their increased harvest to the royal manor, in return receiving good seed, tools, fertilizer, and pesticides.
Now, as summer had just begun, the thriving crops had greatly uplifted the farmers’ spirits. As long as Heaven didn’t throw a tantrum, they were sure they could double their yield at the autumn harvest, just like their relatives and friends in the Capital’s surrounding areas.
Give it one more year—they’d even be confident enough to discuss buying oxen and sheep!
So when the princes and princesses visited, all they heard was, “Bless the Emperor’s longevity,” and “May the Emperor live a long life…”
The teachers, all of humble origins, never forgot to point to the lush fields and the smiling faces of the farmers, reminding the princes and princesses that this was the foundation of the dynasty.
The princes and princesses all nodded, their expressions thoughtful.
Following the Imperial Highway westward, the group soon reached the western border of the four surrounding provinces. Only a river separated this side from the other, but it was a world of difference: looking at the seedlings in the fields and the listless faces of the peasants, the princes and princesses felt in their bones that the people on the opposite side probably toiled for nothing more than mere subsistence—simply struggling not to starve.
Here, farmers would rest under the trees, discuss buying cattle, or talk of sending their grandsons to study and granddaughters to learn embroidery… It was like two different worlds, yet only a river separated them.
After some consideration, the Second Prince asked his teacher, “Teacher, do the people across the river really accept it? Don’t they want to escape over here?”
The teacher smiled, and said, “To answer Your Highness: it’s only been a year and a half since the new land laws were enacted. The able-bodied men who’ve come here from all over already number three to four hundred thousand.”
The Second Prince exclaimed in surprise, “Ah, then in the future, won’t there be more and more of them?”
The Second Princess added, “With fewer able-bodied youths left behind, things will get even harder over there.”
The teacher nodded with satisfaction.
During this half year, the princes and princesses all traveled the areas surrounding the Capital, broadening their horizons. At the same time, Fate’s Son Number Three, having steeled himself for one last gamble, left his old home disguised, with a forged travel permit, squeezing into a mercenary corps headed north by land.
Traveling all the way, he was deeply shocked—especially seeing firsthand the condition of the fields and the spirit of the commoners in the four provinces near the Capital. He felt like he’d stepped into another world, even though he’d only left the Capital for a little over a year.
He then fell into deep self-doubt: he’d always considered himself extraordinary, but he wasn’t blind nor mad.
Well-versed in history and the classics, he knew very well—simply ensuring the people were fed was enough for someone to be called a “wise ruler.” What did it matter if Jiang Jingzhou sometimes dismissed the court to cultivate? That alone did not change anything.
Suddenly, a wave of clarity washed over him. Why had he believed Wei Guangmei when she called Jiang Jingzhou a useless sovereign? Because back then, Wei Guangmei had spoken with passion, saying they’d force the Emperor and the Noble Families to share rule, or else make the Emperor understand that without the Noble Families the Imperial Clan was nothing… Her words fired up all the Noble Families’ sons present, himself included.
The more he thought about it, the more he realized something was wrong with his own thinking back then. He could barely recall what Wei Guangmei had said, yet the conviction that Jiang Jingzhou and Great Zhou must be destroyed was deeply rooted in him.
Suddenly, a flash of insight struck him: Dian Lanyu!
Dian Lanyu’s medicine recipes were rather sinister. He’d spent a fortune to buy Dian Lanyu’s medicine specifically tailored for stroke sufferers, and given it to his own old madam. It worked instantly—the old lady, who’d been almost paralyzed and barely able to speak, could, after a month, talk a little and even walk slowly with a cane.
Maybe it was back then that Wei Guangmei had gotten a mind-altering recipe from Dian Lanyu? No wonder Dian Lanyu abetted her every time, always siding with Wei Guangmei. Not only did she escape punishment, but she was even greatly rewarded.
So, once he reached the Capital’s outskirts and parted with the mercenary corps, he set a new target for himself: approach the most favored princess, Jiang Ying, get close to Dian Lanyu, then make off as soon as possible. He could establish his own power base.
Having finally set his new master plan in motion, Fate’s Son Number Three successfully snuck into the Capital.
He had to admit, the Southern Noble Families and the titled lords had suffered a heavy blow and lost much of their power, but a centipede dies but never falls. They still had considerable resources.
Even though every direct member of the Han and Wei families still alive had been thrown in prison, the evidence of their rebellion ironclad, people still went to the court to plead sincerely for mercy on their behalf.
Fate’s Son Number Three’s family was every bit as influential as the Hans and Weis. That’s why even old friends from before, despite being hard-pressed, were willing to make inquiries for him—he was claiming he wanted to forsake his family and defect to the Emperor.
Don’t put all your eggs in one basket—of course, the Noble Families and titled lords understood that.
In fact, Number Three’s family also had a branch still in the Capital, quietly serving as officials. They hadn’t participated in the “Cleansing of the Monarch’s Side” operation organized by the other main branches, and so hadn’t been purged—though of course, there was still some impact.
In short, with much networking, many bribes, and quite a few promises made, Number Three finally got the information he needed: Dian Lanyu went out of the palace every other day to visit the old Wei Family mansion in the west of the city—it was said she was to build the largest healthcare clinic there.
The Han mansion, seized at the same time as the Weis, was just a street away. Perhaps feeling inauspicious, the Noble Consort had also handed over the Han mansion to Dian Lanyu. It was said that it was being converted into the largest pharmacy in the Capital, with a shop front and factory in the back.
Number Three then began personally staking out the area day and night. Such an important matter couldn’t be entrusted to others. He did it himself.
After more than a month of surveillance and observation, he’d mapped out Dian Lanyu’s usual movement patterns. He even had a pleasant surprise—every few days, Xue Rou would bring her daughter Tuantuan for strolls in the area too.
Whether it was Dian Lanyu or Xue Rou and her daughter, their bodyguards never numbered more than a hundred.
Given that, he felt even more confident—he could round up at least three hundred death soldiers, all armed with standard Da Zhou Imperial Guard weapons.
But as he watched the formerly glorious Wei and Han mansions being completely torn down over this period, he felt a pang in his heart: two Noble Families fallen so thoroughly, and the buildings that once witnessed their glory now razed, vanishing along with them…
Shaking off his gloom, Number Three geared himself up: with each move, life or death was at stake—he’d just have to risk it all. He had no other choice.
The most deeply placed Spy he had in the palace sent word that tomorrow Dian Lanyu would again visit the old Wei and Han mansions, and Xue Rou and her daughter would be coming as well. Dian Lanyu planned to open a girls’ school there, teaching young women medicine and how to make and process medicines.
Number Three immediately sent out secret orders, summoning all available loyalists—those his clan and his mother’s family could mobilize outside their own domain—having them gather in several secret strongholds by stages, then personally taking his confidants to the Wei mansion site.
The Spy he had planted in the palace for so long had not deceived him—he waited in an abandoned courtyard two miles from the Wei mansion, sorting through the various reports from his Spies, then steeled his heart and sent his confidant ahead with a message. He himself led several dozen death soldiers and confidants as the vanguard.
He was careful to leave himself an escape route, but the death soldiers cultivated by Noble Families simply couldn’t match up against regular soldiers who had as much meat, eggs, and mantou as they wanted at every meal, drew full pay, and drilled every day.
When Number Three finally “entered the stage,” the reality he faced was this: most of his death soldiers had been killed or wounded, while the Noble Consort and Dian Lanyu's two hundred bodyguards had suffered, at most, a tenth casualties—a bit more at most.
At this point, he had no choice but to go through with it… With such a commotion, reinforcements would arrive quickly, and he wouldn’t be able to escape. He'd staked everything on this, but he simply didn’t have enough people left to get away alive.
So as he crouched by the courtyard wall of a neighbor’s house next to the Wei mansion, peeking through a crack at the Noble Consort surrounded by layers of bodyguards, he called out, “You knew it was me?”
Ling Jing replied coldly with a single “Mm.”
She held Tuantuan in her arms and whispered, “Tuantuan, be good. Mama needs to take care of some riffraff herself.”
Tuantuan obediently let her mother hand her over to one of the bodyguard big brothers—this tall and handsome bodyguard was Jiang Tongqing’s son, and by seniority, he was actually Tuantuan’s cousin.
Ling Jing exchanged looks with Dian Lanyu and the bodyguards. The guards then formed up and launched another coordinated charge, scattering the desperate death soldiers once more.
After that, Ling Jing leapt gracefully, treading on piles of building materials beside the wall, and flipped lightly over into the courtyard.
The bodyguards nearly had heart attacks.
But their hearts almost leaping out of their chests did not slow their reactions in the slightest… Truthfully, for elites like these, getting over a two-meter wall was really nothing as long as there was something to step on!
Like dumplings falling into hot soup, the guards jumped over one after another, landing on the other side of the courtyard—only to see Number Three lying flat on the ground, a clear shoeprint on his face.
As for Number Three’s confidants… they all lay sprawled and unconscious, as if all awareness had left them in an instant.
The bodyguards had mixed feelings.
Ling Jing smiled, with pointed meaning, “Did you really think Wei Guangmei surrendered willingly?”
At this moment, with the help of a few bodyguard brothers, Dian Lanyu also crossed over. Looking around, she asked, “How’s that? Isn’t my medicine amazing?”
Ling Jing gave a thumbs up, then used her other hand to trace four letters in the air: YYDS.
Dian Lanyu immediately broke into an exuberant grin.