Chapter 5.2 – Is He Not My People Already?

The steward tugged at Pei Zhuo’s sleeve and whispered, “He’s Lord Jia, from the Ministry of Revenue’s Agriculture Division. He’s in charge of promoting farming and sericulture. He even wrote a book, Agricultural Classics, summarizing regional climates, farming seasons, tools…”

“So he’s better than Liu Gui?”

“Can’t be compared… He’s a proper official, just not acquainted with our second prince.”

“That’s fine. He will be, soon.”

Pei Zhuo found a teahouse and drew up a contract. Lord Jia was very sincere—he directly left a 50-tael deposit.

Pei Zhuo said, “I live at the second prince’s residence. We’ll see the results in half a year. If your efforts still yield less than ordinary peanuts, I’ll take nothing.”

“Deal!” Lord Jia replied. “May I ask where you got these peanuts?”

“An old man in the mountains gifted them to me. He’s since passed. I didn’t want to waste them, so I…”

Lord Jia looked regretful and murmured, “If he were still alive, I would’ve recommended him to the crown prince.”

Pei Zhuo didn’t quite hear. “Recommended to who?”

“Nothing. Have some tea.”

Pei Zhuo said slowly, “That old man once told me of a method that might increase rice yields.”

“Please, go on.” Lord Jia perked up, waved his hand, and ordered another roast duck.

Pei Zhuo said, “I didn’t quite understand it myself, but perhaps you can uncover its secrets.”

Over the next hour, Pei Zhuo explained the concepts of sterile and restorer lines in rice, emasculation, bagging, and pollination…

Lord Jia’s expression flipped between sudden realization and total confusion.

Pei Zhuo took a sip of water. “It would take several generations of effort and some luck. The climate in Yujing isn’t suitable, but if there’s ever a chance, you could try it in the south.”

“I definitely will,” Lord Jia replied sincerely. “The people live on food. His Highness—no, His Majesty—urges us officials that our duty is not to climb the ranks but to focus on agriculture and teach others. To be honest, His Majesty sent envoys to the Western Regions. They didn’t just bring back Western horses—they brought seeds never seen before. Those who went said that if the Western Regions had sufficient water, they could yield tens of thousands of acres of good farmland. Good seeds on good land can feed many more mouths.”

Pei Zhuo casually asked, “Do they have karez wells?”

“What are those?”

“A type of irrigation that channels mountain snowmelt underground to water crops.”

Lord Jia stood up. “Sir Pei, please, stay here and don’t move—I’m going to fetch the assistant minister of Works.”

Pei Zhuo: “…” He’d made an observation—officials in Great Xuan were all extremely diligent.

“Ahem, Sir Pei,” the steward interrupted. “Perhaps it’s time we returned.”

Sensing a hidden message, Pei Zhuo said, “Just say it.”

“That’s enough for today. Let them submit visiting cards to the second prince’s residence tomorrow.”

Pei Zhuo nodded. “Alright.”

He was acting on his own behalf here, but the steward clearly meant they could use this to draw officials into the second prince’s camp.

***

The next day.

After Xiao Fei left for morning court, Lord Jia and his colleague arrived as promised. Their ranks were low enough that they didn’t need to attend court.

Pei Zhuo had changed to a softer bed and was completely unwilling to get up. When he finally opened his eyes, it was just barely dawn. Weren’t they afraid of tripping in the dark on their way here?

***

Two officials had come to visit, and of course Xiao Fei knew about it. He also knew these two were elite members personally promoted by the crown prince—typically arrogant and aloof.

Pei Zhuo was incredible. He was outright stealing people from the crown prince.

Xiao Fei recalled something he once read in a storybook—on a certain island, when a couple divorced, they would divide every item in the house down the middle and never see each other again. Wasn’t that just like how the crown princess split from the crown prince—taking half of the crown prince’s power base with her?

Xiao Fei twirled his fan proudly and said to Consort Li, “I just stole two of my imperial brother’s men.”

“How did you do that?” the consort asked.

Xiao Fei said mysteriously, “Through a strategist.”

Consort Li immediately became alert. “Is he connected to the crown prince?”

Xiao Fei had always liked mingling with people from all walks of life, and he supported a wide variety of retainers. Some were freeloaders, but some were truly shrewd. There had once been a man named Lin Liangyu, who served as a county advisor. When Xiao Fei was handling affairs in that region and saw how sharp and articulate he was, he brought him on as a strategist.

With Lin Liangyu’s help, Xiao Fei cracked a grain transport embezzlement case, bringing 110,000 taels of silver into the treasury. He also uncovered a local bribery ring, stripping seventy-six officials of their ranks.

Xiao Fei earned major merit and was publicly praised by the emperor several times—so much so that Consort Li’s palace was showered with imperial rewards.

The second prince’s career was on the rise. Even the upright and unyielding prefect of Yujing, who never mingled with high-ranking officials, had unexpectedly spoken with Xiao Fei several times.

At the time, due to the empress’ passing, the crown prince had stepped back from some of his duties and gone into seclusion. Xiao Fei’s momentum overtook the crown prince’s, and some in the court even proposed naming Consort Li the new empress. If Consort Li became empress, the crown prince’s position would become awkward—his title as heir might very well be reassigned.

But Emperor Xiao Jieyuan did have some affection for his first wife and ultimately did not appoint a new empress.

Then, something happened that Consort Li still couldn’t figure out—Lin Liangyu was exposed as a spy the crown prince had planted beside Xiao Fei!

A spy—but one who performed better than Xiao Fei’s own trusted aides.

When his cover was blown, Lin Liangyu vanished without a trace.

Consort Li puzzled over it for three whole days—what had this spy gained? It seemed like… nothing. He’d done outstanding work, helping the then-inexperienced second prince gain the emperor’s trust.

But also… everything. The crown prince had learned all of Xiao Fei’s secrets.

Mother and son lived nervously for a while, afraid that the second prince’s estate might be hiding incriminating evidence of rebellion. They even searched the garden from top to bottom.

Later, Consort Li thought more carefully. That remote county where Xiao Fei had met Lin Liangyu? Coincidentally, the crown prince had passed through there as well.

Wherever the crown prince went—there were traps.

She bombarded her son with questions. “Where did you meet this strategist? Where is his ancestral home? Has the crown prince been there?”

Recalling the unpleasant memory, Xiao Fei lowered his eyes beneath heavy lashes and foxlike brows. “He’s been.”

The man had fled the crown prince’s residence—fled after setting a fire, no less. Their relationship was strained, and Xiao Fei was determined to make that rift even wider.

“He cannot be trusted!” Consort Li yelled.

“He can.”

Seeing her son so adamant, Consort Li thought for a moment and said, “If you truly need him, use him—but do not let him anywhere near the Yong’an Horse Farm.” A calculating gleam flashed in her eyes. “Secretly transfer a batch of warhorses to your uncle for cavalry training. Make sure the bookkeeping is flawless—say they died of illness. No one must find out.”

“Hmm…”

But he had already shown the ledger to Pei Zhuo.

“Also, slowly replace the horse supervisors with your own people.”

“Hmm…” Wasn’t Pei Zhuo already his people?

***

Pei Zhuo had spent the entire morning in “pleasant conversation” with Lord Jia and his colleagues. He found that Great Xuan was full of talented individuals, and that the imperial examination wasn’t the only path to office—people were often chosen to do what they were best at.

Talents filled the court. Now that he’d backed the right prince, he had the power to mobilize them.

But could Xiao Fei truly succeed? Could he really surpass the crown prince—or at least protect himself?

Thinking of the “talent placement compound,” Pei Zhuo felt a flicker of doubt. Liu Gui and Lord Jia were leagues apart—what about the others?

Pei Zhuo said, “Steward Liu, please bring in someone skilled in hydraulics from the retainers.”

Steward Liu was proud of the thriving talent pool in the second prince’s estate and felt he could finally report good news to Consort Li. “Gentlemen, please wait. I’ll fetch him now.”

A while later, a man in blue robes entered with the steward.

Lord Jia and the assistant minister of Works stood and greeted him respectfully, inviting him to sit beside Pei Zhuo. They had thought only the crown prince had a discerning eye for talent. It turned out the second prince’s estate had hidden dragons and crouching tigers too.

Everyone introduced themselves. The man in blue said, “My surname is Zhang, I’m from Jiangzhou.”

Lord Jia picked up the earlier discussion. “We were just talking about how to ensure the proper direction when digging underground water channels in different locations so the two ends connect.”

The assistant minister of Works said, “One method is to place a lamp in the tunnel and dig with your back to the light.”

“But that consumes lamp oil,” Lord Jia refuted. “You could also place bamboo poles at both openings to align them in a straight line, then hang a horizontal bamboo pole inside the tunnel to guide the direction of digging.”

The three of them turned to Mr. Zhang, eager for his expert opinion.

Mr. Zhang gave a scoffing laugh. “Just let me go into the tunnel. No need for poles or lamps—I carry a compass in my mind that tells me north from south.”

Lord Jia and the assistant minister of Works were baffled—but dared not dismiss the second prince’s retainers lightly, not with Pei Zhuo present.

Pei Zhuo rubbed his forehead and signaled the steward to find an excuse to send Mr. Zhang away. If this man stayed any longer, the second prince would lose face completely. Seriously, where had Xiao Fei found all these bragging masters?

Looking at the big picture, maybe the martial and commanding third prince had a better shot?

Pei Zhuo was unsure. Xiao Fei treated him generously with good food and drink—it felt wrong to abandon ship now.

He tried to help the second prince save face. “Today’s timing is unfortunate. Mr. Zhang has family matters to attend to. Another day, we’ll study more accurate compasses together.”

“Sir Pei is truly knowledgeable,” praised the assistant minister of Works, sincerely impressed. The last person he’d admired this much was the crown prince.

The crown prince often came up with novel ideas and gathered people to brainstorm them. Many of his ideas aligned perfectly with Pei Zhuo’s. If Pei Zhuo joined those discussions, the results would be even more productive.

The assistant minister of Works enthusiastically invited him. “The day after tomorrow, the Jiangnan Weaving Bureau will arrive in the capital. We’re holding a small gathering at Wufu Restaurant—we hope you’ll attend.”

Pei Zhuo wasn’t interested and didn’t want to go out.

But the assistant minister seemed sure Pei Zhuo would be intrigued and let slip, “We’ll be discussing a unique textile process.”

The crown prince had said he acquired a piece of clothing made from unusual fabric. He wanted Lord Jia to identify what crop the silk came from, and the stitching technique seemed odd—too uniform for handwork, more like something pressed by wheels. He wanted the Ministry of Works to analyze what kind of tool made it…

In short, there were many questions to explore.

The more Pei Zhuo listened, the worse he felt. He scratched the table, realizing something. 

Why does this sound so much like a sewing machine… and my underwear?

He sucked in a sharp breath, asking, “Where is that piece of clothing now?”