Chapter 438 - 228: Where the Cat Comes From

Chapter 438: Chapter 228: Where the Cat Comes From

Zheng Xiu and Jiang Gaoyi walked up ahead, and the other officials trailed far behind, not daring to overtake them.

"Being an official is so exhausting."

Zheng Xiu remarked to Jiang Gaoyi with a smile, his words carrying a pointed meaning.

"To each their own," Jiang Gaoyi first replied ambiguously, then added with a sigh, "The Red King is a transcendent master. It’s only natural you would dislike these worldly affairs."

"Lord Jiang, you’ve finally become the very thing you used to hate."

Zheng Xiu winked at Jiang Gaoyi.

Jiang Gaoyi showed no sign of embarrassment. He studied Zheng Xiu’s face intently and shook his head. "I was just slow to realize. The world is a dyeing vat; who can emerge unstained?"

"What do you see on my face?" Zheng Xiu asked curiously. He saw Jiang Gaoyi staring at him and remembered the "Reading the Room" Miracle Technique Jiang Gaoyi had comprehended after glimpsing the Path of the Official.

"I can’t read the Prince’s thoughts, but I can read theirs," Jiang Gaoyi said with a smile. They walked on for a while. Although he still deliberately stayed one step behind, the initial stiffness in his speech had faded. He seemed to be gradually growing accustomed to Zheng Xiu’s new status. After all, Zheng Xiu wasn’t using his position as a Prince to put on airs. Of course, Jiang Gaoyi understood this was intentional on Zheng Xiu’s part—a display for all the civil and military officials to see. For him, this was a tremendous opportunity. At the thought, Jiang Gaoyi’s face flushed as he suppressed his delight.

"Oh? And what are they thinking now?"

"’Fear’ is written all over their faces."

"Afraid of me?"

"Of course." After a moment’s consideration, Jiang Gaoyi lowered his voice. "Your Highness was already the wealthiest man in the land, and now you’ve become the first Commandery Prince of a different surname since the founding of the Daqian Empire. Whatever you wish to do now, no one can stop you, save for the Holy Emperor. They are... utterly terrified."

’So that’s why they’re inviting me to dinners and trying to marry off their daughters. They’ve stopped just short of offering up their own wives.’

"Lord Jiang, I... ahem, This Prince is quite curious. How far can your ’Reading the Room’ technique see?"

Zheng Xiu asked Jiang Gaoyi in a low voice as they were about to exit the Imperial Palace.

Jiang Gaoyi discreetly made the hand sign for "eight" to Zheng Xiu. "I can now discern joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness from a person’s face." After a moment’s hesitation, he added, "And I can vaguely perceive good and evil, loyalty and treachery."

"In that case," Zheng Xiu nodded. "In a few days, I’ll have some private business to trouble you with, Lord Jiang."

Jiang Gaoyi was taken aback. Though curious, he didn’t press for details, simply nodding. "I await the Red King’s command."

"Good."

After parting with the court’s rising star, Jiang Gaoyi, Zheng Xiu stepped out of the Imperial Palace. Not far from the gates, a luxurious carriage was parked.

Two powerful, majestic steeds snorted, their breath fogging in the air. Beaded curtains hung from the carriage’s canopy, its body was coated in gold lacquer, and the axles and wheel hubs were carved with exquisite flowers and leaf veins. Small, colorful flags, each bearing the single word "Zheng," were planted around the carriage. Yin Qingqing was waiting beside it. As Zheng Xiu approached, she lowered her head and curtsied. "This servant, Qingqing, greets the Red King."

’As expected of the Secret Ministry. Their intelligence network is fast.’

Qing Shisan, in his usual commoner’s attire of a bamboo hat and straw sandals, was smoking a long-stemmed pipe. He lifted the brim of his hat, and upon seeing Zheng Xiu, he hurriedly hopped off the carriage to greet him. He gave Zheng Xiu a wink and then boomed, "Welcome back to your mansion, Red King!"

The common folk nearby erupted into an uproar.

In no time, the news that Master Zheng, the Richest Person in the land and former Marquis Zhonglie, had now become Prince Zheng, grew little angel wings and flew through every street and alley.

By the time Qing Shisan had leisurely driven the carriage in a grand procession through the city and back to the Zheng Residence, the news of the Red King’s ascension had sent the whole capital into an uproar.

A crowd of onlookers had gathered before the gates of the Zheng Residence, but most were people who served the Zheng Clan. Hidden among them were many of the clan’s Miracle Masters. When Zheng Xiu appeared, their faces broke into gratified smiles.

"Master!"

"Master!"

"Ah! If Old Zheng could see this from the great beyond, he’d be grinning from ear to ear! The Young Prince has really made it big!"

"Pah! Xiaozheng was always going to make it big! Now he’s even bigger!"

"We can’t call him Master anymore! We have to call him ’Your Highness’!"

"Oh, right, right! We have to call him ’Your Highness’!"

"Your Highness!"

"Your Highness!"

A group of older men and women cheerfully surrounded Zheng Xiu. Though they were all calling him "Your Highness," their casual words and actions made it clear they weren’t treating him like a prince at all. It was more like they were watching their own son get married.

In the crowd, her face flushed, Tailor Xi’er pointed at the robes Zheng Xiu was wearing. "See that? Those robes Prince Zheng is wearing? I made those with my own two hands!"

’She left one thing unsaid: while making them, she’d gained experience and opened a new door for herself.’

Unaware that Xi’er had unwittingly reaped a benefit from him, Zheng Xiu responded to the well-wishes of his fellow Zheng Clan members. Surrounded by the crowd, he walked to the entrance of the Zheng Residence, looked up, and froze.

The plaque above the Zheng Residence had been covered with a festive red cloth. As Zheng Xiu looked up at it, Ji Hong’ou and Pei Gaoya, who had been waiting off to the side, let out a hearty laugh. They flew into the air, one on each side, and pulled away the cloth to reveal a new plaque—"Red King Mansion"!

CREAK—

The doors swung open. A fragrant breeze wafted out. Zheng Erniang stood behind them, her face streaked with tears but also graced with a smile as she quietly watched Zheng Xiu.

Feng Bei stood beside the Second Lady.

The servant girls stood behind the Second Lady.

"It’s just a princedom."

With a faint smile, Zheng Xiu took a great stride and stepped into the Red King Mansion.

...

「A month passed in the blink of an eye.」

「Late spring, early summer.」

Laughter and song drifted from the painted boats on the distant canal, punctuated by the chirping of cicadas heralding the coming summer.

"It’s just a princedom."

"A mere princedom."

「Inside the study.」

Zheng Xiu rubbed the bridge of his nose as he stared at the dazzling array of brocade boxes piled high on the study floor.