When the Deposed Crown Prince Was Reborn as Troublemaker - Chapter 71

“Didn’t you say the Crown Prince wouldn’t arrive for another two days?” asked the heads of the Wei and Qi families — the powerful clans that had entrenched themselves in Dayang County.

“I didn’t expect this either!” Dayang County Magistrate Li Ren was stunned. He truly hadn’t anticipated that a Crown Prince who moved at a snail’s pace could cover a hundred li in a single day and arrive directly at the gates of Dayang County.

“Then hurry up and go receive the imperial carriage!” all three said in unison.

Arriving late to receive the imperial carriage was a grave offense of disrespect!

“Speaking of which, Magistrate Li, have your men kept those refugees out of sight?” asked the head of the Wei family, straightening his clothes as he spoke.

“But of course. What the Crown Prince is not meant to see, he will not see,” the Dayang County Magistrate replied.

“Quick, quick, quick — have someone tidy up the residence and offer the finest courtyard to the Crown Prince. We cannot let him stay at a post station,” the head of the Qi family instructed his servants. “Oh, and for tonight’s welcome banquet, have Jiaoniang dress herself up properly and play a piece for His Highness the Crown Prince — no wait, call out all the young ladies of the household to keep him company.”

Just as the head of the Qi family was giving his instructions, two pairs of eyes snapped toward him simultaneously.

This crafty old fox — while they had been thinking about how to handle the Crown Prince and draw him into their camp, he had already started scheming how to curry favor with royalty and send his own daughter into the Eastern Palace!

“What is it?” The head of the Qi family turned back, puzzled.

“Head Qi, how thoughtful of you — sending my son’s betrothed to the Crown Prince,” said the head of the Wei family in a sarcastic, barbed tone.

The Wei and Qi families had been united through marriage for generations, their roots deep and branches widespread. In this generation, it was precisely Jiaoniang — as the head of the Qi family called her — who was betrothed to the next head of the Wei family.

“Ha — haha.” The head of the Qi family laughed awkwardly, well aware that what he had done was unseemly. “Am I not just sending the Crown Prince someone close to whisper a few words in his ear on our behalf?”

“If you ask me, the Crown Prince ought to stay at my residence,” said the head of the Wei family, slapping the table.

Since that old fox from the Qi family wanted to send a daughter to the Crown Prince’s side, he would too. Now that the fates of Prince Yan and Prince Wu were unknown — and if they truly were dead — the only one who could inherit the throne would be His Highness the Crown Prince. Their daughters would then become imperial consorts.

“On what grounds? Is that run-down courtyard of yours any better than mine? How many years has it gone without renovation?” the head of the Qi family argued.

“Alright, alright — receiving the imperial carriage is what matters most right now! Can you two not settle your squabbles after we return? Arriving late to receive the imperial carriage is a grave offense,” the Dayang County Magistrate said.

With that, the three men quickly tidied themselves up and led the assembled officials of Dayang County to receive the Crown Prince’s arrival.

At the city gates, an enormous procession stretched into view — carriages and the elite Eastern Palace guards tasked with protecting the Crown Prince — and the sight made the onlookers draw a sharp breath. The young men on horseback were vigorous and imposing, their dark black military uniforms making their figures appear even more upright. As they passed, they carried an air of solemn gravity that exuded a powerful, overwhelming pressure.

At that moment, the Dayang County Magistrate was already calculating how many chances they would stand if they truly failed to win the Crown Prince over and things came to a head.

Then, when they saw that the Crown Prince’s carriage was made of sandalwood and pulled by Ferghana horses, even men as extravagant as themselves couldn’t help but marvel at the lavishness of what the Crown Prince used.

“I’d heard that the Crown Prince’s rewards to those around him run into the thousands of taels of gold — seeing this, I believe it,” the head of the Wei family murmured to the head of the Qi family from behind Magistrate Li.

“Your subjects have been late in coming to receive Your Highness — we beg Your Highness’s forgiveness!” Magistrate Li stepped before the Crown Prince’s carriage, performed a deep bow, and spoke.

When he had finished, four powerfully built Eastern Palace guards carried a palanquin to the front of the carriage, and from inside came the gentle voice of a young man. “Your Highness the Crown Prince, please alight — we have arrived at Dayang County.”

His words fell, and from the carriage there emerged a slender hand, fair as white jade, which lightly lifted the curtain aside. Then a young man of refined and elegant appearance stepped out.

Immediately after, a tall, cold-faced young man in black clothing carried out a youth dressed in ceremonial robes of deep black and crimson.

The youth’s eyes were half-lidded, his complexion the pallid white of someone long deprived of sunlight, save for the teardrop mole beneath his eye — a vivid, striking crimson, like a drop of blood-tinged tear.

His right hand, loosely dangling, held a long white jade and gold-inlaid pipe; the curling tendrils of smoke rising from it, paired with the Crown Prince’s billowing ceremonial robes of deep black and crimson, gave him an air of languid, decadent beauty that was difficult to look upon directly.

In that instant, the breath of everyone present caught involuntarily. The quickest to recover was Magistrate Li, who immediately came to his senses and called out, “We pay our respects to His Highness the Crown Prince!”

The crowd then followed his lead and dropped to their knees.

You Yusui had been placed onto the palanquin by the undercover guard who was impersonating Huo Xiling, and he sat slumped to one side, his expression heavy with exhaustion.

“Rise, everyone,” You Yusui said. From his voice, nearly all present could detect a profound weariness.

This only confirmed what everyone had heard — that His Highness the Crown Prince’s health was poor and he had scarcely the energy to investigate the matter of the disaster relief funds and account books.

At the same time, the heads of the Wei and Qi families exchanged a glance. They could be certain that someone was investigating them from the shadows — they just didn’t know who. They would have to increase scrutiny of outsiders in the area in the coming days.

After You Yusui waited for everyone to rise, he propped his hand against his temple and said, “This prince’s health has never been good. If any of you have matters to attend to, speak with General Huo and Imperial Physician Cui at my side — they are both my trusted confidants. Do not trouble me with trifling affairs.”

“Yes, yes, of course — this official would not dare disturb Your Highness with trivial matters. Please set your mind at ease, Your Highness,” Magistrate Li hurriedly nodded in agreement, then stole a sidelong glance at Huo Xiling and Cui Yan, who stood beside the Crown Prince.

Both men were exceptionally fine-looking. The young General Huo had an icy, unapproachable air, while Imperial Physician Cui gave off a warmth tempered by a measure of distant reserve and a hint of shrewd calculation.

Whether in appearance or in the impression they projected, both men matched perfectly the descriptions that had been passed along. Magistrate Li felt that if these two could be made into a point of entry, then everything that followed would become much easier to manage.

“It is getting late — Your Highness, please enter the city,” Magistrate Li said. “The place where you will be lodging is this official’s own residence. It may not be an elaborately adorned estate, but it has the merit of a tranquil and refined setting.”

The moment Magistrate Li finished speaking, he was met with furious glares from both the Qi and Wei families. That cunning man surnamed Li — no wonder he had told them not to squabble. It turned out he had the same idea himself all along, wanting to be the one to host the Crown Prince and gain the advantage of proximity.

You Yusui, upon hearing this, said, “Very well.”

“Then tonight’s welcome banquet — we must earnestly invite Your Highness to grace us with your presence,” Magistrate Li added fawningly.

“Fine,” You Yusui replied, his eyes still half-closed.

At this point, Cui Yan spoke up from the side, “Your Highness, the sun outside is intense. Let us make haste and enter the city to rest.”

“Yes, yes, of course.” Magistrate Li nodded vigorously. “Your Highness, please — allow me to lead the way.”

After You Yusui entered the city, everything within appeared to be in perfect order. Street vendors called out their wares all around, and the common people walking through the city all looked healthy and radiant, dressed in decent clothing. Not even a small beggar child could be found in any corner — it all looked thoroughly normal.

But it was precisely this air of normalcy that was the greatest abnormality of all. You Yusui had passed through county towns along the way and had seen even the wealthiest of them — not everyone there could be dressed without a single patch on their clothes, and certainly not without beggars in the street corners.

“Magistrate Li has governed Dayang County quite well,” You Yusui remarked.

“Indeed, indeed,” Magistrate Li replied with a nod. “It is all thanks to the generosity and benevolence of the heads of the Qi and Wei families of Dayang County — it is because of them that the county is the way it is today.”

When Magistrate Li finished speaking, You Yusui glanced at the two family heads, and a cold, silent laugh rose in his heart. Benevolent? These two were worse than wolves and tigers. The wrongs they had committed in Dayang County were more than enough to warrant the destruction of their entire clans. To call them benevolent was the most laughable joke he had ever heard.

“If that is so, why has no one memorialized the court to commend them with a merit archway?” You Yusui asked with a smile.

“This one is not someone who cares for fame or gain — naturally, there is no need for the reward of a memorial archway,” the head of the Qi family hastily replied.

(TL: A 功德牌坊 (memorial arch / paifang) wasn’t just decoration—it was a state-approved symbol of moral achievement.)

A court-awarded archway required an investigation to verify whether the merits were genuine. If the court sent people to look into it, would they not be exposed immediately?

“If that is so, this prince should reward you all the more,” You Yusui said smilingly, waving off any protests from the two family heads, and then had someone draft a letter to be sent to You Fengyun, who was far away in Chang’an.

Upon seeing this, the heads of the Qi and Wei families screamed inwardly in desperation — this absolutely could not happen!

Magistrate Li, standing nearby, immediately stepped in. “Your Highness the Crown Prince, these gentlemen do what they do without regard for fame or profit, and naturally have no need of an archway to commend them. This official earnestly hopes Your Highness will rescind the order, so as not to cause them to go against their original intentions.”

With that, You Yusui graciously relented, and only after Magistrate Li and the others had seen You Yusui to his lodgings did they finally let out a breath of relief.

Then, almost at once, they heard a sudden commotion among those attending the Crown Prince — it turned out that the Crown Prince had taken ill again after his exposure to the sun earlier.

Magistrate Li, who had not broken a sweat despite having walked the entire way: ……

He knew the Crown Prince was delicate, but he hadn’t imagined it would be quite to this degree.

“In any case, we can now be certain that the Crown Prince has not come to investigate a case,” Magistrate Li said.

The other two powerful men nodded. Magistrate Li then continued, “Call together all the local powerful families — have everyone bring whatever fine gifts they have. Tonight, we will give His Highness a proper welcome.”

“But of course,” the heads of the Qi and Wei families replied in unison.

Meanwhile, in the room Magistrate Li had prepared for You Yusui, Cui Yan looked at You Yusui lying on the bed and said, “Truly, one wouldn’t have guessed it — that a man of such limited wit would dare to embezzle disaster relief funds.”

You Yusui replied, “Those who can restrain their inner desires are few and far between. That you are not moved by wealth does not mean they are not moved by it.”

More often than not, the most egregious corruption was found not among the high officials of Chang’an, but among the officials of small, out-of-the-way places.

“Any news of Prince Yan and Prince Wu?” You Yusui asked casually.

“Apparently they were exposed within the borders of Hedong Commandery, were set upon by a mob of refugees who appeared from nowhere, and fell off a cliff. The undercover guards have already gone to search for them,” Cui Yan replied.

You Yusui: …… So they had been ambushed before even reaching Dayang County. No wonder the Dayang County Magistrate had shown not the slightest alarm upon seeing him — those two had not disappeared within his jurisdiction at all.

“This prince’s imperial brothers’ method of investigating a case is truly extraordinary — so extraordinary it leaves this prince speechless!”