Chapter 84 "Our Second Prince..."

Chapter 84 "Our Second Prince..."

"Our Second Prince always prides himself on being virtuous and magnanimous. On the surface, he loves to play the role of being courteous to the virtuous and good at listening to others, but in reality..." Qin Ji sneered, "Among all the princes, he is the most arrogant and petty. It is only because he has always had a smooth life since childhood that he can barely maintain his demeanor as a virtuous prince."

“But no one knows him better than us brothers.” Qin Ji picked up a letter from the table and continued, “The Prince Cheng’s entourage encountered bandits while crossing the Binhe Post Station on their way back to the capital.”

"Were they people sent by the Second Prince to ambush us?" Xiao Yan asked, though the question was phrased with certainty. "Bandits again. They're clearly legitimate princes. His Highness the Second Prince really likes the label of bandits."

"How are the people accompanying the group that went to Binhe Post Station? Are the casualties serious?" Upon hearing that they had been ambushed, Xiao Yan Hui couldn't help but worry about the safety of the other group.

“Eunuch Anping is a cunning old fox. Even though he’s an old man, he had some idea of ​​the dangers of our trip. The guards accompanying us to deliver the imperial decree to Jiangzuo were not weak to begin with. In addition, after the battle, they discovered that the Prince Cheng in the convoy was just a stand-in, so they didn’t fight to the death and retreated directly. Although there were casualties in the team, they were not serious.”

"Let's take out some money from the Prince Cheng's Mansion to give them another compensation for the casualties. Alas! Their families must be heartbroken." Hearing that there were still casualties, Xiao Yan Hui's mood couldn't help but sink.

"Don't worry, the orders have already been given." Only after Xiao Yan mentioned it did Qin Ji realize that although he had seen the casualties before, all he saw were numbers and the cold calculations of casualty compensation in his mind.

As for any sadness over the deaths, or even sympathy for the families of those who died, there was none. For him, who had only been back from the battlefield for less than six months, the casualties were utterly insignificant. No, even before he had been on the battlefield, he hadn't placed much importance on the lives of others.

"Yan Hui, do you think I'm cold-hearted?" Qin Ji suddenly asked Xiao Yan Hui.

"Cold-blooded? Why bring that up all of a sudden?" Xiao Yan was clearly puzzled when she first heard this, but she quickly realized what Qin Ji was thinking.

This person seems to be occasionally overly sensitive in strange ways.

“It’s okay, being a little ruthless isn’t a bad thing,” Xiao Yan replied.

Qin Ji looked at her, seemingly a little surprised that someone who had just been feeling sad was now saying that being cold-hearted wasn't a bad thing.

“I am saddened by their deaths, while you feel little emotionally affected; these are merely our personal attitudes. But in reality, as long as those who deserve recognition are recognized and the due compensation is given, our inner emotions are not important, are they?”

Xiao Yan scratched his head, feeling that he had expressed himself clearly: "I didn't mean you should look down on human life, it's just... this isn't a completely peaceful and prosperous era. You were also involved in quelling the rebellion in Yunzhou before, and even more people died on the battlefield. As the commander-in-chief, if you were to grieve for every single person who sacrificed their life, wouldn't you be overwhelmed by your emotions? You don't need to burden yourself with these things, but..."

“But when making certain plans, perhaps we should think more about the fact that those who execute the plans are living, breathing people… Have I made my point clear?” Xiao Yan asked, looking up at Qin Ji.

Despite the seemingly chaotic expression, Qin Ji understood perfectly what Xiao Yanhui was trying to say. She didn't want to feel guilty about the deaths of those people, but she also didn't want to be too carefree and only consider achieving her goals when using people without treating them as human beings.

"Yes, Yan Hui, you've made yourself very clear. I know, I won't treat them like NPCs to be manipulated at will." Qin Ji held Xiao Yan Hui's hand and pressed it against his face.

She is always so good.

Now that Qin Ji had received what she wanted to express, Xiao Yan Hui stopped dwelling on it and started trying to recall the plot details that she couldn't quite remember.

The male protagonist of the novel, Li Fang, does seem to really enjoy the idea of ​​directly destroying the physical body. When I was reading it, I sided with the protagonist, and with the villain's insidious methods as a contrast, I felt a sense of exhilaration—no matter how many schemes and tricks you have, I can overcome them all with sheer force and violently destroy everything.

But at this point, as the wife of the novel's main villain, her side is the one he intends to violently destroy, which is very distressing.

"The second brother's men won't make a move again," Qin Ji suddenly said.

"Hmm, why? Since you said he's not very magnanimous, then he probably won't give up easily just because of one failure."

"It was a stroke of luck, really. We happened to rescue the Shen siblings at Sanniu Gorge. Afterwards, I had Lin Ye send him a letter via the second prince's carrier pigeon, telling him that I had saved the person he was going to kill, and that he had not only been completely outmaneuvered by me, but also couldn't even guess which way I was going." Qin Ji spoke of this with some pride, clearly finding great pleasure in making the second prince suffer a setback.

"Knowing the second brother as I do, with his tiny, narrow mind, this provocation would drive him crazy. So, letting me die on the road wouldn't be enough to quell his anger," Qin Ji said, becoming more and more cheerful as he spoke.

"Yan Hui, what do you think is the most frustrating thing when two people fight or argue?" Qin Ji asked with great interest.

"You lost, and when you reviewed the game, you found that you actually had a hundred advantages, but you just couldn't bring them out?" Xiao Yan echoed his topic.

"No, it's suffering a huge loss but not even having a chance to fight back, like being attacked but finding yourself unable to catch up, or being insulted but finding yourself blocked." Qin Ji raised his chin.

"So you not only humiliated the Second Prince twice, but also went out of your way to write a letter to him and retaliate." From the Second Prince's perspective, it is indeed very infuriating.

Furthermore, Qin Ji's letter clearly told the Second Prince that they had anticipated his methods and were fully prepared. Therefore, the Second Prince really didn't need to carry out any more ambushes, since the chances of winning were already very low.

"That's right! After I slapped him across the face from a distance, given the second brother's personality, he probably wouldn't be able to quell his anger unless he crushed me and made me kneel at his feet and beg for mercy."

Moreover, having lived in the capital for so many years, he must be quite confident in his influence there. So right now, he's not just trying to obstruct me; he probably wishes I'd arrive in the capital tomorrow, so I could witness his methods.

Qin Ji appeared relaxed, but Xiao Yan Hui was still somewhat worried. The capital city could indeed be considered the Second Prince's territory. Even if the Emperor was above him, preventing him from using overt violence, what other tricks could he use?

It will probably be very difficult to deal with.

If I remember correctly, the second prince, who is the male protagonist of the novel, is not only openly admired by the disciples of aristocratic families in the capital, but also secretly weaves a gray web.

The novel describes these underhanded tactics as a means to combat the villains, but the truth remains unclear, as is who actually used them first. Fortunately, given the current timeline, the underhanded network is likely not yet fully operational.

Thinking of this, Xiao Yan subconsciously used the information she knew in reality, as well as the memories left over from reading the novel, to calculate the number of people the Second Prince had.

The secret investigation and assassination gangs that can be mobilized at any time are mostly composed of elite soldiers from the north and people privately trained by the Guo family.

Some江湖 (jianghu) forces and certain local bandits can be considered as the periphery of the assassination gang. They are not entirely under the control of the Second Prince, but he can use them if there is profit to be made.

The gray forces spread throughout the capital, as well as some families and officials who were either bribed or bound by interests.

Xiao Yan had made some contact with Qin Ji's secret guards, and after doing some calculations, she realized that the Second Prince's power was much larger, and the amount of money required to support such a large number of people was terrifying.

“I’ve done a rough calculation, and the Second Prince has quite a few people to support. Where does he get so much money?” Xiao Yan felt like she had found the key.

"Otherwise, do you think Guo Dingbei is embezzling and drawing salaries without working? Where did all that money go? But Guo Dingbei only supported him to a certain extent. The second son is certainly living a lavish lifestyle now, but when it comes to money, he's a bit short on cash. Otherwise, why would he be so preoccupied with developing our salt-making formula?"

"After all, he wasn't given a title or a fiefdom," Qin Ji said with a smile.

"I heard that this Second Prince is very much favored by the Emperor, so why has everyone else been granted titles, but he and some other young princes haven't been made kings yet?"

"He's always been kept in the capital by the old man, which is kind of an implication from him! All of us who were sent out were granted the title of Prince of the Second Rank. But he, although he's never been granted the title of Prince, enjoys the salary of a Prince of the First Rank, and sometimes his treatment is even better than that of a Prince of the First Rank. So the second prince has always felt that he is the emperor's favorite, and that he's only one ceremony away from becoming the crown prince."

But I guess the reason the old man didn't bestow a title upon him was because he didn't know how to do so before.

If he were to be granted the title of Prince of the Second Prince, the Guo family and other factions surrounding him would likely object. However, if he were to be granted the title of Prince of the First Rank, he would stand out among all the princes. That would only further reinforce the implication that he is the future crown prince.

This would lead to more powerful forces gathering around him, which is not what the old man wants to see; after all, he can't tolerate others snoring beside his bed. But now, perhaps as he gets older, his method of maintaining a balance of power is becoming increasingly difficult, or perhaps he is even genuinely considering the future and is beginning to gradually change the political landscape.

"So this time you'll be granted the title of Prince..."

"That's why I hit the second son's so hard. But I think the old man also hinted to him that if I make him a prince this time, the second son or even the fifth son will probably be made princes as well."

"So the three of you are the Gu worms that the Emperor has started raising again?" Xiao Yan replied, revealing the key point.

As the two were talking, the carriage suddenly stopped. Before Qin Ji could ask any questions, Wei Xun rode over to report.

"Boss, there's a brother and sister being chased ahead. They've run right into our convoy. The brother and sister are kneeling and begging for help, while their pursuers are surrounding them, shouting and beating them. They've completely blocked our path."