The Luo family had no sources of information in the court, so the claim that "Prince Zhao was short of money" was merely Luo Cuiwei's speculation. If it was all just a misunderstanding, and in fact neither Prince Zhao nor the Linchuan army lacked money or provisions, then the premise of "colluding" would no longer exist.
“Of course we can’t put all our bets on Prince Zhao,” Luo Cuiwei glanced at her brother. “You mentioned last time that you have a friend who has some dealings with the young master of the Duke of He’s mansion?”
Luo Fengming nodded solemnly: "It's just that the young master of the Duke of He's mansion often buys wine from my friend's house. Although we're not very close, I'll try to get closer to him."
"Just do your best, and don't force it if it really doesn't work out," Luo Cuiwei instructed. "There's no need to rush things. We can take our time with the Duke of He's mansion. Our priority is still Prince Zhao."
"I'm just afraid we'll misunderstand the Linchuan Army and end up with nothing to show for it." Luo Fengming frowned and sighed deeply.
“I always felt that my speculation was correct,” Luo Cuiwei said, her eyes filled with endless pity. “After all, what the Linchuan army tried to ‘rob’ from me was only five carts of grain… Oh no, they originally planned to leave me two carts.”
That year, Luo Cuiwei went to Songyuan with a caravan. On the way, she heard that there was a special kind of rice in Changning, a small town near Songyuan, which had a different flavor from rice from other places. So before returning to Beijing, she went to Changning and bought five cartloads of rice, intending to bring it back for her whole family to try.
They hadn't gone far from Songyuan when they encountered a group of Linchuan soldiers disguised as mountain bandits.
The group of people had obviously decided to impersonate bandits on the spot, and they even forgot to take off the Linchuan military name rings on their wrists.
Although they acted fierce and menacing, the leader's sheepish way of saying "I'll leave you two carts" at the end was so unbearable for Luo Cuiwei to watch that she practically forced all five carts of grain to be given to them.
"What impressed me most about this incident was not that the dignified Linchuan Army actually disguised themselves as bandits to rob people, but the look of hunger in their eyes at that time," Luo Cuiwei gently patted her chest and sighed, "So hungry that they pretended to be bandits, not for gold or silver, but only for a mere five cartloads of grain. How poor must they be to do something like that?"
If the truth isn't that the Linchuan army was so poor they were practically eating the land, then something truly bizarre has happened.
****
Luo Fengming's men were quite efficient; they found out the whereabouts of Luo Bibo's calligraphy the next day.
“It was Steward Chen from Prince Zhao’s mansion who personally delivered it to the pawnshop,” Luo Fengming said to his sister with a beaming smile. “It’s the small pawnshop that our family runs in the west of the city, but it doesn’t have our name on it. The shopkeeper said that Steward Chen even deliberately changed his attire.”
Chen An, the chief steward of Prince Zhao's residence, was an old man nearing sixty. He had been by Prince Zhao's side since he was a child. When Prince Zhao was in Linchuan, all matters in Prince Zhao's residence were handled by this old steward, which showed how much he was trusted.
If someone else from Prince Zhao's residence had handled this matter, it might have been a case of a wicked servant lining their own pockets behind their master's back. But since the head steward, Chen An, personally took charge, it would be strange if it wasn't at Prince Zhao's behest.
His Highness Prince Zhao is desperately short of money; this is a done deal.
Luo Cuiwei was now fully confident. After discussing it with Luo Fengming, she decided to personally visit him the next day.
"Are you really not going to let me come with you?" Luo Fengming asked, somewhat uneasy.
Luo Cuiwei shook her head firmly, "After all, it's not exactly a virtuous affair. It would be harder to bring it up if there were too many people around. I imagine Prince Zhao would still want to save face and reputation. Besides, I'm just going to meet him tomorrow; it's not certain that we'll reach an agreement immediately."
She believed that even if King Zhao eventually agreed to the deal, he would certainly want as few people as possible to know about it.
3. Chapter Three
The next day was a bright and sunny day, illuminating the entire city that had been frozen for several days.
The warm winter sun shone down from above, bathing the somewhat simple Prince Zhao's residence in a pale golden glow, even illuminating the few unassuming purple-backed palms in the courtyard with a vibrant, warm hue.
Luo Cuiwei sat alone in the main hall of the Prince Zhao's mansion, waiting. She picked up the teacup that the servant had just brought her and looked around discreetly.
Judging from the furnishings and decorations in the hall, the Prince Zhao's mansion did not seem as impoverished as she had imagined. However, the moment she picked up the teacup, the slightly rough aroma of the tea confirmed her previous speculation.
It's the cheapest autumn tea.
For a royal palace to serve its guests autumn tea is truly illogical unless it is genuinely short of money.
She put the teacup back, took out a brocade sachet with a subtle pattern from her sleeve, opened it, picked up a Nandina domestica leaf, and put it in her mouth.
Because she still had a slight cough, she made sure to take the medicinal leaves with her when she went out.
She gently chewed the medicinal leaves, then casually picked up a small vase from the coffee table beside her and looked at it. The "Shaofu Craftsman" mark on the bottom of the vase made her lips curl into a silent smile.
Most of the items bestowed by the emperor were priceless treasures with no market value. Even if King Zhao were desperate for money and dared to risk everything by selling these things, he would hardly find anyone with the guts to take them on.
Judging from this situation, it seems that everything that can be sold or pawned has been sold off, right?
As Luo Cuiwei was sighing inwardly, she looked up and saw a tall figure approaching from behind the light.
For some reason, she, who was rarely stage-frightened, suddenly became timid.
In that brief moment of panic and distraction, the vase she was about to put back slipped from her hand and fell straight to the ground.
Her whole body stiffened instantly, as if the blood in her body had frozen.
Oh no, this is a huge disaster.
In that moment of utter despair, her vision dimmed, and the tall, robust figure swiftly appeared before her like lightning.
A moment later, after confirming that she hadn't heard the sound of the porcelain bottle shattering, Luo Cuiwei, who had narrowly escaped death, silently swallowed the half-eaten leaf in her mouth, her little heart belatedly pounding wildly in her chest.
She composed herself, stood up somewhat stiffly, and said softly and sincerely, "Thank you."
The man nodded slightly, casually put the vase back in its place, strode to the main seat, lifted his robe and sat down, his posture as upright as a towering poplar.
His clothes were not fancy or elaborate, but the bold and unrestrained spirit he exuded in every move was enough to make him not need to use clothing to declare his identity.
Under the clear sunlight, the man's thick eyebrows and bright eyes shone, and his light bronze complexion revealed a resolute and dignified aura.
This appearance and temperament are completely different from the noble and handsome nobles who usually reside in the capital.
That was the heroic and unrestrained spirit forged in the flames of war on the frontier.
Luo Cuiwei lowered her trembling long eyelashes, her eyes curving upwards as she gracefully bowed.
"Your Highness Prince Zhao is well."