The Ming Dynasty: Starting with the Carpenter Prince!

On the fifth day of the twelfth lunar month, the Ministry of Revenue's verification team left Beijing.

Wang Chengen rode a thin horse at the head of the procession, followed by two clerks from the Ministry of Revenue, Zhang Shenyan, an imperial censor from the Censorate, and a junior official from the Ministry of War. Behind them were two mule carts laden with account books and seals. Two trainees from the training institute mingled beside the carts, both dressed in ordinary people's coarse cloth jackets, their faces devoid of any military bearing—except for Wang Tiezhu, whose missing right ear was half-hidden under a heavy cotton hat.

Meanwhile, Sun Chengzong did not accompany the inspection team. He had left earlier the day before, choosing another route. The Crown Prince's actions were always meticulous, and he naturally understood this perfectly.

As the procession drove out of Chaoyang Gate, a biting north wind rushed straight in. Wang Chengen instinctively shrank his neck and looked back at the majestic city gate of the capital.

To be fair, he had spent years buried in the paperwork of the Ministry of Revenue, and this was the first time he had ever encountered such a dangerous task. Investigating the Liaodong military expenditure, investigating to the very end—it sounds like four words, but doing it might cost him half his life.

You must know that any hand that dares to intercept military funds along the way is more powerful than him, a sixth-rank official.

However, this trip was unavoidable. At the lecture, the Crown Prince's data had completely overturned the truth, and dozens of eyes of the civil and military officials were staring intently. If the Ministry of Revenue did not take any action, it would confirm that "the money they issued was not subject to investigation."

Before his departure, Li Ruhua sighed deeply as he signed the fire permit: "I am sending you not because of your extraordinary courage, but because you are the most honest in keeping accounts."

Wang Chengen held these words tightly to his chest, feeling they were even more intimate than the tally and fire token.

The mule cart creaked and groaned as it headed north, the capital city gradually shrinking behind it.

…………

On the same day, at the British government residence.

Zhang Weixian sat upright behind his desk in his study, his eyes lowered as he read a secret letter. The letter was secretly delivered by a former subordinate planted in the Five Military Commands, stating that the Ministry of Revenue's investigation team was leaving the capital today, and two people from the training institute were among them, both dressed as commoners and walking beside the mule cart.

Zhang Weixian put down the letter, picked up the teacup beside him, and took a small sip. Such pre-rain Longjing tea was quite common in the official residence. However, his fingers paused slightly at the rim of the teacup, as if he were weighing something unrelated to the tea.

"Someone come here."

The steward heard the noise and hurried inside.

Zhang Weixian slowly began, "It's about time to repay the favor of those two bolts of cloth."

The steward was slightly taken aback upon hearing this. The two bolts of cloth were from three months ago—a congratulatory gift presented to the Crown Prince's residence by the Duke of Ying after the investiture ceremony. Two bolts of fine cotton cloth from Songjiang, no more, no less, were delivered precisely to the Crown Prince's most pressing need. Since that day, the Crown Prince had given no response, and the Duke's residence had not inquired about it at all.

The nobleman's patience is longer than that of the civil officials. What's the rush?

"But not now." Zhang Weixian slammed the teacup down, stood up abruptly, and walked with his hands behind his back to the huanghuali multi-treasure cabinet behind the desk.

He pulled a brass key from his waist and opened a hidden compartment.

Several documents lay quietly in the hidden compartment. The topmost copy, written in tiny characters, was the secret mark used by the trainees at the training institute to measure the imperial estate. He had connections in the Five Military Commands. Although the matter of the Crown Prince sending people to the countryside for actual surveying had not been made public, the fact that a dozen or so grown men carrying measuring tapes and rulers and lingered around the estate all day long was impossible to hide.

He turned straight to the third page, his finger coldly pressing down on a line of ink.

"Eunuch Zhang is in charge of managing 417 mu of imperial estate."

Eunuch Zhang.

Although this man was not a servant of the Duke of England's household, he still bore the surname Zhang. There were countless eunuchs with the surname Zhang in the inner court, but this man had been occupying the imperial estates on the outskirts of Beijing for more than twenty years. Of the seven thousand acres of land he had seized, four hundred and seventeen acres had been quietly sublet to one person—Zhang Weicheng, Zhang Weixian's direct cousin.

Four hundred and seventeen mu.

It's not a lot, but it's not a small amount either. Under the name of the Duke's mansion, which is known for its wealth and power, it wouldn't even amount to a fraction. However, once it's written down in black and white in the measurement records of the students at the Crown Prince's Academy, it becomes much more than a fraction.

Does the Crown Prince really not know who is behind these four hundred acres of land?

Given the shrewdness of this carpenter prince, there's no way he wouldn't know.

If he already knows, why hasn't he mentioned it at all?

Zhang Weixian casually tossed the copy back into the hidden compartment and locked it.

"Go and deliver a message to the Crown Prince's men." He suddenly turned around, looked at the steward, and spoke in a calm tone as if he were instructing a servant to buy groceries. "Tell them that the Duke of Ying's mansion has heard that the people from the training institute are going to Liaodong. The journey is long and the weather is freezing. If they need anything when they arrive in Liaodong, the mansion will help arrange it."

The steward bowed, accepted the order, and left.

Zhang Weixian stood alone in the study, his knuckles tapping lightly twice on the cold brass lock.

The crown prince held leverage over him, and he offered the crown prince a ladder to climb.

This isn't an alliance; it's mutual manipulation.

The difference lies in who lets go first in the end.

…………

As dusk settled over the Eastern Palace's rear garden...

Madam Ke was sitting upright in her room embroidering. On the plain white satin, a plum blossom was proudly blooming with the help of silk threads, the stitches were fine and dense. In her early years in Baoding Prefecture, her needlework skills were renowned as superb, and after entering the palace as a wet nurse, they became even more refined—the palace was so quiet that, apart from managing meals and keeping an eye on the Crown Prince's daily life, this was her only pastime.

Suddenly, they heard light footsteps outside the door. Eunuch Liu Shun poked half his head in and said, "Madam, the training institute sent two people to Liaodong today to accompany the Ministry of Revenue on their mission."

The silver needle in Madam Ke's hand paused for a moment, then fell again, inserting two needles in quick succession.

"understood."

Liu Shun shrank back and walked away.

Ms. Ke slowly and deliberately threaded the needle. Three plum blossoms on the handkerchief had just begun to bloom, with two more yet to be finished, but her mind was no longer on the needlework.

The crown prince's influence has extended to Liaodong.

When the training school opened, she personally brought snacks to visit. She glanced at the six impoverished students and immediately conveyed the words, "Six people, all poor," to the person outside the palace. At the time, she felt that this mess wouldn't cause any big trouble—what could a few down-on-their-luck scholars and two veterans do?

Little did they know that only a month or so had passed.

These men uncovered the shady dealings in the coal prices and the shoddy workmanship of the armored vehicles. They made a trip to Puhe and brought back some crucial information, which caught the entire court of officials completely off guard at the imperial lecture.

Now, they have sent people to Liaodong to accompany the Ministry of Revenue's verification team.

The prince's hand reached further and further away.

It was too far for her to reach.

In the past, the Crown Prince's world was only the Eastern Palace. She managed his meals, his clothes, the charcoal fire, and even the type of porridge he drank each day. Now, the Crown Prince has the Academy, Sun Chengzong, the right to read on his behalf, and the ability to make a stunning statement at a lecture.

She still oversaw that bowl of porridge, but it had become so light on the prince's chessboard that it was practically weightless.

Ms. Ke carefully gathered up the last stitch of the plum blossom, picked up the copper scissors, and cut the silk thread neatly.

No notes were sent outside the palace tonight.

It's not that I forgot, it's that I hadn't figured out what to write.

…………

In the stillness of the night, in the western warm pavilion of Qianqing Palace.

Consort Li sat alone before the rosewood dressing table, removing her makeup. The dim bronze mirror reflected a well-maintained face, the allure of her former favored days still faintly discernible in her features. However, the fine lines at the corners of her eyes could not be hidden—life in the palace was different from outside; even with daily makeup, the places where age was inevitable would still show.

Chun Tao, the personal maid, returned from outside, carrying a bowl of warm almond milk.

"Your Majesty."

Consort Li silently accepted the drink, took a small sip, and said nothing.

Chun Tao stood respectfully to one side for a while, and seeing that her master did not ask, she took the initiative to speak: "The training institute sent two people to Liaodong today, following the Ministry of Revenue's inspection team. The Crown Prince has been going into the warm pavilion twice as many times these days as last month, and he doesn't come out until Shenshi (3-5 PM) each time."

Consort Li paused as she was about to remove the silver hairpin from her temple.

"How is His Majesty's health?"

She wasn't asking about the Crown Prince, but about Emperor Taichang.

Chun Tao lowered her voice: "I heard from the servants that his condition has deteriorated since the beginning of winter. He often coughs in the morning, and sometimes the coughing can't be stopped for half an hour. The tonic medicine he was given last month was rejected by the Imperial Hospital, and no new prescriptions have been given since."

Upon hearing this, Consort Li casually placed the silver hairpin on the table and picked up a silk handkerchief to slowly wipe the remaining powder off her dressing table.

She didn't say anything, and wiped for a long time.

She ran the silk handkerchief along the edge of the bronze mirror three times, and the fog on the mirror gradually dissipated, revealing her calm, almost indifferent face.

"Go and deliver a message to Lady Zheng."

Chun Tao was taken aback: "Your Majesty?"

"Just tell them that the ceremony arrangements aren't urgent, and we won't rush them."

Consort Li carefully folded the handkerchief in her hand and placed it on the dressing table.

"Wait a minute."

These three words sound so light and airy.

Chuntao responded and turned to leave.

Only Consort Li remained in the room. She sat upright before the mirror, gazing at her reflection in the bronze mirror.

Minister of Rites Sun Ruyou delayed for three whole months, knowing perfectly well that this title would remain unattainable as long as Emperor Taichang was on the throne. It wasn't Sun Ruyou's fault; Emperor Taichang simply didn't want to grant it.

Then don't ban the account.

Emperor Taichang's health deteriorated day by day. Since the beginning of winter, he had been coughing every morning, and the Imperial Hospital had repeatedly stopped him from taking medicine.

There's no rush with the ceremony.

What's urgent is something else.

Consort Li suddenly stood up and walked to the window.

Outside the window, the soaring eaves of the Qianqing Palace gleamed coldly in the pale moonlight. She had lived in the Forbidden City for twenty years, rising from a lowly palace maid serving as a writer to a selected concubine, not because of her looks.

It's all about enduring.

She survived the last ten years of the Wanli reign and the entirety of Emperor Taichang's reign as crown prince.

Now, we have to endure another round.

Consort Li slowly turned around, picked up the copper cover from the table, and neatly covered the glass palace lantern with a deathly black.

…………

On the same night, in a side hall of the Eastern Palace.

Zhu Youjian did not return to his room to rest, but instead lingered at the training center. The four students had already left, and the large side hall was empty and cold, with the fire in the charcoal brazier almost going out.

Zhu Youjian squatted before the desk, flipping through the pages by the last faint light of the fire. He flipped through slowly, checking each character carefully, occasionally making marks with charcoal. The nine-year-old's handwriting was crooked and uneven, but every number was written with utmost care.

Zhu Youxiao stood outside the half-closed door of the side hall for a while, without saying a word.

The dim light from the charcoal brazier illuminated the younger brother's still-growing profile, revealing his pointed chin and the way he was bent over his desk, somewhat resembling the way he flipped through his workbook.

The elder brother was rummaging through the Liaodong military coffers, while the younger brother was rummaging through the coffers for charcoal, firewood, oil, and salt.

One hole costs 670,000 taels of silver, another hole costs only a few coins.

One stroke can be as heavy as Mount Tai, another as light as a blade of grass.

However, for a nine-year-old child, this purchasing ledger is his livelihood. If he does it well, the training school can save more than ten coins a month for charcoal; if he does it poorly, the saying "not even as good as an old lady" will be meaningless.

Zhu Youxiao quietly left through the door.

As he walked under the eaves, the December night wind blew in, making him instinctively tighten his collar.

Fang Congzhe was investigating his background, Donglin was seizing the opportunity to vie for control, Madam Ke was secretly reassessing her options, Consort Li was waiting for an opportunity he couldn't see, and Nurhaci was sharpening his sword outside the Great Wall.

The younger brother was inside flipping through the account books.

Zhu Youxiao turned and went back to the main hall of the East Palace, his steps quickening slightly compared to when he came.

There are still tomorrow's accounts to settle.