The low-key prince summons trainees from the Imperial Household Department at the start of the game.

On April 17th, Qiu Wu sent someone to deliver a letter to Shangguan Jin Hong.

The letter was short, only stating the time and place.

Tomorrow at 5 PM, a three-courtyard house will be located deep within Osmanthus Lane.

The signature was not Qiu Wu's name, but a small private seal with only two characters: Rongyu.

Shangguan Jin Hong examined the seal several times, then held the letter up to the candle flame and burned it, the ashes falling into the copper plate.

He got up and walked to the door of the dispatch room, looking at his fellow workers loading and unloading the last cargo ship on the dock. The river wind made his sleeves flutter.

He called his deputy over and gave him a few brief instructions, saying that he had to go out that evening and that he would be in charge of everything at the dock.

Then he took down the faded gray cloth shorts from the wall and put them on, with dragon and phoenix rings tied around his waist.

He wore a loose, old robe over his clothes and went out alone.

The April night breeze still carried a chill, and the old locust tree deep in Osmanthus Lane had just sprouted new buds.

Qiu Wu was already waiting at the alley entrance, still wearing that gray-blue robe. He didn't say much when he saw Shangguan Jin Hong, but simply clasped his hands in a salute and led him into the depths of the alley.

The two walked one after the other through an inconspicuous side door, around the screen wall, and along the covered corridor to the front of the study.

Qiu Wu stopped outside the door and whispered, "Master is waiting for you inside."

Shangguan Jin Hong straightened her clothes and pushed open the door to enter.

The study was small and simply furnished, with the bookshelves on the four walls glowing a faded, dark yellow under the candlelight.

A young man dressed in a dark blue casual robe was sitting behind a desk, turning the pages of a file in his hands by the light of a solitary lamp.

Hearing footsteps, he looked up, his handsome features revealing a composure beyond his years.

Qiu Wu then came in and introduced the two men.

Shangguan Jin Hong clasped his hands in a respectful greeting, neither humble nor arrogant: "This humble subject, Shangguan Jin Hong, greets Your Highness."

Zhou Ying put down the dossier, raised her hand to indicate that he should not stand on ceremony, and looked him up and down.

He wore a short, coarse brown robe and an old gown that covered his body. There was a vague outline of a hard object at his waist, but it was completely hidden by the robe.

He smiled and pointed to the chair opposite him: "Please sit down, Chief Shangguan. Qiu Wu said you are the most capable fighter he has ever seen at the docks. But today, you seem more like a schoolteacher than a chief."

Shangguan Jin Hong sat down opposite him, his tone indifferent: "Your Highness is joking. I am just a rough man who carries loads, but I am strong."

He picked up the teacup, took a sip, and gently rubbed his fingers along the rim as he put it down—a habitual gesture when he was thinking.

Zhou Ying did not miss this detail.

He picked up the teapot and personally refilled Shangguan Jin Hong's tea, his movements casual, as if he were entertaining an old friend.

Then, leaning back in his chair, his gaze fell on Shangguan Jin Hong's calloused hands, and he suddenly asked, "Chief Shangguan, how many years have you practiced martial arts with these hands?"

"I have been practicing martial arts since I was a child, for more than ten years."

"To reach the seventh rank in just over ten years, such talent is unmatched even by the direct disciples of those famous sects in the martial arts world."

Zhou Ying's voice remained calm and unhurried, but her gaze had become sharp. Before he could answer, she threw out an even more direct question, "Chief Shangguan, you've been at Tongzhou Wharf for over a year, growing from a hundred or so porters to now being able to mobilize over a thousand people a day. You've taken down the Bamboo Gang and suppressed the Sea Sand Gang as well."

"With this skill, you could make a name for yourself anywhere. Why choose to work as a porter at the docks? What are you after?"

Shangguan Jin Hong picked up his teacup but didn't drink. He simply used the lid to gently stir the tea leaves floating on the surface. He remained silent for a moment, then raised his eyes and looked directly at Zhou Ying: "Since Your Highness has asked, I will speak the truth. I have thousands of brothers under my command, and each of them has a family to support."

"The reason for doing hard labor at the docks was to earn a few copper coins to take home and support my family after each day's work."

"I have no great ambitions. I don't want to dominate the martial arts world, nor do I want wealth and glory. I just want the brothers who follow me to have food to eat and a place to shelter from the wind and rain."

"But Your Highness also knows that in this world, you can't make a living just by being strong."

"We need a powerful backer. I've been waiting at the dock for over a year, waiting for someone who can protect us brothers from the wind and rain."

He spoke very frankly, without any beating around the bush.

Zhou Ying narrowed his eyes slightly and tapped his fingers lightly on the table twice. He understood Shangguan Jin Hong's implied meaning.

He waited at the dock for over a year, waiting for himself.

This person was neither arrogant nor humble, neither flattering nor ingratiating, yet he expressed his intention to seek refuge so clearly that it was impossible for anyone to dislike him.

"Chief Shangguan, since you've made your point clear, I won't beat around the bush either."

"My principal wife, Lady Liu, is the daughter of Liu Wenzhao, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites. Although I do not have the support of the Grand Tutor like my eldest brother, nor the Grand Commandant's Mansion like my second brother, I can give my brothers at the dock a promise."

"As long as I am alive, the officials at Tongzhou Wharf will not make things difficult for your people, and you will be given priority in receiving orders from the Ministry of Revenue's Water Transport Department. What do you want?"

"This humble citizen only wants three things."

"First, the workers' association can independently take on jobs at Tongzhou Wharf without interference from other gangs, and they can follow the wharf's rules."

"Secondly, the brothers in the workers' association are paid according to their work and are not exploited at every level."

"Third, if one day I encounter an insurmountable obstacle at the dock, Your Highness, can you speak up for me?"

These three points must be handled with great care.

I don't want official positions or gold and silver; I only want fairness and protection.

Fairness is both the cheapest and the most expensive thing at Tongzhou Wharf.

Zhou Ying stood up from behind the desk, walked to the window, stood with his hands behind his back, remained silent for a moment, then suddenly turned around and looked at Shangguan Jin Hong: "I can grant your request."

"But I have one condition: I don't support idlers or useless people. You're good at fighting at the docks, and I need your hands."

"But what I need is not just the strength to carry and unload goods, but also other things. If you can do three things for me, I will agree to the three conditions you just mentioned."

"Your Highness, please speak."

"First, intelligence on the Tongzhou Wharf."

"The wharf is the throat of the canal transport; goods, people, and news traveling from the south and north all pass through the wharf."

"I need a pair of eyes to keep an eye on people and things that shouldn't be on the docks."

"Secondly, your fists. I have no shortage of scholars and strategists around me, but I lack people who can step in at crucial moments."

"Third, the Sea Sand Gang."

He paused for a moment, looking into Shangguan Jin Hong's eyes, "Although Qiu Wu is my man, the Hai Sha Gang is too mixed in composition. I want you to keep the Hai Sha Gang in check at the docks, so that they depend on you and can't live without you."

Shangguan Jin Hong did not answer immediately after hearing this.

He picked up the teacup and drank the cold tea in one gulp.

Then he gently put down his teacup, raised his eyes to look directly at Zhou Ying, and a very faint smile appeared on his lips, a smile that only he himself knew.

This is exactly what he wanted.

The Third Prince used him, and he used the Third Prince.

The Third Prince was able to shield him from the open and covert attacks in the court, allowing the workers' association to gain a foothold at the docks.

By working for the Third Prince, he could legitimately consolidate all the forces at the docks into his own hands.

As for who will ultimately control Tongzhou Wharf.

That depends on who can hide for the longest time.

"Your Highness, I agree to all your terms."

"However, I can set an example for the first thing. There is a batch of pig iron that has been secretly transported by the Canal Gang at the dock recently. My men have figured out their unloading route and are just waiting for Your Highness's word to seize it at rock-bottom prices."

He stood up, clasped his hands in a salute, and said, "I have a small request. There was an agreement between me and Chief Qiu of the Hai Sha Gang. I cannot break my promise. Restraint is acceptable, but suppression is not."

Zhou Ying looked at the gang leader in front of her, who had crawled out of the muddy dock.

Suddenly, I felt that the moonlight tonight was exceptionally clear.

He needed someone to pave the way for him in the shadows, and this person, neither arrogant nor humble, was exactly the right one.

He nodded: "Alright, I will put in a good word with Qiu Wu."

"From this day forward, you are my man, but on the surface you will still be the leader of the Workers' Association. Do what you're supposed to do, and don't let anyone know. If you need anything, have Qiu Wu relay it."

Shangguan Jin Hong clasped his hands in a fist salute again, this time with more solemnity than when he entered: "This humble subject understands. If Your Highness has no further instructions, this humble subject will take his leave."

He turned and pushed open the door, with Qiu Wu waiting outside. The two exchanged a glance and then disappeared one after the other at the end of the covered walkway.

Zhou Ying sat alone in the study, picked up a pen and wrote a single character on a blank sheet of Xuan paper in front of her: chess.

He put down his pen and stared at the word, suddenly realizing that his years of forbearance and dormancy might have been for waiting for this moment to arrive.