Chapter 127

As soon as Empress Shen heard the news, she was furious beyond measure.

That Ji Wujiang—hadn’t he left the royal court with General Sheng Ye back then? Yet now that he had returned, for some reason, he seemed determined to oppose her and the Shen family at every turn.

She hadn’t noticed at first, but by the time she realized it, Ji Wujiang had already placed two women as concubines by the Emperor’s side, just like Su Daji.

(T/N: Su Daji was the favourite concubine of Emperor Zhou of Shang, the last Emperor of the Shang dynasty in ancient China. In legends and fictions, she is portrayed as a malevolent fox spirit who kills and impersonates the real Daji. She is considered a classic example of how a beautiful femme fatale can cause the downfall of a dynasty in Chinese culture.)

And he himself was acting like a treacherous minister, just like Fei Zhong, scheming to depose her as queen!

(T/N: hehe..a little history lesson..Fei Zhong, was a minister during the reign of King Zhou of the Shang Dynasty. He was skilled at flattery and was greedy for wealth, and the people of the Shang Dynasty looked down on him. Marquis Chong Hu accused the Duke of the West, Chang, of having rebellious intentions, and Emperor Zhou imprisoned the Duke of the West in Youli. The Duke of the West’s minister, Hong Yao, bribed Fei Zhong, and then presented emperor Zhou with “a beautiful woman from the Youshen clan, patterned horses from the Lirong region, nine black horses from Youxiong, and other strange objects.” emperor Zhou pointed to the beautiful woman from the Youshen clan and said, “This one item is enough to release the Duke of the West, let alone so many!” Not only did he release the Duke of the West, but he also “bestowed upon him bows, arrows, axes, and halberds, allowing the Duke of the West to wage wars.” Several years later, the Duke of the West defeated Chong, moved the capital to Feng Yi, and became known as King Wen of Zhou. In the Ming Dynasty novel “Investiture of the Gods,” Fei Zhong is portrayed as a villain who makes slanderous remarks and causes the death of Empress Jiang. He eventually joins Lu Xiong in an expedition against Western Qi, but is captured by Jiang Ziya after being frozen on Mount Qi. In the end, Lu Xiong, Fei Zhong, and You Hun are all beheaded.)

Initially, Empress Shen couldn’t understand his motives.

But now, with the late empress’s children residing in the mansion Ji Wujiang had newly built, she suddenly saw it all clearly—Ji Wujiang didn’t just want to be another Fei Zhong; he wanted to be a modern-day Jiang Ziya, assisting a new king!

No wonder he had worked tirelessly to bring Jiang Zhi back to Bo—he was scheming to put the eldest prince on the throne!

What a laughable idea! Jiang Zhi had been mediocre in talent since childhood—dull-witted, overly filial, and nothing more than an honest fool.

How could he ever compare to her son?

Yet, it was infuriating that Emperor Bo had actually believed the slanderous whispers and exchanged his own youngest son just to bring back that idiot Jiang Zhi.

Ji Wujiang must have seen how easy Jiang Zhi was to manipulate and planned to prop him up as a puppet, so he could control Bo himself!

At this thought, Empress Shen struggled to suppress her fury.

Back then, she had used clever tactics to defeat the late empress, and now, she would find a way to bring down Ji Wujiang and get rid of that fool Jiang Zhi!

—

Meanwhile, the return of the Jiang siblings had already stirred up waves in Bo.

Over in the Crown Prince’s residence in Luo’an City, Great Qi… the place was in utter chaos, as if a hurricane had swept through.

While Feng Liwu led his troops in a grueling battle against the Northern Hu rebels in the Three Counties, Feng Wu had swooped in behind his back, secretly striking a deal with the Northern Hu Chanyu and reclaiming the territories through an alliance.

This enraged Feng Liwu’s battle-hardened generals, who erupted in curses inside the military tent.

At that moment, Feng Liwu received a confidential letter from his steward.

Though he recognized every word, he had to read it five times before fully grasping its meaning—

The Jiang siblings had been granted an imperial edict allowing them to return to their homeland!

His first instinct was that this was a ploy by Emperor Duanqing.

Bo was a den of tigers and wolves for Jiang Xiurun.

If no one had forced her, how could she possibly have agreed to return?

Moreover, she was his concubine.

How could his royal parents dare to send her away without his consent?

Without wasting a moment, he abandoned the issue of Feng Wu’s meddling in the Three Counties and rode day and night to rush back to the capital, determined to make his father revoke the order.

At the same time, he contacted his spies, instructing them to intercept Jiang Xiurun’s carriage and stop her from proceeding further.

Unfortunately, by the time he received the latest report, Jiang Xiurun had already crossed into Bo’s borders.

Even if he returned to the capital now, it would be too late.

Standing inside his residence, staring at Jiang Xiurun’s empty room, Feng Liwu’s face was as cold as ice.

He turned to the steward kneeling behind him and demanded, “What is the meaning of this? Explain everything to me in detail!”

Before returning to the capital, he had assumed Jiang Xiurun had been bullied and forced out of the city.

But now, after hearing the steward’s report and combining it with the information gathered by his spies, he realized the entire situation had been orchestrated by his scholarly, sycophantic Grand Tutor.

Not only that, but this same Grand Tutor had single-handedly ruined his carefully devised plan to pacify the Northern Hu and seize the Three Counties.

Now that he had figured it all out, Feng Liwu was filled with rage.

If Jiang Xiurun were standing before him at this moment, he wasn’t sure he could resist the urge to strangle her for her audacity!

But… she was no longer in front of him.

The hostage princess of Bo, Jiang Xiurun, had annulled her trial marriage, discarded her title as his concubine, and vanished without a trace.

What happened next left the steward trembling in fear.

For the first time, Feng Liwu lost control in a fit of fury.

Jiang Xiurun’s former chamber was completely destroyed in his rampage.

That once soft, luxurious couch—where countless nights of tender intimacy had unfolded—was overturned, smashing a deep hole into the floor.

When the entire room had been reduced to wreckage, Feng Liwu’s eyes were wild with rage as he turned to the steward and demanded, “Did she leave behind any message?”

With shaking hands, the steward presented a wooden box.

“Before her departure, the concubine said she wouldn’t make it to Your Highness’s wedding and left this as a wedding gift…”

Feng Liwu stared at the wooden box for a long moment before finally lifting the lid.

Inside was a thick stack of documents.

His expression turned icy once more as he let out a chilling laugh—was this another disaster she was leaving behind for him, as if taking the Three Counties wasn’t enough?

At this point, he had completely misjudged her.

He had cared for the wrong person.

No matter what heartless act she pulled next, he would not be surprised.

Even so, he gritted his teeth and picked up the topmost document.

It turned out to be a dossier from the agricultural and waterworks department, written in meticulous, powerful handwriting—unmistakably Jiang Xiurun’s.

The records detailed the construction process of a hydraulic engineering project, highlighting key areas to monitor, potential problems, and recommended solutions.

Beyond the text, there were also numerous diagrams, each labeled with precise measurements, locations, and functions.

With such a comprehensive document, managing the project would be straightforward.

Even decades or centuries later, future engineers could easily follow these records to repair, modify, or expand the system.

Feng Liwu furrowed his brows slightly and picked up a few more dossiers, only to find that their contents were largely the same—all of them detailed the large-scale projects that the Agricultural Department had either completed or was planning to construct, with every detail meticulously recorded.

Just by looking at these records, one could tell how much effort Jiang Xiurun had poured into these projects.

Due to the limited size of the silk scrolls, the text was written in an extremely fine script, each character no larger than a fly.

Even copying these records would take an immense amount of time.

It was unclear when Jiang Xiurun had silently prepared such an extensive collection of dossiers.

Feng Liwu made a rough estimation—given the sheer amount of writing, if she had started when he left for war against the Northern Hu, she would have had to write late into the night, perhaps until the second watch (1-3 AM), every single day just to complete them.

For some reason, as he gazed at the delicate script, he seemed to hear her gentle, steady voice, as if it had accompanied him through countless nights…

His previously raging heart inexplicably calmed down.

Feng Liwu sat amidst the chaos, reading through the records one by one… until he reached the final scroll.

Unlike the others, this one did not contain blueprints for waterworks but instead held a message written for him:

“The Hu people are like wolves, following the grasslands as they migrate. Their customs and habits differ greatly from those of the Central Plains. Without decades of assimilation, they cannot be changed. The three counties are populated more by Hu than Qi people, and in a few years, rebellion is inevitable. Your reign alone may not be enough to pacify them; there is no need to persist. If you truly wish to subdue the three counties, it will take several generations before it can be accomplished. It would be better to fortify the land of the Central Plains and respond to changes with stability…

I cannot personally present my congratulations for Your Highness’s wedding. I only pray that the Central Plains enjoys favorable weather, and that you and your new consort share a long, blissful union, lasting as long as the heavens and earth.”

While the steward waited outside the room for the inevitable storm of rage once the prince finished reading, what he heard instead was low laughter—dark, eerie, and full of ominous malice.

Feng Liwu slowly rose from the wreckage around him.

“Little Jiang, always playing both sides, you really do have a way with things!”

He sneered.

“You give me a slap, then offer me a sweet date—do you think I don’t see through it? Well then, guess how I will repay this so-called loyalty of yours?”

“Jiang Xiurun, just you wait!”

—

Far away in Bo, Jiang Xiurun sneezed twice in quick succession.

She casually covered her nose with a silk handkerchief and pointed at the flowers in the vase.

“Qian’er, move these away. The scent is overwhelming!”

Ji Wujiang, who had been updating her on the current state of affairs in Qi, was quick to react.

Before Qian’er could step forward, he had already taken the vase and placed it outside the study.

Then, rolling up his sleeves, he poured a steaming cup of barley tea for the princess, who was reclining lazily on a soft cushion.

Jiang Xiurun stared absentmindedly at the tea for a moment before sighing deeply.

Ji Wujiang glanced at her expression.

With her return to Bo, she had changed into the state’s traditional long skirt and short-sleeved tunic, her elegant figure even more mesmerizing.

Naturally beautiful, her sun-darkened skin had already regained its fair luster in just a few days, glowing like fine white jade.

However, Ji Wujiang could sense her exhaustion and frustration.

Gently, he said, “Your Highness, when you were in Luo’an City, you often stayed up late annotating the dossiers for the Agricultural Department. Now that you’re back, you should take this time to rest. There’s no rush to hear about Qi’s affairs.”

Jiang Xiurun shook her head.

“Bo is weak, and Qi is powerful. Qi’s movements will inevitably affect us. What happens in Qi is just as much Bo’s concern. Especially in these uncertain times, we cannot afford to be careless. Continue, I am listening…”

But halfway through his report, Jiang Xiurun seemed to space out again, letting out another long sigh.

Ji Wujiang knew exactly what was troubling her.

No matter what, her departure had been a huge blow to Feng Liwu.

Not only had she completely blindsided him, but she had also handed the Northern Hu’s three counties to his political rival, the Second Prince Feng Wu, destroying Feng Liwu’s long-standing strategy.

Before leaving Qi, Jiang Xiurun had painstakingly compiled the Agricultural Department’s records, likely in hopes of softening the blow.

But a grudge had already been formed.

Who knew what Feng Liwu would do in retaliation?

Even Ji Wujiang himself was unsettled.

He had spies closely monitoring Qi, especially Feng Liwu’s every move, fearing that in his rage, he might make some reckless, drastic decision.

Yet Jiang Xiurun’s current concerns were entirely different.

The moment she left Luo’an City, she had resolved to put Qi’s affairs behind her.

What was truly bothering her now was—

Despite eating a large fish head at lunch, dipping her pancakes in fish sauce, and even finishing a bowl of honey-soaked plums for dessert, she had woken up from her nap feeling hungry again!

Listening to the complex, turbulent affairs of state, she just couldn’t focus.

All she could think about was mutton flatbread and crab roe steamed cakes.

Who could possibly understand such suffering?