As Xu Mo and Chang Yan had expected, calm was restored in Fengjing after Zhu Changhong's fake shot.
Zhu Changyu kept his troops still, the Ju family kept their troops still, and everyone else waited silently, lying in ambush.
"The only one taking action is the Crown Prince," Xu Mo said slowly as he tidied up his younger brother's attire. "He seems to be investigating who poisoned the congee of Noble Consort Ju."
"Oh? Has he found out?" Chang Yan asked without glancing aside.
The crown prince of the Dayu Dynasty had a difficult position to hold. His crown prince's formal robes required dozens of embroiderers to embroider day and night. The color could be neither too similar to nor too different from the Emperor's bright yellow, but still had to display majesty as much as possible. Finally, orange-yellow was chosen.
The black base of the crown followed tradition, with parts of the pattern made of gold thread to appear even more luxurious, while also considering lightness and comfort.
Chang Yan's waterfall-like hair was completely hidden under the crown. No hair was allowed to fall alongside his temples. If not for the good looks he inherited from the Queen of Yan, he probably could not have pulled off such an outfit.
"Nothing found out so far," Xu Mo said as he finally smoothed out the folds at the waist of the formal robes.
The four-year age difference allowed for some height distinction between the two.
Compared to seven years ago, one could barely be described as fair and refined, while the other was still very much a turnip head.
But now the half-inch difference did not seem to matter much.
Everyone had grown up.
Xu Mo smiled gently. Even someone as steady as him could not help but have redness appear at the corner of his eyes. He quickly controlled himself and said, "All the staff of the Crown Prince's Estate are here, including top examination graduate Sun Xiaosheng. Today is a good opportunity."
With the high-profile establishment of the Crown Prince's Estate, countless talents had swarmed in. Some truly talented and well-learned wanted to assist the Crown Prince, while others harbored ulterior motives and had their hearts set on other camps despite being in the Crown Prince's.
Regardless of the kind, Chang Yan welcomed them all and accepted them calmly.
It was not that he was confident enough to point out every person with ill intentions, but that everything in this world had to go through trials to become sturdy. It did not matter that there were all kinds of people in the Crown Prince Estate. There were plenty of opportunities to temper them.
The Second Prince, Zhu Changyu, was the first tempering fire.
"If you want to become a member of my Crown Prince Estate, you'll have to show some ability and guts," Chang Yan said coldly. "One encounter is enough to distinguish the good and the bad."
The youth used to wear casual clothes with simply tied up hair. His excessively beautiful face made it difficult to distinguish his gender, but also took away his masculine air.
Until this moment, the orange-yellow formal robes and crown lent him a strong sense of righteousness. The leap in his status and position brought extraordinary dominance. The demeanor of a ruler was naturally coming together.
Even the heavens would have no choice but to sigh and admit this was truly a descendant of the Zhu family.
No one knew who gently pushed the door open, letting in a scorching gale that blew open his clothes and lifted up his collar slightly. Only his body remained perfectly upright, further highlighting the unparalleled resoluteness of his back view.
"Crown Prince, several young masters and misses have arrived," someone said in a falsetto. It turned out to be Eunuch Wu's adopted son, Eunuch Wu Jr.
The hereditary system worked like this. Not only would the emperor's seat be passed down to descendants, but the steward eunuch would also adopt a son to serve the crown prince, thus ensuring provisions for old age and continued favor.
Chang Yan had no objections to this at all.
Hearing Eunuch Wu Jr.'s words, his mind was brought back to focus. Knowing it was his siblings who had arrived, his entire being swiftly transformed from stern to gentle. The corners of his eyes and brows smiled. "Please invite them in quickly."
There were six siblings, five of whom were in Fengjing City.
Among them, Xu Mo was on the staff of the Crown Prince Estate and could enter the palace early to wait. As the legitimate daughter of the Jiang family, Jiang Sheng could also come and go freely. Wen Zhiyun was off duty at the Imperial Hospital and could go anywhere with his medicine box in tow.
Only Zheng Ruqian had neither status nor position. The fledgling Lychee Cooperative had not yet reached the level of an imperial merchant house, let alone allow casual entry to and exit from the imperial city.
But who would dare stop the dear brother of someone like him?
Jiang Sheng did not need to follow the Jiang family procession. Wen Zhiyun also did not need to purposely go to the Imperial Hospital. With the crown prince's waist plaque, they could swagger into the city as they pleased.
They were just too excited last night and slept only a few hours. When they woke up in the morning they had pounding headaches, which was why they arrived a large half hour later than Xu Mo.
But their high spirits were not affected in the slightest.
Jiang Sheng considered herself an expert on the imperial city, pointing at the gold glittering bricks on the ground and explaining, "Brother, let me tell you, these bricks are not made of gold. They are just soil fired in kilns. But because the technique is extremely complex comparable to real gold, it is fair to call them gold bricks."
Zheng Ruqian suddenly understood and nodded.
In fact he already knew all this, but knowing was one thing and seeing with his own eyes was quite another.
Since his sister was pretending to have some mature experience for once, Zheng decided to act mischievous and asked, "Since the technique is complex enough to rival real gold, why don't they just pave the roads with actual gold and save the craftsmen the trouble?"
He assumed Jiang Sheng would regret showing off just now or feel vexed at being unable to answer.
Unexpectedly, her eyes lit up brightly, still excited and curious. "Good point! Why don't they just pave with real gold?"
Truly innocent children were brave enough to face their own ignorance.
Zheng Ruiqian clapped himself on the forehead. He did not expect the ball to be volleyed back at him. And he did not know the answer either!
The two looked in unison at a smiling Wen Zhiyun beside them.
The fourteen-year-old Wen responded with open palms. "I only know medicinal herbs, not the rationale behind choosing gold bricks over gold itself."
Seeing the siblings about to stare at each other wordlessly, Chang Yan and Xu Mo finally emerged from the changing room to the side.
In front leading the way was Eunuch Wu Jr. Seeing the meaningful looks passed to him, he immediately took two big steps forward and said in his falsetto voice, "Greetings to Miss Jiang, greetings to Doctor Wen, greetings to Master Zheng. The imperial city uses gold bricks instead of gold itself because gold bricks stand up to trampling while gold leaves imprints with the slightest squeeze."
Everyone knew real gold was extremely soft.
After receiving gold, biting with the teeth was also a basic method for distinguishing real from fake.
Gold roads would show every footprint and wheel mark, quickly becoming unsightly after just a bit of traffic.
"Eunuch Wu is truly clever," Jiang Sheng did not skimp on praise. "Thanks to you!"
"Miss Jiang is too kind," Eunuch Wu Jr. said, flustered by her favor. "His Highness the Crown Prince told this slave everything. I have merely picked up some scraps."
So it turned out Chang Yan had signaled him to provide the explanation. No wonder a eunuch dared to actively join the conversation.
Something vague flashed through Jiang's mind.
It reminded her of Madam He's gift of bangles when she followed Mother Jiang to a banquet. She reflexively pulled a golden hairpin from her hair and beamed, "Thanks for clearing up our confusion, Eunuch Wu. Please take this hairpin as a token of gratitude."
"Oh no no, I cannot accept, it would be improper. This slave was merely fulfilling his duty by clarifying doubts for my masters. How could I possibly accept a reward for that? I cannot accept this," Eunuch Wu Jr. declined in panic as he repeatedly backed away.
"Your words were well worth it," Jiang Sheng glanced at her brothers to see no objections. She forced the hairpin into his hands anyway.
A hairpin personally bestowed by the young miss weighted a decent amount. Whether brought out of the palace or melted back into gold ingots, it would be great for miscellaneous spending.
Eunuch Wu Jr's actions expressed refusal but his throat visibly swallowed several times.
Seeing this, Chang Yan finally spoke up. "Since it's Miss Jiang's heartfelt token of thanks, why don't you keep it for now."
Only then did Eunuch Wu's brows unfurl and eyes smile as he put away the gold hairpin into his sleeve. "Then Eunuch Wu thanks Miss Jiang and His Highness profusely. There are still matters to attend outside so I shall take my leave."
Chang Yan dipped his head to signify consent.
Just as Eunuch Wu Jr. turned to leave, something seemed to occur to him. He moved closer to Jiang Sheng again and whispered, "Miss, though the gold bricks may approach real gold, they do not actually reach it. In truth, they just have very high production costs."
