"Your Majesty, His Little Highness is..." Eunuch Qingxi sized up Ji Su's expression, but happened to meet Ji Su's gaze. The storm clouds were gathering in his eyes, like the calm before a tempest.

Eunuch Qingxi inconspicuously bent his waist a little lower, lowering his brows and casting down his eyes. Ji Su placed the letter on the desk and asked, "Where has the Prince of Rui reached now?"

Eunuch Qingxi bowed and said, "His Highness left Quanzhou three days ago in the evening. By my calculations, he should be out of Quanzhou Prefecture's range by now."

"We received a carrier pigeon message at midnight yesterday. His Little Highness is doing just fine. He said he found some new food and is planning to send some back."

"He dares," Ji Su said coldly. "Let him try his foolishness again."

Eunuch Qingxi nodded repeatedly, "Yes, yes, yes... His Little Highness knows where the line is."

Ji Su lowered his head, picked up the brush and dipped it in ink. After a few strokes, he set it aside and paid it no more mind. Eunuch Qingxi smiled fawningly, "This old slave will send it to His Little Highness right away."

Ji Su shot him a sidelong glance. Eunuch Qingxi immediately wiped the smile from his face, took the letter, and exited with small, mincing steps.

Since Ji Weiqiu had already traveled far and was on the Grand Canal, they could only use carrier pigeons. Ji Weiqiu released a plump white pigeon, and when he looked up, he saw that the sky above his boat was extremely lively. There were pigeons on the left and pigeons on the right. If one were to draw a bow and shoot an arrow randomly into the sky with their eyes closed, they would be sure to hit something.

After releasing his pigeon, Ji Liu turned around and his gaze met Ji Weiqiu's. Without the slightest bit of awkwardness, he gave Ji Weiqiu a bright smile, "Weiqiu, you're releasing a pigeon too?"

Ji Weiqiu also smiled, "For my uncle?"

Ji Liu held up two fingers, "Not just for my dad, but also for Your Majesty."

Ji Weiqiu raised an eyebrow, "You're not tattling on me to my brother, are you?!"

"Nope." Ji Liu flashed a mouthful of white teeth, his chin raised slightly. "That fellow in Quanzhou doesn't look honest. I'm giving the Emperor and my old man a heads-up first, so we don't get taken advantage of just because we're not in Yanjing."

"What a coincidence, I was thinking the same thing," Ji Weiqiu said. "Seeing him in that dilemma, he won't amount to much."

Ji Liu smoothly interjected, "But one must guard against petty people."

The two exchanged a smile, clearly having thought of the same thing. This matter wasn't really a big deal, but if some petty person were to add fuel to the fire and enrage their families, they might get a beating the moment they returned to Yanjing, regardless of the details. Wouldn't that be suffering a beating for no reason?

Just as Ji Weiqiu was about to say that he had already lodged his complaint, he heard the fluttering of a carrier pigeon as it flew down, as if it recognized him. Ji Weiqiu slightly raised a hand, and the pigeon landed on his finger. It very tactfully lifted one leg, seemingly urging Ji Weiqiu to hurry up and untie the letter.

Seeing Ji Weiqiu's expression turn into a myriad of colors after he removed and read the letter, Ji Liu couldn't help but ask curiously, "What did it say?"

"Here, see for yourself." Ji Weiqiu casually handed the slip of paper over. Ji Liu glanced at it and immediately clicked his tongue. "The Emperor is truly... The Emperor is worthy of being the Emperor!"

Only four words were written on the slip of paper: 【Why not kill him?】

Ji Liu was a dandy, not an idiot. He instantly realized that Ji Weiqiu had already complained to Your Majesty, which was why the Emperor had replied with these four words.

The implication was, since you're worried this matter will cause more trouble, why not just kill Qian Zhiwei to quell it?

Hadn't Ji Weiqiu thought of this move? As long as Qian Zhiwei and everyone related to him were dead, the most he would face would be a Censor impeaching them for killing a court official. It sounded serious, but it was actually turning a hidden matter into an open one. There would be no evidence for any other crimes... It was the same old saying as before: if they did it cleanly enough, even the Censors wouldn't find any evidence that they were the killers.

Ji Weiqiu pursed his lips. "My Imperial Elder Brother sure makes it sound easy."

Ji Liu nodded, a lingering fear in his heart. Who in this world had the right to casually kill the prefect of a prefecture? That was a Senior Third-Rank official... He and Ji Weiqiu could do it, but they couldn't bet on whether the Emperor would think they were disdaining imperial authority and disdaining the Emperor himself.

Therefore, the Emperor could say these words, but they could not act on them before receiving them.

The Emperor's words had come a little too late, but Ji Liu secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He had previously worried that the Emperor letting Ji Weiqiu out of Yanjing was some kind of bad omen. Although the few of them had followed and the Emperor hadn't stopped them, indicating it wasn't anything major, he was still a little worried.

Now that these words had been said, it was clear that the Emperor valued Ji Weiqiu even more than he had imagined.

Ji Weiqiu, on the other hand, felt that his brother's belated advice left him speechless.

The matter with Qian Si was handled so crudely and sloppily that it was obviously suspicious, yet he felt the suspicion within was likely not so simple.

Qian Si's simplest intention should have been to pull him into their partnership. He knew that such a business couldn't operate without a powerful backer. By pulling him in and giving him a stake in the business, Qian Si could use his name to operate. It wouldn't matter whether he was Zhang Er or the Prince of Rui; both had a reputation for indulgence. What was earning a little money and hooking up with a few pretty men and women? It was just for fun.

In that case, being a bit reckless would be understandable.

But the fear was that it wasn't so simple.

Ji Weiqiu wasn't afraid of those who wanted to borrow his name to pull him into a partnership; he was afraid of those who wanted to use his status to do something big. To put it bluntly, what could happen if he joined such a business? Even if he did, let alone the fact that he didn't, he wouldn't be afraid at all. At worst, a Censor would impeach him in court, his brother would drag him off for a scolding or a beating, and if the court officials were still not satisfied, his title would be reduced. Prince becomes Commandery Prince, Commandery Prince becomes Duke. What more could they want? What more could they do?

Oh, that's wrong. For this kind of thing, a Censor usually wouldn't bring it up directly in the grand court session. They would most likely seek a private audience with Your Majesty. Even if some headstrong Censor did raise it in the grand court session, his brother would suppress the matter. After all, they were the only two brothers in the direct imperial line; their reputation was important.

He was afraid of other things. Even if he was just brought in to take a look, it could be infinitely magnified.

He understood his elder brother. If things reached a point where it was known throughout the land and widely discussed, his brother would surely be furious. It would be reasonable for him to receive a harsh punishment. And what would he think then? That it was completely unfair, that his brother was too autocratic. For a rumor that someone had deliberately spread, his brother showed no mercy, offered no protection. Did his brother want to find an excuse to kill him all along?

Humans are made of flesh and blood, with seven emotions and six desires. When you're the one being beaten, you will feel pain and hatred. Even if you know someone is instigating it, resentment will still arise, impossible to control. Only when your qi and blood have settled and your meridians are clear can you regain some clarity and think things through—of course, it's also possible to get angrier the more you think.

...Would someone do that? Would someone go to such great lengths, take so many detours, just to drive a wedge between them as brothers?

—Why would it be impossible?

Ji Weiqiu suddenly recalled the plot of the original novel. The main boss in the original novel was a False King from the west. That False King was an illegitimate child of The Late Emperor who had been lost to the world. Whether he was real or fake was unknown. His brother had killed their father to ascend the throne and was autocratic. He naturally had many enemies, all of whom had flocked to this False King.

This False King had been lying low in the west for a long time, secretly accumulating a great deal of power. It wasn't until 'the Prince of Rui' went to the northwest and hit it off with the False King that they immediately raised a banner, calling the current emperor a usurper, before being completely wiped out by his brother.

That book was a male-oriented feel-good one, written simply. But Ji Weiqiu had lived in the deep palace for over a decade, watching Ji Su every day, and he understood one thing very well—people rush about for profit, and people bustle about for gain.

His brother had been on the throne for ten years. In the original novel, by the time of the False King's rebellion, he had been on the throne for nearly twenty years. Given his brother's temperament, any real enemies would have been killed off long ago. How could they have had the chance to seek refuge with the False King?

The so-called enemies were probably powerful officials and eunuchs whose interests his brother had encroached upon and who couldn't openly resist. Rather than wait for a slow death, it was better to support a new emperor and reshuffle the cards. Was there any time easier to expand one's own power than during a change of imperial rule? If one could earn the merit of having followed the dragon, as long as they acted prudently afterward, they could guarantee their family's prosperity for at least another twenty years.

As for whether the False King was truly The Late Emperor's bloodline... what did that matter? If they said he was, he could be. After all, even The Late Emperor's legitimate second son, 'the Prince of Rui,' claimed his elder brother was violent and immoral, having killed their father and brother, and supported the False King in a rebellion. How could the False King not be of The Late Emperor's bloodline?

So why exactly did his brother want him to kill Qian Zhiwei?

Ji Weiqiu chuckled. "I wouldn't dare do such a thing."

Ji Liu agreed quite readily. "I think so too."

He lowered his voice, "Don't get involved... You can't touch this kind of thing. If the Emperor wants to make a move, he can just do it himself. Why does he need you to do it?"

Ji Weiqiu flicked the slip of paper in his hand. "You should go back and rest. I'll talk to my brother again..."

As Ji Weiqiu spoke, a flash of insight struck him. If he killed Qian Zhiwei, and Qian Zhiwei happened to be a subordinate of the False King, what would be the next step?

It would be... to arrest him!

With a ding, Ji Weiqiu abruptly turned his head and took two steps back. At the same time, a small, cold dart silently embedded itself in the spot beside him!