The Dragon Guards didn’t dare to report to the Regent for nothing. They would find an opportunity to mention it. After all, the money he was earning now was from the Regent, so what was the harm?

Chu Zhaoyou still owed him money.

He called for Eunuch Xue. “You keep these for me. If there’s anything you need, take it from here. Hmm… First, help me buy a set of costumes, but it has to be cheap.”

Originally, the Regent had turned a blind eye to it. Eunuch Xue had a way to obtain the Emperor’s specially made actor’s costumes for free. However, after the Regent had thoroughly cleaned out the eunuch’s office, intentionally or not, he had cut off this channel.

The things in the Funing Hall had been completely cleared out by the Regent. Chu Zhaoyou decided to redecorate it according to the original owner’s preferences, but in reality, he also leaned towards Xiao Heng’s aesthetic. He only intended to buy a set of clothes to hang in the most conspicuous place as a symbolic gesture. If it could disgust the Regent enough to never set foot in the Funing Hall again, that would be even better.

Qian Shicheng thought the play had ended, but that evening, the Regent called him in for questioning.

“How was his singing?” The Regent Prince stood with one hand behind his back, practicing calligraphy with the other, as if casually inquiring.

Qian Shicheng, who had been specially summoned, hesitated. He didn’t dare to tell the truth. Praising someone’s singing in front of Xiao Heng was no different from seeking refuge with an enemy. He casually said, “Not bad. It’s indeed learned. Your Highness can rest assured.”

“What else?” Xiao Heng frowned.

Qian Shicheng added a few more words. “The lingering sound is enchanting.”

Xiao Heng still wasn’t satisfied.

Qian Shicheng racked his brains. “This… this melody belongs only in heaven…”

The more he praised, the worse Xiao Heng’s expression became, as if someone had preemptively appreciated his precious treasure.

Not just one person, but a whole group of people.

Xiao Heng slammed down his brush. “I asked if he was angry!”

“Not at all.” He was even happy to have emptied their pockets.

Xiao Heng rolled up the paper on the desk and tossed it into a vase. He knew that he was the only one who was angry, and Chu Zhaoyou had a thick skin.

Seeing that the Regent seemed to be less averse to the play today, Qian Shicheng pretended to sigh dramatically. “Alas!”

The Regent didn’t even lift his eyelids. “Did you hand over your salary again?”

If Qian Shicheng couldn’t hide his money, as soon as the Regent gave him money or rewards, he would rush home to show off to his wife, and then it would be confiscated every time.

“This time, even my private savings were taken away.”

Xiao Heng looked disdainful. “You only had one or two taels saved after a year? Doesn’t your wife complain about your smelly feet and refuse to touch your official boots?”

With his secret stash of money exposed, Qian Shicheng’s face turned red. “Well, this time it wasn’t my wife.”

He looked at the Regent accusingly. “You should have done something. You let a group of us be bullied.”

Xiao Heng was puzzled. Could it really be his wife?

Qian Shicheng wept bitterly. “His Majesty sang, and he took one or two taels from each of us.”

The Regent Prince: “…”

“A bunch of useless people. Go to the treasury and get the money yourselves.”

…

On the fifteenth of October, Lady Zhao, the wife of the governor of Liangzhou, received a letter from the capital.

It bore the Emperor’s private seal, a thumb-sized crimson lacquer imprint.

Lady Zhao pinched the thin paper between her fingers. “I heard that my nephew has fallen out with Wei Wanhong.”

She tossed the letter to her husband, Zhao Cheng, who was sitting nearby. “It’s been almost ten years, and they still come to me for what? Burn it. I don’t want to read it.”

“Okay.” Zhao Cheng innocently tucked the letter into his clothes. “I’ll burn it.”

Two hours later, Lady Zhao stormed over and grabbed her husband’s collar. “Where’s the letter?”

“Burned.”

“How dare you!” Lady Zhao furiously retrieved the letter, which her fingertips trembled as she opened.

At just one glance, tears filled her eyes.

The letter contained no words, only two characters.

“Aunt.”

It was as if she had heard the call of her sister’s only child across a thousand mountains and rivers.

Lady Zhao quickly imagined the miserable scenes of her nephew being bullied in the palace, punished by Wei Wanhong, and tormented by Xiao Heng.

“Chu Zhaoyou was barely ten years old at the time. How could I have held a grudge for nine years?” The more she thought about it over the years, the more regretful she felt. She knew Wei Wanhong was heartless, and she knew Chu Zhaoyou was young, yet she had abandoned him and left him to be raised by that woman.

But Lady Zhao was also very proud. For so many years, the little Emperor had not given her a way out, and she refused to acknowledge her nephew.

“I want to go to the capital, don’t stop me.”

On October 22nd, Chu Zhaoyou received a reply from Lady Zhao. After reading it, he threw it into the brazier.

He couldn’t just wait for his aunt to intervene on his behalf. He needed to find a way to retrieve the Seal of Authority from the Empress Dowager. If he had no power, what would he do if his aunt was mistreated by the Regent and the Empress Dowager when she arrived in the capital?

As he planned how to leverage his position, the Empress Dowager came to him first.

“I have been frequently dreaming of the late Emperor lately, instructing me to arrange a marriage for Your Majesty. However, the Regent is blocking the way, and no minister dares to send his daughter. After much consideration, there is only one person the Regent cannot control.”

Chu Zhaoyou had a hunch that it was her niece, Wei Shuangshuang.

The next sentence from the Empress Dowager confirmed his guess.

Chu Zhaoyou smirked. He would have to be out of his mind to marry the woman arranged by the Empress Dowager, If he did, he woudn’t  even know how he’ll die.

“I am concerned, but the Regent won’t allow it,” he asserted.

The Empress Dowager’s gaze deepened. The little puppet was now using the Regent to counter her.

“Whether he allows it or not is one thing. The court has been suppressed by Xiao Heng for too long. It’s time to remind them. Your Majesty should meet with Shuangshuang a few times. I will spread the word, and under pressure, the Regent will have to agree.”

Chu Zhaoyou’s eyes flickered. The Empress Dowager’s attitude today was very firm. With his current abilities, he couldn’t refuse her. Before the Regent took power, the Empress Dowager had been domineering in the palace for over a decade, and there were still some forces that Xiao Heng hadn’t completely eradicated.

No one was backing him up, and provoking the Empress Dowager was not a solution.

“Mother, you took the seal of authority from me when I was young. Now that I have reached the age to start a family, can you entrust the seal of authority to me?” Chu Zhaoyou said despondently. “General Lu and I agreed that even half of the seal of authority would be effective, but I don’t even have half.”

“Did General Lu really say that?”

“Of course,” Chu Zhaoyou hinted at Wei Wanhong. “The Regent has been very busy recently, seemingly preparing to leave the capital. It seems I can go find General Lu.”

Find General Lu? Was he trying to make the Regent leave and not return?

The Empress Dowager immediately thought of this. “What do you have in mind?”

Chu Zhaoyou timely showed a hint of poor ambition. “To start a family and establish a career.”

“First start a family, then establish a career,” the Empress Dowager decisively stated. “I’ll leave the seal of authority with Shuangshuang. You can go find her.”

Wei Wanhong didn’t really believe the little Emperor could achieve anything, so she might as well let him try. The Emperor and the Regent were natural political enemies, and she, as the Empress Dowager, could just sit back and watch the show.

After all, the seal of authority was of no use to her.

…

Xie Chaoyun said he had found a lead outside the capital, but he wasn’t sure and hoped the Regent would go and see for himself.

Xiao Heng didn’t know what he was looking for. After acting like a fool for three days, he had left nothing behind.

Upon hearing that Xie Chaoyun had found a lead, he prepared to set off. It was only then that he suddenly realized how much he valued it subconsciously.

He quickly fastened the ties of his cloak, and then remembered something. “Keep an eye on His Majesty.”

It was “keep an eye,” not surveillance.

Qian Shicheng: “Understood.”

Before mounting his horse, Xiao Heng added, “Don’t let him have contact with the Empress Dowager.”

The little guy couldn’t outplay the Empress Dowager.

Qian Shicheng: “Um…”

“Yes?”

“Reporting to Your Highness, the Empress Dowager has secretly arranged a marriage for His Majesty and plans to meet Wei Shuangshuang tomorrow.”

In reality, it wasn’t a big deal. The Empress Dowager wanted to use public opinion as leverage, but did the Regent have any say in this matter?

The Prince hadn’t married yet, and the little Emperor, at nineteen, wanted to marry. It was out of the question.

Xiao Heng gripped the reins, and veins popped out on his hand.

Meeting Wei Shuangshuang behind his back?

He was supposed to go find someone, and the carriage was already prepared. Yet at this moment, Xiao Heng hesitated with a hint of gnashing his teeth.

Who should he find first?