Chapter Sixteen: Gentle

Unable to recruit Zhao Mu, His Highness the Crown Prince could only leave behind a jade pendant as a token of goodwill before taking his leave.

After all, Brother Zhao had said that in Chang’an, he had but one friend.

He was not worried that Zhao Mu would turn to others and cause him trouble.

Though he was the heir apparent of a nation, Li Chengqian had a clear sense of his own abilities.

Setting aside whether he could surpass Zhao Mu, when measured carefully, he probably was not even on par with his fourth brother, Li Tai.

Fortunately, he still had Zhao Mu, a peerless prodigy, as a friend.

Li Chengqian, always lacking confidence and even somewhat self-abasing, felt a profound change in his mindset with Zhao Mu’s support.

On the way back, he dared to envision how, upon ascending the throne, he would repay Zhao Mu’s kindness.

Li Chengqian’s spirits soared.

Meanwhile, at the Wei Prince’s Mansion on Zhuque Street.

“Clang!”

The treasured bronze beast-head incense burner, usually treated like a precious jewel, was kicked over harshly by Prince Wei, Li Tai, who had just returned to the mansion. The incense ash scattered everywhere.

The servants, maids, and housekeepers nearby were all terrified, falling to their knees trembling.

They all wondered what had come over Prince Wei today.

Such an outburst—was this still the refined and gentle Prince Wei they knew? Could he be possessed by a ghost?

Since harboring ambitions against the supreme sovereign, Li Tai had never lost his composure so publicly.

But today, his sudden fury frightened all the mansion’s servants into quails.

Yet Prince Wei paid no heed to them.

He kicked aside the incense burner obstructing his path and stormed into the study.

Whether from anger or his corpulent frame’s discomfort, Li Tai sat down gasping deeply.

His round, pudgy fingers gripped the carved armrest so tightly that his fingertips turned white.

“Li Chengqian, you wretch!” he hissed through clenched teeth, the folds of fat on his neck trembling with every breath.

“Usually, you feign helplessness and submission, but today you humiliated me so grievously in the court!”

His rage mounting, Li Tai muttered to himself, his eyes turning bloodshot as they landed on the manuscript of the “Geographical Records” lying on the gilded desk.

In his mind’s eye appeared the disdainful expression of their father from earlier that day.

Seizing a paperweight from the desk, he hurled it aside.

By chance or design, the paperweight flew toward the jade-carved steed, a gift from Emperor Taizong, perched on a shelf.

It struck the horse’s head with a crisp crack.

The maids kneeling outside, who often added charm to the study, paled and pressed their foreheads tightly into their palms.

Still unsatisfied, Li Tai’s gaze shifted to the garment he wore.

This was the very outfit the emperor had praised as “exceptionally elegant” during last month’s longevity celebration.

Now, it seemed like a joke wrapped around his body.

He tore open the collar fiercely; the gold-threaded buttons popped off, revealing the sweaty flesh of his chest heaving with anger.

Seeing nothing to please his eyes, Li Tai impulsively wanted to demolish the entire study.

At that moment, the chief steward of the Wei Prince’s Mansion, Du Chuke, hurried in.

“Your Highness, please calm down!”

Entering, Du Chuke saw the chaos strewn about and offered a gentle admonishment.

Just as he spoke, an inkstone smashed against the gilded screen behind him, splattering ink everywhere.

The ink stained the “Map of the Great Tang Territory” painted on the screen, turning the Hexi region into a black blotch.

“Calm down?” Li Tai’s eyes blazed red as he glared at Du Chuke, grinding his teeth.

“That crippled wretch used cheap merchant tricks to win Father’s favor today, and all the ministers bowed before him.”

“He made my ‘Geographical Records’ look like childish pranks!”

With that, Li Tai swept the manuscript from the desk onto the floor.

“That cripple even used some excuse about ‘eloquence fit to educate the border peoples’ to nearly have me exiled to the bitterly cold frontier to face the northwest winds!”

“And you still tell me to calm down?”

“How do you expect me to swallow this humiliation?”

Li Tai, frustrated and enraged, vented his fury on Du Chuke.

Du Chuke, seeing the prince near madness, knew further counsel was futile and stood silently, bracing for the storm.

Fortunately, after venting, Li Tai regained some composure.

He slumped with a defeated expression, staring intently at the blackened Hexi region on the screen, his eyes filled with boundless hatred.

Suddenly, Li Tai seemed to have a thought.

“Chief Steward Du, does someone in your Du family engage in trade in the Western Regions?”

Du Chuke’s brow twitched slightly.

His elder brother was Du Ruhui, the current Right Prime Minister.

The Du family was a prestigious clan in Jingzhao, though naturally some members managed humble trades to enrich the family coffers.

They also operated profitable merchant routes in the Western Regions.

But why did His Highness bring this up?

Du Chuke had just arrived at the mansion this morning and was unaware of court news or the cause of the prince’s odd behavior.

He could only guess.

Having been firmly branded as the prince’s loyal retainer, Du Chuke answered honestly, “Your Highness, among the family’s common folk, there is indeed someone who trades goods for profit in the Hexi region.”

Li Tai’s eyes brightened.

“Chief Steward Du, summon that person at once. I have great use for them!”

Du Chuke hesitated briefly, puzzled as to why the prince wanted a family member engaged in such lowly trade.

Recovering, he respectfully replied, “Yes, Your Highness. I shall bring them immediately.”

“Keep it discreet. Do not let others know of this matter,” Li Tai reminded, waving his hand dismissively.

The maids, seeing the prince seemingly return to normal, nervously rose to tidy up the ruined flowers and plants trampled along his path.

Alone in the study, Li Tai still fixed his gaze on the blackened Hexi region, madness and hatred blazing in his eyes.

“That crippled wretch! Didn’t he brag in court today that merchant taxes would rise by at least fifty percent?”

Muttering to himself, Li Tai’s expression grew increasingly deranged.

Then, he suddenly lit a candle and tossed it onto the scattered manuscript pages of the “Geographical Records.”

Flames caught the paper instantly, spreading rapidly.

“Burn it!” Li Tai sneered, the firelight flickering in his pupils as he screamed like one possessed.

“When I turn this Western trade route into a path of flames and war, let’s see if you can still smile!”

Like a madman, Li Tai laughed loudly.

In his mind’s eye, the trade route through Hexi was engulfed in roaring flames.

For a time, the entire mansion descended into chaos.

All within feared the prince... had truly lost his mind.