"..." Ji Weiqiu was completely dumbfounded. "...Huh?"

'So that's how it was?'

'So that short sentence revealed so many meanings?'

'Is this a person or a walking bag of schemes?! Huh?!'

Perhaps because Ji Weiqiu's expression was too bewildered, Ji Su's tone was rather gentle. "What are you thinking? Let's hear it."

Ji Weiqiu swallowed hard. "Imperial Elder Brother, you can't scold me after I say it."

"I won't scold you," Ji Su said.

Ji Weiqiu felt that his brother's current gaze was very much in the style of his old higher-level math teacher. The way he looked at him was exactly the same, as if to say: 'He doesn't seem to get it? Fine, I'll listen to his problem-solving process first.'

Having received approval, Ji Weiqiu picked out what he wanted from the memorials. "Imperial Elder Brother, look. Although he wrote in this first memorial, 'The tribute is inferior to what this subject has,' if you look at this third one, it also clearly mentions that Emperor Shizu had gifted him Red Dust and White Mist. Li Yunxiu was originally Emperor Shizu's study companion, having studied alongside Emperor Shizu since childhood. It would be perfectly normal for him to receive some tribute items like tea leaves. The quantity of Red Dust and White Mist was very large, so it's highly likely he was gifted some every year. Being accustomed to the tribute from previous years, it would be easy for him to draw this conclusion by comparing it with the local product from past years."

"The annual tribute is already the best of the best, but one can't rule out an exceptional batch in a particular year. Maybe it was just that one crop, just those two tea trees that were of particularly good quality?" Ji Weiqiu pursed his lips. "We can't think the worst of people. The closer the relationship, the more freely one speaks, right? Li Yunxiu came from a study companion's background, so his family must have also been high-ranking officials at court. How could he not understand this much? For him to speak to Emperor Shizu this way shows that there were no ill feelings in his heart..."

His voice grew softer as he spoke, and at this point, he couldn't help but ask, "Imperial Elder Brother, am I wrong?"

Ji Su tapped the memorial in his hand. "Not entirely wrong, but it's a bit too opportunistic."

Ji Weiqiu instantly understood his brother's meaning. His brother was saying that he was now looking back with the advantage of Li Yunxiu's future memorials, so of course, he could analyze whether there was true sentiment or falsehood. But these two memorials were submitted half a year apart. Emperor Shizu didn't have the ability to see the memorials from six months in the future.

Ji Weiqiu's gaze fell on Emperor Shizu's vermilion commentary. The eight characters, 'Your great ambition, you sought benevolence and received benevolence,' were filled with a teasing tone. If... that being the case, looking at his brother, this trait of being a person grown out of a scheming mind was probably hereditary. Emperor Shizu was such a person too. In what state of mind, and after what kind of speculation, did he finally write this line of commentary?

He probably thought about it for a long time, right? Emperor Shizu might have wondered, was he talking about this year's tribute or past years'? If it was this year's annual tribute, wasn't Li Yunxiu overreaching? If he had really touched the annual tribute, should he manage it or not? In the end, out of consideration for their many years of friendship, Emperor Shizu decided to turn a deaf ear and wrote this line. He even told Li Yunxiu that if he liked it, he could stay in Liaoyuan Prefecture for two more terms.

Seeing the slight furrow in Ji Weiqiu's brow and the look of horror slowly appearing in his eyes, Ji Su knew he had understood.

The annual tribute sounded scary, but what was it to them? Some tea, wine, fruits, jewels, and jade—just things to be consumed, used, and gifted away. How could a true confidant be short of these things? Not to mention those around his brother, even his own two attendants, Xingbo and Mian Li, were not lacking in these things.

Every year, there were hundreds of items in the food tribute alone. Even if each item was only two canisters of tea leaves, the total amount was more than one person could ever use. And these consumables couldn't be stored for long, so of course, they had to be gifted away.

But there were certain lines that could not be crossed.

Under the whole heaven, every spot is the sovereign's ground; to the borders of the land, every individual is the sovereign's subject. What the ruler does not grant, the subject cannot take for himself. This Lord Li Yunxiu had committed this taboo. It was only because of his profound friendship with Emperor Shizu that the Emperor decided to ignore it and only think for the best.

Images of the dozen or so other memorials he had read flashed through Ji Weiqiu's mind, and he couldn't help but murmur, "That's too ruthless..."

Ji Su watched him with great interest. Seeing the boy's jaw drop in astonishment, he found it somewhat amusing. "Tell me about it."

Ji Weiqiu pointed at the memorial and analyzed, "Emperor Shizu was mindful of his friendship with Li Yunxiu, so he pretended not to see. This memorial also says that the Vice Minister of Granaries was dutiful and upright, so Emperor Shizu must have intended to promote him after seeing this. From this, the Vice Minister of Granaries' memorial praises Li Yunxiu for his capable governance and also compliments Emperor Shizu's unique insight... Li Yunxiu was already of Emperor Shizu's faction. Sending him out was to lay a foundation for his future, to prevent him from lacking political achievements and giving others cause for gossip."

Ji Weiqiu lowered his eyes to the second memorial Li Yunxiu had written to Emperor Shizu. His tone grew faint. Once he started looking at these things through his brother's way of thinking, everything suddenly became clear. He said slowly, "The rice shoots in the fields are growing promisingly, all is peaceful in Liaoyuan Prefecture, Li Yunxiu led troops to suppress bandits... forced the bandits to turn over a new leaf, reclaimed barren fields..."

He looked up at Ji Su with a slight smile. "Imperial Elder Brother, do you think his troops were private soldiers or the garrison army?"

Li Yunxiu had made far too many mistakes. He was a prefect, a civil official, not a military one. Officially, the only people under him who could be considered to have military force were two types: official yamen runners and bailiffs, and private family retainers and guards.

According to the dynasty's laws, the garrison army of each prefecture could not be easily mobilized, let alone leave the prefecture's territory without authorization. Suppressing bandits required discussion with the local military supervisor in charge of the garrison. To leave the prefecture, one needed a clear edict from the Emperor, otherwise, it would be treated as treason.

If Li Yunxiu used the Liaoyuan Prefecture garrison, he suppressed bandits on more than a dozen mountains, several of which were clearly not within Liaoyuan Prefecture's borders. He moved the garrison out of the prefecture without authorization?

Was the local military supervisor an idiot? He agreed to such a major affair without seeking instructions from Yanjing? What gave him the confidence that Emperor Shizu wouldn't pursue the matter? One must know that if it were truly pursued, this matter would be enough for a game of Nine Familial Exterminations!

Why did he agree? Because Li Yunxiu was Emperor Shizu's study companion? Or had Li Yunxiu already come to hold absolute power in Liaoyuan Prefecture, so the military supervisor had no choice but to obey him or had already submitted to his command?

Perhaps it would have been more acceptable to Emperor Shizu if Li Yunxiu had led private soldiers. For example, if Li Yunxiu was an exceptional martial artist and was accompanied by equally skilled guards, twenty or thirty elite soldiers and fine horses charging into a bandit's lair and slaughtering them could be considered a plausible explanation.

But then he made another mistake. The previous ones could still be argued to have room for maneuver, but this one was truly irrefutable—he actually forced the bandits to turn over a new leaf! He made them go farm!

Even in modern times, robbers who are caught have to be sentenced and face legal consequences! The laws here were more complex, and Ji Weiqiu couldn't recite them, but it was basically exile to do hard labor. If they had killed someone, they would be beheaded. The leader would not only be beheaded, but their entire family would also be implicated, either exiled together or enslaved.

And here he was, after capturing people, triumphantly writing 'turned over a new leaf.' Was he out of his mind?! If things were really done his way, why hadn't Liaoyuan Prefecture descended into chaos?! Did the so-called 'lay down the butcher's knife and become a Buddha on the spot' mean 'I can first go be a bandit on a mountain and kill a few people, then I can lay down my knife, come down the mountain, and immediately return to the life of a normal commoner, with land to farm!'?

'That's illegal, bro.'

Previously, when he saw Emperor Shizu's vermilion comment, 'Riding on the east wind's momentum, one becomes arrogant,' he thought it was a pun from the Emperor, teasing Li Yunxiu for being arrogant. Now it seemed this wasn't teasing him at all, but sternly warning him—'You are so arrogant, defying the law, which east wind's momentum are you riding on?'

A rare smile touched Ji Su's lips. "Does it matter?"

Things had already reached this point. Did it matter whether he led private soldiers or the garrison army? It didn't matter anymore. The seeds of doubt had been sown. He had committed major taboos time and time again. The day the affection was completely worn away would be the day of reckoning.

"It doesn't matter anymore." Ji Weiqiu agreed. He now felt that Emperor Shizu was truly good-tempered, to have chosen to continue believing in Li Yunxiu even after all this, just giving him a scolding and letting it be.

The third memorial was an impeachment of Li Yunxiu. Something went wrong with the grain seeds, leading to a complete crop failure in Liaoyuan Prefecture, with the starving lying dead everywhere. The Censor impeached Li Yunxiu, but Emperor Shizu still chose to set it aside for later discussion. However, with the two previous incidents followed by this one, it revealed Li Yunxiu's incompetence—how could it not be incompetence? He did a pile of things he shouldn't have, yet the one thing he was supposed to do, he messed up catastrophically.

Even so, Emperor Shizu still had no intention of dealing with Li Yunxiu. But according to Nanzhu law, having caused such a huge mess, Li Yunxiu was required to return to the capital to plead guilty. In the end, he stubbornly refused to return, insisting on cleaning up the mess in Liaoyuan Prefecture. Emperor Shizu had to send relief grain, and surely sent a trusted subordinate to clean up the mess, effectively sidelining Li Yunxiu. Li Yunxiu was very likely already in a state of disgrace. That's why his memorials on the way back to the capital were all about beautiful scenery and how he was thinking of Emperor Shizu in all matters.

The seventh memorial spanned another year. He had previously thought that Li Yunxiu had repaired his relationship with Emperor Shizu during this year, which was why he went to guard the border. Looking at it now, it was probably that Emperor Shizu had already given up on him, which was why he rushed to the northern frontier, complaining about the bitter cold and the old sly foxes—Liaoyuan was also bitter and cold, why hadn't he seen Li Yunxiu complain?

It was simply because when he went to Liaoyuan, he still had the Emperor's favor, with Emperor Shizu protecting him, so his path was naturally smooth. But by this time, he had already incurred Emperor Shizu's displeasure, so naturally, no one would pave the way for him anymore. Afterward, he 'accidentally' won a battle, which shows that Emperor Shizu never intended for him to actually go to war... Unexpectedly, Li Yunxiu really had a talent for it, and thus escaped Emperor Shizu's control—at this point, Emperor Shizu was perhaps not entirely displeased to see it.

With the cunning and character he displayed in Liaoyuan Prefecture, if he were to return to Yanjing and act boisterously, overstepping his authority based on his merits... it wouldn't be strange at all for him to be killed.

Ji Weiqiu looked up at his brother, intending to ask 'Imperial Elder Brother, why are you showing me this,' but upon seeing Ji Su's calm, almost cold gaze, he suddenly thought of something.

—How similar he was to Li Yunxiu.

A chill ran through Ji Weiqiu's body.

Both were sent out on assignments, both were allowed to be independent. If he were a bit more arrogant, a bit more unrestrained, once he exhausted his brother's affection for him, what difference would there be between him and Li Yunxiu? Anyway, this brother of his wasn't his by blood, which, come to think of it, wasn't that different from a study companion!

Seeing the boy flinch, his gaze filled with awe and fear, Ji Su thought to himself that this was nothing. In the future, the mutual deception and intrigue in the imperial court would be a hundred times more perilous... But at least there were some results; he wasn't stupid.

"Imperial Elder Brother..." Ji Weiqiu's voice was even trembling slightly.

"Speak." Ji Su composedly waited to hear what the boy had to say, his tone even softening with a hint of encouragement.

He heard Ji Weiqiu ask cautiously, "Imperial Elder Brother, you're not still holding a grudge about the time I used the 800-li express delivery to send fish, are you—?!"

The end of Ji Weiqiu's sentence was distorted with fear.

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