Chapter 11: I Vow to Await the Autumn Waters, Reposing My Spirit Beneath the Ancient Cliff

"I heard Ah Wu say that the Seventh Young Master is fond of teasing and tormenting others, and it is indeed true!"

Gu Mian was corpulent. After speaking these few words in the biting cold, a sheen of sweat had unexpectedly broken out across his forehead. He gave a gentle clap of his hands, and a slender-waisted, strikingly beautiful maid walked in, holding a silk court robe whose lower left hem was embroidered with a lucky spider in gold and silver thread. Another maid followed closely behind, carrying a bronze basin at the bottom of which lay another pair of gold and silver lucky spiders, filled with lukewarm water of just the right temperature.

Xu You narrowed his eyes, feeling that this lucky spider looked somewhat familiar, though he could not recall where he had seen it at the moment. Gu Mian first washed his hands and face with the warm water, then allowed the maid to untie his outer garment and, right there in front of Xu You, wiped down his body before changing into a fresh set of robes.

Although the people of Chu enjoyed a remarkably liberated social ethos and it was not uncommon for hosts to change clothes in front of visiting friends, those hosts were usually handsome men. Gu Mian's abundance of flesh, however, was truly not a very pleasing sight to behold.

Reseating himself, Gu Mian looked refreshed and considerably more comfortable. A playful glint flickered in his eyes as he asked, "Does the Seventh Young Master have anything he wishes to ask me?"

Xu You was currently enveloped in a fog of riddles and naturally had countless questions he wanted answered. Yet, instead of speaking plainly, Gu Mian was telling him to ask. How he had been captured and how he had been released—how many tangled threads were involved in all of this? If he asked, he could at most pose two or three questions; it was impossible to pursue every single detail ad infinitum, as doing so would cause him to lose his poise. But if he did not ask, it would feel like helping someone win a wager only to remain ignorant of both the stakes and the outcome—a thoroughly frustrating predicament.

Ever since his transmigration, Xu You had encountered all sorts of people, including no shortage of deeply cunning, unfathomable old foxes. Yet, he had never met an opponent quite as tricky as Gu Mian. The man was exceptionally skilled at turning his physical advantages to his account; a fat man's physique and smile always lulled people into a false sense of security amidst a relaxed and cheerful atmosphere, so that before one knew it, one might suffer a subtle blow. Yet this seemingly crafty tactic was calibrated with such precision that it might leave one feeling cornered and hard-pressed to cope, without ever genuinely arousing real anger or causing a falling out.

"What are Lord Gu's plans for the future?"

Regardless of the preceding causes or the final outcome, the most crucial question was how Gu Mian intended to position himself henceforth. If everything remained as it was, it would mean the Prince of Jiangxia had not lost ground in this round of confrontation; if changes occurred, the causes and effects could be analyzed based on the specific circumstances. This approach was far more brilliant and vastly more interesting than bluntly asking how he had been captured and why he was released.

Gu Mian burst into laughter instantly. A contest between masters was like a game of Go; only with thrust and parry did the true charm reveal itself. In truth, he was not deliberately making things difficult out of malice; he had merely acted on impulse to test Xu You and observe his reactions. One must know that a person's fine details are most easily revealed in minor matters. People possessed great wisdom, petty wisdom, and wit in emergencies. That Xu You had managed to extricate himself from the Shen clan's encirclement demonstrated his petty wisdom; that he had carved a bloody path through the chaotic political landscape of Yangzhou demonstrated his great wisdom; and his display of quick wit in today's Q&A session undoubtedly left Gu Mian immensely satisfied.

For a man of talent—especially one who harbored a grudge against the Crown Prince—both the Prince of Jiangxia and Gu Mian were keenly interested in forging a deep alliance.

The laughter gradually subsided. Gu Mian leaned back lazily against the jade pillow behind him, his gaze seeming to pierce through the roof and project into the highest heavens. After an unknown length of time, an indescribable desolation surfaced in his eyes.

"Soon I shall await the autumn waters, resting my weary form upon the ancient cliffs. With whom shall I share my lofty aspirations? My only true confidant is a kindred soul. Lu Xu's poem is truly a masterpiece, capturing my state of mind at this very moment to perfection. Seventh Young Master, this bustling metropolis of Yangzhou... from now on, it belongs to your kind!"

Xu You was shaken to his core. He had envisioned numerous possible outcomes, but never in his wildest dreams had he imagined that what Gu Mian was abandoning was the entirety of Yangzhou!

"Lord Gu, you..."

Gu Mian sighed, pressing his hands against the desk as his mountain-like body hoisted itself up. "Our appetite for conversation is exhausted for today! Seventh Young Master, since you have honored me by calling me Uncle, I shall spare you the superfluous expressions of gratitude. Whatever you desire, just name it; as long as I possess it, I shall ensure you depart in high spirits."

"I truly dare not accept. I am merely a fly clinging to the tail of a thoroughbred steed, riding a thousand miles by mere association, having contributed only a meager effort. The ring Lord Gu bestowed upon me just now is more than sufficient reward."

Xu You temporarily altered his course. Gu Mian's words contained far too much information for him to grasp the full picture all at once. It would be wiser to slow down, probe the reality of the situation, and make a decision later. Given Gu Mian's immense wealth, surely he would not truly dismiss him with just a single ring!

"To remain as composed as this in the face of immense wealth—the rise of the Xu clan is just around the corner!" Gu Mian turned and walked toward the inner chambers, calling out, "A formidable youth indeed, a formidable youth indeed! Go on, Ah Wu is waiting for you outside. Whatever puzzles your heart, feel free to seek the answers from her!"

Taking his leave of Gu Mian and stepping outside, Xu You's mind still felt somewhat dazed. The mountain wind blew, icy and piercing to the bone. He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. Nearby, palace lanterns dotted the darkness like stars in the sky. Wan Qi, accompanied by several maidservants, approached from a corner and said, "Master, the Mistress is waiting for you!"

Meeting Zhan Jun once again was vastly different from before. Not only was a pale-green gauze screen now placed between them, but Wan Qi also stood guard close by, not permitted to leave for even a fraction of a moment. Xu You did not ask why; it seemed as though all of this was completely natural. Once seated, without the slightest hesitation, he asked straight to the point, "Is Lord Gu leaving Yangzhou?"

"Yes!"

A trace of suppressed vexation permeated Zhan Jun's tone as she replied, "Not only is he leaving, but all of the Gu clan's properties in Yangzhou must be handed over to the Department of Palace Attendants for disposal. Not a single plot of land or dwelling is permitted to be kept privately."

Xu You was chilled to the bone, acutely perceiving the profound implication behind this. "Then... the Ship Pavilion?"

Zhan Jun fell silent for a moment before answering, "The Ship Pavilion is to be disbanded, and all shipwrights and laborers are to be returned to their native registries. Even those of servile status will have their household registers altered to commoner status and be handed over to the various commanderies and counties for strict supervision, with fields and homesteads allocated to them so they may live out their days in peace."

Xu You finally understood. The Crown Prince's targeting of Gu Mian had a twofold purpose: first, to sever the Prince of Jiangxia's financial lifeline, as the Three Wu regions were a convergence of merchants and the absolute premier choice for raising funds; and second, precisely because of the Ship Pavilion!

Before the Song and Ming dynasties, intelligence systems were relatively underdeveloped, and their importance was frequently overlooked. For instance, the State of Chu, despite having the Department of Palace Attendants, operated merely as the emperor's eyes and ears—an investigative institution forged by mobilizing the manpower and material resources of the entire realm, possessing neither replicability nor reference value. Given the exalted status of the Crown Prince, he lacked an established espionage network to ferret out the dynamics of the court and the common folk, nor did he possess talents in this domain or forward-looking awareness ahead of his era.

Yet the Prince of Jiangxia was different. Or rather, the sole distinction between the Prince of Jiangxia and the Crown Prince lay not in vision, but in Gu Mian!

More than a decade prior, the Prince of Jiangxia had dispatched Gu Mian to Yangzhou with the sole objective of gathering wealth, harboring no other ambitions. To the astonishment of everyone, however, Gu Mian proved not merely a commercial prodigy; his true talent and value actually lay in his ability to establish secret, clandestine organizations.

Over the span of more than ten years, Gu Mian racked his brains and fully displayed his genius. On the one hand, he expanded his business ventures into twenty-two states of Chu—"wherever the speech of Chu is heard, Gu's vessels are seen"—truly achieving commerce across the realm and a fortune rivaling nations, making him the Prince of Jiangxia's most stable and potent source of revenue. On the other hand, utilizing his extraordinary acute sense of smell and organizational prowess, he secretly established the Ship Pavilion.

Outwardly, the Ship Pavilion proclaimed itself to be nothing more than an ordinary commercial enterprise intended to investigate market prices for grain and silk across various regions. Gu Mian engaged in a business of buying low and selling high, which initially failed to attract attention. Precisely for this reason, the Ship Pavilion was able to grow and develop gradually without interference, ultimately reaching its current, unstoppable magnitude.

The Crown Prince must have suffered numerous setbacks in his covert and overt struggles with the Prince of Jiangxia before discovering the role played by the Ship Pavilion. Consequently, he devised a scheme, conspiring with Liu Quan, the Inspector of Yangzhou, and colluding with the Way of the Celestial Masters, intending to strike at Gu Mian and resolve the trouble once and for all. Naturally, if he could incidentally implicate the Prince of Jiangxia as well, it would be all the better.

They had evidently come perilously close to success, but Xu You's appearance had disrupted everything. The dozens of skeletal remains unearthed after the White Snake's manifestation directly dragged down the reputation of the Celestial Masters' Yangzhou diocese and Du Jingzhi, providing the Emperor with the opportune moment and excuse to intervene. Meng Xingchun's imperial commission to travel east was intended both to deal with the Celestial Masters and, most likely, to mediate the internal feud between the Crown Prince and the Prince of Jiangxia.

"For the family wealth to revert to His Majesty is of no great consequence. Wealth is a worldly possession; once lost, it can be earned back, so it is hardly important. But with the Ship Pavilion fallen, my maternal uncle's decade of painstaking effort in Yangzhou has been ruined in a single day... The Crown Prince is an imperial son, and the Prince of Jiangxia is likewise an imperial son. His Majesty is being altogether too partial this time..."

Listening closely as Zhan Jun recounted the origins of the matter, Xu You's deductions proved entirely correct. One of Meng Xingchun's primary missions upon arriving here was to resolve the dispute between the Crown Prince and the Prince of Jiangxia. When he went to visit Gu Mian in Wu County, he naturally did not state outright that he was conveying an imperial decree, but everyone understood the underlying meaning. Through Song Shenfei, the message was then passed to the Ten Scribes, who in turn reported it to the Prince of Jiangxia. Weighing the pros and cons, what else could the Prince of Jiangxia do? He had no choice but to swallow his grief and abandon the stronghold of Yangzhou, his countless riches, and the Ship Pavilion that had rendered him such monumental service on numerous occasions.

"One cannot quite call it partiality. The Prince of Jiangxia has committed no grave offense yet suffers such heavy punishment; one can readily imagine that the outcome for the Crown Prince's faction will only be heavier, not lighter."

Xu You expressed his heartfelt admiration. "When it comes to the art of statecraft, truly no one can rival His Majesty. The Crown Prince has been networking with high ministers, fraternizing with the Way of the Celestial Masters, and engaging in fratricidal strife within the imperial family. By punishing the Prince of Jiangxia first, when the time comes to penalize the Crown Prince, it will leave him utterly without argument."

There was an even deeper layer which Xu You left unspoken: An Zidao was utilizing this golden opportunity to strike a blow against both the Crown Prince and the Prince of Jiangxia simultaneously, signaling that this emperor, who had reigned for over forty years, was beginning to feel uneasy about the succession. The Crown Prince was the heir apparent, while the Prince of Jiangxia wielded formidable military power; weakening both was intended to balance the court factions for the future political landscape and to leave a margin of safe transition between monarch and subjects.

"Since Lord Gu is safe and sound, it is already a supreme blessing; there is no need to brood over the rest. I imagine it will not be many days before Meng Xingchun stirs up a massive storm in Yangzhou, and we shall simply wait and watch!"

"Mn!"

The room plunged into sudden silence. Neither of them spoke. Separated by the pale-green gauze screen, they could not see each other's faces, yet they seemed able to hear each other's heartbeats across both tangible and intangible boundaries.

Slow at first, then rapid, and finally merging together before returning to a quiet calm!

"You... are you also leaving Yangzhou?"

"Mn!"

"Where to?"

"Jiankang!"