Chapter 53: A True Alliance
When Chen Bai came out of the room, Qi Zheng was standing at the door with his arms folded, looking down at him from above, one brow slightly raised.
Chen Bai froze a little. What… what was this about now?
Qi Zheng’s eyes were half narrowed, almost like a cat’s, giving off a sharp, penetrating feeling. “The academy has some rather strange rules. For example, a room belongs to one person’s private space. Without permission, no one may enter it privately, no matter their status. You cannot possibly be unaware of that.”
Chen Bai: “…”
He blinked for a long while before reacting. Right now, this room was Mountain Lord’s. Why was Qi Zheng acting like a little hound? He had simply failed to notice and gone in to rest for a while.
Why did it feel like he now had to be extremely careful about everything he did?
Before Chen Bai could answer, Qi Zheng continued, “There are empty rooms downstairs. But you… why did you show no reaction at all and enter this room so naturally, as if it had belonged to you in the first place?”
Chen Bai’s heart trembled. “Prince Zheng, why are you acting so strange today? Of course I went in to rest because Mountain Lord agreed to let me use this room.”
Qi Zheng neither confirmed nor denied it. If there had been no other empty rooms, perhaps this excuse could pass. But unfortunately, there was more than one empty room left. The academy’s rules were set by Mountain Lord himself. Logically, he would not be the first to break them.
“Strange?” Qi Zheng narrowed his eyes. “But why do I feel that everything about you reveals something odd? Sometimes, it is truly baffling.”
He looked exactly like a cat that had caught a mouse.
Chen Bai: “…”
Everything about him revealed something odd?
Damn it. He must have done something that made Qi Zheng suspicious. But when had it started?
At this moment, Qi Zheng looked rather threatening. Chen Bai was still wondering how to argue his way out when Chen Xiaobu came running over with a little basket.
“Prince Zheng, Brother, do you want to wash stinky socks? I’m on duty today. I’m in charge of washing everyone’s stinky socks.”
After saying that, he started pulling Qi Zheng along. “Prince Zheng, come watch me wash stinky socks with the washing machine. You still haven’t seen how amazing our washing machine is. You put them in, pour in some laundry detergent, and after a while, they’re clean. It even dries them by itself. The socks come out smelling nice.”
Chen Bai breathed a sigh of relief, because Chen Xiaobu forcibly dragged Qi Zheng away to watch him wash socks.
Not only Qi Zheng—Chen Xiaobu also pulled many of his classmates over to watch him wash stinky socks. One finger stretched out straight, he pressed it onto the button. “This is how you wash them. Isn’t it especially easy? Prince Zheng is the only one who still doesn’t know. Once you learn, you can wash your own clothes too. The clothes come out clean and fragrant.”
Qi Zheng: “…”
New skill acquired.
As for Chen Bai, his face was full of worry.
Chen Bai thought, No, he had to keep himself busy. He could not give Qi Zheng time to spot any clues.
Chen Bai called the students over and began holding a class meeting. “Since Master is not here now, I will teach your next lessons.”
“Do not think that just because Master is absent, you can slack off and stay up late every night playing games online. I will supervise you every day.”
As a result, the students sprawled all over the sofas in every direction, leaning crookedly here and there, their little legs swinging nonstop. “Brother Bai, you can’t control us. Master isn’t here, so we’re going to play games until the middle of the night.”
“Ahhh, the academy is our territory now. We call the shots.”
Chen Bai’s mouth twitched. A bunch of little hooligans. Just wait until he cut the internet at night. Let’s see how smug they could be then.
Chen Bai officially moved into the academy. Unexpectedly, Qi Zheng also came to the academy every night. Qi Zheng should have been very busy during the day, and Chen Bai did not know what made the academy so comfortable to him. The rooms were so small.
Almost every day, Chen Bai saw Qi Zheng coming out of the bathroom after washing, wiping his wet hair. That was how he confirmed that Qi Zheng was sleeping at the academy at night.
As for the students, their eyes turned green whenever they saw Chen Bai now.
“Brother Bai, you’re too scary. You actually cut off the internet.”
Chen Bai smiled. If he did not do that, how could he possibly control them?
Even if the students rolled on the floor and hugged his legs, it was useless.
They had originally thought they could play games all night.
Even Qi Zheng’s gaze toward Chen Bai was not especially friendly. He came to the academy at night, sometimes very late and at no fixed time. Then Chen Bai cut off his internet too. He had been planning to sweep the field and play a few rounds of online chess with the students.
Chen Bai did not care. He was the eldest senior brother now. With Mountain Lord absent, he was the highest authority in the academy. What he said went.
Classes still had to proceed as normal. Now there was an additional chemistry class. A group of students looked like little wizards inside the magic tower, holding droppers and heating crucibles.
As they studied, they kept glancing at one another, always feeling as though everything was mysterious.
“Brother Bai, Master must always give you private lessons. We haven’t learned any of this before.”
They were even jealous.
Before Chen Bai could say anything, Chen Xiaobu chimed in, “Of course. My brother is the founding eldest disciple. How could he be the same?”
Chen Bai had started the chemistry class mainly because of the tree Gu Bao’er had planted. Right now, he was dripping the juice from its leaves into water and dissolving it according to a certain ratio.
Then he sprinkled the dissolved liquid evenly over the bug-infested ju plants.
The students all gathered around to watch, holding notebooks and continuously recording.
The pests on the ju leaves soon fell from the leaves and died.
“It really works. It really can kill pests.”
Now there were two problems.
First, to what degree should it be diluted in order to kill pests?
Second, after pests were killed with the diluted liquid at that concentration, would the resulting ju be harmful to the human body?
Because it was a natural medicinal liquid and not a chemical pesticide, if it could be proven harmless to humans, then it could be used.
Chen Bai handed the rest to the students. “What you need to do now is dilute these liquids and carry out experiments. Find out which concentration is most suitable for killing pests. Remember to record the concentration ratio every time, whether it is suitable or not.”
“Also, separate and sort the ju treated with different diluted liquids after pest control. Do not eat them under any circumstances. We will feed them separately to the quails and test them.”
Quails were small. If the diluted liquid was not harmful even to a life form as small as a quail, then its toxicity to the human body would be relatively weak—so weak it could even be ignored.
Poor quails.
So-called poison was like this. Some vegetables people ate also carried a little weak toxicity. It was just so faint that it did not need to be considered.
These experiments only required them to proceed step by step, cautiously and carefully. Finally, after combining all the experimental data, they would be able to obtain the optimal answer.
Gu Bao’er now looked at his little tree every day and giggled foolishly. He had never expected that a little sapling he had casually planted would actually be useful.
Then there was the problem of ju being unbearably bitter. If they had to experiment from scratch to find a direction, it would be far too difficult.
So Chen Bai specially consulted an agricultural university expert.
In modern times, ju was called lettuce stem. However, after directional cultivation, lettuce stem had already become a household vegetable, widely planted. Its bitterness and toxicity were already gone.
The expert was rather surprised too. “Are you talking about the ju from ancient times? Now it has already been cultivated into lettuce stem, a very mature crop.”
Chen Bai was also somewhat helpless. “I just want to know how ju developed into lettuce stem. Wasn’t ju especially bitter? And wouldn’t eating too much of it easily poison people?”
“What you’re talking about is actually the same problem. The reason ancient ju was bitter and poisonous was that it contained bitter substances. These bitter substances not only tasted bitter, but when consumed in excess, they could easily cause panic, chest tightness, and in severe cases, even death.”
“In other words, as long as the bitterness of ju is solved, the toxins in ju that are unfriendly to the human body can be removed. The development of ju into lettuce stem was a natural environmental selection. At first, it was because a bacterial community appeared on its outer skin. This harmless bacterial community used ju’s bitter substances as nutrients, just like oxpeckers on rhinoceroses…”
Chen Bai listened very carefully. Unfortunately, because the era when ju developed into lettuce stem was far too ancient, the expert could only confirm that this bacterial community was a type that grew year-round on dead wood and looked like green moss.
There was no choice. Besides researching the insecticide, they also had to run into the mountains to find some green bacteria on trees, cultivate it, and let it grow together with ju to see whether there would be any change.
So the students’ coursework was quite busy.
They were busy during the day, and at night, they seemed capable of overturning the entire academy with their noise.
One moment, they wanted to cook some wontons to eat. The next, they were fighting over taking baths. Then, in twos and threes, they teamed up to play chess.
Chen Bai was now used to it. He simply ignored them, because the more he paid attention, the more energetic they became. Rolling on the floor had become a common occurrence.
The academy was carrying out its research in an orderly fashion, looking more and more like a true magic tower.
When Qi Zheng looked at these studies, the way he looked at the students became strange. Who knew that inside such an academy, they were doing things that could possibly change the livelihood of the entire Great Qian?
This academy was far too important to Great Qian. Unfortunately, only he knew that. He even had to keep some things inside the academy secret, because there were too many things that could not be explained. In this world, aside from immortals and yao, no one could possibly bring out such treasures.
For example, a pot that could cook without fire, a washing machine that washed clothes, and a refrigerator that stored things—which one of these would not shock the world if taken outside?
Qi Zheng’s lips curved upward. Such an academy was Great Qian’s academy. It was Great Qian’s fortune.
Chen Bai led the students in researching these things and felt quite content.
But sometimes, things would not be peaceful just because he wanted them to be.
The king came again, though he found no one there and did not see Mountain Lord.
The one responsible for receiving him was Chen Bai.
“Master went out to gather medicine. He said he was refining some special pills and has not returned yet.”
The king did not comment. Chen Bai had sat there uneasily for quite a while before the king finally asked, “Do you know when Mountain Lord will return?”
Chen Bai answered respectfully, “I do not know.”
Chen Bai originally thought that since the king had come in vain, that would be the end of it. But after that, the king came to the academy again and again from time to time. Because he could not find Mountain Lord, he appeared increasingly irritable.
After the king left, Chen Bai paced back and forth. The king’s urgency was already starting to show without restraint. The things they had predicted were probably about to happen soon.
Chen Bai thought for a moment and did not sleep that night.
Late at night, when Qi Zheng came to the academy, he saw Chen Bai standing at his door.
Qi Zheng froze. “What is it?”
He had clearly been waiting for him specifically.
Chen Bai nodded. “What is the current situation in court? The king has been coming to the academy more and more frequently lately. I’m worried the king’s body may have reached the point where it can no longer be delayed.”
Chen Bai glanced at Qi Zheng, opened his mouth, and finally still asked, “You… have no other preparations?”
Because judging by the current developments, either Crown Prince Jiao’s base was secure, or Prince Zhuo would rise as a dark horse. No matter how one looked at it, it could not possibly be Qi Zheng’s turn.
There was no need to mention Crown Prince Jiao. Once he ascended the throne, Chen Bai would probably have to live every day on edge.
As for Prince Zhuo, he was far too much of a wastrel. He might not tolerate the academy’s existence. If he could not tolerate it, Chen Bai’s future would also be filled with difficulty. On the contrary, Qi Zheng came to the academy every day.
Qi Zheng looked at Chen Bai. Chen Bai’s words were somewhat treasonous.
As a prince of Great Qian, listening to the king’s arrangements was a prince’s proper duty.
Qi Zheng’s face was expressionless. He only said, “Crown Prince Jiao and Prince Zhuo are nothing to fear. Right now, I merely lack legitimacy.”
Chen Bai’s eyes contracted sharply. As expected, Qi Zheng had not been doing nothing.
Although Chen Bai did not know Qi Zheng’s exact arrangements, the amount of information hidden in the words “Crown Prince Jiao and Prince Zhuo are nothing to fear” was enormous.
But lacking legitimacy was indeed a major problem.
Qi Zheng looked at Chen Bai, then pushed open the door. “Come in and talk.”
This tower was already extremely private, yet they still had to enter a room before speaking. What they were about to discuss was probably already touching some forbidden boundary.
But what could be done? Chen Bai and Qi Zheng were now in the same boat. There were some things he no longer had a choice in.
They entered the room and closed the door. The room was somewhat narrow.
Chen Bai found it a little amusing. Logically, they were supposed to be discussing great matters, yet it was in such an environment.
Qi Zheng looked at Chen Bai seriously. “I won’t hide it from you. What I lack now is legitimacy. And to have legitimacy, the king must proclaim it to the world. You should also understand that this is impossible.”
Chen Bai frowned. Indeed.
As the court’s drafting grand scholar, that royal edict would definitely pass through his hands.
Both of them fell somewhat silent.
Because everyone in Shangjing and throughout court knew the king did not like Qi Zheng. Even if Chen Bai risked universal condemnation and changed the most crucial words in the edict, no one would believe it. It would still be exposed.
And this would be a true road of no return, a dead end. The consequences would also be far too vast.
So unless they had absolutely no other choice, neither Qi Zheng nor Chen Bai wanted to reach that point.
Chen Bai sighed. “Then isn’t this a deadlock?”
And the one thing they lacked happened to be the most important thing.
The moment he stepped onto this path, he should have thought of this.
Gritting his teeth, he said, “There is still some time. We may not truly have reached a dead end yet.”
Qi Zheng froze. He had originally been preparing to explain his plan. Since they had already formed an alliance, there were some things that no longer needed to be hidden.
Chen Bai’s face darkened. “I can… try to make your position more legitimate. But doing so is far too risky.”
If Crown Prince Jiao ascended the throne, then he and the Court Commandant’s Estate would very likely be finished.
But if he acted according to his current idea, once it was exposed, he would be one hundred percent doomed with no burial place.
Still, it was better than secretly altering an imperial edict.
So…
Chen Bai looked at Qi Zheng. “What I am about to do will almost place both my life and the Court Commandant Estate’s life in your hands. So before that, I must have one promise from you.”
“After you ascend the throne, no matter what, you must not make trouble for me or the Court Commandant’s Estate. You must also guarantee the Court Commandant Estate’s prosperity for one lifetime.”
Some people could share hardship but not wealth and honor. Especially if he knew too many secrets about Qi Zheng’s rise to power, who knew what kind of ending awaited him?
So he had to get a promise. Even if, in the future, Qi Zheng saw him as a thorn in his eye and a fishbone in his throat, he still had to protect himself and the Court Commandant’s Estate.
Qi Zheng paused. “That’s all?”
Chen Bai nodded seriously. “That’s all.”
All he wanted was to keep himself and the Court Commandant’s Estate alive. He had offended Crown Prince Jiao far too thoroughly. No matter what, Crown Prince Jiao could not ascend the throne. And the only force he could borrow was Qi Zheng’s.
Or rather, it was mutual benefit and mutual aid.
After that, Chen Bai and Qi Zheng talked for a very long time.
It was only in the middle of the night that Chen Bai left and returned to his own room. This could be considered the true beginning of their conspiracy for the road ahead. From this moment on, the thorny path had truly begun.
As for Qi Zheng, his expression was as strange as could be.
The next day, Chen Bai secretly went above the academy, to a muddy field, and bought many soft-shelled turtles with his phone to raise there.
Because the place was too remote, hardly anyone came there normally.
These soft-shelled turtles were quite large. However, because the muddy field was connected to the creek and there were no protective barriers, turtles often followed the water and went missing.
Chen Bai looked at the missing soft-shelled turtles and smiled. Then he used his phone to replenish them.
He secretly raised them like this without telling anyone. At most, Qi Zheng would come over from time to time to take a look, then secretly carry a few away.
Not long after, something that shocked Shangjing and the entire court occurred.
Rumor had it that in Bu City near Shangjing, there was a family that loved eating river delicacies. That day, by good fortune, they caught two turtles from the river.
But when they killed the turtles and prepared to enjoy something fresh, they actually found two ancient-looking slips of paper inside the turtles’ bellies.
One slip read: “When the flood dragon becomes a snake, virtue is lacking.”
The other read: “When Zheng governs and the people are in harmony, all under heaven shall be greatly auspicious.”
If it had merely been this, the matter would not have reached the point where the entire court knew of it.
The key was that in the following days, this same type of turtle was discovered in different cities. Without exception, each turtle had such slips of paper in its belly.
“This must be a warning from Heaven.”
Once public opinion rose, the news reached the court.
In the markets of several nearby cities, people were all saying that this was a sign given to Great Qian by Heaven.
But as for what those two sentences truly meant, everyone could only see them as vague and mysterious.
The officials in court were not fools either. “Paper hidden inside a belly? Is that not too unbelievable? Could someone be deliberately creating mystery?”
“But the slips were placed in the belly without rotting, and the writing on them is still clear and readable. That is not something ordinary people can do.”
Whether people believed it or not, at least the common folk in the marketplace did. This was surely Heaven’s will.
The matter caused a great uproar. Of course, for something like this, believers believed and skeptics did not. Everyone simply treated it as casual talk in their leisure time.
Even the court, after paying attention for several days, seemed to find that no strange omen had occurred. Though it was astonishing, it also felt inexplicable.
Qi Zheng looked in the direction of the academy and murmured, “It has begun.”
Everyone did not know what those two sentences meant, but naturally, there would be a way to make them understand.
Qi Zheng was about to act according to the original plan, but an unexpected matter occurred in court.
“According to reports from Ye City, Jing City, and Wan City, several cities have suddenly suffered flash floods. The disaster is now severe, with an unstoppable momentum…”
For a moment, the entire court was shaken, because Ye City, Jing City, and Wan City were Great Qian’s three major grain-producing cities. If these three cities suffered flash floods, what would happen to this year’s grain?
This year was probably destined to become an unprecedented year of great disaster.
Originally, when word spread that Prince Zheng had presented potatoes, the people of Great Qian had still been delighted, thinking that perhaps in a few years, they would no longer have to go hungry.
But before those days could arrive, a disastrous year had come first.
People panicked, and the price of rice in Shangjing soared overnight.
“A storm is coming.”
It gave people the feeling that some great calamity was about to descend.
Chen Bai stood beside the dragon throne, looking at the officials below who had already fallen into chaos. In ancient times, natural disasters truly could destroy a wealthy nation, let alone Great Qian, which was not wealthy to begin with.
Chen Bai also sighed inwardly. Now the king’s condition was unclear, and Great Qian had suffered such a disaster. Truly, every panic-inducing matter had come all at once.
Chen Bai glanced at the king. As expected, the king’s face shifted between livid and dark.
Only after a long while did he spit out a sentence. “Do any of you ministers have a method for controlling the flood?”
Only then did the noise below stop. But the clamor turned into absolute silence.
Since ancient times, floods had been impossible to control. Who would dare answer?
The king’s face filled with anger. “On ordinary days, each one of you boasts that you are capable ministers who can govern the world. Yet once something happens, not a single person dares stand forward?”
Three cities had suffered major floods. Although the exact situation was not yet known, judging from the information they had now, it was definitely not light.
If someone accepted the decree and failed to control the flood, they would have to bear responsibility. Who would dare answer now?
Chen Bai’s eyes moved.
Because of their geographical positions, Ye City, Jing City, and Wan City suffered flood problems every year. But it was also because of abundant rainfall that these three cities had become major grain-producing cities.
If they had endured years of flooding and still remained prosperous, then there was probably quite a lot of hidden complexity behind these floods…
Chen Bai took a breath. At this moment, there were some words he had no choice but to say.
In the quiet hall, Chen Bai bowed toward the king. “Your Majesty, I am originally only a drafting grand scholar and should not speak out while the ministers are discussing governance. But regarding this flood disaster, I have something to say. I recommend Prince Zheng to control the floods in the three cities. Prince Zheng once traveled far to Zhao, and Zhao is known as the nation upon the waters. Presumably, Prince Zheng must have unique insight into flood control.”
When Zheng governs and the people are in harmony, all under heaven shall be greatly auspicious. It seemed the plan had to change.
The hall was so quiet one could hear a needle drop.
Even Qi Zheng—if not for the fact that they had formed an alliance and trusted each other deeply—would have thought Chen Bai was trying to frame him.
The others were thinking almost the same thing now.
What was going on? Wasn’t the relationship between Prince Zheng and Grand Scholar Zhaoxue quite good? Back when Grand Scholar Zhaoxue carried such a foul reputation, it had been Prince Zheng who used his methods to exempt him from punishment.
Could it be that they had fallen out?
That was the only explanation. This was blatant entrapment. Whoever took this hot potato would be unlucky.
As soon as Chen Bai spoke, those who wanted to kick someone while he was down appeared.
Crown Prince Jiao was the first to step forward. “This son believes it is reasonable. Zhao suffers floods every year, and it is said that everyone there is skilled in flood control. In our Great Qian, only Prince Zheng has lived in Zhao for many years. Since he stayed in Zhao for so long, he must have learned some skills.”
