They were short on money—desperately short. The late emperor had squandered extravagantly before his death, stamping that broken imperial seal on anything he pleased. Add to that their grand wedding, and whatever meager reserves remained had been drained completely.
Yu Lingxin had previously seized a batch of assets from the Prince of Xishan, and combined with the fourth-quarter revenues from salt and iron, it was enough to maintain a few years of balance—but if they wanted to do anything more, they would be scraping by.
Year-end receptions for envoys from various states, New Year’s bonuses for palace attendants, the spring imperial examinations after the New Year, dam repairs—every aspect demanded money. Increasing revenue and reducing expenditure was the top priority.
Jiang Nong had brought a considerable dowry, but Yu Lingxin had never once eyed it, and Jiang Nong certainly wasn’t about to hand over her entire foundation.
Tan Kingdom was hilly and situated in the north, with only one harvest a year. Agriculture couldn’t thrive, and trade costs were high. Aside from serving as a natural military barrier, the region had little to offer. Besides tax reform, they would need to find other ways to increase revenue—but burdening the people with heavier taxes was unwise; they could barely bear the current load.
Jiang Nong remembered how Yu Lingxin had grown wealthy in her previous life: through war. Funding war with war—plundering treasuries wherever he went, executing local officials and seizing their assets. That was how he got rich.
Quite shameless, honestly.
Princess Pingning departed in high spirits. Jiang Nong instructed Tongye to take Xin Hui to Yu Lingxin, and Xin Yao to the Empress Dowager.
Xin Yao, tears in her eyes, bowed gratefully to Jiang Nong.
Xin Hui asked, “The Langzhong Guard isn’t too tiring, is it? If it’s exhausting, forget it.”
Jiang Nong smiled stiffly: “Don’t worry. You’ll find out when you get there.”
Only then did he rise and swagger off with Tongye.
Before long, Tongye returned to report that His Majesty had taken quite a liking to Xin Hui.
Jiang Nong thought: How could he not? Who doesn’t like money?
Within less than ten days—just as Jiang Nong had eagerly anticipated—Xin Hui got into trouble.
He flirted with palace maids, harassed eunuchs, and insulted the Censor-in-Chief, spouting all sorts of indecent remarks. The old gentleman, already a stickler for propriety at over seventy, was so furious on the spot that his face turned red and he nearly collapsed. The next day, he submitted a detailed memorial, impeaching Princess Pingning for failing to discipline her son—and dredging up Xin Hui’s past offenses of galloping through the streets.
As soon as Princess Pingning received the news, she rushed into the palace in tears, weeping before the Empress: “Your Highness! He’s my only son! That Censor Li is clearly targeting us—we poor widows and orphans have such bitter fates! If he loses this post, what will become of us?”
Jiang Nong listened to her cries, took a sip of tea, and put on a hesitant expression: “We are in a difficult position too. After all, the Censor-in-Chief spoke only the truth, and many in the court are watching. We cannot make things too easy for ourselves.”
Upon hearing this, Princess Pingning understood: “difficult” meant it could be done, but not without effort. Indeed, since the Censor had impeached him, smoothing things over would require some real investment.
When asking a favor, one must have the right attitude. Last time, she had secured an official post for her son without spending a single coin. Princess Pingning’s eyes darted about. She gritted her teeth, did some calculations, and after returning home, presented two million taels, along with taking Xin Hui to personally apologize at Li Zhishan’s residence. Only then was the matter put to rest.
Two million taels—Princess Pingning had produced it effortlessly to save her son. She was far wealthier than Jiang Nong had imagined. Truly, a lean camel is still bigger than a horse. Jiang Nong counted her own dowry and could barely scrape together that much in liquid silver.
The feeling of reaping without sowing, of effortless gain, was wonderful—but having fleeced her once, they would have to wait a while before the next round.
Tan Kingdom had only one river—the Meng River. Summer floods would cause it to overflow in the middle and lower reaches. In Jia County of Qi Prefecture, there was a dam built twenty years ago that served as a barely adequate flood diversion—but it had gone nearly five years without repairs, like a gasping old man barely holding on.
In recent years, plans and blueprints for a new dam had been drafted, but implementation had been delayed due to lack of funds. The prefectural governor had submitted several memorials requesting construction of a new one, but the late emperor had rejected them all, citing an empty treasury.
Princess Pingning had the silver delivered through the palace’s side gate under cover of night, with Tongye receiving it. After all, bribery was hardly a glorious affair.
After the relevant office had registered the funds, Jiang Nong discussed with Yu Lingxin the plan to allocate a portion for building the new dam.
Yu Lingxin leaned sideways on the bed, her hair wound around his fingers, head slightly raised, listening to her speak.
“Why aren’t you saying anything?” Jiang Nong had been talking for a while without hearing a peep from him.
Yu Lingxin collapsed onto the bed, twisted around a few times, and somehow ended up in her embrace. Jiang Nong couldn’t push him off; he took advantage like a snake climbing a staff, wrapping his arms around her waist and burying his face in the curve of her neck, inhaling deeply like a little dog. Jiang Nong felt something hot and hard pressing against her thigh—she froze and dared not move.
His entire body was cold, except for that one place.
“Calm down.”
Yu Lingxin simply kept his face buried against her, behaving himself, doing nothing. His breath spilled across her skin, ticklish. After a long pause, his voice came out hoarse and muffled: “I am listening to you. I’m perfectly calm.”
As long as he didn’t move, it was bearable. Jiang Nong carefully shifted her body, moving her thigh away, trying to set aside the awkwardness and steer the conversation back: “So what do you think? I looked at the accounting records from past construction—eight hundred thousand taels should be enough. With a more generous budget, we could add up to a million. Who should be put in charge? I don’t know much about your court officials—I’m not sure who is honest and competent.”
Yu Lingxin insisted on pressing close to her: “The governor of Jia County, Wen Zheng—he’s capable and trustworthy.”
Jiang Nong gave up on evading him and could only pray he would cool down soon: “So we’ll leave it to him?”
Yu Lingxin shook his head, his skin brushing against hers, his lips inevitably landing on her. Jiang Nong assumed it was accidental—but he deliberately licked her, letting her know it was intentional.
“Jia County is within Qi Prefecture. The governor of Qi Prefecture, Chen Huaibin, is a useless fool—insatiably greedy, risen through nepotism. He’s embezzled who knows how much over the years. I plan to entrust this dam construction to him. All two million taels will be allocated to him, plus an additional million. Tan Jingming will serve as supervisor, overseeing the work in Jia County.”
In truth, Yu Lingxin’s usual method was simpler: with troops in hand, he would go on campaigns of plunder. Passing through Qi Prefecture, he could conveniently reward Chen Huaibin’s entire extended family. Kill enough people, hold enough military power, and they would all fear him—the court officials would behave and stay in line.
Yu Lingxin had personally verified over two lifetimes that violence could solve ninety percent of the world’s problems. As for the remaining ten percent that couldn’t be solved—that simply meant the violence wasn’t enough. Kill them all, and it would be resolved.
If he actually did that, Jiang Nong would threaten him with death. Fine, fine—he also found fighting and killing exhausting anyway. Gentler methods saved energy. Slower was fine—it was Jiang Nong who cared so much. If she was happy to busy herself with these matters, let her.
With someone else worrying and managing things for him, life was finally looking up.
Jiang Nong’s first reaction was to think Yu Lingxin had lost his mind. On second thought, she remembered that he had, in fact, lost his mind long ago. But he was too devious—there was absolutely no way he would just give money away for free.
She was lost in thought, her gaze unfocused. Yu Lingxin had already begun breathing softly against her ear, like a little hook tickling her, sucking a mark behind her ear.
Jiang Nong was alarmed—hadn’t they agreed he wouldn’t move? She slapped him and said, exasperated, “What’s wrong with you in the middle of winter?”
“Exactly—you said I’m a dog, and male dogs are in heat all year round. It’s even worse in spring,” he mumbled against her neck, laughing lowly. He was even harder and hotter against her after the slap, tracing circles on her waist with his fingertips. After he finished laughing, he clasped her hand and guided it downward. “Don’t you miss her very much? Why not just have her again?”
A wonderful idea—but Jiang Nong wouldn’t accept it.
What would be the point of having a child now? They were so poor, so busy, and the situation was unstable.
Wait!
Yu Lingxin was tricking her into doing that!
“Wow! You were actually considering it—so easy to fool,” Yu Lingxin laughed. “But if you help me out, I’ll tell you why this matter should be given to Chen Huaibin.”
Jiang Nong struggled out from under him and wrapped herself tightly in the blanket, only her head poking out: “Even without you telling me, I know. Give him eight hundred thousand taels, and he’ll embezzle six hundred—using the remaining two hundred for shoddy construction. But give him three million, and he’ll only dare to embezzle two hundred—one million is more than enough to build a solid dam. By the time the project is finished, it’ll be time to confiscate his property. We get a dam built for free and make a profit on top. Tan Jingming isn’t just there to supervise—he’s gathering evidence too, isn’t he?”
“So clever—but you’re only eighty percent right. Come here, and I’ll tell you the other twenty percent.”
Jiang Nong refused to go.
But Yu Lingxin would come to her himself. He gripped her chin with his tiger’s mouth, forcing her head up for a kiss.
He nibbled her earlobe, then traced his way from her forehead down to her lips, beginning to savor her—not like that impulsive kiss on the ice, but a kiss laced with desire and passion, spilling over with sensuous breaths, now close now distant. His deep pupils reflected her as he plundered her moisture and fed his own back to her. Then he smiled and said, “You’ve got the scent of a dog on you now. What if you swallow it and can’t wash it off?”
She was about to get angry. Yu Lingxin nuzzled her head, caught his breath for a moment, and said, “Alright, I’ll tell you. The dam is being built in Jia County. Chen Huaibin is incompetent and lazy—he won’t manage it, and won’t even try. The one who’ll actually be in charge will be Wen Zheng.”
Three birds with one stone: developing water conservancy, draining Chen Huaibin’s wealth, and promoting Wen Zheng. Even Tan Jingming could be elevated through this matter and later promoted elsewhere.
When it came to ruthlessness, Yu Lingxin had his own philosophy.
In winter, the ground was frozen and unsuitable for construction. Approving and preparing the project now would allow work to begin in the spring.
As the year drew to a close, Jiang Nong also received many letters—from Xi Kingdom. From Jiang Yuan, Jiang Miao, the Empress Dowager, and even Lady Song, who had sent a letter all the way from afar just to curse her.
There was also one from Dang Kingdom—from Chao Ning.
“My most, most, most beloved little sister! Whether it’s morning, noon, or evening—greetings to you! By the time you read this letter, your big brother is already on his way to see you! This time, I once again volunteered to be the envoy. How are you and Yu Lingxin doing? Since you can’t come to Dang, your big brother will come to you instead~”
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