Before them lay an open expanse of lake, shimmering with rippling light.
"Holy crap!" Mount Qilin actually had a lake, and not a small one at that! "How deep is it?"
"Forty or fifty feet at least, I'd say." Fu Shanyue stroked his chin. "It'd be nice to fish here, or..."
He mimed a swimming stroke.
"A fine place indeed." He Lingchuan smiled too.
The reeds by the water grew tall, and the shore was thick with dense shrubbery. If he slipped into the water here, no one would be able to keep an eye on him.
Water evasion was more convenient than anything; it even blocked probes from divine sense. Weren't the Tongxin Guards eager to tail him? Time to give them a real challenge.
"To think the Emperor would bestow upon you a villa with a back door—no, a back lake."
Fu Shanyue roared with laughter. "His Imperial Majesty attends to ten thousand matters a day; how could he pore over such details? How many peaks and how many villas like this are there in Lingxu City? How could the Emperor count them off one by one?"
He added, "I hear two servants of the previous owner once lost children here. Only later did they find out a catfish in the lake had become a demon and eaten them."
"Did they catch it?"
"Took nearly half a year to catch." Fu Shanyue tossed a stone into the water. Unexpectedly, there was a splash, as if some creature beneath had been startled. "Living water flows down from the mountain; this lake never runs dry."
He Lingchuan stroked his chin. "In that case, it wouldn't be good if someone slipped in via the waterways. We ought to put a few guards in the lake too."
"Recruit some demons?"
He Lingchuan chuckled. "Leave it to me. I happen to know a few."
These past three days had given the rumors ample time to spread. Crown Prince Huan committing murder and arson at the Panshan Residence was something countless people had witnessed with their own eyes. Not just commoners, but scouts and informants from various noble houses had been on the scene and delivered crystal-clear reports upon returning.
Thus, the news was not only common knowledge among Lingxu City's elite, but had even spread across regions to the outside world.
More importantly, the Emperor had turned around and granted Fu Shanyue a grand manor.
Everyone knew this was appeasement, an apology. No matter how it was glossed over, it proved Crown Prince Huan was at fault and the imperial family was admitting wrongdoing.
To make even the Emperor offer a silent apology—heck!
The name of the Chiyan Crown Prince rang through Lingxu City once again.
And so, on the day Pianxiang Villa reopened, this ancient residence—quiet for seven years—was bustling like a marketplace. The high and mighty gathered in throngs, all arriving to congratulate the Chiyan Crown Prince on his housewarming.
Fu Shanyue was the protagonist, and all the glory belonged to him. Naturally, He Lingchuan was more than happy to take it easy. No matter the clamor in the front halls or courtyards, he needed only to slip into the kitchen to eat and drink to his heart's content.
Among the cooks Fu Shanyue had recently hired, three specialized in hot dishes, one in cold cuts, while a plump female cook was a master at brewing wine and making pastries. After He Lingchuan buttered her up with a few kind words, she immediately loaded him up with two heaping platters of assorted cakes and pastries.
The hawthorn cakes melted the moment they hit the tongue. He Lingchuan downed two in a row, which inexplicably brought Madam Ying to mind.
Back in Blackwater City, he and He Yue had often sneaked treats from the cook's kitchen as well. The cook had known full well, frequently tucking away a dish of pastries in the back cupboard for the two brothers, even if the flavor didn't come close to what He Lingchuan was eating now.
He hadn't seen He Yue in quite some time; the lad was probably second-in-command of the Dunyu Area Command by now.
As for the garden Madam Ying had poured so much heart and effort into crafting, he wondered if it was finished yet.
He Lingchuan let out a sigh; the hawthorn cake in his hand suddenly lost its appeal.
Thinking back to his days as the eldest young master of Blackwater City, happiness then had been pure happiness, and worries had been simple worries.
It had been barely a year, yet it felt like a lifetime ago.
The cook grew anxious. "Young Master, is it not good?"
He Lingchuan answered with a straight face, "It's decent. Room for improvement."
"Maybe it's gotten cold." She pondered for a moment, then retrieved another pale pastry from the back cupboard. Only palm-sized, it clearly wasn't meant for guests. "Wait just a moment."
"..." Did every kitchen maid have a secret back cupboard where she stashed goodies?
She bustled into the kitchen, tinkered for a bit, and soon emerged with the pastry steaming hot. "Here, try the lard cake."
He Lingchuan picked up a piece with his chopsticks and took a bite. Chewy, soft, and glutinous, infused with sweet osmanthus mixed through the lard—rich and fragrant without being greasy. In autumn, it hit the spot wonderfully.
"Delicious. This isn't for guests, is it?"
"Not for guests. It's made with the fresh batch of osmanthus harvested from the villa's old sweet osmanthus tree. There wasn't enough to serve out front."
After harvesting osmanthus blossoms, drying them in the shade and storing them airtight took time.
Over the past three or four days, He Lingchuan had already grown familiar with everyone here. Affable and approachable, the kitchen staff didn't treat him like an outsider, gossiping freely as they worked.
Eating while he listened, He Lingchuan learned that two more juicy scandals had broken in Lingxu City over the last few days.
First, Assistant Chamberlain of the Palace Revenue Jia Qingmin was implicated in graft and corruption. Following a memorial submitted by the Court of Judicial Review, he had been stripped of his post and taken into custody for investigation.
"How much did he embezzle?"
"Two million taels, they say?" the cook murmured quietly, her whisper audible to everyone within thirty feet.
"Two million taels? For such a high official, that doesn't seem like much, does it?" That was two billion copper coins. Anywhere else, that might sound sensational, but the people of Lingxu City had seen the world. For an official in Lingxu City, that figure wasn't particularly shocking. The cooks even sounded a bit disappointed. "I heard the Ke family—right, that absurdly wealthy Ke family—spent nearly nine hundred thousand taels just buying a broken sword a while back."
"How could those two things be the same?" the cook retorted. "That doesn't even count gold, jewels, and precious artifacts. Besides, you know the Golden Hook Gambling Den east of Shuimentou, the one with the best business?"
"Of course. A... a friend of mine went there a while back, said the service was impeccably thorough!" The man gave a dry laugh. "Impeccably thorough, and every single one of them talks so sweet!"
"That place is a goose that lays golden eggs. Word is, the master behind the curtain is the Jia family."
Everyone let out a prolonged "Ooooh."
"And that's not all. The prospective son-in-law of Third Master Hu from Tianxiang Isle became the butt of a scandal recently too..."
After just a few bites of pastry, He Lingchuan had already heard several choice pieces of gossip.
He asked the cook, "Is Lingxu City always this lively? Big scoops popping up every couple of days?"
"Hard to say," the cook replied with a beaming smile. "It's certainly been unusually lively lately. There are enough dinner-table topics to string together into a whole chain."
While He Lingchuan was happily munching away, Jiao Yu came trotting over from who knew where, carrying something in his jaws, which he dropped in front of him.
A stack of invitation cards. "For you."
"For me?" He Lingchuan opened them as he ate.
Indeed, they were for him.
Evidently, even more nobles and dignitaries had taken notice of "He Xiao" than a few days ago.
Browsing through them, He Lingchuan asked, "Did you know the Assistant Chamberlain of the Palace Revenue is being investigated?"
"Of course." Jiao Yu took it for granted. "The Court of Judicial Review began investigating the Jia family half a month ago. The Emperor only gave the order to arrest him these past two days."
"These past two days, huh?" He Lingchuan fell into thought.
Over these last three or four days, hadn't there been rather a lot of events in Lingxu City—big, small, and in-between?
As a result, quite a bit of attention had been diverted away from the elixir of immortality case and Crown Prince Huan's murderous arson.
Who was throwing up smoke screens?
He set those thoughts aside for now and examined the invitations in his hand.
Most were inviting him to various events hosted by the noble houses. On the Floating Isles, banquets, literary salons, operas, hunts, and the like took place almost daily. This tradition had developed over many years, and even demons had long since integrated into it, embracing it as fashionable.
He Lingchuan flipped through a few, uttered an "Oh?", and picked out one card.
"From the Ke family?"
This gold-embossed invitation was sent by the Ke family.
Yes, the absurdly wealthy Ke family of Lingxu City, the ones who literally owned mines.
He Lingchuan had originally planned to find a way to visit the Ke family through Old Ge or some other intermediary. He hadn't expected them to take the initiative to invite him.
He and these Kes really were on the same wavelength—a mutual attraction.
"Why would the Ke family invite me?" Tucked inside the invitation was a gift list, enumerating items of immense value. Deeming gold, pearls, and agate too vulgar, they hadn't sent any; the very first item was a carved basin miniature.
He Lingchuan had someone bring the miniature over. It depicted a rockery conservatory, carved with exquisite craftsmanship. Looking through the conservatory's windows, he could see what appeared to be objects inside, colorful and green.
He Lingchuan tentatively reached his hand in. Huh?
He pulled out a fruiting vine.
A real, vibrant green vine, as thick as two fingers, laden with fruit. The red berries resembled strawberries at first glance, but carried a strange, peculiar fragrance.
Like... cream?
The tiger leaned in and sniffed a few times. "It's ripe. Edible."
He Lingchuan immediately tossed a red berry to him.
Jiao Yu swallowed it whole in one gulp and smacked his lips. "Didn't really catch the flavor."
He Lingchuan tried one himself. It was extraordinarily sweet—top-grade among berries.
He reached in again, and this time actually pulled out a jade-green melon.
The cook wanted in on the fun too, coming over with a kitchen cleaver raised high. "Allow me!"
The melon was larger than a soccer ball. With a few swift chops, she split it open. He Lingchuan grabbed a slice and took a bite. Sweet as honey, bursting with juice, though eating it in autumn felt a bit chilling.
"Come on, don't be shy, everyone have some."
At his invitation, the cooks and kitchen hands who had just caught a breather hurried over, grinning as they each took a piece.
"Doesn't this thing mean carrying an entire orchard around?" He Lingchuan scrutinized the rockery conservatory. "Tch, doesn't even come with instructions."
The squirrel popped out from who knew where, leaped onto the table, and pointed at two short lines of small text on the side of the rockery conservatory.
Aren't they right here? Big eyes, but blind to the obvious.
"Sow seed and water; harvest fruit in two days."
"You can plant your own?" Plant whatever you feel like eating, and harvest within two days.
In an era when the world's spiritual energy was in decline, this treasure was truly miraculous. The tiger asked, "Doesn't it require profound crystals to power it?"
"Heh, maybe." Using precious profound crystals to grow fruit wasn't something normal people would do, but that didn't mean Lingxu City's wealthy elite wouldn't. Especially the Ke family, who owned profound crystal mines of their own; to them, what difference was there between profound crystals and copper or iron? Weren't they all dug out of the ground?
He Lingchuan made a blind guess that the flow of time inside this treasure was faster than outside.
He just didn't know if it needed fertilizer.
Picking up the gift list, he read further. The next two items were just like the rockery conservatory—typical treasures wealthy people gave: pretty and amusing, but not very practical.
Rather than this rockery conservatory, He Lingchuan would have preferred the Ke family to gift him heaps of Ke gold; he didn't mind vulgarity—he was short on cash right now.
However, the fourth item was truly valuable. Looking at it, even Jiao Yu said in astonishment,
"The Ke family actually gave you a boat?"
"A pleasure boat!" He Lingchuan corrected him. "It clearly says a painted pleasure boat!"
Chapter 600