Before Prince Ning arrived to take up his fief in the Northern Frontier, Suzhou, governed by Chen Ping, had long been the most powerful of the three prefectures in the Northern Frontier.
Although it was already deep into the night, Chen Ping tossed and turned, unable to find sleep. It was not until his housekeeper hurried over to announce a visit from Prince Ning that he jolted upright and scrambled to his feet.
Murong Ke was currently sitting leisurely in the front hall sipping tea. Chen Ping walked in with a beaming smile.
"Your Highness Prince Ning has honored us with your presence. This humble official apologizes for not greeting you from afar, and begs Your Highness's forgiveness!"
Murong Ke calmly sized up the Prefect of Suzhou. Despite his sudden, unannounced arrival, Chen Ping had managed to tidy himself up completely in this short span of time, even grooming his mustache with meticulous precision. It forced Murong Ke to admire the man's mastery of networking and manipulation; his reputation as a "smiling tiger" was well-deserved indeed.
Murong Ke took a light sip of his tea and feigned astonishment. "Could this tea possibly be the pre-Qingming downy tip? The quality is such that even old tea of this grade is something I haven't tasted in years. Today, I am truly indebted to Prefect Chen's good fortune."
Chen Ping's smile stiffened. He shot a glare back at the housekeeper before instantly piling his face back into a smile.
"Downy tip? Not at all, just ordinary fairy hair. My wife is a native of the Ba region, and as she happened to return home to visit her family this year, she brought back some of their homegrown tea. We don't have much left at home now, but if Your Highness likes it, I will have someone send you some before Qingming next year."
Murong Ke sneered coldly. As an imperial prince, he was hardly incapable of telling one tea from another. Chen Ping's evasive excuses were entirely perfunctory, showing clearly that he held no respect for him at all.
Sensing Murong Ke's displeasure, Chen Ping immediately offered a flattering smile. "Why has Your Highness come to my humble estate so late? Is there an urgent matter?"
Murong Ke put down his teacup and said unhurriedly, "Prefect Chen needn't be nervous. I have come today to borrow some grain."
Chen Ping did not seem particularly surprised by Prince Ning's demand. Wearing a troubled expression, he said, "When Your Highness previously sent men, this humble official made it very clear that our Suzhou simply has no grain to spare! If Your Highness does not believe me, let us go and inspect the granaries right now!"
Murong Ke sneered. "The granaries? Has Prefect Chen not already transferred the grain out of them? Spare me your evasive games, Prefect Chen; I have no patience to trade pleasantries with you. If I truly resort to unscrupulous means and simply spread the word that your Prefectural Office still has grain in reserve, when the disaster victims flood in, what kind of peace and quiet will your Suzhou have left?"
Chen Ping immediately dropped to his knees, looking pitiful as he pleaded, "Isn't Your Highness making things difficult for this humble official? To be honest with you, ever since I heard that Liangzhou was surrounded by disaster victims, I have not been able to sleep a wink! I am terrified that those starving people will stop at nothing, and perhaps even clash with Your Highness. If my humble household had even a tiny scrap of surplus grain left, I would send it to Your Highness without the slightest hesitation. But as things stand, even our own family is nearly running out of rice to cook. I beg Your Highness not to shift the disaster onto us!"
Murong Ke stood up and looked down at Chen Ping from on high, suddenly drawing his sword and resting it against his neck.
"Where this disaster came from, you and I both know very well. There is no one else here, so you can drop the act. I will ask you just this once: will you release the grain or not?"
Chen Ping swallowed hard and said, "Your Highness, please don't try to scare this humble official; my heart is small and not built for frights. Suzhou certainly still has some coarse grain left, but it is all in the hands of several major clans. Merchants are invariably driven by profit, and if they are unwilling to lower their prices to sell it, what can I do? If you wish, I can invite them all over, and Your Highness can negotiate with them yourself."
By this point, Murong Ke was genuinely angry. This Chen Ping was truly an old, cunning fox.
"Don't the clans of Suzhou all follow the lead of your Chen clan? In that case, I might as well make an example of you first to warn the others!"
No sooner had the words left Murong Ke's mouth than the sound of neat, uniform footsteps echoed from outside. Within moments, the room was surrounded by a troop of soldiers.
Chen Ping straightened his posture and with a smile, pushed the sword away from his neck. "If Your Highness insists on resorting to arms, then for the sake of self-preservation, this humble official will have no choice but to commit an offense against a superior!"
Murong Ke cast a calm glance toward the door and scoffed, "I had no idea that a mere Prefectural Office could freely mobilize garrison troops. Daring to make a move against even me—Prefect Chen, you are truly daring enough to defy the heavens."
"Isn't Your Highness the one who drove me to this?" Chen Ping's eyes turned sinister, completely shedding the deference he had shown the Daxia imperial prince just moments ago. "I do my job honestly and dutifully, yet Your Highness insisted on storming the granary and even stole my official seal."
"Your Highness's actions have long since violated the laws of the state, and this humble official is merely enforcing the law impartially. Even if this matter were brought before His Majesty, I imagine he would only praise my unyielding fortitude."
"A fine display of unyielding fortitude," Murong Ke chuckled softly. "I hardly believe you would dare to blow this matter out of proportion. After all, embezzling disaster relief grain is a crime no lighter than my own."
"Embezzling disaster relief grain?" Chen Ping smiled. "Does Your Highness have proof?"
Murong Ke pressed his lips together in silence.
"Since Your Highness has no proof, then this is slander," Chen Ping said triumphantly. "However, since Your Highness is an imperial prince of Daxia after all, you can do nothing to me, and the same goes for me. When all is said and done, I merely wish to live in peace; Your Highness should show mercy where you can. How about this: when the court's relief grain arrives, Your Highness's Liangzhou can take forty percent, while Suzhou and Cangzhou take thirty percent each. You overlook my insubordination today, and I will no longer pursue the matter of your stealing things. Let us wipe the slate clean. How does that sound?"
Murong Ke clenched his fists, just about to erupt in anger, when a clear voice rang out.
"Is Prefect Chen trying to dismiss a beggar?"
Su Mingyu landed lightly in front of the doorway, her white robes fluttering. Her gaze fell upon the handsome, sharp-browed man inside the room, a flash of astonishment crossing her eyes. Beneath the human-skin mask, Prince Ning's true face was actually this striking! With his heroic bearing, if he were taken to the Capital, countless noble young ladies would undoubtedly go mad for him!
Noticing Su Mingyu's "peculiar" gaze, Murong Ke frowned slightly.
Su Mingyu snapped back to her senses immediately, gave two light coughs, and said, "Your Highness Prince Ning, everything has been taken care of."
Su Mingyu's sudden appearance left Chen Ping completely baffled.
"Who are you?" Chen Ping asked with a frown.
Su Mingyu smiled brightly, her radiant face like a spring breeze brushing past everyone present.
"Me? Can't you tell I'm one of Prince Ning's people?"
Her words were ambiguous. Chen Ping looked at her, then back at the Prince, finding it difficult to gauge the relationship between the two. But before he had time to dwell on it, he heard Murong Ke say calmly, "Since Prefect Chen lacks any real sincerity, then this matter is off. Farewell."
At this, Chen Ping was completely dumbfounded.
"Wait... the grain... you don't want it anymore?"
As Murong Ke passed by his side, he glanced at him and said, "Prefect Chen reminds me that given the severity of the disaster in Liangzhou, we should indeed be taking a larger share of the relief grain. I trust Prefect Chen will deliver it on time."