Chapter 63 Which Bastard Is This

Liu Jin walked aimlessly along Hengmen Street, unsure whether Emperor Wu of Han would mass-produce the three-piece horse equipment set. As Grand Tutor Shi had said, Emperor Wu had suffered a defeat at the hands of the Xiongnu seven years ago and had been biding his time ever since. Li Guangli was currently stationing troops at the Ordos Loop, meaning a war between Han and the Xiongnu was inevitable sooner or later.

If Emperor Wu truly decided to manufacture the three-piece horse equipment and wage war against the Xiongnu, countless people would inevitably suffer the miseries of displacement and hardship.

Liu Jin reflected on whether his actions were right or wrong. Had the price he paid to gain control of the military authority in Changle Palace been a bit too high?

Not far from a mutton shop.

Han Shuo handed his money pouch to two servants, gesturing for them to stand at a distance, and then walked over to the mutton stall on his own to weigh out a few ounces of mutton.

When it came time to pay, Han Shuo fumbled around his person aimlessly before apologizing, "I am truly sorry, elder brother. I didn't bring any money with me when I went out today. Could I perhaps run a tab and pay you tomorrow?"

Seeing that he was dressed in silk and clearly wealthy, the vendor, though reluctant, dared not offend a person of high status and wore a troubled expression.

Thinking for a moment, Liu Jin walked up to Han Shuo's two servants and said, "Your master has no money to pay. What are you standing around for? Hurry up and bring the money over."

The two servants hurriedly responded, "Oh, oh, right!"

"Master, the money is here."

Han Shuo: "..."

The vendor glanced at Han Shuo, who glared fiercely at the servants and said with a pang of heartache, "Hurry up and pay!"

"Master, thanks to that young man's reminder, otherwise none of us would have noticed you wanted to buy something," the two servants chimed in.

Damn it all...

Is it so easy to take a little advantage?

Which bastard!

Han Shuo turned his head and looked at Liu Jin on Hengmen Street. He did not yet recognize the imperial grandson from the Crown Prince's Palace; during the recent sale of the mountain, it had been his estate steward who dealt with Liu Jin.

Liu Jin did not recognize Han Shuo either, simply nodding slightly to him. "No need to thank me."

Han Shuo's cheek twitched violently. Thank your grandfather! You little bastard!

Liu Jin continued walking aimlessly. Passing a familiar ironware shop, he suddenly noticed that it had been sealed up, which gave him a jolt of surprise.

"Young man, what happened to this ironware shop?"

A young man nearby replied, "Everyone inside has been conscripted into the Lesser Treasury. What they are doing specifically is unclear."

...

Liu Jin quickly turned back toward Weiyang Palace and headed straight for the Lesser Treasury offices.

There were some things he needed to verify.

He was unsure whether Emperor Wu of Han had already dealt with those people.

However, upon arriving at the Lesser Treasury offices, Liu Jin suddenly froze in his tracks.

He watched as several familiar blacksmiths were registering something inside the duty lodge. As they emerged, Liu Jin intercepted them.

Seeing Liu Jin, the blacksmiths seemed to recognize him and smiled gratefully, saying, "Many thanks to your honor! Many thanks to your honor!"

"If you hadn't come to our shop to have ironware forged, we wouldn't have been conscripted into the Lesser Treasury."

"Although we won't be able to leave in the future, the office gives us a stipend every year, which is enough to support our families outside."

After they departed, Liu Jin stood dazed for a long time.

He suddenly felt that he truly could not see through that old man in Weiyang Palace anymore.

When he learned outside that the iron shop had been sealed, his first thought was that Emperor Wu was silencing witnesses. Whether the assassins sent after him had come from that iron shop, or because the shop knew about the three-piece horse equipment and needed to be prevented from leaking the secret, Emperor Wu was unlikely to care about the lives of a few innocent people.

Yet now, the outcome was completely different from what he had imagined!

Emperor Wu had spared them, at most placing them under house arrest while providing them with stipends to support their families outside.

This style of action was entirely out of character for Emperor Wu.

Where on earth had things gone wrong?

Why did Liu Jin have such an unreal feeling? Could it be that his Imperial Grandfather... actually cared about his thoughts? Was that why he did this?

Liu Jin shook his head, quickly dismissing the notion. His Imperial Grandfather must have had his own reasons—perhaps wanting to display his benevolent side to his ministers and officials?

Regardless, the outcome was good.

In this layout of his, he had still left many loopholes, causing many innocent people to get dragged into it, and his conscience had always been somewhat uneasy. Only at this moment did he finally feel completely relieved; since all the outcomes were good, his mind was finally at ease.

"Your Highness."

One of Liu Jin's servants walked over and said softly, "Old Man Qiu is looking for you over at the coal yard."

Liu Jin gave an affirmative hum, only then remembering that he hadn't visited the old man in a long time. He nodded and said, "Alright."

...

The journey was silent, and they soon arrived at the coal mine. The tension he had carried in his heart for days began to ease. Although this arrangement was slightly crude, all the outcomes were favorable.

The old man and the young man, who had not seen each other for a long time, smiled at one another.

Liu Jin walked over. "Did the old man want something with me?"

Emperor Wu was sitting on a large rock under the poplar tree, smiling. "Nothing much. I haven't seen you in a long time—what have you been busy with? Why haven't you come to find me?"

Liu Jin walked over with a smile, took the cattail leaf fan from the old man's hand, and fanned himself while helping to cool the old man off.

"I've been working on a big project recently."

"Did you succeed?"

Liu Jin asked curiously, "Why didn't you even ask what I was doing?"

Emperor Wu replied, "If you wanted to tell me, you would naturally say so. Since you didn't mention what it was just now, it means you just wanted to share the joy of this success with me."

Liu Jin thought for a moment, grinned, and said, "You have to hand it to you, you're always so wise."

"It succeeded, and all the outcomes are good."

Emperor Wu said earnestly, "You've grown."

"How so?" Liu Jin asked suspiciously.

Emperor Wu shook his head slightly. "Nothing, just suddenly had that feeling."

"Let's make a trade."

Emperor Wu suddenly spoke up.

Liu Jin said speechlessly, "Let's not talk about trades between the two of us, grandfather. Just tell me what you want."

"You told me last time that you had other good things you didn't give me. I'll trade you that jujube-red horse for them. What good things?"

Liu Jin thought for a moment before saying, "Grandfather, it's not that I won't give them to you, but I'm afraid it will implicate you."

I'm offering to give you a fine Ferghana horse for free and you don't even want it? Can the scraps in your Crown Prince's Palace compare to the fine Ferghana horses in my Upper Forest Park?

"Alright, don't be angry. Don't go around flaunting those stirrups either, or you'll cause big trouble."

"Oh."

Seeing that the old man didn't care at all, Liu Jin emphasized again, "You must keep this in mind. I'm not joking with you; don't let outsiders know."

"Why?" Emperor Wu looked at him suspiciously.

Liu Jin said, "You know as well that this kind of thing can be equipped on cavalry. The court hasn't made it public yet. If the common people all start using it, won't the Xiongnu learn it as well? Will Han cavalry still have any advantage to speak of?"

"If the Emperor sees you running around flaunting it everywhere, he'll arrest you and execute you!"

"Is the Emperor that cruel?" Emperor Wu retorted.

Liu Jin said, "I don't know, but better safe than sorry. Anyway, I'm doing this for your own good."

Emperor Wu tightly clenched both fists inside his sleeves. I really should have killed those blacksmiths!