Xiao Chenzi was momentarily stunned by the question.
He frowned, looking troubled. “This… this humble servant didn’t hear anything about that. Probably not?”
Wei Yu was thoroughly disappointed.
If no one had heard about it, then it probably wasn’t true.
After all, people were always curious about things different from themselves. If those people really were foreigners and looked different from the people of Great Wei, there would’ve been rumors long ago. This text is hosted at NoveIꜰire.net
The northern nomads had sharp, deep features—rugged and bold men, stunningly beautiful women. Some even had green eyes. Whenever the people of Great Wei saw them, there’d always be quite a bit of chatter.
Wei Yu sighed. “Sigh, never mind. I was probably overthinking it.”
Might as well wait until those foreign envoys arrived and see for himself.
Xiao Chenzi stole a cautious glance at him, not sure what was on the Ninth Prince’s mind, and simply nodded awkwardly.
“Anything else worth gossiping about?”
Xiao Chenzi and another young eunuch named Liu Ping shook their heads in unison.
As Wei Yu’s gossip suppliers, the two had served him for three or four years and knew exactly what he meant by “gossip.”
Wei Yu nodded. “Alright, if there’s nothing, there’s nothing.”
He figured by tomorrow there’d be some new gossip anyway.
Wei Yu stood up, and as he turned, he saw Hong Zhong walking over with a food box.
Hong Zhong said, “Your Highness, everything’s packed inside.”
“Mhm, give it to those two.”
Hong Zhong handed the food box to Xiao Chenzi and Liu Ping.
From the moment Hong Zhong approached with the box, the two young eunuchs had smiles on their faces. Now receiving the box, they thanked Wei Yu repeatedly.
It was all part of the usual routine. Wei Yu waved a hand with a smile, telling them not to waste time and to hurry back.
Once the two young eunuchs had left, Wei Yu finally turned to Hong Zhong and asked seriously, “How much did you tuck in?”
Hong Zhong replied honestly, “One tael each.”
Wei Yu clutched his chest, heart aching. “Spending money in this palace really is like pouring water into sand. A few more rounds of this and my private treasury will be empty! Looks like I’ll need to come up with new ways to make money again. Who knows when I’ll finally get my own residence…”
Hong Zhong quietly added, “Your Highness, if you think it’s too costly, there’s no need to hear gossip every day.”
“No way! I can cut anything but gossip!”
Wei Yu immediately straightened up, looking seriously at Hong Zhong. “Do you know what’s most important in an era with poor transportation? Information! As the Ninth Prince of Great Wei, how can I be so out of the loop? That’s just wrong!”
Hong Zhong merely looked at him in silence, his expression utterly unchanged.
Sure enough, Wei Yu puffed up for all of three seconds before deflating.
He lowered his head and started justifying himself. “Alright, fine, I admit it. I’m just bored staying in the palace all day. Spending a little money to hear some gossip isn’t a crime. Let it cost money, whatever. Anyway, I’ll be leaving the palace before long…”
He mumbled to himself as he walked toward his sleeping quarters.
Hong Zhong followed behind him—silent, obedient, and expressionless.
That look on his face couldn’t be more numb.
As for the matter of foreign envoys, Wei Yu had only just heard it from Xiao Chenzi that very day, and by that evening, his Eighth Brother came looking for him.
“Didn’t expect there to be a country called Xiqi beyond the nomads!”
The news the Eighth Prince brought was something Wei Yu didn’t know about, and it piqued his interest.
He asked the Eighth Prince, “Eighth Brother, how do you know about this?”
Never mind whether Xiqi was noteworthy—Wei Yu was more curious how his equally ill-informed Eighth Brother had gotten the scoop.
There were horse hoof cakes—Eighth Prince’s favorite—on the table, and as soon as he sat down, he started eating them without the slightest courtesy.
Holding a piece of pastry, the Eighth Prince said casually, “How else? I heard it from Seventh Brother.”
The moment he heard it was connected to the Seventh Prince, Wei Yu immediately understood.
He glanced sideways at the Eighth Prince. “So once again, you ran into Consort Xian while visiting Jing’an, bumped into Seventh Brother, and had a heartwarming brotherly chat?”
“…Quit it with the sarcasm.”
The Eighth Prince shot him a glare. “If you already know, why even ask?”
Wei Yu frowned. “They didn’t give you or Jing’an a hard time, did they?”
They were both neglected and irrelevant princes. Among their Royal Father’s harem, aside from the legitimate Empress and the haughty Imperial Consort, none of those harem women had any fondness for the two of them!
Especially Consort Xian, who had two sons. If they happened to run into her in the palace, she always had something nasty to say.
A consort bullying princes—who knew what was going on in her head!
Probably just twisted from spending too many years cooped up in the deep palace.
The Eighth Prince didn’t respond. He simply changed the subject.
“Seventh Brother said that the people of Xiqi came by sea. This time they’ve come straight to Great Wei and brought things with them, probably to discuss trade. So in about half a month, the capital will be unusually lively.”
Half a month later—that was a very interesting timing.
Because just a few days ago, the Fourth Prince had mentioned to the two of them that he’d take them out of the palace around then to show them the location of the princes’ manors.
So, Wei Yu understood again.
He considered for a moment and said, “So what you’re really doing, Eighth Brother, is warning me that those people are up to no good and might cause some trouble in the capital. You’re worried for my safety, so you specially came to tell me to be careful in half a month?”
Eighth Prince: “…No, I’m reminding you not to cause trouble.”
Wei Yu didn’t care. He shot him a glance and said teasingly, “Oh come on, Eighth Brother, listen to yourself. Do I sound like the kind of person who causes trouble? I’m always the most well-behaved one!”
Eighth Prince said nothing.
Like he didn’t know whether Wei Yu was well-behaved or not?
When he wasn’t stirring up trouble, fine. But once he did—he made a splash!
Eighth Prince didn’t want to argue with him. After finishing the topic about the envoys from Xiqi, he moved on to something else.
“Things at court have been unstable lately. Royal Father’s punished quite a few people. The Gray Guards led by Huo Tingyu have raided the residences of several ministers. Now, everyone in the capital is on edge—even Eldest Brother and the rest are no exception. So stay quiet and out of the way in the palace, and don’t attract any unnecessary attention.”
Even if Eighth Brother hadn’t said it, Wei Yu already understood.
After all, the gossip he’d been hearing from Xiao Chenzi and the others these past few days had all been about court affairs!
Back then, their Royal Father didn’t attend court every day. Aside from certain emergencies, he usually held court every three days or so.
Ever since he was struck by lightning half a month ago, for some reason, he’d changed completely—he actually ordered daily court sessions!
And ever since that started, things had gotten out of hand. One official would be scolded for misconduct, another for spoiling his concubine and neglecting his wife, embezzlement, disregarding the law, lacking virtue and competence…
There were just too many terms the Emperor could use to berate his officials—Wei Yu couldn’t even remember them all.
He didn’t know why the old man suddenly flew into a rage, but wasn’t this sort of purge and reform a good thing?
Having a capable and diligent monarch—and that monarch happened to be his own father—of course Wei Yu supported it!