Yinzhi stood in humiliating silence. He had attempted to use the weeping peasant girl to attack Crown Prince Yinreng's lack of compassion, only to become the punchline of his own trap.
Emperor Kangxi chuckled. "How did you know she was fishing for a target?"
Zanza nodded eagerly. "Yes! Where were the flaws?"
Yinreng leaned back, his posture relaxed but his gaze sharp. "Everywhere."
Internal Monologue (Yinreng): A lie requires a flawless foundation. Hers was built on easily verifiable contradictions.
"First, analyze her background," Yinreng stated. "She claimed to be a local Jiangning resident whose father just died. This ignores the fundamental mechanics of the societal Clan System. A clan is legally and morally bound to its members. If a local man dies in absolute poverty, the clan elders will front the burial costs to ensure the dead are laid to rest. A local girl would never be forced to sell her body on the street merely for a coffin."
Zanza frowned. "What if her clan is distant, or the elders are cruel?"
"Then she has labor alternatives," Yinreng countered logically. "Last year, the imperial court established Medical Bureaus across the provinces to administer cowpox vaccines. Because of strict gender segregation, female patients require female attendants. These bureaus are actively hiring women—even those with zero medical knowledge—for menial tasks. Furthermore, this is Jiangning. The weaving bureaus produce the empire's cloud brocade. They possess an endless demand for female labor. If she truly needed money, she could secure a wage or take a loan from any local bank against her future earnings."
Yinzhi gritted his teeth, defensive. "What if all those avenues failed?"
"Then she would go to a registered Brokerage (牙行)," Yinreng said flatly. "Jiangning has eleven official brokerages. They function as regulated middlemen for real estate and human resources. If she must sell her labor, she could sign a fixed-term contract (活契) as a maid for five or ten years, ensuring physical safety. Selling oneself on the open street risks being bought by pimps or violent thugs. It is an illogical, reckless risk for someone supposedly just seeking honest employment."
Yinreng paused, pointing toward the door. "But her most glaring error is visual. Go look at her, Zanza."
Zanza checked the doorway and returned, confused. "She looks exactly the same as yesterday."
"Exactly," Yinreng smirked. "Her hair is meticulously oiled and braided. The white mourning flower is perfectly pinned. Her face bears a fresh, even layer of cosmetic powder. A truly destitute daughter, crushed by the grief of her father's sudden death, does not have the time, resources, or psychological desire to apply makeup. She was not grieving; she was presenting herself as merchandise."
The room fell completely silent. The logic was airtight.
Kangxi laughed loudly, deeply satisfied with Yinreng's analytical precision. He cast a forgiving glance at Yinzhi.
Internal Monologue (Kangxi): Yinzhi is young. Naivety is expected. The fault lies with the woman's manipulation, not the boy's pity. Yinreng's intellect, however, is formidable.
"Since you bought her, Yinzhi," Kangxi declared smoothly, officially washing his hands of the matter. "Her fate is yours to decide. Keep her, or discard her. I will not intervene."
---
The Interrogation and the Pawn
Back in his quarters, Yinzhi stared at Yanyan with absolute frigidity.
Yanyan knelt on the floor. Her mind raced. She understood that if she failed to recalibrate her narrative immediately, she would not just lose this opportunity—she would lose her life.
Tears spilled from her eyes in a perfectly measured sequence, deliberately leaving her cosmetic powder intact. It was a calculated, aesthetic display of vulnerability designed to evoke pity.
"Eldest Prince, the Crown Prince was right," Yanyan confessed, her voice trembling. "I am not grieving. I am relieved."
She stripped back her sleeves, revealing layers of overlapping, gruesome bruises that marred her pale skin.
"The dead man was not my father. He was a human trafficker who abducted me at age two. To evade arrest, he claimed I was his daughter. He eventually retired from trafficking, but he survived by beating me and stealing the meager wages I earned from washing clothes. Recently, he finalized a deal to sell me to a local brothel for a high price. He died of alcohol poisoning while celebrating the transaction."
Yinzhi's gaze shifted from anger to cautious analysis.
"The brothel's enforcers are local thugs with deep political backing," Yanyan continued, establishing the threat. "Once the imperial fleet leaves Jiangning, they will claim me as their property. My only chance at survival was to find a shield heavier than their backing. Nobody is more powerful than the royal family. Yes, I harbored ambitions for wealth and safety. I used the mourning as bait because I was desperate. If you cannot forgive this calculation, please kill me now. It is a cleaner death than what awaits me in the brothel."
Action & Reaction: The sheer pragmatism of her survival strategy bypassed Yinzhi's wounded ego. He recognized the brutal logic of her actions. Her deception was not an insult to his intelligence, but a desperate tactical maneuver.
"Step down. Wait in the side quarters," Yinzhi commanded.
---
The Silent Empire
Sitting by a stream in the servant quarters, Yanyan stared at her reflection. She had survived the immediate crisis.
Her tragic backstory was entirely factual, which made it impervious to any official investigation. However, her true motive remained deeply buried.
Internal Monologue (Yanyan): The Eldest Prince is a secondary target. The Crown Prince was the primary objective, but his intellect proved too sharp. No matter. The mission continues.
She remembered the man in the shadows—her true master. The man who had saved her from starvation with a single roasted sweet potato when the world had abandoned her. She was a planted asset. Her function was to infiltrate the royal inner circle and wait. Whether it took five years, ten years, or thirty, she would remain dormant until her master required her to strike.
She had infinite patience.
---
Political Recalibration
Yinzhi immediately sought an audience with Emperor Kangxi.
"Imperial Father, I have decided to keep the woman," Yinzhi stated firmly.
Kangxi raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"
"I will not grant her status or favor," Yinzhi explained, laying out his rationale. "I am keeping her as a living mirror. She will serve as a daily, physical reminder of my own blindness and the deceptive nature of others. She is a permanent warning to never let misplaced pity cloud my judgment again. Furthermore, I have ordered the Jiangning Prefect to conduct a thorough background check to verify her claims of abuse and human trafficking."
Kangxi's eyes gleamed with genuine approval. Yinzhi had transformed a humiliating public defeat into a demonstration of ruthless self-improvement.
"Excellent," Kangxi nodded, pleased with the intellectual growth. "Your brother Yinreng learned to read people by walking the streets. Next year, you will be assigned to the Ministry of Justice. You will learn to extract the truth from the shadows."
Yinzhi's heart pounded with triumph. The Ministry of Justice was a core pillar of state power. "I will not disappoint you, Imperial Father!"
Later, Yinzhi met privately with Minister Mingzhu, his maternal uncle and primary political strategist.
"I spoke to the Emperor exactly as you advised, Uncle," Yinzhi said. He had originally wanted to execute Yanyan out of sheer embarrassment, but Mingzhu had counseled him to frame the failure as a philosophical lesson to win Kangxi's respect.
Mingzhu smiled deeply, satisfied with the execution of his plan. "Congratulations on the Ministry of Justice assignment, Eldest Prince."
Yinzhi bowed slightly, acknowledging the older man's political mastery. "I rely on your continued guidance."
Internal Monologue (Yinzhi): Yinreng has the backing of Minister Songotu. But I have Mingzhu. The political board is finally balanced.