xymnovel Chapter 25 Successful Disruption
Chapter 25 Successful Disruption
The Ninth Prince and Yin'e both looked at him at the same time.
"The matter of the Crown Prince borrowing money," Yinzhi (the Eighth Prince) said in a low voice, "has already spread throughout the court."
Old Nine's eyebrows shot up, and he instinctively sat up straight: "What? It's spread? How did it spread?"
Yinzhi (Eighth Prince) shook his head, his expression somewhat solemn: "I don't know, I just heard about it myself."
The news spread quickly; overnight, the entire court knew. Even…
He paused, then lowered his voice even further.
"It even reached the ears of the Emperor."
Old Nine's expression changed.
"What is Father Emperor's attitude?" he pressed.
"He hasn't made a statement yet," said Yinzhi (the Eighth Prince). "At least not yet."
But when such things reached the ears of the Emperor, he could not remain indifferent.
Even if he doesn't say anything on the surface, he will definitely have opinions about the Crown Prince in his heart.
Old Nine remained silent for a moment, his brows furrowing into a knot.
"Myna," he suddenly looked up, "how did you find out about this?"
Yinzhi (the Eighth Prince) was slightly taken aback: "What do you mean?"
"What I mean is that this information was sent by an informant I planted in Yuqing Palace at great expense. It was very secretive, and in theory, only I should know about it."
I only mentioned it to you briefly in the study that day, how did you know the news had already reached the court?
Yinzhi (the Eighth Prince) understood his meaning, and his brows furrowed.
"It didn't originate from me." He said with certainty, "I had people investigate, and the news first came from a few teahouses and taverns in the south of the city."
A few storytellers mentioned it briefly on stage, and then, as if it had grown wings, the whole capital knew about it.
When I investigated further, it was described as "rumor," and there was no way to trace it back to; I couldn't even find out who first said it.
Old Nine's face turned even uglier.
"That's strange," he said in a low voice. "I didn't even tell my closest servants in the manor about this, so how did it get to the teahouses and taverns?"
Yinzhi (the Eighth Prince) was silent for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Are you sure your informant is reliable?"
"Reliable," Lao Jiu said without hesitation. "He's been with me for three years and has never made a mistake."
Moreover, he was unaware of the importance of the information he had gathered; he only knew that I was inquiring about the movements at Yuqing Palace, but he didn't know exactly what I was supposed to do.
The two exchanged a glance, both seeing a hint of unease in each other's eyes.
"Where did the problem lie?" Old Ninth muttered to himself. "Could it be... a traitor within the manor?"
"That day in the study, it was just the two of us. There was no one else around. When we were talking, the doors and windows were closed, so no one outside could hear us."
The Ninth Prince nodded, then suddenly turned to look at Yin'e, who was sitting to the side.
Yinzhi (the Eighth Prince) also looked over.
Their gazes fell on Yin'e at the same time.
Yin'e was drinking tea when he was stared at by these two eyes, and he almost dropped his teacup.
He looked up, glancing blankly at the Ninth Brother and then at the Eighth Brother.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" He put down his teacup, a look of grievance on his face. "I had no idea about this at all, and none of you told me."
His voice carried a hint of resentment, as if to say, "You don't treat me like one of your own."
It's like a junior member excluded from the inner circle, expressing dissatisfaction to the senior members.
"Eighth Brother, Ninth Brother, if you have any secrets you don't want me to know, I'll accept it."
But you can't suspect me of spreading this.
"I don't even know about this, how can I pass it on?"
Yinzhi (the Eighth Prince) and the Ninth Prince exchanged a glance.
Old Nine's expression softened first.
He sighed and reached out to pat Yin'e on the shoulder: "Tenth Brother, it's not that we doubt you. We just... don't overthink it."
Yinzhi (Eighth Prince) nodded, his tone softening slightly: "Tenth Brother, don't take it to heart."
This is indeed strange; we can't figure it out either.
The two of them chatted back and forth, coaxing Yin'e for quite a while.
Yin'e then "reluctantly" raised his head, forced a smile, and said, "It's okay, I'm not angry."
Then he picked up his teacup, took a sip, lowered his head, and pretended to be still processing his emotions.
But in his heart, he was secretly rejoicing.
Fortunately, when he had Yin De spread the news, he did so through teahouses and taverns, taking a roundabout route that made it impossible to trace the source.
Moreover, he deliberately avoided using his own people, instead employing unemployed individuals from outside the household, paying in cash, and leaving no written receipts or incriminating evidence.
Even if the eighth and ninth brothers investigated thoroughly, they still wouldn't be able to trace it back to him.
That's the end of it.
"Forget it," Lao Jiu waved his hand, bringing the topic back, "Since we can't find out, let's not think about it anymore."
"Myna, what do we do next? The news has already spread; we need to come up with a plan."
Yinzhi (the Eighth Prince) picked up his teacup, gently blew away the foam, took a sip, and said slowly.
"My original idea was to wait until the ministers couldn't hold back any longer and started to actually repay the money before bringing this up."
This would have been a fatal blow to the Crown Prince and the Fourth Prince, but if it gets out now, the effect will be far less significant.
"Since things have already come to this, let's not get involved for now."
Old Nine frowned: "Not getting involved?"
"Yes." Yinzhi (Eighth Prince) put down his teacup. "The news of the Crown Prince borrowing money has spread, and everyone knows that we are at odds with the Crown Prince."
Even if we didn't do it, the Crown Prince is probably already starting to suspect us.
At this point, the more we try to explain, the more obvious it will seem like we're trying to cover something up.
"It's better to do nothing and let them guess."
The Ninth Prince thought for a moment and nodded: "That makes sense. What about the Crown Prince... should we send someone to keep an eye on him?"
"We need to keep an eye on them, but not too obviously," said Yinzhi (the Eighth Prince). "Tell our people to keep a low profile and not give themselves away."
The Crown Prince will definitely try to put out the fire, and the Fourth Prince will also help him.
Let's see how they mess things up, and then decide on our next step after they've finished."
Yin'e listened silently, nodding occasionally as if he were listening attentively.
In his heart, he thought: "Old Eight is indeed Old Eight; he can keep his composure and stay calm."
Although the news was leaked in advance, disrupting his plans, he did not panic. Instead, he quickly adjusted his strategy, remaining calm and composed in the face of change.
This kind of person is indeed a formidable opponent.
The ninth brother asked again, "When will the fourteenth brother be back?"
"Soon. He just sent a letter saying that things in Huguang are almost done, and he should be able to return to Beijing in ten to fifteen days at most."
"Then let's have a good get-together when he comes back," Lao Jiu said, his tone filled with anticipation. "It's been so long."