Prince Bei Jing of the Red Chamber, starting from saving Qin Keqing

Shui Rong finalized all matters concerning the mansion, the arrangements of the secret agents, and the preparations for the trip south after the New Year.

He was sitting at his desk in his study, stroking the black iron token, pondering how to deal with the envoy from Jiaozhi.

Suddenly, a servant's hurried announcement came from outside the door, mixed with Qin Zhong's slightly flustered footsteps.

"Your Highness, Qin Zhong requests an audience!"

"Come in."

Shui Rong raised her voice, and before she could finish speaking, Qin Zhong rushed in in a panic, immediately kneeling down with a "plop" as he entered:

"Your Highness, His Highness the Prince of Qin and His Highness the Prince of Zhao have arrived to pay their respects and are currently waiting in the main hall!"

A hint of surprise flashed in Shui Rong's eyes, but she quickly concealed it. She raised her hand to smooth the wrinkles in her robes and said calmly, "I understand. Get up and come with me."

He had not expected that these two princes would suddenly come to his door when the year was drawing to a close and various forces were stirring up trouble.

Upon arriving at the main hall, exclamations of surprise could be heard from inside, coming from Prince Zhu Changjun of Qin.

Zhu Changjun was seen huddled around the table, fiddling with water-soluble contraptions.

Prince Zhao, Zhu Changming, stood to the side, seemingly casually surveying the furnishings in the hall, but his gaze subtly swept around, his expression calm, quite unlike the boisterous Prince Qin.

Shui Rong coughed lightly, breaking the noise in the room, and bowed in greeting:

"Your subject pays respects to Your Highness the King of Qin and Your Highness the King of Zhao."

Upon hearing the voice, Zhu Changjun and Zhu Changming turned around, quickly abandoning their casual demeanor, bowed in return, and said in a respectful yet familiar tone, "Greetings, Uncle Wang."

Shui Rong straightened up, a playful smile playing on her lips, and slowly walked to the head seat and sat down.

"You two lads, usually so busy serving your father, what brings you here today to be guests at my Prince Bei Jing's residence?"

Zhu Changjun, with his straightforward nature, quickly stepped forward and joked with a smile:

"Uncle, you're being too polite! Why is His Highness the Crown Prince allowed to visit you so often, but my brother and I can't? Does Uncle favor the Crown Prince?"

Shui Rong quickly waved his hand, feigning helplessness and begging for mercy:

"Your Highness, please don't flatter me. I can't bear the word 'favoritism.' Qin Zhong, quickly serve tea to both princes."

"No, no, no!"

Zhu Changjun shook his head repeatedly, his eyes shining as he stared at Shui Rong, his tone tinged with urgency.

"Uncle, please excuse the tea. I've heard that your household treasures a special kind of peach blossom wine. I wonder if my brother and I could have the honor of tasting it?"

Shui Rong laughed heartily and tapped Zhu Changjun's shoulder with his fingertip:

"So you were just craving my wine! What, has your brother restricted your drinking?"

Zhu Changjun blushed and scratched his head somewhat embarrassedly:

"Father hasn't explicitly imposed restrictions, but the imperial wine in the palace is bland and tasteless. It's nothing like the fragrant and mellow apricot blossom wine I drank at my uncle's place last time. I still remember that taste!"

Shui Rong's smile deepened, and she turned to Qin Zhong, instructing, "Go to the wine cellar and fetch that jar of ten-year-old peach blossom wine."

He was well aware of the temperaments of the two princes—the King of Qin was a heavy drinker, while the King of Zhao was easygoing and not very picky.

Qin Zhong acknowledged and withdrew, and the main hall fell silent for a moment.

Zhu Changjun touched the tip of his nose, breaking the silence first, his tone tinged with a hint of probing:

"Uncle, I heard that you are going south to Jiangzhe to investigate a case after the New Year? What will happen to the affairs in the capital if you go?"

Upon hearing this, Shui Rong slowly rose and walked to the window, gazing at the scattered snowflakes falling outside, her tone indifferent:

"Things will straighten themselves when they reach the bridge; a new village will appear after the darkest hour."

"I am not omnipotent, how can I foresee everything? In the future, I will need the two princes to take care of things in the capital and give the Prince of Beijing's mansion some face."

"Uncle Wang is right."

Zhu Changjun's smile faded slightly, and his tone carried a hint of displeasure. "Uncle, I'll be frank! The set of betrothal gifts you gave to the Crown Prince earlier is something that I and the Prince of Zhao are extremely envious of!"

"The three of us grew up together, how can you favor the Crown Prince alone?"

Shui Rong picked up the cold tea on the table, took a sip, and smiled evasively:

"Your Highness Changjun, please forgive me this time. How can I, a mere idle prince, meddle in the power struggles between you princes?"

"I don't have any real power; I'm just living off this palace."

As soon as he finished speaking, Qin Zhong strode in carrying an antique wine jar with a red paper seal that read "Peach Blossom Drunk" on it.

Shui Rong stood up, took the wine jar, and personally tore open the seal. A rich and mellow peach blossom fragrance instantly wafted out of the jar, sweet and fragrant with wine, filling the entire main hall.

Zhu Changjun's eyes lit up instantly, his Adam's apple bobbed involuntarily, and the craving for alcohol in his stomach was intensely aroused.

Shui Rong picked up three celadon wine cups and personally poured wine for the three of them. The wine was clear and transparent, with a faint pinkish hue, and the aroma was becoming increasingly rich.

"Your Highness,"

Shui Rong pushed the wine glass towards Zhu Changjun, his tone softening, "Today, you and I, uncle and nephew, will drink together, talking only of romance and not of those unhappy conflicts, is that acceptable?"

Zhu Changjun could no longer contain himself and reached out to take the wine glass, his eagerness almost overflowing.

But at this moment, Prince Zhao, Zhu Changming, who had been silent and seemingly invisible, suddenly spoke.

His voice was deep and calm, yet it carried an undeniable power:

"Uncle, I know you have always favored His Highness the Crown Prince."

"But at the last family banquet, His Highness the Crown Prince seemed to have some inappropriate feelings for your fiancée, Miss Lin. Uncle, surely you noticed?"

Before he could finish speaking, Zhu Changming suddenly stood up and snatched the wine glass from Zhu Changjun's hand.

Turning to look at Shui Rong, his gaze was sharp as an eagle's, completely devoid of his former docile obedience, his eyes surging with long-suppressed calculation and scrutiny.

"Uncle, Your Majesty and I have come to your door today not just for drinking."

Zhu Changming approached Shui Rong step by step, his tone steady, each word clear and forceful: "The three of us grew up together, and I know Uncle Wang's temperament all too well."

"You would never have been so patient with these empty words in the past—if it were before, you would have either kicked us out or told us to shut up."

He paused for a moment, his gaze fixed on Shui Rong's face, not missing a single change in his expression:

"But everything changed after you woke up from your coma two years ago."

"You used to be indifferent to power and indifferent to the affairs of the court, but ever since you took over the Liaodong mission from your father, your mind has no longer been so pure."

"His Highness the Crown Prince may not have realized it, but I see it clearly—Uncle, what you want has never been just the title of Prince."

Zhu Changming's words exploded like thunder in the main hall, each word piercing the heart and precisely exposing Shui Rong's long-standing pretense.

Upon hearing this, Shui Rong's smile froze abruptly, her steps instinctively halting, and a flash of astonishment crossed her eyes.

He was stunned for a moment—he never expected that the one who would break the deadlock would be the usually taciturn Prince Zhao, Zhu Changming, who followed the King of Qin like a "little shadow".

This prince, who usually seemed harmless and indifferent to everything...

They had been secretly observing him all along, and even saw through his transformation after he fell into a coma and his hidden ambitions.

This realization sent shockwaves through Shui Rong's heart.

He had been focusing on the Crown Prince's domineering nature and the King of Qin's fondness for wine and his carefree lifestyle, but he had overlooked the most inconspicuous King of Zhao—who turned out to be the one who was the most cunning and calculating.

Just as Shui Rong was stunned for a moment, Zhu Changjun scratched his head inappropriately and spoke blankly:

"Brother, what are you saying? Uncle Wang hasn't changed. Doesn't he still love us just as much as before?"

Zhu Changming glared at his elder brother with disappointment, his anger dissipating, and he subconsciously took a step back.

But as soon as he took a step back, his wrist was gripped by a warm and strong hand—Shui Rong had already regained his senses.

The blankness on his face had long since faded, replaced by a deep calm, and his eyes gleamed with a mixture of amusement and sharpness.

He didn't look at Zhu Changming, but simply took the wine glass from his hand and turned to hand it to the bewildered Zhu Changjun.

His tone was relaxed, as if the thrilling test had never happened: "Chang Jun, don't just stand there, try my peach blossom wine, it's even more flavorful than the apricot blossom wine last time."

Zhu Changjun was already captivated by the aroma of the wine. He took the glass and drank it all in one gulp. The wine was sweet and mellow as it went down his throat, and a warm feeling instantly spread throughout his body.

He sighed comfortably, completely unaware of the tense atmosphere simmering beneath the surface of the main hall.

Shui Rong then turned to look at Zhu Changming, slowly leaning closer to him, her warm breath brushing against his ear.

His voice was extremely low, carrying a hint of mockery, yet also a hidden warning:

"I always thought you were just a little tagalong following your brother around, but I never imagined you were the one who hid the deepest secret between the two brothers. Interesting."

He paused, his fingertips lightly stroking Zhu Changming's wrist, his tone suddenly turning cold, carrying the unique imposing aura of a prince:

"This is the Prince of Bei Jing's residence, my territory. Your bluntness exposes my true intentions; aren't you afraid I'll take action against you?"

Zhu Changming, however, showed no fear. Instead, he raised his eyes to meet Shui Rong's gaze, his eyes revealing not a trace of panic, but only calm certainty:

"No matter how Uncle Wang changes, he would never do anything to kill me. This doesn't align with your calculations."

"Ha ha ha ha!"

Shui Rong laughed loudly, released his grip on Zhu Changming's wrist, took a step back, and the sharpness in his eyes faded, replaced by a gentle smile.

"Chang Ming, you see things very clearly. Enough, stop testing me."

He picked up his wine glass, took a sip of peach blossom wine, and spoke with a somewhat ambiguous and perfunctory tone, yet with a hidden shrewdness:

"I am merely seeking self-preservation within this court. As for your so-called 'impure' intentions, that is nothing but your conjecture."

Inside the main hall, the fragrance of peach blossoms mingled with the aroma of wine. Zhu Changjun was so engrossed in sipping his wine that he was completely unaware of the subtle exchange between the two people beside him.

Zhu Changming looked at Shui Rong's profile, a hint of resentment flashing in his eyes, but he also knew that he had already tested the key today—Shui Rong had indeed changed, and his ambition was far greater than he had imagined.

Shui Rong, holding his wine cup, appeared to be calmly sipping his wine, but in his heart, he had already added this patient and reserved King Zhao to the list of those he needed to be most wary of.

This unexpected visit, seemingly a prince coming to reminisce, was in fact a test and contest without bloodshed, and the main hall of the Prince of Beijing's residence was the first battlefield of this contest.