Daqing Reborn Prince, Intercepting Si Lili at the Beginning

Chapter 38: Emperor Qing: This Li Chengyuan has a streak of cunning!

Qing Kingdom’s Imperial Palace, in the emperor’s sleeping quarters.

Eunuch Hou entered with his usual quick, small steps.

“Your Majesty, we’ve just received a secret report from the Jiansha Institute about the Junwang’s residence!”

On the couch, Emperor Qing was leisurely lying on his side, engrossed in reading Li Chengyuan’s Journey to the West. Next to him was a pirated version of Dream of the Red Chamber.

The Red Chamber book looked nearly new, clearly not having been read much. From this, it was evident that Emperor Qing preferred the rambunctiousness of Journey to the West over the romantic entanglements in Dream of the Red Chamber.

Upon hearing Eunuch Hou’s report, Emperor Qing finally glanced up and asked, “What’s Li Chengyuan up to now?”

“Your Majesty, the Junwang has dismissed all the managers, maidservants, and servants in his residence.”

“What?” Emperor Qing was stunned. “Dismissed them all? Didn’t leave a single one?”

“Not entirely!” Eunuch Hou quickly responded, “His Highness kept the ones closest to him, Qingniao, Sangwen, and that Jian Jiuhuang fellow. The rest were dismissed without exception.”

“Jian Jiuhuang…” Emperor Qing thought for a moment and asked, “Did the Jiansha Institute investigate him?”

Ever since Qingniao had revealed her strength as a ninth-grade martial artist, Emperor Qing had paid extra attention to the people around Li Chengyuan.

Sangwen had already been investigated and found to be nothing more than a former courtesan with no significant background.

But this Jian Jiuhuang, Emperor Qing knew little about him.

“Your Majesty, we’ve investigated him. The Jiansha Institute found that Jian Jiuhuang doesn’t possess any true qi or special abilities. He’s just an old local ruffian with a penchant for wine and women. Years ago, he and the Junwang met, hit it off due to their similar temperaments, and became unlikely friends. After His Highness was granted the title of Junwang, Jian Jiuhuang came to seek refuge, and the Junwang allowed him to stay by his side.”

“Oh!” Emperor Qing nodded, no longer giving it much thought.

Emperor Qing had merely asked in passing, without harboring suspicions about Jian Jiuhuang.

After all, it was already extraordinary for a newly established Junwang residence to have a ninth-grade martial artist. If another one emerged so soon, Emperor Qing wouldn’t merely be surprised—it would shake him to his core.

“Why did Li Chengyuan dismiss all his servants?”

“They were allegedly dismissed for being lazy, the cooks for making bad food, and the maids for being incompetent.”

“…”

Emperor Qing was speechless for a moment. After thinking it over, he asked again, “So what’s to become of the Junwang residence now that everyone’s gone?”

“Your Majesty, His Highness has posted a notice on the streets, recruiting new staff.”

“Recruiting publicly?” Emperor Qing was momentarily taken aback and then muttered in disbelief, “This little rascal, even after being named the top scholar, hasn’t matured much!”

Emperor Qing had assumed that this farce would end there, so he didn’t pay much attention to it.

After all, replacing servants in a prince’s residence was a trivial matter. If it weren’t for Li Chengyuan’s recent notoriety, Eunuch Hou wouldn’t even have bothered reporting it.

However, less than two hours later, Eunuch Hou returned with more news.

This time, the news left Emperor Qing completely astonished!

“What did you say? None of the Jiansha Institute’s spies managed to infiltrate?”

“Not just the Jiansha Institute, Your Majesty. Even our people from the palace didn’t make it through.”

Emperor Qing sat up, his expression filled with surprise. “How did he manage that?”

Eunuch Hou could only shake his head. “Your Majesty, this old servant doesn’t know either! This time, His Highness used a very strange recruitment method. There was no on-site hiring process. Instead, he had all the applicants register at the front gate of the residence, where they wrote down their names, addresses, and skills. Then, without even testing their abilities, they were sent away. The agents assumed the Junwang would evaluate them at a later time.

“But strangely enough, only an hour later, Jian Jiuhuang came out with a list, personally visiting each applicant’s home to inform them whether they had been hired. And none of our people made it onto that list.”

Emperor Qing’s expression was a mix of surprise and amusement.

After a long pause, he sighed, “Li Chengyuan does have a bit of cunning about him!”

“What should we do now, Your Majesty?” Eunuch Hou asked.

Emperor Qing shot him a cold glance and said sharply, “Do I need to teach you how to handle this?”

Eunuch Hou trembled and hurriedly replied, “This old servant understands. I’ll take care of it immediately!”

“Wait!” Emperor Qing suddenly called out, “Tell Li Chengyuan to attend the court session tomorrow morning.”

“Yes, Your Majesty!” Eunuch Hou responded and finally left.

After his departure, Emperor Qing closed his eyes in contemplation for a while before returning to his book.

Evening, Li Junwang’s residence.

The Junwang’s residence was unusually lively tonight.

Although there had always been many people in the residence, Li Chengyuan’s lack of trust had made the servants so fearful that they didn’t even dare speak loudly.

Now, however, with only “his people” in the residence, Li Chengyuan’s smile was more frequent, and the atmosphere had become more festive.

Thanks to the system’s rewards, he had a complete staff for every task. After entering the residence, they quickly adjusted to their roles, and there were no major issues despite the sudden personnel change.

Of course, some initial mistakes were inevitable due to the lack of proper handover, but Li Chengyuan had already instructed everyone that it was fine to be a little disorganized at the start and that things would get better over time.

Altogether, there were eighty-four people in the Junwang residence, not counting Li Chengyuan. Among them, eighty-one were the maids and servants from Wutong Garden, whom he had recruited exactly according to the system’s provided list and information.

With the internal restructuring complete, Li Chengyuan proceeded with the appointments for various positions within the residence.

The head steward was appointed to be Hongshu. Sangwen, Qingniao, Lüyi, and Huanggua were assigned as supervisors, each responsible for a different area of the household.

Old Huang was given the title of advisor, though he held no real power, but no one dared to disrespect him.

As for the remaining staff, Li Chengyuan handed over the appointments to Hongshu and the others for them to manage.

There were some official posts in the Junwang residence, such as registrar and ceremonial officer.

Emperor Qing had assigned these individuals when Li Chengyuan was first granted his title.

However, these officials didn’t live in the main residence but in a side courtyard nearby, along with the residence’s guards.

These people were all court officials, meaning Li Chengyuan had no authority to remove or appoint them without permission from Emperor Qing.

Thus, he chose to simply leave them alone.

After all, he wasn’t responsible for their upkeep. They wouldn’t come to the residence without orders, and their presence made no difference to Li Chengyuan as long as there were no spies in the main household.

After the residence was reorganized, Li Chengyuan felt much more comfortable living there.

Before, it had been a residence in name only, but now it finally felt like a home.

In the study located in the back courtyard, Li Chengyuan was leisurely continuing his work on Journey to the West.

As before, Qingniao and Sangwen were accompanying him, copying the manuscript.

Initially, Li Chengyuan hadn’t intended to finish writing the entire book by himself.

However, since he had already completed one volume, he figured he might as well finish the rest.

By writing the entire book in the meticulously elegant Shoujin script, he thought that, in the future, this could become a national treasure.

After all, he had nothing else to do, so why not treat it as a way to cultivate his mind and spirit?

As Li Chengyuan was enthusiastically copying the manuscript, the newly hired maid Huanggua walked in with a tray of pastries.

Footnotes:

1. 1. 1. 1. Qingniao (青鸟) – Lit. “Blue Bird,” a traditional name symbolizing messengers or protectors in Chinese culture.

1. 1. 1. 1. Jian Jiuhuang (剑九黄) – A unique name combining “Jian” (sword) and “Jiuhuang” (Nine Yellows), which might hint at a powerful or mysterious background.