The Empror's Trap-Chapter 54: Ch - The Troops Return to the City

Kenji had expected the Fifth Prince would come looking for him.

The position of Imperial Family Court Director was different from ordinary posts - it carried maximum intimidation power internally but almost no authority externally. As a royal family member, Fifth Prince Yunis naturally counted as an insider, so of course he’d come visiting. Visiting was just a polite word for probing Kenji’s depths.

But Kenji didn’t mind.

Handle whatever comes your way - if nothing else, Kenji was quite practiced at playing along. However the other party wanted to chat, he’d chat that way; whatever topics they brought up, he’d discuss those.

Just like defending your thesis - when they say "defense," you don’t actually defend anything, just keep apologizing profusely. Pretty much the same principle here.

"It seems he’s quite interested in you, Young Master," Lina commented.

Read 𝓁at𝙚st chapters at ƒrēenovelkiss.com Only.

"He just hopes to fish for information from me, while considering whether to establish some beneficial connections."

Kenji casually pulled a thick notebook from the nearby bookshelf, its pages densely packed with writing.

This was the personal record kept by Duke Anos - the original Duke Anos.

Though the original host had immense ambition, that didn’t mean he let ambition override reason. This notebook contained detailed information on all major court officials, even including some foreign military and political figures.

In the most detailed sections, it even recorded what people liked to eat and who they’d had conflicts with - this became Kenji’s important foundation for building his political network.

While the information on Fifth Prince Yunis wasn’t completely comprehensive, it still provided many useful details.

For example, during the earlier power struggle, Fifth Prince Yunis had collaborated with several generals to organize an elite cavalry unit in Camelot wearing black armor. Though small in number, every soldier was a cultivator of some skill.

This was the prototype of today’s feared "Black Armor Cavalry."

Back then, the Fifth Prince was considered a hot favorite to become heir, controlling the Black Armor Cavalry and maintaining close relationships with several generals. However, he ultimately lost to the current Princess - Pluvia.

No one knew why he lost. After that, Yunis seemed to lose his spirit, started slacking off, accepted some generous rewards and went into seclusion.

And reviewing the Fifth Prince’s recent activities, well...

They were all pretty absurd.

First he claimed he wanted to establish education in his jurisdiction, but ended up spending a huge sum while failing to gather enough students and teachers. He finally scraped together something called a "Talent Development Manor" but had no clear training guidelines - they couldn’t even decide on basic textbooks.

Instead, they just wasted money, with some being embezzled by lower officials - Kenji knew about this because the Fifth Prince had asked Pluvia for the funds, and as Grand Marshal, he’d personally seen the bill during court meetings on adjusting national expenditures.

Then he started reclaiming wasteland everywhere - a practical undertaking in theory, but the problem was he only gave general policy direction without putting any supervisory personnel in place, leading to increasingly severe land consolidation issues.

The farmland that peasants painstakingly reclaimed mostly ended up in the hands of local landlords and gentry.

Most disgustingly, when registering the wasteland, these parasites still registered it under the peasants’ names - so after their reclaimed land was taken, the peasants still had to pay taxes on it.

This became so notorious even Pluvia heard about it and sent central officials to investigate thoroughly, completely removing the gentry who’d gone too far and re-registering land distribution. Because of this, many officials representing the gentry class submitted memorials advising Pluvia not to be too radical...

If Kenji had to evaluate him - his ideas hit the mark, but his execution was ridiculous.

So while Kenji knew the Fifth Prince was attempting to seize the throne and was even the mastermind behind the assassination attempt, he wasn’t overly concerned.

The Fifth Prince did have some brains, you could say. He was skilled at flip-flopping - when he failed to win the throne initially, rather than rage in humiliation, he promptly declared loyalty to Pluvia and took his rewards before leaving. Attempting to assassinate someone then trying to recruit them after failing - that was absolutely something he would do.

"Do you need me to accompany you when meeting him?" Lina asked.

"Yes, sit beside me to help maintain appearances."

Kenji made this decision.

He’d originally planned to have Siyue come, but considering her hermit tendencies plus social anxiety, if she met the Fifth Prince she might accidentally blurt out something outrageous...

Better to have Lina sit in - though she wasn’t great at official social interactions, her advantage was she could maintain silence.

Sometimes saying nothing was exactly the best approach.

"What’s for dinner tonight?"

"Your favorite braised chicken tonight."

"Mm, just have the kitchen bring it over when it’s ready. Join me if you want - I’m sure they’ll bring a portion for you too."

The Duke’s kitchen staff had developed the habit of preparing an extra portion for Lina. Since she was constantly by Kenji’s side, eating together was perfectly normal - well, normal only at Duke Anos’ residence.

"Alright." Lina glanced at the invitation. "The meeting place is set at Clear Heart Tower in Luminara. If you plan to keep the appointment, I’ll go prepare now."

"Good, don’t forget to prepare some gifts."

"I know."

Watching Lina leave, Kenji smiled and went back to examining the files.

.............

In Wind Palace, Pluvia was reading memorials about the disaster situation in Hexi County when Sonya Lius entered.

"Your Majesty."

"Mm, speak."

"General Balinos will reach Luminara soon. He’s sent a forward rider requesting entry to the Capital."

"Oh?"

Pluvia’s eyes lit up. She nodded and issued orders: "Open the city gates wide, send envoys to announce to all citizens to welcome the general. What about the Grand Marshal’s office? Have they been notified?"

"Not yet." Sonya scratched her head.

"Have someone notify the Grand Marshal to come welcome them too," Pluvia said.

This was the perfect opportunity for some major publicity, and also to boost the returning troops’ unity - if the Emperor came out to welcome them, the Grand Marshal as military commander naturally had to come welcome them too.