Langhua: The Codependence of a Prince and His General

Clues

"Hey!" Hua Yuheng hissed. "We told you not to put it that way!"

"It's the truth, isn't it?" Lin Xiangyang was unfazed. "Of course, we don't want you to misunderstand anything, Your Highness. I say that Scarlet Pavilion is one of our assets, but to be more precise, our relationship with them is. They are very much still mistresses of their own fate, with Madam Hong running quite a tight ship in there. If I'm not mistaken, Miss Lanying is showing as much promise in management as she is in the arts of seduction as well. You might find yourself dealing with them more often from now on, and to that, my only advice to you is to watch your cup at all times."

"As if I'd ever let him go alone," Hua Yuheng muttered under his breath.

"But how?" Xuanyuan Lang held his head. He could see the benefits of having the capital's number one brothel as an ally, but he still did not understand how or why Scarlet Pavilion would agree. "Is that why you keep going there? Did you win them over?"

"Oh, I wish! You overestimate me." Lin Xiangyang chuckled, hiding his face behind his fan. "No, the relationship goes back a little further. It seems Master has some history with Scarlet Pavilion and Madam Hong. I'm merely following up and keeping the connection strong."

Now that he mentioned it, Xuanyuan Lang remembered what Ah Heng had told him about Lord Lin's past. There was a time, after he reached the capital and before he met the Prime Minister, that he might have crossed paths with Madam Hong and Scarlet Pavilion. If he wanted to know more, though, he would probably have to ask Lord Lin himself.

He could save that for another day. Right now, he had more pressing concerns.

"Then, Ah Heng, you and Yan'er..."

Hua Yuheng made a face, but there was a twinkle in his eyes. "Don't tell anyone, but I'm wondering if I could steal her from Madam Hong. She has potential, and it's time we... I mean, I built up some forces of my own. She would make a fine guard, or even a spy."

"You didn't have to go with her, though," Xuanyuan Lang said before he could stop himself. "There must be plenty of other candidates out there just as suitable."

"Hmm, I am keeping an eye out." Hua Yuheng looked thoughtful. "But even if I can't get her completely on our side, it wouldn't hurt to have more friends at Scarlet Pavilion. You saw it, Madam Hong seems to have high hopes for her too. No matter how we look at it, she'll be a good ally to have."

"I never knew my adorable junior brother could be so cruel and heartless. To go so far as to use a maiden's heart!" Lin Xiangyang sighed exaggeratedly. "Should I be sad or pleased? You're growing up so fast..."

"What do you mean? Unlike you, I make no pretenses. She knows what I want from her."

"...but not fast enough, evidently." Lin Xiangyang chuckled and turned to Xuanyuan Lang. "Are you happy now, Your Highness? No one's going to steal your best friend from you."

All the blood rushed to Xuanyuan Lang's face. When Hua Yuheng looked at him in confusion, he had to resist the urge to run and hide.

"What is he talking about, Qilang? Were you—"

"Please! Let's not... talk about that right now." Xuanyuan Lang was feeling more mortified by the second—but at the same time, he could not deny the relief that came with his guilt. Now that he had cleared that up, he could finally focus on everything else. And there was a lot. "So that's why Yan'er explained so much to us. I could not comprehend why she would willingly part with so much information that should rightfully be kept secret."

"Well, our relationship isn't sustained on good faith alone, of course," Lin Xiangyang piped in. He never fully lost his flippant air—that seemed to be engraved into his very bones—but Xuanyuan Lang was starting to see how reliable he could be when the situation called for it. As expected of Lord Lin's first student and Ah Heng's senior brother. "A brothel like Scarlet Pavilion attracts a lot of attention, and naturally that comes with its share of trouble. Without a powerful ally in the court and among the nobles, it would be too easy for them to find themselves in a catastrophic crisis.

"Before Master rose to power, they had to rely on an uneasy balance of surface-level relationships with many officials and nobles. It's much easier now that they have one large mountain to lean against as opposed to many small and sharp crags."

"And Prime Minister Wang is aware of all this?"

"He closes one eye to it." Lin Xiangyang shrugged. "If we're found out, he won't help us. So let's keep this between us, shall we?"

"Right." Xuanyuan Lang organized everything that he knew so far. "But if we had eyes in Scarlet Pavilion this whole time, wouldn't you know what my First Brother—what Xuanyuan Chen was doing there?"

This time, there was a brief pause before Lin Xiangyang said, "I admit, I was keeping an eye on him while he was frequenting the place. But the fact remains that he has ceased to become a dependable ally in the battle for succession. That is no lie."

"I didn't know until you did, Qilang." Hua Yuheng was quick to hold his hands up and protest his innocence. "And I promise, we didn't know Xuanyuan Yao would be there either. Right?"

He turned to Lin Xiangyang for confirmation. The latter pursed his lips. "Yes, this is somewhat beyond our expectations. We may be allies, but we're not too beholden to each other. In other words, Scarlet Pavilion has plenty of leeway to act of their own accord without reporting everything to us... but this time, they might have gone too far.

"I must have a firm discussion with Madam Hong and Miss Lanying after this. Drugging an imperial prince is no joke. I'm surprised they had the guts to go with it."

"Unless..."

The dots connected in Xuanyuan Lang's head.

"...They were doing it on the orders of another prince."