Cooperation, the Regent Prince Abuses Public Power for Private Ends

"Father King, Father King... Ray is so scared, come save Ray. Ray hurts, it hurts so much..."

Little Dumpling's desperate cries reached Prince Derrek's ears. Tears streamed down the prince's face as waves of guilt, helplessness, and hatred flooded his heart. Unable to control himself, Prince Derrek sobbed, "Ray, Father King has failed you."

At this moment, Prince Derrek no longer cared about Little Dumpling's wishes. He stepped forward and took Ray from Serena's arms, holding him tightly as if he wanted to fuse the boy into his very bones.

"Ray, don't cry. Father King is here, Father King has come to save you. Father King will never leave you again, never..." No one knew how much Prince Derrek regretted leaving his son alone to face such inhuman torment.

"Ray, Father King will never abandon you again, will never let you be hurt again. Never..." Prince Derrek didn't care about dignity anymore; he hugged Little Dumpling and cried openly in front of Serena.

Men rarely shed tears, unless truly heartbroken. For Prince Derrek, Little Dumpling was his very life. The Emperor using Ray to test him was like touching his reverse scale.

"Father King, Father King..." Little Dumpling cried so heartbreakingly, as if pouring out all his fear and grievances.

Serena watched the father and son sobbing in each other's arms, feeling deeply gratified. She wiped her own tears and quietly slipped out, leaving the space to them.

Little Dumpling willing to step out of his closed-off world was a wonderful thing. What Serena hadn't expected was that it would take such a moment for him to forgive his father.

Now that Little Dumpling could be close to his father, with Prince Derrek's tendency to dote on his son, he surely wouldn't let Ray cling to Serena anymore. The day Little Dumpling no longer needed her would be the day she and Feng Jin left Prince Duan's Manor.

Serena lifted her head and gazed at the bright sky, sighing softly. Without Prince Derrek shielding her, she would have to face the Emperor and Princess Royal directly.

Still, she had no regrets. Compared to Little Dumpling's illness, her own troubles were nothing. Her identity was already public—Westlyn's Emperor wouldn't dare take her life.

...

"Westlyn's National Preceptor actually suspects Serena." Prince Nolan didn't know much about the Westlyn National Preceptor.

The Westlyn royal family kept this man deeply hidden; even Crown Prince Titus had only seen him once as a child. Prince Nolan knew of his existence but not his true origins.

Of course, this also meant he had little fame in Westlyn—at least among the common people, few knew of him.

"Maybe it's time to go to Westlyn." Prince Nolan understood that the people of Westlyn were extremely wary of Serena. Even if she went purely to save Feng Jin, the Emperor would assume she had ulterior motives.

Navigating among Westlyn's major power players was anything but easy for Serena.

"No way, you can't leave the Capital right now." Vincent Su immediately jumped up. "Prince Nolan, Chu City is mobilizing troops—an attack could happen any day. If my prediction is right, after the autumn harvest, Northlyn and Chu City will send out their armies."

The reason for waiting until the autumn harvest is that Northlyn's attack on Eastlyn is all about securing grain. Prince Jason persuaded Northlyn to help him by promising them not just territory, but a season's worth of grain.

No one acts without gain. Why would Northlyn and Chu City attack together if there was nothing in it for them—just to help Prince Jason pin down Eastlyn's army? For Prince Jason, offering these benefits to Northlyn costs him little; if he can trade a few cities for the imperial throne, he'd gladly do it.

"There are still two months—plenty of time for me to make a round trip." Prince Nolan was determined to go. Vincent Su was nearly in tears, protesting, "Prince Nolan, Felix Fuller is in Southlyn and can't return soon. If you leave now, the Grand Heir will have the run of things. That's not good, is it?"

Other than Felix Fuller and the Grand Heir, the rest of the regent ministers were just for show. Over the past two years, Prince Nolan had gradually sidelined them, leaving them with unimportant posts like the Ministry of Rites.

"Hmm." That was a problem, but nothing that couldn't be worked out.

The next morning after court, Prince Nolan kept William Wang Jinling behind and was blunt about his intentions: "Westlyn may be poor, but there's still profit to be made. I intend to go to Westlyn and negotiate with the Emperor to open joint border markets so our goods can circulate freely."

Put simply, I'm using official business as an excuse to handle private matters in Westlyn. You'll have to hold down the fort alone for now, but I promise you won't suffer for it.

"This move benefits the country and the people. I support it," William Wang Jinling replied, pretending not to notice Prince Nolan's real motives. He then discussed the trade policy in detail.

Opening markets so goods can flow between the two countries is good for everyone, even the commoners. But it also brings risks—enemy spies will find it much easier to slip in.

Eastlyn has spent years rooting out enemy agents. Opening border markets would give them another way in. Of course, it would also make it easier for Eastlyn to plant its own spies.

Everything has pros and cons. Prince Nolan had considered all this; though he used it as a pretext to help Serena in Westlyn, he genuinely wanted to make it happen.

Merchants may have low status, but Prince Nolan understood that for a nation and its people to prosper, commerce had to flourish. If all four kingdoms traded actively, Eastlyn's treasury would overflow.

And in the future, if the four kingdoms were unified, this foundation would reduce friction among the people, making governance much easier.

After discussing with William Wang Jinling, Prince Nolan refined the details, making the entire plan highly feasible.

"Lord Fuller will handle Southlyn's side. This policy benefits the country and the people—I believe Southlyn's Emperor will agree. As for Northlyn... Lord Yu Wen is the perfect choice. He's dealt with Northlyn for years, and his name carries great weight there. With him negotiating, things will go smoothly." William Wang Jinling wisely didn't mention Northlyn's troop buildup or their plans to join Prince Jason in attacking Eastlyn.

Between nations, there's never true cooperation or absolute enemies. As long as there's profit, they'll cooperate; as soon as interests shift, allies can turn on each other in an instant.

As long as Northlyn isn't foolish, they'll agree to open border markets with Eastlyn, trading their specialties for Eastlyn's grain. If war breaks out later, the markets can simply be shut down.

"Agreed." Prince Nolan had no objections to William Wang Jinling's proposals, except for one: "You'll be fully in charge of this. As for Westlyn, I'll handle those talks myself."

"No, no, no..." William Wang Jinling had anticipated this and shook his head, refusing with a smile despite Prince Nolan's dark expression. "Regent Prince, this isn't appropriate. I urge you to reconsider."

Trying to use public business for private gain?

Hmph... This time, he refused to cooperate!