Cheating Them, Ministry of Revenue Officials Will Cry

There was no need to even think about the answer. If only their own lives were at stake, maybe someone would choose to be noble and sacrifice themselves for justice. But when it concerned the lives of their entire family—hundreds of relatives, including babies still crying for food—no matter how righteous they wanted to be, no one could abandon their kin and sacrifice their own children.

Those who rebelled were willing to betray the country for profit; it was perfectly reasonable for the wealthy prisoners in the cells to betray them in order to save their own lives.

Prince Colin reported the results of the interrogation to Serena and the Prince of Jiangnan: "We got a lot of useful information out of those people. Turns out they have a camp at Warcrest Mountain, where weapons and grain are hidden. Whether they retreat or continue attacking Jiangnan, they'll have to return there."

The rebels didn’t seize much official silver or grain. With twenty thousand men, it would be gone in less than five days. To resupply in time, they’d have to fall back to Warcrest Mountain.

"Looks like we might not only make up for our mistakes, but even earn a little merit." Serena couldn’t help but think this way—Jiangnan’s wealthy magnates had always been major grain merchants, and the grain they’d hidden away might be as much as the official supply Jiangnan owed the state.

A faint, barely-there smile appeared on the Prince of Jiangnan’s pale face: "A blessing in disguise. With this, even Ninth Royal Uncle won’t make things difficult for us."

Even though Jiangnan was his fief, it was still Eastlyn territory. With such a huge incident in Jiangnan, even if it was resolved in the end, the Prince of Jiangnan couldn’t escape blame for failing to detect it. Even if Ninth Royal Uncle let it go, the old fossils in the court would never let them off.

Seeing that their moods had improved, Prince Colin added another piece of good news: "There are a few people in the cells willing to pose as spies and infiltrate the rebel army to provide us with intelligence."

Those who made this choice had no other way out. Even if their family heads hadn’t gotten mixed up in the rebellion, their extended relatives were tangled up with the traitors. If they didn’t earn merit, even if the Prince of Jiangnan spared their lives, they’d never have an easy time in Jiangnan again.

"Choose carefully. We’d rather send our own troops to attack than let them leak our secrets." Prince Colin’s own men had turned traitor—who in Jiangnan could they still trust?

"I’ve got my eye on two of them—the main branch is in the rebellion. The collateral branches don’t want to die with them and are willing to help us infiltrate, on one condition: spare their children and leave them a little property." Even the collateral branches of Jiangnan’s wealthy families held considerable assets. Anyone making such a request was smart enough to know that, in a case of treason, even if they weren’t directly involved, they’d be doomed just the same. Rather than waiting for their whole family to die, it was better to gamble—trade their own lives for their wife and children’s survival.

Only the Prince of Jiangnan could grant such terms, so Serena and Prince Colin looked at him together. After a moment’s thought, the Prince of Jiangnan nodded: "Agreed. If they render merit and survive, I’ll let bygones be bygones. Also, did you find out who instigated the rebellion?"

Serena had previously suspected Liancastle or Ghost Hall as the masterminds, but now that’s basically ruled out. To incite rebellion among Prince Colin’s own men, the conditions offered must be far beyond anything Liancastle or Ghost Hall could promise.

Clearly, Serena hadn’t saved the galaxy in her last life, so her guess wasn’t entirely right.

Prince Colin paused, slowly closed his eyes, and said, "All signs point to Prince Jason."

As an imperial son just half a step from the throne, Prince Jason’s bid for power was understandable. What Prince Colin couldn’t accept was that Jason had colluded with foreign enemies to split Eastlyn apart.

Someone like that doesn’t deserve to be called their brother.

"Of course... who else could incite your generals?" Serena hadn’t expected Prince Jason’s reach to be so deep. "And what about those experts? From what you described, they sound like people from the jianghu."

"They’re connected to Skyvault Fortress." Ever since the old fortress lord died, Skyvault had dropped from a top-tier martial power to second-rate, slowly withdrawing from the martial world and drifting into court politics.

Skyvault Fortress might not have deep heritage, but over the years they’d built up plenty of resources and had no shortage of capable people. With a force like that, anyone would welcome them with open arms.

"These people have all banded together against a common enemy." Skyvault Fortress, Liancastle, and now Prince Jason and Northlyn are all in close alliance—good thing Ninth Royal Uncle had prepared in advance, or these people really would have driven them to death.

"Martial experts like these are the hardest to deal with. Ordinary soldiers are just sword fodder for them; if we really have to face them, the casualties will be severe." Prince Colin looked at Serena with a troubled expression...

It’s not that martial experts are invincible, or that they can move freely through tens of thousands of troops, but killing them takes hope, takes sacrifice—many people have to die to wear them down.

"That’s easy... I’ll be your broker. You name your price, and I’ll find you assassins." Serena was in full cunning-merchant mode, drumming up business for the Assassin Alliance.

Prince Colin had brought it up in front of Serena hoping to use Zuo An and his fellow disciples. But when Serena started talking about payment, his face stiffened: "We still need to pay? Aren’t we all working for Ninth Royal Uncle?"

"No, we’re working for Eastlyn. Why wouldn’t I earn the state’s silver? Even if it’s for Ninth Royal Uncle, you still have to pay—the Assassin Alliance needs to eat, too."

"The state won’t pay for this. At best, it’ll come out of my private vault." The Prince of Jiangnan knew free labor was impossible, so he played the sympathy card: "After this battle, even the landlords have run out of grain. Cut us a deal, will you?"

"No need for your private vault. Even if you pay from there, you’ll just end up getting reimbursed by the state. Here’s my offer... I want half the spoils." Serena waved grandly, brazenly blackmailing the state’s silver: "No one in the capital will know how much loot you really seize. If you’re worried about the numbers, you can just list it as an expense for hiring outside help."

"Expense?" The Prince of Jiangnan repeated the word, looking at Serena in anguish. "Those two characters have real depth. The Ministry of Revenue officials will definitely cry when they see it."

"I’m giving you a way out. If you don’t want it, fine—just pile up corpses instead. The money you save will barely cover burial expenses." Serena’s words were cold and cutting, thoroughly channeling Ninth Royal Uncle’s spirit.

The Prince of Jiangnan and Prince Colin’s faces twisted; the brothers exchanged a glance, gritted their teeth, and nodded heavily: "We’ll negotiate with Zuo An." They were afraid Serena would rip them off.

"That’s perfect. I was afraid I’d get stuck in the middle." Serena laughed cheerfully—the Assassin Alliance was hers anyway. If she wanted to fleece these two, it wouldn’t matter if they bargained with Zuo An or the seven old monsters of the Alliance; whoever they talked to, they’d still get fleeced.

Ah, Jiangnan—a place so rich that even a little leaking through the cracks could feed her tens of thousands of troops for years. Opportunities like this were rare; if she didn’t fleece the Prince of Jiangnan and Prince Colin, she’d feel she’d wasted Prince Jason’s carefully planned rebellion and all her days spent on edge in Jiangnan.