Zhu Cunji took the stairs two at a time, charging straight up to the second floor of the tavern.
He knew exactly who was drinking here. He even knew which private room they were in.
The moment he stepped inside, he didn't hesitate in the slightest—walking directly to the door, lifting his hand, and knocking lightly.
Inside, Li Daoxuan smiled faintly.
"Please, come in, Your Highness."
The door opened.
Zhu Cunji entered, his face dark and tight with irritation.
Three men sat around a square table. One side had clearly been left empty—almost as if it had been reserved for him.
Zhu Cunji dropped into the seat, poured himself a full cup of wine, threw it back in one gulp, then stared hard at the three men opposite him.
Though four people sat at the table, they actually represented three different factions.
The Prince of Qin's household.
The scholar-officials.
And Li Daoxuan alone.
Everyone present knew one thing very clearly:
the Prince of Qin's household and the scholar-official faction were sworn enemies.
Everyone knew it.
No one said it out loud.
After several heartbeats of silence, Zhu Cunji finally spoke.
"Why?"
His tone was low and tight, the sound of a man barely holding himself together.
Wu Shen frowned slightly.
"Your Highness's 'why' is rather vague. We truly don't understand what you mean."
Zhu Cunji's eyes flashed.
"Don't pretend. You know exactly what I'm asking."
Wu Shen replied calmly,
"Your household maintains private guards and controls the Eastern Guard—one of Xi'an's four garrisons. With that much manpower, surely you've already discovered the reason yourself?"
Zhu Cunji let out a cold snort.
"I did. And that's exactly why I'm furious."
His voice dropped.
"That steward… he's been with me since I was a child. An old family retainer. He watched me grow up. I treated him like an elder uncle."
Zhu Cunji clenched his fist.
"Why would he do this to me?"
For once, Wu Shen had no answer.
The room fell silent.
Zhu Cunji turned his gaze to Li Daoxuan.
"Mr. Li. When you withdrew your people, you must have expected this. That's why you left so decisively—just to teach me this lesson, wasn't it?"
Li Daoxuan smiled—but said nothing.
That faint smile, worn by a face that was clearly not human, sent an inexplicable chill crawling up Zhu Cunji's spine.
After a moment, Li Daoxuan relaxed his lips.
"I only knew there would be a problem," he said calmly. "I didn't know when it would happen. It was only after it occurred that I realized the steward had betrayed you."
He spread his hands slightly.
"So no—I didn't plan it in advance. I'm merely a strategist after the fact."
Zhu Cunji's expression shifted.
Something clicked.
"You're saying… even if the steward hadn't betrayed me, the coal mine would still have run into trouble?"
"Exactly," Li Daoxuan said with a grin.
"There are countless ways for things to go wrong. Even if he'd been loyal to the bone, the end result would still be the same."
"Output drops."
Zhu Cunji pressed,
"Such as?"
Li Daoxuan answered easily.
"For example, we upgrade our rail carts. Faster. More efficient. More convenient."
"And yours can't keep up."
Zhu Cunji frowned.
"I could have my blacksmiths copy them."
Li Daoxuan smiled.
"Think a little deeper."
Zhu Cunji fell silent.
Yes.
When he actually thought about it, the problem became obvious.
The technology of Gao Family Village wasn't simple at all. Pulleys. Gears. Lever systems. Precision fitting. Even maintaining the current carts already pushed his craftsmen to their limits.
If Gao Family Village advanced further…
Copying would be impossible.
Zhu Cunji asked stubbornly,
"Then I'll train better blacksmiths."
Li Daoxuan shook his head gently.
"Blacksmiths without hope cannot become great."
Zhu Cunji argued,
"Then I'll restore their status as commoners. Give them hope."
Li Daoxuan clapped his hands once.
"Excellent. Truly excellent."
Then he smiled.
"But that would violate the ancestral laws left by the Grand Ancestor. Wouldn't he leap out of his grave and strike you down?"
Zhu Cunji froze.
The system of the Grand Ancestor.
Zhu Yuanzhang had been a man of terrifying ability and unmatched will. But he had made one fatal mistake.
He turned his institutions into dead laws.
He forbade his descendants from altering them.
He believed no one could surpass him. That any change would invite chaos. That as long as his rules were obeyed, the Great Ming would last forever.
But—
The world changes.
Cold sweat seeped down Zhu Cunji's back.
Wu Shen broke into a cold sweat.
Shi Kefa did as well.
Li Daoxuan smiled faintly.
"When one person makes all the rules, problems are inevitable."
"Especially when that person has been dead for a long time."
That statement was outrageous.
Zhu Cunji abruptly stood up.
"I've already had the steward beaten to death," he said stiffly. "I'm returning the coal mine to you. Have your people take over again. I can't manage it."
He snorted.
"I'll just take my share of the profits."
With that, he turned and left, fleeing the tavern as if the room itself were pressing down on him.
Li Daoxuan shrugged and looked back at the two scholar-officials.
Wu Shen and Shi Kefa both felt uncomfortable. They didn't dare openly agree with such dangerous ideas.
But they had already been drawn into Li Daoxuan's schemes before—using one power to check another.
They could endure it now.
In truth…
They agreed.
The emperor's power was too vast.
The power of the scholar-officials was too small.
They should reclaim some of it.
Just as that thought formed—
Li Daoxuan spoke again.
"Don't you think," he said casually, "that steward from the Prince of Qin's household resembles the Minister of Works?"
Both men stiffened.
They thought it over carefully.
It really… did resemble him.
Li Daoxuan chuckled.
"If the Minister of Works holds too much power, would what he does really be any different?"
Wu Shen's eyes widened.
Shi Kefa's breath caught.
Li Daoxuan sighed theatrically.
"Oh dear. The emperor can't manage everything alone. And even with help, the scholar-officials can't manage everything either."
"So tell me—what should we do?"
Wu Shen and Shi Kefa were drenched in sweat.
They had no answer.
After a long silence, Wu Shen finally forced out a reply.
"The Minister of Works holds an exalted position. His learning and conduct are profound. He wouldn't act like a mere steward."
"It couldn't be. It couldn't be."
"Couldn't be?" Li Daoxuan laughed.
"Was Zhao Gao low-ranked? Was Qin Hui insignificant? Was Yan Song unlearned?"
Silence.
Wu Shen said nothing.
Shi Kefa said nothing.
Wu Shen's face hardened.
"Mr. Li… what do you believe is the solution?"
Li Daoxuan smiled slyly.
"You two possess far greater learning than I do. Perhaps you should think it through yourselves."
The truth was—
Even Li Daoxuan didn't have a perfect answer.
Not even in the year 2023 had humanity found one.
But an imperfect solution?
That, at least, could be taken step by step.
One step at a time.