Dao of Money

Princess Yanyue crunched softly on a piece of tekua, her eyes curving with genuine amusement as the sweet, crunchy delicacy melted across her tongue. It had a strange balance to it—simple, almost rustic, yet layered in a way she had never encountered in the real world. No palace confectioner, no matter how lavish their ingredients, had ever managed to replicate this kind of honest flavor.

Unfortunately, the stall her guards had sourced it from had outright refused to give up the recipe.

Still, that hardly mattered.

She could buy as much tekua as she wanted now, especially after seeing the initial estimates of the tokens she would be receiving through Du Rensheng. If things continued this way, she doubted she would ever need to worry about tokens again for the rest of her time in the pagoda.

The thought alone put her in an exceptionally good mood.

Perhaps that was why she didn’t even scowl at her brother.

He sat across from her at the small table, hands folded stiffly, staring at her with an expression that hovered somewhere between resentment and uncertainty. The cup of tea the inn owner had prepared for him sat untouched, steam long since faded. He looked at it as if it were poison.

Two of her royal guards stood quietly to the side, faces impassive. The rest were either assisting at the shop or moving through the city on her instructions. Yuelan had, of course, demanded that she dismiss even these two.

She had refused.

Officially, it was for her safety.

In truth, she wanted him to beg in front of them.

That was why he was here.

After enduring his silent staring for long enough, Princess Yanyue tilted her head slightly and spoke. “You know the tea won’t kill you.”

Prince Yuelan hesitated, then finally lifted the cup and took a cautious sip. Almost immediately, his face twisted into a deep scowl.

“It’s still foul,” he said flatly.

Yanyue shook her head, unbothered, and popped another piece of tekua into her mouth. “You’re just too used to royal tea. All those spiritual ingredients, all that refinement.” Her eyes flicked to him, sharp despite the smile. “A trip outside the imperial palace really does show how difficult it is to function when you don’t have imperial support around you.”

The words landed exactly where she intended. Yuelan stiffened, fingers tightening around the teacup.

“I would have been fine,” he said tightly, “if the idiots I brought with me weren’t so brain-dead.”

She didn’t miss a beat. “Subordinates reflect their leader.”

Yuelan scoffed. “I’m not their leader. Our brother gave them to me. If it were up to me, I would’ve brought my own guards here.” He leaned back, jaw clenched. “I just thought there was no reason to. Looks like the heavens are simply putting me through a trial.”

For a brief moment, Yanyue felt the urge to snarl.

She suppressed it.

Yuelan was hiding far too much behind those words. The truth was simple—he didn’t have guards to bring. Their father had only granted each of them two guards when they had come of age. Everything beyond that depended on their own ability to attract loyalty.

She had succeeded.

He had failed.

And now he was paying the price for it.

She met his gaze calmly. “So,” she said, voice even, “you want me to help you through your trial?”

Yuelan hesitated, his eyes distant, but then nodded slowly. “You’d gain from it as well. I know you’re earning a large amount of tokens with your shop. Helping me wouldn’t even make you break a sweat, and in return, you’d gain plenty of benefits.”

“Such as?”

“A favour,” Yuelan said immediately.

This time, she very nearly laughed.

Instead, she smiled thinly. “A favour from you isn’t worth much. What could you possibly give me?” She scoffed. “Half of your decisions are made by our brother. Those words might impress lesser noble sons, but not me.”

Yuelan’s teeth ground together before he spoke again. “I have a sizable collection of martial techniques. Some of them even belong to other noble houses.”

Yanyue waved the offer away without hesitation. “I already have enough. If you know me at all, you’d know I spent most of my life in the royal library.” She paused, then added coolly, “A technique—unless it’s heaven-grade—is worthless to me.”

Her brother frowned so deep that clear lines were drawn on his forehead. “Then what do you even want?”

She had been waiting for that question.

“It’s very simple,” Princess Yanyue said without hesitation. “You will act as my spy against our brother.”

“That’s preposterous! I will never do that. Do you take me for a disposable spy?” His voice dropped. “You know exactly what our brother would do to me if he ever found out.”

Yanyue didn’t flinch. “I do see you as disposable,” she replied calmly, “because right now, you are inside the pagoda. There is no path for you to climb higher. And even if you somehow do, you’ll already be dead long before you reach the end.”

Silence fell between them.

Yuelan looked down, jaw tight, clearly weighing his options. Yanyue smiled faintly. Even if he refused—and he likely would—the fact that he was considering it meant he wasn’t completely bound to their elder brother’s side.

Yuelan had always been an opportunist.

After nearly a minute, he finally spoke. “No. I won’t do that.”

Yanyue nodded once. “Then you may leave.”

Her brother drained the rest of the tea in one gulp, slammed the cup down, and shot her a glare as his fist clenched. One of her royal guards shifted subtly, ready to intervene, but Yuelan merely stood, turned, and walked toward the door.

Just before his hand touched it, he stopped.

“You know,” he said without turning around, “by rejecting me like this, you might be fine. But the people around you won’t be.”

“I protect my people,” Yanyue replied evenly.

Only then did Yuelan turn back, a thin smile curving his lips. “Can you protect that Chen Ren and his little sect?” His eyes gleamed with malice. “They aren’t under you. You only have a partnership. I don’t know how he’s doing so well inside the pagoda, but all the Guardian sects are already taking an interest in him.”

He paused, letting the words sink in.

“And outside the pagoda,” he continued softly, “he has no way to protect himself or his sect.”

Princess Yanyue snarled, her composure finally cracking. “And what are you going to do?” she snapped. “You need to ask our brother just to step outside.”

Yuelan shrugged, entirely unbothered. “You exaggerate. Besides, I don’t need to do anything myself. I only have to tell our brother that you and Chen Ren were the reason my expedition in the pagoda failed.”

Her eyes narrowed. “That would earn you an even harsher punishment.”

“So be it,” Yuelan replied lightly. “At least I’d get to destroy one of your new interests. That alone would make it worthwhile.”

He stepped closer to the door, then added over his shoulder, “If you don’t want that to happen, you’ll help me.”

With that, Prince Yuelan opened the door and left without another word.

Princess Yanyue remained seated, staring down at the snacks on the table. The sweet scent of tekua no longer tempted her. Her appetite had vanished entirely.

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She knew her brother well enough to understand that he was despicable enough to follow through on his threat. But she also knew herself well enough to refuse to be cornered so easily.

Chen Ren was an investment—one that had already begun paying astonishing dividends. And although she hadn’t pried too deeply into his past, she was certain of one thing: his origins were far from ordinary. Interesting enough to warrant attention and dangerous enough to draw enemies.

Before she could indulge her curiosity, however, she would need to plan carefully—against her elder brother, and against whatever schemes he might set in motion against Chen Ren. Especially because she knew one thing with absolute certainty: Chen Ren’s ambitions would never be confined to a single city.

Sooner or later, he would grow too visible. And when that happened, the royal family would not leave him alone.

For the first time in a long while, Princess Yanyue felt a trace of powerlessness settle in her chest.

It was an unfamiliar sensation, and she disliked it.

She could protect Chen Ren far more effectively if he were truly under her command. If he became her subordinate, things would be simple.

But she knew he wouldn’t accept that.

And as a royal, she also knew she couldn’t entangle herself openly with a sect without consequences. Doing so would mean giving up her power and influence as a royal.

That was precisely why so few Guardian sects ever had royal blood among their disciples. Royal children were far better off cultivating within the palace than binding themselves to a sect and severing their political leverage.

Princess Yanyue was still turning that thought over when a knock sounded at the door.

She glanced at one of her royal guards. He moved at once and opened it.

Chen Ren stood outside.

For a brief moment, surprise flickered across her face. It was almost amusing—she had been thinking about him just moments ago. He nodded politely to the guard, stepped inside, and bowed as he always did.

“I’m sorry if you’re busy, Princess Yanyue,” he said. “I have something important to discuss with you.”

Any lingering tension left her at once. She smiled and gestured toward the seat opposite her. “I’m free. Sit, Sect Leader Chen. I thought you’d be far too occupied with the shop to visit.”

“I am,” Chen Ren replied honestly, taking a seat, “but what I need to talk about can’t wait.”

One of the guards immediately poured him tea. Chen Ren thanked him and accepted the cup, his gaze lifting to meet hers—steady, slightly guarded, yet entirely free of fear.

That alone was rare.

Most people, no matter how strong or ambitious, carried at least a trace of reverence or unease in her presence. Chen Ren did not. He treated her as a partner, not a superior, and she found that both unsettling and refreshing.

After taking a sip, he spoke again. “I saw Prince Yuelan passing through the street outside. Was he here?”

She nodded. “He was. But I assume that isn’t why you came.”

“No,” Chen Ren said, shaking his head. “I didn’t.” He set the cup down, his eyes narrowing slightly. “What I want to discuss is the upper floors of the pagoda, and our strategy for dealing with them.”

Princess Yanyue straightened at once.

Chen Ren should have known very well that she had no concrete strategy for the upper floors yet. If he was here, saying this, then it meant he had found a path or at least a door worth knocking on. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have brought it up at all.

Her gaze sharpened slightly. “What did you find?” she asked. “Did the guard captain tell you something?”

Chen Ren shook his head. “No. For all his authority, he’s never been to the upper floors. From what I’ve learned, there’s only one person in this city who actually knows what lies above.”

Princess Yanyue paused, then realization dawned. She took another bite of tekua, chewing slowly as she spoke. “The city lord’s doors are barred. Cultivators have tried to jump the walls. They were burned the moment they stepped inside. The entire place is wrapped in arrays and traps.”

“They’re fools,” Chen Ren replied calmly. “We aren’t.”

He leaned forward slightly. “I don’t plan to sneak in. I plan to request an audience with Lord Xiangrui. If he summons us himself, nothing will stop us. Once we’re inside, we negotiate the information out of him.”

Princess Yanyue studied him for a moment before responding. “Your plan sounds clean, Sect Leader Chen,” she said, “but there’s one flaw. Why would the city lord invite us in? He’s the most self-centered, narcissistic man in the city. Frankly, he puts some of my brothers to shame. He doesn’t even like cultivators, if the rumors are true. Getting an audience with him sounds harder than starting a shop.”

Chen Ren smiled faintly.

“Those exact tendencies,” he said, “are why he’ll invite us.”

Princess Yanyue felt a flicker of confusion, but she didn’t voice it.

She recognized what Chen Ren was doing almost immediately. He wasn’t withholding the answer out of secrecy—he was testing her.

Leaving the conclusion just out of reach, offering only the pieces, watching to see if she could assemble them herself. It was a familiar tactic. Her father had often done the same to her and her brothers, not with kindness, but as a way to measure who was worth further investment.

The difference was that for her father, martial prowess had always outweighed wit.

Compared to him, Chen Ren was not someone she couldn’t defeat in combat. But the question he had laid out was still far from simple.

How did the city lord being narcissistic help them gain an audience?

She leaned back slightly, her fingers tapping once against the table as she thought. A man like Xiangrui would never summon random climbers. He despised them. He ruled alone, unchallenged, cocooned in his gold and authority. If he called someone in, it would be because he stood to gain something.

But what?

The answer hovered just beyond her grasp, irritatingly close. Then she realized what she had overlooked.

Her eyes widened.

“The city lord is narcissistic,” she said slowly, voice firming as the thought settled, “but narcissistic people are also ambitious. Every ruler is. And this pagoda has been isolated for who knows how long. No matter how grand his city is, his name doesn’t travel beyond it.”

She looked up at Chen Ren. “He hasn’t been able to spread his legacy anywhere else.”

Chen Ren smiled.

“Something like that,” he said lightly. “I thought you’d get there.” He set his empty cup aside. “I’ve been thinking about this line of thought a lot and have made a plan. But I’ll need you with me for it.”

Princess Yanyue didn’t hesitate. She nodded once. “If it works, it’ll help us massively.”

Chen Ren nodded in return, leaning back in his seat as if the hardest part was already done. “Good. Then listen carefully.”

His voice immediately lowered, his tone softening.

“We’ll only get one chance at this,” he said. “But once we’re in front of him… we won’t just talk. We’ll squeeze him for every scrap of information he has.”

***

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