Crown Prince of the Empire, I quit!

Qin Ming closed the last memorial regarding the Jiangnan grain tax discount and tapped his fingertips lightly on the rosewood desk. The flickering candlelight illuminated the dark patterns on his black dragon robe like a flowing underground river. After days of being trapped in paperwork, the scent of agarwood incense in the warm room carried a lingering, stagnant air.

He suddenly stood up, startling the eunuch holding the pen who was standing outside the pearl curtain so much that his hand trembled and he almost dropped the inkstone.

"Change clothes." Qin Ming's voice was not loud, but it instantly made the whole warm room come alive. "Prepare the horses, I want to leave the palace."

Half an hour later, Yong'an Gate on the west side of the imperial capital quietly opened a crack in the night. Three riders, lightly armed and with a few attendants, galloped out along the bluestone pavement. The sound of their hooves was particularly clear in the empty alleys. The leader, draped in a dark cloak and hood, was Qin Ming. Behind him were two men: Ying Qi and Zhao Huaijin, the newly appointed Chief Secretary of the Privy Council, a young but renowned figure for his meticulousness.

There were no ceremonial guards, no escorts, and the trip wasn't even recorded in the palace archives. Qin Ming was heading to the Beiting Protectorate, three hundred miles away—not as the emperor, but as an imperial envoy inspecting border affairs.

Three days later, at dusk, the three arrived at Shuofang City, the capital of Beiting. Meng Zhi, having received a tip-off, personally led several trusted men to meet him at a modest posthouse on the outskirts of the city. Upon seeing Qin Ming's true form, the veteran general knelt on one knee, his armor clanging. "Your Majesty, I, Meng Zhi, respectfully welcome you!"

"Stand up and talk." Qin Ming raised his hand, his eyes sweeping over the simple yet heavily guarded layout inside and outside the inn. "I'm going on this trip to see with my own eyes just how murky the waters of the Western Regions really are."

That night, the lights were brightly lit in the signing room of the Shuofang City Protectorate. Qin Ming did not take the main seat, but chose a chair by the window to listen to Meng Zhi's report.

"We've investigated the Cheshi Kingdom's shipment of refined iron and saltpeter." Meng Zhi unfolded a hand-drawn map of the Western Regions and pointed at a Gobi canyon. "The goods originated from Kucha, but the Kucha trading company whose name was signed on the contract was completely destroyed by fire three days ago... and the manager perished in the blaze. The Cheshi envoys insisted they had no knowledge of the incident, while the Black Khan, Zuo Guli Wang, claimed they had no idea the goods were strategic materials during the raid and mistook them for ordinary commercial goods."

Qin Ming listened quietly, his fingers unconsciously stroking the cool black jade dragon pendant at his waist. He had expected these excuses.

"Your Majesty," Zhao Huaijin interjected, bowing. His young face looked particularly sharp under the lamplight. "I have reviewed the customs records of various trade routes in the Western Regions over the past six months and discovered that the amount of medicinal herbs and spices transiting through Cheshi State and destined for the western regions of the Caliphate and Persia has increased dramatically, while the proportion of traditionally advantageous goods such as porcelain and silk has decreased."

Qin Ming raised his eyes: "What do you mean?"

"I suspect," Zhao Huaijin lowered his voice, "that someone is using the medicinal herb and spice trade as a cover to build a strategic material channel in the Western Regions... that bypasses our dynasty's supervision. That batch of refined iron saltpeter may just be the tip of the iceberg."

The room was silent for a moment, with only the soft crackling of the lamplight bursting. If this was true, the situation in the Western Region was far more dangerous than it appeared.

Qin Ming suddenly stood up and walked to the map, his eyes sharp as a knife: "Tomorrow, I will go to the border market to take a look."

Meng Zhi was shocked: "Your Majesty! The border is full of people of all kinds, and there might be something unexpected!"

"I just want to go and see what kind of monsters dare to play with fire under my nose." Qin Ming's tone was flat, but with unquestionable determination.

The next day, the border market outside Shuofang City was bustling with activity. Qin Ming had changed into the brocade robes of an ordinary merchant, while Ying Qi and Zhao Huaijin disguised themselves as attendants, blending in with the crowd. He seemed to be strolling casually, but his gaze scanned the stalls like a hawk, taking in the quality of the goods, the trading methods, and even the whispers between merchants.

Qin Ming stopped in front of a large stall selling medicinal herbs from the Western Regions. He casually picked up a handful of saffron claimed to be from Persia and chatted with the merchant in fluent Western Mandarin. The merchant, noting his impressive demeanor and attentiveness, inadvertently let slip that a batch of "special medicinal herbs" had recently been ordered at a high price and needed to be shipped directly to the West, bypassing official channels.

Just as Qin Ming was about to inquire further, a sudden commotion erupted from the other side of the customs. A group of Black Khan cavalry, escorting several heavily loaded carriages, ignored the attempts of the Maritime Customs officials to stop them and forced their way through the customs, attempting to evade taxes. The guarding Black Armored Army soldiers immediately drew their halberds to stop them, and the two sides were on edge.

Qin Ming's eyes turned cold. He recognized the emblem on the convoy; it was the Black Khan Zuoguli Wang tribe! Such arrogance in broad daylight!

Seeing that a conflict was about to break out, Qin Ming winked at Ying Qi. Ying Qi understood and quietly squeezed into the crowd like a ghost.

A moment later, a man who looked like a minor official from the Maritime Customs quickly approached the Black Khan Centurion who was leading the riot, whispered something in a low voice, and then flashed a black iron waist badge. The centurion's face suddenly changed, and his arrogance instantly dissipated. He waved his hand angrily, signaling the convoy to retreat and submit to inspection.

A storm disappeared without a trace.

That night, upon returning to the posthouse, Ying Qi reported, "I have ascertained that the Black Khan centurion was ordered to test the limits of our border. I showed him the Tingfeng Guard token, and he believed Your Majesty had already made arrangements, so he retreated."

Qin Ming stood in front of the window, looking at the black dragon flag fluttering on the top of Shuofang City, with a cold arc on the corner of his mouth.

"Probing? Then let them test it to their heart's content."

"Send a message to Meng Zhi: Starting tomorrow, all border customs offices will increase tax collectors by 30%. They will strictly inspect all passing caravans, especially those bearing the insignia of the Black Khan Zuoguli King's tribe. Investigate every inch of it!"

"Tell Zhao Huaijin to keep a close eye on the Cheshi Kingdom envoys. I want to know who they will contact next."

"Here!"

Qin Ming stood with his hands behind his back, his robes ruffling in the night wind. What he saw and heard in person at the border was far more tangible and alarming than the words in the memorials. The chess game in the Western Regions had reached a point where a move must be made. And he, the most important piece, had already arrived at the chessboard.

Over the next few days, the Beiting border was in turmoil. The sudden tightening of Daqian tax collectors caused widespread complaints from the merchant caravans, but also uncovered several cases of attempted smuggling of goods. The Cheshi envoys were closely monitored by an invisible hand, their every move under scrutiny.

Late at night on the seventh day, Zhao Huaijin brought a secret report: The deputy envoy of Cheshi secretly met with... a spice merchant from Kucha at midnight tonight.

After listening to this, Qin Ming pointed his finger at the location of Kucha on the map.

"Sure enough...it's a string of poisonous snakes."

"Your Majesty, is it possible..."

"No," Qin Ming interrupted, "Let them go. I want to see where this batch of 'spices' will eventually be shipped to."