RPAGF Chapter 6 Establishing a Contract
Chapter 6 Establishing a Contract
The sedan chair swayed and rocked its way back to the mansion.
Yin'e leaned against the sedan chair wall, the curtain swaying slightly as they moved, the light filtering in flickering.
Instead of closing his eyes to rest, he opened his palm and took out the book "Overheard" again.
The pages still glowed faintly.
He took a deep breath and quickly flipped to the page that recorded favorability ratings.
Then, his brows furrowed.
[Target of surveillance: Aisin-Gioro Yinzhi]
Current favorability rating: 39.9 (Friendly)
[Listening distance: 20 meters, unobstructed]
"No, that's not right," Yin'e muttered to himself.
He clearly remembered that when he first checked outside the study that morning, Lao Ba's favorability rating was in the early forties, and the listening distance was 30 meters.
But now, the favorability rating has dropped to 39.9, and the listening distance has shrunk to 20 meters.
Yin'e's fingers tightened slightly.
He certainly knew the rules of this cheat code: the higher the favorability rating, the stronger the eavesdropping effect.
The problem is that favorability is not static; it fluctuates as the monitored object's attitude towards the host changes.
In other words, Lao Ba's favorability towards him dropped within just one day.
Why?
Yin'e closed his eyes and went over every detail of his day at the Eighth Prince's residence.
From every word spoken upon entering the room, through tea and conversation in the study, to every expression during the jokes at lunch, and finally to bidding farewell…
He suddenly opened his eyes.
"It's because I'm too 'smart'," he muttered.
This morning, he has been deliberately avoiding the topic of "borrowing money".
Lao Jiu tried several times to steer the conversation away, but he skillfully deflected the question each time.
Instead of asking for money as readily as the original owner of this body, he used an ambiguous attitude to leave the eighth and ninth brothers confused.
In Lao Ba's eyes, what kind of person should Lao Shi be?
Reckless, impulsive, thoughtless, unable to keep secrets, and easily provoked.
But what about the tenth brother today?
Remain calm and patient, speak with restraint, and avoid bringing up money; instead, play the game of tai chi with them.
In Lao Ba's view, this means he has "become smarter".
A dog that "becomes smarter" is no longer a good dog.
As Yin'e thought of this, a chill ran through him.
He originally thought that as long as he performed well enough, he could gradually improve his status in the Eighth Prince's Party.
But now it seems that things are far from that simple.
What Lao Ba needs is not a smart ally, but an obedient henchman.
A cannon fodder who can rush to the front and bite people, and can be discarded at any time if something goes wrong.
The smarter you are, the more vigilant he becomes.
The more assertive you are, the more distant he becomes.
This is the survival rule of the core circle of the Eighth Prince's Party.
He began to seriously consider the underlying logic of this "golden touch".
The effectiveness of a surveillance system depends entirely on the degree of goodwill the person being monitored has towards the host.
If you want to spy on someone, you have to make them like you, trust you, and depend on you.
The problem is that within the Eighth Prince's faction, if you want to improve the Eighth Prince's favorability, you have to act according to his wishes.
Being a scapegoat, doing dirty work, or even making a fool of oneself in public.
Just like today, if he goes along with Lao Jiu's wishes and brings up the debt, Lao Jiu will reveal his vicious scheme of "selling his possessions and currying favor with the prince".
Then he patted his chest and agreed to do it, and the favorability of the eighth and ninth brothers towards him would definitely increase rapidly.
But what will the consequences be?
Selling one's belongings on Qianmen Street is a disgrace to the imperial family.
What would Emperor Kangxi think of him if he found out?
What will the entire court think of him?
His standing in Kangxi's eyes was already low, and with this latest incident, he'll likely face punishment, confinement, and stripping of his title...
He couldn't afford either of them.
Therefore, this has created an extremely contradictory situation.
If he continues to act as Lao Ba's dog and follow Lao Ba's orders, then Lao Ba's favorability towards him will increase, and the effectiveness of the surveillance will be enhanced.
However, at the same time, he would definitely lose face with Kangxi, and might even face death.
If he stops listening to the Eighth Prince and even secretly opposes him, it's hard to say whether things will change on Kangxi's side.
However, Lao Ba's favorability will plummet, rendering the listening system useless.
I'm caught in a dilemma, unable to please either side.
Yin'e rubbed his temples, feeling like his brain was about to explode.
"We can't rush this." He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. "This situation must be resolved slowly."
He organized his thoughts and silently calculated in his mind.
First of all, he cannot openly break with the Eighth Prince's faction, at least not now.
He had no foundation, no personal connections or power. Once he left the Eighth Prince's Party, he became a rootless duckweed, and anyone could kick him while he was down.
Although the Eighth Prince's Party used him as a pawn, at least in the eyes of outsiders, he was still a core member of the Eighth Prince's Party, and this identity itself was a talisman.
Secondly, he cannot appear too "clever" in front of Lao Ba.
Not at least in the short term.
He had to maintain the original owner's reckless and impulsive persona, but at the same time, he had to keep some subtle hints so that Lao Ba would think that "although he is still stupid, at least he is obedient."
You can gradually increase your favorability rating, but you can't rush it.
Third, he needs to secretly develop his own power, which is the most crucial step.
He can't depend on anyone forever; he needs his own team, his own network, and his own sources of information.
And "Overheard" is his biggest trump card.
If he can increase his favorability with certain key figures, he can learn their secrets and thus benefit himself.
Finally, he needed to subtly impress Emperor Kangxi, but he couldn't be too deliberate.
Who was Emperor Kangxi? He was as shrewd as an old fox.
Any deliberate attempt to please or perform will be exposed in his eyes.
He had to find a natural way to get Kangxi's attention, and in a positive way at that.
"Pretending to be weak to fool others," Yin'e murmured.
This was the most ideal strategy he could think of.
On the surface, he was still the impulsive and reckless Tenth Prince, a loyal lackey of the Eighth Prince's faction.
But secretly, he was trying to gradually erode the Eighth Prince's connections and resources, slowly transferring the Eighth Prince's power into his own hands.
He wants to make Lao Ba get sold out, and then count the money for him.
"The idea is good," he said with a wry smile, "but putting it into practice..."
He knew that this was almost a pipe dream.
Those who can walk at the top of the power pyramid in this country, aren't they all the most shrewd and cunning people?
Which one of them didn't go through fire and water?
Trying to outsmart them could lead to utter ruin if you're not careful.
But he had no other choice.
Crossing this path means either defying fate or being utterly destroyed.
There is no third way.
Yin'e gripped the book "Overheard" tightly in his hand, his gaze gradually hardening.
"Now that we have this cheat code, let's give it a try."
He looked down at the pages of the book again, and suddenly remembered something.
He only tested Lao Ba's favorability today; he hasn't tested anyone else yet.
such as……
Emperor Kangxi.