The night was as dark as spilled ink. The capital remained under a strict curfew, casting a profound silence over the four wildernesses, broken only by the sporadic, distant barking of dogs. Overhead, the stars were exceptionally sparse, flickering feebly in the void.

The carriage from the Bihua Pavilion traveled along the cobblestone road at an unhurried pace, the rhythmic crunch of its wheels shattering the quiet of the silent night.

Having finally pieced together the sequence of events, Ye Jing leaned back against the carriage wall, his eyes tightly shut as he massaged his temples. A dull, familiar ache throbbed in his head once more.

This troupe of extraordinary characters… one after another, not a single one of them was a low-maintenance soul.

“Brother, what exactly is his angle?” Ye Mian had finally processed the situation. The Third Prince had summoned him to the Eastern Palace with such grand theater on his very first night back in the capital; it was highly improbable that he did it simply to vent his spleen.

Ye Jing opened his eyes and patted his younger brother’s hand. “Do not be afraid. He is not targeting you.”

Ye Mian reacted as if someone had stepped on his tail. “Targeting you is even worse!” The more he ruminated on it, the more furious he became. “Tomorrow, I’ll grab Li Zhao, and we’ll ambush his study companions one by one with burlap sacks over their heads!”

Ye Jing let out a soft, helpless chuckle. “Nonsense.”

“At worst, we’ll all end up rotting in the prison of the Court of Judicial Review together! I’ll just treat it as a field trip to gather creative inspiration. Brother, just remember to send me meals every day—I want eight dishes and a soup.”

Recognizing that his younger brother had suffered plenty of grievances outside tonight, Ye Jing refrained from lecturing him. He merely rapped him gently on the forehead. “You are forbidden from uttering such reckless drivel outside.”

He pulled Ye Mian into a light embrace and let out a heavy sigh, a solemn expression settling over his features. The incident had erupted too abruptly for him to completely dissect the Third Prince’s true motives; he could only grasp a vague outline, like viewing flowers through a dense fog.

“In all likelihood, his true target is the Prince of Rongnan.” Ye Jing lowered his gaze to look at Ye Mian. “A quarter of an hour ago, Zhuang Xu entered the palace.”

Ye Mian calculated the timing. A quarter of an hour ago meant the two of them had likely missed each other by a hair on the palace paths. Remembering Zhuang Xu’s incredibly possessive and easily provoked temper, he couldn’t help but grow anxious. “Good heavens! They won’t start a physical brawl inside, will they?”

Ye Jing’s tone remained flatly indifferent. “It would be for the best if one killed the other. It would rid the world of a troublesome pair.”

Ye Mian: “…”

_

After a prolonged silence, Ye Jing looked at his brother once more and remarked, “I am afraid you will be reassigned to the Eastern Palace in the near future.”

Ye Mian was stunned. “What would I do in the Eastern Palace?”

Ye Jing, having deduced the broader picture, explained unhurriedly, “The Prince of Rongnan is the ultimate God of Wealth for our Great Wen Empire. However, his status is far too exalted, making him incredibly difficult to win over. By placing you directly by his side, the Third Prince naturally secures a powerful hold over Zhuang Xu.”

Ye Mian let out a sharp hiss. “…How thoroughly calculating!”

Ye Jing looked at his brother with absolute seriousness. “If you are stationed at the Eastern Palace to officialize your duties in the future, will you be afraid?”

Ye Mian rolled his eyes dramatically. “Afraid? If he intends to treat Zhuang Xu as his God of Wealth, then I am the God of Wealth’s Grandmother…“

Ye Jing lost his composure and burst into laughter, turning his head aside as the corners of his lips curled upward. Seeing that his brother looked entirely skeptical, Ye Mian leaned in closer and whispered conspiratorially:

“A few days ago, right after I concluded my Hanlin Bachelor examinations, Zhuang Xu personally handed the keys to his silver treasury over to me. From now on, whether for public or private matters, if the estate wishes to disburse anything exceeding five thousand taels of silver, no one can withdraw a single copper without my personal tally token.”

This revelation genuinely startled Ye Jing. He stared at him in utter disbelief. “He actually entrusted the treasury token to you?”

“He did, he did,” Ye Mian nodded, his face completely devoid of shame.

Ye Jing: “…”

Seeing his brother staring at him in stunned silence, Ye Mian quickly added, “Besides, my future monthly official stipend is also to be handed over to him for safekeeping.” He tacked on an extra justification, “I won’t be keeping a single copper coin for myself.”

Ye Jing did not possess a face as thick as a fortress wall like his younger brother’s; he spent the entire ride digesting this mind-boggling information until the carriage finally crossed into the Ye estate.

The Vice-Minister’s manor was illuminated as bright as day. After Ye Jing mollified the panicked female kin of the household, he spent another half an hour consulting with his father in the study before directly escorting Ye Mian back to the Bihua Pavilion.

Ye Mian had engaged in a physical brawl with that son of the Pei clan inside the palace. While in the carriage, Ye Jing had lifted his robes to perform a basic inspection; fortunately, there were no open wounds, merely some bruised redness across his back. Nevertheless, without a meticulous, top-to-bottom check, Ye Jing simply couldn’t set his mind at ease.

That night, Ye Mian slept inside the study of the Bihua Pavilion. Early the next morning, he departed alongside his brother to return to their respective ministries.

Because he had been constantly worrying about Zhuang Xu’s side of things the previous night, Ye Mian had tossed and turned restlessly, only drifting off to sleep past midnight. Consequently, he lacked any semblance of vitality this morning, yawning repeatedly the moment he stepped into the Hanlin Academy.

In stark contrast, Ruan Yunsheng was bursting with energy. First thing in the morning, he frantically dragged Ye Mian toward a secluded corner of the corridor, demanding in a hushed whisper, “You went to the Eastern Palace last night?”

“Whoa, how on earth did you find out so quickly?”

Ruan Yunsheng rolled his eyes at him. “Ever since the Third Prince returned to the capital yesterday, eight hundred pairs of eyes have been pinned to his every move. At this point, who across the entire capital doesn’t know?”

Ye Mian’s yawn cut short, his mouth snapping shut halfway through. He instinctively felt that something was profoundly amiss… “Then what are they all saying?”

Ruan Yunsheng fell silent.

Ye Mian pressed, “What is it?”

Ruan Yunsheng cleared his throat awkwardly. “Simply because your features are far too exceptional… by last night, the entire capital was whispering that the Third Prince has likely taken a romantic fancy to you, harboring amorous intentions…“

“Heh…” Ye Mian gritted his teeth in sheer exasperation. “This pack of gossiping, long-tongued busybodies!”

The world constantly claimed that women loved to gossip, but in Ye Mian’s eyes, these noble gentlemen were the ones who truly excelled at wagging their tongues! On the surface, their mouths were stuffed full of classical texts and righteous philosophy, yet behind closed doors, they were unmatched in spewing vile rumors and orchestrating scandalous tales!

Ye Mian raged bitterly, “Do they not sleep in the dead of night? In the span of a single evening, they managed to spread this absolute garbage of a rumor across the entire city?!”

Ruan Yunsheng let out a helpless laugh. “The truth is, not a single one of them slept last night.”

Yesterday, the Emperor had issued the imperial edict commanding the Third Prince to move into the Eastern Palace. The moment that news broke, the entire capital erupted like a boiling cauldron.

The old heir apparent was deceased, which meant the entire network of officials supporting him was about to face a massive purge. A new ruler brought a new court; even if they were blood brothers, the new Crown Prince would never employ the veteran ministers of his late predecessor.

The Staking of Family Fortunes: Currently, which noble household in the capital didn’t have a few young men of eligible age? If their immediate household lacked one, their clan certainly did; and if the clan lacked one, their maternal or marital relations could pull out an entire carriage load of candidates!

The Prime Opportunities: These were all excellent young men carefully cultivated by their respective families. While one couldn’t boldly claim they were supreme masters of both martial and civil paths, they each possessed unique strengths, standing out as the pillars of their houses. All they lacked was a golden opportunity!

A Night of Sleepless Calculations: Every single civil and military official’s estate remained illuminated throughout the night. If it weren’t for the ongoing curfew, the horses and carriages crowding the midnight streets would have likely been far more chaotic than during the daytime.

This was the ladder to ascending alongside a future dragon; a single leap into the blue clouds meant rewriting the glory of one’s lineage, ensuring the prosperity of an entire clan for generations to come!

The previous Crown Prince had been installed early in his youth, and his administrative circle had been packed to the brim years ago. On the rare occasion a vacancy appeared, it was fiercely locked down by the imperial kinsmen and powerful nobles; others could watch until their eyes bled from envy and still fail to insert a single finger. Now that a new heir apparent was being established, who could possibly find the peace of mind to sleep? A single blink of an eye could mean being outmaneuvered by a rival, leaving them with nowhere to weep. Every house was staring with wide, bloodshot eyes.

This was precisely why Ye Mian’s single midnight excursion to the Eastern Palace had become common knowledge across the entire city within a single night.

“No wonder the moment I stepped into the Hanlin Academy today, a bunch of people were looking at me with bizarre expressions,” Ye Mian muttered.

Ruan Yunsheng patted his shoulder comfortingly. “It matters not; the chatter will die down in a few days. These Hanlin scholars aren’t actually interested in your romantic scandals; they are currently moving heaven and earth to drill their way into the Supervisorate of Imperial Households, and they are merely terrified that you are going to snatch one of the coveted seats for yourself.”

Ye Mian let out a long sigh. “Whether it is the Supervisorate of Imperial Households, I am not entirely certain. However, my brother told me last night that I am destined to be stationed at the Eastern Palace to serve directly beside the Crown Prince.”

“What?!” Ruan Yunsheng gasped in shock.

Ye Mian recounted the entire sequence of events from yesterday, along with Ye Jing’s profound analysis, to Ruan Yunsheng.

Ruan Yunsheng nodded dazed diligence. If that was the case, then Ye Mian was undeniably bound for the Eastern Palace. He possessed absolute faith in Ye Jing’s razor-sharp perception, yet he still felt a strange, lingering dissonance, as if some vital piece of the puzzle had slipped through the cracks. Unable to unravel the thought, the two of them refrained from lingering out in the corridor any longer, returning to their chambers to resume their duties.

At noon, Ye Mian laid down his brush, preparing to head out for lunch with Ruan Yunsheng, when a young errand boy scrambled over to inform him that an official surnamed Wei had arrived outside the Hanlin Academy to seek him out.

Ye Mian nodded, completely unsurprised. If Wei Angyuan ever found himself as the central protagonist of a massive capital scandal, Ye Mian would also grab a handful of melon seeds and fly over faster than a soaring firecracker.

Over twenty days had passed since the imperial mourning began, and the commercial shops along the streets were gradually resuming business. The trio made their way to their frequently patronized teahouse, settling into a private room.

Ye Mian poured a cup of tea for Wei Angyuan, using his sleeve to wipe the beads of sweat from the man’s forehead as he snorted, “Look at you, rushing over in such a frantic state. Are you truly that desperate to enjoy a spectacle at my expense?”

Wei Angyuan countered, “Who cares to watch your spectacle? Your side of things… is nowhere near as chaotic as what is unfolding at your lover’s place!”

Ye Mian had been sick with worry over Zhuang Xu all night; upon hearing this, his expression turned instantly grave. “What happened to him?”

Wei Angyuan knit his brows, questioning him first, “Do you have any inkling as to why the Third Prince summoned you to the Eastern Palace last night?”

Ye Mian and Ruan Yunsheng exchanged a brief glance, and Ye Mian proceeded to repeat the analysis he had shared earlier.

Wei Angyuan shook his head firmly. “Winning over Zhuang Xu is merely a secondary benefit. His primary motive was entirely for the sake of your older brother.”

Both Ye Mian and Ruan Yunsheng looked thoroughly bewildered, unable to grasp the underlying connection.

Wei Angyuan continued his explanation:

“Years ago, the scandal between the Third Prince and your older brother caused a commotion that wasn’t small, yet wasn’t entirely blown wide open either. Aside from a few inner confidants who knew the exact truth, the rest of the court merely possessed a vague, shadowy understanding. However, the Third Prince was undeniably banished to the Northern border by the Emperor because of that exact affair, and the rumors floating through the court back then were incredibly foul. If he had remained a mere prince for the rest of his days, it naturally wouldn’t have mattered. Your brother is currently the premier favorite before the Emperor’s eyes, destined to reach the pinnacle of official rank, assisting the current sovereign before guiding the next, with a glorious future ahead of him.

But if the Third Prince inherits the imperial throne in the future, no matter how brilliant or capable your older brother is, he will never be able to shake off the dirty reputation of being a ‘favored official who traded charms for power.’ Even if he achieves monumental feats that sustain the empire, the world will permanently brand his forehead with the mark of an imperial sycophant.”

An icy chill settled over Ye Mian’s features. If that came to pass, all of his brother’s grand achievements and magnificent talents would be entirely eclipsed by that foul brand, leaving a permanent stain upon the pages of history.

Wei Angyuan pressed on, “In order to cleanly and completely extract your brother from that historical quagmire, the Third Prince summoned you into the Eastern Palace the very night of his return. By doing so, the world will instantly whisper that the Third Prince is an insatiable libertine who favors the southern breeze—a man so lecherous that he couldn’t even wait to inspect any youth possessing striking looks. In the coming days, he only needs to summon a few more handsome scholars to play chess and solidify his reputation as a degenerate lover of beautiful men, and your brother’s past connection will naturally fade into obscurity… After a few years, who would still recall those ancient, dust-covered scandals?”

If a minister was deeply and passionately loved by an Emperor, he would be slandered by history as a corrupt “favored official”; however, if he had merely been subjected to a passing, fleeting glance from a lecherous monarch, that minister would instead be remembered with the elegant reputation of possessing “unrivaled grace and a romantic, scholarly spirit.”

Ruan Yunsheng was so stunned his jaw slackened completely. “He is willing to sacrifice his own historical reputation? The brushes of the imperial historians are not entities to be trifled with!”

In this world, the entity who coveted a flawless reputation above all others was undeniably the Emperor. The physical flesh could perish, but the records of history endured for eternity. If an ordinary soul ruined their reputation, it mattered little once they died and their lamp went out; but if an Emperor left a foul legacy, he would be subjected to the scathing curses of future generations for thousands of winters to come!

Wei Angyuan let out a profound sigh, muttering under his breath, “Who knows what goes on in his mind? No wonder my second older brother calls him an absolute lunatic.”

Ruan Yunsheng pondered for a moment, sighing softly, “Perhaps this is for the best. The fact that he summoned Mian-ger the absolute instant he returned indicates that this strategy was carefully calculated during his journey back. Returning from the Northern border to the capital, even the Emperor couldn’t guarantee he would survive the trek alive, yet his mind was still consumed by thoughts of how to cleanly protect Brother Jing. It seems… he will never attempt to disturb Brother Jing ever again.”

Wei Angyuan nodded in agreement. “Otherwise, there would be absolutely no need for him to orchestrate such an elaborate theater, going so far as to sacrifice the thousand-year legacy of an imperial monarch to exchange for it.”

Realizing this, Ye Mian also let out a long, profound sigh of relief. He resolved to return home after leaving his ministry tonight to inform his elders, allowing their hearts to finally find peace. Especially his mother; upon discovering that the Third Prince had taken residence in the Eastern Palace yesterday, her despair had been several degrees more intense than Noble Consort Jia’s.

_

“What exactly happened to Zhuang Xu?” Ye Mian shifted the topic, his brows knitting tightly as he questioned Wei Angyuan.

Wei Angyuan sipped his tea, casting an incredibly meaningful look at him. “That master of your household is certainly not one to be outdone. That explosive temper of his…”

“Yesterday, the Third Prince acted entirely on his own authority, summoning you into the palace without passing word through the Princess Royal’s Manor first, which infuriated Zhuang Xu to no end. I am completely in the dark regarding the specific details of what transpired after he entered the Eastern Palace, but he undoubtedly discovered that you had engaged in a physical fight with Pei Zhaoye.

Zhuang Xu deployed over a hundred private guards from the Prince’s Manor, completely blocking the northern-bound Pei Zhaoye and the sixty iron cavalrymen of the Crown Prince’s guard in the suburban outskirts of the capital. Although the private guards of the Prince’s Manor have never fought on a true battlefield, they possessed an overwhelming advantage in sheer numbers. They forcefully dragged Pei Zhaoye off his warhorse and beat him into an absolute, bloodied pulp.”

Ye Mian and Ruan Yunsheng simultaneously drew in a sharp, freezing breath of air.

A truly colossal disaster had been unleashed.

Wei Angyuan stared at Ye Mian. “You still have the nerve to ask how I found out? A physical brawl between an imperial prince’s faction and a royal manor’s private forces in the capital’s suburbs, involving nearly two hundred men armed to the teeth with bows, halberds, and swords! It terrified the scouts of the capital garrison so intensely they assumed some regional vassal king had launched a rebellion to storm the capital, and they scrambled post-haste into the palace to deliver the report.”

Ye Mian’s breathing tightened. “Where is Zhuang Xu right now?”

“Inside the palace.” Seeing Ye Mian’s face pale, Wei Angyuan offered a word of comfort, “The news has been thoroughly suppressed by the Emperor; only my father is privy to it. Fortunately, both the Third Prince and Zhuang Xu are at fault here. Given the current delicate political climate, the Third Prince absolutely cannot be touched, so the Emperor cannot openly show favoritism by punishing Zhuang Xu alone—otherwise, it would be impossible to give a proper justification to the Princess Royal’s side.”

Ruan Yunsheng shook his head, murmuring in disbelief, “The Prince of Rongnan’s temper is truly…”

Ye Mian pressed his lips together. Zhuang Xu’s fierce disposition was something the Princess Royal had deliberately and thoroughly indulged since his childhood in Jinling; it was fundamentally different from the Third Prince’s unguided, arrogant, and wild lawlessness. When these two terrifying forces collided, it was genuinely impossible to determine which of them was more utterly contemptuous of heaven and the law.

After a moment of thought, Wei Angyuan offered a piece of advice to Ye Mian: “Pei Zhaoye was severely wounded by Zhuang Xu’s men. It would be best if you advise him to exercise some restraint in the coming days. It is always better to dissolve an enmity than to knot it tighter; both sides should find a face-saving step to back down, rather than acting with such rampant, overbearing arrogance.”

Ruan Yunsheng nodded along. “Pei Zhaoye was the Third Prince’s childhood study companion; the bond between the two is exceptionally profound. The Third Prince usually treasures and coddles him to an extreme degree. Yesterday, it was only because it was you who swung your hand to scratch his face that the Third Prince forcefully swallowed his fury… Had it been anyone else who dared lay a single finger on Pei Zhaoye, the Third Prince would have likely dug up their ancestral graves.”

Wei Angyuan shouted in agreement, “Furthermore, Pei Zhaoye is the legitimate grandson of the old Minister of War! Their family is packed with formidable warriors. You, an outsider, thrashed him to such a degree—do you think they will simply let it slide? The old Minister stormed into the palace first thing this morning to lodge an imperial complaint.

Yet, that supreme ancestor of your household didn’t show a single shred of restraint; instead, he added fuel to the fire! Right before the imperial presence, he arrogantly demanded to know exactly how much medical compensation the old Minister required. He even sneered, asking if the Minister’s household was so entirely broke that they had to run into the imperial palace to run a scam on him!”

Ye Mian: “…”

Ruan Yunsheng: “…”

Wei Angyuan recreated the scene with vibrant, theatrical gestures: “That display choked the old Minister with such fury! The Emperor actually commanded my father to step in as a peacemaker, but how on earth could my father possibly placate that royal ancestor of yours? He could only escort the old Minister back to the Prime Minister’s manor. Right now, Minister Pei is still stomping his feet and shouting curses against Zhuang Xu inside my house!”

Hearing up to this point, Ye Mian’s own fury ignited. He slammed his hand against the table, leaping to his feet. “On what grounds does he dare curse my Zhuang Xu?! It was his grandson who started the harassment first!“

Ye Mian stood there, gesturing wildly as he delivered a detailed, impassioned account of the exact interaction between himself and Pei Zhaoye the previous night.

“What?! That bastard dared to lay hands on you?!”

The moment Wei Angyuan finished listening, his eyes turned completely bloodshot with rage. He violently rolled up his sleeves and marched toward the door. “There is no need to wait for his wounds to heal; I am going to go murder that absolute son of a bitch this very instant!”

Ruan Yunsheng scrambled out of his seat to block him, desperately wrapping his arms around him. “Please, can we just have some peace! Do you think we are still back in our academy days? That is the estate of the Minister of War—are you planning to launch an assault on their front gates?!”

“What’s wrong with the Minister of War’s estate?!” Wei Angyuan had always cherished and protected Ye Mian above all else; his face was flushed crimson with pure fury as he spat out fierce curses: “Their entire clan is sustained by a single old man on the brink of retirement! When that old fellow encounters my father, he still has to plaster on a sycophantic smile and humbly address himself as ‘your subordinate.’ Do you think I fear him? Bah! A clan of decaying, bankrupt losers!”

Ruan Yunsheng clung onto Wei Angyuan’s robes with a death grip, not daring to loosen his fingers for a single second, feeling that his own life was nothing but an endless well of misery.

No wonder Ye Mian had mentioned that Brother Jing was suffering from a violent headache last night. How could his head not ache? With these chaotic, unguided, terrifying figures surrounding them on all sides, every single one of them was a living nightmare!