Chapter 15

The Fifth Prince deliberately perched himself on the beam to scare others, but it was he who was startled when Xue Jin’an suddenly opened his eyes, followed by these words that sounded like a death threat.

He was well aware of what had transpired the day before and knew that Xue Jin’an’s reason for drawing his blade was the word “compensation.” Therefore, this statement was no different from saying, “I will kill you.”

“Are you threatening me?” He stretched out his head in surprise, studying the serene Xue Jin’an lying awake on the bed. With a hint of amusement, he asked, “Do you want to dig out my heart too?”

His head protruded, long hair cascading down behind him, making it appear as if a head was hanging from the beam. The dim light filtering through the papered window cast his face into shadow, with only his eyes gleaming.

Xue Jin’an found the scene strangely familiar. He opened his camera, blinked, took a photo, and then used intelligent recognition to analyze it, pulling up a cache of images from horror films beloved by reclusive fans.

Well, not exactly identical, but the atmosphere was a perfect match. Xue Jin’an saved the images.

“It’s not a threat,” Xue Jin’an answered solemnly. “I don’t want your heart. I want to trade for your hand—it’s very powerful.”

Xue Jin’an was quite content as a phone; once he had a favored battery, he no longer coveted others’. Compared to a battery, the Fifth Prince’s physical limb was far superior.

He still remembered their brief encounter the day before—the grip on his wrist, the strength he couldn't break free from.

“Ha!” The Fifth Prince chuckled ambiguously. “You really are interesting.”

Perhaps in a good mood, he rarely felt the urge to talk. “If you want it, come and take it. But I’m not that useless Shi Xuan Yue you fought. If you hit me, I’ll personally cut it off for you. If you can’t beat me, then I’ll—take you to the study room and introduce you to our elder brothers, so you can pick whichever you like. How about that?”

His voice carried amusement, completely unmasked in its malice. He no longer addressed him as Fourth Brother, showing eagerness to stir trouble.

The Fifth Prince knew his reputation among his siblings was poor. They said he was cold and sinister, a troublemaker with ill intentions. He agreed; he treated all his brothers, including the one sharing both parents, with equal disdain, unwilling to let any of them have it easy.

Now, he had finally found a sharp blade capable of wounding them all. He wanted it badly and believed he could obtain it—after all, it was the Seventh Brother who had fallen from grace, suffered humiliation, and shared his ill will toward their brothers.

The Fifth Prince curled his lips, already savoring the thought of who to target first. The Second Brother or the Third Brother?

Though he couldn’t see what was admirable about the Second Brother, the scholars always praised his essays and strategies, and the Emperor commended his unparalleled intelligence. Though he wouldn’t begin court affairs until next year, he had already been given the courtesy name “Flawless.”

—Men traditionally adopted courtesy names upon reaching twenty, but princes began attending court at fifteen, often building their own mansions and even selecting their consorts early, essentially establishing their households in advance.

However, princely residences were sizable and took three to five years to complete. The Eldest Brother, despite having been crowned, still lived in the Qi Zheng Courtyard east of the princes’ quarters.

A gentleman like an orchid, a flawless jade—the Emperor’s praise was straightforward, but the Fifth Prince found no merit in his Second Brother worthy of such a name. If anything, the only advantage was his skill at forming factions.

Not long after the Eldest Brother left the study room, the Second Brother’s faction eagerly emerged.

As for the Third Brother who surfaced alongside him… Consort Xian came from a military family, all rough soldiers known for their brawn and simple minds—essentially brutes.

Once, the Eldest Brother clashed with the Third Brother and accidentally struck him. The next day, the brute General Qian Dezhong forced the Eldest Brother to the martial training ground, where he and his companion were beaten so badly they couldn’t get out of bed.

The Third Brother had always demonstrated outstanding physical prowess from youth, favored martial skills over literature, and spoke bluntly without subtlety or sarcasm—quite irritating.

The Fifth Prince decided to test the waters with the Second Brother, mainly because he thought the Seventh Brother couldn’t defeat the Third Brother—not because he didn’t want to speak with the Third Brother.

---

The Fifth Prince’s plan was sound, but he didn’t expect to be flatly rejected.

“I don’t understand what you’re saying,” Xue Jin’an replied blandly through his smart voice assistant, rising to dress, thinking to himself: Xiao Luzi should be returning from the imperial kitchen soon.

Xue Jin’an’s refusal was purely to the Fifth Prince’s suggestion of a fight. He had already assessed their combat the day before and knew the other was a somewhat muscular chicken running loose; with his battered body, he couldn’t win—for now.

Otherwise, he would have negotiated compensation with the Fifth Prince yesterday.

As for the conditions the Fifth Prince mentioned afterward, Xue Jin’an immediately muted the messages, not even bothering to listen.

The Fifth Prince narrowed his eyes but saw Xue Jin’an dressing without paying him any attention. He couldn’t help but sneer sarcastically, “Seventh Brother, you’re not scared, are you? I don’t blame you. After all, you’re just a pitiful little thing who’s hungry and cold—what right do you have to contend with them? Princes are not all the same.”

Xue Jin’an, having muted the Fifth Prince’s chat, smoothed the wrinkles on his clothes inch by inch, buttoning each button with equal pauses. This overly precise and rhythmic action was strangely pleasing to the eye.

In modern terms, it was a kind of aesthetic that comforts those with obsessive-compulsive tendencies.

The Fifth Prince didn’t have OCD but exhibited some compulsive behaviors, like yesterday when he scrubbed his fingers raw trying to clean off the medicine powder and blood.

His gaze involuntarily followed Xue Jin’an’s fingers as they moved over his clothes, lingering for a long moment. His voice faltered slightly, and when he realized what he’d done, a flash of anger crossed his eyes.

“Seventh Brother, you’ve been forgotten here,” he said darkly, his tone teasing yet lingering, sighing gently, “How pitiful.”

Xue Jin’an focused on tying his belt, hanging a sachet, adjusting it to the perfect angle, and deftly arranging the somewhat messy tassels with his fingers.

Truly a blessing for the compulsive.

The Fifth Prince: “...”

He forced himself to lift his gaze to Xue Jin’an’s face and resolutely continued coaxing, “Seventh Brother, I’ll help you, just like yesterday when I personally delivered Fourth Brother to you. I can help you.”

Xue Jin’an finished dressing and habitually opened his phone’s screen, only then noticing the barrage of messages from the Fifth Prince.

Suddenly realizing something, the Fifth Prince’s expression darkened. “Hey, Xue Jin’an!”

Still using his smart voice assistant library, Xue Jin’an naturally replied, “I’m here.”

Fifth Prince: “Look me in the eye when you speak.”

It seemed polite to look into one’s eyes while talking. Preparing to listen to a voice message, Xue Jin’an thoughtfully looked up. Since the sender was present, it was better to speak face to face.

So, Xue Jin’an said, “I didn’t catch what you said. Please say it again.”

The Fifth Prince’s heart tightened. Eyes wide in disbelief, he asked, “Are you... ignoring me?”

“...” Xue Jin’an paused two seconds, then decided to use the new skill he learned yesterday and lied with open eyes, “No, I’m not.”

He waited calmly for a response, but after a long silent stare, the Fifth Prince finally burst out laughing, “—Ha!”

---

It proved that when a person is rendered speechless to the extreme, laughter is the only response. The Fifth Prince’s emotional storm was completely deflated, and he returned to his usual aloof demeanor.

“Forget it.” He flipped down from the beam with a swift motion but stumbled as he landed unsteadily.

Xue Jin’an immediately noticed something was wrong. The Fifth Prince was still wearing yesterday’s clothes, stained with blood and medicine powder—likely from Fourth Brother’s scuffle. Additionally, there were two grayish marks around the hem and knee area, as if from kneeling.

“You’ve been here over three hours,” Xue Jin’an stated firmly. “You’ve run away from home.”

He quickly checked trending news—still no mention of Fourth Brother. Instead, a hot topic emerged: #Left Metropolitan Censor Accuses Ningguo Mansion of Neglecting Daughter's Education; Consort Rong Arrogant and Abusive, Torturing Palace Maids and Eunuchs#.

“I left openly and aboveboard,” the Fifth Prince claimed. But in truth, he had used lightness skill to leap over the wall unnoticed while palace servants were distracted, feinting to mislead his pursuers to his original secret spot as he quietly came here.

The more Mother Consort forbade him from contact with someone, the more determined he was to prove her wrong.

“Master!” Xiao Luzi’s voice came from outside. Xue Jin’an stepped out to see him pale-faced, having even forgotten to put down his food box in his haste. He rushed over anxiously, “Master, are you alright?”

Xiao Luzi had been actively socializing recently, building some connections. In particular, a low-ranking eunuch in the imperial kitchen, whose life was neither good nor bad, had witnessed Xue Jin’an’s fierce display forcing Prince Wang to kneel in supplication. Impressed, he took the initiative to approach Xiao Luzi.

Worried the Seventh Prince might look down on him, the eunuch tried to prove his worth by sharing palace gossip—usually well-known facts, though no one included Xiao Luzi in their circles, so he accepted the information.

This time, the news was telling.

Though Consort Zhen tried to amplify the scandal of Consort Rong arbitrarily executing palace maids to overshadow Fourth Brother’s incident and even removed the “culprit” Xue Jin’an from the affair, the palace walls had no secrets. Yet under Consort Zhen’s guidance, the palace only spread that Fourth Brother was attacked, never revealing the assassin’s identity.

But Xiao Luzi was no fool; with a little thought, he knew it had to involve his master.

He suppressed his emotions, not letting them show, and hurried back to Qifeng Courtyard. Unable to contain himself, he asked questions.

Seeing Xue Jin’an shake his head—he had no injuries—Xiao Luzi’s face relaxed somewhat, and in a low voice said, “Yesterday, Taiyi Palace summoned the imperial physician. This morning I went to fetch water from the kitchen and noticed it was more than usual. Just now, I detoured to Green Bamboo Courtyard and saw it was completely empty.”

It meant Fourth Brother hadn’t returned to Taiyi Palace the previous night, despite the imperial doctor’s summons, and Green Bamboo Courtyard had been vacated overnight.

“Such a coward,” the Fifth Prince commented.

Seeing him come out of the master’s room, Xiao Luzi was stunned, then realized what he had just said and paled.

His entire body trembled but he still resolutely stood in front of Xue Jin’an.

The Fifth Prince glanced at him, quickly withdrew his gaze, and looked at Xue Jin’an with a strange smile, saying, “Fourth Brother is ill; shouldn’t we visit him as brothers?”