“Come on… bark like a dog to liven things up for Your Imperial Brothers.”
At the end of the quiet palace path, a boy’s arrogant chuckle suddenly rang out, mixed with a hint of disdain.
Gu Ci raised his eyes to look ahead and saw Crown Prince Jun Yixhen and his loyal supporter, the Sixth Prince Jun Yifeng.
Gu Ci raised his eyebrows imperceptibly, cursing his bad luck inwardly. This Sixth Prince was notoriously overbearing and liked to bully others by abusing his power. Having the bad luck of running into them bullying a palace servant today meant things probably wouldn’t end well.
However, speaking of being overbearing in the capital city, the playboy young masters definitely included him, Gu Ci.
Still, this was someone else’s territory, so he couldn’t afford to act recklessly. Thinking of this, he lowered his gaze and greeted the two parties involved one by one, saying, “Your humble servant greets His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and His Royal Highness the Sixth Prince.”
“Ah, it’s Marquis Gu’s Heir! Please, get up!”
The Crown Prince smiled and personally helped him up, as if intentionally covering for him by saying, “Sixth Brother, everyone is a brother here, why must you make things difficult for the Seventh Imperial Brother?” As he spoke, he glanced pointedly at the figure kneeling on the ground.
The Heir of Marquis Anguo was the only grandson of Marquis Anguo, and Marquis Anguo was a military general who held command over regional troops at court.
Who in this court wouldn’t give Marquis Anguo some face?
“Oh, Seventh Imperial Brother, what are you doing? Weren’t we just messing around and having fun? Hurry~ hurry up and get up.” The Sixth Prince dragged the kneeling white-clad boy up from the ground through gritted teeth, making sure to force a fake smile toward Gu Ci as he did so.
Gu Ci subconsciously looked at the boy standing beside the Sixth Prince.
The boy lowered his gaze, making his emotions impossible to read.
He looked about fourteen or fifteen years old, with an extremely frail build, as if a gust of wind could blow him over.
He didn’t seem to take the earlier humiliation to heart; his lowered brows and gentle, poised appearance evoked a wave of pity in anyone who saw him.
Gu Ci inwardly muttered to himself, “Is this the Seventh Prince, Jun Yichen, the yandere ultimate villain from the original novel?”
He had transmigrated into this old-school, melodramatic, angsty novel for fourteen years now.
Today, he had finally met his target for capture, the villainous big shot Jun Yichen. His mission was actually quite simple: to constantly provide humanitarian care to our villainous big shot and prevent him from undergoing a dark corruption arc or going crazy, thereby disrupting the world’s balance.
Initially, he thought this task would be very troublesome, considering that was a villainous big shot after all. How could a small fry like him care for someone like that? Let alone talk about any BS redemption.
However, seeing him today, he suddenly gained confidence.
This was clearly a little white rabbit at the mercy of others. It seemed the villainous big shot hadn’t gone crazy or turned dark at this point in time.
Therefore, he had to carefully nurture the underage physical and mental health of the youth.
No sooner said than done.
“Your Seventh Highness, are you alright?” Gu Ci efficiently whipped out a handkerchief and set to work wiping down Jun Yichen’s slender, delicate hands.
“The Heir needn’t bother, it’s nothing.”
Just as he was staring intently and wiping away at those hands that were gradually turning red, he was startled so badly by this cold, abrupt statement that he jumped half a yard away.
When he reacted to what he had just done, he was instantly so embarrassed that he didn’t know where to cast his eyes.
“Forgive my… offense, please spare me, Your Highness.” One man holding another man’s hand to wipe it for him looked bizarre no matter how you looked at it.
He hoped the Seventh Prince wouldn’t take him for a pervert.
“System, why didn’t you stop me?” At this moment, he genuinely wanted to die of shame on the spot.
“Host, your solitary courage was truly beyond this one’s imagination.” Furthermore, it wasn’t a powerful system to begin with it was merely in its internship period, and for many things, the spirit was willing but the flesh was weak. This mission would rely entirely on the host himself.
“The Heir is truly of a genuine temperament; how could this palace blame you?”
The moment Gu Ci raised his eyes, he crashed straight into the youth’s watery, glistening eyes a pair of smiling peach-blossom eyes that were gentle and affectionate.
Even though he had seen plenty of stunning beauties, he was still deeply captivated by Jun Yichen’s appearance.
“Gu Heir, the palace banquet is about to begin. Please move along.” The Crown Prince’s expression wasn’t looking too good right now. This Jun Yichen truly was a bane, carrying a country-ruining face that was most adept at bewitching hearts.
“Please go ahead, Your Highness…” Gu Ci suppressed the discomfort in his heart and hurriedly followed behind them. As for any thoughts of humanitarian care toward the villain, they had long since been cast to the winds.
On this side, Jun Yichen chose not to walk together with them; after all, his two imperial brothers likely had zero desire to share a path with him.
As for… Gu Ci, the Heir of Marquis Anguo.
He truly was an intriguing person.
What a fine gentleman, jade-like and peerless.
He subconsciously touched his hand, which was still faintly red.
His gaze rippled, and the corners of his mouth ticked up slightly. Since the other party was this interesting, he shouldn’t let this chess piece delivered right to his doorstep go to waste.
Old Marquis Anguo held command over regional troops, and this Gu Ci was the sole remaining seedling of the Marquis’s estate. If he could be used to his own ends, it would be the icing on the cake; if not, what harm was there in destroying him?
While Gu Ci was looking toward the palace gates like an ant on a hot pan for the umpteenth time, he finally caught sight of Jun Yichen leisurely strolling over at a slow, unhurried pace.
Only then did his hanging heart slowly settle back into place.
In truth, he had felt regret after taking barely two steps away earlier. The Crown Prince’s faction and the Seventh Prince had always been at odds, and the deliberate provocation earlier was proof enough of the Seventh Prince’s current difficult predicament within the palace.
Seeing him safe and sound now, he finally felt at ease.
Today was the Mid-Autumn Festival, and a banquet was held within the palace, allowing all noble families and officials to attend with their households.
Gu Ci narrowed his eyes to appreciate the graceful dance, sipping wine occasionally, showing quite a bit of interest.
Right at that moment, before anyone noticed, a palace attendant rushed over like a gust of wind, stopped beside Gu Ci, and whispered into his ear before hastily retreating just as swiftly as he had arrived.
Gu Ci’s heart gave a slight jolt, followed by a calm sweep of his gaze across the opposite side, before he unhurriedly walked out of the grand hall.
Once outside the hall, he vigilantly scanned his surroundings. Seeing no unusual presence, he quickly headed toward a secluded palace building.
He suddenly lashed out with a kick, knocking down a man in black surrounding the youth, and immediately followed up with a punch to another’s face. The swiftness of his moves startled everyone present.
Seeing a few remaining men in black cornered, they realized they had encountered an expert. Exchanging glances, they simultaneously lunged at Gu Ci.
Gu Ci sidestepped an attack, then raised a leg to kick another assailant in the stomach. His movements were fierce, showing no mercy, and he quickly brought down several men in black.
However, these men in black appeared well-trained; despite being at a disadvantage, they continuously blocked and counterattacked.
Just as both sides were locked in a stalemate, Gu Ci heard a muffled grunt. He turned his head and saw the Seventh Prince’s arm bleeding, his face pale and looking exceptionally frail.
“Damn it!” Gu Ci cursed under his breath, accelerating his attack speed in an attempt to quickly finish off these men in black.
Seeing his desperate, fearless fighting style, the men in black melted into the night within moments, disappearing without a trace.
Preoccupied with the injured Seventh Prince, Gu Ci had no intention of giving chase.
“Your Highness, this commoner will take you to get your wounds treated first.” With that, he supported the youth upright.
Scenes of his fight with the men in black flashed through Gu Ci’s mind, making his brows furrow as he felt something was slightly off. He steadied his mind and decided that attending to the Seventh Prince’s injuries took priority.
Entering the room, Gu Ci carefully peeled back the clothing on the Seventh Prince’s arm, preparing to call someone to bandage him. However, at that exact moment, the Seventh Prince let out a soft chuckle.
Gu Ci looked at him in total confusion, asking perplexedly, “Your Highness, what is wrong? Is something still hurting?”
A dark gleam flashed through the Seventh Prince’s eyes as he softly said, “This palace was merely wondering… if not for Marquis Gu’s Heir today, I’m afraid this palace would have…”
“No matter, you saved this palace’s life today, and this palace will definitely engrave it in memory. If there comes a day when you have use for this palace, I ask that the Heir do not refuse.”
Hearing this, a wave of pity stirred within Gu Ci’s heart. He mused to himself that this Seventh Prince truly was pitiful; being bullied by the Crown Prince and the others during the day, followed by an assassination attempt right now it seemed the villainous big shot’s eventual madness was inextricably linked to the experiences of his youth.
No, a tender and kind-hearted youth like this couldn’t be allowed to be ruined and twisted by these people.
At this moment, his face inevitably carried a hint of tenderness.
“Your Highness flatters me; this is merely what this commoner ought to do.”
The corners of Jun Yichen’s eyes curved upward, leaving his emotions unreadable. He simply lowered his gaze, watching quietly as fresh blood flowed down his arm, pooling drop by drop onto the floor.
As if everything had nothing to do with him.
Watching this scene, that strange feeling crept up on Gu Ci once again.
Fortunately, at that moment, an older middle-aged palace matron hurried over carrying a medical box.
Gu Ci gently suppressed that sense of anomaly, and only after watching the wound get properly bandaged did he stand up and take his leave.