Upon returning home, Gu Ci was met with a stern lecture from Duke Gu, exactly as expected.
Having no other choice, he recounted yesterday’s events to his grandfather from beginning to start. While the Duke felt deep sympathy for the Seventh Prince’s plight, he strongly disapproved of Gu Ci staying overnight at the prince’s residence. With earnest gravity, he pulled his grandson aside for a serious heart-to-heart talk.
“A-Ci, Grandfather knows you are soft-hearted and tender by nature, unable to turn a blind eye to such suffering. But you must understand that as an imperial scion, whether the Seventh Prince contends for the throne is not up to him, yet your every action and step could inadvertently become the catalyst that pushes him over the edge.”
“As a martial family holding supreme military power in the Daqing Empire, our Duke’s estate ought to maintain a proper distance from every imperial prince. Yet the Emperor specifically appointed you as the Seventh Prince’s study companion, this indicates his intent to balance the various factions among the princes, and inevitably, serves as a test of our estate’s loyalty.”
The Duke pressed a heavy, meaningful hand upon Gu Ci’s shoulder. “A-Ci, Grandfather knows you are a loyal and devoted boy, but you must remember that standing behind you is not only the Duke’s estate, but millions of soldiers in the Gu army. Our loyalty is to the sovereign alone.”
Finally, he added a weighty injunction: “Especially when you are alone with the Seventh Prince, you must exercise absolute propriety and never cross the line.”
With a heavy, subdued heart, Gu Ci nodded in compliance.
That night, Gu Ci suffered a rare bout of insomnia.
The following day marked the twenty-eighth of the twelfth lunar month, the scheduled arrival date of the Southern Frontier diplomatic delegation.
Crown Prince Jun Yixuan and the Seventh Prince, Jun Yichen, were tasked with overseeing the reception of the envoys.
Gu Ci, meanwhile, was assigned to command the personal security detail responsible for safeguarding the delegation throughout their stay in the capital.
Early in the morning, before the first rays of dawn had fully pierced the sky, Gu Ci joined the two princes and a contingent of elite guards waiting outside the city gates for the arrival of the Southern Frontier emissaries.
Though the relationship between the princes remained strained beneath the surface, the Crown Prince took care to maintain a facade of public harmony for the sake of outsiders.
Glancing sideways at Jun Yichen, the Crown Prince let out a mocking, derisive chuckle. “At the recent banquet, Seventh Brother appeared somewhat indisposed. I trust you have fully recovered?” Tilting his head upward to peer at the gray sky, he added with thinly veiled sarcasm, “The winter winds are biting and ruthless; Seventh Brother would do well to take better care of his health.”
Jun Yichen displayed none of the irritated reactions the Crown Prince had anticipated. Instead, he gazed calmly ahead, as though the Crown Prince’s barbed words were completely weightless.
Gu Ci cast a look toward Jun Yichen, who was wrapped securely in a thick fur-lined cloak, and likewise chose to ignore the Crown Prince entirely.
Just as Crown Prince Jun Yixuan felt a prick of irritation at being met with an indifferent wall of silence, a sharp shout rang out from ahead: “Your Highnesses, the Southern Frontier delegation has arrived!”
At the announcement, all eyes turned toward the distance. A sprawling procession was slowly winding its way down the primary trade road.
At the vanguard of the convoy rode a dozen burly guards mounted on fiery, high-spirited steeds. Trailing closely behind them were two opulent carriages, their rooftop corners adorned with crystal-clear sapphire pendants that chimed softly in the biting winter wind, cutting an imposing figure. Flanking the rear of the carriages were another dozen heavily armored guards tasked with their protection.
Gu Ci and the princes stepped forward, advancing toward the city gates to formally welcome the arriving emissaries.
As the leading carriage drew to a halt, the fabric curtain was pulled back from within.
A tall man clad in deep crimson, exotic nomadic attire stepped down. His dark hair was swept behind his ears and held in place by a red circlet encrusted with brilliant blue sapphires, while soft curls brushed lightly against his temples.
He possessed striking, sharply defined facial features, a gaze of deep, unfathomable black that seemed capable of piercing straight through a man’s soul, and a thin, maple-leaf-red pair of lips curving into a confident, charismatic smile.
Baili Mingzong, the Prince of Jin and a senior royal kinsman of Southern Frontier, stepped gracefully from the carriage. Looking toward the imperial princes, he smiled and said, “Many thanks to Your Highness the Crown Prince and Your Highness the Seventh Prince. We have troubled you both to brave the cold.” With that, he offered a polished, courtly nod of greeting.
The Crown Prince returned a polite smile. “You are too gracious, Prince of Jin.”
With brief pleasantries concluded, Baili Mingzong retreated back into the comfort of his carriage.
Throughout the exchange, neither Gu Ci nor Jun Yichen uttered a single syllable.
Seemingly sensing a gaze upon him, Jun Yichen glanced sideways at Gu Ci. The young marquis had half of his face buried in the towering fur collar of his cloak, keeping his head lowered so that his expression remained entirely unreadable.
That evening, the imperial court hosted a grand welcoming banquet within the palace walls, attended by all high-ranking civil and military officials. Because the delegation included Princess Youran, the Empress had explicitly commanded all unmarried young ladies of noble birth to attend in attendance as well.
The banquet hall was laid out with traditional, facing columns for male and female guests. Gu Ci was stationed directly among the delegation’s seating sector, tasked with ensuring the personal security of the Prince of Jin and Princess Youran.
Yet, throughout the proceedings, Gu Ci’s gaze kept drifting uncontrollably toward Jun Yichen across the hall.
For reasons he couldn’t quite articulate, ever since witnessing the prince’s harrowing relapse, his thoughts kept straying back to him.
Suddenly recalling his grandfather’s stern warnings from the night before, Gu Ci abruptly dragged his eyes away, lifting his porcelain teacup to take a slow, grounding sip.
It appeared that if he wished to approach Jun Yichen openly, he would simply have to devise a more discreet strategy, at the very least, he would have to wait until the spring when his grandfather returned to the northern frontier before making any new moves.
As the banquet progressed through successive rounds of wine and courses, Baili Mingzong stood up, raising his cup to invite the entire hall to enjoy a showcase of traditional music and dance brought specially from the Southern Frontier.
At a signal, a troupe of beautiful maidens clad in vibrant, exotic attire glided onto the central dais. Their movements were fluid and mesmerizing, their melodies enchanting, instantly earning rolling waves of applause from the assembled courtiers.
Following the opening performance, the primary figure of the delegation, Princess Baili Youran—made her grand entrance.
She wore a crimson, sheer gauze crop top that left her midriff delightfully bare, encrusted at the neckline with dazzling beadwork and pearls that glittered brilliantly under the illumination of the palace lanterns. Around her waist rested a vibrant sash strung with countless tiny silver bells; with every fluid step she took, the bells chimed together in a crisp, melodious cadence like celestial music.
Her flowing dance skirt was layered in vibrant, shifting shades of sunset, rippling like a cloud chasing the moon. When she spun, the brilliant scarlet fabric billowed like surging waves, creating a breathtaking, hypnotic spectacle.
The entire hall was thoroughly captivated by the exotic display, leaving even the Emperor upon the dais staring with undisguised, hungry fascination.
Scanning the spellbound crowd, Baili Mingzong let out a silent, mocking sneer at the sight of the supposedly dignified courtiers behaving like fools.
Suddenly, his eyes flicked across two individuals who appeared entirely immune to the spell. The first was the young marquis stationed near his table, tasked with their protection, whose expression remained calm and collected.
And the second… Baili Mingzong arched a brow in genuine surprise. It was the Seventh Prince, Jun Yichen.
Before setting out for the capital of Daqing, he had thoroughly tasked his intelligence network with unearthing the backgrounds of every single imperial prince.
Baili Mingzong’s lips curved upward in quiet amusement. It appeared the intelligence reports had been woefully inaccurate. Leaving aside everything else, could the notoriously decadent, frivolous young marquis described in rumors truly be the same person sitting here with a gaze as clear and steady as undisturbed water?
As the final notes of the dance faded, the Emperor took the lead, clapping his hands in booming approval. “As expected of the most beloved princess of Southern Frontier to lay eyes upon you today is truly to behold a vision from the heavens!” His gaze lingered with blatant, predatory possessiveness over the stunning young woman standing at the center of the hall.