“Fifth Brother, let him go!”
The Crown Prince shouted angrily.
Jiaojiao instinctively looked over.
Gui Yan was clearly furious. He suddenly stood up and walked over. Gui Che hesitated for a moment before following him.
Gui Heng glanced calmly at the Crown Prince, withdrew the silver spear, and held it in his arms. He gave the Emperor and Empress a distant bow from where he stood, then turned around to leave.
“Wait!”
Gui Yan reached out to grab his shoulder.
“You publicly humiliated Third Brother, and now you think you can just leave?”
Without even seeming to dodge, Gui Heng avoided him, leaving Gui Yan’s hand grabbing nothing but air.
Gui Heng glanced at him casually.
“He lost because he was not as skilled. A loss is a loss. If Imperial Brother really wants me to say something, I can.”
“You!”
Gui Yan glared at him angrily.
But after hearing those words, he actually hesitated.
This Fifth Brother was crazy, and Gui De was not someone easy to deal with either. If he forced Gui Heng to apologize to Third Brother and Gui Heng said something even more offensive, the two of them might start fighting for real. No matter who ended up embarrassed, it would make the royal family look bad.
Gui De had already gotten back up. He did not even bother fixing his clothes before rushing forward angrily.
“I knew you were good with a spear! You were just pretending to be weak in front of Father last time!”
The smile at the corner of Gui Heng’s lips deepened.
“Third Brother was kind enough to let me win.”
“What are you so proud of?”
Gui De nearly ground his teeth to pieces.
“Don’t think Father will think more highly of you just because of this. I heard your foreign mother has been sick for years. What? She still hasn’t died?”
“Let me tell you something. Even if you are good with a spear, even if you are better than me in both literature and martial arts, so what? Can you wash away that barbarian blood in your body?”
The more he spoke, the more agitated he became.
He even rushed forward and grabbed Gui Heng’s crown, pulling it off.
The silver crown hit the ground with a clang.
His thick hair spilled down like flowing water, falling over the dark purple collar of his robe.
Moonlight shone like silk, and the Chengyue Terrace was brightly lit.
Yet Gui Heng himself seemed to be covered in darkness, making his pale face and red lips look even more striking.
He looked at the three princes before him with an expression that was almost a smile, but not quite.
“Third Brother!”
Gui Che was shocked. He grabbed Gui De’s arm.
“You’ve gone too far!”
He quickly looked around.
Sure enough, Emperor Heng had already frowned and was saying something to Eunuch Li beside him.
After listening, the old eunuch bowed slightly and walked toward them.
Gui Che looked back at Gui Heng.
There was no sign of embarrassment on his face after having his crown removed in front of everyone.
He simply raised a hand and casually pushed his hair back.
His entire manner was wild and carefree.
He did not even bother arguing.
He merely looked at the three of them with those eyes as dark as the night mist, his expression full of mockery.
For a brief moment, Gui Che had the strange feeling that in this confrontation, the three of them standing together were actually the weaker side.
Gui De was being held back by Gui Che and could not break free.
Suddenly, he pointed at Gui Heng and burst out laughing.
“Look! Look at his hair! Look at his eyes! Fourth Brother, why are you stopping me? Did I say anything wrong?”
“He is a bastard! He doesn’t deserve to stand beside us as our equal or even be compared with us!”
“Third Brother!”
Crown Prince Gui Yan also realized that something was wrong.
He called out his name and tried his best to stop him.
But it was already too late.
Eunuch Li walked up to them and bowed.
Then he looked at Gui De.
His posture was respectful, but his tone left no room for argument.
“Third Prince.”
“The Emperor says that the banquet has not even begun, yet you are already drunk. Please return to your seat and rest immediately.”
“Why?”
Gui De widened his eyes and pointed at the expressionless Gui Heng.
“He was the one who started this! He’s the one who is a—”
“Third Prince!”
Eunuch Li raised his voice.
Only after Gui De unwillingly shut his mouth did the eunuch continue with a smile.
“Whatever are you saying? Every one of the princes is the Emperor’s own blood. You are all members of the most noble imperial family.”
“The Emperor also says that if you refuse to return to your seat, then you must be extremely drunk. In that case, please return to your palace and rest.”
Gui De’s face instantly turned deathly pale.
“You’d better go.”
Even the Crown Prince had had enough.
He waved over Gui De’s attendants.
“Help His Highness back to his seat. Hurry!”
Gui Che whispered in Gui De’s ear,
“We’ll speak to Father on your behalf.”
Then, ignoring Gui De’s pleading gaze, he watched helplessly as the attendants persuaded and half-dragged him away.
……
The farce finally came to an end, and the banquet continued as planned.
Perhaps to cover up what had happened, the music became even louder, and the dancers performed with even more energy than they had earlier.
But Jiaojiao could no longer concentrate on the singing and dancing.
She watched closely as Gui Heng left to change his clothes, tied his hair up again, and returned to the banquet.
When she saw him being summoned to the Emperor’s side, her heart nearly jumped into her throat.
A tyrant was still a tyrant.
Even before he had fully grown into one, he was already causing so much trouble.
What would happen in the future?
Gui Heng lowered his head and listened to whatever the Emperor was saying.
Jiaojiao suddenly found her food tasteless.
Under the table, she tightly gripped the edge of her skirt, wishing she had superhuman hearing.
Fortunately, Emperor Heng did not look angry.
Gui Heng, as usual, had no expression on his face.
But why were they talking for so long?
Aunt Du noticed that the bird’s nest with sliced duck in Jiaojiao’s bowl had already gone cold, yet she still had not touched it.
She sighed softly and said,
“Princess, there is no need to worry. From what this servant can see, His Majesty is not angry with Fifth Prince. In fact, he seems rather pleased.”
Jiaojiao turned to look at her, her eyes full of trust.
“How can you tell?”
“Princess, do you remember how Fifth Prince defeated Third Prince with that one move?”
Jiaojiao nodded.
He had pressed the spear against Gui De’s neck and forced him to kneel.
It had been extremely satisfying to watch.
But in front of so many people, Gui De had indeed been humiliated quite badly.
Aunt Du said,
“That is exactly it. That was a move His Majesty used during his military campaigns in the past. Only His Majesty used the back of a cavalry saber.”
“The battle was extremely tense at the time. His Majesty used that move to force the enemy general to kneel before him and shout, ‘Long live the Emperor!’ Only then was he able to completely defeat the enemy army.”
“Really…?”
That sounded so cool.
Jiaojiao thought of Emperor Heng lying lazily in the warm chamber with a stomach that looked as if it had four layers.
She found it difficult to imagine him doing anything like that.
“Yes.”
Aunt Du smiled kindly.
“Men always hope that their sons will carry on what they accomplished.”
“Now that the realm is peaceful, the princes no longer need to fight wars everywhere. Seeing Fifth Prince suddenly use the move that once brought him victory must have made His Majesty very pleased.”
Jiaojiao watched the Emperor from a distance, quietly inhaled, and nodded repeatedly.
Aunt Du was right.
Gui Heng had already returned to his seat.
His expression was calm.
Then Eunuch Li personally brought a cup of wine to him.
That wine had only been presented by a vassal state that morning, and there was only one pot of it in the entire palace.
Emperor Heng loved wine more than anything.
It seemed he really was very pleased.
When the Emperor was happy, everyone naturally became happy as well.
The Chengyue Terrace was once again filled with music, dancing, and celebration.
Jiaojiao’s cheeks gradually grew warm as she looked at Gui Heng in the distance, quietly lowering his eyes as he drank.
Today, he had used the weapon she gave him to defeat Gui De.
And he had won so beautifully.
She…
She was so happy.
Suddenly, he turned his head and looked toward her.
Jiaojiao’s heart jumped.
She quickly looked away.
Her heartbeat, loud as a drum, seemed to keep pounding against her chest.
Jiaojiao pressed her lips together and made up her mind.
She quietly instructed Yuqiu,
“Go and tell A-Li, Fifth Brother’s attendant, that after the banquet ends, I want Fifth Brother to wait for me beside Jiyue Lake.”
“I have something to tell him.”
Jiyue Lake was not far from Chengyue Terrace.
After the banquet ended, Jiaojiao sent the others away and secretly slipped toward the lakeside with Aunt Du.
There was a small pavilion beside the water.
She lifted her skirt and walked over alone.
“If Fifth Brother comes, tell him I’m inside the pavilion. Auntie, find somewhere warm and just keep an eye on things for me.”
Then she began her long wait.
Only now did Jiaojiao belatedly realize something.
After what had happened earlier, even if the Emperor did not care much about it, the Empress and Crown Prince certainly would.
Now that the banquet was over and the members of the imperial family had dispersed, it was probably time for them to openly turn against each other.
She wondered if the future tyrant could handle it all by himself.
Autumn had arrived, and the weather had quickly turned colder.
Fortunately, the palace servants of Jiaoran Hall had learned their lesson.
Whenever Jiaojiao went outside, they wrapped her up from head to toe.
Jiaojiao was wearing a silver-marten fur cloak, so she was not cold.
She was simply bored.
She stuck her head out and watched the moon for a while.
Then she hummed a little song.
After that, she played with her fingers for a while.
By the time she became so bored that she was lying against the railing and counting the few remaining lotus flowers on the lake, she finally heard footsteps approaching along the path to the pavilion.
She excitedly turned her head.
Then she froze.
Moonlight spread across the path, glittering with tiny silver reflections.
It was clear and bright.
And that exceptionally handsome, cold young man was looking at her as he walked toward her step by step, coming through the moonlight.
For a moment, Jiaojiao had the strange illusion that she was not really sitting there.
That she had never truly met Gui Heng.
He should have been a male lead who existed only inside a book.
Handsome, powerful, and seemingly capable of anything.
Even if he occasionally suffered at the hands of villains or was caught in someone’s schemes, those people were merely stepping stones on the road to his growth.
They could never truly affect him.
Naturally, he did not need anyone to protect him.
He did not need anyone to save him.
And he certainly would never…
change for anyone.
Jiaojiao pressed her lips together.
Actually, she had vaguely felt this way throughout the evening.
Especially after watching him defeat Gui De so effortlessly.
Gui Heng slowly walked toward her.
At a glance, he could tell that Lin Jiaojiao was lost in thought.
Although she was looking at him and her eyes followed his movements, her large, round eyes were empty.
There was nothing in them.
At some point, Gui Heng had become accustomed to seeing Jiaojiao’s face light up with countless expressions whenever she saw him.
There were always so many strange emotions in her eyes.
Although he did not know why, he could feel them clearly.
Cautious fear.
Careful attempts to please him.
The secret delight she showed whenever she gained something.
The inexplicable trust she placed in him…
No matter what emotion it was, everything was written clearly in her eyes.
Strong and overflowing.
But now, there was only emptiness.
Gui Heng watched her for a long time.
Slowly, his brows drew together.
Seeing her looking so absent-minded, as if her soul had wandered away, made him inexplicably uncomfortable.
After a moment of silence, Gui Heng reached out and untied the curtain hanging from the pavilion pillar.
The night breeze was cool.
Jiaojiao stared blankly as the light purple curtains slowly drifted down behind him.
They looked like smoke and mist, covering the darkness of the night and blocking part of the moonlight over the lake.
Her gaze inevitably settled on the slender and elegant young man standing before her.
He looked at her calmly and said in a quiet voice,
“Princess, what is the matter?”
His expression was as still as water.
He stared steadily at her and spoke softly.
“I have come as promised.”