Xue Beng quickly explained why he had bullied the common people back then. He started with the sudden deaths of his two elder brothers, then described how "Xue Qinghe" had won over officials, presenting himself as modest and wise, and finally taken the position of crown prince...
"So you deliberately pretended to be a hopeless scoundrel to keep him from making a move against you, making him think you were useless and posed no threat to his position as crown prince. You were protecting yourself this way?"
Xue Hen already knew the reason, but deliberately let a hint of realization show on his face.
Xue Beng nodded solemnly. "That's right. If I didn't, I was afraid he'd kill me just as he did my two elder brothers. I can't produce any evidence, but by the logic that the person who benefits most is the culprit, their sudden deaths must have had something to do with him!"
Beside him, Prince Xue Xing spoke with a grave expression. "Xue Qinghe is nothing like the wise and virtuous man he appears to be. I've spent more than sixty years in the imperial family and seen every sort of disguise. I can see the ambition buried deep in his eyes. After he became crown prince, he seemed to devote himself to assisting His Majesty, but in truth he's been constantly winning over ministers loyal to him!"
"He's the crown prince. It's only natural that he'd want to build up his own faction." Xue Hen let the look of realization fade from his face, adopting a thoughtful expression as he spoke calmly.
"Even so, my elder brother is still in the prime of his life. Why is he so impatient? Just how worried is he that his position as crown prince might not be secure?"
"Phew~" Prince Xue Xing let out a heavy breath. Then his tone shifted, and he looked at Xue Hen with sincerity. "We've strayed a little off topic. Xue Hen, we didn't come here today to accuse Xue Qinghe of his crimes. We only wanted to clear up the misunderstanding between you and Xue Beng. He isn't a spoiled wastrel. He understands the importance of winning the people's hearts, and that making trouble for no reason is a serious mistake. But... to protect himself, he has no choice. If he doesn't act like a useless good-for-nothing, Xue Qinghe won't spare him. I hope you can understand, and won't think he's a violent prince who enjoys oppressing the common people, like everyone else does."
Xue Hen lightly tapped the armrest with his finger. "Whether I understand or not doesn't matter. We judge by deeds, not intentions. No matter how many reasons he has, what do they have to do with those innocent people? They were bullied, and the one who bullied them was Xue Beng. There's no denying that, so he deserved to be sent flying by me."
Xue Beng lowered his head at those words.
Prince Xue Xing hurriedly said, "We know those people were innocent, so afterward we secretly made it up to them. Some would 'happen' to find Gold Soul Coins on the road; others would have a big customer show up while they were running a small business... We made sure they were all compensated."
Xue Hen looked at Prince Xue Xing, a flicker of surprise crossing his face.
This time, it was genuine.
These two would secretly compensate people after bullying them?
The original novel really hadn't mentioned that.
"Your Highness, I know the common people might rather not have been bullied than receive my compensation, but I... I had no choice. I have to stay alive. I think you shouldn't hold someone whose life is constantly in danger to such high moral standards. I've already tried my best not to become someone who'll do anything to save his own skin." Xue Beng looked up and spoke to Xue Hen with a weary air.
"Alas~" Xue Xing sighed at just the right moment and shook his head.
Silence.
The room fell quiet.
Xue Hen furrowed his brows and tapped the armrest repeatedly with his finger. After "thinking" for quite a while, he said to the uncle and nephew in front of him, "When you're born into the imperial family, there are many things you can't control. All that matters is that your conscience is clear. Also, if you want to stay alive, you could pretend to be an idiot instead of a wastrel. Then you wouldn't have to bully those people. How did you not think of that back then?"
"Pretend to be... an idiot?" Xue Beng was dumbfounded.
"Well... we really didn't think of that at the time." Prince Xue Xing's face twitched slightly. He scratched his head and spoke in a low voice.
"All right, I understand. It's getting late, so I won't keep you any longer." Xue Hen rose to his feet.
"Your Highness, we..."
"All right." Prince Xue Xing grabbed Xue Beng, who was about to say more, and pulled him to his feet as well. He said to Xue Hen, "It really is getting late. Since we've cleared things up, we'll take our leave. Get some rest, Xue Hen."
"Mm." Xue Hen nodded.
Seeing his uncle act that way, Xue Beng could only swallow the words he'd still wanted to say. He followed him out of the guest room. After they left, the two of them said goodbye to Xue Hen once more, then went downstairs together and headed out of the inn.
Watching the uncle and nephew leave, Xue Hen thought to himself, Those two... are a little more skilled at this than Qian Renxue.
They'd both come with an agenda, but they'd left him with completely different impressions. That was the difference.
"Xue Beng..." Xue Hen stroked his chin. Thinking of Tang San's treatment in the Heaven Dou Empire in the original novel, and the Heaven Dou Imperial Family's treasured super Soul Tool, the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud, he began to consider whether he should recreate some of Tang San's experiences and support Xue Beng in bringing Qian Renxue down. Then he could use the imperial family's power to make better use of the system.
Right, his "Fictional Sky Screen, Making the Fake Real" system didn't grant a high authenticity rate just because he made things up at random.
For example, even now, the authenticity rate for the character Yuan Qi hadn't reached fifty percent.
With the Heaven Dou Imperial Family's help, whenever he wanted to fabricate something in the future, he could first plant all kinds of clues across the continent to get people talking, then broadcast it on the Sky Screen. The results would surely be very different.
Xue Hen stood there considering it for a while. In the end, he decided to wait and see what Xue Beng did next. If Xue Beng wanted his support too, he would surely come back.
Then he closed the door, picked up one of the fruits they'd brought, and returned to his chair.
Meanwhile, on the streets of Heaven Dou City.
Prince Xue Xing and Xue Beng walked along, with many guards following behind them. The guards had been keeping watch around the inn earlier.
"Uncle, why did you hurry me away just now? I still had more to say," Xue Beng asked Prince Xue Xing.
"We'd already said plenty. You should understand that too much of a good thing can be harmful," Prince Xue Xing replied.
"But..."
"After you explained why you'd bullied the common people, Xue Hen's expression clearly changed. After that, he responded whenever we spoke to him. That means he took it in and believed your explanation! So we accomplished what we came there to do today. As for getting closer to him, we can't rush it. We need to take our time. Tomorrow, you can bring him some pastries and visit him again. Don't talk about serious matters; just ask how he's been all these years, whether it's been hard for him to live on his own since he was a child, and say a few things to show you care about him. Understand?" Prince Xue Xing instructed Xue Beng.
At that, Xue Beng fell silent and thought it over carefully. Then he nodded. "Mm, I understand, Uncle."
"Good. You're a quick learner." Prince Xue Xing nodded in satisfaction.
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