"Are you sure this is the Thirteenth Princess's mansion?"
The Royal Capital!
In front of a mansion in a remote part of the city's southern district.
Su Changge climbed down from the carriage and pointed at the mansion before him. It was about the same size as the courtyard he had rented, and surprise crept into his voice.
According to the kingdom's rules, once a royal prince or princess came of age, they had to move out of the palace.
Usually, the kingdom's treasury would set aside a sum of money for them to build or purchase a mansion and raise their own guards.
But this mansion before him probably couldn't compare even to the homes of the Royal Capital's wealthy merchants, let alone those of the great nobles.
"Yes, Lord Changge. The Thirteenth Princess lives here."
The Musket Cavalryman beside him nodded firmly. To make sure the information was accurate, he had spent the whole night keeping watch outside.
"It seems our Thirteenth Princess is even less favored than the rumors say."
Su Changge sighed, but the smile on his face grew even wider.
Good. Let her be disfavored.
Adding flowers to brocade was nothing compared to sending charcoal in a snowstorm.
Brushing aside his wandering thoughts, Su Changge knocked on the Thirteenth Princess's courtyard gate.
"Please inform her that Su Changge of the Murong Earldom in the southern frontier has come to pay a visit."
When Su Changge entered the mansion, there were two men in the courtyard besides Rose, the Thirteenth Princess, who had just turned seventeen.
The young man in the lead had a face as handsome as jade and an air of noble distinction.
An aura of kingship and imperial majesty surrounded him.
The other man was cloaked in black. At first glance, he looked like an old man on the verge of death; at second glance, he was like an abyss, almost ready to swallow Su Changge's soul.
In nearly the same instant, Su Changge's Martial Soul rumbled, and every nerve in his body went taut.
Even Zhao Wuji, a Spirit Saint, couldn't give him this intensely suffocating sense of danger!
A Soul Douluo? Or... a Titled Douluo!?
Su Changge drew a deep breath and suppressed his fear.
He had still underestimated the people of this world.
He hadn't expected that here in the Royal Capital, there would be someone with courage on par with his own.
"Su Changge of the Murong Earldom pays his respects to the Thirteenth Princess!"
Su Changge withdrew his gaze and gave Rose a nobleman's bow.
"May I ask what brings you here, Lord Su?"
The Thirteenth Princess returned his bow, replying gently.
She seemed naive and sheltered, a perfect little white flower.
Easy to handle!
"That can wait. May I ask who these two honored guests are?"
Su Changge didn't rush to state his purpose. Instead, he turned to look at the young man and the old man in black.
He still didn't know whether these two were friend or foe. If he talked too big, wouldn't he only dig himself into a hole?
Besides!
With more people around, it was harder to fool an innocent, sheltered little white flower.
"My name is Xue Qinghe. I came from Tiandou Imperial City. This is my attendant."
Before Rose could speak, the young man in the lead introduced himself. He looked straight at Su Changge, a hint of curiosity in his eyes.
"Xue Qinghe!?"
"Tiandou Imperial City!"
"You're Qian..."
Su Changge felt as if ten thousand bolts of lightning had struck him. If his left hand hadn't been quick enough to cover his mouth on its own, he might have blurted out the name Qian Renxue.
No wonder!
No wonder he'd immediately sensed that these two were no ordinary people.
Damn it, Qian Renxue had set her sights on the Thirteenth Princess.
Then... who was that old man in black?
Pufferfish Douluo? Or Snake Lance Douluo?
A Titled Douluo had shown up. This was a high-level game he couldn't afford to play.
"Ahem... I've heard so much about you, so much."
Su Changge forced a laugh, suppressed his trembling, then swiftly turned to the Thirteenth Princess. "Well... Your Highness Rose, I just remembered there's something urgent I need to take care of at home, so I won't trouble you for now. We can meet another day... another day."
With that, Su Changge turned to slip away.
But the old man in black seemed to see right through him. His figure flickered like Gui Mei's namesake, blocking Su Changge's path.
His scarlet eyes flashed with boundless pressure.
"May I ask... what's the meaning of this?"
Su Changge stiffened and turned to look at Xue Qinghe.
"How interesting... Lord Su, it seems you know me?"
Xue Qinghe let out a soft laugh, his eyes full of amusement, and walked toward Su Changge.
As Xue Qinghe pressed closer step by step, Su Changge's legs gave way, and he dropped to his knees.
"Su Changge of the Murong Earldom pays his respects to Your Highness the Crown Prince!!!"
"The Crown Prince?"
Hearing Su Changge address Xue Qinghe that way, the Thirteenth Princess didn't understand at first.
As an innocent, sheltered little white flower, she hadn't even figured out what was going on in the Royal Capital. How could she be expected to keep track of the powerful figures in Tiandou Imperial City?
"Su Changge! You're starting to interest me."
Xue Qinghe said meaningfully, then turned to the Thirteenth Princess.
"Your Highness Rose, I must apologize. I concealed my identity from you earlier."
"Allow me to introduce myself again. I am the Crown Prince of the Heaven Dou Empire."
After a flurry of confusion and commotion, Su Changge and Rose sat obediently before Xue Qinghe.
Su Changge especially leaned forward and sat bolt upright, as if the word obedient had been carved into his forehead.
"Your Highness the Crown Prince, Rose appreciates your kind offer, but she truly has no desire to fight for the throne... And Rose is nothing like the First Prince or the Seventh Princess."
"They have deep roots in the Royal Capital and throughout the kingdom. Even if you spent all your effort putting Rose on the throne, she might not be able to hold on to it for long. By then... she might only drag the Crown Prince down with her."
Facing everyone's gaze, the Thirteenth Princess blushed, her expression timid.
If they hadn't heard it with their own ears, no one would have believed that anyone could refuse the throne.
The throne! The kingdom's highest seat of power.
For most people, even sitting on it for a single day would be worth giving up their lives.
"Your Highness Rose, don't worry. Once you take the throne, with my support, even if the entire kingdom rises in rebellion, no one will be able to shake you from it."
"I'll put you on the throne, and I'll help you eliminate every threat!"
"All you need to do is pledge your loyalty to me..."
Under Su Changge's watchful sidelong glance, Xue Qinghe spent a full half hour trying to persuade Rose to join the struggle for the throne.
But in the end, it was all useless.
"Pfft..."
Seeing Xue Qinghe's expression grow more and more dejected, Su Changge couldn't help laughing.
"What are you laughing at!?"
"Are you happy to see me make a fool of myself?"
Xue Qinghe clearly had far less patience with Su Changge than with Rose.
He slapped the table before him, and the carved hardwood table shattered into pieces.
At the same time, that black-cloaked figure reappeared behind Su Changge like a ghost.
It seemed that at Xue Qinghe's command, the withered, wood-like hand would pierce straight through Su Changge's head.
"No... Your Highness the Crown Prince, I didn't laugh. I didn't laugh!"
Su Changge panicked.
"So you're saying I heard wrong? That I imagined it?"
"No, no. I did laugh, but I didn't mean..."
"Su Changge, you've got some nerve, to toy with me!!!"
Su Changge suddenly realized that when a woman disguised herself as a man, she could be even more unreasonable than a woman.
When you met a beautiful woman who refused to listen to reason, you could use your hands, your words, or your money.
But when you met a woman disguised as a man, none of those tricks would work.
He just couldn't get past that mental hurdle.
He really couldn't!