Qian Renxue

The person who had come to stir up trouble looked to be no more than eighteen or nineteen years old.

Coupled with his arrogant claim of being a prince, Ye Xuan immediately guessed his identity.

Emperor Xue Ye's son, Xue Beng.

At this moment, the surrounding crowd was watching the spectacle, casting sympathetic glances toward Ye Xuan.

Because everyone knew what kind of person Xue Beng was; anyone targeted by him could only be said to have had the worst luck in eight lifetimes.

"If you don't want to die, get lost, or I'll send you to see your second brother," Ye Xuan stared at him and said coldly.

"You... what are you talking about? This Prince doesn't understand what you mean."

Xue Beng was startled at first; his second brother's death was the very reason he had chosen to act this way.

Now that Ye Xuan had inexplicably mentioned his second brother, he was naturally filled with inner panic.

But soon, he calmed himself down.

Regardless of whether the person before him knew these royal secrets, even if he did, he had to keep up the act.

Otherwise, if 'Xue Qinghe's' people found out, he would be in danger.

"Get lost!"

Ye Xuan couldn't be bothered to tangle with him; with a wave of his hand, he sent Xue Beng flying to the side.

Xue Beng landed on his backside, sitting on the ground in a sorry state with a trickle of blood spilling from the corner of his mouth.

Just then, two attendants rushed to his side, helped him up, and asked with concern, "Your Highness, are you alright!"

"Seize them for me!" Xue Beng roared hysterically.

"Yes." The two attendants had no choice but to obey, walking toward Ye Xuan.

"Kid, do you know who you've offended? This is the Fourth Prince of our Heaven Dou Empire. If you don't want to be wanted by the Heaven Dou Empire, surrender immediately," one of them threatened.

"Wanted by the Heaven Dou Empire? A crumbling empire teetering on the edge of collapse wants to threaten me?" Ye Xuan said with disdain.

"You're courting death." The two attendants were furious and immediately summoned their martial souls, ready to strike.

Both were Spirit Kings, one at level 54 and the other at level 55.

"Why haven't you two left yet? Are you not embarrassed enough?"

Suddenly, a sharp shout rang out, stopping the two men in their tracks.

Hearing the voice, everyone looked over to see a refined young man of eighteen or nineteen years old walking out.

This person carried an air of nobility; compared to Xue Beng, his temperament was far superior, as if he were a natural-born ruler.

Seeing him, the two attendants quickly bowed in salute.

"Your Highness the Crown Prince."

"Is it not embarrassing enough? Acting as a prince's lackeys to bully others—truly impressive!" the newcomer scolded.

The two men lowered their heads in shame, not daring to utter a single word of rebuttal.

"Why haven't you taken the Fourth Prince away yet?" the man demanded.

"Yes, Your Highness the Crown Prince." The two men obeyed and immediately led Xue Beng away.

After they left, the man looked at Ye Xuan and said, "I am Xue Qinghe. I wonder if this young master would do me the honor of having a drink and chatting for a while?"

Ye Xuan hadn't expected to encounter not only Xue Beng but also Qian Renxue.

This likely wasn't intentional on Qian Renxue's part; it was purely a coincidence.

"No problem, but I need to wait for them to go inside and browse for a while," Ye Xuan said.

"That is fine." Qian Renxue nodded readily.

She looked at Zhu Zhuqing and the other two; although they were young, they were clearly beauties in the making. It was no wonder Xue Beng had gone mad over them.

Moreover, she could clearly see that Zhu Zhuqing, Ning Rongrong, and Xiao Wu all possessed extraordinary strength. At their age, such power was far from ordinary.

With these three surrounding Ye Xuan, Ye Xuan himself was surely even more remarkable.

Such a person was definitely worth recruiting into her own camp.

"Go ahead! I will wait here with His Highness the Crown Prince," Ye Xuan said to the three girls.

"Mm!" The three responded softly and went inside to see if there were any interesting spirit tools.

After they entered, Qian Renxue asked, "May I ask for your name, young master, and where you have come from?"

Qian Renxue was certain that this person was definitely not from Tiandou City and must have arrived only recently.

Otherwise, someone like this could not possibly be unknown in Tiandou City.

"I am Ye Xuan, from Soto City. I only arrived in Tiandou City today, and the Fourth Prince already wanted to give me a show of force," Ye Xuan said.

"I apologize to Young Master Ye on behalf of my incompetent brother," Qian Renxue offered an apology.

"His Highness the Crown Prince must be busy with a thousand tasks a day; why would you be here?" Ye Xuan asked curiously.

From the current conversation, it seemed Qian Renxue had not come here specifically looking for him.

She likely did not recognize him, as Qian Daoliu had probably never mentioned him to her.

She also had no reason to personally keep an eye on Xue Beng; such matters were best left to subordinates.

Her appearance here must have had a specific reason.

"I was on my way to the Moon Pavilion and happened to pass by, so when I saw Young Master Ye being pestered by my good-for-nothing younger brother, I came over to see what was happening," Qian Renxue said candidly.

There was indeed no need for her to personally monitor what kind of person Xue Beng was.

Although she did not yet fully believe that Xue Beng was the complete waste of space he would appear to be in a few years, she only needed to arrange for some trusted subordinates to keep watch over him.

She had originally intended to go to the Moon Pavilion for an etiquette lesson, but she had run into this situation halfway there.

"So that is how it is. Does Your Highness the Crown Prince not intend to go there now?" Ye Xuan asked.

"The lessons at the Moon Pavilion are not critical; missing a day will have no impact. But it would be a great pity to miss the chance to get to know a remarkable person like Young Master Ye," Qian Renxue said with a smile.

She gave off an impression of being kind and humble toward the talented; those who did not know her would surely think she was a virtuous Crown Prince.

"Your Highness the Crown Prince is quite a remarkable person yourself," Ye Xuan praised.

Afterward, the two waited there for Ning Rongrong and the others for a while, and a moment later, the three of them emerged.

Qian Renxue extended an invitation directly: "Since Young Master Ye has just arrived from Soto City, why not stay at my residence for the time being?"

"That sounds good! Then I shall trouble Your Highness the Crown Prince to lead the way."

Ye Xuan's response caught even Qian Renxue off guard.

She did indeed want to understand Ye Xuan and hoped to recruit him.

However, inviting him to stay at her residence at this moment was, frankly, just a polite gesture.

She did not believe that Ye Xuan had come here without other business.

If he had other things to do, he would certainly have already planned where to stay upon arriving.

She had assumed Ye Xuan would refuse her invitation.

But she could not have guessed that Ye Xuan's objective was her from the start, so her residence was exactly where he intended to stay.

"Young Master Ye, the three of you, please." After regaining her composure, Qian Renxue hurriedly invited them to head toward her estate.

Not long after, the group arrived at the back garden of Qian Renxue's residence.

The living room felt too formal for hosting guests, so she simply brought Ye Xuan and the others to the pavilion by the water in the back garden.

After they sat down, Qian Renxue asked, "By the way, Young Master Ye has yet to introduce these three to me."

"Among these three, one of them actually has some history with Your Highness the Crown Prince. You should have heard the name before," Ye Xuan said with a grin.

The person he was referring to was, naturally, Ning Rongrong.