Breaking Ties

Xiao Hanye scooped up a spoonful of golden-thread snow swallow's nest, stuffed it coldly into his mouth, and said slowly:

"You made enemies of the Ministry of Revenue by collecting debts for the Imperial Guard, then plotted to make Zhao Zhichao provoke the noble houses himself. Shen Tingjue, from now on, you are not allowed to meddle in court affairs anymore. I have plenty of capable and gifted people at my side. I do not need your help, much less any virtuous helpmate. The position of Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Guard Bureau does not suit you. I will have Father appoint someone else. You will stay obediently at the Chancellor's Residence and be your carefree young master. Do you hear me?"

Hearing the chill in his voice as he said he did not need him, Shen Tingjue suddenly felt as though someone had dumped a basin of cold water over his head. The blow caught him off guard, leaving him dazed, before the confusion froze in an instant and sent a chill through his heart. He looked up blankly. "Why? I..."

I want to help you.

When Shen Tingjue saw the indifference in the other man's eyes, he bit his lip and suddenly could not continue.

The candlelight leaped softly in the room, its flowing glow falling silently over Shen Tingjue. Just as it had that night when they had entwined, the candlelight spilled over his thin shoulder blades, illuminating the old and new injuries layered across them.

Some of those wounds had been left behind during missions outside the capital. Some had been sustained while accompanying him through campaigns east and west. Others had come from shielding him as his protector.

There were enough already.

Xiao Hanye thought that he had suffered enough injuries already.

Surviving one great calamity did not mean he could escape death a second time. There was no shortage of schemes and plots at court; one careless step, and he could lose his life for good.

Now, he was the beloved young master of the Chancellor's Residence, doted upon by the Emperor and Empress Dowager alike. He could perfectly well live as a carefree young nobleman.

Leaves rustled beyond the window. Xiao Hanye stared fixedly at Shen Tingjue, his gaze complicated. For a moment, he wanted to say something, but the words stopped at the tip of his tongue. After a long while, he said nothing.

Shen Tingjue waited, but Xiao Hanye never gave him an explanation like, "I do not want you getting into trouble." All his expectations fell through. Slowly curling his fingers, he suddenly snatched up a pillow and hurled it at him. "Get out! You do not need me, right? Fine, then we are breaking ties! If I ever say another word to you, I'm a dog!"

Xiao Hanye: "..."

Heh.

You were so noble, so impressive.

If you had the guts, swear on yourself.

Shen Tingjue shoved him. "Get out!"

Xiao Hanye retreated toward the door with his push. "Remember, you were the one who said we were breaking ties first."

Gritting his teeth, Shen Tingjue punched him in the chest.

Xiao Hanye was thick-skinned and tough; even after taking the punch, his expression did not change.

Shen Tingjue said, "I'm cutting off my robe to sever our feelings! Cutting off my hair to sever our friendship!"

Xiao Hanye: "..."

What the hell?

Xiao Hanye had wanted to correct his wording, but when he opened his mouth, he felt utterly drained. He turned to leave, only for Shen Tingjue to aggressively reach for his sleeve and hair.

Xiao Hanye hurriedly blocked him, his temple throbbing. "If anyone's cutting something, cut your own!"

Shen Tingjue shouted, "Why should I?"

Xiao Hanye caught his wrist and mimicked his tone. "Why should I?"

The candle wick crackled softly and flickered.

Neither yielded. Before long, they began grappling, and a clatter of collisions rang out as overturned objects scattered across the floor and were trampled underfoot.

Dark Seven clung to the doorframe and poked his head in.

Should he pretend to be blind, deaf, and unaware, or should he step forward to break up the fight?

Dark Seven struggled with himself for a while, then finally hugged his head and shrank back. He looked at the stars, looked at the moon, and pretended he knew nothing.

Those two were definitely flirting through bickering.

He had better not go over and join the fun.

Xiao Hanye twisted Shen Tingjue's wrist behind his back, then hooked his foot and knocked him down. Shen Tingjue dragged him down with all his strength as he fell, and the two of them tumbled onto the couch together.

Shen Tingjue's restrained hands were clenched into fists. With his chin raised, he panted, his collar slightly open as he struggled hard—and bit down on Xiao Hanye's neck.

Xiao Hanye did not stand on ceremony either. He bit him back.

Steward Feng had heated the bathwater and added the medicinal packets prescribed by Physician Zhang. Once everything had been arranged, he came to invite his young master to bathe. But the moment he entered, he saw the two men sprawled on the couch in an odd position, their clothes disheveled, each biting the other's neck. No matter how he looked at it, it was highly suspicious.

Steward Feng: "..."

His old eyes must have been failing him.

Steward Feng hurriedly backed out, then put on a smile and walked back in. The couch was empty, with no sign of two people biting each other. His Highness the Crown Prince and his young master were standing a short distance apart, back to back as they adjusted their clothes.

This scene...

Looked extremely suspicious too!

Having read quite a few romantic storybooks, Steward Feng possessed a remarkably sharp instinct for such things. His gaze swept back and forth between them as he tested the waters. "Were you two just now..."

Xiao Hanye and Shen Tingjue both let out a "Heh."

Steward Feng: "..."

Xiao Hanye straightened his collar and walked toward him. "I'll be leaving first. Keep an eye on your young master. If there is nothing to do, do not let him out to bite people."

Shen Tingjue sneered and said to Steward Feng, "Tell him he should worry about his own neck first."

Xiao Hanye likewise said to Steward Feng, "Tell him the same."

Steward Feng looked utterly bewildered.

No, really.

You two were not even standing far apart. Why did you need me to pass messages?

With a head full of question marks, Steward Feng could not understand what sort of spat they were having. He cautiously glanced at the reddened bite mark on the Crown Prince's neck, blinked, and stood there with his mouth open in confusion. "Huh?"

Xiao Hanye said no more and flicked his sleeve as he left.

Shen Tingjue gritted his teeth and viciously threw two punches at his retreating back.

Bastard, bastard, bastard!

Several of Zhao Zhichao's ribs had been kicked broken. For the time being, there was no chance of him leading troops again.

The Grand Secretariat had originally intended to downplay the matter, having Zhao Zhichao go to the Chancellor's Residence with thorns on his back to apologize and offer compensation, turning a major matter into a minor one and a minor matter into nothing. Besides, the so-called attempted impropriety was merely the Imperial Guard Bureau's one-sided accusation. As for the outrageous rumors spreading outside, they were entirely untrustworthy.

The Chancellor flew into a rage upon hearing this.

His precious son had been angered into taking to his bed, yet those old fools of the Grand Secretariat still suspected that he might have devised a scheme to frame someone? His child was so innocent, adorable, delicate, and well-behaved—there was no way he could ever frame anyone!

The Chancellor refused reconciliation and became even more determined to crush Zhao Zhichao completely. He did not even need sleep, vowing to investigate eighteen generations of the Zhao family's ancestors. Together with the Censor-in-Chief, he seized upon Zhao Zhichao's past abuse of power to force himself on common women and refused to let go.

On top of that, he had his many disciples compose poems and matching couplets, spreading word of Zhao Zhichao's lecherous nature from one end of the land to the other. He was determined to stomp the Zhao House's reputation into pieces.

The Zhao House's foundations had never been clean. If one or two major crimes were accidentally exposed, the consequences would be unimaginable. Fearing that the Chancellor would truly go mad and dig up eighteen generations of their ancestors, the head of the Zhao family had no choice but to abandon the pawn to save the king, leaving Zhao Zhichao to the court's disposal.

Zhao Zhichao was stripped of his post, leaving the Tiger Roar Battalion without a commander for the moment. Xiao Hanye temporarily incorporated them into the Imperial Guard and had Wen Jingkong properly grind down their arrogance. The task of sending troops to suppress bandits in the Southern Four Commanderies then fell to the Dashing Cavalry Battalion.

To placate Shen Tingjue, the Chenghuan Emperor opened his private treasury again, sending rewards to the Chancellor's Residence in an endless stream. Others took the opportunity to curry favor with the Chancellor's Residence as well, sending Shen Tingjue tonics in the name of concern until the supplements in the storeroom were nearly piled into a small mountain.

The East Palace also sent things to the Chancellor's Residence: wild boar, chickens, rabbits, carp, perch, and other mountain and sea delicacies. According to the palace attendants, the game had all been personally hunted by His Highness the Crown Prince, while the seafood had been specially ordered from the market. He said eating more fish was good for the brain. Fine.