I Have Money, I Do as I Please

A fierce wind howled, sending sand and snow flying. It was a breathtaking sight beyond anything scholars could describe with their brushes. The people blocked halfway up Danyang Mountain looked up and felt that everything between heaven and earth was wondrous beyond measure. But unfortunately, those scholars and young gentlemen who had been splattered full in the face by the wind and snow at close range, feeling as if they were about to ascend to immortality on the spot, had no appreciation for the scene at all. They even wanted to faint or throw up.

When the snowstorm stirred up by internal force finally subsided, the scholars who had been speaking so eloquently moments ago were sprawled all over the place. Some had nearly been buried in snow.

Shen Tingjue wore a vicious expression, the hem of his white robes snapping in the wind. With a blood moon behind him and a soul-summoning staff in hand, he would have looked exactly like White Impermanence coming from the underworld to claim lives.

Far too terrifying.

Xiao Hanye looked at him as though saying, How could you move faster than me?

Just moments ago, he had been obediently closing his eyes and letting someone kiss him.

Yet now, that sharp, ruthless expression was no different from when he had been a shadow guard.

Xiao Hanye could not help feeling dazed. His callused thumb brushed over Shen Tingjue's brows and eyes.

Shen Tingjue was still maintaining his cold and ruthless persona. He slapped Xiao Hanye's hand away, yanked someone up from the snow by the collar, and snarled, "Who did you say could flick his sleeve and sever ten heads? With one flick of my sleeve, I can make heads float all over this mountain. Do you believe me?"

The man trembled as he met his gaze. "Y-you... you are..."

Little Marquis Shen's reputation had spread far and wide. Everyone knew of him, and someone had even painted a portrait of him that had circulated through every street and alley. Everyone knew that the little marquis possessed a face as pure as a white lotus, ethereal and flawless, elegant beyond compare. Young men had flocked to change into white robes and white fox-fur cloaks, considering it fashionable to imitate him.

But the murderous expression on his face now held none of a white lotus's purity.

As for His Highness the Crown Prince, his fearsome reputation for making children stop crying was known in every household. Anyone who saw him was bound to have their legs go weak and tremble. His status alone made him impossible not to fear.

The scholar Shen Tingjue had lifted by the collar shook like a sieve. The moment he caught sight of the crown prince out of the corner of his eye, he rolled his eyes back and fainted as cleanly as if he had seen a ghost.

"..." Shen Tingjue released him, kicked him away, looked around, and said, "Which one is Brother Zhang? Step forward yourself."

They looked at one another. They all knew Little Marquis Shen was not someone they could provoke. Besides, speaking recklessly about the heir apparent was a grave crime, and the crown prince himself had heard them. Heaven truly wanted them dead.

No one dared step forward. They pointed at one another and played dumb.

Shen Tingjue clenched his fists and growled, "Who? Otherwise, I'll bury every last one of you!"

"H-him! It's him! That's him!"

Everyone immediately pointed at a square-faced man.

Zhang Mao trembled all over, half from the cold and half from fright. He stiffened his neck and forced himself to remain calm. "I am he. What instruction does Little Marquis Shen have for me?"

At any rate, he had not said anything bad about His Highness the Crown Prince. No fear, no fear.

Wait...

But he seemed to have insulted the chancellor.

With that thought, Zhang Mao clutched his head, swayed, and wisely pretended to faint.

If he did not faint, Little Marquis Shen would be the one fainting later.

He had to faint before him.

Seeing this, the others immediately followed suit and collapsed all over the ground.

Shen Tingjue rolled up his sleeves and was about to kick them when Xiao Hanye stopped him, summoned the shadow guards, and said, "Take them all to Jingzhao Prefecture. Give each of them thirty strokes of the paddle. They are not to enter official service from this day onward."

At those words, the scholars truly fainted for good.

They knew begging the crown prince for mercy would be useless. They might as well faint cleanly. Perhaps when they woke up, they would discover it had all been a dream.

On the journey back, Shen Tingjue sat in the carriage with his arms folded, looking as though he was still upset.

Xiao Hanye sat beside him, turning the pages of a book.

Shen Tingjue glanced at him several times, then reminded him, "I'm angry."

Without lifting his head, Xiao Hanye said, "Oh."

Angry, my ass.

He just wants an excuse for me to comfort him.

I won't fall for it.

Shen Tingjue propped his cheek on one hand, endured it for a while, then leaned over, took the book from Xiao Hanye's hand, and burrowed into his arms. His entire face declared, "I'm angry, I want kisses and hugs."

Xiao Hanye refused to cooperate in the slightest. Expressionless, he stuffed a segment of mandarin orange into Shen Tingjue's mouth.

With his cheeks puffed out, Shen Tingjue said, "I think they've definitely insulted you more than once. Who knows how they've been ruining your reputation in front of other scholars behind your back!"

Xiao Hanye did not care. "Normal. My fourth brother is renowned for his virtue. He puts on a good act of being gentle as jade and excels at dealing with those scholars. Besides, I favor martial pursuits. It is hardly strange for them to speak ill of me."

Shen Tingjue opened his mouth.

Xiao Hanye promptly stuffed another segment of mandarin orange into it.

"That won't do." Shen Tingjue's cheeks bulged as he chewed. Suddenly, he slapped his thigh and sat up from Xiao Hanye's arms. "I can win over scholars too!"

Xiao Hanye glared at him.

If you want to talk, then talk. Why slap my thigh?

And so hard, too.

It's not your thigh that hurts, after all.

Xiao Hanye said, "What do you intend to do?"

Shen Tingjue looked solemn. "I'm going to give all the scholars in the realm a home."

Xiao Hanye immediately knew he was about to stir up trouble. He frowned. "You are not allowed to meddle in these matters. Do you hear me?"

Shen Tingjue raised his hand to slap Xiao Hanye's thigh again, but Xiao Hanye quickly blocked him. He could only withdraw his hand and lift his chin haughtily. "I have money, so I do as I please. You can't stop me."

That was certainly an overbearing reason.

His Highness the Crown Prince choked and was speechless for a moment.

A maid from the Duke's Residence presented an invitation personally written by the duchess with both hands. It even carried a faint fragrance of plum blossoms.

The maid said, "The plum blossoms in our residence have bloomed. My mistress wishes to invite the Eldest Princess and Little Marquis Shen to admire them at the residence. We hope the Eldest Princess will honor us with her presence."

The duchess's invitation was naturally intended to arrange a match for her young daughter. The Eldest Princess understood perfectly and accepted the gilt invitation with a smile. "Thank the duchess for her kind invitation. I will certainly attend. As for my Xiao Jue, that child has lately been wishing he could cling to the one he loves every day. How could he have any interest in accompanying me to admire plum blossoms? Let him be."

The maid delivering the invitation froze for a moment, then asked casually, "Little Marquis Shen has someone he loves? May I ask which young lady is so fortunate?"

The Eldest Princess covered her mouth and laughed. "Oh my, of course he does. Anyone my Xiao Jue sets his heart on must be extraordinarily fortunate."

The maid said, "..."

Was that the point?

Seeing that the Eldest Princess had evaded the question and was clearly deliberately keeping them in suspense, the lowly maid from the Duke's Residence did not dare press for details. She followed the Eldest Princess's lead and praised Little Marquis Shen a few times before taking her leave.

The moment she stepped out of the Chancellor's Residence, she saw a youth in white leap down from a carriage. He held the hand of another person inside the carriage and, as if reluctant to part, stroked the back of that hand several times.

That hand was forcefully pulled back, and a dark-purple robe hem disappeared behind the carriage curtain.

Though she could not see who sat behind the curtain, that hand had a broad palm and bronze-colored skin. It was clearly a man's hand.

Recalling the Eldest Princess's words, the maid from the Duke's Residence stood rooted to the spot in shock.

His beloved... could it be a man?!!