Wishing only for peace and joy

Hearing this, Emperor Wu'an felt a twinge of guilt toward the Southern Border's Holy Son. The poor man had been dragged into this mess entirely because of his younger brother.

But now he was rather curious—which of the two was on top, and which was on the bottom?

Emperor Wu'an was hardly the only curious one. Everyone else wanted to know, too, and Shen Shixu asked the same question in his mind.

[Yiyi, do you know which of them is the top and which is the bottom?]

When Emperor Wu'an heard Shen Shixu ask, his curiosity nearly sent him leaping off the dragon throne.

Seeing this, Quan Xi feared the emperor would embarrass himself in front of everyone and reminded him quietly, "Your Majesty, your dignity. Mind your dignity."

At that reminder, Emperor Wu'an resumed his majestic bearing. Once he had settled firmly back into his seat, he swept his gaze over the people standing below. Seeing that they were all too engrossed in the gossip to have noticed his lapse, he gave Quan Xi an approving look and decided to raise the old fellow's salary.

[Brother, I don't really understand that sort of thing, but my records say the Southern Border's Holy Son couldn't get out of bed the next day.]

At that, everyone understood. Once Emperor Wu'an learned that his younger brother wasn't the one being pinned beneath the other man, he inexplicably felt a little proud.

[I know who's the top and who's the bottom now. How did they get together afterward? Surely they didn't fall for each other just because that mishap led to them sleeping together once?]

011 was still an innocent system and didn't understand how a few words had answered the question of who topped whom. But he wasn't interested in that anyway. Not knowing was fine!

[Of course they didn't get together that quickly. A few more things happened afterward. The day after the Carefree Prince was afflicted by the Gu and took advantage of the Southern Border's Holy Son, he regained his senses and wanted to take responsibility, but the Holy Son refused.

He believed it had only happened through an unfortunate twist of fate. There were no feelings between them, and if they tied themselves to each other over this, they wouldn't be happy together.

Compared with Great Qian, the Southern Border was much more open-minded and took a relaxed view of such things.

Although the Carefree Prince agreed, he couldn't let it go. Besides, the Southern Border's Holy Son had suffered a backlash because of him, so afterward he kept finding excuses to stay by his side.

Under the pretext of looking after his health, he made his presence impossible to ignore, washing clothes and cooking every day. A perfectly respectable imperial prince and wandering swordsman became something like an errand boy at the Holy Son's side.

At first, he only looked after the Holy Son so attentively out of guilt. But as time went on, he started taking an interest in him. He thought the Holy Son was handsome and, like himself, refused to let anyone get the better of him. The two had plenty in common when it came to teaching people a lesson and getting revenge.

The Southern Border's Holy Son also grew fond of him because of his constant thoughtfulness. On top of that, the Carefree Prince was very handsome and highly skilled in martial arts. And so they fell for each other. They've been together for more than two years now.]

Emperor Wu'an and the ministers all knew what Xiao Lie, the Carefree Prince, looked like. He had sharply defined features and often wore a smile, making him seem easy to get along with. In reality, however, he was the most unruly member of the imperial family.

When the late emperor grew foolish in his old age, he had wanted to depose his eldest son in favor of a younger one, removing Emperor Wu'an, who was Crown Prince at the time, and appointing his favored consort's son as Crown Prince instead.

Upon hearing the news, Xiao Lie had stormed straight into that consort's palace and gotten into a furious argument with the late emperor, who was there. He had angered the late emperor so badly that he had nearly been executed. Though he ultimately escaped execution, he was still driven out of the palace.

The senior ministers went a long time without seeing that extraordinary prince. Only after Emperor Wu'an ascended the throne did Xiao Lie reappear before them. The day after receiving his princely title, he left with his sword, saying he was going to roam the martial world.

He stayed away for six or seven years, returning even less often than Xiao Jinyi, who was fighting on the Borderlands. He only came back two or three times.

Because of this, the Empress Dowager both loved and resented her youngest son!

The thought of this prince returning made the ministers uneasy. They resolved to warn their sons as soon as they got home not to offend that menace under any circumstances. He was someone who dared to defy even the emperor. If they truly offended him, their entire families would suffer.

They all knew this difficult prince, but none of them had met the Southern Border's Holy Son. Still, anyone who caught Xiao Lie's eye was unlikely to be easy to deal with either. They had better keep their heads down for the time being!

Morning court soon ended, and Emperor Wu'an hurried straight to Cikang Palace. Seeing him rush in so anxiously, the Empress Dowager was so startled that she dropped the prayer beads in her hand.

"Mother, my younger brother is back. He should be outside the city by now. I've sent Jinyi and his brother to meet him."

The Empress Dowager hadn't seen that troublesome youngest son of hers in two years. Hearing that he had returned, she was beside herself with excitement.

Watching his mother's delight, Emperor Wu'an didn't know how to say the rest. Seeing his hesitation, the Empress Dowager suddenly felt a sense of foreboding.

She stepped forward and seized Emperor Wu'an's arm, asking anxiously, "Has something happened to your younger brother? Is he injured?"

Seeing that the Empress Dowager was so worried she looked ready to faint, Emperor Wu'an feared she might fall ill from the shock and hastened to explain.

"No, Mother. My younger brother is perfectly well. He hasn't suffered a single injury. There's just a small complication with his love life. He's brought his beloved back with him this time. Only, his beloved is a man!"

Emperor Wu'an closed his eyes and blurted it out. The Empress Dowager had thought something terrible had happened—that Xiao Lie had been attacked and lost an arm or a leg. Who would have thought it was only this?

"Oh, I thought Lie'er had come back missing an arm or a leg. So that's all it is! What's the problem? I noticed long ago. Lie'er may not come home often, but he sends plenty of letters every year. A few years ago, he began mentioning someone frequently. Later, that person appeared in every letter he sent.

That was when I knew the brat had fallen in love and found someone he liked. I even asked roundabout questions about that person in my letters.

I remember his name was Bai Lixi. He's from the Southern Border, and apparently he's exceptionally skilled in Gu magic. They call him the Holy Son!

Lie'er also said he was extraordinarily beautiful. If even that picky little brat calls him beautiful, he must be an absolute beauty. I must have a good look at him."

Seeing how readily the Empress Dowager accepted it, Emperor Wu'an breathed a sigh of relief. Feeling as though he had survived a calamity, he said, "I was worried you would object, Mother, so I came ahead to prepare you. It seems I was overthinking things."

With the prayer beads she had picked back up in her hands, the Empress Dowager looked affectionately at Emperor Wu'an and said, "I'm old now, and I don't know how much longer I'll live. All I want is for my children to live their lives in peace and joy. Nothing else matters."

Cheng'er, sometimes you need to let things go, too. Don't keep such a tight hold on Jinyi and Yuanqi. Children and grandchildren have their own blessings. As long as they're happy, there are things you ought to let go of."