Eek, why does my Eighth Prince have it so awful!

Jiang Yingcheng's behavior could hardly have been easier to understand, yet Jiang Xingran was utterly baffled.

He had a vague sense of why those dolls had appeared on his tattered cloth bag. What he could not quite understand was the reason behind Jiang Yingcheng's recent string of unusual actions.

She was cautiously trying to win him over.

And when she did these things, her eyes were so clear and sincere that he could not help feeling it would be terrible to question her motives.

Yet whenever he wanted to believe her, scenes from the past would rise before his eyes again.

Jiang Xingran paused for only a moment before walking to his seat with a composed expression.

He wanted to take that row of dolls off and return them to Jiang Yingcheng, but he had barely reached for his bag when a warm little hand darted in from the side and lightly gripped his wrist.

"Seventh Prince, Seventh Prince, hurry up and pack!" Seeing that Jiang Xingran wanted to remove the dolls, Jiang Yingcheng hurried over to interrupt him and changed the subject. "Chengcheng promised Aunties Yunmeng yesterday that we'd have lunch together at Starfrost Hall. They're probably just waiting for us now!"

They still had another lesson that afternoon.

Their midday break was long, and there was even a heated chamber beside the schoolroom set aside for them to rest in. If they did not want to return to their own palaces, they could take a short nap there after lunch.

But Jiang Yingcheng was intent on creating more opportunities for her Imperial Consort and Lin Jinshu to spend time together, so she had decided to return to Starfrost Hall for lunch anyway.

Jiang Xingran had originally planned to rest briefly in the heated chamber before going straight to the afternoon lesson. Once Jiang Yingcheng brought up his Imperial Consort, however, he had no choice. He hurriedly packed his bag, slung it over his shoulder, and followed Jiang Yingcheng outside.

And just like that, the matter of the dolls was sidestepped.

The entire row of dolls swayed on his bag with every step, lending even the cold-faced Jiang Xingran a rare touch of childish cuteness.

The four of them squeezed into the two cushioned sedan chairs Eunuch Changshun had arranged and headed toward Starfrost Hall.

Back at the schoolroom entrance, Jiang Yingcheng had taken Lin Jinshu, whose legs had gone numb from standing, into one of them. Jiang Xingran was just about to bend down and climb in when a small figure suddenly shot out from behind him and darted inside first.

Jiang Xingran fell silent for a moment, then raised a hand to lift the curtain.

Jiang Qiuyu huddled in a corner of the sedan chair, looking pitiful. "I-if you all leave, I'll be stuck here with the Fifth Prince and the Sixth Prince..."

Jiang Xingran froze, finally remembering what he had forgotten earlier.

Jiang Qiuyu had lied to help them. If they left him there alone, those two really might target him.

A rare look of remorse appeared on Jiang Xingran's face.

But they were going to Starfrost Hall, where Jiang Yingcheng's Imperial Consort lived, so he still turned back to ask Jiang Yingcheng's opinion first.

Jiang Yingcheng had already heard the commotion and come out, holding a doll charm she had produced from who knew where. She reached past Jiang Xingran and stuffed it into Jiang Qiuyu's hands.

"Here." Jiang Yingcheng stole a couple of furtive glances at Jiang Xingran and said pointedly, "Once you take my doll, we're a loving brother and sister!"

And of course, a loving brother and sister ought to eat together!

Jiang Xingran: "..."

He said nothing and climbed in right after him.

Starfrost Hall was in an excellent location, close to everywhere Jiang Yingcheng needed to go. Before long, they felt the sedan chairs being lowered to the ground, and someone outside promptly lifted the curtains.

One sedan chair was red, the other blue.

Without a second thought, Fang Siwan headed straight for the red one. Sure enough, inside were the two little ones she had been longing to see.

Jiang Yingcheng scampered down excitedly and hugged one of Fang Siwan's thighs, then turned toward Lin Jinshu, waving her little hand so fast it became a blur. "Come here, little brother!"

[Let's hug her together!]

Lin Jinshu's pitch-black eyes gave the warm scene only a flat glance before he coldly looked away.

That was his mother.

Yet he needed someone else's invitation just to hug her.

Then he would rather have no such relationship at all!

Caught between laughter and exasperation, Fang Siwan curled a finger and lightly flicked Jiang Yingcheng's forehead.

"All right, stop teasing your little brother."

Although Jinshu had called her Mother yesterday, she could see how plain the hatred in his eyes was. He looked utterly brainwashed by Fang Yiwan.

Whenever she thought of it, Fang Siwan felt as though a massive boulder weighed on her chest, so heavy she could barely breathe.

Fortunately, she now had a chance to make amends.

A gentle smile spread across Fang Siwan's face as she reached out and led Lin Jinshu out by the hand. "Lunch is ready. We were just waiting for you to come back."

Cheng Yunmeng also helped the two little princes out of their sedan chair. Each adult held a little dumpling in either hand as they slowly walked inside.

At the dining table, Jiang Yingcheng and Jiang Qiuyu wolfed down their food.

At first, like Jiang Xingran and Lin Jinshu, they had displayed table manners befitting children of the Imperial Family. But at some point, their eyes had met, and then they had begun competing as though determined to see who could eat more.

Halfway through, Jiang Yingcheng could not eat another bite.

[Darn it! How can the Eighth Prince eat so much?!] Jiang Yingcheng put down her personal silver chopsticks and indignantly delivered her defeated commentary to 007 between hiccups.

Jiang Qiuyu's rapid chewing briefly faltered.

Seeing Jiang Yingcheng stop stuffing food into her mouth, he had decided he had finally won the contest and was shooting her a smug little look across the table, only to-

He suddenly began doubting himself.

Was he still half asleep?

Otherwise, why was Jiang Yingcheng's voice drilling into his head when she clearly had not opened her mouth??

Jiang Qiuyu was completely dumbfounded.

Jiang Yingcheng did not notice the dazed expression across from her, where he had already begun questioning his entire existence. She simply launched into her after-lunch gossip with 007.

[Eek, why does my Eighth Prince have it so awful!]

Jiang Qiuyu looked up blankly.

What was so awful about his life?!

He had clearly won their eating contest just now!

[The Fourth Prince is unhappy that Imperial Father placed him in Consort Yan's palace, so he's about to take all his anger out on the Eighth Prince?]

[Hiss... These methods are even worse than what he used against the Seventh Prince back then!]

A violent shudder ran through Jiang Qiuyu.

Everyone in the imperial harem had heard something of how Jiang Huai'an had treated Jiang Xingran. At the time, Jiang Qiuyu had felt a pang of sympathy, thinking that although the Fourth Prince targeted them both, he himself was still treated far better than the Seventh Prince.

Was it his turn now?

Would the Fourth Prince subject him to even worse torment too?

And this was the Eleventh Princess's inner voice, wasn't it? Why could he hear her thoughts?!

Was he sick?!

[Mm, making life difficult for the Eighth Prince is one thing, and pushing him into a pond later and refusing to let anyone save him is another...]

[B-but how could he even poison him like that, making him suffer the agony of ten thousand arrows piercing his heart every single day!]

[The poor thing only lives into his thirties, and he has to endure that pain every day, too!]

[Heavens, what is the Fourth Prince doing? Hiding needles in the Eighth Prince's quilt??! H-how is he supposed to sleep at night!]

[No, I have to save my Eighth Prince!]

After finishing her mental chatter with 007, Jiang Yingcheng began considering how to put her Eighth Prince rescue plan into action. But before she could come up with anything effective, a sharp clatter of a bowl and chopsticks hitting the floor came from across the table.

Jiang Qiuyu abruptly jumped down from his chair. The spilled broth splashed onto the shoes he had only started wearing a couple of days ago.

He did not notice at all. Trembling from head to toe, he merely glanced at Jiang Yingcheng before bursting into tears with a loud wail.

H-how could he only live into his thirties?!

The fortune-tellers had all said he could live to a hundred!

Jiang Qiuyu took one last look at the alarmed faces filling the room, then ran out crying.

He was going back right now to see whether there really were needles in his quilt!