The Ninth Prince Was a Great Beauty

Xie Huizhou stepped down from the carriage, and everyone turned to look at the late-arriving guest.

One look, and none of them could bear to look away. They could not help stealing a few more glances.

In everyone's impression, Xie Huizhou was a wastrel, sickly from birth and given to debauchery. He had no love for the Four Books and Five Classics and refused to follow a respectable path. In their imaginations, he had long since become a sleazy man.

After all, Xie Huizhou rarely appeared before them, and most were seeing him for the first time.

Now that they had, his beauty took their breath away.

Xie Huizhou had changed into a practical outfit and carried a brand-new bow and arrows on his back. He looked much healthier than usual, like a young man riding high on his success.

Xie Huizhou was directing his servants to move the things he had brought into his tent, including his specially made soft sofa, tea, pastries, and the like. Enjoyment was the whole point.

He gazed at the lovely scenery, the corners of his phoenix eyes slightly lifted, looking utterly at ease. He looked thoroughly respectable.

Perhaps because he seemed to be in poor health, he always gave an impression of fragility that made people feel tender toward him.

Faced with Xie Huizhou's beauty, those who had been grumbling just now suddenly felt they would want to forgive him even if he were a bad person.

His Highness the Ninth Prince was clearly an upright gentleman!

Almost instantly, they changed their opinions of Xie Huizhou.

"As expected of Consort Yu's son. They were practically cast from the same mold. He truly is a beauty who could topple cities and kingdoms."

"Was the Eighth Prince entirely without fault, then?"

"I think His Highness the Ninth Prince looks like an upright man. As the older brother, couldn't His Highness the Eighth Prince give way to his younger brother?"

"I wonder what game His Highness the Ninth Prince likes. Perhaps I'll give him a wild boar."

"His Highness the Ninth Prince is so handsome. If only I were his consort. Just looking at that face would whet my appetite."

Humans were creatures who loved beautiful things. Praise flew everywhere, and some had even begun composing poems in his honor.

With Xie Huizhou's looks on display, some were already imagining how many people would give him their game once the hunt ended.

It would certainly be a spectacular sight.

So what if he was a man?

A taste for men already existed in this dynasty!

The Eighth Prince had wanted to hear everyone curse Xie Huizhou, who always behaved outrageously. Instead, they had changed tack and begun praising him. He ground his teeth in anger, growing more disgruntled the longer he thought about it.

I invited Xie Huizhou here so you would curse him. How can you start speaking up for him after just looking at his face?

I admit this younger brother of mine is handsome, but you can't favor him just because of that.

The Eighth Prince glanced at Zhou Yanqing nearby. Once again, he wanted to secretly make a move on the beauty he had set his sights on. Wasn't that why he had invited the scholars from Capital City here?

If Xie Huizhou had not intervened last time, Zhou Yanqing would already have been his.

Thinking of how Xie Huizhou always loved opposing him, the Eighth Prince decided to warn him not to cause trouble, both to prevent any mishaps and to test him. Not everything was his to covet.

Now that Xie Huizhou was on his turf, he had to meet him in person.

He strode toward Xie Huizhou.

The Eighth Prince's approach toward Xie Huizhou put Zhou Yanqing on his guard. He stopped in his tracks just as he was about to head over himself and gave him a long look.

He worried for Xie Huizhou. The Eighth Prince looked menacing. Was he going over to make trouble for him?

As soon as the Eighth Prince entered Xie Huizhou's tent, he saw the group sitting inside, drinking tea and eating fruit.

Xie Huizhou lounged lazily on his custom-made sofa like a little fox curled into a ball. His presence made even the tent seem considerably brighter.

He was not at all surprised that the Eighth Prince had come to him.

The Eighth Prince deeply envied his ease. "Ninth Brother, it's been a long time."

At the sight of the Eighth Prince, with whom he had always been at odds, Xie Huizhou wanted to roll his eyes. Outwardly, he exchanged pleasantries. "Eighth Brother, it's been a long time. After all this time, you're still as radiant as ever."

Whenever these two enemies met, they acted like harmonious brothers on the surface, but in private, they had played plenty of dirty tricks on each other.

Brother, we're both cannon fodder. Why should cannon fodder make life difficult for cannon fodder?

"Ninth Brother, I've missed you terribly since we parted at the restaurant. Unfortunately, my official duties kept me so busy that I simply couldn't find the time to visit." The Eighth Prince, Xie Tingchun, approached. Though he despised Xie Huizhou, he still maintained a calm facade. "It was my fault. I drank too much and quarreled with you, leaving you ill for so long. Could you do your older brother a favor? I'm only after a beauty. Don't make trouble for me."

Just behave yourself and wait to die.

Why couldn't you simply die of illness?

You're always sickly, yet you keep on living. You really are hard to kill!

Xie Huizhou refused outright. "I can't agree to that."

"He's just an ordinary person. Why do you have to fight me even over this?" This was what the Eighth Prince had never been able to understand. A threat crept into his words. "Don't forget, you're on my turf right now."

"I'm advising you not to touch him for your own good. Have you considered that Zhou Yanqing might be the person the State Preceptor has been looking for all this time?" Xie Huizhou had his own logic for spinning nonsense, and he began stirring up trouble. "After all, they were both there that night. Zhou Yanqing is the most likely candidate."

They would all be romantically entangled in the future anyway. The messier this tangled romance became, the more he would enjoy watching the drama.

At heart, Xie Huizhou was someone who loved stirring the pot for amusement. The more chaotic things became, the happier he was.

He was spouting nonsense anyway. Whether anyone believed it was up to them.

The Eighth Prince, Xie Tingchun, who had intended to warn Xie Huizhou not to keep obstructing his pursuit of Zhou Yanqing, froze.

He thought through the logic and actually found himself believing a little of it.

Was this true?

The State Preceptor and Zhou Yanqing had indeed been in the same restaurant that day. Zhou Yanqing was also so good at hiding that even he could not find him. That part fit.

Was he competing with the State Preceptor for a man?

Surely not?

The Eighth Prince stiffened for a moment. At the thought of the mercurial Zhang Lanhe, his lust wavered.

He did like beauties, but competing with the State Preceptor was another matter entirely.

Even his imperial father could do nothing about the State Preceptor. What good could come of confronting him?

Although the State Preceptor seemed hostile toward the person he was searching for, he had not said he wanted a corpse brought back, either. His attitude was ambiguous.

If it really was Zhou Yanqing, and he whispered ill of the Eighth Prince in the State Preceptor's ear in bed someday, wouldn't that make him an easy target for retaliation?!

"I was joking. Why so serious, Eighth Brother? It's only a little guess of mine." Seeing that he had frightened the Eighth Prince, Xie Huizhou suddenly laughed, breaking the silence between them. "Just take it as me spouting nonsense. Whether it's true or not depends on your judgment. You're so well informed, Eighth Brother. You should have known long ago whether it's true."

Xie Tingchun nearly choked on the breath caught in his chest.

He knew nothing!

"You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?" The Eighth Prince looked hostile. He stared at Xie Huizhou's face, searching for clues. "You won't explain yourself, and you're digging a pit for me to fall into. What are you scheming?"

"If you insist on thinking that, there's nothing I can do." Xie Huizhou deliberately provoked him. "For once, I was looking out for you, Eighth Brother."

Angered, the Eighth Prince simply dropped the subject. "Once the hunt starts, why don't we go hunting together?"

I'll find out whether it's true myself. Now choose how you'll die.

"Eighth Brother, I'm not in very good health. I can't even draw a bow, so I'd better not." Xie Huizhou knew what this sinister little man was plotting and deliberately fed him false information. "I'll rest in my tent for a while later. Just watching you all hunt will do."

You must be planning to assassinate me. Never mind that I know martial arts and can protect myself. Your men will be facing my hidden guards later.

He would be better off using that time to secretly follow the protagonist and enjoy some sweet romantic moments.

"That's fine too."

Just as I thought, the Eighth Prince thought. In a little while, he would send men straight over to kill him!

A storm was about to break over the spring hunt.