Only these people?

Just as he had expected, the Eighth Prince, Xie Tingchun, had finally bowed to him, unable to bear the harassment any longer.

This was all part of Zhang Lanhe's plan. Remembering the young man's clear, sly eyes, he felt ripples stir in his heart. "Then I'll go there myself and bring him back in person."

Zhang Lanhe could hardly wait to see exactly what kind of person he was.

His carriage turned around and headed north through the city toward the Eighth Prince's residence.

The Eighth Prince, confined to the Prince’s Residence to reflect on his mistakes, had been having terrible luck lately.

Every few days, someone submitted an impeachment against him, always touching a nerve with the old emperor. His confinement kept getting extended, and at this rate, it would soon become house arrest in all but name.

Rumors that the Eighth Prince was losing favor and had earned the old emperor's disgust grew increasingly rampant outside. Some factions even cut off contact with him to protect themselves.

Anyone with eyes could see that he had badly offended the Imperial Preceptor during the Spring Hunt.

"What exactly did I do to offend him that he has to torment me like this?" At the end of his patience, the Eighth Prince gathered his advisers in the basement to discuss a response. "If this keeps up, I'll never leave this residence again."

The Imperial Preceptor was truly petty. The moment the prince refused his unreasonable demand, he began tripping him up, almost without pause.

The misdeeds the Eighth Prince had secretly committed in his bid for power were dug up one after another. After seeing them, the old emperor treated him with even greater displeasure.

The old emperor knew perfectly well that his sons fought both openly and in secret, but he only tolerated their scheming behind the scenes. Once their struggle for his position came out into the open, he grew suspicious of everything.

A succession struggle had previously erupted before he was even dead. That remained a thorn in the old emperor's heart.

I'm merely old, not dying. With all these preparations, are you planning to murder your father and seize power?

The old emperor had set his sights on the Eighth Prince.

The Eighth Prince sighed. "Think of a way to make the Imperial Preceptor stop. If this keeps up, I really will become a prince in disgrace. Living an overlooked life like Ninth Son's would be worse than killing me."

His confinement was so bleak that, in his torment, the Eighth Prince even began to feel that fighting for imperial power did not suit him. He was better suited to becoming a monk and spending the rest of his life before a Buddha statue by lamplight.

Seeing that he was on the verge of renouncing the mortal world, his advisers steeled themselves and tried to find a solution.

After thinking for a long while, the advisers came up with an idea. "At this point, we can only sacrifice Your Highness's Shadow Guard. Eighth Highness, please put the bigger picture first. You must not let romantic attachments interfere with our grand plan."

Having heard the whole story and considered Zhang Lanhe's earlier search, the advisers suspected that this was his revenge.

Their only option now was to sacrifice the Shadow Guard.

The Eighth Prince took serious issue with that. "If I hand over my people just like that, who will respect me afterward? I'm a grown man who should stand tall, yet I'd be acting like some spineless coward."

His subordinates were watching him closely.

"Your Highness, failing to endure a little will ruin the greater plan. Shadow Guards are prepared to devote everything to their master in the first place," the advisers urged. "You absolutely must not openly oppose the Imperial Preceptor. Could it be that you have feelings for that Shadow Guard?"

The more the advisers thought about it, the more likely it seemed.

They knew perfectly well that the Eighth Prince enjoyed both men and women without distinction. If he had truly fallen for someone, it was not impossible that he would fly into a rage for a male lover and oppose the Imperial Preceptor.

They wondered just how devastatingly beautiful these Shadow Guards were to have bewitched both the Imperial Preceptor and the Eighth Prince, making the two fight over love.

Under his advisers' disapproving gazes, the Eighth Prince gritted his teeth and snapped, "Let me make this clear. I have no romantic involvement with any Shadow Guard. The only thing in my heart is ascending the throne!"

The Eighth Prince was baffled. Though he liked beauty, he never made advances on the people around him.

He had standards, too. He simply liked beautiful people; it was not as though just anyone would do.

Every one of his Shadow Guards looked bizarre in his own way.

Who on earth was spreading slander about him?!

Now the Imperial Preceptor suspected the Eighth Prince of cuckolding him and was making trouble like a madman, while every one of his subordinates suspected him of abandoning their grand plan for love.

After turning it over in his mind, he decided that the Fourth Prince, with whom he had always been most at odds, must be targeting him.

With things as they were, they had no solutions left and could only give way.

Helpless, the Eighth Prince summoned his Shadow Guards and told them to prepare themselves mentally.

The Shadow Guards were sworn men long since indoctrinated to give everything for their master. After learning what had happened, they wore expressions of men ready to face death.

"Your Highness, don't worry. You once saved our entire families, young and old. To repay you, we can endure this!"

This was the most absurd assignment the Shadow Guards had ever heard of. They were numb.

Apparently, being a Shadow Guard also carried the risk of having someone covet their looks, even though they had no good looks to speak of.

They exchanged glances, each wondering when one of the others had attracted the Imperial Preceptor's attention and taken such an unconventional path.

The Imperial Preceptor, Zhang Lanhe, soon arrived. He was as still as ice, radiating the luster of the finest jade. His arrival made the entire Prince’s Residence pale like stars beneath the bright moon.

Every time the Eighth Prince saw Zhang Lanhe, his beauty stunned him anew. Then his powerful presence bore down on him, leaving him wary of the danger he exuded.

Zhang Lanhe went straight to the point. "Where is the person I want?"

He had no desire to waste time chatting with the Eighth Prince. Better to find the person quickly and take him away.

Looking at the Imperial Preceptor's arrogant, dismissive manner, the Eighth Prince clenched his fists beneath his sleeves until the veins bulged, while outwardly remaining composed as he led him elsewhere.

"Imperial Preceptor, these are my Shadow Guards. Please see which one you are looking for."

Zhang Lanhe acted more like the master of the Eighth Prince's residence than the prince himself did. The Eighth Prince felt utterly humiliated, but gritted his teeth and endured it.

The Shadow Guards removed their masks and stood in a row.

Many people were curious about the beauty who had stirred up such a storm and secretly craned their necks to look. At the sight, they all fell silent.

Each Shadow Guard had distinctive looks. Rather than bearing any relation to beauty, they had nothing whatsoever to do with it. Calling them a collection of misshapen misfits was already the kindest assessment possible.

Many were deeply shaken and sorely disappointed not to see a beauty. They whispered, "That's it? It seems people really do have different tastes."

Though they did not understand why the Imperial Preceptor cared so much about these misshapen Shadow Guards, they respected and accepted it.

The Imperial Preceptor's tastes were a little strange.

No wonder all those people sending beauties to his residence had failed to please him. It turned out he liked the unusual!

Remember this. This important piece of information can be sold later!

Zhang Lanhe scrutinized them for a long time, his initially pleasant expression turning icy. Only after a long while did he give a cold snort.

"Only these people?"

Zhang Lanhe found that not one person in the group was the one he wanted. None was the little fox who had appeared at the hunting grounds.

It was not him.

None of these people was him.

Burning with anger, the Eighth Prince said bluntly, "These are all the people I have. Surely you don't think I deliberately hid him away, Imperial Preceptor?"

No matter how much he was pressured, he could not produce someone who did not exist.

At worst, he would fight the Imperial Preceptor and take him down with him!

Zhang Lanhe soon understood. That little fox had deceived him again. Not a single word out of his mouth had been true.

"He lied to me again."