A Little Rascal More Scheming Than Anyone

Once Zhang Lanhe pieced everything together, he knew that the person who had spent that passionate night with him was the Ninth Prince, Xie Huizhou.

"So the person fooling around with the Ninth Prince was me." Zhang Lanhe had thought Xie Huizhou was far too dissolute and outrageous, only to discover that he himself was the lover in question. "All that cursing, and I was cursing myself."

Those paintings of the Azure Lord had also begun appearing after that day.

Xie Huizhou was probably sparing no effort to smear him because he had been thoroughly infuriated that day, secretly stirring up trouble while leaving him unable to find any trace of the culprit.

He really was cunning, constantly hovering right in front of him without getting caught, and even using him to deal with the Eighth Prince.

The sickly young prince who seemed so gentle and harmless was a little rascal more scheming than anyone.

As expected of his fated one.

He liked him.

Zhang Lanhe vaguely remembered that the Eighth Prince wanted to kill Xie Huizhou, and his brows furrowed. "I originally liked watching dogs fight, so I didn't interfere much. Now that he's bullying someone of mine, I can't just ignore it."

It was time to deal with the Eighth Prince. He should not think he could bully just anyone he pleased.

Xie Huizhou was in poor health. What if the Eighth Prince angered him into falling ill?

After all, when Zhang Lanhe remembered that Xie Huizhou had fallen ill for a month just from touring the lake at night, his heart suddenly ached.

Xie Huizhou's health had never been very good to begin with, and now he had suffered another illness.

He had considered mortal bodies fragile, but he had never imagined anyone could be so fragile that a gust of wind seemed capable of blowing him away, like a kite with a broken string.

He wanted to catch that kite flying far away. With no one to guide the kite up into the wind, it would fall to the ground amid the wind and rain.

Zhang Lanhe did not want to see that happen.

After finishing his reading, Zhang Lanhe still wanted more and instructed his subordinates to handle an important matter for him. "There's no rush. He can't get away, and he'll come to my door himself. Right now, I have something important for you to do. Don't let anyone find out."

Zhang Lanhe had no intention of exposing Xie Huizhou. He was so cunning that he would definitely flee the moment he realized he had been exposed. He might as well pretend not to know.

His earlier blade-forging plan would also need some adjustments.

The Shadow Guards instantly grew solemn, wondering which powerful noble they would need to assassinate or what evidence they would need to fabricate to get someone thrown into the imperial prison.

The Imperial Preceptor, Zhang Lanhe, gave them an order they had never expected.

Zhang Lanhe said, "Go buy me every painting by the artist Spring Studio Hermit. Whenever anything new comes out, go snap it up for me."

An artist's paintings connected with their hearts, like a dialogue between human souls. Zhang Lanhe wanted to understand what Xie Huizhou thought of him through his paintings.

The Shadow Guards did not understand, but they still obeyed, disguising themselves and heading to the packed bookshops to fight for books.

At that moment, Xie Huizhou still had no idea that his own paintings had exposed his identity.

He was hard at work drawing volume three of [Azure Lord], his hand gripping the brush delicate and fair. The ink-haired beauty had a scholarly air and an orchid-like grace. Without looking at his paintings, he did rather resemble an elegant man of letters.

Unfortunately, he was drawing while letting out strange, villainous cackles and spouting utter nonsense. This great beauty looked rather as though he had gone mad.

"How dare you come after me? I'm going to spread rumors and ruin your reputations."

Xie Huizhou crammed in every melodramatic plot twist and kept the gay smut coming, spreading rumors until his mouth and throat went dry.

Strangely enough, the more outrageous his drawings became, the more warmly the people of Capital City welcomed them.

Perhaps this was what they called appealing to refined and popular tastes alike.

Eunuch Li, who was sweeping by the doorway, felt that Xie Huizhou was gradually going mad from being neglected. He sighed, shook his head, and moved elsewhere to continue sweeping.

Who knew when their Ninth Prince would ever get a chance to turn his fortunes around?

Li Xu rode at full speed all the way to the Detached Palace, then rushed inside and headed straight for his study. "Zhouzhou, this is terrible! Something huge has happened! The Imperial Preceptor saw your paintings!"

This was earth-shattering news. One wrong move, and they might all be in trouble.

Xie Huizhou went pale with shock, and the brush in his hand clattered to the floor.

The Imperial Preceptor himself had actually seen the things he had drawn to smear him in secret.

"Why would he read this sort of thing?"

He remembered

"He glanced at me, and I was bewitched. By the time I came to my senses, I'd already handed it over." Li Xu wondered whether he was straight, his expression calling his entire life into question. "Have I, who've always liked pretty girls, actually liked men all along?"

Good heavens, could he have a taste for men?

Xie Huizhou remembered how he had nearly been bewitched into delivering himself to someone's doorstep while sleepwalking and felt that Li Xu could not really be blamed.

The Imperial Preceptor, Zhang Lanhe, might well be skilled at bewitching people to begin with. His methods were so advanced that it was entirely possible the inexperienced Li Xu had been unable to resist and handed it over himself.

Xie Huizhou comforted Li Xu. "No, you simply like beautiful people. Drink some herbal medicine and get yourself properly treated. Right now, I have something you want that I need to go do."

Xie Huizhou looked resolute, as though he had made some decision.

"What are you doing?"

Li Xu watched as Xie Huizhou deftly dug out a bundle of luggage he had prepared long ago, slung it over his back, and got ready to take off on a spur-of-the-moment trip.

No matter how he looked at it, this did not seem like a sudden impulse.

His heart skipped a beat. That childhood joke had actually been true: Xie Huizhou wanted to roam the world with a sword as a lone wanderer.

That idea was so cool.

Xie Huizhou decided to put one of his escape plans into action. "Goodbye. I've decided to conquer the lands overseas."

He was going to set sail that very night and bring about this world's Age of Discovery.

"There's no need for that. The Imperial Preceptor didn't say anything. I bet he didn't recognize himself at all," Li Xu said, deceiving himself. "Otherwise, with his temper, he would definitely have demanded an explanation on the spot."

There were so many white-haired people in the world. Who said the person he had drawn was the Imperial Preceptor?

Even if he came knocking to question them, they could stubbornly insist it was not him. Who could say it was the Imperial Preceptor?

They had drawn a snake demon, and the Imperial Preceptor was not one.

Xie Huizhou calmed down and sat back down. "If the enemy doesn't move, neither will I. If he says nothing, I won't move either."

He had Shadow Guards who could take him on the run at any moment. No need to panic.

After a moment's hesitation, Li Xu tried to persuade Xie Huizhou to wash his hands of the whole business. "To be safe, why don't we stop drawing? We don't absolutely have to earn this money."

Earning this money kept him on tenterhooks. Li Xu's poor little heart could hardly take it.

Xie Huizhou took a book on capital down from the shelf, his heart gradually settling. "Why should I stop drawing? Not only am I going to keep drawing, I'm going to keep smearing him!"

There was no way he would stop spreading rumors. He was simply that petty.

"What are you doing now?"

"I'm reading a book about purifying the heart and curbing desire to practice." Xie Huizhou smiled as though he had seen through the mortal world. "As long as my will is firm enough, I won't be bewitched."

Li Xu said, "..."

He understood less and less. The Imperial Preceptor and Xie Huizhou were both strange people.

Xie Huizhou continued drawing while keeping watch for Zhang Lanhe's next move, only to find everything peaceful. The retaliation he had imagined from the Imperial Preceptor never came.

He only knew that the Eighth Prince had been suffering even worse retaliation from the Imperial Preceptor lately. No one knew what he had done to offend him this time, but everyone who heard about it thought he was miserable.

Xie Huizhou's illustrated books had become even more popular lately.

"Could he not have noticed?" Xie Huizhou could not be certain what the Imperial Preceptor was thinking either. "Then I can breathe a sigh of relief too."

Xie Huizhou did not take the matter to heart.

Half a month later, it was time for Xie Huizhou to visit the National Preceptor's Residence in person.