"Thank you for saving me, Imperial Preceptor. I'm tough. I'm perfectly fine."
When Xie Huizhou came to his senses, he was still lying in the Imperial Preceptor's arms, their bodies pressed together. His ears reddened slightly, and he hurriedly found an excuse to leave the carriage for some fresh air. He even heard the Imperial Preceptor chuckle softly.
"Imperial Preceptor, stay seated here. I'll go out and see who's blocking our carriage."
What was he laughing at? The carriage had been too bumpy, and he had simply lost his balance. He absolutely hadn't been trying to cop a feel.
Xie Huizhou was genuinely curious who in Capital City could be more arrogant than his quartet of wastrel young masters. He stepped out of the carriage and saw an unfamiliar face.
The man was only in his twenties, dressed in fine silks and leading a fierce tiger. He swaggered about and refused to let their carriage pass, his arrogant expression visible from far away.
Who was this?
Xie Huizhou had spent so much time in Capital City, yet he had never seen this face. For the moment, he couldn't match him to anyone in his memories.
Xie Huizhou copied his manner, managing a fair imitation of an arrogant wastrel. He snatched the carriage whip and lashed it at the man. "Who are you to act so arrogantly? Do you even know who I am? How dare you yap at me?"
Someone who brought a wild beast into the streets to throw his weight around was up to no good. He needed to teach him a proper lesson.
Unfortunately, he hadn't brought his sword. Otherwise, he would have chopped off that tiger's head at the very least.
Wei Hu took a whipping. Having never suffered such humiliation in his life, he flew into a rage and was about to set his tiger on him. "I'm Wei Hu, Consort Wei's younger brother! I'll have my beloved tiger eat you, you..."
When he got a clear look at Xie Huizhou's face, he instantly swallowed the lengthy torrent of curses on the tip of his tongue and gazed at him in entranced amazement.
Still half asleep, Xie Huizhou's eyes were hazy. In the morning light, he looked like a moon god descended to earth. His arrogance did not make him disagreeable; it only made him seem all the more otherworldly.
Wei Hu had traveled all across the Great Xia Dynasty. This was the most beautiful person he had ever seen. No one could compare to him.
What fault could a beauty possibly have? It was all the tiger's fault for frightening him.
The tiger: "?"
Master, didn't you bring me out to hunt down random prey for food? Why won't you let me eat?
"Wei Hu. So it's you."
The moment he heard the name Wei Hu, Xie Huizhou understood. So this was a cannon-fodder character whose sole purpose was to help the romance along.
Remembering what Wei Hu had done, he had no kindness to spare for this bully.
Wei Hu's elder sister, Consort Wei, was the mother of the highly favored Fourth Prince, Xie Wangqiu. The Fourth Prince, Xie Wangqiu, was the old emperor's preferred candidate to inherit the throne.
Although the old emperor seemed to give every prince a chance to vie for power, and sometimes even favored other princes, readers of the original novel all knew that he had been secretly supporting the Fourth Prince all along.
His favoritism knew no bounds.
This elevated the standing of Consort Wei and her family, the Wei Family, making them increasingly arrogant and domineering.
Even those who suffered because of them could do nothing but swallow their grievances.
Wei Hu had previously caused trouble and been sent to the border to lie low. He had only returned after all these years, once the Wei Family had established a firm foothold in Capital City.
In the original novel, he became infatuated with Zhou Yanqing after Zhou Yanqing passed the provincial examination. Relying on his status as Consort Wei's younger brother, he tried to abduct a serving official by force. He even let his tiger eat people in the streets and preyed on the common people.
He was a bully through and through. Without Consort Wei and the Fourth Prince backing him, he would have died long ago.
Wei Hu stubbornly survived through half the book, disgusting everyone and making trouble everywhere, while Fang Yuanke kept rescuing the beauty, greatly advancing their relationship.
He was nothing more than a plot device.
After staring for a long while, Wei Hu couldn't help praising Xie Huizhou. "Beautiful! You're so beautiful! Why don't you become mine? I'll treat you well!"
Wei Hu had heard that Capital City was full of beauties and had always wanted to see them for himself. Having encountered such a stunning beauty immediately upon returning, his eyes instantly filled with greed.
With his status, what beauty couldn't he have?
"My sister is Consort Wei, the emperor's current favorite. You won't lose out if you become mine." Wei Hu flaunted his backing like a peacock spreading its tail.
Xie Huizhou could no longer keep his composure.
However beautiful he was, he was still a genuine man. Why did everyone lose all restraint at the sight of his beauty? They didn't even care that he was a man.
Fine. You'll have to get a place in those fabricated erotic pictures too.
There are plenty of cliffs outside the capital. You can pick your favorite place to have your body disposed of.
"First, I'm a man. Second, I don't like that sort of thing. Say any more nonsense, and I'll cut out your tongue." Xie Huizhou disliked his lecherous gaze and raised his hand to lash him again. "You can't even recognize whose carriage this is. I advise you not to try anything."
Xie Huizhou deeply loathed people who didn't treat others as human beings. In an instant, he had already decided when to throw a sack over him, beat him up, and feed him to the tiger.
His crimes were too numerous to record, and death was more than deserved. Every extra day he lived was another day he could harm others.
Xie Huizhou felt that the old emperor, who indulged the Wei Family, truly was an incompetent ruler. It was only right that he ultimately lost his empire.
Wei Hu's attendant urged him, "Young master, one look at this carriage tells you its owner is wealthy or noble. They dare to come out before the curfew has even been lifted. Don't offend someone you shouldn't."
The carriage the tiger had stopped was exceptionally lavish. It looked familiar to the attendant. Although he failed to recognize it, he knew perfectly well that he couldn't act recklessly in a place where a single falling roof tile could hit several court officials.
Wei Hu had been spoiled by his family. Now that Consort Wei and the Fourth Prince were there to clean up his messes, he had even less regard for anyone or anything.
"What's there to fear? Even if my brother-in-law the emperor were here today, he couldn't stop me!"
Whatever happened, all Consort Wei had to do was whisper a few words in the old emperor's ear in bed. He had nothing to fear.
Once the Fourth Prince ascended the throne, he would be the reigning emperor's uncle. Who in the world could stop him then?
"What an utterly imbecilic fool."
Wei Hu said, "Beautiful, that's going too far. But never mind. I like you feisty!"
Overcome with lust, Wei Hu didn't even ask who Xie Huizhou was before reaching out to grab him.
Xie Huizhou drew the sword of a nearby guard and slashed at his hand. Zhang Lanhe, who had been secretly watching Xie Huizhou amuse himself, sent the man flying with a sweep of his fly whisk.
Like a snake's tail, the fly whisk hurled Wei Hu hard against a wall. His bones cracked, and several teeth fell out.
He spat out a mouthful of blood and cursed, "Who was that?! You're finished! I'll tell my sister and have all nine generations of your clan exterminated!"
Who was so tired of living that they dared lay a hand on him? What audacity!
He would kill them and feed them to his tiger, denying them rebirth for all eternity.
"Insolence! A consort? Even His Majesty couldn't save you today."
The Imperial Preceptor, Zhang Lanhe, slowly stepped out of the carriage. His tall frame shielded Xie Huizhou behind him as he looked at Wei Hu as though he were already dead, his voice growing steadily darker.
"Wei Hu, have you decided how you want to die?"
Before you continue