Time to take a consort

The two of them rode into the imperial palace in the same carriage again.

Having learned his lesson after repeatedly falling into the Imperial Preceptor's arms and taking liberties with him, Xie Huizhou had made sure he was well rested this time. Instead of dozing off, he was concentrating on eating pastries.

He had to admit, the pastries at the National Preceptor's Residence were delicious. He needed to have his Shadow Guards secretly learn how to make them.

Once he learned, he could make them for himself when he ran away. An extra skill never hurt.

Xie Huizhou played with the little snake as he ate, humming a tune with a leisurely smile, looking every bit a pampered young noble.

On the way, Zhang Lanhe reminded Xie Huizhou, "Your Highness, Consort Wei is nothing to fear, but be careful of the Fourth Prince. He likes using underhanded tricks to test people."

Consort Wei rarely interfered in court affairs, after all, so she had little influence on him. The Fourth Prince, however, was a threat.

The Fourth Prince had tried underhanded tactics against Zhang Lanhe before, but all schemes and tricks were meaningless before absolute strength.

Zhang Lanhe was not afraid, but he feared that the Fourth Prince would use sinister means against Xie Huizhou when he was not there to see it.

"Thank you for the warning, Imperial Preceptor."

Xie Huizhou knew something of this scheming fourth brother of his, and immediately understood.

"I'll be careful."

This was Xie Huizhou's first time entering the imperial palace, and everyone's informants were watching him.

Dressed in sumptuous princely robes, Xie Huizhou resembled pristine snow piled high on a mountain. The graceful young man looked incomparably noble and composed, with something of the late emperor's bearing.

This young man looked very much like a future sovereign.

The Imperial Preceptor standing beside him kept his gaze on Xie Huizhou, seemingly placing considerable importance on the Ninth Prince.

The informants swiftly reported this to their masters.

The Imperial Preceptor thought highly of the Ninth Prince. He might well be the next emperor to ascend the throne!

If they did not support him now, they would lose their chance to earn merit by helping him rise to the throne!

And that was how rumors formed.

On their way, they encountered the Fourth Prince, Xie Wangqiu, who had been waiting for some time. As soon as he saw the Imperial Preceptor and Xie Huizhou, he set down the flower he had been admiring.

"Imperial Preceptor, Ninth Brother, you're here."

The Fourth Prince had never thought much of Xie Huizhou before, but when he noticed from afar how much the Imperial Preceptor valued him, he immediately sensed a threat.

His imperial father had kept calling him lazy and unambitious lately. Was he thinking of choosing someone else as the next sovereign?

In that case, he would have to take a good look at his new rival.

"Fourth Brother."

Xie Huizhou thought that the two of them were hardly friends. They were enemies, if anything. Had he come in person to sound him out?

Just as the Imperial Preceptor had said, he had come to use underhanded tricks to test what he was made of.

"Ninth Brother, it's been years. You've grown even more handsome than I am." The Fourth Prince, Xie Wangqiu, smiled warmly, acting as though the two brothers were close. "It's been so long since we shared a drink and caught up."

Xie Huizhou turned him down, citing his audience with the emperor.

Brother, I only just killed your uncle, and now you're acting like we're devoted brothers. That's awfully fake and frightening.

I don't think you want to catch up. You want to kill me.

Not wanting to bother with him, Xie Huizhou turned to leave, but Xie Wangqiu reached out to grab him.

"Ah! What was that?"

Xie Wangqiu had intended to grab him and plant poison on him to test his abilities. Instead, the little silver snake on Xie Huizhou's wrist bit him, and he hastily let go. Even without venom, the bite would leave him suffering for days.

He raised his hand and saw several tooth marks. The poison took the opportunity to enter the wounds.

Xie Wangqiu's expression immediately changed, and he sighed. "What a shame. Thanking Father is more important. You'd best hurry along, Ninth Brother."

He watched the two enter the Hall of Mental Cultivation, snipped the flowering branch to pieces with the scissors in his hand, and hurriedly drank the antidote.

"You neutralized my poison so quickly. You've certainly kept yourself well hidden all this time, Ninth Brother."

The poison Xie Wangqiu had used would only have given Xie Huizhou a facial rash and caused him to lose decorum before the emperor. He had wanted to test him with a little underhanded attack and see whether he was a fool anyone could manipulate.

Now it seemed he would not be easy to deal with.

He would have to use something stronger during the Imperial Examination.

Summoned by the eunuch in charge, Xie Huizhou and Zhang Lanhe entered the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

This was Xie Huizhou's first time seeing the emperor.

To him, the emperor was a stranger he had never met, or even an enemy who was constantly thinking of putting him to death.

Xie Huizhou looked toward that imposing figure and gave a proper bow.

"Greetings, Father."

The imperial family is the most heartless of all. What sort of father would personally send his son to his death?

Even a vicious tiger would not eat its cubs. Xie Huizhou did not believe a mere superstitious claim could have made the emperor turn his anger on him to such an extent. There had to be a reason behind it.

Unfortunately, the original novel had said little about Consort Yu. He might have to seek out people and things from those days to learn what had really happened.

The emperor studied him, his imposing presence radiating authority without anger as countless thoughts ran through his mind. Only after a long while did he remark wistfully, "Rise. You've grown up, too. You look more and more like your mother."

Xie Huizhou and Consort Yu looked almost as though they had been cast from the same mold. Yet the more they resembled one another, the more painfully the thorn in his heart pricked him. His many suspicions made him increasingly heartless.

The emperor mainly exchanged a few pleasantries with him, maintaining their all-but-nonexistent bond as father and son, then paid him no further attention.

Compared with Xie Huizhou, whom he had never valued, he cared more about Imperial Preceptor Zhang Lanhe, who had been standing beside him from the start.

Why had Zhang Lanhe agreed to take on the mess that was Xie Huizhou, and why had he accompanied him all the way to the Hall of Mental Cultivation without leaving his side?

The emperor's thoughts ran further. He suspected that Zhang Lanhe wanted to take advantage of the situation to put the Ninth Prince on the throne, and was therefore flaunting his regard for Xie Huizhou everywhere to force others to take the Ninth Prince's side.

It was time to warn those opportunists. He would never allow anyone to overtake his fourth son.

As usual, the emperor inquired about Zhang Lanhe's love life, bringing up the old subject again. "Imperial Preceptor, have you found that person? If you have, would you like me to grant you a marriage?"

His spies had recently reported that the Imperial Preceptor's highly publicized search had died down. He was no longer showing up at people's homes every so often to demand they hand someone over.

Not long ago, Zhang Lanhe had still been demanding a Shadow Guard from the Eighth Prince and giving him no end of trouble. Everyone had heard about the commotion.

Rumor had it that the Eighth Prince and the Imperial Preceptor had come to blows over love, fighting over a Shadow Guard. Why else would the Eighth Prince still be tormented over a minor mistake?

Now that the Imperial Preceptor had quieted down, many people were speculating that he had finally found the person he wanted and was keeping his beloved hidden away.

His residence, which had remained unchanged for centuries, had long since been renovated in advance to be a hundred times more luxurious. He had even hired several top chefs, and all sorts of interesting tribute gifts had been taken away by the Imperial Preceptor.

All these unusual signs made it seem as though the Imperial Preceptor was secretly...

Xie Huizhou's body stiffened for a moment.

Father, what sort of random matchmaking are you doing?

"No need. I haven't found that person yet." Without a second thought, Zhang Lanhe refused the emperor again. "Besides, this is a matter of mutual consent. I will handle it personally."

He had already found him. Keeping him close where he could watch him put his mind at ease, and he was unwilling to let anyone else interfere.

Xie Huizhou breathed a sigh of relief.

He was utterly shocked that the main villain could say something so devoted to pure romance. He certainly had confidence in himself.

Having failed to push a marriage on him, the emperor refused to give up. He would not feel satisfied unless he stirred up something, so he turned his sights on Xie Huizhou.

"Let's leave the Imperial Preceptor aside and talk about you first, Zhou'er. You're not so young anymore. It's time you took a consort."