"Who said I was going to confront them head-on?"
He didn't even look up, his brush never stopping.
"I'm going to cripple them at the root."
The next day, all of Chang'an Street knew that the third prince was acting like a fool again.
He rode out of the prince's residence on a chestnut horse, followed by four servants, each carrying a stack of gift boxes.
His first stop was the entrance to the East Market.
Auntie Li, the flower seller, was setting up her stall when Gu Moran swung down from his horse and came over.
"Auntie Li, those peonies are blooming nicely today. Give me a cartload."
Auntie Li rolled her eyes. "Your Highness, you still haven't paid what you owed me last time."
"A small matter, a small matter." He pulled a silver ingot from his sleeve and slapped it down on the stall. "That covers last time too. Keep the rest as a reward."
Auntie Li looked down. Ten taels of silver.
She couldn't earn that much selling flowers in a whole month.
"Your Highness, did the sun rise in the west today?"
"Enough nonsense. Pick out a few more pretty ones for me. I'm giving them to someone later."
"Which young lady?"
"Every pretty young lady."
Auntie Li clicked her tongue. "Well, here we go again."
He mounted his horse with a huge armful of peonies and rode north along the East Market. Passing a rouge shop, he ducked inside and pointed at the counter. "One box of everything. No, two boxes of everything. Good things come in pairs."
The shopkeeper grinned so widely his eyes vanished. "Which young lady are you trying to win over, Your Highness?"
"Every beautiful young lady in the capital."
The shopkeeper's smile faltered. "You must be joking, Your Highness."
"I never joke. I mean every word I say." He slapped a banknote down on the counter. "Wrap them up and send them to the prince's residence."
He left the rouge shop and continued north.
As he passed the gates of the Imperial Academy, the clear sound of recitation came from within.
Gu Moran reined in his horse and shouted toward the gates.
"Hey, you bookworms in there! What's the use of reading so many books? You'd be better off coming drinking with me!"
The Imperial Academy's gatekeeper poked his head out. When he saw who it was, he ducked back inside.
He was used to it.
Passing officials quickened their steps, pretending not to see His Highness.
Lord Chen of the Censorate walked fastest of all, wishing he could stuff his head into his sleeve.
Gu Moran wandered the streets for the entire morning, putting on every act he needed to.
He returned to the prince's residence at noon, ate a bowl of noodles in the main hall, chatted with the steward for a bit, then said he was tired and went back to rest.
The instant the study door closed, the expression on his face came off as cleanly as makeup.
Layer by layer, the playful grin faded, revealing a pair of eyes far too calm for a young man of twenty.
He sat down and unrolled the sheets of Xuan paper he had prepared that morning.
The paper was covered with all the information the system had provided, which he had already rearranged in chronological order.
Twelve Sons of Destiny and their fated beauties.
For now, he ignored the Sons of Destiny and looked only at the six beauties in the capital.
The first was Su Yao, the prime minister's legitimate daughter, paired with Ye Qingyun.
Aloof and proud, intelligent, and skilled at both chess and calligraphy.
In the original story, she was moved by Ye Qingyun's sincerity and strength, taking a full eighty chapters to go from looking down on him to falling for him.
The second was Shen Ling'er, granddaughter of the head of the Imperial Medical Bureau, paired with Chu Tianxing.
Lively and quick to laugh, with an exceptional talent for medicine. In the original story, she and Chu Tianxing went from bickering adversaries to kindred spirits and lovers.
The third was Murong Xue, princess of the Northern Territory, paired with Lin Yichen.
Dashing and spirited, with first-rate riding and archery skills. In the original story, she fought shoulder to shoulder with Lin Yichen at the border, relying on him through life and death.
The fourth was Liu Ruyan, the top courtesan of the Flower-Between Pavilion, paired with Xiao Jinghan.
A woman of the pleasure quarters on the surface, but of exceptionally lofty character within. In the original story, she was the first ray of light Xiao Jinghan encountered after his release from prison.
The fifth was Lin Qingdai, the grand commandant's legitimate daughter, paired with Wang Batian.
She had a fiery temper. In the original story, she was a slow-to-warm heroine, and it took Wang Batian more than a hundred chapters to get her to say the first honest thing on her mind.
The sixth was Xie Wanqing, daughter of the chancellor of the Imperial Academy, paired with Pu Yunshan.
Dignified and poised, she was recognized throughout the capital as the model of a well-bred young lady. In the original story, she and Pu Yunshan were childhood sweethearts who had grown up together in innocent affection.
All six women were in the capital.
The others were outside the capital, beyond his reach for now.
He picked up his brush and wrote the key weakness of each corresponding Son of Destiny beside the six names.
Ye Qingyun: poor and insecure, more afraid of being looked down on than anything else.
Chu Tianxing: proud and fond of playing the teacher, unable to stand anyone whose medical skills surpassed his own.
Lin Yichen: straightforward and loyal, easily held hostage by brotherly bonds.
Xiao Jinghan: suspicious, trusting no one after ten years in prison.
Wang Batian: arrogant. He really was strong, and he really wasn't very bright.
Pu Yunshan: a pretender who liked to play the pig to eat the tiger, and feared nothing more than having his identity exposed.
He stared at the analysis for a long time.
The memories of his previous life, the SWOT model he had learned in business analysis class, the strategic skills he had used haggling with clients at work, and the various conspiracy-theory deductions he had seen while scrolling through short videos late at night all came into play at that moment.
He arrived at a conclusion.
The beauties weren't just ordinary romantic plotlines.
They were the engines of the Sons of Destiny's fortune.
Without a beauty falling for him, a Son of Destiny's fortune couldn't activate.
If his fortune couldn't activate, those cheat-like coincidences and opportunities wouldn't happen.
He raised his brush and wrote one final line on the paper.
Control the beauties, cut off their fortune, and prevent them from ever becoming Sons of Destiny.
He looked at the line and remained calm for three seconds.
This path wouldn't be easy.
Control?
How? Lock these women up? Tie them up?
Locking them up wouldn't work. In the original story, a Son of Destiny's fortune could automatically correct itself, bypassing obstacles to find his fated beauty.
Unless...
"Unless these beauties choose me of their own free will."
"Not because they're forced, or tricked, but because they truly mean it."
"Make them feel nothing for the Sons of Destiny and fall for me alone."
"Then the Sons of Destiny's fortune can never activate."
The moment the thought occurred to him, even he found it absurd.
Make all the women destined for the Sons of Destiny fall in love with him?
But at that moment, the system displayed a message.
[System notification: The host's reasoning is correct. The Beauty Conquest System's core function is to help the host win the genuine love of the fated beauties. For every beauty successfully conquered, the corresponding Son of Destiny's fortune will permanently decrease. When a Son of Destiny's fortune falls below the critical threshold, his "destiny" attribute will be stripped away.] [To put it simply, the host needs to make all the Sons of Destiny's women fall in love with you.]
He stared at the notification, the corner of his mouth twitching.
"All of them."
"Not a single one left out."
"Too many to count."
Gu Moran put down his brush. Outside the window, the sky had grown dark.
In the courtyard, maids were hanging lanterns, their orange-red light shining through the paper window.
He stood up and stretched his neck.
"The Six Beauties of the Capital: the prime minister's legitimate daughter, the Imperial Medical Bureau's young lady, the grand commandant's daughter, the Flower-Between Pavilion's top courtesan, the princess of the Northern Territory, and the chancellor's daughter."
"All six come from different backgrounds, and all six have completely different personalities."
"If I marry them all and bring them back to my residence, the whole capital will explode."
He walked over to the bronze mirror and looked at himself.
The face in the mirror was almost excessively handsome, with smiling eyes and a hint of innate roguishness at the corners of its mouth.
He had to admit, whoever had designed him as a villain had shown some conscience. At least he'd been given a handsome face.
He grinned at himself in the mirror.
"Gu Moran, you worked yourself to death in your last life."
"This time, live a different way."
"Screw the Heavenly Dao. Don't even think about controlling me anymore."
The system panel on the desk rotated quietly, and the red countdown in the corner continued ticking.
[Countdown to Son of Destiny Ye Qingyun's arrival in the capital: 29 days.]