[But Mo Xuanchen wasn't idle either. He was busy interrogating prisoners.]
[Interrogating prisoners?]
Shen Yuxi pursed her lips. [The people who tried to assassinate him that day?]
[Uh-huh.]
[They were all death warriors, so there was nothing to get out of them. But Mo Xuanchen didn't want to let them die an easy death, so he had people torture them with instruments of punishment every day.]
[They could neither live nor die.]
[Hiss-]
Shen Yuxi shuddered.
[Host, you don't leave the residence, so you don't know about Mo Xuanchen's exploits.]
The system seemed very interested, talking on and on about everything concerning Mo Xuanchen.
[Mo Xuanchen is decisive in killing, cold and merciless-a god of slaughter through and through.]
[There's a saying that circulates widely among the common people: better to rouse the sovereign's wrath than touch the god of slaughter's brow.]
[It means they'd rather provoke the emperor's fury than get on the Fourth Prince's bad side.]
Shen Yuxi took notes as she questioned the system.
[Is Mo Xuanchen really that scary? But when I saw him that day, aside from being rather wary of me at first, he was pretty... approachable afterward.]
Approachable?
The civil and military officials all looked astonished.
They thought Shen Yuxi probably had some misunderstanding about the Fourth Prince.
Only Emperor Xuanzhao, his father, cast an unobtrusive glance at Shen Yuxi, his eyes thoughtful.
When he had learned that Shen Yuxi had saved Chen'er, he had summoned her and her parents to the palace after getting Chen'er settled.
Chen'er seemed quite interested in Shen Yuxi.
For the first time ever, he had come to him of his own accord to ask about Shen Yuxi.
Chen'er and Shen Yuxi...
If it really was what he thought, that would be rather nice.
[Host, you only think that because you don't know Mo Xuanchen yet. Once you've spent more time with him, you'll learn what he's really like.]
Shen Yuxi scoffed.
[How on earth would I end up spending time with the Fourth Prince?]
[Host, you've entered the court now. You're colleagues with the Fourth Prince, so there'll be plenty of opportunities to interact in the future.]
[No need for that.]
She actually did not particularly want to get too entangled with Mo Xuanchen.
[I saved the Fourth Prince's life because I wanted him to remember the debt he owed me. The emperor dotes on him.]
[If I need anything in the future, the Fourth Prince will lend a hand on account of my having saved his life.]
Emperor Xuanzhao was surprised.
Chen'er was outstanding in both looks and ability. So many women in the capital dreamed of marrying him.
He had thought that even if Shen Yuxi did not like Chen'er, after saving his life, she would at least feel something different toward him.
He had never expected Shen Yuxi to have absolutely no desire to be involved with Chen'er.
Shen Yuxi knew nothing of Emperor Xuanzhao's thoughts. Even if she had known, she would only have laughed them off.
When the long morning court session ended, Shen Yuxi let out a satisfying Awooo- in her mind.
To release the pressure.
Emperor Xuanzhao's foot slipped. The unexpected howl had successfully startled him yet again.
"Careful, Your Majesty."
Eunuch Yang hurriedly steadied him.
The civil and military officials were no exception, patting their frightened little hearts.
This was only the first day. If this continued, sooner or later, young Official Shen would scare them into a heart attack.
Minister Shen had official duties to attend to and needed to return to the Ministry of Rites.
Shen Yuxi had no choice but to leave alone.
"Lord Little Shen!"
A clear, gentle voice sounded behind her.
Shen Yuxi instinctively drew back the foot she had already stepped forward with and stopped.
Turning around, she saw His Highness the Crown Prince approaching her in a golden python robe.
His swordlike brows swept toward his temples, his nose was high and straight, and the outer corners of his eyes tilted slightly upward.
A faint smile always lingered at the corners of the crown prince's lips, making him seem easy to get along with.
"This subject greets Your Highness the Crown Prince-"
Before she entered the palace, Minister Shen had already taught Shen Yuxi the rules of etiquette.
In the imperial palace, she had to refer to herself as "this subject."
"No need for formalities, Lord Little Shen."
A faint smile rested on Mo Jingyu's lips, and his voice was incredibly gentle.
"May this subject ask why Your Highness called for me?"
Unlike the Fourth Prince, whom she had met once, she had never met the crown prince before.
She did not understand why he had stopped her.
"It's nothing. A few days ago, my fourth brother was injured in a villainous ambush. I heard from Father that it was thanks to you saving him, young Official Shen, that he survived."
"I wanted to offer you my thanks, Lord Little Shen."
"Your Highness is too kind. Saving one life is better than building a seven-story pagoda. Even if it hadn't been the Fourth Prince, if anyone else had collapsed before this subject with grave injuries, I would not have stood by and done nothing," Shen Yuxi said in very official terms.
"You're kindhearted, young Official Shen. I cannot compare."
The atmosphere grew a little peculiar.
[System, system, what's the crown prince getting at? Why do I feel like he's making conversation just for the sake of it?]
Shen Yuxi was puzzled.
[If anyone should thank me, it's the emperor and the Fourth Prince. Why does the crown prince suddenly stopping me to thank me feel like the old drunkard's heart isn't set on the wine?]
[Host, aren't you overthinking it?]
The system said, [You saved the Fourth Prince. As his older brother, it's only right for the crown prince to say thank you.]
[All right.]
The crown prince was gentle and refined. Compared with the ill-tempered Fourth Prince, the court officials clearly preferred this amenable crown prince.
Yet what baffled people was this.
The emperor clearly doted on the Fourth Prince so much, yet he had given the position of crown prince to the current crown prince.
The Fourth Prince, on the other hand, spent year after year fighting on the battlefield and was rarely seen.
With people coming and going around them, Shen Yuxi did not want anyone to see her having too much contact with the crown prince.
Lest it invite gossip.
"Your Highness, this subject still has important matters to attend to. I shall take my leave."
"All right."
Mo Jingyu answered with a smile.
As he watched Shen Yuxi hurry away, the corners of his lips curved slightly.
What an adorable little girl. No wonder Fourth Brother couldn't get her out of his mind.
Minister Shen's residence.
When Shen Yuxi arrived home, she found several carriages parked outside the gates.
The one in the middle stood out in particular: tall and understated yet luxurious, with a large character for "Chen" emblazoned on it.
Shen Yuxi immediately called the system and asked what was going on.
The system gave a lazy yawn. [That's a carriage from the Fourth Prince's residence.]
[No kidding. I'm not blind. Of course I know it's from the Fourth Prince's residence. I'm asking what happened.]
[The Fourth Prince came to bring your family gifts.]
[Gifts?] A question mark slowly rose above Shen Yuxi's head.
[You saved him, so now he's here to thank you.]
The system sounded a little excited. [Let me tell you, Mo Xuanchen brought so many gifts that your Gentle Whisper Courtyard can barely hold them all.]
The corners of Shen Yuxi's lips twitched.
She got out of the carriage, gathered up her skirts, and hurried toward the main hall.
"Mother! The Fourth..."
Shen Yuxi had only just reached the doorway when she saw the person inside and swallowed the word "Prince."
Mo Xuanchen's black fitted attire outlined his tall frame, broad shoulders, and narrow waist. The python patterns embroidered in subtle silver thread on the fabric shimmered in and out of sight in the dusk, carrying a forbidding chill that warned strangers away.
The creator seemed to have favored him particularly, giving him breathtakingly handsome looks.
His features were deep-set and sharply defined, as though carved with a knife and chisel.
His phoenix eyes were long and unfathomable, their irises an exceptionally deep, inky black.
His high, straight nose set off his crisp, clean jawline. Every feature was so exquisite that not the slightest flaw could be found.
Seeing her approach, the man's gaze settled on her.
"Miss Shen, it's been a long time."
His voice was gentle as water, without the slightest hint of aggression.
"Little sister, the Fourth Prince made a special visit today to thank you for saving his life that day."
Shen Shiyan walked over to Shen Yuxi and patted her shoulder.
Mo Xuanchen's gaze moved to Shen Shiyan's right hand and paused for an instant before shifting away the next second.
Shen Yuxi's gaze met his dark, fathomless eyes, and even the tip of her heart seemed to tremble.