Volume One, Chapter 13: The Crown Prince of the Prince of Pingnan

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It was Gu Rongjin!

Only after Gu Rongjin released her could Mu Yuanzhi, still breathless, free herself from his embrace.

That rescue just now would have been impossible without profound martial skill. Yet how had Gu Rongjin, known as the capital’s foremost wastrel and useless in both civil and martial arts, managed to do it?!

Mu Yuanzhi was not the only one who could not understand. Everyone present was equally baffled, and for a moment, the entire hall fell utterly silent.

“Hahaha! Who would have thought that drinking would actually improve my abilities? Could this be the legendary Drunken Fist?” Gu Rongjin wore his usual roguish smile, looking rather pleased with himself.

The moment he said this, everyone withdrew their gazes. They had thought the heir of the Prince of Pingsouth had been hiding his true abilities, but apparently it had all been a fluke.

The atmosphere soon grew lively again.

“Give it a rest. You just got lucky!” Pei Shangling said disdainfully.

“You’re jealous.” Gu Rongjin snapped open the folding fan in his hand and began to wave it with elegant ease. “How could such vulgar words come from Your Highness’s precious lips?”

As he spoke, he folded the fan and used it to tip up Mu Yuanzhi’s chin.

“Isn’t that right, Little Yuanzi?”

Mu Yuanzhi knocked the fan away. Instead of getting angry, she gave him a grateful smile.

“Thank you for helping me, Brother Rongjin.”

Gu Rongjin blinked once, then again. His eyes were filled with disbelief, and he even stammered.

“W-What did you just call me?”

Whenever this girl saw him, she always looked as though she could not wait to kick him straight into a rubbish heap. Had she hit her head today? Why was she calling him brother?

He still remembered one time, when they were children, that he had entered the palace carrying a toy ball and wanted to play polo with her. He had coaxed her into calling him brother, but the little wretch had not only refused—she had snatched the ball away and thrown it at him, leaving him covered in dust as he fled.

Ever since then, nearly every meeting between them had turned into a battle of words. And now, he had actually heard her call him Brother Rongjin—not even in that sarcastic tone she so often used?

What a rare occasion.

“Good words need not be said twice.” Mu Yuanzhi gave an arrogant little snort through her nose and turned to leave.

Perhaps because they had never known how to get along properly, she felt somewhat at a loss after suddenly receiving his kindness.

“I didn’t hear you clearly. Say it again!” Gu Rongjin shamelessly followed after her.

Neither of them noticed that the expressions of Pei Shangyan and Pei Shangling had both changed.

When had Little Sister Zhi become so close to Gu Rongjin?

Was she not the one who despised frivolous wastrels like him most of all?

And now she was even calling him Brother Rongjin!

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That coy, playful side she had revealed without meaning to—how long had it been since they had last seen it? It felt like something from a previous lifetime.

Pei Shangling was the first to lose his composure. He strode over and seized Gu Rongjin by the arm.

“My little sister is not some improper woman from the Pleasure Pavilion. Stay away from her!”

“Isn’t your little sister Pei Yunxi? I haven’t gone near her!” Gu Rongjin asked in confusion.

Pei Shangling was rendered speechless. In a moment of agitation, he had actually blurted out “little sister.” These two had provoked him so badly that he had completely lost his head!

While he hesitated over this for those few moments, Gu Rongjin slipped away and shamelessly took the seat beside his sister.

“Little Yuanzi, would you like Brother Rongjin to sit beside you?”

Gu Rongjin was the sort of man who could turn three points of praise into an entire dye workshop. He considered himself an expert in romance, a man who had wandered through a thousand blossoms and plucked a full ten thousand flowers.

“Of course.” Mu Yuanzhi did not refuse.

If having Gu Rongjin beside her meant one less irritating person would be sitting there, why would she object?

In her previous life, she had despised Gu Rongjin because she admired strength. To her, he had been an irredeemable good-for-nothing, utterly inferior to her elder brothers, who excelled in both letters and arms.

Yet in the end, Gu Rongjin had never harmed her. He had even reached out to help her time and again. She had simply been too proud to accept it.

She glanced at him from the corner of her eye. For some reason, she felt as though he were missing an ornament.

“Do you usually wear a jade hairpin?”

“Hmm?” Gu Rongjin sat in a relaxed pose, propping his cheek up with one hand as he answered lazily. “I think so. Why? Have you been paying that much attention to me?”

The corner of Mu Yuanzhi’s mouth twitched. She nearly rolled her eyes.

It was either yes or no. What did he mean by “I think so”?

Mu Yuanzhi could not help stealing another glance at Gu Rongjin.

Was it him?

The embrace just now had seemed strangely familiar…

But she remembered that Gu Rongjin could not swim.

Unless he had truly been hiding something.

Recalling that terrifying moment, Mu Yuanzhi’s suspicions only deepened. Gu Rongjin certainly knew martial arts, and his skills were probably far from ordinary.

He might not be nearly as simple as he appeared.

“Why are you sneaking looks at me? If you want to look, do it openly. Come on, come on—Brother Rongjin will let you have a good look.”

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“Will you shut up already?”

“The Emperor has arrived!”

Everyone rose and bowed, respectfully welcoming the Son of Heaven.

Two figures appeared before the gathering first. Beside the Emperor stood Pei Yunxi, dressed in a jade-green gown patterned with clouds and mist. With a sweet smile and limpid eyes, she swept her gaze over everyone, seeming to smile at each person in turn. She was gentle and charming.

She remained at the Emperor’s side, and when she naturally took her seat, she sat beside him as well, with Consort De on the other side.

That position had once belonged to Mu Yuanzhi. The reason she had been raised under Consort De’s care was that Consort De was the Emperor’s most favored consort. The Empress had died young, and the Emperor had not appointed another empress for many years. Consort De managed the affairs of the inner palace and was, for all practical purposes, no different from an empress.

Only those who were deeply favored could sit beside the Emperor. Mu Yuanzhi could now only sit far away. She had endured such a reversal countless times in her previous life and had finally grown accustomed to it.

“Where is the Second Prince? Why do I not see him?” The Emperor looked around and noticed that one seat was empty. His second son was missing.

“Father, Second Brother said he was feeling unwell, so he did not come,” Pei Yunxi replied with a smile. She glanced at Mu Yuanzhi, a hint of triumph in her eyes.

Everyone knew that the Second Prince was withdrawn by nature. He would rather remain in the military camp practicing martial arts than attend gatherings such as this. In the past, only Mu Yuanzhi had been able to draw a few words of concern from him. Now even that place had been taken by Pei Yunxi.

Since leaving the Forbidden Lane, Mu Yuanzhi had not even seen her second brother once.

The Emperor gave an unhappy snort. “You are the only one who speaks up for him. He is not unwell—he simply did not want to come, did he?”

“No, Second Brother also asked me to convey his apologies to you, Father.”

Pei Yunxi’s voice carried a hint of childish sweetness, and she coaxed the Emperor into smiling continuously. The lively atmosphere resumed, and everyone showered praise upon the little princess who knew so well how to please the Son of Heaven.

Mu Yuanzhi seemed to have a barrier around her, shutting out all the commotion. She concerned herself only with eating. Had Gu Rongjin not kept trying to tease her into speaking, she might have remained silent for the entire banquet.

“Little Yuanzi, the way you eat makes you look like a cat.”

“Little Yuanzi, you have not scolded me once in the past hour.”

“Little Yuanzi…”

“Can you keep quiet for a while?” Mu Yuanzhi could take it no longer.