The other Secret Guards mocked my brother, claiming he’d risen through connections rather than skill. But he just smiled and said,

“If you have the ability, find yourself a sister like mine! When she becomes Empress someday, let’s see who dares to talk nonsense!”

Everyone thought the possibility wasn’t far-fetched, so they fell silent awkwardly.

Actually, even my brother wasn’t sure if I’d become Empress.

He hid in the shadows every day, protecting the Crown Prince and me, and he saw clearly that when no one was watching, the Crown Prince completely ignored me, except for quietly slipping me a plate of snacks to nibble on alone.

Whenever the Crown Prince left, my brother would climb down from the beam and say,

“Xiao Cao’er, give your brother a bite of those snacks, and bring me a bowl of that fragrant tea too. I’ve been lying here all morning, and my neck’s sore.”

I still resented him for eating alone and guarded the plate fiercely, refusing to share.

He coaxed and begged, and after much effort, I finally relented and gave him some. Just then, the Crown Prince returned.

Without any sense of fairness, he grabbed the whole plate and dashed up the beam. I couldn’t stop him and could only watch helplessly.

The Crown Prince was reading a book when suddenly a cluster of snack crumbs fell onto the pages.

“What’s this?” he frowned and looked up.

“Number Nine^[1]Number Nine here refers to Qing Jiu. 青九 (qīng jiǔ), where 青 means “blue” or “green,” and 九 means “nine”, the rat spirit!” I sneered.

“Oh?” The Crown Prince calmly returned his gaze to the book.

“Dock one month’s salary!”

A crisp clinking sound came from the beam, followed by more falling crumbs.

“Add another month without braised pork!”

The rain of crumbs immediately stopped.

It wasn’t until two months later that we understood why the Crown Prince favored us siblings.

That day, the Crown Prince attended a banquet hosted by the Prince of Anyang. Normally, three groups of Secret Guards would take turns guarding, but for some unknown reason, all were inexplicably kept outside.

The Crown Prince brought only one maid into the Prince’s garden.

The commander of the Blue Camp paced anxiously.

“Your Highness, you only brought a girl who doesn’t know martial arts. What if something happens?”

The Red Camp commander seemed unconcerned.

“Without orders from Your Highness, we can’t act rashly. Besides, what could possibly happen at the Prince of Anyang’s banquet?”

Soon, the bushes outside the courtyard rustled, and the guards at the gate became alert.

“Who’s there?”

I appeared, hair tangled with grass, tiny scratches on my face and arms, crawling out from the grass!

“Miss Qing Cao?” The commanders’ eyes widened.

“What are you doing here? Didn’t you enter with His Highness?”

I stammered, unsure how to explain.

That morning, just as I boarded the carriage, I saw a girl sitting beside me dressed exactly like me.

“Brother? What are you…” I widened my eyes in shock.

My brother pulled a small mirror from his sleeve, carefully checked his makeup, and calmly said three words:

“On a mission!”

When we arrived, the Crown Prince personally supported him, signaling with his eyes for me to stay in the carriage.

I looked at my brother’s deliberately swaying figure and thought angrily,

I don’t walk like that at all!

Then it hit me, I was going to miss the banquet!

This wasn’t just any banquet; it was the Prince of Anyang’s famous perch banquet!

Every year, when the perch are at their fattest, the Prince hosts this banquet.

The perch, cooked by his chefs, is exceptionally delicious, especially paired with chrysanthemum wine. It draws royalty, nobles, and gourmet connoisseurs from all over the capital.

When I learned the Crown Prince was taking me to this banquet, I was so excited I couldn’t sleep for three nights. But halfway there, my brother intercepted me!

The more I thought about it, the more restless I became. Missing such a banquet meant who knows when I’d get another chance.

So I used my begging skills to find a dog hole to sneak in, hoping to blend in with the maids and get a taste.

But the huge Prince of Anyang’s mansion had even the dog holes blocked. Not only did I fail to get in, but the surrounding weeds and branches scratched my face.

Seeing the commanders of the Blue and Red Camps grab my arms anxiously on either side, I felt a bit guilty.

How was I supposed to explain that I just wanted to crawl through a dog hole to have a bite of the perch?!

After learning the truth, the two commanders reacted very differently.

The Blue Camp commander rubbed his hands excitedly.

“Your Highness is launching another major operation! That Qing Jiu is impressive; the Blue Camp is going to earn great merit again!”

The Red Camp commander looked pale, scratching his head and muttering,

“Nonsense, nonsense!”

This guy was way too bold, daring to call the Crown Prince nonsense!

Not long after, the gates of the Prince of Anyang’s mansion were thrown open. The Eastern Palace guards protecting the Crown Prince suddenly rushed out and took control of the mansion.

“The Prince of Anyang has committed treason and attempted to assassinate the Crown Prince but failed. He is to be imprisoned in the Heavenly Prison awaiting judgment!” the guard leader announced loudly.

The Secret Guards were stunned. The Crown Prince walked out leisurely, followed by my brother, proud and triumphant.

My brother looked disheveled, his hairpins loose, makeup smeared, skirt tucked up at the waist, sleeves rolled to his elbows. But none of this dimmed the proud look on his face.

With one hand, he grabbed the Prince of Anyang and slammed him to the ground with a thud.

The Prince rolled his eyes and shouted,

“I had spies watching you! Your concubine here doesn’t know martial arts at all. How come today she’s suddenly so formidable, fighting like a wild man? Alas, I miscalculated!”

He pounded his chest in frustration.

The Crown Prince didn’t even glance at him and said coldly,

“The Red Camp commander colluded with the Prince of Anyang in a plot to harm me. Arrest him too!”

The guards immediately swarmed and captured the Red Camp commander.

It turned out the Crown Prince had long suspected a spy among his Secret Guards. When he learned the Prince of Anyang planned to make a move against him, he pretended to be fooled and brought only one maid to the banquet, setting a trap to expose the traitor.

The Blue Camp commander and other Secret Guards were stunned again. No wonder that guy had stopped everyone from entering earlier-it was an insider!

The leader of the Secret Guards gritted his teeth.

“Damn, this month’s performance bonus is lost again!”

The Crown Prince calmly observed everyone’s reactions, showing no emotion.