Prince Yan always keeps his word. That day, he said he would test him with books, and since then, every morning, he would wait in the room with a purple sandalwood ruler in hand.

The Prince claimed to be ill and didn’t attend court, and the one in Funing Hall also claimed to be unwell, sending word to the officials that there would be no morning court for half a month during the New Year. If there were urgent matters, all memorials should be sent to the Regent King’s residence.

During these New Year days, the officials were busy visiting relatives and enjoying their leisure time, and few dared to come to the Prince’s residence to submit memorials, risking the wrath of Xie Shiguan.

The Prince was so bored in the residence that he almost went stir-crazy. He even overfed the koi in the courtyard, causing two to die. With nowhere to vent his frustration, he turned to torment Shen Que.

Shen Que quietly lifted his eyes, sneaking a glance at the person in front of the desk.

The end of the ruler was adorned with a purple jade gourd bead, with a silk tassel hanging down. Xie Shiguan’s hand, holding the ruler, was as white as cold jade, with distinct joints. His fingers occasionally tapped the ruler’s surface, inadvertently dazzling Shen Que’s eyes.

Shen Que’s gaze was unconsciously drawn to it, muddled and confused, and he forgot all the words he had memorized the night before.

If he couldn’t recite them, he would be punished. First, his left hand would be hit until it was red, then his right hand, then his calves, and then upwards… to the end of his spine.

The Prince’s strikes weren’t actually heavy. Shen Que, who had been training his body for years and often sparred with his colleagues on the training ground, knew that their sticks were much harsher than the Prince’s. When they hit, they left bruises that wouldn’t fade for three to five days.

But the ruler in Xie Shiguan’s hand was different. It wasn’t heavy, but it hurt. Yet Shen Que felt it was different from his colleagues’ sticks.

The pain on his body gave rise to a peculiar emotion in his heart, a nearly pathological thrill, mixed with unease and fear, but also a bit of anticipation and longing.

He couldn’t quite describe it, but he found himself… craving this pain.

Just in that moment of distraction, Shen Que snapped back to reality, feeling deeply ashamed of the base and vile thoughts in his heart, and lowered his head to look at his shoe tips.

He felt he deserved to die. Little did he know that the Prince holding the ruler, who seemed so righteous, had thoughts far dirtier than his own.

At that moment, Shen Que suddenly heard footsteps.

The next moment, Shen Xiangzhi stood half an arm’s length away from him, reporting without looking sideways, “Your Highness, Man Taifu is here.”

“What is he here for?” Xie Shiguan tossed the ruler onto the desk with a dull thud, “I won’t see him.”

Shen Xiangzhi looked a bit troubled. Everyone in the Prince’s residence knew that Man Changshan and Prince Yan were close friends, so there was no reason to turn him away.

If Xie Shiguan said he wouldn’t see him, did that mean they had to send Man Changshan away?

“Your Highness,” Shen Xiangzhi cautiously spoke, “he’s already waiting in the side hall. Shouldn’t you…?”

Perhaps give him the courtesy of a meeting?

Shen Xiangzhi deliberately hesitated, watching Xie Shiguan’s expression. The Prince slightly furrowed his brows, but he didn’t seem displeased. Instead, there was a hint of worry in his eyes.

Shen Xiangzhi had been with Prince Yan since he was a child, so he could somewhat gauge the Prince’s thoughts from subtle cues.

Xie Shiguan wasn’t truly angry, which meant there was room for negotiation.

“Fine,” after a long while, Shen Que heard the Prince sigh lightly, “let that old thing in.”

He called him an old thing, but the person who was ushered in looked quite young, wearing a dark purple official robe, with hair meticulously tied and a perfectly straight black gauze cap. Below was a square face with distinct lines, high cheekbones, and brow bones, looking extremely serious.

He wasn’t polite either, lifting his robe and sitting down below Xie Shiguan.

This was the Grand Tutor of the current dynasty, the teacher of the Emperor. Shen Que dared not be negligent, quickly brewing a cup of hot tea and respectfully offering it to him.

“During the New Year,” Xie Shiguan lounged lazily on the couch, “why isn’t Man Taifu spending time with his family and visiting relatives, but instead coming to the Prince’s residence?”

One look at his attire, and Xie Shiguan knew he must have just met with the Emperor and came straight from the palace to him.

Man Changshan couldn’t stand his lazy demeanor: “Your Highness holds a high position, a pillar of the court, a role model for the Emperor. How can you be so slouchy like a pine caterpillar? Sit properly.”

Xie Shiguan shifted slightly, changing to a more comfortable position, and mocked him with a smirk: “This is the Yan Prince Residence, my private home. I can sit however I like. Does Man Taifu also wear pants when using the toilet at home?”

Man Changshan was so infuriated that he couldn’t speak for a while.

“There’s no smoke without fire,” Xie Shiguan showed some impatience, “what do you want?”

With years of friendship between them, there was no need for pleasantries. Man Changshan got straight to the point: “You shouldn’t be at odds with him.”

He paused, then added, “Yizhi is only sixteen, still with a child’s temperament. The Miao family is his maternal family, don’t push him too hard.”

“He should grow up,” Xie Shiguan coldly interjected, “Miao Zongping unjustly kidnapped my personal guard, tortured him, trying to force a confession. This time, Shen Que kept his mouth shut, but what if it were someone else?”

“If the charge of assigning a personal guard to assassinate falls on me,” he laughed, “and then the Emperor openly and secretly favors me, not sending me to prison. Those who know might say I’m innocent, but what about those who don’t?”

Man Changshan remained silent.

Xie Shiguan continued, “Those who don’t know might think I’m a treacherous minister, blinding the Emperor’s eyes, which is why he protects me so.”

“He thinks I’m doing this out of personal vendetta, trying to make things difficult for his uncle. Miao Zongping says a word, and he wants to cut off my arm to repay. How laughable, Changshan.”

Man Changshan looked at him, seeing the Prince’s face full of smiles, but his eyes were cold.

This reminded him of the year the late Emperor passed away, when a decree came down, ordering a hundred concubines to be buried with him, led by Xie Ling’s mother, Noble Consort Liu.

Man Taifu was nine years older than Xie Ling, and at seventeen, he entered the palace as a companion reader for the princes. Prince Yan was exceptionally intelligent, and he had a good impression of this bright and beautiful young prince.

That day, he heard the child’s heart-wrenching cries, sneaked into the young prince’s residence, and saw the child desperately clawing at the door, his fingers bleeding.

When the child saw him, he silently walked over.

Then he fiercely grabbed the orchid embroidery on his chest, smearing blood on his front, and Man Changshan looked down to see the child’s eyes filled with tears, full of hatred and resentment, a beauty mixed with extreme and venomous anger, like a ghost crawling up from the depths.

“Why!”

“What did my mother do wrong?” he shouted hoarsely, “What did she do wrong!”

Since that day, Man Changshan never saw him cry again.

The once lonely little prince had grown up, no longer losing control. Even when furious, his eyes were smiling, but it was more terrifying than the child full of hatred.

Miao Zongping unjustly kidnapped Shen Que, wanting his life, just like the palace servants dragged Noble Consort Liu into the tomb alive. Miao Zongping, the fool, had stepped right on Prince Yan’s landmine.

But the current Xie Ling was no longer the little prince who could only cry and shout “Why.”

Man Changshan knew he was stubborn, took a sip of tea, and then said, “I’ve already scolded Yizhi. He regrets it and has made concessions. Now is a time of turmoil, and it’s unreasonable for the ruler and ministers to be at odds and not attend court.”

Shen Que stood silently by the side, thinking that the light mention of “made concessions” had cost a bloody life.

But to them, it was probably like casually breaking a willow branch or stepping on an ant, so insignificant.

Xie Shiguan smiled, “A time of turmoil? I wish everyone under the heavens would die. What does your comfort have to do with me?”

“You,” Man Changshan slammed the tea cup on the table, the porcelain clinking sharply, “in your position, you must fulfill your duties. Shiguan, you are the Emperor’s assistant, you can’t be reckless!”

Xie Shiguan coldly looked at him. Man Taifu was a loyal dog of the royal family, but he was a wild wolf.

The Confucian path of the ruler and ministers couldn’t bind him, nor could wealth and power hold him. He didn’t listen to advice, he could be a loyal minister protecting the Emperor, or a treacherous minister, all depending on his mood.

“I’ve been exhausting myself for the young Emperor for over seven years, just asking for Miao Zongping’s life. What’s the big deal?” Xie Shiguan said indifferently, “If he wants to please his maternal family and also wants my loyalty, how can there be such a perfect world?”

“Changshan,” the Prince lifted his eyelids, his long phoenix eyes showing a bit of cold indifference, “what’s the glory of being the Emperor’s assistant? It’s just to bind me as a dog for the Xie family. If the Emperor wants my loyalty, he must give up something.”

“Give and take,” he smiled faintly, “even children understand this.”

Man Changshan looked at his bright yet indifferent eyes, feeling a chill.

Prince Yan always saw things in black and white, like a child, simple. If he recognized someone as his own, even if they committed heinous crimes, he would indulge and pamper them.

But if he didn’t like someone, even if they saved the world, they deserved to die.

If one day, Xie Yizhi was also categorized as “disliked”… Man Taifu didn’t dare to think about it.

Author’s Note:

Promoting the next modern danmei novel “A Dog-Blooded Sister-in-Law Literature” (because I haven’t thought of a name yet, it’s a bit cheesy, still a double-gender pregnancy story, synopsis as follows:

Seeing Yu Yan again was at his brother’s funeral. The man held a black umbrella in one hand, caressing the black-and-white portrait on the tombstone with the other, a tear silently falling on his fair face.

A distant cousin from the Chao family teased him: “You’re something, kid. Your brother’s gone, and you’re the only one left in the Chao family. Now you can have whatever you want.”

But he didn’t know that Chao Yi actually wanted nothing at the moment, except to lick away the tear on his sister-in-law’s cheek.

*

Yu Yan was the rose he kept in his heart.

In his previous life, Chao Yi fell for him at first sight, trapped in this forbidden love, almost unable to extricate himself.

But he didn’t know the deep hatred Yu Yan harbored for him. What he thought was love was just Yu Yan’s calculated seduction and trap.

In just three years, Yu Yan had deceived him to the point of ruin, losing his power and everything.

What truly pushed Chao Yi into despair was finding a report in Yu Yan’s bag, clearly stating that Yu Yan was pregnant, six weeks.

He confronted Yu Yan with the report, but Yu Yan just glanced at it and said indifferently, “I aborted it.”

So Yu Yan really didn’t love him.

*

Chao Yi was reborn, opening his eyes to find himself back at his brother’s funeral, seeing the noble young master who haunted his dreams and filled him with hatred.

His nominal sister-in-law.

Torn between love and hate, Chao Yi wanted to strangle his delicate neck, but he couldn’t bear to.

So he could only madly desire him, smashing the gem cufflinks his brother gave Yu Yan, even though they meant a lot to Yu Yan.

Then, in front of his brother’s spirit tablet, in the ancestral hall, in the marital bedroom once shared by his brother and Yu Yan…

“Do you regret it?” he asked.

“This family is all mine,” he laughed, “and so are you, Yanyan.”

Note:

1. Dog-blooded and twisted (really, the previous life the shou was scum, the next life the gong is scum, both are infuriating).

2. Double-gender pregnancy.