"Hmph." Chu Huaixu sneered, his knuckles clenched white under his sleeves, his nails digging into his palms.

Song Ting saw everything, took his hand, and gently loosened his tightly clenched fingers. Chu Huaixu lowered his eyes, his eyes surging with hatred.

In the past, people said that Prince Duan was very fortunate, as his three sons were all outstanding individuals, and his second son, Chu Huaiyun, was particularly talented in both literature and martial arts.

Besides being skilled in leading troops into battle, the second young master also possessed extraordinary talent in poetry and painting. He was praised by the late emperor as "a genius of his time, unparalleled in the world," and was thus known as the "Peerless Young Master."

Later, the Prince Duan's mansion was destroyed, and even the most outstanding young master became nothing but bones.

With his passing, his paintings have become even more sought after, and for a time, one of his original works could fetch tens of thousands of dollars on the black market.

Chu Huaixu was raised in the palace by the late emperor from a young age and rarely had the opportunity to see his elder brothers. When he finally returned home, his two elder brothers followed their father to guard the border, and after that, they could hardly see each other more than a few times a year.

But this did not hinder the relationship between the three brothers, and Chu Huaixu especially admired his father and brothers.

The eldest brother, Chu Huaiqing, was unreliable, while the second brother, Chu Huaiyun, was a handsome and elegant young man. Most of the time, Chu Huaixu would get into trouble with his eldest brother and then be disciplined by their father and second brother.

The two elder brothers returned at unpredictable times, but they would always come back near the end of the year. The second brother loved plum blossoms, especially the century-old plum tree in the backyard of the Prince's Mansion. The three brothers would often drink, paint, and spar in the courtyard.

Chu Huaixu remembered that his second brother had made a promise with them. That day, the snow was falling heavily, and the plum blossoms in the courtyard were in full bloom. The three brothers warmed some wine and brought it to the courtyard.

The second brother couldn't resist painting when he saw plum blossoms and snow scenes, while Chu Huaixu begged his eldest brother to compete with him.

The two brothers ended up in a draw and sat in the snow drinking peach blossom wine brewed by Chu Huaiyun last year.

"Second brother, this wine is really delicious. You're amazing."

"If you like it, that's good." Chu Huaiyun, dressed in white, had a gentle smile on his face. "If you like it, I will brew a few more jars next spring."

Chu Huaiqing, a lover of wine, immediately said, "Great! Not just next year, but every year thereafter! Brew it in the spring, and when we return from the border in winter, we'll drink it to our hearts' content!"

Chu Huaixu chimed in, "That's a great idea! Let's make that agreement. I can help Second Brother pick peach blossoms!"

Chu Huaiqing beamed: "Then I'll take care of drinking!"

"What are you talking about?" Chu Huaixu laughed at him, "Big brother, listen to what you're saying, it's utterly shameless..."

"Am I wrong?" Chu Huaiqing tapped the rim of his bowl with his chopsticks, humming a song from the northern desert march. "I am the eldest brother, it is only right that you two show me filial piety."

"I'll take care of you when you're old and frail, like when you can't walk anymore." Chu Huaixu made a face at him. "Second brother, look at him, he's shameless!"

Chu Huaiyun rarely showed a smile, and echoed Huaixu: "That's right, he's especially shameless, and doesn't act like an older brother at all."

"Hey, I don't like hearing that. Who says an elder brother has to be dignified? A thousand elder brothers should have a thousand different appearances. I think I'm especially good. The fact that you two call me elder brother is a blessing from your past life."

"..." This is utterly shameless. Chu Huaixu couldn't stand it anymore, grabbed a handful of snow and threw it at him, "My second brother and I can't accept this kind of good fortune, you should save it for Little Zhou!"

...

The promise of the past seemed still vivid in his mind, yet his two elder brothers had completely broken their word. Chu Huaixu never got to drink that jar of peach blossom wine again.

A piece of paper money was blown out of one of the children's baskets and landed right at Chu Huaixu's feet.

He stood ramrod straight, his gaze slowly moving upwards from the paper money, meeting Song Ting's eyes amidst the laughter of the surrounding children.

In an instant, she broke free of the hands that were holding her and walked away.

...

Because we lingered a bit at the calligraphy and painting stalls, the lobby of Qingfengju was already full of people when we arrived, and the upstairs private rooms were all booked long ago.

Song Ting himself didn't care, but he couldn't bear to wrong Chu Huaixu, so he called over the owner of Qingfengju.

"A private room."

Although the head chef of Qingfengju had already worked at the residence of this commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the owner did not recognize Song Ting's face. However, he could tell that the two were of noble status and dared not be negligent, so he bowed and said:

"Well... esteemed gentlemen, it's really unfortunate. The last private room was just taken by another young master just a moment ago, and we really can't make room right now."

"How about this, please excuse the two of you from having to sit in the main hall for a while. To express my apologies, I'll bring you some of Qingfengju's signature pastries to try. What do you think—"

Song Ting, impatient with his nonsense, took out a gold ingot and repeated what she had said before: "A private room."

The shopkeeper was stunned by the size of the gold ingot, but he couldn't conjure up a private room: "This... please wait a moment, young master, while I think of a way."

"Wait!" Suddenly, a pair of hands reached out and snatched the gold ingot from the black-clad young master's hand. "Sitting anywhere is the same. I see there are two empty seats in the back. Why don't you sit there? As for this gold ingot, you can give it to me."

Since Chu Huaixu had said so, Song Ting naturally went along with him.

There were many people around. Song Ting carefully escorted the man to his seat. The opera troupe was already making preparations, and almost everyone's eyes were on the stage. Only Song Ting was indifferent to everything on the stage, occasionally glancing sideways at the man beside her.

Chu Huaixu quickly noticed the other person's gaze and lifted his eyelids slightly: "What are you looking at me for?"

"Do you want money?" Song Ting whispered.

Seemingly finding his question foolish, Chu Huaixu curled his lips into a smile, his eyes filled with disdain:

"Of course, who doesn't like money? If I had enough money, I could hire the best assassin in the martial arts world to take your life."

He moved closer to Song Ting, his cool fingertips suddenly covering Song Ting's face: "As the saying goes, a great reward will surely bring forth brave men. Even the life of the young emperor might be taken by someone. Why would I need to fawn over you, Commander?"

Despite their intimate posture, Chu Huaixu's words were like knives wrapped around his tongue, causing Song Ting to grit her teeth and clench her hands, which were hanging on her lap, more and more tightly.

"Gentlemen," a waiter stepped forward, "a guest has invited you to sit in a private room upstairs."

Song Ting looked up and followed the direction the waiter was pointing. He saw Dong Maolin standing in front of the wooden railing, bowing to him.

Why is this old man watching a play here?

However, he dared not make a decision on his own and turned his gaze to Chu Huaixu.

The latter had already stood up and said casually, "What are you looking at me for? It would be foolish not to sit in such a good seat. Let's go, don't let Lord Dong's kindness go to waste."