Chapter 87

"Market price." Xue Jin'an handed over the money directly.

Clay figurines are something that ordinary people can buy, so the price is naturally not very expensive. However, card and mahjong parlors cater to wealthy people, so they won't make them cheap in order to maintain a certain image.

To make the entire figure seem more high-end, they have a story behind everything from the clay used to the paint used for coloring, aiming to make it sound expensive but incomprehensible.

The third princess lived in a palace where an egg was worth one tael of silver. Not knowing much about these intricacies, she genuinely believed it was the market price and happily put away the silver—this was the first money she had earned in the palace through her own skills!

If she can earn money, Lady Wen can make fewer brocade knots and embroider fewer stitches, and she won't have to stay up all night embroidering, so her eyes won't go blind!

Once the money was received, her professionalism immediately changed. Even the Third Princess overcame her timidity and asked Xue Jin'an, "Seventh Brother, what are your requirements for this? How big, tall, and detailed should it be? How about I draw it for you first and you can see if there are any changes you need..."

As the third princess spoke, she picked up a tree branch and squatted down to draw a picture, calling him "seventh brother" with great respect.

Xue Jin'an: "..." Is this the legendary power of money? I've learned it.

The Third Princess was in high spirits. Since Xue Jin'an and the others had no requests, she simply painted a portrait of Xue Jin'an's face. With just a few strokes, she captured Xue Jin'an's essence. She was indeed very talented in this area.

When it came to actually sculpting the clay figures, some problems became apparent. Xue Jin'an noticed the flaws in her technique and the strength of her movements, while Cui Zui's assessment was simply due to her experience and broadened horizons.

The third princess's problem is mainly technical. Without a teacher to guide her, she had to figure everything out on her own, which led to many bad habits. A lot of time was spent on repairs. However, in terms of the degree of resemblance, she still passed the test.

The third princess was a little disappointed. "So I can't make money anymore? I understand."

“Of course you can make money, as long as you correct these bad habits,” Cui Zui said.

The third princess was still dejected. She shook her head and said, "No one taught me, I don't know how to change."

Cui Zui immediately extended an invitation: "I have many masters in this field. You can go and learn from them. As long as you are willing to make figurines for us for half a year after you have completed the course, you can learn for free. Moreover, you will be paid while you are learning. We will sign a contract in black and white and go through the official channels. We are not afraid of going back on our word."

The third princess's eyes lit up immediately, but then her shoulders slumped again. "But I can only leave the palace once a year to attend my eldest sister's birthday banquet. My eldest sister only has one birthday banquet a year. If I can't go out, I can't learn, and I can't earn money..."

The Third Princess was, after all, just a child under 100 years old. Tears of grievance streamed down her face. Cui Zui was startled and jumped up from the chair, somewhat at a loss. Lingzhi quickly grabbed a handkerchief to wipe away her tears.

Cui Zui's reaction this time was completely different from last time, mainly because last time he felt that the Third Princess had ulterior motives and that watching her cry was like watching a performance. But now that they had spent time together and talked, he knew that the Third Princess's crying was very genuine.

Seeing Cui Zui's embarrassed expression, the Third Princess immediately turned her head away. She wanted to stop crying, but she couldn't, and she couldn't help but despise herself.

She turned her back and sobbed, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to cry, I just couldn't control my tears. I didn't mean to hurt you, I just..."

I just feel like there's an opportunity right in front of me, but I can't seize it... I just hate my own powerlessness.

The third princess couldn't express herself. She hadn't studied much and didn't know how to organize her thoughts. The more she tried to explain, the less she could speak. In the end, the more anxious she became, the harder she cried, and the more she cried, the more anxious she became, falling into a vicious cycle.

"—Sigh!" Cui Zui looked at her small figure trembling pitifully, and suddenly didn't know what to say. He could only look to his omnipotent master for help.

Master, help! He cried out with his eyes.

Xue Jin'an, who had already blocked out the sound, received this look and said, "Okay."

Xue Jin'an reached out and covered the Third Princess's head.

At this moment, everyone, including Cui Zui, thought he would unleash his full power to stop the child from crying at night. There was no way around it; Xue Jin'an's decisive and efficient methods of dealing with people were too deeply ingrained in people's minds. They were unconsciously influenced and subconsciously felt that the Seventh Prince was a heartless and unyielding person.

Then Xue Jin'an awkwardly rubbed her hands a couple of times and said in a calm tone, "If we can't go out, we'll find a way. Eldest sister can't celebrate her birthday every day, but there are people in this world who celebrate their birthdays every day."

The third princess looked up at him, her eyes, clear from her tears, held no trace of gloom. She moved her lips, asking silently and innocently, "Should I go and make friends with them? Or should I beg them?"

Xue Jin'an turned off the mute, and the voice came into his ears again. He shook his head and said, "Go find your elder sister. She can let you leave the palace every day to 'celebrate your birthday'."

Whether that person is a true friend or not is unimportant; whether they exist or not is also unimportant. What matters is that these are the words of the eldest princess, the words of a person with power.

"Dignity lies only on the edge of the sword, and truth lies only within the range of the arrow."

...

Princess's Residence

"What a fine saying, 'Dignity lies only on the edge of the sword!'" The princess exclaimed, clapping her hands in admiration, a rare moment of genuine joy.

The third princess, looking bewildered with her rabbit-like eyes, asked, "Elder sister, what did seventh brother mean by what he said to me?"

The eldest princess patted her head. "Seventh brother, are you saying this to me?"

There's no point in engaging in scheming and intrigue; only by truly grasping power in your own hands can you rise to a high position and reach the end.

"They all lost." The eldest prince, the second prince, and even the emperor and his mother all lost.

The Emperor's insistence on benevolence and his desire to separate himself from the Empress Dowager's strict rule led to a growing left-wing sentiment among court officials and a surge in factional strife. The Empress Dowager, on the other hand, was determined to become Empress and rightfully the mother of the nation. So she endured and pretended to be magnanimous, keeping herself spotless and not coveting power, yet she remained only a Noble Consort.

The eldest prince humbled himself and made many friends; the second prince went to great lengths to maintain his reputation for talent... Both were wrong.

In the past, when the late emperor wanted to make Consort Hui empress, the Empress Dowager could depose her with a single word. Why was that? It was because the Empress Dowager held power!

The seed of ambition, nourished by the sunlight of power, sprouted and took root in the heart.

"Xue Nian, you must remember this sentence." The eldest princess ruffled the third princess's hair and said firmly, "Power is the most beautiful thing in the world. When you have the opportunity to grasp it, never let go. Wherever it stands, that place is a place of pilgrimage."

...

Xue Jin'an didn't expect that the Eldest Princess had read and interpreted his words so thoroughly. He had only uttered those words because he remembered the Third Princess saying that she had been bullied by the Ninth Prince, and that's when he felt compelled to speak.

The Third Princess was unable to resist the Ninth Prince, not because she was no match for him. Girls of this age are usually better fighters than boys, and the Ninth Prince was also much younger than her. If she were to make a move, the Ninth Prince would only be able to cry and beg for mercy.

The reason the Third Princess dared not fight was simply because she was not favored or valued. If she were to retaliate, it would likely implicate those around her.

Only by becoming strong can we wield the sword of counterattack and fear no storm.

Hmm... the princess's reading comprehension seems to be correct; wielding power can indeed make one stronger.

If Xue Jin'an knew about the Eldest Princess, he would definitely comment: "Logical genius."

Although Xue Jin'an did not know what the princess was talking about, he received an invitation from her, which was naturally an invitation to attend her birthday banquet.

The invitation was handed in by the Imperial Guards at the door through the eldest princess's people. Cui Zui couldn't help but click his tongue twice, "Master, you can eat, drink, and sleep well and still attend banquets. Why put yourself through this confinement!"

Amidst the speechless stares of the Imperial Guards, Cui Zui shrugged his shoulders with a laugh.

His phrase "Why bother?" was not directed at Xue Jin'an, but rather a comment on the court officials who impeached Xue Jin'an.

The emperor placed Xue Jin'an under house arrest. Those guys were dissatisfied and kept complaining, which angered the emperor, who then ignored them. In the end, the former's house arrest was just a formality and did not cause any real harm, while the latter's neglect was real. Why bother making things difficult for themselves?

"Hey, could it be that the eldest and second princes are also under house arrest like this?" Cui Zui suddenly thought of this and his eyes widened in surprise.

He immediately started harassing the guard at the door, who, unable to bear it any longer, finally blurted out, "I don't know."

"Master!" Cui Zui turned to Xue Jin'an, still unwilling to give up, and said somewhat indignantly, "They're under house arrest, being punished, how can they relax!"

At this moment, no one mentions Xue Jin'an's idyllic life in Zhaoyang Palace anymore; the double standard is blatant.

Xue Jin'an replied directly, "No."

The deaths of Chu Wenwan and Xiao Shu offended the Fourth Prince, the Fifth Prince, and the Ninth Prince.

The Ninth Prince's true colors were already seen at the palace banquet; at most, he could only play a self-inflicted injury trick and could be easily suppressed. The Fourth Prince, without Chu Wenjing's cooperation, was also powerless to retaliate. The only one who could truly cause Xue Jin'an any trouble was the Fifth Prince.

Ironically, the Fifth Prince was the one who most wanted Xiao Shu to die, and he even contributed to her death in countless ways.

The eldest and second princes were different; the victim was the third prince. If they had already left the palace to establish their own residences, they might not have been able to do anything, but being in the same princely quarters, they had plenty of room to take action.

The days of confinement for the eldest and second princes are likely to be very difficult.

As Xue Jin'an had predicted, the princes' lives had been quite lively lately. The third prince had been irritable and depressed for a while because of his broken leg, to the point that he was so aggressive that even passing dogs would bite him. The atmosphere in the entire Mingde Academy was very heavy. Meanwhile, the eldest prince in the Wenhua Academy and the second prince in the Yuanbo Academy were having a pretty good time.

Then, Consort Xian, unable to bear it any longer, finally couldn't stand the Third Prince's pathetic state. She rolled up her sleeves, grabbed a stick, and gave the Third Prince a severe beating on the head.

The Third Prince was the one who got beaten, but it was Consort Xian who cried. Consort Xian's crying was really undignified. Such a bright and beautiful woman looked ugly because of her crying.

"Huan'er, if you want to die, I'll die with you, so that our loved ones will grieve and our enemies will rejoice, and so that those who plotted against us will laugh their heads off! Come, I'll beat you to death first, and then I'll die with you. Wait for me on the road to the Yellow Springs, I'll be there soon!"

After Consort Xian's outburst, it was unclear whether her words had awakened the Third Prince or whether the Third Prince had truly had a breakthrough in his understanding, but he suddenly came to his senses.

"Yes, how can I give up now? Those who harmed me haven't paid the price yet. Even if I die, I'll take them with me!" The Third Prince broke the stick in his mother's hand, spat out a mouthful of blood, and spoke with a fierce and sinister tone.

From that day on, the good days for the eldest and second princes came to an end.

The Third Prince sent men to guard the entrances of Wenhua Academy and Yuanbo Academy. They didn't curse, beat, or stop people from entering or leaving, but they would smash any eunuchs carrying food or anyone carrying hot water... In short, if they saw any obvious supplies, they wouldn't be allowed to get any in.

Of course, where there's a policy, there's a countermeasure. The eunuchs racked their brains to hide things on their bodies and smuggle them in, but the Third Prince's men didn't care. After all, they couldn't really let the two princes starve to death.

So the two princes, disheveled and dirty, ate steamed buns for several days.

The second prince was the first to lose his temper. He was so angry that he kicked the gate of the Yuanbo Academy and ordered someone to summon the third prince.

The Third Prince arrived with a knife in his hand. His physical condition was truly excellent; the near-death injury he had sustained had almost fully healed. He endured the pain and limped over, standing before the Yuanbo Academy like a demon god. The Yuanbo Academy and the Wenhua Academy were very close, so they knew about any disturbances. The First Prince was also keeping an eye on this area.

The blade was polished to a gleaming shine, reflecting the sweat on a person's face. A chilling and murderous aura emanated from it, and one could almost smell the faint scent of blood.

Of course, the smell of blood was purely an illusion, simply because they had witnessed the knife killing someone.

Every prince recognized the knife; it was the very same one Xue Jin'an had used to kill Chu Wenwan.

The second prince swallowed hard, suppressing the trembling in his heart. He pointed at the third prince and was about to rush out to argue with him when a cold, sharp glint of a blade flashed. The second prince staggered back into the courtyard. His right trouser leg was slashed open, leaving a fresh gash. Blood belatedly welled up from the wound.

"You, you—" The second prince looked at him in fear, unable to speak.

The Third Prince grinned, looking down at him with a hint of madness in his voice and eyes, "Xue Peilan, come out here, don't be a coward."

"This...this prince is under house arrest. Without the Emperor's decree, I will not step out of the Yuanbo Academy!" The second prince spoke firmly, but he was timid and needed help to stand up. He ordered his men to quickly pick up the wooden door that had been kicked away, blocking the third prince's view.

The Third Prince then turned to look at the First Prince's Wenhua Academy, his tone chilling, "Who else is looking for me?"

No one answered.

The Third Prince's men continued to block the door and smash supplies. This time, they even brought several dogs for them, and their actions became even more outrageous. They randomly grabbed someone and forcibly searched them. Several times, they actually found some easy-to-carry dry food such as steamed buns. The Third Prince directly ordered his men to soak the food in water and feed it to the dogs on the spot.

"This is outrageous! This is outrageous!" The second prince, his eyes green with hunger, clung to the door, really wanting to rush out and fight the third prince to the death, but he dared not.

"Your Highness, please bear with it. Ruyi has already gone to the Imperial Kitchen. We'll have people bring her in separately this time. There will be food soon. Ugh—" The Second Prince's personal eunuch endured it for a while, but couldn't hold back any longer because of the smell on him, and vomited.

Actually, there wouldn't be much of a smell if you didn't bathe for a month or two in winter, but the Second Prince couldn't stand it because he was sweating and had wounds on his body. The smell of blood and sweat mixed together and slowly fermented, and even the sachet at his waist couldn't suppress the smell.

Enraged, the second prince kicked the eunuch, aggravating the wound on his leg. He gasped and fell to the ground, realizing who had caused his current wretched state. The murderous intent in his eyes could no longer be concealed.

If only the third brother had died at the palace banquet! It's all that damned seventh brother's fault for meddling!

However, thinking about it any longer was of no use. The second prince grabbed a handful of his hair to calm himself down, and then disgustedly wiped his greasy hands on the eunuch's clothes. The eunuch was obsequious and dared not dodge, much less show any disgust.

"Didn't I send someone to tell my mother? Why is there still no word?" the Second Prince asked, frowning.

"This...this servant doesn't know either." The little eunuch lowered his head, sweating profusely, and dared not speak.

In fact, not only the Second Prince sent a message asking for help, but the First Prince did the same. However, Consort Xian had finally seen her son cheer up, so of course she couldn't let them ruin it. Consort Min and Consort De were held back by her and had no way to come to the Princes' residence. They only sent a few servants, but they were immediately blocked outside the Princes' residence by the Third Prince's men. If they insisted on rushing in, they would be gagged, tied up, and thrown anywhere in the palace to fend for themselves.

Consort Min had no choice but to send someone with a token to the Princess's residence for help. No one knew what the Princess was thinking, but she also went to see the Emperor.

"Baoyi, both sons are my flesh and blood, they are both my sons, who should I help?" When he drove Xiazi away to go fishing, the emperor had planted many spies from the Imperial Guard in the Princes' quarters. They knew all the information they needed to know. He had been pretending to be deaf and dumb for so long, which clearly showed that he did not want to get involved.

He sighed and said, "The mistress is upset and wants to vent. Once she's vented, she'll be fine. I'll have someone keep an eye on her and make sure she doesn't go too far."

The eldest princess did not linger in the palace and returned directly to her residence, leaving only one person to deliver the invitation to Xue Jin'an and inform Consort Min. After that, she never entered the palace again.

A few days later, the eldest prince could no longer bear it. He took a deep breath and finally opened the door of Wenhua Academy to confront the third prince.

"Third Prince, what exactly do you want?" The First Prince, his face full of suppressed emotion, earnestly tried to persuade the Third Prince. "Your leg has also saddened your brothers. Whether it was when you were bewitched and went mad, or when Xiao Qi attacked you to save you... these were all accidents..."

The Third Prince didn't listen to anything after that. He just looked at the First Prince with a sinister gaze and asked in a chilling tone, "Who are you implying is the one who broke my leg, Seventh Brother?"

"Xiao San, how could you think like that?" The First Prince looked surprised and disapproved. "Xiao Qi only did this to save you. If it weren't for him, you wouldn't have just lost one leg... Never mind, Xiao San, you must remember Xiao Qi's kindness."

Although the eldest prince denied it verbally, he still tried to pin the leg injury on Xue Jin'an in his words.

The third prince sneered without commenting, but instead brandished the knife in his hand, staring at the man's leg and warning him in a chilling tone, "Brother, don't take another step forward."

The eldest prince instinctively took a step back, cold sweat beading on his back.

The mistress has really gone mad. He thought.

The eldest prince wanted to relieve the siege of Wei by attacking Zhao. The third prince did go to see Xue Jin'an the next day, but not to settle scores or fight; he went to complain.

"Seventh brother, Xue Luowen is all talk and no action; he never tells the truth. Let's join forces and kill him." The Third Prince's tone was filled with genuine killing intent.

Xue Jin'an rejected the suggestion: "You can kill one of his hands."

The Third Prince only lost one leg; his fighting ability remains. Even the First Prince and the Second Prince combined wouldn't be a match for him.

"I can't kill them openly without implicating my mother and uncle." The Third Prince's voice was deep. He didn't care about his own life, but he didn't want Consort Xian to suffer with him.

Just a moment ago it was only the eldest prince, but now it's become "the whole family," meaning the second prince has been included as well.

Xue Jin'an said, "There's nothing I can do."

"No, I think you can do it." The Third Prince's eyes were resolute as he grabbed Xue Jin'an's hand and said, "You have to believe in yourself."

Xue Jin'an: "..."

Xue Jin'an opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, the Third Prince seemed to understand. He nodded and said, "It's fine if you don't want to be implicated, as long as you teach me how to kill them without being punished."

"Third Brother, I'm under house arrest." Xue Jin'an shattered his dream of avoiding punishment.

The third prince, however, thought this was a reason not to kill his two older brothers, and without thinking, said, "I'll steal you out!"

Xue Jin'an: "..." It's obvious you really want to kill them.