Gu Zhixing stared at Chi Yang, his eyes blazing with fury.

He knew that Chi Yang was always brave but reckless and impulsive. He was not like Shen Huaixu and would never have thought of a way to sow discord.

The only possibility is that he was afraid of being beaten up, so he told the truth to protect himself.

Gu Zhixing slowly clenched his fists at his sides, his knuckles turning white and the veins bulging slightly under his skin.

He took a deep breath, trying to suppress the surging anger, but it was like a wild beast raging in his chest, impossible to quell.

Finally, he raised his leg and kicked Chi Yang hard in the buttocks again.

Chi Yang let out a muffled groan, his body suddenly leaning forward, almost falling over again.

He braced himself on the ground with both hands to steady himself, but dared not turn around to look at Gu Zhixing.

Gu Zhixing coldly ordered, "Hang the Chiyang sign for two months!"

The eldest princess had many male lovers, too many to remember at once. Usually, she would have a batch of plaques made, imitating the green plaques of the Imperial Household Department, with their names engraved on them.

When they are bored and need someone to keep them company, they will choose someone from among the women.

If the sign is hung up, the princess might forget about him after a while.

In other words, he may never see the princess again and will fall out of favor from now on.

Having figured this out, Chi Yang scrambled to find Gu Zhixing to beg for mercy, but was stopped by Chong Yang.

"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!"

No matter how much Ren Chiyang called out, Gu Zhixing walked away without looking back.

He walked toward the warehouse, his anger burning like an unquenchable weed.

"Your Highness, what brings you here?"

The servant guarding the storeroom was dozing off when he suddenly felt a chill on his neck. When he opened his eyes, he saw Gu Zhixing walking menacingly toward the storeroom.

Suddenly, he felt that he must have forgotten to burn incense before going out today, and that he was extremely unlucky.

"Open the door," Gu Zhixing said coldly.

How could the servant dare?

Shen Jintang recently moved all his belongings over and asked them to guard them carefully, especially to prevent His Highness the Crown Prince from finding out.

You should know that they all gave the same answer: the government was out of money.

If His Highness finds out that they've simply hidden the money and aren't letting him spend it, he'll probably tear the roof off the house.

Moreover, judging from Gu Zhixing's current appearance, he seems to already know something.

"Your Highness..." The servant was obsequious and dared not step forward to provoke this trouble.

Gu Zhixing didn't make things difficult for him. He sneered, snatched a knife, and slashed at the lock on the warehouse door.

"Bang—"

The blade struck the chain, sending sparks flying.

Gu Zhixing showed no mercy, slashing again and again, the chains screeching as they struck the blades.

Finally, the chains gave way and broke off the door with a crisp sound.

Gu Zhixing tossed the knife, its blade chipped and dulled from the cutting, aside; a few strands of iron filings still clung to the edge.

He kicked the door open and strode inside.

The warehouse was filled with the smell of dust, and sunlight streamed through the windows, casting dappled shadows on the floor.

Before his eyes was a dazzling array of antique treasures, each one of which he recognized; they had all been collected from his room.

Gu Zhixing's gaze swept over these treasures, his eyes filled with a hint of mockery and anger.

"Ha!" He sneered, his voice laced with sarcasm.

I lied to him that I had sold everything, and that I had no money left.

He's just playing with her feelings!

He actually thought others were trying to sow discord, and he trusted her so much.

And what was the result?

That's how she treated his trust; she didn't even intend to tell him a single truth!

Is she planning to just lie to him like this, trick him into taking the monthly exam, and secretly go to her mother's side to become a female official?

She was full of lies and didn't care whether he found out or not; she was just using him as a stepping stone.

Fine! He quits!

To hell with promises and studying, I'm not putting up with it anymore!

Gu Zhixing didn't want to argue with Shen Jintang, so he turned around and walked out of the mansion.

The Princess's residence was his home for over a decade, but at this moment, all he wanted was to escape.

If he wants to go out, no one can stop him.

——

On the other side, the study was filled with the faint scent of ink. Shen Jintang sat at his desk, the brush in his hand making a soft scratching sound on the paper.

She had been waiting for a long time, but Gu Zhixing had not appeared yet.

Time passed slowly in silence, and Shen Jintang's patience was gradually worn away.

Finally, she put down her pen, sighed softly, and looked up at Xinghui standing to the side, saying, "Go and send someone to look for the young master again. Why hasn't he returned yet after so long?"

Xing responded with a sound of agreement and turned to relay the message.

Shen Jintang picked up the textbook again, turned to a page, and began to write annotations carefully in the blank space.

She had originally planned to complete the lecture in three days, but because Gu Zhixing was always distracted, it was only barely finished today.

Gu Zhixing was always drowsy and distracted during class, and Shen Jintang could only keep reminding him to barely concentrate.

After Xinghui returned with the message, his gaze fell on the dense annotations on Shen Jintang's book pages, and he couldn't help but ask, "Master, you have a photographic memory. You can understand these things in the book with just a glance. Why bother making these annotations?"

Shen Jintang paused slightly, gently put down her pen, looked away from the book, and sighed softly.

Thinking of the monthly exam in five days, Shen Jintang felt rather helpless and said, "Of course I don't need these things. These are for the young master."

After hearing this, Xinghui couldn't help but mutter angrily, "He's already stupid, how can he be so careless?"

Shen Jintang paused, frowned slightly, gently placed the brush on the brush holder, and glanced at Xing Hui.

After a moment, she said, "These words must not be mentioned again in the future."

Shen Jintang's voice was soft, but it commanded respect.

“…Yes.” Xinghui lowered her head, realizing her own loose tongue.

Silence fell in the study again, broken only by the occasional chirping of birds from outside the window.

Shen Jintang waited for a long time, and gradually felt uneasy.

Just as she was about to get up and go out to see for herself, the study door was suddenly pushed open, and Liu Huo ran in, covered in sweat.

"Master, something terrible has happened!" Liu Huo's voice was filled with panic. He stood at the door, panting, his forehead covered in sweat.

Xinghui immediately went to greet Liuhuo, picked up a cup of tea from the table and handed it to him, asking with concern, "What happened?"

Liu Huo took the tea and drank it down in one gulp before catching his breath. His voice was urgent as he said, "His Highness the Crown Prince has run out of the manor!"

Shen Jintang's face instantly darkened. She gave a cold laugh, her eyes becoming sharp as knives.

She gripped the edge of the book tightly, her knuckles turning white from the force.