Chapter 19 You've disliked Xiao Jue since you were little, is that...?

After Xiao Jue and Yan Jiarou walked away, two figures slowly appeared from the corner of the passageway.

Yan Xiao crossed his arms, raised his chin in the direction the two had left, and sneered, "I really underestimated this Princess Qinghe. One minute she's inseparable from you, and the next she can turn to the Crown Prince without hesitation. Tsk, she really has a broad mind. Why don't we put Xiao Yan in there too, and make it a complete set?"

Xiao Che lowered his gaze, his expression indifferent: "Is it strange? She has always liked the Crown Prince, didn't you know?"

"Tsk, I'm just feeling sorry for you. I used to feel sorry for you, after all, she's such a delicate beauty, and it's rare for you to like someone... But now it seems that she's so fickle and doesn't deserve you at all."

“Yan Xiao,” Xiao Che’s expression turned cold, and he said, “My relationship with her is none of your business. Whether she is worthy of me or not is not for you to decide.”

Yan Xiao lowered his head and touched his nose, his voice much softer: "Okay, I only said a few bad things about her, and you got angry... I won't say anything more."

He paused, then tentatively asked, "But Xiao Wenqi, you... have you really let her go?"

Xiao Che said, "There's nothing to let go of. In the end, her heart has never been with me. Over the years, I've done a lot of stupid things to win her attention away from Xiao Jue, but she only hates me more each year. I'm tired too. It's really meaningless."

“I never like to force others. If she doesn’t like me, what’s the point of me bothering her? Since she likes Xiao Jue, let her be. From now on, her affairs have nothing to do with me.”

Yan Xiao gave him a deep look, his joking expression vanishing, replaced by a rare seriousness: "You're deliberately distancing yourself from her because you've become obsessed with seizing the throne and disregarded life and death."

"It's good to let go now. Even if you fail to win the throne and end up dead, she might not be too sad... If you get involved again, I'm afraid she'll shed tears for you when that day comes. You won't be able to bear it, will you?"

"Xiao Wenqi, Xiao Wenqi, isn't your life worth a few tears from her? You were the one who saved her back then; anyone who didn't know better would think she saved you."

Xiao Che swept his gaze coldly over him: "Yan Xiao, you're unusually talkative today."

Yan Xiao didn't take it seriously: "Is that all? I have much more. Is this what you're thinking? You have no connection with her now. If you succeed in the succession struggle, she will naturally be safe and sound. But even if you lose, nothing will happen to her."

"Xiao Jue goes without saying. Although Xiao Yan has no romantic feelings for Princess Qinghe, he treats her very well. Princess Qinghe once lured away a poisonous snake for him when they were young, so she can be considered to have saved his life. Even though he and Xiao Jue are now at odds, he has never made things difficult for her. No matter who of the two of them inherits the throne in the end, she will live a good life."

"But you and I both know that Xiao Jue is a man who appears gentle on the surface but is extremely suspicious... Are you worried that since you are now his enemy, if you get entangled with Yan Jiarou in the future, you might arouse his suspicion and make things difficult for him? No, are you so sure that you will definitely lose?"

“Since I have promised my mother, I will naturally win.” A hint of sternness appeared in his eyes as he said, “I have said that I will not do anything meaningless. I have always known that she likes Xiao Jue. Now that I am going to be her lover’s enemy, she will naturally hate me in the future. It is better to make things clear now and become strangers from now on, so that I can be clean and simple.”

Yan Xiao then said, "I understand. You don't want her to be caught in the middle and have a difficult time."

Xiao Che: "...Think what you want. Anyway, this is the end for me and her. If nothing unexpected happens, we won't have any further contact."

Yan Xiao: "If nothing unexpected happens, something unexpected is bound to happen."

Xiao Che: "…………"

Yan Xiao stroked his chin, frowned, and said thoughtfully, "Getting the truth out of you is harder than climbing to heaven. As for the reason, I've thought about it a lot, and there's probably more to it than meets the eye..."

"Alright, you're going to let go eventually anyway, so there's no point in asking anymore. Let's get back to business. Xiao Wenqi, about the incident with the startled horse at Lishan, are you still planning to make a fuss about it?"

Xiao Che said, "The horse startled at Lishan was naturally Xiao Yan's doing. I had already warned him not to act rashly again, lest he harm the innocent. He agreed. But times have changed. The writing still needs to be done, but we will have to do it in a different way."

Yan Xiao said, "That day, His Majesty temporarily bestowed the snow-white horse that had been drugged upon you instead. I heard that Xiao Yan was extremely nervous, probably because he was afraid of implicating you. He feels guilty towards you, and you have leverage over him, so he will naturally obey your every word."

Xiao Che smiled and said, "Of course. He has something on me, so he has to listen to me whether he wants to or not. However," he glanced at Yan Xiao, his light-colored pupils gleaming faintly in the sunlight, giving him a captivating look, "I naturally have ways to make him obey."

"Speaking of which, Yan Xiao, I haven't congratulated you on your promotion yet. Congratulations on your triumphant return, for being promoted by the Emperor to the Imperial Guard Commander, and from now on you will be in charge of the entire Northern Army."

Yan Xiao raised an eyebrow: "I also congratulate the Third Prince."

"Congratulations to me?"

"My current position is entirely due to the grace of the Imperial Concubine. Now that she is gone, I will naturally follow Your Highness's lead. The higher I climb, the more I can rely on Your Highness."

He looked at Xiao Che with a rare seriousness in his eyes: "I am willing to serve Your Highness, even at the cost of my life."

Xiao Che's Adam's apple bobbed, and he gave him a deep look: "Okay."

——

Inside the study of the Prince of Jin's residence.

Xiao Yan sat in a round-backed chair, his fingers idly tapping the table. Hearing Xiao Che mention the frightened horse at Lishan, he subconsciously replied, "My good third brother, it's kind of you to make a special trip to my residence again. I understand, and I will certainly not act rashly again in the future..."

She was halfway through her sentence when she suddenly realized what she was saying and looked up at Xiao Che in astonishment: "No, Third Brother, what did you say? You said I can do whatever I want with the Crown Prince in the future, just don't be as reckless as you were on Mount Li?"

He had initially thought the man had come to persuade him...

Xiao Che leaned against the window with his arms crossed and said calmly, "Since Xiao Jue has harmed you, it's only natural that you want revenge. Why should I stop you?"

"But didn't you warn me before..."

“The past is the past,” Xiao Che turned his face, the dim yellow light shining from the lamp stand beside him reflected in his pale eyes, the firelight flickering and fading: “Second brother, my mother’s death taught me a lot. Of course, revenge is necessary. Putting yourself in my shoes, how could I stop you from taking revenge?”

Xiao Yan frowned: "You mean, the death of the Imperial Concubine is related to the Crown Prince?"

"Since he delivered that ginseng soup, and Empress Cui knelt in the Zichen Palace in the rain to testify, it does seem like she was wronged. Who knows if it was his idea, or if he used your mother's name. If that's the case, even if your mother wanted to get away with it, she wouldn't drag her beloved son into it, so she would naturally take the blame for him."

"Besides, one is your mother and the other is your own brother. You should know their character better than anyone else."

Xiao Yan frowned and pondered: "My mother has always been weak-willed and timid. She has indeed always resented the Consort for taking away her favor, but if it were about killing her to silence her, there would be no need to wait until today."

"As for my eldest brother, he appears gentle and harmless on the surface, but behind the scenes, he's a ruthless man. He'd even turn against his own brother for that position, let alone outsiders," he said, narrowing his eyes slightly, a gloomy look on his face. "And yet, Mother Empress favors him..."

Xiao Che said, "That's it. You are his younger brother. If he could still do something to you for the throne, then it's entirely possible that he was wary of the Emperor's favor towards my mother and worried that his position as crown prince was unstable. Therefore, he deliberately sent her ginseng soup—made from Korean ginseng, which is extremely nourishing and a tribute from Korea—which caused my mother to be unable to tolerate the nourishment."

"In short, as you know, he and I have never gotten along. Regardless of whether he did this intentionally or not, I don't like him. Now that he's on suspicion, I naturally dislike him even more."

“My status is special, and the position of crown prince has never been related to me. Only Xiao Jue, because he is not favored by the emperor, is anxious and insecure. He not only targeted you, but also regarded me as his imaginary enemy. It’s ridiculous. As for who should take the crown prince position, between you and him,” he looked at Xiao Yan with a half-smile, “Second brother, I will naturally choose you.”

Xiao Yan's Adam's apple bobbed. Although he had long guessed Xiao Che's thoughts, he still couldn't help but feel excited when he heard such words from his mouth for the first time. Although he had a brother, they had long since turned against each other. Only from Xiao Che could he feel the long-lost brotherly affection: "Good third brother, second brother naturally knows that you are on my side."

Xiao Che and Xiao Jue had indeed always been at odds, something he had discovered long ago and was glad about.

As for the reason, after the trip to Lishan, he thought he should know: "Third brother, you've disliked Xiao Jue since you were little, is it because of Jia Rou? You actually like her, don't you?"

Xiao Che choked, caught off guard by the question. He couldn't hide the subconscious expression on his face in time, so he could only turn his face away and say in a low voice, "...Nothing like that."

After a moment of silence, he turned his head and saw that Xiao Yan was still looking at him, a subtle smile on his lips and eyes that seemed to see right through him. So he stopped pretending, raised an eyebrow, leaned back against the windowsill, lifted his eyelids, and asked with a nonchalant and unrestrained expression, "...How did you know?"

"I ordered the horse to be poisoned; I know how potent the drug is. It won't stop until blood is drawn."

Xiao Yan said, "That's why I was so nervous when Father bestowed that medicinal horse upon you. But I think, with your skills, you'll at most suffer some injuries, but your life should be safe. If it were that good-for-nothing Xiao Jue," he smiled contemptuously and said coldly, "he'd be crippled even if he didn't die."

"—That was my original intention in having the horse drugged."

"Who knew that it would turn out to be the horse that Xiao Jiarou rode on."

"She was a weak woman, and getting on that drugged horse meant she was in grave danger. I was really worried for her."

"After the medicine took effect, Snowflake Steed carried Jia Rou wildly into the dense forest like a madman, and I knew something was wrong. Later, I was quite surprised to see you ride out to chase after her. But when I saw Jia Rou return safely, without a single injury except for what was said to be a bite from a wild fox, I knew that you risked your life to save her."

“You’ve always been cold to others. Apart from Yan Jiarou, I’ve never seen you give any other woman a second glance. Thinking about it, although you used to oppose her at every turn, you only opposed her. Isn’t that a unique kind of affection? If you didn’t like her, why did you always provoke her? And why would you risk your life to save her?”

"By connecting the dots in this way, many things can be explained."

Xiao Che's Adam's apple bobbed. He stared at him quietly for a moment, then suddenly curled his lips into a casual smile: "So what if she did? That's all in the past. She never liked me, and I have no reason to waste my time on her."

Xiao Yan clicked his tongue in disapproval, stood up and walked towards him, patted his shoulder, and smiled meaningfully: "Hey, Third Brother, why be so discouraged? Jia Rou was also fooled by Xiao Jue's gentle appearance. When I become the Crown Prince, he will have nothing and probably won't be able to keep up the act anymore. At that time, she will naturally see you."

It appears to be encouragement and comfort, but it clearly contains a test.

A person without desires is invincible; those without desires are often the most dangerous. Therefore, appropriately revealing one's desires can actually gain the trust of others.

Xiao Che smiled slowly and said, "Then, thank you very much, Second Brother."

Xiao Yan looked up at him for a moment, then suddenly burst into laughter.