Wang Xiaoshi was chatting with the three people in the courtyard. He hadn't seen Pang Jin for several days and was being pulled aside by Pang Jin to explain why he was at Yan Liang's residence.

"I was the last one to find out that Yan Liang was the Crown Prince?!" Pang Jin was furious and vehemently criticized Yan Liang, "He's so disloyal!"

Wang Xiaoshi comforted him: "Yan Liang has indeed been very busy these days... He just had some free time and came to ask you to grill fish."

Pang Jin: "What I care about is the fish!? What I care about is that he's clearly younger than me but he claims to be the same age as me!"

Wang Xiaoshi: "...Huh?"

Di Feijing laughed from the side, while Fang Yingkan was stunned by Pang Jin's bizarre logic. Hearing Di Feijing's soft chuckle, he couldn't help but glance at him—Di Feijing seemed to know what Pang Jin meant.

The treacherous Yan Liang and Su Mengzhen arrived late, carrying plates and dishes. Behind them were Zhui Ming and Bai Choufei, who were treated as laborers, carrying the tools for grilling fish.

Pang Jin angrily questioned Yan Liang: "How old are you this year?"

Yan Liang's gaze darted around, "...Guess."

"—Do I even need to guess?!" Pang Jin shouted, "You're clearly fifteen!"

He was heartbroken: "Why did you tell me you were seventeen!"

Da Xue sensed something was wrong, climbed from Pang Jin's arms onto his shoulder, glanced at Yan Liang, then tilted her head to look at Pang Jin, and without hesitation jumped to the ground, huffing and puffing as she climbed up Wang Xiaoshi's leg.

Wang Xiaoshi scooped it up and rubbed it, then watched the two men argue about their ages together.

Yan Liang looked up at the sky: "It's just an age... only two years old, it doesn't matter."

Pang Jin said firmly, "It's very important. I used to treat you as a friend, but now I can treat you as a younger brother."

Everyone present silently looked at this guy who wanted to treat the crown prince like a younger brother, their eyes filled with subtle emotions.

Yan Liang thought to himself that the generational order was already in complete chaos... it was all a jumbled mess.

To appease Pang Jin, Yan Liang immediately called him "brother" and asked him to come and help. Pang Jin, his hair neatly combed, happily went to assist him.

Fang Ying watched curiously from the sidelines. Although he had heard the report from the guards accompanying Yan Liang, this was the first time he had seen Yan Liang grill fish by himself. After watching for a while, he couldn't hide his surprise. He understood the guards' astonishment when describing the Crown Prince grilling fish; it was because Yan Liang's movements were so practiced, as if he had done it many times before.

But as far as he knew, the Crown Prince first grilled fish at Pang Jin's house.

This is the second time now.

Yan Liang glanced at him, lazily flipped the fish over, and the aroma wafted out. Fang Yingkan suddenly laughed and said, "Your Highness has excellent skills."

Yan Liang replied modestly, "You flatter me."

"I didn't know Your Highness could grill fish," Fang Yingkan said with an innocent smile.

Yan Liang: ...Isn't that guard yours or his?

"Now you know."

Yan Liang smiled kindly.

Fang Ying stared at him for a while, then casually shifted her gaze and reached out to help turn over a piece of fish.

Zhuiming, smelling the aroma, volunteered to go to the wine cellar to get some wine. Yanliang watched as he took off running, feeling that the Crown Prince's wine cellar would be ransacked today.

After the fish was grilled, everyone received a generous portion. Zhuiming, holding a wine cup in one hand and a plate in the other, sat down happily at the stone table, watching the Crown Prince talking to Pang Jin behind the grill. The two boys were bickering and making a lively scene.

Wang Xiaoshi was holding two plates, one for himself and one for Di Feijing. He placed the plates in front of Di Feijing and received a thank you. Wang Xiaoshi visibly became embarrassed.

Bai Choufei glanced at him, then looked at Su Mengzhen beside him, and also got Su Mengzhen a plate and a pair of chopsticks, for which Su Mengzhen thanked him.

Fang Yingkan, empty-handed: "..."

Zhuiming was secretly pleased, but he thought to himself that when he got back, he would definitely tell his uncle and senior brothers about how Young Master Fang was being treated coldly in the Crown Prince's mansion.

Fang Ying glanced at him coldly, then got up to get it herself.

Yan Liang was talking to Pang Jin, who, with his hands still busy and his mouth still open, asked, "Should I call you Zhao Huan or Yan Liang from now on?"

“Call me Yan Liang,” the Crown Prince said without hesitation. “After all, I met you as Yan Liang.”

Pang Jin casually asked, "Did you just pick this pseudonym randomly?"

Yan Liang smiled nonchalantly: "Yes, I just picked it randomly."

His scumbag father, whose face he can't even remember, was probably just a random name.

Fang Yingkan arrived at that moment and asked curiously upon hearing this. Pang Jin then revealed that he genuinely didn't think it was a problem, and had mentioned it to Zhui Ming before.

Everyone else present had ears, so they all heard that the Crown Prince's alias was the same as that of Pang Jin's grandfather's friend, and that Pang Jin was a disciple of the legendary Imperial Cat Zhan Zhao.

...Although apart from Bai Choufei and Wang Xiaoshi, everyone else already knew what they needed to know.

Fang Yingkan was very supportive: "Then Young Master Pang's sword is the legendary ancient sword, Juque?"

Pang Jin nodded proudly: "Exactly."

Yan Liang couldn't bear to look at him: ...Silly child, they already knew.

Fang Ying glanced at Yan Liang beside him, only to see the Crown Prince looking languid with a slight smile in his eyes. He couldn't quite figure out what the Crown Prince was thinking. But at this moment, he himself had only one thought in his mind: What was it about Pang Jin, a person so naive that he was almost stupid, that caught the eye of the dignified Crown Prince?

Why not someone else, but Pang Jin of all people?

Unfortunately, his grandfather was Emperor Renzong's brother-in-law, and his grandfather's friend, Pang Jin, had a similar pseudonym to the crown prince.

The young marquis, holding a plate, smiled slightly at the crown prince and received a friendly smile in return. He turned and walked towards the stone table, inexplicably recalling the slightly melancholy expression on the young prince's face when he first met him outside the Marquis of Shentong's residence.

The group ate and drank to their hearts' content. Zhui Ming even joked that he had come prepared to eat charcoal fish, but he did not expect the Crown Prince's cooking skills to be so good.

Yan Liang accepted the praise with a smug look, humbly stating that it was nothing special. Pang Jin and Bai Choufei both expressed their disdain at this.

Yan Liang: "...I'm the Crown Prince, you know?"

Pang Jin: "Hehehe."

Bai Choufei: "Heh."

Watching the two eating with great relish, Yan Liang sighed once again at the loss of his authority as the crown prince.

Di Feijing and Su Mengzhen exchanged a few words briefly. Both of them were taciturn, but they wisely and tacitly chose not to discuss the entanglement between Jinfeng Xiyu Tower and Liufenban Hall in the Crown Prince's residence.

This left Fang Ying, who had been waiting to watch the spectacle, feeling a little disappointed.

Wang Xiaoshi and Bai Choufei sat at the table feeding Daxue. Daxue rubbed against them from all sides, eating and drinking for free until its mouth was greasy. In the end, it heartlessly abandoned the people feeding it and ran to Yan Liang's feet. It swiftly jumped onto Yan Liang's lap, lay down, wagged its tail, closed its eyes, and made a comfortable meowing sound.

Yan Liang gave them a somewhat smug smile as they looked at him.

"It likes me, there's nothing I can do about it."

Everyone condemned Yan Liang's obnoxious behavior, with reactions including but not limited to snorting, ignoring, wry smiles, and envy.

Yan Liangquan took it as their jealousy and looked back smugly.

After finishing the fish, Su Mengzhen and Pang Jin stayed behind, while Zhuiming, carrying a wine jar, left as fast as he could after saying goodbye.

Yan Liang sent a carriage to take Fang Yingkan and Di Feijing back. Since there was only one carriage, Fang Yingkan and Di Feijing had to share one.

Fang Yingkan said, "His Highness the Crown Prince lives a simple life, owning only one carriage. It seems I must learn from you."

Di Feijing held up the curtains and looked down at Daxue in Yan Liang's arms. The white cat meowed at him and rolled around in Yan Liang's arms, and he couldn't help but smile.

Fang Ying glanced at him, then looked at Yan Liang, who smiled and said, "I only use this carriage to go to the palace. I don't use it often on ordinary days, unlike you, young marquis, who takes a carriage every time you go out. So you don't need to follow my example."

Fang Yingkan: "..."

He clearly felt that he had been challenged, but he couldn't retaliate. He could only smile and reply, "Then I won't learn it."

Come again when you have time—

His Highness the Crown Prince spoke these words outside the carriage, and his voice carried into the carriage. Fang Yingkan leaned against the carriage wall and saw Di Feijing smiling at the outside of the carriage. He replied, "Okay."

As the carriage moved slowly, Fang Ying looked at Di Fei and asked in surprise, "Will Master Di come to the Crown Prince's residence again?"

"His Highness the Crown Prince's grilled fish is quite good."

Di Fei's answer was irrelevant, but the meaning was obvious: because the prince's grilled fish was delicious, he would go again next time.

"Indeed—His Highness the Crown Prince's cooking is excellent."

Fang Yingkan agreed with this point.

The legendary Di Feijing was a magnanimous and extraordinary man. Even Fang Yingkan was meeting him for the first time, but upon meeting him, he felt that he did not match the rumors, yet he was not surprised.

"Did Master Di change his mind after accepting the Crown Prince's invitation and now intend to work for the Crown Prince?"

Fang Yingkan feigned innocence and asked the question directly.

Di Fei remained calm and composed, and corrected Fang Yingkan's mistake in his statement: "I was invited by Pang Jin, not the Crown Prince."

Fang Yingkan readily agreed: "The Grand Master knows that Pang Jin is a friend of the Crown Prince. He came to the Crown Prince's residence at the invitation of the Crown Prince's friend because he wanted to do something for the Crown Prince?"

Di Fei replied in surprise, "I work for the Six and a Half Hall, not for anyone else."

Fang Yingkan remained silent, only gazing thoughtfully at the bowed Di Feijing.

Yan Liang watched the carriage depart, then turned and went into the mansion, carrying Da Xue. In the courtyard, Su Mengzhen and Bai Choufei exchanged information in hushed tones. Su Mengzhen stayed behind because she had something to say to Yan Liang. Several important figures had gathered at the Crown Prince's residence today, and Cai Jing's faction must have received the news and might make a big fuss about it.

"Liu Fen Ban Tang is an accomplice of Cai Jing, you shouldn't have invited Di Feijing to your residence."

Su Mengzhen spoke earnestly, saying that although he admired Di Feijing, it did not mean he would forget Di Feijing's identity as the head of the Six and a Half Hall.

Bai Choufei added: "And Fang Yingkan."

Pang Jin wandered around, completely bewildered. He didn't understand any court intrigues, but he could tell that Su Mengzhen and the others didn't seem very welcoming to Di Feijing and Fang Yingkan. He hesitated for a moment, "I invited them...did they do something wrong?"

But he clearly saw that Master Su and Master Di had a friendly conversation while eating fish, didn't he? Young Master Fang also snatched fish from Brother Zhui Ming.

They seem to have a good relationship.

Pang Jin was puzzled and a little uneasy.

Su Mengzhen glanced at Pang Jin, whose expression was uneasy. His heart softened, and he couldn't bring himself to say anything to blame him.

Bai Choufei remained silent, only watching Yan Liang pat Pang Jin's shoulder and laughing carelessly, "It's alright, they can't possibly coax my old man into committing a crime against me, can they?"

Wang Xiaoshi nodded in agreement: "It's alright, it's not certain who the Emperor listens to these days."

Yan Liang gave him a high five.

"As expected of Little Stone, he understands my heart perfectly."

Pang Jin glanced at the serious-looking Su Bai and his companion, then at the less serious Prince Yan and his companion, and wisely chose to remain as quiet as a chicken.

Bai Choufei: "...You two, be serious."

Yan Liang exclaimed in surprise, "Am I not serious enough?"

Bai Choufei looked the crown prince up and down and realized that the man's doubts came from the bottom of his heart.

He suddenly didn't want to talk anymore.

Yan Liang infuriated Bai Choufei, but acted as if nothing had happened, grabbing Pang Jin and running outside. He told Su Mengzhen to stay and sit for a while, and instructed Bai Choufei to take good care of him.

Bai Choufei stood there watching the two boys' backs without moving. The diligent Xiao Shitou went to pour tea. After they sat down around the table, Bai Choufei finally managed to utter, "Is he stupid?"

Wang Xiaoshi asked in confusion, "Is he stupid? No, he's not stupid."

Bai Choufei looked at him and said, "You're silly too, Little Stone."

Su Mengzhen looked down at Daxue lying on her lap, silently drinking her tea without saying a word.

＊

As the two walked through the alley, Pang Jin suddenly spoke.

Why didn't you tell me sooner?

Pang Jin asked him.

"We're friends, aren't we?"

Although Pang Jin didn't show it on his face and seemed indifferent, he was still somewhat unhappy because he was the last person to find out Yan Liang's identity.

Yan Liang touched his nose and said apologetically, "I hope that in front of you, I am just Yan Liang, and not anyone else."

“But in that case, I would only know you as Yan Liang, not Zhao Huan.”

“I am Yan Liang,” Yan Liang said earnestly. “You just need to treat me as Yan Liang. Zhao Huan is the crown prince, but Yan Liang is not.”

Pang Jin noticed his seriousness, glanced at him, then looked at the giant sword at his waist, thought for a moment, and said, "Alright, then in front of me, you are just Yan Liang."

Yan Liang smiled and ruffled his hair. Pang Jin glanced at him sideways before looking away.

＊

After escorting Pang Jin home, Yan Liang returned to the Crown Prince's residence, greeted the three people in the courtyard, and ran to his study to take out his brush, ink, paper, and inkstone to begin writing a letter.

Wang Xiaoshi watched Yan Liang writing happily from the doorway, puzzled: "Is there something urgent?"

Su Mengzhen and Bai Choufei were also looking into the study.

Yan Liang smiled and said, "I just remembered that Gu Xichao isn't here. He can't eat the fish I grilled, so I'll write him a letter and draw him a fish as well."

Bai Choufei: "...Do you want him to tell you to get lost again?"

Yan Liang chuckled: "I'm just encouraging him to come back and eat fish soon. He'll definitely feel my good intentions."

At this very moment, Gu Xichao, thousands of miles away, sat on his horse, looking down at the young man below.

In the northern frontier, sandstorms rage, and you can easily get your eyes fogged up if you're not careful.

Gu Xichao asked, "Are you Qi Shaoshang?"

The young man looked up and laughed, "I am Qi Shaoshang. You must be the newly arrived General Gu Xichao?"

Gu Xichao said proudly, "It's me."

Author's Note: I can't think of a summary OTZ

Adding more chapters is a bit difficult... Here's 4000 words for today, please don't beat me up.

I also want to make a three-figure (or higher) transaction with everyone! I want some money too!! But! I'm incredibly slow QAQ

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