When Yan Liang met Zhuge Zhengwo, he had just left the private room with Pang Jin and was about to go downstairs.

They finished all the dishes they had ordered, leaving the table empty. The two men set out their chairs, grabbed their swords, and went out the door.

Pang Jin watched as Yan Liang shortened the long stick he called the "Divine Stick" and stuffed it into his wide sleeve. His sleeve still fluttered like the wind, and with every move he made, it was as if there was no stick in his sleeve.

Yan Liang, holding the knife, looked at him and asked, "What are you looking at?"

"Look at your charlatan." Pang Jin was completely baffled. He subconsciously reached out to touch Yan Liang's sleeve, but was dodged. Undeterred, he looked up at Yan Liang and asked, "Where exactly did you put your weapon?"

Yan Liang chuckled lazily, "Guess?"

Pang Jin choked, then said, "I won't guess!"

Su Mengzhen chose a private room for them near the staircase, while Su Mengzhen and Zhuge Zhengwo were in the innermost room.

When the two came out, Yan Liang and Pang Jin were going down the stairs, and only the two boys' voices could be faintly heard on the second floor.

Upon hearing the voice, Zhuge Zhengwo's expression changed slightly, and he quickened his pace. Su Mengzhen, puzzled, also quickened her pace, pondering whether there was anything suspicious about the two young men that made the Divine Marquis so anxious.

After they came down the stairs, Yan Liang and Pang Jin, who were walking slowly, were standing at the door talking.

Yan Liang leaned against the door and asked, "Which way do you think we should go?"

After thinking it over, Pang Jin said firmly, "To the left!"

Yan Liang also said with certainty, "You're hopeless."

With a hopeless expression, Pang Jin asked indignantly, "Could it be to the right?"

Yan Liang laughed: "Didn't you ever think about going forward?"

Pang Jin: "...No!"

After a while, Pang Jin asked again, "Are we really going to move forward?"

Yan Liang smiled and said, "No, it's to the right."

Pang Jin: "..."

Their conversation was very interesting and casual, and it was clear at a glance that they were very good friends.

Zhuge Zhengwo gazed at the gray-clad boy's retreating figure and recognized from his voice that this very lively boy was none other than the current Crown Prince.

The Crown Prince had always appeared gentle and shy in court, never expressing his own opinions on politics, only echoing others—Zhuge Zhengwo was very disappointed by this, and almost thought that the Crown Prince's whisper that day was his hallucination.

Now, His Highness the Crown Prince was standing at the entrance of the restaurant, chatting and laughing with a young man, his demeanor amiable and approachable.

Zhuge Zhengwo's expression was very subtle.

Yan Liang inadvertently caught a glimpse of a figure not far behind him. When he turned around, he met Zhuge Zhengwo's meaningful gaze.

Yan Liang: "..."

That's awkward.

Seeing that Yan Liang had turned around and was frozen in place, Pang Jin also turned around. The first person he saw was Su Mengzhen, and he quickly thanked her, "Master Su, we've finished eating, thank you so much."

Su Mengzhen said, "There's no need for that. I should be the one thanking you."

He glanced at Yan Liang subtly, only to find that the other man's expression was quite subtle as he met the gaze of the Divine Marquis beside him.

Yan Liang gave Zhuge Zhengwo an awkward but polite smile, then thanked Su Mengzhen and said goodbye. After receiving a response, he pulled Pang Jin aside and disappeared from their sight.

Zhuge Zhengwo withdrew his gaze and asked, "I wonder how Master Su became acquainted with those two young men just now?"

Su Mengzhen explained how they met, and then asked, "Is there something wrong with it?"

Zhuge Zhengwo said in a low voice, "That gray-clad youth who calls himself Yan Liang is none other than the current Crown Prince."

Su Mengzhen was surprised to hear this. He thought Yan Liang and Pang Jin were just young people who had just entered the martial arts world, and he never expected that Yan Liang was actually the Crown Prince.

He had just concluded that the crown prince was incapable of governing the country.

“He doesn’t look like a prince.”

Su Mengzhen frowned slightly.

Zhuge Zhengwo naturally knew what he meant by those words.

That's what he thought too.

What kind of person is His Highness the Crown Prince?

＊

Your Highness, I have escorted Pang Jin back to his home and returned Bai Yutang's knife to him.

"Would you like to be taken back by carriage?"

Pang Jin, holding the knife, asked.

Yan Liang always refused the suggestion of having someone send him back, and he didn't have much hope this time either.

As expected, Yan Liang waved his hand and refused.

Pang Jin leaned against the door, watching Yan Liang's back. He recalled the uncle next to Su Mengzhen at the inn earlier. He remembered that the man's expression when he looked at Yan Liang was very subtle, and Yan Liang's reaction was also very strange.

On the way back, Yan Liang was as lazy as ever, seemingly without any worry, which meant they were not enemies.

But they're not enemies, so why are they reacting so strangely?

After seeing Yan Liang's figure disappear, Pang Jin closed the door, turned around, and went into the courtyard, where he pondered for a while.

"..."

I can't think of anything.

Pang Jin quickly gave up thinking about it—Yan Liang was his friend, that much was certain, and the fact that Yan Liang would go to great lengths to bring him back after every outing was enough to make Pang Jin trust him completely.

Yan Liang, who was trusted by Pang Jin, walked lazily along the road leading to the Crown Prince's residence with his hands tucked into his sleeves, until he saw an ordinary-looking man by a stall.

Yan Liang stood still for a moment, then walked up and patted him. The man's muscles tensed, and he followed Yan Liang's lead, walking alongside him.

"I'm so sorry to leave you behind," Yan Liang apologized. "There are times when I don't want to be followed, so I hope you can understand."

This fellow was the man Yan Liang had chosen to follow him around. Yan Liang didn't want him to know that he was going to visit a grave with Pang Jin when he went out today, so he shook him off.

But he waited for Yan Liang near Pang Jin's house.

The guard was startled upon hearing Yan Liang's apology, trembling and unsure how to respond. Yan Liang smiled helplessly and said, "Am I that scary?"

No, it's not.

The guard answered cautiously.

Yan Liang looked at him for a while and said, "Forget it, let's go our separate ways. You can follow me wherever you want."

The guard secretly breathed a sigh of relief, quietly withdrew, and hid.

Yan Liang: ...This is too obvious, isn't it?

Once back at the Crown Prince's residence, Yan Liang played with the cat for a while, then went to wash up. After washing up, he quickly lay down on the bed, hugged the blanket, and pondered—

Oh dear, I've been exposed in front of Master Su. What am I going to do now?

The fact that Zhuge Zhengwo and Su Mengzhen were able to meet and chat clearly indicates that their relationship is extraordinary, and they will definitely reveal Yan Liang's identity.

He thought about it for a moment, estimated his understanding of the court over the past few days, and the goodwill he had gained over the emperor. He felt it was time to start making trouble.

The Crown Prince knew nothing about court affairs. While Yan Liang was trying to win the Emperor's favor in court, he also carefully analyzed the ministers and factions in the court.

There are treacherous officials, loyal ministers, neutral parties, and fence-sitters.

He, the crown prince, is now the only remaining Buddhist-like, lazy bum.

It's time for the salted fish to turn over.

＊

Cai Jing originally thought that the crown prince and the emperor were of the same ilk.

These past few days, the Emperor and the Crown Prince have been displaying a deep father-son bond during the morning court sessions. The Emperor even compared the Crown Prince's calligraphy to his own—how could the calligraphy of a young man and an old minister be compared?

Even if the prince's handwriting is excellent, he is still a young man who has not yet reached adulthood.

Cai Jing was a scholar with the pride of a scholar, and he certainly couldn't accept that his calligraphy was compared to that of a young man.

But with the emperor there, Cai Jing could only force a smile and offer some flattering words to the shyly smiling crown prince.

Ridiculous! Absurd! Nonsense!

However, during the morning court session today, His Highness the Crown Prince demonstrated through his actions that he could be even more ridiculous, absurd, and nonsensical.

During the morning court session, Cai Jing rejected the advice of a general who said that the Jurchens were causing trouble on the border and that they should be vigorously repelled.

Cai Jing countered the general's advice by saying that Confucianism values ​​harmony and Taoism insists on governing by non-action.

Emperor Huizong (Zhao Ji) believed in Taoism and was somewhat tempted.

The military general, unlike Cai Jing, was not cunning and could not find a rebuttal, which made him both angry and annoyed.

Zhuge Zhengwo sighed inwardly and was about to speak when Yan Liang suddenly appeared, his words flowing like a river, forcefully pulling Zhao Ji's heart back towards Cai Jing.

The gist is that if I don't retaliate when someone comes to me, it would be unbecoming of a great nation. If I'm going to fight back, I should fight hard. Otherwise, I'll just become a laughingstock and be looked down upon.

His tone was sincere and his attitude genuine.

Cai Jing was so angry that he was blowing his beard. Every word Yan Liang said corresponded to his own, and he was rebuffed every single one of them.

Fu Zongshu and Cai Jing had a bad relationship on the surface, but in secret they had long been colluding and doing the same thing.

Although he didn't understand why the Crown Prince would suddenly act up, he subconsciously didn't want the Crown Prince to have his way, so for the sake of his ally, Fu Zongshu stood up and said something.

Emperor Huizong of Song was extremely worried.

He felt that both sides made sense, but he couldn't make up his mind. Seeing that the crowd below was divided into two factions and was about to start arguing, he called Zhuge Zhengwo over to give his opinion.

Zhuge Zhengwo naturally agreed with the Crown Prince's opinion and expressed his own views in a righteous and eloquent manner, even though his views were similar to those of the Crown Prince.

Emperor Huizong of Song (Zhao Ji) was a fickle person, and recently he had become more fond of the crown prince, so he agreed to the general's suggestion to drive the Jurchens back.

Cai Jing was heartbroken.

He couldn't help but ponder the reason for the Crown Prince's sudden attack, but he couldn't figure it out.

After the morning court session, Yan Liang was summoned by the emperor, who took him to the Cuju (ancient Chinese football) field.

Yan Liang had previously catered to Zhao Ji's tastes by showing off his football skills, instantly boosting Zhao Ji's favorability. After all, this was an emperor who had appointed a servant as Grand Commandant simply because he was good at football, not to mention the added advantage of their blood relation; Zhao Ji liked him even more.

Yan Liang changed into some lighter clothes and had a good kicking match with Zhao Ji.

The emperor has now subtly favored him, but still places great trust in people like Cai Jing and Fu Zongshu.

Yan Liang didn't particularly want to be emperor. Although emperors held high positions, they were also subject to many constraints. Yan Liang wanted to travel the world, and it was simply impossible for him to stay quietly in the palace.

But Emperor Huizong of Song was really unreliable.

When Fang Ying came over, he saw His Highness the Crown Prince gazing at the clouds on the horizon, his expression calm and his thoughts unfathomable.

Zhao Ji and Yan Liang were resting after their game of Cuju, both covered in sweat, but Zhao Ji was unusually cheerful. Yan Liang, however, disregarded the fact that Zhao Ji was the emperor, arguing vehemently that if they were going to play, they should play to their hearts' content, and that being bound by status held no appeal whatsoever.

These words struck a chord with Emperor Huizong.

Fang Yingkan came back this time to deliver something. He wanted to give a wolf-hair brush, made from the hair of a weasel's tail, suitable for both writing and painting.

He knew how to please the emperor; the best approach was to flatter him. The emperor loved painting and calligraphy, so he found the finest pigments and brushes for him.

Zhao Ji held the brush with great delight. After admiring it for a while, he looked at Yan Liang, his eyes lighting up, and said, "Why don't you take this wolf-hair brush? You write well, so write more."

Yan Liang's eye twitched, and he hurriedly declined, saying, "This is a gift from Marquis Shentong to you; I cannot accept it."

Emperor Huizong (Zhao Ji) was very fond of the wolf-hair brush, but he also wanted to reward the crown prince with something, so he looked at Fang Yingkan.

Fang Yingkan spoke up at the opportune moment, saying with an innocent look, "If Your Highness likes it, I can find you another wolf-hair brush. Your Highness and His Majesty have a deep father-son relationship, and it would be a beautiful story if they used the same brush."

What could Yan Liang say now? He could only smile and agree, saying, "Thank you for your trouble, Young Marquis."

Hot water had already been prepared in the palace. After Yan Liang bathed and changed his clothes, he found that Fang Yingkan was still there.

"His Majesty has returned to the Imperial Study and has asked me to accompany you out of the palace."

The young man rested his chin on the table in the pavilion, smiling innocently.

Yan Liang glanced at him lazily and smiled back: "Okay, let's go together."

Fang Yingkan had heard a little about what happened at the morning court session, and he found the Crown Prince's character even more unfathomable.

He had an intelligence network in the capital, so he naturally knew that after the Crown Prince moved out of the palace, he met a young man named Pang Jin and became friends with him.

Fang Yingkan had caught glimpses of the Crown Prince chatting and laughing with the young man named Pang Jin on more than one occasion, their behavior so casual that it was impossible to tell that he was the Crown Prince.

When Fang Yingkan spoke to the Crown Prince, the Crown Prince responded with a smile. The two seemed to be in harmony, but there was still something subtle between them.

"If I find a wolf-hair brush, I will personally deliver it to the Crown Prince's residence."

Only when parting is one truly sincere and earnest.

“Alright,” Yan Liang replied. “Thank you for your trouble, Young Master Fang.”

For some reason, Fang Yingkan sensed a hint of nostalgia in the way he addressed the young marquis.

The Crown Prince missed the title of "Young Marquis," not the man himself.

Fang Yingkan found it increasingly novel.