Zhou Huaiyan did change his clothes, but he did not put on hunting clothes like Xiao Shisan.

In the past ten years or so, due to his frail health, he had only occasionally accompanied the emperor to places like the hunting grounds. No one would have said anything if he had refused.

However, Old Eight had been at odds with him since childhood, and today he did this as soon as he returned to the palace. Zhou Huaiyan really wanted to see what he was up to.

But unexpectedly, just after I changed my clothes inside, I heard Xiao Shisan talking to Ah Fei.

"--Loss of what?"

The young man walked out of the inner room, wearing a light crimson high-collared brocade robe decorated with crimson black birds, and was extremely gorgeous. Compared to Ah Fei, who was frozen and didn't know how to answer, the Thirteenth Prince exclaimed in amazement without disguising,

"Brother Xiaojiu is so handsome! He looks like a god in a painting!"

"A toady."

With this interruption, Zhou Huaiyan forgot to ask further questions. He cursed with a smile and threw a golden eagle lucky pig over.

"It's for your entertainment. Let's go and see what new things Lao Ba has prepared."

"Xie Xiaojiu brother,"

Zhou Huaimin thanked him sweetly, carefully put the things in his arms, and then quickly clung to the boy. However, he did not dare to grab the boy's hand, but just followed him closely like a little tail.

He smiled flatteringly -

"Brother treats Minmin the best."

What Zhou Huaiyan could easily discard was actually a considerable fortune for Xiao Shisan, which would allow him and his mother to live a comfortable life. Unfortunately, the power of the maternal family was of great importance to the princes, especially those who were not favored by the emperor.

Seeing that the young man stopped asking questions, Ah Fei finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Zhou Huaiyan rode a walking stick and leisurely came to the hunting ground. There were dozens of palace maids following him, making a grand scene. As for Minmin, who followed him, she only had a little palace maid with her.

"Looking at this scene from a distance, I thought it was my father himself who came, but it turns out it was my ninth brother who returned."

The eighth prince was dressed in a black hunting suit with a sharp outline. He had his hands on his chest, but his smile did not reach his eyes.

"Don't blame me, mynah brother."

Zhou Huaiyan was helped up by Hongdou, looking sick.

"Huai Yan is not in good health, and the emperor is worried, so he sent more people to serve him."

"How dare I blame you, my ninth brother? I am just concerned about you."

The Eighth Prince smiled and looked at Zhou Huaimin, who was standing beside him. The latter quickly saluted.

"Huai... Huaimin has met the eighth brother."

"Oh? It's Little Thirteen. My eyesight is not good, so I thought it was Ninth Brother's new servant."

Zhou Huaimin's face turned pale.

His mother was of humble origin and was not favored by the emperor. The reason why he and his mother were able to live safely until today was mainly because he often followed Zhou Huaiyan with a shameless face, which earned him some protection.

Therefore, other princes looked down on their younger brother Zhou Huaimin.

"That starling's eyesight is really not very good."

Zhou Huaiyan smiled with his face but not his heart.

"I happened to have an imperial physician with me. How about checking my bird's eyes? I'm afraid it might mistake it for my father. That would be disastrous."

"you......"

"alright--"

A man in light-colored hunting clothes came over. He had a handsome and elegant face. Even the sound of interrupting the Eighth Prince sounded very pleasant.

"You two have been quarreling since you were little, and now you are so grown up, you still haven't quarreled enough."

Zhou Huaiyan looked at him and bowed slightly.

"I have met the second brother."

The second prince, Zhou Huaiheng, the son of Concubine De, is proficient in the six arts and has a far-reaching reputation. He is almost the counterpart of Zhou Huaiyan and is also the most popular candidate for the position of Eastern Palace.

With the Second Prince mediating, the meeting among the royal brothers was quite friendly and respectful.

The Third Prince was in a gloomy mood because of the assassination and spoke very little. As for the Fourth Prince, he was aloof and aloof by nature and only greeted Zhou Huaiyan.

After the greetings, the second prince smiled and said,

"Old Eight, you called us all here. Have you found something new?"

Ah Fei noticed the pile of iron cages below the enclosure. The familiar frames and dirty cloth gave him a bad feeling.

The Eighth Prince looked at Zhou Huaiyan and gave him a strange smile.

"Isn't this to celebrate the safe return of my ninth brother to the palace? I put a lot of thought into it. Just look at it."

Having said that, he stretched out his hands and clapped twice, and the eunuch next to him immediately blew a sharp whistle -

Dozens of guards pushed iron cages into the enclosure, which were covered with black cloth, revealing nothing.

Swoosh——

The moment all the black cloths were pulled off at the same time, Zhou Huaiyan's eyes darkened.

There were a group of children and teenagers of different races inside, both boys and girls, the youngest of them were seven or eight years old, the oldest were fifteen or sixteen years old. They were all wearing dirty coarse cloth with a big word "slave" written on it in vermilion ink.

A rough count revealed that there were about a hundred of them. They screamed and huddled together in panic, like a group of young beasts about to be slaughtered.

The eighth prince Zhou Huaiyin smiled.

"Now that the mountains are covered with snow, we can't hunt animals, so I have found some slaves from other tribes. Today, there is a rule: whoever hunts more animals wins."

Ah Fei lowered his head and subconsciously clenched his cheeks. Countless bloody and horrible scenes that were too unbearable to look back on flashed through his mind, making him tremble all over.

Zhou Huaiyan stared at her expressionlessly, but secretly pinched the kitten's fingertips. Her hands, which were usually warm, were now shockingly cold.

Feeling the warmth at her fingertips, Ah Fei was stunned.

【Owner......】

However, the young man only touched him briefly and quickly withdrew his hand. Zhou Huaiyan had never thought that Lao Ba would think of such a sinister way to dislike him.

Everyone in the capital knew that he was obsessed with a foreign slave, and this kind of hunting was just a way to slap him in the face.

The second prince's face was not very good either. He always boasted that he was kind-hearted, but before he could open his mouth, the eighth prince dispelled his concerns.

"Don't worry, second brother. The blood relatives of these slaves are all poor and vicious people. They have killed countless people in my Great Zhou. Moreover, the snow disaster in Minzhou is very serious now. Today, we each take out the bet and donate the final proceeds to the people. How about it?"

"Myna really has a kind heart."

Zhou Huaiyan smiled sarcastically.

"But if you really have compassion and want to help the victims, why don't you ask for permission from the emperor to go and provide relief? If you are afraid that the emperor will not allow it, Huai Yan will certainly help you and personally ask for an order for you."

Even the Second Prince did not expect Zhou Huaiyan to be so disrespectful and almost completely tear off the Eighth Prince's fig leaf. The latter was already extremely ashamed at this moment, his face flushed.

However, Zhou Huaiyan did not intend to give him a chance to interrupt.

"I was assassinated not long ago. I was so shocked that I was ill for two months. Myna said that I was welcome back to the palace, but I was forced to witness such a bloody thing... cough cough..."

Zhou Huaiyan clenched his fists, frowned and coughed lightly, looking like he was going to die soon. Hongdou immediately cooperated tacitly and took out a bottle of pills for him to take.

The young man was weak and feeble.

"Or is it that the Eighth Brother is the same as the Third Brother..."

Zhou Huaiyan didn't finish the following words because the Third Prince suddenly stood up and interrupted him.

"Zhou Huaiyan! Stop spitting blood on me!"

The young man smiled,

"Why are you so angry, Third Brother? I just wanted to ask if Big Brother is the same as you. He just uses me as an excuse because he loves hunting so much and doesn't want to be scolded by Father for this."

"you......"

The third prince's eyes turned red with anger.

When it comes to talking, Zhou Huaiyan has never lost to anyone. He supported his face with one hand and said in a bored tone,

"Games are just games. Why use the excuse of providing relief to disaster victims? You are so hypocritical. Aren't you afraid of being punished by God?"

The Eighth Prince was so angry that his chest ached. The Second Prince smiled and took a sip of tea, his eyes inadvertently sweeping over Ah Fei's body.

"Ninth brother is so impatient, could it be that you are pitying those foreigners? I heard that Ninth brother recently took a foreign slave into his room, are you heartbroken?"

Zhou Huaiyan's eyes flashed slightly, and the next second he suddenly grabbed Ah Fei's wrist and pulled her into his arms.

Xiao Shisan next to him exclaimed.

The world was spinning around, and before the kitten could come to its senses, he was already sitting on the boy's lap. Not only was he pressed tightly against his owner's chest, he even had his owner's hands around his waist.

This posture looks really...really...

Ah Fei: “……!!!”

His ears were red as blood.

【Oh my god, Master, why...】

The boy's lips brushed against his left ear, like the whispers between lovers.

"cry."

The kitten was startled and followed the command subconsciously. He pressed a point at the corner of his eye and tears soon fell.

Zhou Huaiyan stroked Ah Fei's wet cheek, his tone ambiguous and doting.

"After all, my second brother is the best at seeing through people's hearts. My little cat is so delicate and clingy. Look, after hearing what my dear brother said, I was scared and cried. It really makes me feel so distressed."

The two were very close, and from a different angle, it looked like they were kissing. The Fourth Prince stood up suddenly, speaking in a cold and disgusted tone.

"It's indecent!"

Having said that, he waved his sleeves and left.

The palace maids around him immediately knelt down in fear, bowed their heads and lowered their eyes, not daring to look around. The Second Prince had never thought that he would dare to do such an unsightly thing with that foreign slave.

"You...you...."

Zhou Huaiyan turned a deaf ear to it and just casually played with the kitten's hand.

"Myna still wants to provide relief to the disaster victims?"

The Eighth Prince snorted coldly.

"Hmph! Don't think I can't see it. You say you can't stand the sight of blood, but you're just doing it for the sake of that alien slave in your arms."

"Myna, have you figured this out?"

Zhou Huaiyan smiled.

"Why don't you give me some face and sell these slaves to me?"

The eighth prince Zhou Huaiyin seemed to have finally caught him with something, and a pleased smile appeared on his face.

"Oh, since you want it, I will kill them all!"

"Oh, that's a shame."

Zhou Huaiyan occasionally stroked the kitten's waist. To outsiders, this was almost a playful act.

In broad daylight, so debauched!

The master hugged him in front of so many people and... touched him...

Ah Fei could no longer hear the sounds outside. Her head was buzzing, and she could only hear her own crazy heartbeat. Feeling the hand caressing her waist, Ah Fei even wondered if the master would tear off his belt and reach in...

The little cat buried his face in the boy's shoulder, sniffing the familiar cold fragrance. He didn't know whether it was because of excitement or shyness, but his body began to heat up and shivered. Zhou Huaiyan thought Ah Fei was scared, so he patted his waist to comfort him.

The young man looked at the Eighth Prince and said casually,

"Then I have no choice but to go to the city government and ask the people who manage the foreign slaves how they do their work. The New Year is approaching, and they dare to transport so many filthy foreign slaves into the palace. If this goes against the will of heaven, I wonder how they can bear it."

The eighth prince's face turned pale. He had not thought of this.

Zhou Huaiyan smiled, curled up a strand of the kitten's hair, and casually twisted it around his fingertips to play with it.

"How about changing the way you play?"

“......!”

【Change! Change the way to play? ! ! !】

Ah Fei was so confused when he heard this that he thought Zhou Huaiyan was talking to him. He froze for a moment and suddenly widened his eyes.

Master, how else do you want to play with him?

So, when Zhou Huaiyan was still casually waiting for Lao Ba's reply, the kitten's hot cheek suddenly pressed against his ear.

Ah Fei trembled and grunted for a long time, and finally said in a very low voice,

"As the master likes."

Zhou Huaiyan: “......?”

The author has something to say:

Zhou Huaiyan looked confused: ...I like it?