Chapter 36
Xue Jin'an may have only criticized three people, but in reality, he criticized four.
The Eighth Prince, who had clearly raised his hand and nodded to indicate his desire to ride horses but was completely ignored, pursed his lips tightly and watched helplessly as his Third Brother and Seventh Brother chatted back and forth in perfect harmony. Amidst the Third Prince's hearty laughter, he seemed to feel the silent, pitying gazes cast upon him by the eunuchs behind him. His fingers, gripping the hem of his robe, almost tore a hole through the fabric.
However, the Third Prince soon stopped laughing, and no one paid any attention to the Eighth Prince anymore, not even the Eighth Prince himself.
Seeing the Third Prince's suddenly silent and repressed back, the Eighth Prince even subconsciously took two steps back to distance himself from the Third Prince, so as not to be accidentally injured by the enraged Third Prince.
Everyone gasped, staring in shock at Xue Jin'an, who had uttered such outrageous words. It was no exaggeration to say that they were looking at a warrior who dared to provoke a hungry bear that had just awakened from hibernation.
In particular, after this warrior provoked the bear, he not only did not run away, but also jumped off the wall without hesitation, landing lightly and nimbly in front of the hungry bear.
The original owner suffered from insomnia and hunger, resulting in severe malnutrition and a much thinner physique than his peers. In the past month or so, Xue Jin'an has been eating, drinking, and sleeping well, which has only made his face look more rosy and less listless, but he hasn't gained much weight in his cheeks. On the other hand, although the Third Prince has just turned fourteen, he already has ten years of martial arts experience. He has inherited the genes of the Qian family's martial arts prowess very well, and he is naturally strong and robust. Even as a young boy, he is already over seven feet tall and has begun to show his imposing stature.
With these two facing off like this, who wouldn't be worried for the Seventh Prince?
"Seventh Prince!" Xuan Shiyi was startled.
Who in this palace doesn't know what kind of temper the Third Prince has? He's truly someone who explodes at the slightest provocation, and when he does, the force is especially immense. In the six years since he moved into the Prince's Residence, the people serving him have changed twice. The eunuchs and palace maids turn pale at the mere mention of working in Mingde Courtyard.
The princes and princesses all tend to avoid the Third Prince. The only one who dares to point his finger at the Third Prince and curse him is the Emperor. Now there's another Seventh Prince.
"You can't just disregard your own existence just because the Fifth Prince calls you Yama, Your Highness!" Xuan Shiyi shouted inwardly, quickly jumping out of the window and scaling the wall. He took out a small piece of silver from his purse and aimed it directly at the Third Prince's pressure point, about to shoot it away.
But then the Eighth Prince, who had clearly taken two steps back, glanced at the Third Prince a few times, seemingly realizing something. After a slight hesitation, he stepped forward to smooth things over, saying, "Seventh Prince certainly didn't mean that, Third Brother, please don't be angry..."
While speaking, the Eighth Prince secretly glanced at the Third Prince's expression.
The Eighth Prince had been following the Third Prince for quite some time and had developed a way of controlling him. The Third Prince was short-tempered and easily angered, and would lose his temper at the slightest disagreement, but he was also quite easy to understand. He couldn't hide anything and would definitely take action when he was angry, instead of just glaring at people with fierce eyes like he was now.
Or perhaps, the Third Prince was indeed taken aback by Xue Jin'an's words, but not to the point of anger; he simply lacked a way to back down.
The Eighth Prince hesitated for a moment, but ultimately stepped forward to be the good guy: this was an opportunity to stand in front of his Third Brother, and he was always good at seizing every opportunity.
As expected, the Eighth Prince guessed correctly.
"What's there to be angry about? Do you think I'm the kind of person who gets angry so easily? Get out of the way." The Third Prince took the opportunity to back down, gesturing for the Eighth Prince to move aside with just a wave of his hand instead of actually shoving him, which was enough to show that he wasn't in a bad mood.
The Third Prince pointed a finger at Xue Jin'an from a distance, saying, "You're the first person who dares to curse me like that. You're quite good, I like you very much."
"I was stating the facts, I didn't swear," Xue Jin'an said, refusing to be stigmatized.
"You're getting more and more excited, aren't you?" The Third Prince stretched out his long arm to put his arm around Xue Jin'an, but Xue Jin'an dodged it. He looked at his empty hand and couldn't help but chuckle. "You kid, your straightforwardness is quite endearing."
It felt like coming home.
If his mother hadn't truly never given birth to anyone other than him, he would have thought this was his own brother. It's a real pity he didn't get to know Xiao Qi sooner. If he had known he was so compatible, he would have kept him by his side and taught him properly. The deep brotherly love and harmonious relationship between the two brothers would surely have become a legendary tale in history!
But it's not too late now. Seventh Brother is still young and hasn't been influenced too much yet. We'll take him out to play more often in the future, but we must make sure he doesn't learn bad things from these kids.
"Seventh brother, you are very good, I like you very much." The Third Prince affirmed once again.
"..." Xue Jin'an stared at him silently for half a second. For some reason, the Third Prince's words and actions always gave him a sense of déjà vu. He couldn't help but flip through the data and finally found a large number of similar samples in ancient literature.
—Isn't this just like the CEO in those domineering CEO novels who says, "Woman/Man, you're so different from those flashy, cheap women out there. You've successfully caught my attention."
The Eighth Prince turned to him at the opportune moment and said with a heartfelt smile, "Normally, people who offend Third Brother with such words are never forgiven. This is the first time, and Third Brother has made an exception for you."
Great, exactly the same.
Xue Jin'an commented on the Eighth Prince with a blank expression, "You are very suitable to be the chief steward."
What steward? The steward of the chief eunuch? The Eighth Prince's smile froze on his face.
*
The Fifth Prince of Minghua Palace was there, and the Fourth Prince also seemed to have something to say to him. In the end, Xue Jin'an changed his original itinerary, and the group went to the Imperial Horse Stable together.
The other princes also brought their own eunuchs. When Xuan Shiyi secretly followed, Xue Jin'an did not refuse.
On their way, they encountered Ziyun from Yihe Palace. The Fourth Prince was always very polite to the head maid and eunuch beside Consort Zhen, so he immediately stepped forward to greet her. He looked at the direction she came from with some doubt, as it was not the location of Yihe Palace.
"Aunt Ziyun, what are you doing here?" he asked.
"The Crown Prince's invitation has been sent to Yihe Palace. Her Majesty knows you are going horseback riding and hunting, so she asked me to go to the Imperial Wardrobe to order you a set of clothes," Ziyun said. "You seem to have grown a bit taller, so let me take a closer look."
"Good!" The fourth prince, who had just quarreled with Consort Zhen, immediately lit up when he heard that his mother had ordered the riding clothes for him. He cooperated with Ziyun's words very well, backing up and turning around, letting her measure his body with her eyes.
Perhaps because they were so close, Xue Jin'an felt that Zi Yun's gaze kept glancing at him, seemingly casually.
The third prince crossed his arms, looking very impatient, like a volcano about to erupt, but was interrupted by Shunyi's outstretched hand holding the crystal cake.
"Third Prince, this was specially prepared for you by our Fourth Prince." In reality, it was prepared by the Fourth Prince for Xue Jin'an.
The Fourth Prince tossed and turned in bed at Suhui Courtyard all night, unable to sleep. As soon as he got up this morning, he sent someone to the small kitchen to ask Eunuch Wei to make Xue Jin'an's favorite crystal cake. Now, probably the whole palace knows that the Seventh Prince likes crystal cake. After all, the last person Cuiyun saw before she died was Eunuch Wei, and she ordered a lot of crystal cake, which was intended to be delivered to the Seventh Prince's personal eunuch, Fulu.
The Fourth Prince made thorough preparations before heading to Qifeng Courtyard, only to run into the annoying Fifth Prince first. After a brief exchange, the Third Prince picked him up like a cat, and now he's heading to the Imperial Stables... He didn't get a chance to ask any of the questions he wanted to ask, and naturally, he didn't get a chance to make any pastries.
The Third Prince also remembered that crystal cake was something Xue Jin'an liked to eat. Now that he found Xue Jin'an pleasing to the eye, he was interested in learning about his preferences, so he didn't hold it against him anymore. He reached out, took a piece, and tasted it. "It doesn't taste like anything. What's so good about this?"
The Third Prince had a sweet tooth and usually ate pastries with lethal amounts of sugar, so he couldn't appreciate the mild flavor of crystal cake at all. He thought for a moment and ate another piece in a few bites, then shook his head listlessly. "Seventh Brother, I'll bring you something better next time."
The spirit, who doesn't have much of a fondness for desserts, thought it might not be a good idea.
During the short time the two exchanged a few words, the Fourth Prince, under Zi Yun's instructions, moved closer and closer to Xue Jin'an. Xue Jin'an, adhering strictly to human social distance, took a step back to precisely create the same distance.
“This servant thinks the waist size seems a bit off…” Ziyun said as she walked over, but suddenly lost her footing and fell forward. Her hand reached straight for Xue Jin’an’s wrist with lightning speed.
Xue Jin'an activated his anti-fall mode and quickly pulled his hand away, but Zi Yun's hand seemed to have eyes and followed suit, sticking tightly to him.
Various pieces of information flashed through Xue Jin'an's mind. He realized something and restrained his foot, which was about to fly up and kick the other person in the waist, allowing the other person to grab his wrist as desired.
He felt Ziyun's hand land perfectly on the blood dragon wood bracelet through her sleeve, slightly increasing the pressure and tightening her fingers to feel every bead of the bracelet. A second later, she quickly released it, as if it were a stress reaction after falling, instinctively grabbing onto something for support.
"This servant has been disrespectful!" Aunt Ziyun immediately bowed and apologized.
When the Fourth Prince saw that Aunt Ziyun was talking about Xue Jin'an, his heart skipped a beat. He felt that this was even more terrifying than provoking his Third Brother. He quickly made an excuse to send Ziyun away before nervously preparing to say nice things to Xue Jin'an.
Xue Jin'an interrupted him before he could finish speaking, "You opened the incense burner."
These words seemed abrupt and unrelated, but the fourth prince understood them perfectly. He immediately looked away guiltily, saying, "No, I left after you left that day."
“Impossible.” Xue Jin’an said decisively, “You have trouble even mounting a horse.” If mounting a horse is difficult, then climbing onto the roof beam is even more so.
The fourth prince felt as if he had been struck by lightning. Clutching his heart, which felt as if an invisible arrow had pierced through it, he stubbornly retorted, "Then what proof do you have? I don't have any beads on me."
The Fifth Prince, who was listening in, clicked his tongue in disdain. He wanted to say something sarcastic to the Fourth Prince, but when he turned his head and saw the Third Prince next to him looking like he was "listening intently but not understanding what they were saying at all," his desire to speak vanished instantly.
The Fifth Prince couldn't help but ponder: There are so many intelligent princes, why am I the only one here? Why should I travel with two fools? He would rather sit in the Imperial Study and watch the monotonous spectacle.
As for the Eighth Prince, who was also standing behind with his ears open and a thoughtful expression... his presence was so weak that he was overlooked again.
"I know the bead isn't on you." It must be in Consort Zhen's hands. Although Xue Jin'an hadn't really expected the Fourth Prince to hide the bead from Consort Zhen, the exposure was indeed a bit too fast. It was probably taken away before he even had a chance to get a feel for it. The key point is that this person was completely unaware that he had been exposed.
Xue Jin'an reached out and tapped his head with some suspicion, thinking that maybe he hadn't fixed it properly last time. He strongly suppressed the urge to open his skull in front of so many people and reminded him, "Three-year warranty, speak up if there are any problems."
The fourth prince covered his forehead in alarm and trembled, his words slurred: "...Th-thank you, but I'm fine now, really."
You do. Xue Jin'an diagnosed him, but ultimately didn't take any action on the spot.
The Third Prince listened for a long time but still couldn't understand the riddle they were talking about. However, he couldn't expose his shortcomings in front of his brothers, especially in front of his newly recognized seventh brother, who would be remembered in history.
So he could only feign impatience and urge her, "Why do you have so much to say? Let's go."
Soon, the group saw the gates of the Imperial Stables. A young eunuch, who had just entered, was carrying something in his hand and looked rather forlorn from behind. Hearing the noise, he turned around and saw them. He hurriedly stuffed what he was carrying into his clothes and, with a forced smile, bowed and greeted them.
Xue Jin'an's high-definition camera showed that what he stuffed in was a cloud-patterned handkerchief and a palm-sized packet of paper wrapped in a triangle.
The young eunuch ushered them all inside. Although both the Imperial Horse Stable and the Imperial Beast Garden had horses, the Imperial Beast Garden was more like a zoo, mainly raising rare and exotic animals such as tigers, wolves, and foxes. Before His Majesty specially allocated a breeding farm there for Consort De, the Imperial Beast Garden only had a few horses, all of which were only valued for their beautiful fur and ornamental value.
The Imperial Horse Administration was a very important department in the palace. They were also responsible for the emperor's and the emperor's and other palace masters' carriages. Therefore, the horses they had were all top-quality warhorses. Regardless of their temperament, they were all fat and strong. Generals were so envious of them that even if they couldn't get them, they would still bring them to their own carriages for breeding.
They arrived just as the Imperial Stables were releasing the horses. The eunuchs had already untied the horses, but upon seeing the princes enter, they quickly put them back on and closed the stable gate tightly, fearing that something might go wrong and a horse might run into the Third Prince.
The Imperial Stables had built a ring of stables around the horse farm, with about a hundred horses at a glance. The young eunuch leading the way must have been quite skilled at raising horses, as the horses he was particularly affectionate with were clearly his own, and they all looked a size larger than the other horses.
The Third Prince, however, remained dissatisfied, his brows furrowing lower and lower with each glance.
Having mentally prepared himself, the Fourth Prince finally seized the opportunity to call Xue Jin'an aside to talk. He opened his mouth, then closed it again, hesitating for a long time before finally asking, "If the person closest to you does something wrong, what would you do?"
Xue Jin'an replied calmly, "It has nothing to do with me; that's her business."
"How could you say the same thing?" That was his mother, how could he not care! The Fourth Prince felt a throbbing pain on his forehead from the blow Xue Jin'an had given him.
He desperately wanted a feasible solution that would satisfy him, and he wanted to explain it in detail to Xue Jin'an, but the moment he opened his mouth, he shut it up with an embarrassed expression.
The Fourth Prince was a bit slow-witted and often absent-minded, but he wasn't as hopelessly stupid as his Third Brother. Last night, unable to sleep, he carefully sorted through all the clues. In the quiet, deserted night, the things he dared not and did not want to think about kept swirling uncontrollably in his mind, slowly revealing their original shapes.
The fourth prince then clearly understood that if his mother were to do something wrong, the victims would likely be...
Was my tenth brother really murdered? And Xue Jin'an already has evidence against the Buddhist temple; could he have even more evidence...? Could this be considered him inviting trouble? My mother... if she knows everything, will she hate and resent him?
The Fourth Prince knew that his expression was written all over his face and easily understood, so he quickly lowered his head, trying to hide the complex, flickering, and struggling emotions in his eyes. He clenched his palms, feeling the stickiness of the sweat, and mustered his courage to raise his head and meet Xue Jin'an's dark, unyielding eyes.
"It can't be hidden, how could it possibly be hidden?" The Fourth Prince's shoulders slumped as if deflated. He sniffed and asked in a muffled voice, "Will you kill my mother?"
Xue Jin'an glanced at him, feeling there was nothing to hide, and said frankly, "The current progress is 75%."
He was referring to the current progress, not the possibility, because Xue Jin'an had already identified Consort Zhen as a suspect. She was already on his list of those whose powers had been restored, and in bold, red, and marked with an asterisk.
The original owner's mother was already dead, so in his data program, the other party's fate could only be death; this was the equivalent retribution.
The reason he hasn't taken action yet isn't because he wants to obtain concrete evidence, but because there's more than one murderer. Currently, the only people on the death list who are 100% certain to be on the list are Consort Zhen and the Emperor.
—Yes, that's right, the emperor was also on the list, and he was destined to die. Consort Zhen was defeated by the conspiracy that led to the death of the tenth prince, and the concubines and their families were all behind it, but Consort Zhen ultimately died in confinement.
The emperor had her imprisoned and died.
Perhaps the emperor had his own considerations. Whether he knew the truth but let it go back then, or now he has suppressed the voices to overturn the verdict, he had his own reasons and difficulties. But so what?
He's a coded life form that only needs to input numbers to get results; he's not human. Xue Jin'an thought this with righteous indignation.
Seeing the Fourth Prince's face turn pale after receiving the answer, Xue Jin'an kindly gave him a bonus answer: "I won't hold a grudge against you. I didn't want you to die."
Based on Xue Jin'an's calculations of the power to retaliate against the Fourth Prince and restore the body, the original owner's hatred towards the Fourth Prince was actually not very high, certainly not as high as the hatred towards the murderer who harmed her mother.
It's probably also related to the fact that every time the Fourth Prince came to provoke him, he was the one who ended up getting hurt. Xue Jin'an tried to analyze the original owner's thoughts and finally concluded that the Fourth Prince was too stupid, and beating him up would not give him much of a sense of accomplishment.
Xue Jin'an gave the Fourth Prince a standard smile to reassure him. After completing the task, he left without waiting for the Fourth Prince's reaction.
He only heard the Fourth Prince's heavy heartbeat pounding rapidly and violently in his chest, but he didn't see the prince's eyes widen in disbelief as he pointed at his back, his cheeks gradually turning red and his body trembling.
No, they're going to rip out his heart and open his skull, isn't that considered wanting him dead? What kind of terrifying methods would they use to really kill him?!
"Killing someone is just a matter of beheading them!" The Fourth Prince clenched his fist and made up his mind. If it really came to the point of life and death, he would fight Xue Jin'an to the end and try to... try to leave his mother with a whole body.
"Mother, Xuan'er really did his best!" The Fourth Prince looked up at the sky, tears streaming down his face, and wept silently.
The Fifth Prince had been observing the two closely and noticed their departure immediately. He didn't go over to gather intelligence because Xue Jin'an was too perceptive; if he got too close, he would definitely be discovered. So he simply stayed away from his Third Brother, who was about to explode, and watched from a distance.
He pointed to the Fourth Prince standing there with his head tilted back and asked Xue Jin'an, who had come over, in a low voice, "What's wrong with him?"
"Touched." Xue Jin'an felt that his answer was perfectly reasonable.
The expression on Fourth Brother's face just now couldn't possibly be one of being moved, could it? Fifth Prince glanced at Xue Jin'an, whose reaction was unusual, and then at Fourth Prince, whose mind was also unusual, and decided to give up on finding out the truth.
Anyway, it's easy to guess what could make Fourth Brother overcome his fear and approach Xue Jin'an, and Xue Jin'an clearly answered Fourth Brother's question.
The Fifth Prince sniffed the air, waved his hand to fan the breeze, and said, "Such a strong sandalwood scent, can you smell it?"
Xue Jin'an, who could only smell the scent of the sachets they were wearing, shook his head, thinking that his nose must be broken.
"How could I not smell it, Bodhisattva?" the Fifth Prince said sarcastically.
"You called me Yama last time." Xue Jin'an thought humans were really quick at giving nicknames.
The Fifth Prince chuckled sinisterly: "Because you're always thinking about sending me to my death, Seventh Brother."
Xue Jin'an didn't explain that he had no intention of killing, but thought for a moment and tried to keep up with the conversation: "So I'm Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva? Do you need me to help you pass on to the afterlife?"
He only wanted to make the Fifth Prince choke with his sarcastic remarks, but after holding back for a while, he finally couldn't help but change his expression and said, "Seventh Brother, if you can, go to the Imperial Hospital for a checkup. Brain disease is also an illness, so don't avoid seeking medical treatment."
The Fifth Prince, speechless and unwilling to say another word to Xue Jin'an, turned to leave. He desperately needed to see his Third Brother's vast and boundless mind to cleanse his eyes.
Xue Jin'an tilted his head. Although he didn't think he was mentally ill, since the other party had already raised the issue, he still needed to check if there were any bugs.
The computer's brain has been under constant security monitoring and hasn't reported any errors yet. As for the human brain... Xue Jin'an was slightly troubled, and then opened the all-powerful browser to search.
Then, Xue Jin'an stared into deep thought as he looked at the search results page filled with the lowest possible level of hysteria.
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