“Kill him! Kill him…” On a deserted street, a group of richly dressed children surrounded a frail child in fine clothes, punching and kicking him. Children of this age could be the most cruel – while they only vaguely understood the calculations and conflicts of adults, they resolved issues in their own direct and brutal way.

The victim wore fine clothes as well, but he was so thin and small that he resembled a lonely puppy. His small face already showed hints of extraordinary handsomeness to come. Perhaps it was precisely this above-average appearance that drew the hatred and bullying from his peers.

“As expected of a fox spirit’s son, born with such a disgusting face!” sneered a well-dressed youth of about eleven or twelve years old who stood to the side. The boy on the ground suddenly widened his eyes, glaring fiercely at this half-brother who had ordered others to beat him. Startled by the fierce gaze, that youth involuntarily stepped back. When he realized what he’d done, he grew even more furious from embarrassment. “Teach this lesson harder!” he commanded.

“Someone’s coming!” Someone shouted, and the children who had been beating the boy scattered like birds and beasts. The well-dressed youth cast one last unwilling glance at the boy on the ground before leaving as well.

The street suddenly fell silent. The beaten child, his face bruised and swollen, curled himself into a tiny ball, hugging his knees as he softly sobbed.

“Don’t cry anymore, they’re gone.” A gentle voice full of kindness came to him. The boy froze for a moment before raising his head to see an exceptionally beautiful young lady in fine clothes standing before him.

The young lady appeared to be only twelve or thirteen years old. Even though the boy had seen many beautiful women before, he felt the sister before him was the most beautiful he’d ever encountered. She wore a light yellow robe patterned with clouds, its hem and sleeves bordered with rose-red phoenix tail embroidery, and carried a light red silk shawl with phoenix tail patterns. A jade-green jewel hung at her delicate neck, and her casually arranged simple hairdo was decorated with a lotus flower hairpin and a swing pin. When she looked down at him, the light golden ornaments hanging from her swing pin swayed gently, mesmerizing the small child.

“What’s wrong? Are you hurt?” Seeing his silence, the young lady crouched down with concern.

“No…” the boy shook his head and said softly. Though they beat him, those people didn’t dare to kill him, so he wasn’t injured – it just hurt a lot. Otherwise, he would have been beaten to death years ago.

“That’s good that you’re not hurt. Let me have someone take you home. Who were those people? Why did they beat you?” The young lady examined the boy’s dust-covered face, took out a handkerchief, and carefully wiped it clean, only then discovering that this child was quite handsome.

“Leave me alone!” The boy started, swatting away the young lady’s hand. Seeing her startled expression, the boy bit his lip with some regret but stubbornly refused to speak, just turning his head away.

The young lady, though young, came from a noble family and had seen much. Observing the child’s behavior, she could roughly guess what was happening. This child’s unwillingness to go home likely meant he suffered mistreatment there, and those people from earlier… they were probably his family members.

“Alright then, we won’t go home for now. What’s your name?” The young lady helped the child stand up and asked with a smile.

“Feng… Feng Zhiyao. You…” The boy hesitated, ultimately not asking the question. A young lady’s name couldn’t be casually asked – though Feng Zhiyao was a concubine’s son, he had still learned proper etiquette.

“Feng Zhiyao? You’re from the Feng family of the capital? You can call me Sister Hua.” The young lady smiled. Among the noble ladies and maidens of the capital, each had their social circles, and when groups of women gathered with nothing to do, they naturally gossiped. The Feng family was quite well-known in the capital, so the young lady had naturally heard some things about their affairs.

“You… you won’t look down on me?” Feng Zhiyao stared steadily at the young lady before him, asking puzzled.

The young lady smiled radiantly and asked with confusion: “Look down on you? Why? You’re so young, only seven or eight – why would I look down on you?”

“I’m a concubine’s son!” Feng Zhiyao said through gritted teeth, then after a moment’s hesitation added fiercely, “And I’m not little, I’m already nine years old!”

“Nine? You don’t look it,” said the young lady. “Whether you’re a concubine’s son isn’t something you could choose. If you work hard to improve yourself in the future, others naturally won’t look down on you. But if you grow up to be like those good-for-nothing young masters with no proper behavior, then of course I would look down on you.”

“Almost nine,” Feng Zhiyao said. “It’s not that I don’t want to study hard… it’s that First Mother says a concubine’s son doesn’t need to learn so much…” The young lady looked at the indignant child before her with a smile, then suddenly pursed her lips and said: “If you want to improve yourself, I’ll take you somewhere fun.”

Feng Zhiyao looked suspiciously at the young lady before him. The young lady comfortingly patted his head and smiled: “Don’t be afraid, sister isn’t a bad person.” When that gentle jade hand touched his dusty head, Feng Zhiyao felt in his small heart that even if this sister was a bad person, he would still be willing to go with her. It was far better than going home to face First Mother and his two brothers.

“Oh my! Young Miss, what are you…” When they led Feng Zhiyao to the intersection, there was a carriage stopped there, with several guard-like men standing in front of it, along with a middle-aged woman and several maids. Seeing the two of them, the middle-aged woman hurriedly came forward with furrowed brows and some anger. Earlier when they saw a group of children beating one child, they had scared them away and considered it done. Who knew the Young Miss would insist on going to check on that boy, and now even bring him back? Looking at the dirty boy before her, the woman’s brows immediately furrowed tightly.

“Nanny,” the young lady called softly. She comfortingly patted Feng Zhiyao’s hand and smiled at the nanny: “This child is very well-behaved. Let’s bring him to keep Yao company.”

“Oh my, my Young Miss!” The nanny immediately exclaimed. “Young Miss, we don’t know anything about this boy’s background, how can we let him keep… that young master company? If something were to happen…” Though their Hua family was considered nobles in the capital, they were nothing compared to Prince Ding’s mansion. Not just anyone qualified to be a playmate for the young master of Prince Ding’s mansion.

“It’s fine, Zhiyao is a good child,” the young lady smiled. “Let’s get in the carriage.”

“This… he even shares a name with that Second Young Master?” The nanny was startled, then carefully examined Feng Zhiyao again and noticed this child was quite handsome, just a bit thin – otherwise he might not lose to the Second Young Master of Prince Ding’s mansion. “Well alright, but this child must behave properly. Don’t anger the noble one and bring trouble to our Young Miss,” the nanny nodded and instructed. She wasn’t heartless either, and it was quite pitiful for such a young child to be beaten by a group of children. But as the Young Miss’s nanny, she naturally had to be careful about everything.

On this day, Feng Zhiyao met for the first time someone who would have an enormous influence on his future life – the Second Young Master of Prince Ding’s mansion, Mo Xiuyao. For a concubine’s son from a merchant family, being able to meet the legitimate son of the great Chu dynasty’s Prince Ding’s mansion could be considered a three-lifetime blessing. However… Feng Zhiyao, his thought at the time was – I want to kick him to death!

Just as they passed through the magnificent gates of Prince Ding’s mansion, a sharp gust seemed to strike at his face. Feng Zhiyao froze – after all, he was not yet nine years old, and even if he noticed the hidden weapon, he couldn’t dodge it. However, the projectile aimed at his face turned out to be just his imagination – a small stone grazed past his scalp, leaving only the sensation of something passing overhead without any pain.

“Sister Yunxi, why are you here?” From a decorative rock garden ahead, a white-robed boy of eight or nine sat brazenly, smiling at the finely dressed young lady without sparing even a glance for Feng Zhiyao. But Feng Zhiyao didn’t mind – he had noticed just one thing. So… her name was Yunxi? Hua Yunxi.

“Yao, are you being naughty again? I’ll tell the First Young Master and let him deal with you,” Hua Yunxi said with a clear laugh.

The child on the rock garden did a mid-air flip, landing steadily before them – not yet ten years old, yet his lightness skill already matched first-rate martial artists. Mo Xiuyao pouted and said, “Sister Hua, you always use Big Brother to pressure me.” But who could help it if the Second Young Master Mo, who feared neither heaven nor earth, only listened obediently to the big brother who had raised him since childhood?

Hua Yunxi covered her mouth to hide her laughter – who told you to only fear His Highness Prince Ding and the Crown Prince? “Did Sister Hua come to see me?” Mo Xiuyao smiled.

Hua Yunxi nodded and smiled, “Indeed. I’m heading out of the city to pray for blessings and visit the Princess Imperial. Last time, the Princess Imperial complained that next time I must bring you along. Get ready, let’s go.”

Mo Xiuyao immediately let out a cry of dismay, looking at Hua Yunxi somewhat reproachfully. Hua Yunxi raised an eyebrow with a smile, ignoring his attempt to play pitifully. Mo Xiuyao could only grumble inwardly in discontent. Every time the Princess Imperial saw him, she liked to pinch and squeeze him all over. This young master isn’t a ball of dough.

The Second Young Master Mo’s gaze finally fell on the gloomy-faced Feng Zhiyao standing to the side, and he asked, “Who’s this foolish-looking kid?”

Hua Yunxi gave him an exasperated glare before saying, “His name is Feng Zhiyao, and he’s a good child. I’ll speak with the Crown Prince about letting him study and practice martial arts with you. You’re the same age, so you can keep each other company.”

The Second Young Master Mo rolled his eyes, “He looks dim-witted – can he keep up with the studies?”

Hearing someone’s arrogant tone, Feng Zhiyao silently lowered his head to stare at his fists. Even during all these years of daily bullying by his two half-brothers, he had never felt his fists itch so much.

“Hey hey… stupid kid, you’re not thinking of hitting me, are you? Even ten of you couldn’t beat this young master, you know?” The Second Young Master Mo couldn’t be any more arrogant.

“Mo! Xiu! Yao!” Hua Yunxi called out irritably.

Seeing Hua Yunxi’s raised hand, the Second Young Master Mo immediately scattered like a frightened rat, but not without complaining resentfully: “Sister Hua, I’m supposed to be your little brother! Who is this kid that you’re being so nice to him!”

Feng Zhiyao let out a cold snort, raised his small face proudly, and turned to leave. Hua Yunxi started, quickly grabbing him: “Where are you running off to?”

Feng Zhiyao said coldly: “You don’t need to beg him! This young master doesn’t care to learn any martial arts with him! So what if he’s the Second Young Master of Prince Ding’s mansion? This young master doesn’t care!”

Hua Yunxi felt both annoyed and amused, one hand holding onto the child who wanted to leave while glaring at Mo Xiuyao who was making faces nearby. She smiled, “Yao just likes to fool around, he doesn’t mean any harm.”

Feng Zhiyao snorted in disdain – throwing stones at people right after meeting them and acting so high and mighty, how could he be any good? “I want to go back. Thank you for saving me today!” Feng Zhiyao tried hard to thank her like an adult would, though his current disheveled state rather undermined his attempt at dignity.

Now that he wanted to leave, Mo Xiuyao wouldn’t have it. He smiled and blocked his path, asking, “Go back for what? To get beaten again?” Though young, he was extremely intelligent. How could he not understand why Feng Zhiyao was in such a state, and why Hua Yunxi had brought him to Prince Ding’s mansion?

“What’s it to you?” Feng Zhiyao’s face immediately reddened with anger, along with the embarrassment of having his predicament seen through.

Mo Xiuyao reached out to pull at his cheek and smiled, “All right, for Sister Hua’s sake… you can study martial arts with this young master from now on.”

“Who wants to”

“This young master guarantees that in just three days, you’ll be able to knock down all those who bully you,” Mo Xiuyao quickly leaned in close and said in a low voice, seeing that Feng Zhiyao was about to refuse.

“…” Feng Zhiyao fell silent, not because he had any good feelings toward this annoying person before him, but because the proposal of knocking down all those who bullied him was truly very tempting.

“What are your conditions?” Feng Zhiyao asked. In this world, there was naturally no help without reason. Perhaps… except from her?

“Conditions?” Mo Xiuyao seemed surprised he would say such a thing. After thinking for a moment, he stroked his chin in an affected mature manner and said: “From now on, when this young master tells you to go east, you can’t go west; when told to jump in the river, you can’t climb mountains; when told to chase cats, you can’t tease dogs. In short… you must do everything this young master says!”

“Mo Xiuyao!”

“Go die.” The Third Young Master Feng coldly spat out. Do everything he says, even if he tells him to go die – did he think he was an idiot?

“This young master hates pretty boys like you the most. Since you came, Sister Hua doesn’t dote on me anymore,” the Second Young Master Mo showed signs of being hurt.

Feng Zhiyao rolled his eyes – did he think he was dark-skinned?

“Xiuyao, get along well with Zhiyao. I won’t visit the Princess Imperial today,” Hua Yunxi said with a smile.

Mo Xiuyao’s small face immediately brightened, and he smiled as he put his hand on Feng Zhiyao’s shoulder, “Anyone Sister Hua brings is this young master’s good friend and brother. Don’t worry, Sister Hua, we’ll get along well. I’ll take good care of little brother Zhiyao.”

“He’s the same age as you,” Hua Yunxi emphasized helplessly.

“Don’t care! Feng Zhiyao, right? Come on, this young master will take you to the study for lessons – the teacher must be going crazy by now.” With a wave to Hua Yunxi, Mo Xiuyao grabbed Feng Zhiyao’s collar and ran off.

Being dragged along at a run, Feng Zhiyao dazedly looked back to see the beautiful young lady still standing there, smiling as she watched them. The soft sunlight fell on her, seeming to surround her with a rainbow halo.

“Bang!” Lost in his thoughts, Feng Zhiyao tripped and fell flat on his face, sprawling completely on the ground. Feng Zhiyao’s eyebrows twitched: Mo Xiuyao, damn you!