Their breaths mingled lips and teeth met. Both were novices, simply pressing against each other, feeling this was already a kiss.

With eyes slightly open, she hazily looked at the Twelfth Prince, who approached everything with dedicated concentration. Even though he wasn’t very experienced, he was thoroughly enjoying himself. How wonderful this was—both nervous and sweet. With modest hearts, they were easily satisfied people who readily experienced happiness. She fumbled, interlocking her fingers with his, hazily thinking that these beautiful hands were now hers. From now on, she could caress them however she wished, according to her pleasure.

As for Hong Ce, he kept dwelling on the Seventh Prince’s kiss. Those words about how nice her little mouth tasted when kissed—his jealousy was fierce. At first, he was displeased but didn’t let her know, privately struggling with it. Now it was better. The mark the Seventh Brother had left on her lips was covered by his own, like the Four Great Permanent banks in Beijing doing business—silver exchanged at one bank and deposited at another, stamped with a seal, becoming that bank’s asset. They could prosper together but absolutely would not be interconnected. The Seventh Brother only knew how to be infatuated with himself. Let’s see him show off now!

However, competing only in small matters was not a long-term solution. Ding Yi wasn’t safe staying with the Seventh Prince. He had thought about many options. If he couldn’t transfer her registry, then he would remove it. With her identity concealed, it would be easier to discuss when marriage arrangements came up.

Once a person enters your heart, your thoughts become a thousand times more meticulous than before, planning for the future, and developing everything in a direction beneficial to both. The Seventh Prince was like a firecracker with its fuse cut—heaven knows when it might explode. When he started causing trouble, it wasn’t easy to handle. After all, they were brothers, both imperial commissioners dispatched by the court. If conflict arose, it would only bring pain to those close and joy to enemies. Brothers fighting over a person—face couldn’t be saved. Back when the Grand Emperor and the Eastern Prince had that confrontation, who was the final winner? He only hoped to minimize the harm. He couldn’t let go now, and he hoped the Seventh Brother could still retreat gracefully. Though the thought was selfish, who isn’t selfish when it comes to matters of the heart?

He blamed her for being too adorable. As she softly leaned against his chest, he felt like his previous twenty-three years had been wasted. Before, he didn’t understand what it meant to cherish someone, what it meant to feel one’s heart race. A person who had always been self-sufficient, one day split his heart in two, finally experiencing what it meant to be deeply concerned for another.

Also acting on instinct, he slowly traced her full lips, finding it much more interesting than simply pressing against them. She mumbled something, unconsciously licking her lips, and their tongues met, causing an electric shock.

Is this how it should be? Both were dazed. After the dizziness came wild joy. It was fine if one was confused, as long as the other was clever enough to lead. He had developed a taste for it and pursued more, raising his hand to hold her slender neck, pecking at her lips one by one, calling out “Ding Yi” after each peck. She responded with a series of soft nasal sounds, her legs weak, barely able to cling to him.

Flames clustered together. In the icy, snow-covered landscape, two men embracing each other—the scene was truly unbearable.

The Seventh Prince turned around, gritting his teeth, and glanced at Jin. That boy was also stunned, his mouth wide open, not knowing what to do.

“Mu Xiao Shu has become too brazen. Not only do I have to worry about him finding a wife in the future, but now I also have to worry about him stealing people,” the Seventh Prince said sinisterly. After thinking, he added, “No, he’s already stolen. Look at what they’re doing. Behind my back, he’s gotten together with the Twelfth Prince. That shameless Twelfth Prince has stolen my Geshiha! He’s stolen my Shu’er…” By the end, tears glistened in his eyes. “I’m going to confront him. By what right? His ears are deaf, are his eyes blind too? Doesn’t he know Xiao Shu is my person? So blatant—does he think I, his brother, am dead?”

He was a man of action. He stomped his foot, ready to head over there. What a pair of love birds! He wouldn’t rest until he’d plucked all their feathers! Just as he took a step, Jin grabbed him around the waist. Jin said with a pained expression, “Master, please calm down. You can’t go. If you do, you’ll have a falling out with the Twelfth Prince. How enjoyable would it be if this got out?”

The Seventh Prince was furious, struggling a few times while exclaiming in a low voice, “So what? I won’t allow them to be together. If Mu Xiao Shu wants to find someone else, he needs my permission. His life belongs to me. If he displeases me, I’ll have him tied up and sent to a military camp. The soldiers there are desperately thirsty; they won’t care about his delicate beauty. Once he falls into the wolf’s den, I’ll make sure he has enough ‘pleasure’!”

Jin certainly couldn’t stand by and do nothing. He frantically stopped his master, begging him to reconsider. He had just been shocked. How could the Twelfth Prince be homosexual? If Changchun Garden found out, wouldn’t it cause a catastrophe? And their master—what a fine lord! Young and talented, of noble imperial lineage, with both looks and status. Why was he also wading into this murky water? This Mu Xiao Shu, ah, this little executioner from Shuntianjin, what was so outstanding about him that made two princes fight over him like roosters with blackened eyes? Jin scratched his scalp, wondering why he didn’t have such good fortune. Looking in the mirror, he wasn’t bad-looking either, just a bit fat—and being fat meant prosperity!

He sighed, advising, “My good master, you know the principle that the more you try to separate them, the more they stick together. If you burst in now, aren’t you just creating trouble for yourself? I can see that Xiao Shu and the Twelfth Prince have been close for quite some time. They already have feelings for each other. What can you do? It’s better to wait until they’ve parted, then have a good talk with him. Xiao Shu is clever; he knows what’s good for him.”

“What does he know!” Just mentioning this made the Seventh Prince furious. “I’ve told him so many times, promised to set up a house for him, promised to elevate his status. And what does he do? He won’t even look me in the eye. I’m a fucking prince. What part of me isn’t good enough for him? Listen, tonight bring him to my room. I’ll take him, and then let’s see if he still acts smug! Let’s see if he still has the face to meet the Twelfth Prince!”

This was truly throwing caution to the wind. In the Seventh Prince’s view, Mu Xiao Shu was ungrateful. What was he anyway, relying on his modest good looks to pick and choose among princes? If he was going to choose, he should have chosen him—he was the rightful master, the one closest at hand. Who knew he’d be so foolishly blinded, taking a big detour and ignoring what was right in front of him for something distant? What’s this, Does the neighbor’s meal smell better? He should think about what would happen after offending his master!

He couldn’t resist looking back again, his heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys all clenching. He fiercely swept his sleeve and turned to leave, saying as he walked, “Bring a bucket of water, rinse him clean, and throw him on my bed. Gather everyone to stand guard. Don’t let the Twelfth Prince get wind of it and ruin my plans.”

Wouldn’t this make everyone know? Jin found it quite difficult. “Master, public opinion is fearsome. It’s better to keep a broken arm inside the sleeve. If you gather everyone, they’ll all know. How will you face people in the future?”

“I don’t care.” The Seventh Prince returned to the main gate of the Imperial Manor, turning around in irritation to look. The threshing ground was too far to see, but the scene from earlier had pierced his heart like a needle. He was just like this—what others didn’t care about, he also didn’t care about; what others cared about, he would do whatever it took to get. Mu Xiao Shu had been provocative from the start, hooking one while leading on another, never letting go of either. It was also his fault for being so weak; in the end, he still fell into his net. Since this was the case, he’d play for real—first stealing kisses, then stealing the body. He couldn’t fall behind.

Just having half-knowledge made things difficult. After all, men were different from women. He hadn’t tried this deviant path before. If something went wrong, it could affect a lifetime. Returning to his quarters, he sat in the main seat and thought for a while, then asked Jin, “What do I need to prepare?”

Jin made a sound of surprise, awkwardly saying, “This slave has heard from the little eunuch at the Imperial Household Department that eunuchs have many tricks for handling the backside, and they have many tools. But for the first time, you don’t need to prepare anything else, just a bottle of fragrant oil to apply to your, uh, ‘thing.’ It’s needed for ‘breaking ground.'”

The Seventh Prince appeared very dumbfounded. The term “breaking ground” was used… showing how difficult the process would be. He hesitated. “Will it hurt? Why does it sound so creepy to me?”

Jin blinked. “This slave hadn’t even had a chance to use his hammer before entering the palace to serve you. If you ask me, I also don’t know if it hurts. According to the little eunuch, it should be painful for the other person. Think about it—how comfortable can a woman’s wedding night be? Just grit your teeth, close your eyes, and after doing it a few times, you’ll get used to it.”

Crude words but not crude reasoning. Seeing what he had seen earlier had filled him with jealous rage. The Seventh Prince made up his mind—this is what he’d do!

He set up his position and waited, looking like he wanted to devour someone whole. Looking at the time, it was almost the hour of Hai. They must be having quite a good time outside, releasing so many lanterns. For a moment, he thought there was enemy activity. Did they take him for a blind man? This morning when he went to the Twelfth Prince’s room, the pile of things in the inner chamber was for this purpose. Speaking of which, he had to admire that kid Hong Ce. To win someone’s heart, he had made a substantial investment. A dignified prince becoming a lantern maker and doing it with such joy. That string of lanterns, over a hundred of them—he must not have slept all night. This level of dedication was truly remarkable. If it were him, he wouldn’t bother with such tactics to coax a girl. What was the point of releasing lanterns? The Seventh Prince was practical. He would melt gold into a large collar, and put it around the neck—dazzling wealth, much better than those fleeting things.

What would he say later? He had to put on a stern face and severely scold him. Always being soft with him had led to him not respecting his master.

Sitting quietly, he could hear the accumulated snow falling from branches in the courtyard. He had never felt such torment before. Thinking of his possession benefiting someone else was like a knife twisting in his heart. How could he endure this? He tightly clenched his fist, the gold-gilded jeweled ring on his index finger accentuating the sharpness of his knuckles. The room was heated with charcoal, waves of heat rising, making him anxiously sweat. He took off his blue fox coat and placed it aside, then stood up to poke the fire in the copper basin with tongs, causing sparks to fly chaotically.

Suddenly, he heard footsteps coming from the corridor. This time he remained composed, placing the poker against the wall, turning around to look at the door with an ambiguous smile.

Mu Xiao Shu entered, with dark, deep eyes that glanced around adeptly. He hurriedly came forward to pour tea, saying, “Master, you haven’t rested so late? Outside, it’s the third watch already.”

He curled his lip and snorted, “You know it’s the third watch and still wanders everywhere? Just now I sent someone to find you, but you weren’t there. Where did you go?”

He paused, hesitating before saying, “I couldn’t sleep, so I went out for a walk.”

Went for a walk, went to the threshing ground, and with the Chun Prince, hugging, embracing, kissing—putting on quite a show! The Seventh Prince widened his smile, wanting him to see that he was displeased. This was called a cold smile.

Indeed, he looked at him as if seeing a ghost, asking in surprise, “Master, what’s wrong with you? Do you have a toothache? Why is half of your face twitching?”

The Seventh Prince almost couldn’t maintain his composure. Was he blind? His smile was so meaningful—how did it become a toothache? But he couldn’t worry about all that now. No matter how he pretended to be naive, the plan couldn’t change. He turned back to sit in the circular chair, giving a signal with his eyes toward the door. Jin understood, and with a squeak, closed the door.

Ding Yi looked back, her heart in her throat. What was this about? Thinking it through, it was probably because the lantern release had disturbed the Seventh Prince too much. Looking at his strange manner, had he seen something? She swallowed, feeling both awkward and guilty. Earlier, she had been so intimate with the Twelfth Prince, still immersed in sweetness and not yet come to her senses. She had planned to go back and savor the memory, but unexpectedly, Jin had been waiting in the path and brought her over as soon as he saw her. She was completely confused. She wasn’t afraid of being beaten, but what did closing the door mean? A lone man and woman.

The Seventh Prince stood up, supporting his waist as he said, “Stop pondering. I’ve been away from Beijing for three or four months with no one to keep me company. I’m feeling quite restless. Looking around, among all the accompanying guards, only you appeal to my taste. Plus, I’ve always had some feelings for you. Today I’m selecting you to serve me in bed tonight. Don’t be afraid. I’ve prepared everything—fragrant oil, healing ointment, all necessary good things. You and the Twelfth Prince were quite affectionate. Is the Twelfth Prince considerate? I can be too. I’ve finally figured it out—you prefer the hard way instead of the easy way. If you anger me, my fist is as big as a bowl. I’ll hit you until your face blooms with bruises, and then you’ll know my severity.”

She was dumbfounded, taking a long time to understand the meaning of his words. He was planning to force himself on her? If she didn’t agree, she would be beaten? She panicked. What kind of situation was this? Encountering the two brothers—the Twelfth Prince whom she genuinely liked, and now the Seventh Prince coming at her so inappropriately. If things escalated, how could she handle it with her abilities?

“No, no, let’s talk this through,” she retreated a few steps. “I entered your household just to raise birds. I sell my skills, not my body. I can kowtow to you, but you cannot oppress me.”

He laughed a couple of times. “Do you think I care about your kowtowing? Today I am indeed bullying you. So what? You entered the Feathered Banner. From this generation on, your grandchildren and great-grandchildren are all in my hands. Who are you to say I can’t? I’m quite reasonable, but you’re the one who doesn’t understand the situation.”

She said it wasn’t so, bending at the waist. “I respect you very much. If I’ve done something wrong, please point it out, and I’ll change.”

The Seventh Prince hated his playing deaf and dumb. “You’re quite clever, aren’t you? Playing dumb with me now! The Twelfth Prince is fragrant, and I, the Seventh, am smelly? When I kiss you once, you act like you’ll die, but when the Twelfth Prince kisses you, you have that infatuated look—who are you showing it to? Born from the same father, yet you must distinguish between high and low. Do you favor his title of Shuo Prince? I don’t meet your requirements. Fine, you look down on the poor and love the rich, you like to climb high branches, but you don’t have that fate! As long as I don’t release you, even if I’m begging on the streets one day, you’ll still have to hold the bowl for me. Who made me your master? I know you have a loose ear, not taking anything I say seriously. Enough, I’m tired. Go prepare the bed. You’ll sleep in the same room as me, in the same bed! From today on, you’re not allowed to see the Twelfth Prince. If you don’t obey, I’ll skin your senior martial brother alive!”

These words completely missed the point, but he felt this would be enough to control her. As for Ding Yi, when he brought up Xia Zhi, she couldn’t immediately figure out his strategy. Just as she was about to speak, in a blink of an eye, he pounced on her with claws and teeth.