Su Jin walked up to Zhu Nanxian and lifted his robe to bow.

Zhu Nanxian uttered an “Ah” and raised his hand to stop him with a gesture, saying softly, “No need.”

In truth, Su Jin hadn’t actually intended to kneel down completely. With this interruption, he straightened up obligingly and still bowed respectfully, saying, “Thank you, Your Highness, for saving Shiyu once again.”

He didn’t refer to himself as “your subject,” which was good.

The carefree Zhu Shisan finally captured a trace of something critically important, and along with secret joy came a sense of trepidation.

So he raised his fist to cover his nose and cleared his throat self-deceptively, saying, “Oh, this prince didn’t really do anything. It was Marquis Wenyuan who arrived in time.”

But Su Jin said, “If Your Highness hadn’t helped delay them for that brief moment, even if Shiyu hadn’t been beaten to death, he would have been severely injured.”

As he spoke, he raised his eyes to look at him, with an extremely faint smile in his eyes.

In fact, in outsiders’ eyes, Censor Su was unsmiling, amiable yet distant, and though not as stern and resolute as the Left Censor-in-Chief, he naturally carried a certain crisp clarity.

But at this moment, the smile in Su Jin’s eyes was genuinely real, like spring arriving overnight, as subtle as a butterfly fluttering its wings, yet deeply moving.

Zhu Nanxian’s ears immediately flushed red, his insides felt empty, like this silent, snow-covered world.

That feeling came again—that feeling that if he didn’t leave now, he wouldn’t know what would happen next.

But this time he couldn’t leave.

This faint trace of a smile was like a cluster of flames, instantly etched into his heart and flowing into his blood, giving rise to wildly growing vines that trapped him firmly within this small space.

Zhu Nanxian, disturbed by these vines and burned by the fierce fire, unconsciously opened his mouth and called out a name: “A’yu.”

Then he watched helplessly as the smile gradually faded from Su Jin’s eyes. He looked somewhat taken aback, and after a moment, lowered his eyelids with exceptional composure and softly responded with an “Mm.”

Zhu Nanxian was on the verge of collapse.

Once again, he thought desperately that there was no time like the present—why not take this opportunity to make his feelings clear?

After all, he was so clever, he must already know. After all, every clever person in the world knew.

Zhu Nanxian’s hands hanging at his sides clenched into fists with veins bulging. Gathering all his courage, he finally said, “A’yu, actually I—”

“Imperial Brother!”

In the distance from the terrace, someone suddenly called out to him.

It was like a sword quenched in fire developing a notch, or a pipa tune played halfway when a string suddenly breaks.

The buzzing sound in Zhu Nanxian’s mind was like the murderous aura of a red-hot notched sword being plunged into water.

He turned his head woodenly and looked at Zhu Shiqi, who was still standing far, far away on the terrace yet insisted on calling out to him. After restraining himself for a long time, he finally suppressed the impulse to draw his sword from his waist.

Seeing that he had noticed him, Zhu Shiqi waved his hand rather excitedly, as if he had something to say, and quickly descended the steps toward him.

One vigorous effort, then decline.

By the time Zhu Nanxian turned his gaze back to Su Jin, the words he had been building up the courage to blurt out had already dispersed into the clouds along with the mist from quenching the sword.

He pondered for a long time, trying to figure out how to recover the situation, but unexpectedly this time Su Jin wouldn’t let it go.

He asked, “Actually what?”

Zhu Nanxian stood stunned for quite a while. Looking at Su Jin’s clear and earnest gaze, somehow he suddenly summoned strength from deep within his soul and said, “Actually I’ve always been very—”

“Censor Su.”

Zhu Nanxian placed his hand on the hilt of his sword.

While Zhu Shiqi’s person was still seven zhang away, he bowed respectfully to Su Jin from afar. He had also been in the court earlier and had witnessed the Censor in crimson robes, hanging a bright mirror over the world with such bearing—he truly admired it.

When Zhu Shiqi drew near, Su Jin returned the bow, saying, “Since Your Highnesses have matters to discuss, this subject will take his leave first.”

Zhu Nanxian didn’t respond.

Zhu Shiqi glanced at his Thirteenth Imperial Brother. Hmm, his complexion didn’t seem very good?

So he belatedly asked, “Censor Su, did this prince just interrupt your conversation with Thirteenth Brother?”

Su Jin said, “Your Highness is too kind.”

Zhu Shiqi stroked his chin thoughtfully and said, “This prince just heard Imperial Brother saying something about ‘actually.'” He turned to ask Zhu Nanxian, “Imperial Brother, actually what?”

Zhu Nanxian tightened his grip on the sword hilt.

Zhu Shiqi had a sudden realization: “Ah, this prince knows!” He said to Su Jin with utmost friendliness, “Actually, Imperial Sister-in-law mentioned this matter yesterday. After the New Year’s banquet, the Eastern Palace will celebrate the New Year again, and she asked me to have Imperial Brother invite Censor Su to join us.”

In fact, the Eastern Palace didn’t usually invite outsiders to their family New Year celebration, but Su Jin didn’t know this background and thought it was an ordinary banquet invitation. But for an ordinary banquet, why would the Crown Princess extend the invitation?

He didn’t understand: “Did the Crown Princess summon this subject to the Eastern Palace for some matter?”

Zhu Shiqi thought for a moment: “Probably because after the New Year, this prince will turn seventeen and need to be given a courtesy name?”

This was an ancestral rule established by Emperor Jingyuan—the princes of the Great Sui only had given names but no courtesy names before turning seventeen. When they were about to turn seventeen, the Hanlin Academy would propose several courtesy names, and His Majesty would personally make the selection.

Zhu Shiqi continued, “The Hanlin Academy submitted several proposals to the Eastern Palace a while ago, but Eldest Imperial Brother wasn’t very satisfied. He said he wanted to invite someone learned and accomplished to propose a courtesy name, and Imperial Sister-in-law mentioned Censor Su at that time.”

Su Jin was silent for a moment, then looked at Zhu Nanxian: “Is this what Your Highness wanted to say?”

Zhu Nanxian looked at Zhu Shiqi, who was blinking his large, gleaming eyes and looking at him with a face full of expectation. He deeply felt that over these years, although Shiqi had grown somewhat taller, unfortunately he had only grown in height and not in brain.

And for the first time in his twenty-three years, Zhu Nanxian truly felt that having a brain was such a wonderful thing.

With Shiqi having said this much, what could he say? What else could he say?

So he responded with an “Mm”: “I suppose so.”

Su Jin nodded and bowed to Zhu Shiqi: “May this subject presumptuously ask for Your Highness’s birth date and time?”

Seeing that he had agreed, Zhu Shiqi said excitedly, “I was born on the nineteenth day of the ninth month in the Dingyou year, in late autumn when the osmanthus flowers had already withered. That year, there were barbarian invasions in the north and maritime disasters in the east. When Father Emperor personally led the expedition, Mother Consort had just conceived me not long before. By the time Father Emperor returned, I was already one year old. Father Emperor once said that I was the greatest gift bestowed upon him by Heaven after his triumphant return.”

He poured out all of this in one breath. Su Jin listened quietly to the end and replied, “Very well. This subject will take the next few days to carefully propose several for Your Highness.”

Zhu Nanxian knew he was someone who took all matters seriously and feared he would overwork himself, so he quickly said, “Just propose one casually. Shiqi is just a greenhorn kid. Proposing a courtesy name doesn’t need all this fuss—as long as it doesn’t make your tongue trip when you say it out loud, that’s good enough.”

Zhu Shiqi’s heart turned cold, and full of grievance, he widened his eyes: “Imperial Brother, are you really my own Imperial Brother—”

Su Jin smiled faintly: “Your Highness jests. Being able to propose a courtesy name for the Seventeenth Prince is this subject’s honor.”

After finishing, he bowed to both of them again as a farewell gesture, stepped back a few paces, turned around, and left.

The ground was covered with accumulated snow, so Su Jin didn’t walk quickly. Suddenly, he heard Zhu Shiqi toss aside the coldness Zhu Nanxian had shown him earlier and urge, “Imperial Brother, many portraits have already been sent to the Court of Imperial Clan today. Tenth Imperial Brother asked me to tell you—I’ll go with you to choose.”

Zhu Nanxian was startled. Looking at Su Jin’s figure that hadn’t gone far, he couldn’t help saying, “What are you talking about?”

Zhu Shiqi said, “The portraits of daughters from various officials’ families—aren’t you in a hurry to select an Imperial Consort?”

As he spoke, he actually noticed the annoyance in Zhu Nanxian’s eyes.

Zhu Shiqi thought his Thirteenth Brother’s irritation was directed at him and said grievously, “During the New Year’s banquet, ministers’ daughters will enter the palace. As Left Director of the Court of Imperial Clan, you’ll have to meet them one by one anyway. What’s wrong with selecting a few pleasing ones in advance?”

The Court of Imperial Clan was the office in charge of imperial family and harem affairs. Its director and left and right deputy directors were held by princes. Since the princes had been enfeoffed, with vacancies in the directorate, many matters had been handled by the Ministry of Rites instead.

This year, because the New Year’s banquet and the Longevity Banquet were being held together—a tremendous occasion—an edict had been issued a day earlier commanding the Tenth Prince Zhu Yiheng to temporarily assume the position of Director, with Zhu Nanxian and Zhu Zhaowei serving as Left and Right Deputy Directors respectively.

Yesterday Su Jin had wondered why, if several princes were to be commanded to temporarily manage the Court of Imperial Clan, the edict would only be issued when the New Year was approaching and all matters had already been settled.

Hearing Zhu Shiqi explain it this way, he understood. So the edict was just a pretext—appointing Zhu Nanxian as Left Deputy Director was merely to give him a legitimate reason to select an Imperial Consort he fancied at the New Year’s banquet.

It was said that Emperor Jingyuan doted most on his thirteenth son. Looking at it now, this was truly the case.

Zhu Nanxian watched Su Jin’s figure pause slightly. When he reached the cleared path, he quickened his pace and walked toward the Censorate.

Zhu Nanxian stood silently in place for a moment, then turned around with his hands behind his back and headed toward the Fengtian Gate.

Zhu Shiqi chased after Zhu Nanxian for a few steps. Seeing that he seemed about to leave the palace, he couldn’t help saying, “Imperial Brother, they’re still waiting for your response at the Court of Imperial Clan. Aren’t you going to look at the portraits?”

Zhu Nanxian said, “I’m not looking. Go tell Chief Administrator Hu to set a fire and burn all the portraits.”

The guards at Fengtian Gate understood that the Thirteenth Prince was going to the Northern Military Camp and quickly led over a swift horse.

Zhu Shiqi said, “Then what about taking an Imperial Consort? Will you just pick one on the spot?”

Zhu Nanxian mounted his horse and looked at the long spear in the Fengtian Gate guard’s hand. The spearhead was wrapped with red tassels, just like the brilliant crimson robe in the magnificent hall earlier.

The fierce fire kindled in his heart would burn for this entire lifetime.

He smiled slightly: “I won’t take one. This prince will never take an Imperial Consort in this lifetime.”

Then he smiled again with raised lips and added, “Starting tomorrow, you’re moving to the Shen residence.”

Zhu Shiqi was utterly confused: “Why?”

Zhu Nanxian raised his whip and struck, galloping away, leaving behind one sentence: “Go follow Shen Qingyue and have him teach you how to grow a brain!”