This was Li Buyan’s second time entering this study.

Shocking.

The study’s furnishings weren’t lavish, extravagant, or expensive—inside and out, they conveyed one word: elegant.

Hanging on the walls were calligraphy and paintings, several of them, clearly the work of masters. The ornaments on the curio shelves were each more exquisite and pleasing to the eye than the last.

“Good heavens…”

Li Buyan clutched her chest and said with heartfelt sincerity, “Grand Imperial Grandson, this isn’t killing and destroying hearts—this is whipping corpses, repeatedly whipping corpses.”

“Miss, what do you mean by this?”

Li Buyan’s eyes curved. “I actually have another flaw.”

Zhao Yishi asked, “What?”

“Greed for wealth.”

Zhao Yishi was speechless.

Li Buyan’s finger pointed at each item. “Good things, good things, more good things—a whole room full of good things… Grand Imperial Grandson, you’re trying to tantalize me to death.”

Yan Xi hung his head and silently rolled his eyes.

All women in this world were the same—all wanted to extract benefits from men.

Zhao Yishi also felt a hint of anger rise in his heart, yet remained impassive. “If the young lady fancies something, you may ask me for one item.”

“Your Highness, absolutely not.”

Yan Xi quickly spoke up to stop him. “These things were all bestowed by the palace.”

This Miss Li was merely a servant maid. Forget asking for something—even letting her look was elevating her status.

Li Buyan seemed not to have heard Yan Xi’s words, her eyes bright. “Your Highness, may I look more closely?”

Zhao Yishi’s voice grew cooler. “Miss, please do as you wish!”

Please what!

Yan Xi quickly followed, watching Li Buyan’s every move with vigilance.

These were all priceless treasures. If she bumped or knocked anything, even if this maid died a hundred times, she couldn’t compensate.

Li Buyan walked slowly around the curio shelf once, then again. By the third circuit, Yan Xi could no longer bear it.

“Miss, know when to stop!”

Did she understand propriety? Did she know her place?

“Mm, I should know when to stop.”

Li Buyan withdrew her gaze and clasped her fist toward Zhao Yishi. “Your Highness, I came to retrieve the bundle I left behind that day.”

Zhao Yishi frowned slightly. “Yan Xi.”

Yan Xi hastily grabbed the bundle from a small table and thrust it into Li Buyan’s arms, saying in a sharp voice ungraciously, “Does Miss Li have any other business?”

“None.”

Li Buyan raised her chin. “Your Highness, while the green mountains remain unchanged and clear waters flow eternally, I take my leave.”

This left not only Yan Xi dumbfounded but even Zhao Yishi slightly stunned. “Wait. Miss, are you truly not asking this Highness for even one item?”

“No need. I’ve already satisfied my craving.”

Zhao Yishi looked at her smiling face. “Satisfied just by looking?”

“An ordinary man is innocent, but possessing jade is a crime.” Li Buyan tied the bundle to her body, smiled lightly, turned, and left.

Zhao Yishi’s expression remained as calm and unruffled as always, yet in his heart, a spring breeze swept through.

There were many greedy women, but few who understood that possessing jade brought guilt.

There were many lustful women, but few who were lustful without licentiousness.

There were many affected women, but few who were magnanimous, frank, and sought nothing.

Yan Xi turned to look at his master’s expression, then quickly called out “Ai!” and cleverly chased after her. “Miss Li?”

Li Buyan turned. “More business?”

“Your Highness.”

Yan Xi imperceptibly emphasized his tone. “…Do you have any other matters?”

Zhao Yishi came to his senses, walked to the doorway, and stood. “Miss, what you just said…”

“People are valuable for having self-awareness. My status permits only looking. If Your Highness truly rewarded me, my fortune is too meager—I fear I couldn’t bear it.”

On the surface, this statement seemed ordinary, but upon careful consideration, it was quite thought-provoking.

Zhao Yishi smiled and changed the subject. “What’s inside the young lady’s bundle?”

“Clothes worn by the dead.”

A chill ran from the soles of Yan Xi’s feet straight up. He quickly looked at his master again.

Not only was his master not angry, he spoke warmly: “Next time the young lady comes to the manor, there’s no need to climb walls—you may enter openly through the gate.”

Li Buyan smiled until her eyes curved. “A lecher’s lust requires climbing walls to glimpse!”

With that, she pushed off with her foot, gathered her qi in her dantian, and leaped onto the wall.

Standing on the wall for a moment, she suddenly turned around, her eyes bursting with light.

“Your Highness, my surname is Li, given name Buyan, taken from the poem ‘Peaches and plums do not speak, yet a path forms beneath them.’ Have you remembered it?”

As the last words fell, she had already vanished without a trace.

You’re just a maid, yet you dare make His Highness remember you?

Yan Xi thought this was simply lawless.

“Your Highness, let’s go back. The sun outside is fierce!”

“She got her name wrong.”

“Huh?”

Zhao Yishi chuckled and shook his head. “Li Dadan would suit her better.”

Yan Xi smiled along. “Your Highness speaks truly.”

“Your Highness—”

A voice called from far to near.

A young eunuch hurried into the courtyard. “Your Highness, the Crown Prince has returned from the palace and requests you come immediately.”

The smile froze on Zhao Yishi’s face.

…

Just as the Crown Prince was summoning the Grand Imperial Grandson, Xie Daozhi also returned to the Xie Manor. Without even changing his court robes, he went straight to Little Third’s courtyard.

Xie Zhifei had just finished his medicine, his mouth full of bitterness. Seeing his father arrive, he quickly had Zhu Qing help him sit up.

“Father, court has adjourned?”

Xie Daozhi waved his hand, signaling Zhu Qing to stand guard at the door.

Only father and son remained in the room. Xie Zhifei felt guilty and didn’t dare speak first.

His father had weathered storms in official circles and seen all kinds of situations. With just a few questions, he could figure out his calculations.

But unexpectedly, Xie Daozhi mentioned nothing of the matter. “Your elder brother requested leave from the Capital Commandant’s office on your behalf.”

Xie Zhifei was surprised. “For how long?”

“A month and a half.”

Xie Daozhi continued, “During this month and a half, eat what you should eat, drink what you should drink, play what you want to play—just don’t do anything serious.”

Xie Zhifei hadn’t expected his father to say this and was momentarily stunned.

“In this world, some people are too stupid and fall into traps, while others are too clever and fall into traps.”

Xie Daozhi spoke earnestly. “Little Third, the Xie family has your elder brother—we don’t expect you to achieve great success. Just stay safe and sound.”

Xie Zhifei pressed his lips together.

His father’s words seemed straightforward but contained much deeper meaning.

This time, using himself as bait, the advantage was pulling down the Xu family; the disadvantage was exposing himself to the world’s view.

As his father said, there were stupid people in this world, but also clever ones.

Clever people, thinking deeply and then deeper still, would detect a different flavor to it all.

Once that flavor emerged, the layer of frivolous playboy skin Third Master wore would be torn away.

The Xie family had three men in official circles: the old one had reached the cabinet, already at the center of power; the elder one was in the Hanlin Academy, biding his time and gradually building qualifications.

If he too stood out in everything, the Xie family would become the protruding bird in others’ eyes.

The Xie family’s foundation wasn’t deep—merely his father’s generation. Compared to those aristocratic families in the capital who had accumulated power over several generations, they were just nouveau riche with slightly better luck.

Everyone knew what happened to the protruding bird.

“Father, I understand.”

“Good that you understand.”

Xie Daozhi stood up and looked at his son.

“Little Third, at the feet of the Son of Heaven, brocade piles everywhere on the ground. Those who live long are the ones who shrink their heads and tuck their tails to get by. All glory is eventually scattered by wind and rain.”

Xie Zhifei was momentarily stunned. When he came to his senses, his father’s figure had long disappeared from the room. Instead, Zhu Qing stood by the bed.

“Third Master, Concubine Liu is here. Will you see her?”