Prince Yan, dressed in a vermillion brocade robe, sat alone at a spacious pear-wood round table large enough to seat more than a dozen people.

Behind him, five or six guards had appeared at some point, unnoticed. These were merely the visible ones — the guards secretly protecting Prince Yan numbered at least several dozen.

The table was laden with bowls and plates — at a rough glance, there were at least twenty-some dishes.

Prince Yan was extremely particular about food. He would generally taste each dish only once; if he took a second bite, that alone was enough to show the dish was truly delicious.

After Prince Yan finished his midday meal, the dishes on the table looked almost untouched.

The door was pushed open.

Eunuch Xi walked in wearing an obsequious smile, bowing and nodding as he reported, “Your Highness, this servant has delivered your calling card to Ninth Miss Ling.”

Prince Yan raised an eyebrow. “Oh? And what was her reaction?”

She hadn’t even given it a second glance!

She’d tossed it aside like worthless trash!

She’d even mocked this servant mercilessly, sparing no feelings! If someone else hadn’t stepped in to accept the card, today this servant would have failed the task entirely!

Eunuch Xi’s heart was full of bitter grievance, yet he dared not breathe a word of it. Instead, he laughed exaggeratedly, “Ninth Miss Ling was overwhelmed with gratitude, so pleased she nearly wept tears of joy. She accepted the card most respectfully, said a great many words of thanks, and even said she wished to come in person to express her gratitude…”

“Then why didn’t she come?” Prince Yan cut him off, his expression hovering between a smile and something else.

Eunuch Xi’s smile froze for an instant before quickly recovering. He bent over again with an apologetic smile, “This servant took the liberty of deciding on Your Highness’s behalf and did not let Ninth Miss Ling come. This servant acted on his own authority — please forgive this transgression!”

Prince Yan glanced sideways at him, his tone languid, giving away neither pleasure nor anger. “Little Xi, you’ve served by my side for two years now, haven’t you?”

Eunuch Xi could not, for the moment, discern the intent behind the question. Trembling, he answered yes.

“That you tend to be arrogant and overbearing — this king has always known full well.”

This single, lightly-spoken sentence from His Highness was enough to make Eunuch Xi’s face change completely. He dropped to his knees with a thud. “This servant would never dare! Please spare this servant’s life, Your Highness!”

Prince Yan’s lips curled, his voice turning cold. “That you rely on my authority to swagger about and show off — that’s one thing. You are, after all, my man. When you go out, you represent my face as well. Making people fear you is part of your job. I wouldn’t hold that against you. But there is one thing you absolutely should not have done — treating me like a fool to deceive.”

“Just now, when facing me, that Ninth Miss Ling didn’t even bow and grovel. Sharp-tongued and quick-witted, she didn’t yield an inch. You’re nothing but a lowly eunuch servant — given her proud temperament, how could she possibly think anything of you?”

“As for being overwhelmed with gratitude, nearly weeping with joy — that was nothing but a story you made up to deceive me, wasn’t it!”

This last sentence came with a cold laugh, betraying a hint of genuine anger.

Eunuch Xi trembled all over in fright, kowtowing repeatedly while begging for mercy. “Your Highness is naturally wise, with eyes as sharp as torches. This servant must have grown a heart as bold as a lion’s to dare tell lies to deceive Your Highness. This servant has served Your Highness for two years — if there is no merit, there is at least hard toil. I beg Your Highness’s mercy, spare this lowly life of mine…”

He wept bitterly even as he kowtowed hard, each time striking his forehead against the solid floor. Soon his forehead had swollen red.

He looked both pitiful and pathetic.

Yet Prince Yan remained unmoved.

These eunuchs all came from the palace, every one of them a shrewd schemer, well-practiced in bullying others through borrowed authority and in deceiving both superiors and subordinates. If a master lacked a certain degree of sharp, ruthless control, he would not only fail to keep them in check — he would instead be deceived by such cunning servants.

In ordinary times he was too lazy to bother with such things, but if he truly chose to turn cold and ruthless, it would take no more than a few words.

Eunuch Xi’s forehead was already bleeding profusely from the kowtowing, the pain reaching to the bone. Yet compared to the chill rising endlessly within his heart, that pain was nothing at all.

He was finished!

In a moment of careless arrogance, he had already left Prince Yan with the bad impression of being domineering and overbearing. He had failed the task assigned to him, and on top of that, his lies had been caught red-handed… either offense alone could mean death.

Eunuchs were all servants of the imperial household, assigned by the Imperial Household Department to serve in the residences of the various princes and princesses, able to survive only by depending on their masters. Masters rarely punished their guards lightly — even if the guards made mistakes, most were allowed to keep their lives. Eunuchs, however, were different. A single beating with clubs could kill them, and their bodies would be wrapped in a straw mat and tossed onto a mass grave, without even a grave mound to mark their passing.

When in favor, everyone fawned over and admired them; but the moment they displeased their master, they could fall overnight from the clouds straight into the mud.

He had served Prince Yan for two years and counted himself among the trusted men at his side. Lately he had grown a bit complacent, becoming somewhat bolder and more reckless in his words and actions — yet he had never imagined that this had already displeased Prince Yan…

Today’s incident was merely the spark that set it off.

Having thought all this through, Eunuch Xi’s terror bordered on despair.

Prince Yan had always presented himself to the world as a dissolute playboy. He often went about the outer city, strolling through the South Market with a birdcage in hand for half a day at a time, and he kept a private room reserved at the Dingxiang Restaurant, visiting once or twice a month without fail. His presence could be seen at the most famous teahouses, theaters, and pleasure houses alike.

He could be called the most distinguished playboy in the entire capital.

Empress Xu doted on her youngest son, and the Emperor too showed him special favor, turning a blind eye to such absurd conduct. On the rare occasion he went too far, he received nothing more than a mild, toothless scolding.

And so Prince Yan grew ever more unrestrained.

Only those who served closest to him could catch even a glimpse of Prince Yan’s true face.

This Prince Yan appeared reckless and absurd in his conduct, but in truth his mind ran deep — no one could ever quite figure out what he was thinking. Ordinarily his temper was good, never harsh in the least, but once he turned, he became swift, decisive, cold-blooded, and merciless.

Eunuch Xi kept knocking his head against the floor again and again, blood streaming down his forehead, mixing with his tears and snot — not a trace remained of his usual arrogant air.

Prince Yan finally spoke. “Stop kowtowing and begging for mercy. Tell me honestly, one thing at a time, exactly what happened just now. If there’s even half a false word, you can wait for someone to collect your corpse.”

Eunuch Xi no longer dared to lie. With the fastest speed and the most nimble tongue of his entire life, he recounted everything that had happened, leaving nothing out.

To have earned Prince Yan’s trust, Eunuch Xi naturally had certain strengths of his own. Not only was his tongue quick, he was also skilled at mimicking other people’s expressions and manner of speech. He imitated, with remarkable accuracy, the cold and faintly disdainful tone Ling Jingshu had used at the time: “…This servant truly never meant to deliberately deceive Your Highness. It’s only that Your Highness showed such good intentions, yet that Ninth Miss Ling failed to appreciate them at all — this servant felt genuinely indignant on Your Highness’s behalf. In the end it was that Eighth Miss Ling who accepted the calling card; otherwise, this servant fears he truly would have failed to carry out the task Your Highness entrusted to him today.”

“This servant feared that if he spoke the plain truth, Your Highness would be displeased. That’s why he worked up the nerve to tell a few lies. This servant only hoped to keep Your Highness in good spirits — he never meant any deception at all…”

Eunuch Xi spoke with tears streaming down, his words full of emotion.

Prince Yan, however, listened with an air of indifference, his gaze drifting out through the window.