Wangchun Garden was a palace built by the Emperor for Noble Consort Zhao, located in the western suburbs of the capital. Initially, the two spent more than half of each year there, but in recent years, as the Emperor’s health had deteriorated and he was too lazy to move about, he no longer left the palace.

The Third Prince loved reading. He requested Wangchun Garden from the Emperor and moved out of the imperial palace to live there. Like a fish in water, he became increasingly obsessed. Reading alone was no longer satisfying enough, so he planned to organize a literary gathering.

In the imperial garden of the spring palace, amid blooming flowers, a pavilion had gauze curtains hanging on all four sides, revealing the shadow of a person reclining inside. A group of eunuchs with musicians and dancers holding various instruments had all retreated to the side—clearly their music and dance had been interrupted.

There were few who could interrupt the Emperor’s enjoyment of music and dance: besides the Noble Consort and the Crown Prince, there was the Third Prince.

“Father Emperor, I’ve already thought it through. The prizes I set up must be creative and unique.”

A young man in his early twenties with delicate features and somewhat pale complexion had his hair casually bound with a wooden hairpin. His robes were loose and ill-fitting, as if he had hastily grabbed some clothes and thrown them on before rushing over. But speaking of this, he waved his hands, his eyes bright and spirited.

“For prizes—gold, silver, and jewels won’t do. Rare books and unique editions, or perhaps—perhaps a piece of calligraphy written by you yourself, Father Emperor?”

The Emperor, who seemed to be sleeping in the pavilion, grunted: “You’re holding a literary gathering, so why should I provide the prizes?”

The Third Prince smiled: “That’s naturally because you, Father Emperor, are the most talented and learned.”

The Emperor sneered coldly: “Is that so? I’ve heard that you told people my learning is poor, that I don’t understand poetry or prose.”

The Third Prince scratched at his hair bun: “Did I say that? I’ve forgotten. But Father Emperor, your learning truly isn’t very good.”

The eunuchs on both sides kept their eyes on their noses and noses on their hearts, already accustomed to this—the Third Prince was just this arrogant.

Bang! A wine jug came flying out from within the gauze curtain. Fortunately, the jug was already empty, so when it hit the Third Prince, there was only the fragrance of wine.

“Get out, get out, get out!” the Emperor cursed. “What’s so great about reading a few books? Look at yourself now—even a useless old scholar has more vitality than you.”

The Third Prince wasn’t afraid of the Father Emperor’s anger and frowned: “How could I be useless? My learning has been praised by all my teachers. Father Emperor, you must be jealous, aren’t you?”

The Third Prince wasn’t worried about angering the Emperor to death, and the eunuchs weren’t worried either, continuing to stand calmly with lowered heads.

In the distance, two people walked over slowly. Seeing fruit plates being thrown from the pavilion and the Third Prince kneeling outside dodging with his head covered, one of them, a robust figure in brocade robes with a dark red complexion, called out in a booming voice: “Third Brother, you’re making Father Emperor angry again.”

As he spoke, he stepped forward and lifted the Third Prince up.

Though he was only five or six years older than the Third Prince and they were about the same height, he easily lifted the Third Prince up.

The Third Prince shouted angrily: “Let me go!”

The man laughed heartily and released his grip.

The Third Prince angrily flicked his sleeves: “How undignified! What kind of Crown Prince behaves like this!”

The eunuchs who had been about to step forward to pay respects now stood firmly in place once more, lowering their heads even further.

That man—the Crown Prince—wasn’t angry either, only saying disdainfully: “You don’t look like Father Emperor’s son either. Refined, refined—can refinement secure the realm?”

The Third Prince became even angrier and sneered coldly: “What does the realm have to do with me!”

As the two brothers’ words became increasingly outrageous, the Emperor inside the gauze curtain spoke up—not to interrupt them, but to call to another person: “Axun, come, come sit inside.”

Only then did two eunuchs move, hurrying forward to lift the gauze curtain, revealing the Emperor reclining within.

The Emperor resembled the Third Prince, both having delicate features, except he was already old, his cheeks gaunt, and besides being frail, he had an air of withering about him.

Xiao Xun, who had walked over with the Crown Prince and was now standing a few steps away, quickly lowered his head in salute: “I greet Your Majesty.”

His memories of the Emperor still stopped at childhood, when His Majesty had been a spirited middle-aged man.

“No need for such formality. There are no strict rules with me,” the Emperor said indifferently. “You’re so proper that these two look even more disgraceful by comparison.”

Not knowing how to respond to these words, Xiao Xun was momentarily at a loss.

The Crown Prince laughed heartily: “Father Emperor, scold us all you want, but don’t frighten Axun.” He then grabbed Xiao Xun’s arm. “Come, come, sit with me.”

Xiao Xun had the will but not the strength to refuse, and was dragged by the Crown Prince into the pavilion to sit beside the Emperor.

“Father Emperor, is Third Brother bothering you again?” the Crown Prince said. “I heard in the military camp that Third Brother wants to hold some reading gathering. Not only is he going mad himself, but he wants to drive all the scholars in the capital mad along with him.”

The Third Prince flew into a rage: “You’re the one who’s mad! This is reading, reading—the most supreme matter in the world.”

The Emperor ignored them and looked at Xiao Xun with a slight smile: “I heard from the Crown Prince that you’ve been in the capital for several days, but I’ve been unwell and haven’t seen you.”

Xiao Xun bowed and said: “I knew Your Majesty was unwell. I wished to visit but dared not disturb you. The Crown Prince led me to bow to you outside your palace.”

The Emperor made a sound of acknowledgment, his eyes carrying a hint of intoxication: “What was it you came to the capital for again?”

“Father Emperor, I already told you. He helped the Court of Judicial Review with a small matter, and coincidentally, bandits appeared in his territory, causing quite a disturbance. He escorted the prisoners to the capital and came to the court to receive punishment,” the Crown Prince answered first, then pointed at Xiao Xun. “You really are too cautious. What punishment is needed for this? Besides, you didn’t need to come to court to receive punishment. You could have just led your men to slaughter those bandits clean.”

Xiao Xun hurriedly said: “Crown Prince, I already ordered people to suppress the bandits. Before entering the capital, I received news that the bandits were slaughtered completely, and the bandit chief’s head was hung at the city gate for public display.”

The Crown Prince still shook his head, his expression regretful: “What’s the point of having others do the slaughtering? For something like this, you should go personally.” He swung his arm, bringing up a gust of wind. “Personally beheading the bandit chief—now that would be imposing!”

Xiao Xun quickly smiled and said: “Though I don’t fear bandits, I truly cannot go kill them myself.”

The Crown Prince squeezed Xiao Xun’s arm: “I remember you loved practicing martial arts when you were young. After all these years, how is there no muscle at all? You’ve let it go to waste. Don’t become like Third Brother—”

The Third Prince sneered coldly: “One skilled in warfare subdues the enemy without battle, takes their cities without siege, overthrows their state without prolonged conflict—”

Before he could finish, the Emperor, who had been half-drunk and distracted, suddenly rebuked sharply: “Silence!” He grabbed what was before him—having already thrown most things, he could only grab his shoe to throw at the Third Prince.

“After reading for a few days, you dare lecture the Crown Prince,” he cursed. “Should I let you sit in the Crown Prince’s position instead?”

The Third Prince dodged the thrown shoe and said angrily: “Father Emperor, that’s not what I meant. You’re twisting my words!”

The Crown Prince wasn’t angry either and laughed heartily: “Father Emperor, Third Brother truly isn’t lecturing me. He’s just putting on airs and being self-righteous. You needn’t be angry with him.”

The Emperor snorted coldly but didn’t grab another shoe to throw.

The Third Prince flicked his disheveled robes: “I sincerely planned this grand event and wanted to invite Father Emperor to share in the joy, but now I see—never mind, never mind.”

The Crown Prince smiled: “Third Brother, don’t be hasty. I’ll come support you.”

The Third Prince showed no appreciation: “Crown Prince, please don’t bring a bunch of warriors to disturb my literary gathering.” He then bowed his head in obeisance. “This son takes his leave.”

Without waiting for the Emperor’s permission, he stood up, flicked his sleeves, and left.