Suddenly, Yu Jin noticed that the old Chief Secretary’s tone had become much gentler when reporting affairs to him, making him quite uncomfortable. He couldn’t help but suspect the old man had eaten too much.
“Does the Chief Secretary have anything else?” Yu Jin asked, seeing that the old Chief Secretary showed no intention of leaving after finishing his report.
The old Chief Secretary looked at his prince with gratification: “Nothing else, this old servant will take his leave.”
Having witnessed other princes’ behavior, he thought that as long as their prince maintained his current conduct, there might be hope for the position of Crown Prince!
Yu Jin shook his head and returned to Yuhe Garden, mentioning the Chief Secretary’s unusual behavior to Jiang Si, which prompted her to laugh.
“The Chief Secretary must have been comforted by seeing Prince Xiang’s public humiliation. At least you wouldn’t do something like that,” Jiang Si remarked.
Yu Jin’s face darkened, and he said angrily, “Are that old man’s expectations of me so low?”
He had thought the Chief Secretary would follow him to the pinnacle of success, but instead, he seemed to underestimate him so much.
Thinking this way, Yu Jin felt more and more that his wife was indeed the best.
“Prince Xiang shouldn’t be able to amount to much after this blow,” Jiang Si said coldly, recalling Prince Xiang’s disgraceful behavior at the banquet.
Yu Jin cracked his knuckles, a cold smile playing on his lips. “Just this is too easy on him. Since he had the guts to provoke us, he should be prepared for a series of retaliatory strikes.”
Being demoted to a Jun Wang (Prince of a Commandery) was hardly a scratch. If they didn’t let Eighth Brother know what real pain was, he might think switching allegiances was that simple.
Miss Mingyue had been confined in that abandoned well for quite some time, feeling rather pitiful. It was time for her to meet her former fiancé.
As Yu Jin calculated these things, his heart grew cold and hard, with no intention of ceasing to beat a man when he was down.
“Tomorrow, they will probably go to visit Eighth Brother. I’ll bring Er Niu along then,” Yu Jin said.
Seeing Yu Jin’s confidence, Jiang Si asked with a smile, “How do you know they’ll go to Prince Xiang’s mansion? Perhaps they’ll avoid it, fearing the Emperor’s displeasure.”
Yu Jin shook his head. “That won’t happen. Prince Xiang disgraced himself at the Empress Dowager’s birthday banquet, incurring the Emperor’s wrath. The court officials and nobles will surely keep their distance at this time, but it’s different for them. When a brother falls into misfortune, the Fourth Brother, who loves to gain a reputation for virtue, will surely go to show his concern. Fifth Brother, finally having a companion, won’t miss the chance to watch the spectacle. If both Fourth and Fifth Brothers go, how could Prince Qin and Sixth Brother not go without appearing to lack brotherly affection?”
Jiang Si nodded as she listened.
Although Prince Xiang had greatly disgraced himself, the nature of his situation was entirely different from that of the deposed Crown Prince or Prince Jin. It was understandable for outsiders to keep their distance, but if his brothers showed no concern for Prince Xiang, it wouldn’t sit well with Emperor Jingming.
A father might despise his son for bringing shame, but he wouldn’t tolerate his other sons being cold and indifferent.
Undoubtedly, this was Emperor Jingming’s current state of mind.
Except for Prince Lu, all the princes were well aware of this.
“Prince Lu’s mansion is right across from ours. Tomorrow, as soon as he leaves, I’ll follow,” Yu Jin said.
The next day, just after finishing breakfast, while Yu Jin was waiting for news from his men watching Prince Lu’s movements, there was a knock at the gate of Prince Yan’s mansion.
Prince Lu had come to visit.
“Fifth Brother is inviting me to go see Eighth Brother together?” Yu Jin raised an eyebrow slightly, his feelings somewhat complicated.
Fifth Brother being so considerate made him feel a bit uneasy.
Prince Lu, suppressing his excitement, tried to persuade him: “I saw Fourth Brother had already gone, and it seems Big Brother went too. No need to ask, Sixth Brother will go…”
Yu Jin feigned surprise: “They’re all going?”
“Of course. Think about it, Seven, if we all go and only you don’t, how would Father Emperor think when he hears about it?” Prince Lu said.
Yu Jin furrowed his brow, seemingly considering Prince Lu’s words seriously.
Prince Lu patted Yu Jin’s shoulder: “Father Emperor will surely think Seven doesn’t care about brotherly affection, that’s why I came to invite you to go together.”
Thinking about witnessing Eighth Brother’s embarrassment, he had been so excited he couldn’t sleep all night, finally waiting for dawn to break.
But if he went alone, what if he couldn’t control himself and got into a fight with Eighth Brother?
Fourth Brother was hypocritical, Sixth Brother was cunning, and Big Brother was a pushover. If he made a mistake then, he’d be the only one in trouble.
Having just caught up to Eighth Brother, it would be frustrating to fall behind again.
After much thought, Prince Lu decided he needed to bring someone even more likely to cause trouble—and that person was undoubtedly Seventh Brother.
Meeting Prince Lu’s eager gaze, Yu Jin smiled and said, “In that case, I should thank Fifth Brother for pointing this out to me.”
Prince Lu grinned widely: “There’s no need for thanks between us brothers, it’s what I should do.”
Yu Jin still didn’t move, showing a somewhat troubled expression: “I originally hadn’t planned to go, worried that Eighth Brother might think we were going to laugh at him—”
Prince Lu started coughing.
He hadn’t realized Seventh Brother was so straightforward before. Why was he speaking such blunt truths?
Worried that Yu Jin might change his mind, Prince Lu racked his brains to continue persuading him.
Yu Jin neither nodded nor refused, just squinting his eyes and listening. Only when Prince Lu had talked himself hoarse did he finally relent: “If that’s the case, let’s go see Eighth Brother together.”
Prince Lu felt relieved: “Let’s go!”
As the two brothers walked out side by side, just as they left the courtyard, a black and yellow figure darted out.
Prince Lu was startled. Looking closely, he hesitantly called out, “Er Niu?”
Who else could it be but Er Niu, springing up in front of them?
Having put on winter weight, Er Niu looked even more robust. At first glance, he was almost the size of a small calf, no wonder Prince Lu didn’t recognize him immediately.
“Fifth Brother, don’t mind him, let’s go,” Yu Jin said.
Prince Lu nodded and tried to walk around Er Niu.
Er Niu quickly moved to block their path again.
“Seven, what does Er Niu want?” The size of the big dog made Prince Lu wary.
Yu Jin stroked his chin, guessing, “Perhaps he’s fond of Fifth Brother and doesn’t want to let you leave.”
Prince Lu was immediately shocked, stuttering, “N-no way, right?”
He didn’t have any particular relationship with Seven’s dog spirit.
In Prince Lu’s mind, a dog that could become a fourth-rank official in the imperial court must have become a spirit. Otherwise, how could he, a prince who kept falling in status, face it?
“Er Niu, don’t be impertinent,” Yu Jin scolded perfunctorily.
Er Niu obediently moved aside.
Prince Lu breathed a sigh of relief and hurried forward, but felt a tug on his leg. Looking down, he saw the big dog had caught his trouser leg in its mouth.
Prince Lu tensed up: “Seven—”
Yu Jin sighed helplessly: “It seems Er Niu doesn’t want Fifth Brother to leave.”
“Then, then what should we do?” Prince Lu’s face changed color.
Er Niu was so big, he might not be able to beat him. What if he lost and the big dog tore off his pants?
Eighth Brother had just streaked in public—thinking of Prince Xiang’s shameful state at the birthday banquet, Prince Lu broke out in a cold sweat.
Yu Jin smiled awkwardly: “This dog only listens to my wife now, he’s becoming less and less obedient to me. Fifth Brother, wait here, I’ll go teach him a lesson—”
“Woof!” The big dog seemed to understand his master’s threat and bared his teeth with a growl.
Prince Lu hurriedly said, “Don’t—”
Seven was so unreliable, if you don’t have the ability, don’t take on tasks beyond your capability!
“Fifth Brother?” Yu Jin prompted.
Prince Lu had a sudden inspiration and blurted out, “Why don’t we take Er Niu with us?”
As long as he could avoid the danger to his pants, anything would do.
“Woof—” Er Niu barked gently and released his grip.