Volume 1, Chapter 4: Su Qingxue.

Eastern Palace.

Ornate beams and painted rafters, resplendent in gold and jade, stood in stark contrast to the dark, decaying dungeon—a world apart.

Crown Prince Ye Tian had just returned from the Golden Pavilion Hall. He had changed out of his heavy court robes and now held a cup of exquisite early spring Longjing tea, savoring it with quiet pleasure.

In the end, his father the Emperor had accepted his advice: Ye Xuan, that illegitimate wretch, was stripped of his royal title and banished to Beiliang.

This news lifted Ye Tian’s spirits immensely.

Though he hadn’t managed to take Ye Xuan’s life outright, Beiliang was a desolate, bitterly cold wasteland, and with Ye Xuan’s frail, broken body, survival on that journey was far from guaranteed.

Even if he somehow made it there alive, it might as well be death.

A dispossessed prince, reduced to a mere commoner, in such a forsaken land—his fate would be far worse than that of a wild dog.

A cruel, satisfied smile curled on Ye Tian’s lips.

Just then, hurried, panicked footsteps echoed outside the hall.

“Brother, Crown Prince!”

A sharp female voice shattered the calm of the Eastern Palace, brimming with boundless grievance and furious wrath.

Ye Tian’s brow furrowed, a flash of displeasure crossing his face.

It was Ye Qingge.

His younger sister was admirable in many ways but lacked composure.

“What is the meaning of this commotion? Such disorder is unbecoming,” he said, setting down his tea cup with a hint of reproach.

Before he finished speaking, the Seventh Princess Ye Qingge burst in like a whirlwind, disheveled, her luxurious palace robes dust-covered, her face a picture of distress.

“Brother!”

Upon seeing Ye Tian, all the pent-up humiliation, shame, and anger exploded forth, tears streaming uncontrollably down her cheeks.

She collapsed before him, pressing her swollen, red-faced cheek—branded with a clear five-fingered handprint—close to his gaze.

“Look! Look at my face!”

“It was Ye Xuan! That bastard Ye Xuan hit me!”

Ye Tian’s usual impatience vanished as he took in the wounds on his sister’s face. His pupils contracted sharply.

The handprint was vivid and crimson, swollen and glaring—the force behind it unmistakable.

“What did you say?”

His voice abruptly turned cold, a chilling aura radiating from him, causing the palace maids and eunuchs standing nearby to shudder.

“It was that bastard Ye Xuan!” Ye Qingge sobbed hoarsely. “Right outside the Golden Pavilion Hall, in front of the entire Imperial Guard, he... he slapped me!”

“Impossible!”

Ye Tian snapped, disbelief his immediate response.

Ye Xuan?

That sickly wretch who wheezed through every word?

The powerless insect who had been thrown into the dungeon at a mere utterance from Ye Tian, unable to resist?

How could he possibly have the nerve—or the strength—to strike his own sister, the most favored Seventh Princess of the Great Qi Empire?

“It’s true! Brother, look at my face—how could I lie?” Ye Qingge pointed to her cheek, tears uncontrollable. “I don’t know what came over him. He suddenly broke free from the Guard, like a different person. I... I couldn’t even react in time...”

Ye Tian’s gaze locked on the injury, the initial doubt in his heart gradually replaced by a cold realization.

Qingge was telling the truth.

The wound was no fabrication.

That wretched Ye Xuan had truly struck the princess.

He slowly sank back into his chair, his fingers tapping unconsciously on the rosewood armrest with a soft “tap, tap, tap.”

Within the Eastern Palace, the silence was so profound one could hear a pin drop.

After a long moment, a sinister gleam flickered in Ye Tian’s eyes.

It seemed his eighth younger brother harbored more secrets than he had imagined.

Feigning illness? Enduring silently?

Whatever the truth, a wretch bold enough to openly slap a princess before the Golden Pavilion was no longer a mere weakling.

He was a venomous serpent—one that bit.

“Brother, you must kill him!” Ye Qingge, seeing Ye Tian’s silence, gripped his sleeve anxiously, her eyes bloodshot and full of hatred.

“I don’t care what secrets he has—I just want him dead! He dared strike me today; tomorrow he might do worse! Such a lowly bastard living another day is a disgrace to me!”

“If he lives, my heart will never find peace!”

Suddenly recalling something, she shivered slightly and leaned close to Ye Tian’s ear, her voice trembling with fear as she repeated Ye Xuan’s last words verbatim.

“He even said... he told you to clean your neck well, that he would soon come back to take it.”

“Bang!”

Ye Tian crushed the tea cup in his hand, shards scattering. Scalding tea mixed with blood dripped through his fingers, but he seemed oblivious.

A violent murderous aura surged from him like a rising tempest.

“Well, well, Ye Xuan!”

“My dear little brother!”

Ye Tian laughed bitterly, his voice steeped in deadly intent.

Originally, he had only planned to banish Ye Xuan, sending that annoying fly to his doom.

But now, he had changed his mind.

This long-hidden serpent had bared its fangs; it must be crushed utterly before it could grow stronger.

“Brother, you should send someone to the dungeon now to...”—Ye Qingge made a throat-slitting gesture.

“Foolish!” Ye Tian interrupted coldly. “Acting now would openly reveal to Father that I am the killer. Killing him at this moment would only arouse the Emperor’s suspicion and wrath.”

“Then what? Just let him go to Beiliang?” Ye Qingge protested fiercely.

A ruthless glint flashed in Ye Tian’s eyes as he sneered.

“The journey from the capital to Beiliang is over three thousand miles, rife with bandits and brigands. A banished commoner dying en route is hardly unusual.”

“If we make it look clean, no one will ever tie it back to us.”

Hearing this plan, the madness on Ye Qingge’s face ebbed slightly, replaced by a cruel satisfaction.

She nodded vigorously.

“Good! Let’s do it! Brother, you must act quickly—I don’t want him to live another day!”

“Rest assured.” Ye Tian patted her hand reassuringly, though the killing intent in his eyes only deepened. “He won’t live to reach Beiliang.”

With Ye Xuan dealt with, Ye Tian’s mood settled somewhat. Looking at his sister, he suddenly remembered something else.

“By the way, how is your handkerchief partner, Su Qingsue, these days?” he asked, his tone burning with unmistakable intensity.

“I sent you to persuade her to become my secondary consort. Has she shown any sign of relenting?”

At the mention of Su Qingsue, Ye Qingge’s expression darkened further. She curled her lip and replied irritably:

“Don’t mention her. That Su Qingsue is like a stone in a cesspit—stubborn and foul!”

“I’ve visited the Prime Minister’s mansion three times, and each time she’s refused me, claiming illness, shutting her doors tight! I’ve tried every approach, soft and hard, but she won’t budge!”

She couldn’t help but complain, “Besides, brother, you don’t understand. Su Qingsue is the Prime Minister’s legitimate daughter, celebrated as the most talented woman in the capital, with lofty ambitions! You only offer her the position of secondary consort—how could she possibly accept?”

“If you ask me, you should grant her the title of Crown Princess. Her father, Su Changqing, would surely pressure her to comply for the sake of the family.”

“Crown Princess?” Ye Tian snorted coldly. “You don’t understand. Su Changqing is the highest-ranking civil official; the court requires a balance between civil and military powers. My Crown Princess must come from a military family with command over troops, to strengthen my position and gain the army’s allegiance.”

“No matter how talented Su Qingsue is, what use is she to my great enterprise?”

Though he spoke thus, the image of Su Qingsue’s ethereal beauty, like a fairy beneath the moonlight, involuntarily surfaced in his mind.

The more unattainable she seemed, the more his desire burned.

He relished the feeling of conquest, especially conquering a proud woman like Su Qingsue.

“I truly favor her,” Ye Tian’s voice softened. “Qingge, go again for me. If she agrees, I guarantee that once she enters the Eastern Palace, her status will be second only to the Crown Princess, enjoying endless honor and splendor.”

“I won’t go!” Ye Qingge rejected him outright.

“I’ve already gone three times, each time turned away. What face do I have left? Besides, how can I face anyone now in this state?” She pointed to her swollen cheek, filled with both anger and grievance.

Ye Tian, instead of anger, smiled gently.

He took from his bosom a delicate white jade porcelain bottle and handed it over.

“This is the palace’s secret ‘Jade Complexion Balm.’ It dispels bruises and swelling with miraculous effect. In one night, it will restore you to your original appearance without a trace.”

He pressed the bottle into Ye Qingge’s hand, speaking warmly.

“Dear sister, consider this my last favor. Once this is done, whatever you desire, I will buy for you.”

Ye Qingge looked at the jade bottle, inhaling the faint medicinal fragrance. Her reluctance gradually faded.

In the end, she could not refuse her Crown Prince brother.

“Fine...” she pouted and agreed grudgingly. “Just this once! If she dares to snub me again, I’m done!”

With that, she clenched the jade balm tightly and stormed out of the Eastern Palace in a huff.

Watching his sister’s retreating figure, Ye Tian’s gentle smile slowly vanished, replaced once more by a cold, ruthless glare.

He picked up a handkerchief and deliberately wiped the wound on his hand caused by the shattered cup.

Ye Xuan.

Su Qingsue.

He smiled coldly.

Whether a defiant insect or a proud beauty, in the end, both would be his to command.