Chapter 13

Manager Zhu said, "Following Third Miss's instructions, I inquired as soon as I returned to Jiankang, and I found out immediately. That young master has quite a significant background; he is the current Emperor's biological nephew, named Yu Jingnian. His father, Yu Wentai, the Prince of Langya, is the current Emperor's younger brother from the same mother."

Shen Yuanyu immediately thought of Yu Jingnian's cold, pitch-black eyes that seemed to exist apart from the mortal world. "So, he truly is a legitimate member of the imperial lineage."

Shen Yun was shocked. "It's actually him?" He hadn't asked Manager Zhu to inform him earlier, so hearing this now brought a sense of astonishment. As the most outstanding descendant of the Shen clan, although Shen Yun had not yet entered officialdom, he was intimately familiar with the situation in the imperial court.

Shen Yuanyu asked, "Why, is he very famous?"

"He is indeed quite famous among the scholar-gentry." He picked up the emerald-green tea on the table and took a gentle, elegant sip. "Because he was the first person to step forward and publicly oppose the trend of 'celebrity culture' among the great aristocratic families. 'Pure conversation misleads the nation'—that was a phrase he coined."

Shen Yuanyu found it somewhat strange, feeling she must have misheard, as her father's tone seemed to carry a hint of admiration for this Yu Jingnian. One had to realize that her father, sitting before her with such graceful poise, was the quintessential representative of the contemporary literati. Yuanyu actually agreed with Yu Jingnian's criticism of their lifestyle.

What was the lifestyle of those romantic scholars back then? Applying makeup, using drugs, being addicted to alcohol, performance art, being unrestrained and wild... all sorts of things that Yuanyu herself found somewhat inconceivable, yet that was precisely what was most popular in upper society.

She could not change such an environment, so she could only strive to adapt to it.

She felt that she might actually have some common ground with Yu Jingnian.

Confused, Shen Yuanyu asked, "By shouting so publicly, hasn't he offended all the great noble houses!" Which of the prominent scholar-gentry families didn't have a few romantic scholars in their ranks?

Shen Yun smiled. "The Emperor protects him so much; what does it matter if he offends all the scholar-gentry! Yu Jingnian was brought into the palace by the Emperor at the age of six and has been studying with the princes in the Imperial Study ever since; his treatment is identical to that of a prince. To this day, besides the Crown Prince, the Emperor has only bestowed a princedom upon his most beloved Third Prince, the Prince of Donghai. When the Third Prince was being enfeoffed, the Emperor almost enfeoffed Yu Jingnian as well. The Emperor had even thought of a title; if it weren't for the intense opposition from the imperial clan and the ministers, and the fact that the Emperor still had several sons who had not yet been enfeoffed, Yu Jingnian would have been granted land and a princedom long ago!"

Shen Yuanyu couldn't help but feel surprised. How could a cold fellow like Yu Jingnian receive such immense favor from the Emperor, even bypassing the Emperor's own sons?

"Yu Jingnian currently holds a position in the Imperial Guard, responsible for the Emperor's personal security. No one knows what kind of future development he might have!" There were other things Shen Yun did not say. As for why Yu Jingnian could publicly utter such disparaging words about the scholar-gentry and still be so protected by the Emperor—who knew if this was the Emperor's way of devaluing the great clans to restore imperial power?

The Emperor was a man of great ambition and talent. In the twenty years since his ascension, he had gradually reclaimed some of the power occupied by the great clans. Having appointed his legitimate second son as Crown Prince, he placed no restrictions on his ambitious eldest son or his high-born, well-rooted third son, meaning the struggle for succession within the imperial family was beginning to show signs of movement.

Yu Jingnian's biological mother was a cousin to the Emperor's favored Consort Huan. Because of this connection, Yu Jingnian was a die-hard supporter of the Third Prince. Behind this lay an extremely secretive and complex struggle between the imperial family and the great clans, as well as within the imperial family itself.

After pondering for a moment, Shen Yun said to Yuanyu, "Don't concern yourself with this matter. I have my own arrangements!" He then turned to instruct Manager Zhu, "Go and prepare a gift of thanks. When the time comes, have the Second Young Master take you to deliver it together, as a small token of our sincerity." The Second Young Master was the legitimate son of the Fourth Master; although Lady Gu was his direct grandmother, she was more temperamentally aligned with the Eldest Master and was very close to him. Therefore, Shen Yun was unwilling to use the Eldest Young Master—the son of the Princess of Huyang—and instead chose the Second Young Master.

Manager Zhu respectfully replied, "Yes."

Shen Yun instructed him again, "Once you have written the gift list, bring it to me for review first." He appeared to take the matter quite seriously.

***

Returning to Jiankang with Qin Qiaochao's corpse, Yu Jingnian felt truly stifled. He had spent a great deal of effort and made meticulous deployments to catch the big fish that was Qin Qiaochao, only for it all to be ruined by a woman who appeared out of nowhere.

What angered him most was that he had saved this woman, yet she showed no gratitude. If she weren't the betrothed wife of that boy Xi Jie, why would he have saved her without regard for the consequences...

He had originally intended to go to the palace first to report to his Imperial Uncle, but who knew that his Imperial Uncle had taken the eunuchs and guards to the West Garden. Upon leaving the palace, he felt somewhat lost, unsure whether to seek out the Third Prince or Xi Jie. His personal servant, Yun Xi, reminded him, "Young Master, today is the fifth. It is time to return to the manor to visit the Sixth Miss."

Yu Jingnian couldn't help but slap his forehead. "I've been so busy these past few days that I completely forgot. It's a good thing you're sharp, kid. Come, let's go back!" At the mention of his sixth sister, the youth's ice-sculpted face instantly revealed a tender warmth. Combined with the sharp, chiseled lines of his features, it seemed as if he illuminated the surroundings in an instant.

Yun Xi, watching this, felt a slight ache in his heart. The Young Master looked brilliant and grand on the outside, but the bitterness in his heart... only he knew.

Yu Jingnian's father, Yu Wentai, was the Prince of Langya, appointed by the late Emperor, with a fief of seventeen thousand six hundred and fifty-one households. He should have gone to the State of Langya to establish his principality and administration, but less than a year after the late Emperor's passing, the current Emperor, using the excuse of missing his biological brother, issued an imperial decree recalling Yu Wentai to the capital and granted him a large mansion in Yongfeng Ward—this was the Prince of Langya's Manor.

From then on, for twenty years, Yu Wentai never returned to his fief, the State of Langya. Yu Jingnian had not married; even if he did, since his father was still alive, there was no reason for him to move out. However, since the age of twelve, he had lived alone in a mansion bestowed by the Emperor near the Yingxi Temple in the west of the city, rarely returning home.

Yu Jingnian arrived at the Prince of Langya's Manor on horseback with an aggressive air, accompanied by Yun Xi and five or six Imperial Guards. His demeanor looked less like someone returning home and more like someone coming to seize a household. Seeing this, Yun Xi wanted to advise him but didn't dare. It was unknown what was wrong with the father and son, Yu Wentai and Yu Jingnian; they seemed naturally incompatible, not like biological father and son, but like irreconcilable enemies. Every time the two met, it was like a collision of earth and sky, causing chaos throughout the entire manor!

Yu Jingnian swaggered through the main gate of the Prince of Langya's Manor, just in time to see his eldest brother, Yu Liang, heading out with several attendants. The two groups crossed paths. When Yu Liang saw his heroic and incomparably handsome younger brother, a flash of coldness darted through his eyes, but in an instant, he turned back to a smiling, pleasant expression to greet him.

"Anren is back. You are truly a rare guest in our manor!" Yu Jingnian's courtesy name was Anren. These two characters were personally bestowed by the Emperor on his fifteenth birthday.

Yu Liang stepped forward, smiling warmly as he patted his brother's shoulder, saying affectionately, "Just a few days ago, I obtained a jar of fine Pear Blossom White. Since you are back, come to my courtyard tonight so we brothers can enjoy it together; it is one of life's great pleasures. Stay in the manor for a few more days this time. Although the mansion bestowed by the Emperor is elegant, it cannot compare to home, where everything is provided. Otherwise, if you live outside, Father and Mother will worry about you constantly!"

His brother was showing him such goodwill, even acting somewhat subservient, but Yu Jingnian brushed his brother's hand away without hesitation, exuding a coldness and arrogance that kept others at a distance. "I don't like Pear Blossom White. Go find someone else to drink with!"

Such mercilessness felt to Yu Liang like a sharp slap to his face. He trembled with rage and almost shouted, "Yu Jingnian, don't push your luck! I am your legitimate elder brother! How can you treat me like this!" If it weren't for having matters to ask of him to speak on his behalf before the Emperor, how could he, as an elder brother, lower himself to please his younger brother like this?

Who would have thought he was someone who wouldn't yield to either soft or hard tactics! It was truly infuriating!

Yu Jingnian gave him a faint roll of his eyes and snorted, "Do you only just realize today what kind of person your brother is?" Unwilling to look at his brother's face any longer, he threw down, "I have no time to stay here and listen to your noise. I take my leave!"

Yu Liang was livid. "Yu Jingnian, you... you... one day, you will regret this!"

Yu Jingnian acted as if he hadn't heard a thing, his pace not faltering in the slightest. Yu Liang's hand gripped the sword at his waist, but in the end, he did not dare rush forward to teach Yu Jingnian a lesson. Ever since he could remember, he knew his father favored him, but even with his father as his backing, he had never gained the upper hand against Yu Jingnian.

He remembered very clearly that when he was fifteen, his father gave him three personal guards, each of whom was a master among masters. He thought this would be his chance to take revenge on Yu Jingnian. That time, he brought the three guards and surrounded Yu Jingnian in the garden, intending only to give him a beating to vent his anger. Instead, Yu Jingnian dismantled those three guards right before his eyes. The terrifying sensation of Yu Jingnian's cold, blood-dripping sword tip pointing at his Adam's apple was something he still remembered vividly, recurring in his nightmares to this day.

That time, Yu Jingnian lay in bed for three whole months and nearly didn't make it back. After that incident, Yu Liang never dared to provoke this brother again.

Yu Liang felt that Yu Jingnian was simply not human; he was a demon.

Yu Jingnian knew his brother hated him, and he hated his brother too. His father, the Prince of Langya, could not return to his fief to rule, so he had submitted a memorial requesting the Emperor to appoint his eldest son, Yu Liang, as the Internal Administrator of Langya to help manage the affairs within the state. His brother was the legitimate eldest son, and the title of Prince of Langya should naturally be inherited by him in the future; Yu Jingnian did not care for such a title.

But the Emperor, for some unknown reason, ignored his biological brother's request. Without even a word of notice, he appointed the position of Internal Administrator of Langya to Yu Liang. Furthermore, he did not allow him to leave the capital, only allowing a deputy administrator to handle the affairs of the State of Langya.

He had thought that if his brother had simply come to him and said honorably: "I want to be the Internal Administrator of Langya," even with all their past grievances, he would have pleaded with the Emperor to let him take the position.

Instead, Yu Liang had used underhanded tactics and sabotage behind his back, using his most cherished and beloved sixth sister, Yu Zhiyao, to blackmail him. Therefore, even when his father, Yu Wentai, personally came to plead with him later, he refused to return the position of Internal Administrator of Langya to Yu Liang.