25: Chapter 25 Tang Liu's Heart Turns Cold

In the First Prince's mansion, the atmosphere was very heavy.

Inside the study, the First Prince sat upright in a red sandalwood armchair, fiddling with a warm jade pendant in his hand.

However, his gloomy face revealed that he was in an extremely foul mood at the moment.

"Your Highness, the scout has returned."

The aide hurried in, holding a secret report in both hands.

"Read it," the First Prince spat out coldly, not even lifting his head.

The aide unfolded the report, scanned it quickly, and his expression became somewhat strange.

"Your Highness, according to the detailed investigation over the past few days mentioned in this secret letter..."

"The scout visited Yiyuan Garden and found several witnesses who were present that day."

"According to them, when my cousin was visiting Yiyuan Garden that day, she did indeed meet a young man who was admiring the lotuses with a woman."

"However, these people were quite far away at the time and didn't see the man's face clearly."

"But they heard a poem the man composed on the spot, titled 'little pond'."

"My cousin greatly admired it and even took the initiative to invite him to tour Yiyuan Garden together."

"Then, presumably upon leaving, she gave him the Ministry of Rites' waist token and invited him to visit the mansion as a guest."

The Li family was a loyal faction of the First Prince, so this aide was naturally a member of the Li family named Li Shi, the cousin of Madam Li.

"Composed a poem?"

The First Prince's brow furrowed. "What poem? Read it out."

Li Shi cleared his throat and recited with cadence:

"The spring's mouth is silent, cherishing the slender flow; the tree's shade reflects on the water, loving the soft sunlight. The small lotus has just revealed its sharp tip, and already a dragonfly stands upon its head."

As his voice fell, the study became deathly silent.

Although the First Prince did not care for literature, being part of the imperial family, he still possessed some level of appreciation.

This poem was fresh and natural, brimming with spiritual charm; it was definitely a rare masterpiece.

"A fine poem."

The First Prince praised it subconsciously, then said:

"It is a fine poem indeed, but what does any of this have to do with the Heir of the Marquis of Zhenguo?"

"Calm your anger, Your Highness."

Li Shi quickly explained: "That is the strange part."

"The great scholar my cousin gave the waist token to seemed to vanish into thin air after leaving Yiyuan Garden, with no trace left."

"Instead, on the next day, the Heir of the Marquis of Zhenguo walked into the Ministers Mansion holding that very waist token."

"Furthermore..."

Li Shi hesitated for a moment before saying:

"According to a servant from the Ministers Mansion whom the scout managed to find alive..."

"Outside the reception hall of the Ministers Mansion, they overheard my cousin saying to the Heir: 'Sir, I am in awe of your talent'."

"'Sir'?"

The First Prince stood up abruptly:

"What do you mean? You're saying that the great scholar who could write such a masterpiece is actually the Heir of the Marquis of Zhenguo, Chen Shanzhi?"

"Has he been hiding his brilliance all this time?"

As soon as this thought surfaced, the First Prince immediately rejected it.

"Impossible, that is absolutely impossible!"

The First Prince paced back and forth, sneering:

"Chen Shanzhi has been a useless fool since childhood; I watched him grow up."

"If he truly had such talent, one could say he was biding his time as an adult."

"But in youth, which talented person isn't high-spirited and vigorous?"

"As for Chen Shanzhi, the way he acts like a fool in every word and deed—it would be very difficult for a truly talented person to deliberately fake that."

"Then what is Your Highness's meaning?" Li Shi asked tentatively.

"Looking at it now, there seems to be another possibility."

A flash of ruthlessness crossed the First Prince's eyes: "I'm afraid someone with ulterior motives learned of this news and used it to set a trap."

"First, they made the person who wrote the poem disappear, then they let the ignorant but lustful Chen Shanzhi take the waist token to see your cousin."

"In the end, it resulted in the current situation."

"I suspect this person's goal is to strike at my influence by taking down the Minister of Rites!"

Hearing this, Li Shi said worriedly: "Could this be a trap set for us by the Prime Minister and the Zhenguo Marquis Mansion working together?"

The First Prince shook his head: "That's certainly impossible. The Zhenguo Marquis Mansion and the Prime Ministers Mansion are like fire and water."

"They cannot join forces. The Zhenguo Marquis Mansion would not stand by and watch the Prime Ministers Mansion's influence continue to grow."

"This is likely just that lustful fool Chen Shanzhi being used by someone."

The First Prince sat back in his chair, his fingers lightly tapping the armrest in a rhythmic sound.

"On the day Li Zheng got into trouble, I happened to run into that old fox, the Prime Minister, at the Jiantian Division prison."

"Judging by his expression of surprise and delight, this matter shouldn't have been planned by him."

"After all, he has been busy lately with the Northwest rebels. He couldn't possibly have the energy to plan this."

At this point, the First Prince was also somewhat puzzled:

"But regardless of whether the one who becomes the Minister of Rites is the Prime Minister's man, the greatest beneficiary of this incident will be the Prime Ministers Mansion."

"If it wasn't the Prime Minister's doing, then why would the person behind the scenes do this?"

"Isn't this just doing all the work for someone else's benefit?"

Li Shi lowered his gaze in thought, then suddenly said: "Your Highness, no matter how great the Prime Ministers Mansion's influence is in the court, he is still just a servant."

"But if Your Highness's influence is damaged, your chances of winning the throne will decrease by a few more points."

"Furthermore, this matter could force Your Highness and the Prime Ministers Mansion into a life-and-death struggle over the position of Minister of Rites."

Hearing this, the First Prince understood. His face darkened instantly as he sneered:

"Good, good, good. What a brilliant move of driving a tiger to swallow a wolf."

"The person behind this has deep schemes."

"Does Sir have any solution?"

He looked at Li Shi with an inquiring gaze.

Seeing as he could think of this, he should have a plan.

Li Shi pondered with lowered eyes. After a long while, his eyes suddenly lit up, and he said: "Your Highness, I have a plan."

"What plan? Speak quickly!" the First Prince said with some urgency.

Li Shi cleared his throat and said: "This poem, 'little pond', is indeed a rare masterpiece."

"We only need to help promote it a bit in the capital."

"Then we can build this person up to be the number one scholar in the capital."

The First Prince was somewhat confused: "Why do that? They've already achieved their goal with the Li Zheng incident, so this person is probably no longer in this world."

"Why should we waste manpower and resources to promote someone who doesn't exist?"

Li Shi smiled slightly: "Your Highness is mistaken. Who says this person is no longer in this world?"

"This person is clearly the Heir of the Marquis of Zhenguo in disguise."

"How is that pos—"

Suddenly, the First Prince seemed to understand. His eyes narrowed:

"You mean, once this person's fame has surpassed everyone in the capital, we reveal that this person is the Heir of the Marquis of Zhenguo?"

Li Shi praised: "As expected of Your Highness, you guessed my thoughts at once."

"When everyone discovers that the person with the greatest talent in the capital is actually the Heir of the Marquis of Zhenguo..."

"Since the original person is gone anyway, as long as everyone believes it's the Heir, then it is him."

"And the Prime Minister is naturally a suspicious person."

"When he hears these rumors throughout the city, he will surely believe that Chen Shanzhi was biding his time before."

"Do you think he will tolerate the Zhenguo Marquis Mansion producing another successor with excellent Heart-Nature?"

Hearing this, the First Prince's eyes lit up. He slapped his thigh and praised:

"Brilliant, brilliant! This way, the Prime Ministers Mansion's attention will be entirely drawn to the Zhenguo Marquis Mansion."

"Then he won't have the energy to continue fighting us."

"Sir's strategy is excellent, truly excellent."

"Then we shall do as you say!"

...

Night fell upon the small courtyard in the east of the city.

Tang Xiaowu changed into a night-suit and quietly pushed open her door.

She looked back at Tang Liu's tightly closed door, a flash of guilt and helplessness appearing in her eyes.

Then she took a deep breath, and with a flash of her figure, she vanished into the night like a ghost.

Not long after she left, Tang Liu's door quietly opened.

Tang Liu stood at the doorway, watching Tang Xiaowu head towards the Zhenguo Marquis Mansion.

In those eyes that were once gentle, only endless indifference and disappointment remained.

"So the rumors were true after all. Xiaowu, you really do go to that Zhenguo Marquis Mansion every night!"

His fists clenched tightly, his nails digging deep into his flesh.

"Xiaowu, you have truly disappointed me."

Tang Liu thought he had already completely given up on this sister.

But seeing her go to a private meeting with that playboy in the middle of the night with his own eyes, his heart still felt a sharp pain as if cut by a knife.

He took a deep breath, still feeling that there might be something fishy about it.

So he thought about following her to see what the two were actually doing.

But he knew that with Tang Xiaowu's Xuanguan Peak strength, he would be discovered if he got even slightly close.

Chen Shanzhi hesitated for a moment and pulled a black stone pendant from his breast.

The pendant was strangely shaped, like a closed eye, emitting an eerie aura.

This was an heirloom left to him by his father.

It seemed like stone yet wasn't, and it was extremely hard.

As he grew older, this stone pendant became increasingly mysterious.

The top-tier Cultivation Technique he was currently practicing, the Black Tortoise Art, was obtained from within this stone pendant.

And when he stepped into the Xuanguan Seven Apertures, he activated a new function of the stone pendant.

By stimulating the stone pendant with essence blood, he would gain an hour of aura concealment.

Currently, he didn't know how high its concealment limit was, but within the Profound Gate Realm, no one should be able to detect his aura.

Tang Liu did not hesitate; he bit the tip of his tongue and spat a mouthful of essence blood onto the pendant.

Buzz—

The pendant instantly glowed with an eerie red light, like a greedy eye snapping open, devouring the essence blood completely.

Immediately after, the red light turned into a blood-red line and entered the space between Tang Liu's eyebrows.

Tang Liu's body trembled, a pained expression appearing on his face, but it was quickly replaced by coldness.

His aura vanished instantly, and even his pupils turned an eerie blood-red.

Tang Liu moved, like a shadow melting into the night, quietly following her.

Zhenguo Marquis Mansion, the Heir's private courtyard.

Chen Shanzhi was sitting cross-legged on the bed, eyes closed, resting his spirit.

Suddenly, a faint sound of breaking air came from outside the window.

"She's here."

Chen Shanzhi opened his eyes, a smile appearing at the corners of his mouth.

The next second, a graceful figure flipped through the window, landing soundlessly.

It was indeed Tang Xiaowu.

She removed her veil, revealing a cold and beautiful face, though her eyes held a hint of exhaustion and aloofness.

Chen Shanzhi looked at Tang Xiaowu and smiled: "You're late. I thought you weren't coming."

"Let's just start cultivating. I have to go back before dawn."

Tang Xiaowu didn't pick up Chen Shanzhi's topic. As she spoke, she walked to the bedside.

She skillfully removed her shoes and socks, revealing her dainty white feet. She climbed onto the bed, sat cross-legged, and closed her eyes in a business-like manner:

"Once your cultivation breaks through to the Xuanguan Seven Apertures, our deal will be over. After that... let's not see each other again."

Chen Shanzhi raised an eyebrow.

Is this girl still throwing a tantrum over Tang Liu?

But he understood; after all, being misunderstood by one's closest brother would make anyone feel bad.

"Fine, as you wish."

Chen Shanzhi didn't argue and took off his shoes to get on the bed.

However, this time, he didn't sit honestly by her side as before.

Instead, he moved directly behind Tang Xiaowu, wrapped his arms around her slender waist, and pulled her into his embrace.

"What are you doing?"

Tang Xiaowu cried out in surprise, her body trembling as she snapped her eyes open, trying to break free.

"Stay away from me! We agreed—only cultivation!"

"Don't move."

Chen Shanzhi tightened his arms, resting his chin lightly on her shoulder and whispering in her ear:

"Don't you want to finish the deal as soon as possible?"

"Then let me break through to the Xuanguan Seven Apertures sooner."

"If I'm not mistaken, the more physical contact I have with you, Xiaowu..."

"...the faster your Cultivation Technique helps me practice."

"So, only if we press closer together now can you get rid of me sooner."

"Isn't this exactly what you want?"

Tang Xiaowu was stunned. She bit her lip, a flush of shame and anger flashing across her face, but her struggle gradually weakened.

Yes, help him break through sooner so everything can end, and I can leave this place that makes my heart so chaotic.

And I can return to how things were with Big Brother Liu sooner.

"Fine, you said it yourself."

Tang Xiaowu took a deep breath, forcing her voice to sound cold:

"Then be quick about it. Don't waste time."

With that, she closed her eyes again and began circulating her Cultivation Technique.

Chen Shanzhi felt the beauty in his arms and her body gradually relaxing.

His nose caught the pleasant fragrance coming from her, and his heart felt a surge of satisfaction.

"Good."

He took a deep breath of her scent and also closed his eyes, beginning to frantically absorb the surrounding Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi with Tang Xiaowu's assistance.

As the Cultivation Technique circulated, their auras merged once more.

That intimate contact on a soulful level caused Tang Xiaowu's originally cold defenses to crumble bit by bit once again.

Her breathing gradually became rapid, her cheeks flushed, and she even unconsciously leaned back, pressing herself more tightly into Chen Shanzhi's embrace.

Meanwhile, outside the window.

On a dense tree.

A pair of blood-red eyes stared fixedly at the two overlapping figures inside the room.

Through the gap in the window, Tang Liu saw everything clearly.

The sister he cherished like a treasure was now sitting submissively in that playboy's embrace, letting him hold her, and even actively leaning back?

That expression, shy yet somewhat yielding, was something he had never seen before.

"Heh... Hehehe..."

Tang Liu let out bursts of cold laughter in his heart.

Is this the 'difficulty' you spoke of?

It turns out you've been enjoying it all along.

"Tang Xiaowu, you truly disgust me."

The last trace of warmth in Tang Liu's eyes dissipated completely.

He took a long look at that room, as if to carve this scene into his very bones to serve as motivation for future revenge.

Then, he turned and transformed into a streak of blood-red light, vanishing into the vast night.