Chapter 18: Grudge

Chapter 18 Old Grudges

Thinking of this, Chen Huaian felt a chill run up his spine, his voice trembling with barely suppressed sobs:

"Qingci, won't you reconsider..."

"No, there's no need to consider." Liu Qingci's face turned even paler, but his tone was firm. "You must leave now."

Of course he understood what Chen Huaian was saying.

But what use would it be to leave now?

It was merely a difference between dying sooner and dying later.

And it would needlessly drag so many others down.

Besides, he couldn't leave yet. He still had his mother and younger sister.

They were now in Xiao Jing's hands.

And Xiao Jing... needed him to stay at Prince Yu's residence.

"Little K, how is it? Has Liu Qingci met more old acquaintances?"

Xiao Yan was nonchalantly handling one sycophantic playboy after another at the banquet while asking the system for updates.

Surrounded by so many people, he couldn't see which corner Liu Qingci had slipped away to.

Little K's pixel screen scrolled through program code for a few seconds, as if analyzing something: "Host, currently monitoring shows Liu Qingci's emotions are fluctuating greatly, with a significant increase in fear and anxiety levels. It seems the host's method was correct!"

Driving Liu Qingci away, having him encounter other old acquaintances—his emotions fluctuated so much all at once!

Little K was surprised. It really shouldn't have doubted the host's approach! It directly marked this task as completed.

Xiao Yan didn't care about the task progress. He only noticed the "fear and anxiety" the system had mentioned.

He frowned and asked, "Who did he run into? What happened?"

Little K: "Liu Qingci met a former classmate. The two have been talking. Little K doesn't know the specifics~"

Xiao Yan refused another singing girl who was trying to flatter him, still preoccupied with Liu Qingci's situation. He continued asking Little K:

"Is he in any danger now?"

Little K answered truthfully: "No, he's perfectly safe."

Xiao Yan felt relieved for now.

On the other side.

Seeing Liu Qingci's firm stance, Chen Huaian stopped persuading him, but his tone grew even more somber:

"In that case, we won't force you."

He glanced at the crowd gathered around Prince Yu and warned, "Xu Ming is here today too."

Liu Qingci had already spotted him.

When Xu Ming first saw him earlier that day, he had pretended in front of Prince Yu as if he had never known him.

In truth, this man, along with Liu Qingci and Chen Huaian, had been classmates for several years—they even had quite a history together.

"You two have a history of bad blood. Xu Ming has long held a grudge against you, and now that you're in this situation... you must be very careful around him," Chen Huaian said earnestly.

At the mention of Xu Ming, Liu Qingci's eyes turned cold: "I understand."

"Sigh." Chen Huaian let out another long sigh. "With Prince Yu as his backing, Xu Ming will surely act without restraint. Who knows what kind of trouble he'll cause. But no matter how excessive he gets, Prince Yu will definitely protect him. Qingci, given your current circumstances, if Xu Ming really tries to do something to you, you should... tolerate it, to avoid Prince Yu's displeasure... Sigh!"

As Chen Huaian spoke, his heart grew heavier, and he could barely go on.

However, Liu Qingci asked a question that puzzled him: "What is the relationship between Xu Ming and Prince Yu?"

Chen Huaian was somewhat surprised: "You actually don't know?"

Liu Qingci had only assumed they were birds of a feather, sharing the same foul interests. He didn't know they had any other special connection.

Seeing that he didn't know, Chen Huaian began to explain:

"Xu Ming's father, General Xu Guangjin, is currently the most able deputy under General Zhao. And General Zhao is Prince Yu's maternal uncle. In terms of court factions, the Xu family is a staunch supporter of Prince Yu."

He paused, a worried look crossing his face: "As for Xu Ming himself, he's often at Prince Yu's mansion. He's often tasked with handling things Prince Yu doesn't want to do himself. Prince Yu trusts him a lot and sees him as a trusted insider."

Chen Huaian repeatedly stressed these last words, looking at Liu Qingci with a complex gaze: "So, Qingci, on Prince Yu's turf, if Xu Ming targets someone, it's tantamount to... Prince Yu's own intention."

Chen Huaian kept emphasizing this because he knew of Xu Ming's dirty tricks against Liu Qingci in the past.

Now that they'd run into each other here, Xu Ming had always regarded Liu Qingci as a thorn in his side. He'd never miss such a perfect chance to kick a man when he's down.

Liu Qingci curled his lips faintly—a smile with no warmth, only a bitter self-mockery:

"In the past, even when I was in a better position, I was powerless against Xu Ming's schemes. What can I do now? Don't worry, I won't fight a losing battle."

He watched Xu Ming fawning over Prince Yu not far away, clinking glasses and drinking together in cahoots.

At the center of the crowd.

Xu Ming held a wine cup, a face brimming with sycophantic cheer, as he leaned close to Xiao Yan's seat.

Behind him followed two newly acquired beauties, both "slim horses" (a term for trained courtesans) from Jiangnan.

Their skin was fair as snow, their eyes smoldering with allure. They had deliberately worn the season's most fashionable thin gauze garments, their movements carrying a subtle fragrance.

"Your Highness, how do you find these two? Do they catch your fancy?" Xu Ming lowered his voice with a knowing, lewd undertone between men. "They're well-versed in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, and especially adept at pleasing. I went through great trouble to find them—specially for you."

As he spoke, he gestured for the two women to pour wine.

One of them, bolder, with amorous eyes, her fair hand holding the flask as she tried to lean softly against Xiao Yan.

But Xiao Yan only lounged in his chair, casting a glance at the two women.

He raised his hand and nudged away the beauty who was about to brush against his sleeve, without seeming to exert any effort.

Little K promptly popped up: "Host, according to the character setting, you must accept them because Prince Yu never turns anyone away!"

Xiao Yan sighed inwardly.

"Go stand in the back." He spoke in a voice that showed neither pleasure nor anger, only his usual languor, even a touch of boredom, and said to Xu Ming, "How thoughtful of you."

Xu Ming saw Xiao Yan's indifferent demeanor and wondered whether His Highness was in a bad mood today or simply not taken with this beauty.

His eyes darted, and he immediately changed the subject.

"Your Highness, that Liu Qingci... is he still behaving himself?"

He paused deliberately, observing Xiao Yan's expression. Seeing no reaction, he assumed he understood the intent and continued flatteringly, "Speaking of which, back in the day, that kid was so aloof, his eyes practically on top of his head. Now, well... heh heh, now that he's fallen into Your Highness's hands, isn't he just putty in your hands?"

The more he spoke, the more he felt this topic would please Prince Yu, his enthusiasm growing: "Just now, I saw him slip off alone into that bamboo grove over there—looked quite lonely. Your Highness, what's the point of just leaving such a proud scholar out in the cold? Why not... summon him over to entertain Your Highness and the guests?"

Xu Ming spoke with animated glee, convinced this idea would both curry favor with Prince Yu and thoroughly humiliate Liu Qingci—a perfect way to kill two birds with one stone.

Just then, Xiao K reminded his host again: "Host, it's time to call Liu Qingci back to continue the plot."

Xiao Yan's gaze fell on Xu Ming's face, which was full of fawning and malice. He stared at him for a moment, long enough that Xu Ming's smile began to falter.

Only then did he slowly turn his head and speak to Fu'an behind him, his voice betraying neither joy nor anger: "Go find him and bring him back."

Fu'an bowed in acknowledgment: "Yes, Your Highness, this servant will go right away."

Seeing this, Xu Ming felt a sudden relief, followed by a surge of barely contained glee.

Liu Qingci was in for a rough time now!