Chapter 97

Chapter 97

Everyone was still reeling from the shock of the Crown Prince personally sending an "invitation" to an eighth-rank imperial physician.

The uncle who'd come to haul him in was so startled that he temporarily tucked away his intentions, forcing a tight, fake smile and saying, "Lian'er's important business comes first—we can discuss other matters later," before leading his men off, looking none too happy.

Dad and big bro figured this was some huge blessing—their baby boy had actually caught the Crown Prince's eye. This had to mean their ancestors' graves were smoking with good fortune!

Only Shen Lian felt like the iron token in his hand was burning with a heatless flame.

It carried the raging fury of that "son of a Chu State princess."

The "His Highness Prince Qi who didn't seem to have much going for him" from the farewell letter was now hitting back at his ex-wife's betrayal in a way that was pure Dian Xia—but this was just the opening move.

Even though it all looked calm on the surface, Shen Lian could feel exactly how pissed Xie Yuan was.

No wonder there'd been no wanted poster for the ex-wife who'd skipped town with the cash, despite all the chaos in Gusu.

On the way back, after double-checking, Shen Lian had confirmed that the three Xuanlin Guard commanders escorting him back to the capital were the exact same three who'd saved him from assassins' blades two months earlier.

In other words, Xie Yuan's people had been shadowing Shen Lian almost from the moment he set foot in Gusu.

The War God of Great Wei stood there like a helpless husband, silent, right beside the ex-wife who'd betrayed and humiliated him.

But that was Xie Yuan—the Xie Yuan Shen Lian had known from books as a kid, the Dian Xia he'd met and bonded with at Prince Xi's manor after transmigrating.

When things got real, Xie Yuan went eerily quiet instead.

Hiding his edge, biding his time with endless patience.

Waiting until he was at killing distance, then striking like thunder, like the Grim Reaper sweeping through—his prey felt the world flip in an instant, no time to scream before being utterly destroyed.

The Tatars of the northern deserts had tasted that despair, and a few months back, the eldest prince had weathered that same storm.

Now it was the venomous ex-wife's turn.

This was even worse than seeing the Young Male Concubine throw a tantrum.

Xie Yuan genuinely hated his ex-wife now.

The whole time, Shen Lian had shown the Young Male Concubine nothing but open admiration and worship—none of it fake.

It was exactly that sincerity that made the wary, cautious fourth prince drop all his defenses around an eighth-rank imperial physician, soaking in that pure affection and admiration.

And that doctor, at the exact moment the fourth prince was willingly drowning in love and lust, had stabbed him through the heart, humiliating and abandoning him in the cruelest way possible.

Xie Yuan had the passing army "happen to" capture Shen Lian.

Out of pride, he refused to let Shen Lian see how desperate he really was.

But he was dead set on making Shen Lian watch him take the throne as Crown Prince.

This move wasn't really Xie Yuan's style.

That man rarely showed off in front of his enemies—he usually just killed them and moved on.

He probably didn't know how to fight a war against his ex-wife; he had zero experience with that kind of thing.

His ex-wife posed no threat to his power or interests—it was pure psychological torture, and that kind of torture couldn't be ended with killing.

Maybe he wanted to humiliate his ex-wife the same way she'd humiliated him.

But in the arena of emotional warfare, the still-young dragon-pride was clumsy—even Shen Lian could tell right now that Xie Yuan was absolutely seething, nothing "casual" or "by the way" about it.

No wonder the 999 darkening value on the system screen had never dropped.

Becoming Crown Prince didn't heal the Young Male Concubine's broken heart.

Anyone else who'd pissed off the ultimate dragon-pride of this era to this degree would've scared themselves to death.

But Shen Lian just couldn't work up any anxiety—he only wanted the darkening dragon-pride, who'd finished the main quest early, to hurry up and turn back into the Young Male Concubine he used to know.

That evening, he went to Su Ziling's place first to pick up that chest of silver.

If his ex-husband came to recoup his losses, the ex-wife had only spent a few dozen taels in the three months she'd been on the run—maybe that'd lower the darkening value a little.

There was no helping it—a doctor who used to make eight hundred taels a month couldn't wrap his head around the fact that the six million taels the prince gave his fiancée was just pocket money, not a betrothal gift. Not a single coin was missing, and it wouldn't soften the blow of that farewell letter one bit.

The next three days were quiet. Old Master Shen finally stopped drafting his suicide note and threw himself into coaching his youngest son on the emotional intelligence stuff to watch out for when serving the Crown Prince.

Shen Lian thought: too late—he's already royally pissed off the Crown Prince.

The day of the enfeoffment ceremony dawned clear.

Used to the Jiangnan fog, seeing such crisp blue skies and white clouds this early felt almost weird.

Shen Lian and four other Directors and Deputy Directors stood in the side corridor east of the Hall of Supreme Harmony, close enough to just hear the ceremonial officers calling out orders on Danbi Square.

Two Deputy Directors were still talking about the mess that went down during the ancestral sacrifice ceremony.

The sacrificial ritual was way more elaborate than the enfeoffment ceremony, requiring standing stiff for hours.

On that sweltering midsummer day, an old official had started swaying, barely caught by the colleague next to him, almost unable to stay on his feet.

It was Zhao Canghai who'd stepped in just in time with acupuncture to revive him, keeping the old official from fainting and causing a scene.

Right then, the whip cracked three times, and the tremor underfoot traveled all the way up to his calves.

The murmurs in the corridor died instantly. Everyone tensed up, faces turning solemn.

The majestic chimes rang out.

The emperor took the throne via the rear entrance of the Hall of Supreme Harmony. The sea of black gauze caps in the square gradually ceased its movement as the assembled officials performed a single bow before the marble steps, then rose and took their positions in ranks.

Everyone bowed their heads low—except Shen Lian in the side corridor, who stared unblinkingly at the square.

In his youth, he had read about the enfeoffment ceremony in the original novel—Xie Yuan, clad in dark ceremonial robes with nine emblems, standing like a mountain, ascending the jade steps one by one, leading that era's glorious empire into a new chapter.

Now, witnessing it firsthand, the morning breeze across the square whipped the hem of the dark ceremonial robes, boots climbing the steps one by one—heaven, earth, mountains, and rivers all condensed into that figure Shen Lian had been longing for, so familiar yet so foreign.

The crown with nine tassels of beads hanging front and back obscured the Crown Prince's face. Sunlight poured down from the glazed tiles of the palace roof, and the gold-threaded patterns on the ceremonial robes glittered in the light.

From such a distance, Shen Lian could not make out the face of his former Young Male Concubine.

The figure standing before the officiating official was the Tengri Heavenly Blade that Shen Lian did not know.

"I, inheriting the mandate of Heaven, cherish only eternal plans."

We, by the mandate of Heaven, decree unto the Fourth Prince Yuan, descendant of the Grand Ancestor Emperor, endowed with natural brilliance and martial skill, adept in both civil and military affairs.

We, inheriting the ancestral legacy and ruling over all nations, mindful of securing the state's foundation to bring peace to the realm.

We bestow upon you the golden book and golden seal, establishing you as the Crown Prince, to assume your rightful place in the Eastern Palace.

...

The Crown Prince raised the golden book and seal high above his head, then set them upon the table. He turned abruptly, standing to the east of the red ceremonial steps, facing west, to receive the court officials' homage.

The ceremonial music struck up once more.

Even though they were not in the square, the physicians in the corridor also had to follow the full ritual of three kneelings and nine prostrations.

Amid cries of "Long live the Crown Prince," the Crown Prince inclined his head slightly toward the east, returning the salute with a small bow.

Behind the tassels of the nine-strand crown, his sharp, phoenix-shaped eyes were fixed on the group of physicians in the side corridor.

That one physician in particular.

Imperial Physician Shen obediently performed the bow and kowtow to the Fourth Prince, once dismissed as "incompetent," showing no sign of panic or regret at having been proven wrong, but rather a hint of smug, well-earned satisfaction.

As if he were delighted to see Xie Yuan claim the position of Crown Prince.

Even at this point, this Imperial Physician Shen remained composed, calmly pretending to be utterly devoted to Xie Yuan.

Perhaps Shen Lian wasn't just scheming to deceive him alone.

But rather, he'd put on this act of total devotion to any man he could latch onto, yet he'd never let anyone claim him exclusively, always stringing along everyone he could use.

The Xuanlin Guard's secret reports were still too vague, only stating that Shen Lian had frequently attended banquets in the past month or so, and every young master at these banquets who could make Shen Lian laugh had the opportunity to privately invite the famed physician for another meeting.

But for some reason, after at most two or three meetings, Shen Lian would cut them off, and then for three to five days, he'd lose his appetite and seem really down.

The Xuanlin Guard couldn't figure out Shen Lian's intentions.

Xie Yuan, though, could guess from their history that Shen Lian had likely gotten himself into some kind of trouble, needed a favor from someone, so he'd cast a wide net and hooked a few fish, but none were as useful as the old Dian Xia, so he naturally dropped them without a second thought.

After the ceremony, Shen Lian stood up and immediately eagerly looked again at his ex-husband, the man he'd been longing for.

But until the end of the ceremony, his ex never even glanced his way, leaving coldly surrounded by a crowd of ministers.

Was the young male concubine's revenge really this gentle?

Shen Lian felt a pang of loss.

He had thought that after the investiture ceremony, he would at least receive some sarcastic remarks or some gloating.

But in the end, nothing happened.

However, two days later, Shen Lian unexpectedly received a long-awaited letter from Prince Xi's mansion.

Song Jin was throwing a birthday party and asked if he wanted to come.

"The Crown Prince is coming too.

I don't know what's going on, even Prince Xi can't figure it out.

I can only tell you that he's acting really strange, and I have a feeling it's got something to do with you. I also have no idea where you've been these past few months.

If something goes wrong, I can't guarantee your safety.

So think it over carefully before you decide. It's okay if you don't come."

Shen Lian didn't need to think twice; he immediately wrote back, accepting the invitation.

He went out and bought a delicate little wooden box, placed a bottle of his own kidney-strengthening pills in it as a birthday gift. Unlike the young male concubine, Song Jin genuinely needed these.

He showed up at Prince Xi's mansion half an hour early.

But most guests had arrived even earlier, and Song Jin was swamped, barely keeping up.

Just before the feast began, the announcement "The Crown Prince has arrived" came from outside the door, and everyone in the hall scrambled to their feet and rushed to the entrance.

Shen Lian, stuck behind the crowd, felt a wave of guilt hit him late. He didn't dare rush over, so he just sat at his seat, dazed.

When the crowd dispersed, the Crown Prince didn't sit down. Shen Lian asked a eunuch and learned he'd gone to a side hall with two military officers.

Once the feast got going, the mood was relaxed.

Prince Xi was hosting a birthday banquet for Song Jin, but the guests were there to schmooze and network.

Everyone had their own clique, and Shen Lian felt especially lonely. Luckily, Song Jin, once he was done playing host, came over to chat.

Probably to avoid being overheard, Song Jin invited Shen Lian for a stroll in the garden.

At first, it wasn't too direct. Song Jin kept talking about how he had been caring for the children that Prince Xi and his brother had brought back from the frontier these past few months.

"You're so thoughtful; my own dad was never this careful with me," Shen Lian said. "Does His Highness Prince Xi really like this kid?"

"He has no clue how to love a kid. All he does is buy, buy, buy. When the kid's upset, he just asks what they want to buy. Not everyone can be as good a dad as me," Song Jin laughed and joked. "That Tengri Heavenly Blade who saved the kid doesn't even ask about him. In these three months, Prince Xi and I have barely seen him, and now he's the Crown Prince."

"I'm surprised too," Shen Lian sighed. "It's only been a little over three months..."

Song Jin hinted: "Yeah, he's still so young, why the rush? Today, his face still looks pale. How long's it been since we've seen him smile and crack jokes like he used to? I still prefer the Fourth Prince from when he was under Prince Qi."

Shen Lian's heart ached, he lowered his head, smoothed his sleeve, and whispered, "Me too."

"Is that so?"

The second Xie Yuan's voice came from behind him, Shen Lian's whole back went numb, blood rushed to his head, and his cheeks burned.

He held his breath, his vision went blurry for a second, and he wasn't even sure if he was swaying.

"Oh, the Crown Prince is here," Song Jin said, stepping past Shen Lian and giving Xie Yuan a squinty smile to defuse the tension: "Our second-favorite Fourth Prince, if you'd just smile a little, maybe you'd turn back into our favorite kind of Fourth Prince."

Xie Yuan walked over to stand across from Song Jin, right next to Shen Lian, tilting his head to look down at the Imperial Physician. "What did you mean by 'me too'? Do you also prefer the Fourth Prince from when he was Prince Qi's?"

Shen Lian's heart was pounding completely out of control. He knew Xie Yuan's follow-up wasn't a joke—it was a provocation. Clearly, his farewell letter hadn't said he "also liked" the Fourth Prince when he was just Prince Qi's son.