It was night in the Rongguo Duke’s mansion.
The Rongguo Duke, Jiang Pengju, had just finished his activities with a fresh, tender young beauty gifted to him.
Being older, one round was quite taxing. He lay on the bed, utterly exhausted, reliving the brief pleasure of moments ago.
The young beauty lay weakly beside him, stroking his aged flesh and insincerely saying, “Your Grace, you are truly magnificent. I am dying.”
Hearing this, Jiang Pengju felt immensely pleased. What man didn't enjoy being praised as magnificent, even if he wasn't? It didn't stop him from deceiving himself.
He stretched comfortably and turned to lie on his side. Suddenly, his eyes caught sight of a black-clothed figure wearing a mask, standing by the bed like a ghost.
“Who?” Jiang Pengju jumped up, startled. The young beauty beside him was about to scream, but the masked man flicked a pebble, hitting her sleep acupoint.
The young beauty’s head lolled onto the bed.
“You, you, you… Who are you! What do you want!” Jiang Pengju trembled all over, shrinking back.
The masked man approached a few steps, the dagger in his hand glinting coldly. He looked at Jiang Pengju’s flabby, corrupt flesh and sneered with contempt, “I am from the Yesheng Gate.”
“Yesheng Gate?” Jiang Pengju trembled. Why Yesheng Gate again? Their business at the Tashajun grain store had been snatched, and their third brother had been rendered blind and mute, a cripple, by people from Yesheng Gate. They had investigated for a long time but couldn't figure out what Yesheng Gate was.
The masked man in black said coldly, “Yesheng Gate once vowed to protect Prince Yu. For anyone who attempts to assassinate Prince Yu, Yesheng Gate will retaliate. Afterward, the high and mighty Rongguo Duke seemed to completely disregard Yesheng Gate’s words, even sending people to assassinate him three more times. I must say, the people of the Rongguo Duke’s mansion are truly brave, not fearing Yesheng Gate’s retribution at all. Now is the time for Yesheng Gate to fulfill its promise. Master Jiang, do you want your ears, or your eyes?”
Jiang Pengju cowered. “I… I have put you in my eyes. The Rongguo Duke has always put Yesheng Gate in his eyes. We searched everywhere, and I… I did not assassinate Prince Yu.”
“Lying?” The masked man paused. “Those who lie will have their tongues cut out by Yesheng Gate.” The masked man gestured with his knife near Jiang Pengju’s face.
The masked man pressed Jiang Pengju’s mute acupoint, then with a gentle sweep of his knife, Jiang Pengju’s two ears fell to his side, blood pouring like rain.
Jiang Pengju’s face turned ashen. He covered the roots of his ears with both hands, contorted in pain, his mouth gaping wide but emitting no sound.
The masked man pressed the dagger to Jiang Pengju’s neck, his voice chilling as he spoke, “Tell the Crown Prince, if he continues to plot against Prince Yu again and again, Yesheng Gate’s next target will be him. His position as Crown Prince will not last. Remember, Yesheng Gate keeps its word!”
With that, the masked man patted Jiang Pengju’s face with the dagger, then picked up the two bloody ears that had fallen onto the bed, chuckling to himself, “These ears are quite large; they can be fed to stray dogs by the roadside.”
Saying this, he opened the door and vanished into the night with a whoosh.
Jiang Pengju urinated himself. He stumbled out the door, only to find the guards at the gate all fast asleep.
Yesheng Gate was truly formidable. The Rongguo Duke’s mansion was heavily guarded, yet this masked man had entered and incapacitated so many people without anyone noticing.
That night, the Rongguo Duke’s mansion was thrown into chaos.
Regarding the incident of his ears being cut off, Jiang Pengju ordered everyone in the mansion not to reveal a single word to the outside. Otherwise, everyone would know he had sent people to assassinate Prince Yu.
He took a few days of sick leave from the court and then secretly went to the Crown Prince’s mansion to meet with him.
“Outrageous!” The Crown Prince, enraged, smashed a pot of fine Biluochun tea onto the ground, splashing scalding liquid everywhere.
Jiang Pengju was not surprised by this. He said gravely, “Xian’er, let’s cease our overt actions for now. Secretly dispatch people to investigate Yesheng Gate. We must first eliminate this malignant tumor before considering our next move. Your uncle believes that Yesheng Gate consists of desperate, fearless outlaws who operate in the shadows, making them very difficult to deal with. We must not be careless. After all, even small ants, though insignificant, can gnaw at giant elephants from above and destroy ditches from below.”
The Crown Prince adjusted his emotions and slowly sat in the main seat of the study. A young eunuch immediately sent people to clean up the shattered porcelain shards and spilled tea, and then refilled the cups with new tea.
“Uncle speaks the truth,” Xia Rongxian nodded. “This Prince will dispatch people to investigate. I will definitely unearth Yesheng Gate bit by bit. This Prince truly refuses to believe that a mere small sect in the martial world can stand against the Prince of a nation! This Prince will surely destroy them, leaving no trace behind.” Xia Rongxian slammed his clenched fist onto the table beside him.
Suddenly, a eunuch outside the door announced, “Princess Xinyao requests an audience.”
As soon as the eunuch finished speaking, a radiant young girl walked in, holding up her skirt.
“Third Brother, yesterday on the street—” Xin Yao’s expression faltered. “Uncle? You are here too!”
Jiang Pengju smiled. “I came to discuss matters with Xian’er. You two siblings should have a good reunion, so I will take my leave.”
Xin Yao felt that her uncle had always been strict with them, so she did not try to keep him. Today, she absolutely had to tell her third brother about the handsome man she had met yesterday. She smiled and said, “Uncle, travel safely. Yao’er will visit you and Grandmother some other day.”
After Jiang Pengju’s figure disappeared outside the door, Xin Yao excitedly hooked her arm through the Crown Prince’s and said happily, “Third Brother, yesterday I met a man. He was so handsome, more handsome than anyone I have ever seen.”
“More handsome than me?” The Crown Prince pretended to glare at Xin Yao.
Xin Yao giggled, “My Third Brother is unmatched in talent and wisdom, so he doesn’t care about appearances. Naturally, he is not as handsome as that man.”
“Naughty girl,” the Crown Prince glared at her. This sister of his was a true beauty connoisseur. She disdained many sons of noble families simply because she found their appearances ordinary, saying she wanted to find a consort of exceptional beauty.
However, his sister was the foremost beauty in the capital, so it was understandable to seek a handsome man as a consort. “Have you found out which family that handsome man belongs to?”
Xin Yao pouted and sighed, “Those guards are so useless! I sent them to track him, but they actually lost him.”
The Crown Prince was taken aback. “You even sent people to track him?” With her looks, status, and position, if she showed the slightest favor to a man, wouldn’t they all fawn over her and try to please her? Was there a need to track him?
Xin Yao nodded, her expression dejected. “He wouldn’t even tell this Princess his name, nor would he even glance at me.”
“Outrageous!” The Crown Prince feigned anger. “Should this Prince have him captured and taught a lesson?”
“No,” Xin Yao smiled and shook her head. “This Princess just likes this kind of aloof and difficult-to-get person. That is where the thrill of conquest lies. This Princess refuses to believe there is any man in this world that Xia Xin Yao cannot conquer.”