In the twelfth year of Zhongyuan, it was late autumn. After the morning court session, the officials in their crimson and purple robes dispersed, leaving the palace filled with a brilliant gold, a beauty beyond words.

"Your Majesty, this old subject is truly terrified!" The Minister of Personnel, Zhou Qiming, knelt in Qingning Hall, old tears streaming down his face.

The Son of Heaven, who had just reached thirty, held a scroll in one hand. Upon hearing the cry, he looked over, his eyes deep and dark, exuding an air of calm leisure. Before he had even spoken, the Minister of Personnel's sobs subconsciously subsided. Then, he heard the Emperor say flatly, "Rise."

The Minister of Personnel dared not refuse and cautiously stood up, bowing with his eyes lowered, not daring to look directly at the imperial visage. The Emperor asked, "What is the matter?"

The Minister of Personnel bowed and choked out, "My worthless son has been unruly and offended His Highness, the Prince of Rui. This old subject dares not complain, but my son is young, he is truly... truly..."

"Truly what?" the Emperor pressed.

Suddenly, the Minister of Personnel's whole body stiffened. He felt the Emperor's gaze. This Majesty was not a good-tempered man; in his younger years, his hands were stained with countless blood. Now, perhaps as he grew older, his conduct had mellowed slightly, but he absolutely could not take advantage of the Emperor's current attitude and rely on his own past merits to push things too far!

The Minister of Personnel swiftly knelt down, lowering his head and eyes. "This old subject dares not deceive Your Majesty! My son does not know how he offended His Highness, the Prince of Rui. As a man of noble imperial blood, His Highness the Prince of Rui is naturally beyond reproach. This old subject takes the liberty today, trading on his old face, to beg for a favor from Your Majesty... An untaught son is the father's fault. It is all this old subject's responsibility. I am willing to apologize to His Highness the Prince of Rui and hope that he can let my son off the hook!"

"The Prince of Rui's troublemaking isn't a recent development." the Emperor set down the scroll and tapped the tea table. "Is such a trivial matter worth you coming to Us to plead?"

Eunuch Qingxi smiled placatingly from the side. "This old servant has also heard about this matter... His Little Highness broke the Minister's son's legs. No wonder Lord Zhou is so anxious and upset!"

"Broke his legs?" the Emperor looked at Eunuch Qingxi, who nodded lightly. "This old servant dares not deceive Your Majesty."

Breaking a leg was no small matter. If it healed well, it would be fine, but if not, it would mean the end of the minister's son's career as an official. The Minister of Personnel had two sons; one had died for the country, leaving only this younger one. No wonder he was in such a frantic state, rushing to seek an audience despite knowing full well that Qingning Hall was the Emperor's private residence, where subjects were not easily seen.

The Emperor waved his hand. "We know."

The Minister of Personnel hesitated, wanting to say more, but Eunuch Qingxi took a timely step to his side and, with a slight raise of his hand, said, "Lord Zhou, this way, please."

The Minister of Personnel immediately dared not speak further. He hastily performed a salutation and withdrew. Once outside the door, he looked at Eunuch Qingxi. "Eunuch, this..."

Eunuch Qingxi shook his head. "His Majesty has already said he knows, so he will certainly handle it. Your Lordship must not be relentless. What is the status of His Highness, the Prince of Rui? If you keep pressing, do you expect His Majesty to apologize to you?"

The Minister of Personnel was suddenly alarmed and waved his hands repeatedly. "I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare! This subject wouldn't dare! ...Thank you for your guidance, Eunuch!"

Eunuch Qingxi smiled. Just then, a young eunuch, Qingxi's apprentice Xiao Zhuo, walked out quickly from the hall. Xiao Zhuo bowed to Qingxi, "Master, His Majesty has issued a decree, inviting the Prince of Rui for an audience."

Upon hearing this, Eunuch Qingxi glanced at the Minister of Personnel. The minister clasped his hands in a salute towards him, a hint of satisfaction in his heart, and then departed. Eunuch Qingxi flicked the horsetail whisk in his hand and said to Xiao Zhuo, "Now that you know, hurry and invite His Little Highness!"

"Yes, yes, I'll go at once! Master, you should go in and attend to His Majesty!" Xiao Zhuo said and was about to hurry off, but Eunuch Qingxi stopped him. "Hold on!"

"Does Master have any other instructions?" Xiao Zhuo asked hastily.

Eunuch Qingxi slightly raised a hand and tapped Xiao Zhuo's arm with his whisk. "You have only just begun serving before Your Majesty, so do not mess this up, or even I won't be able to protect you! Listen well, the Emperor said 'invite'. Properly invite His Little Highness to the palace! ...First, make a detour and stop by the Qingxuan Bureau to let them know!"

The Qingxuan Bureau was where the imperial family's private guards were stationed, and they answered only to the imperial family's commands. Xiao Zhuo instantly understood Eunuch Qingxi's meaning and hurried away.

......

"General Wang, charge, charge, charge! Peck that damn Skyward Cannon to death!"

"Go, Skyward Cannon! Don't be a wimp!"

With a loud crow, the fighting cock, pitch black except for a bright yellow comb, was defeated. A large rooster clad in multicolored feathers excitedly flapped its wings, forcing General Wang into a corner of the ring, intending to seize an opening for a fatal blow. The once majestic General Wang was now in a sorry state, cowering and trembling against the fence, not daring to move.

Victory and defeat were decided. A crowd of rich young masters booed and laughed; the sounds of applause and curses filled the air. General Wang's owner was a youth in goose-yellow clothes, wearing a forehead band inlaid with mutton-fat jade. He was handsome enough, with refined features, but the look of disgust on his face ruined his appearance.

Someone teased, "Liu Er, your General Wang can't be called invincible anymore, hahaha!"

Liu Er stomped his foot and cursed angrily, "If my General Wang hadn't eaten something bad yesterday, do you think he would have lost today?!"

"Liu Er, that's not right! You have to accept your losses when you gamble—am I right, everyone?" As soon as these words were spoken, the crowd of dandies loudly agreed. Liu Er's face flushed red as he shouted, "No way! We'll have another match when my General Wang has recovered!"

"You said before that you'd wager General Wang. Now that you've lost, what will you use to fight me next time?" a youth in red said leisurely. The crowd looked over, remembered the situation, and doubled over with laughter. "That's right, Liu Er, you've already lost your General Wang to His Highness. What do you have left to bet? Are you going to go down and fight a round yourself? His Highness probably wouldn't mind!"

The crowd roared with laughter. The youth in red—the Prince of Rui—smiled at the words. His features were bold and ardent, like a blazing fire. A small red mole beneath his lip lifted slightly with his smile as he added, "That's not out of the question, is it?"

The crowd burst into laughter again. Seeing General Wang being captured and about to be taken away by the Prince of Rui's attendants, Liu Er was about to try and negotiate to keep the rooster. But at that moment, the crowd parted for a eunuch in green robes leading four guards dressed in black.

With lowered eyes, Eunuch Zhuo bowed to the Prince of Rui. "Your Highness, the Emperor has decreed that you are invited to the palace for an audience."

The Prince of Rui paused, finding this strange. Ever since he turned sixteen and left the palace to establish his own manor, his Imperial Elder Brother had rarely summoned him for a private meeting. Strictly speaking, if there was nothing important, they would only meet at clan banquets during holidays, or he would occasionally see his brother in their mother's palace.

He understood, though. After all, his brother was a busy man!

'How could an emperor not be busy! His brother's schedule was insane—waking before dawn and not sleeping until after the third watch. A textbook case of rising earlier than a rooster and sleeping later than a dog! He even wondered how his brother hadn't died from overwork yet... Hmm... it was probably because emperors ate a lot of nourishing supplements, and the imperial physicians were always on hand for a quick rescue, right?'

'But a private summons from his brother... always felt like bad news... Wait, this couldn't be about that scumbag Zhou Er, could it?! He had been wondering why there was no retaliation after he broke Zhou Er's legs. So that bastard had shamelessly gone to tattle to his father!'

Ji Weiqiu had a bad feeling and was about to make a vague excuse to slip away. But the moment the thought occurred to him, he saw the four Qingxuan Guards behind Eunuch Zhuo. He could only give a sound of assent and resignedly follow along. With the Qingxuan Guard present, there was no escaping. The situation now had two outcomes: one, he could walk into the palace to see his Imperial Elder Brother, or two, he could be hauled into the palace to see his Imperial Elder Brother... Oh, or maybe carried, or hoisted—the exact posture would depend on his degree of resistance.

Eunuch Zhuo had only been serving in Qingning Hall for a few months. Had it not been for a stroke of great fortune in gaining Eunuch Qingxi's favor, he likely would never have set foot in Qingning Hall in his life. He stole a glance at the prince from the corner of his eye. He had long heard of His Highness, the Prince of Rui, only hearing that he was an incorrigible dandy who frequented brothels, ran amok, and stopped at no evil... He never expected him to be such a dazzlingly handsome young man.

'Those who spread rumors that His Highness is a dandy have probably never seen him in person, have they? Otherwise, how could they say such things?'

Thinking of his master's reminder about the word 'invite,' he hadn't fully grasped its meaning before, but now he understood. When the Emperor summoned someone, the word used was always 'summon.' Even for the Grand Chancellor, Prime Minister Gu Yunhe, the word was 'summon.' Why was it necessary for the Qingxuan Guard to escort him? Did anyone dare to defy a summons from the Emperor? Yet his master had specifically told him to 'invite' him. So, had this prince really ignored the Emperor's summons in the past? Was that why he had to bring the Qingxuan Guard along, to prevent this young master from actually ignoring him and turning to leave?

Eunuch Xiao Zhuo did not dare to look any longer and became even more reverent. There were also rumors that the Prince of Rui was incorrigibly mischievous, and that the Emperor only showed him any regard for the Empress Dowager's sake, while in reality, he had long despised him. Looking at things now... those rumors were not just false, they were downright deadly!

Upon entering the palace, just as the palanquin reached the entrance of Qingning Hall, Eunuch Qingxi came forward to greet him. Raising a hand as if to offer support, he beamed and said, "His Little Highness, you've finally arrived! the Emperor has been waiting for you for quite some time!"

Ji Weiqiu casually took his hand and nimbly jumped down from the palanquin. He then hooked his arm through Eunuch Qingxi's and headed inside, asking animatedly, "You came to welcome me personally, Eunuch? Quick, give me a hint, what kind of mood is my Imperial Elder Brother in today? He didn't summon me just to give me a lecture, did he?"

Eunuch Qingxi replied without any hesitation, "His Little Highness has guessed correctly. You should try to go along with the Emperor today. This old servant has already quietly sent someone to Ci'an Palace..."

Ji Weiqiu heard this and thought aloud, "Whoa, I'm done for. My brother must be absolutely furious, to the point where Eunuch Qingxi has already sent for reinforcements from our mother's palace! If I'm not careful, I'm probably going to get a beating today!"

Listening from behind, Xiao Zhuo was terrified. 'Are those things one can even say?! And to say them so openly! Couldn't they have at least lowered their voices?! If those few sentences were to be investigated, it could cost his master his life!'

Eunuch Qingxi stopped before the hall doors and, with a slight raise of his hand, made an inviting gesture. Ji Weiqiu scoffed and walked inside with a pained expression.

Upon entering the hall, he saw a slender, tall figure standing by the window. Hearing the sound, the man turned. His glance was calm and leisurely, imbued with a quiet majesty that, combined with a face like that of an Immortal Guye, radiated a boundless chill.

Ji Weiqiu glanced over and inwardly marveled at his brother's elegant bearing and aura. 'Same as always,' he thought. 'He's handsome, no doubt, but there's an unbearable weight to his presence. A single glance makes you want to kneel, for fear that a second look might get your entire clan deleted.'

"Thankfully, he only saw him once in a while. He had no idea how those ministers put up with it; living under that kind of gaze every day must be exhausting! But making a living is hard, and you have to eat shit. It's been that way forever. No matter where you work, you just have to endure!"

Ji Weiqiu quickly lowered his head and saluted. "Greetings, Imperial Elder Brother."

"According to procedure, the next step was to be told to rise, be offered a seat, and be given tea. He'd take a few sips to catch his breath, and then the scolding would begin!... Maybe he should just skip the whole process and throw a fit now?"

Ji Weiqiu thought for a moment. 'Forget it. If I don't cause a scene, I might not get beaten. But if I do, I definitely will.'

'It was simple, really. He was a coward!'

Author's Note:

The story begins! Thank you to all the little angels for stopping by.

Here are the key points:

1. 1v1, HE. No blood relationship. Gong is a domineering Emperor, shou is a lazy, dandy Prince. Both parties are fully aware they are not blood-related. The older man is the gong, the story is from the shou's perspective. There is a twelve-year age gap. Currently, Ji Weiqiu (protagonist) is 18, and Ji Su (gong) is 30.

2. Updates are daily around midnight (24:00 CST). Sometimes it might be late (but it will be updated as long as there's no leave notice posted). If there is no update, I will post a leave notice.

3. Not much else to say, so how about adding this to your library first? If you think it's too short, this author has several million words of completed novels on my profile page. Just click my profile to see them, including genres like metaphysics, cultivation, farming... [stammering anxiously.jpg]