Seeing Prince Su's actions, the Fourth Prince also stood up and walked to his side. He glanced at the scene outside the window and said softly, "Imperial Uncle, you may not know since you just returned to the capital, but the Second Prince has been infatuated with the young master of Xinyuan Marquis Mansion for quite some time now."

Prince Su made an "hmm" sound, his expression unchanged. The Fourth Prince chuckled lightly and continued, "The young master of the Xie family is indeed quite good-looking. Even someone like me who doesn't fancy men finds him pleasing to the eye. My second brother has always loved beauties the most in his life, so it's no wonder he became enchanted at first sight, right?"

The Fourth Prince was a tactful person, always wearing a gentle smile on his face. He introduced the entanglement between the Second Prince and Xie Ming to Prince Su in an unhurried manner. Even though Prince Su barely responded, the Fourth Prince showed no awkwardness at being ignored and carried the conversation with ease all by himself.

In fact, he understood that Prince Su was not intentionally giving him the cold shoulder. It was just his uncle's personality - cold, tough, dull, and completely lacking in social graces, with a bad temper to boot. Let alone now facing a junior like him, even in front of his imperial father, the current Emperor Wen Xiao, he was still like a stubborn rock that wouldn't make a sound even if hit with ten sticks.

However, although Prince Su had a bad temperament, among all the princes, he was the one Emperor Wen Xiao trusted and valued the most. Prince Su was the late-born son of the previous emperor, more than a dozen years younger than Emperor Wen Xiao. They shared the same mother, both born of the previous empress.

When Prince Su was born, Emperor Wen Xiao's position as crown prince was already extremely stable. Naturally, he was very close to and trusted this half-brother who was only a few years younger than his eldest son. Prince Su controlled more than half of the Wen Dynasty's military power and had been stationed at the border for eight years, only recently returning to the capital alone.

Because this imperial uncle extremely disliked noisy banquets, for his return this time, Emperor Wen Xiao only held a simple welcome feast in the palace without inviting any ministers, with only the empress and the princes attending. Unfortunately, they couldn't even exchange a few words with this uncle at that welcome feast, because Prince Su's temperament was really too eccentric. Aside from heeding a few words from Emperor Wen Xiao, he couldn't even be bothered to spare a glance at his nephews.

But this did not deter the princes' determination to win him over.

It should be known that as early as half a year ago, Emperor Wen Xiao had ordered people to renovate the long-abandoned Prince Su Mansion with great fanfare. Coupled with the peaceful situation at the border, everyone knew that Prince Su's return to the capital this time meant he would likely stay in the capital for a considerable period. This prince was bound to become the most powerful figure in the capital besides the emperor himself.

Emperor Wen Xiao's health had been excellent in recent years, so he had been slow to show any intention of establishing a crown prince. Although the princes had been vying to prove themselves, there was no real sense of urgency.

It wasn't until last year when Emperor Wen Xiao suffered a serious illness and his health greatly declined that the matter of establishing a crown prince was put on the agenda.

The relationships among the princes gradually became delicate. Prince Su, who returned to the capital intending to stay long-term at this critical juncture, undoubtedly became the object the princes were eager to win over.

Who in the world didn't know how much Emperor Wen Xiao valued this imperial brother? If any of them gained Prince Su's favor, their chances of becoming the crown prince would increase by at least thirty percent.

For a prince with such a noble identity, stable position, and military power in his hands, not only the princes but almost all the powerful noble families in the capital wanted to establish ties with him.

However, they also knew this prince's temperament. If they tried to ingratiate themselves, there was an eighty percent chance they would embarrassingly be met with a closed door, so they didn't dare to act rashly. In the end, they could only send valuable gifts to Prince Su Mansion without daring to visit in person.

Even the Fourth Prince had used all sorts of methods to find out Prince Su's fondness for fine wine before inviting this imperial uncle over with the thousand-year-old wine from the Shanxiang Pavilion that he had bought with a hefty sum.

However, although Prince Su came, his attitude remained indifferent. The Fourth Prince knew that his uncle could not be won over with just a few cups of wine and was not discouraged. After all, compared to the other princes who couldn't even see Prince Su's face after their welcome feasts, he was already one step ahead.

After Prince Su listened to his brief introduction of the entanglement between the two people outside without saying a word, he saw the Second Prince daringly reaching for the young man in splendid attire again.

Suddenly, his expression changed and he said, "I'll go out and take a look." He then pushed open the door and walked out in a few strides.

The Fourth Prince was stunned for a moment before hurriedly following him to the corridor.

Just as the Second Prince once again reached out his lecherous hand with unrepentant intentions, He Yan had already made up his mind to give this Second Prince with his sticky and disgusting gaze a good lesson using his spiritual power, making him have a headache for at least ten to fifteen days so he wouldn't come and bother him for no reason.

Judging by Emperor Wen Xiao's disdain for this son, as long as no injuries could be found on his body, no matter how much the Second Prince clutched his head and cried out in pain, Emperor Wen Xiao would only think he was making a fuss.

After all, in front of so many eyes, he had only "lightly" kicked the Second Prince's knee. The man had stood up again, alive and kicking, after being in pain for a while. Maybe he had suddenly developed some kind of mental disorder and got a headache, which couldn't be blamed on him.

So He Yan released a few thin threads of spiritual power and randomly attacked the Second Prince's mental domain a couple of times. The human mental domains here were too fragile, with no signs of spiritual sea development. He couldn't be too heavy-handed, lest he directly damage the man's brain. The Second Prince's crimes didn't warrant that.

The Second Prince was secretly delighted, thinking he was about to touch his beloved beauty. Suddenly, he felt a wave of dizziness in his mind, and He Yan dodged again, avoiding his hand.

The Second Prince staggered a few steps, not yet recovered from the dizziness. Suddenly, he was kicked in the buttocks and sent flying to the ground, his face smashing hard against the wooden floorboards. His nose bridge felt a burst of intense pain as a gush of hot blood flowed from his nostrils, smearing his entire face.

The Second Prince cried out even more miserably than when He Yan had kicked his knee just now. Clutching his blood-covered face, he tremblingly climbed to his feet while shouting at the cowering guards nearby, "Who kicked me? Arrest him and throw him in the prison! Give him a hundred lashes first..."

He could tolerate being kicked by a beauty, and the beauty he was pursuing came from a prestigious family, so he had the capital to be proud. Being hit a couple of times was just considered flirting.

However, he only had this level of tolerance for beauties. After all, he was a prince of the Wen Dynasty. Although he was not favored, there was no reason for him to be kicked in the face and disfigured by someone! Apart from his imperial father, he had never been beaten so badly by anyone else under the heavens!

When the guards heard his roar, they timidly glanced at the person behind the Second Prince, then looked at the disheveled Second Prince. They all silently shrank their necks, each quieter than a chicken.

Although the Second Prince was a bit lecherous, as a prince, he still had basic intelligence. Seeing the guards' reaction, a bad premonition immediately surged in his heart. He hurriedly reached out to wipe the blood on his face, turned his head to look, and was so frightened that he fell to the ground again.

The Second Prince secretly swallowed and said in a trembling voice, "Fourth Brother... Royal... Royal Uncle..."

The Fourth Prince lightly coughed, his face showing some disapproval. "Second Brother, you should also pay attention to propriety. In public like this, what kind of scene are you making?"

The Second Prince hated his preaching manner. If it were usual times, he would have angrily retorted, but now, his black-faced royal uncle was still standing to the side, fiercely glaring at him with a pair of eyes.

The Second Prince was so frightened that he completely wilted, and no longer had the intention to argue with the Fourth Prince. His heart was filled with resentment and panic, not knowing how to face this royal uncle who had just kicked him in the face and made him bleed. His legs were trembling.

He had really forgotten that besides Emperor Wen Xiao, there was another person in the capital who had the qualifications to discipline him - Prince Su. His imperial father had always favored this brother. Now that he had been beaten by his royal uncle for harassing someone outside, he estimated that his imperial father would not only not stand up for him, but would also likely summon him and scold him again.

No one dared to come and help him up. The Second Prince could only support himself against the wall and stand up. Just as he was mentally rehearsing how to admit his mistake to Prince Su, he saw Prince Su lift his leg and walk towards him.

Instantly frightened, his legs softened again and he almost slipped and fell to the ground again... His royal uncle wasn't going to beat him again, was he?!

It was rumored in the capital that this royal uncle of his had a crude and vicious temperament, with a temper as hard as a rock, and would beat people at the slightest disagreement. It seemed that this was not wrong at all!

Who would have thought that the tall man didn't even glance at him and directly walked past him, stopping in front of the young master of the Xinyuan Marquis Mansion who had a cold face.

He Yan looked up at Prince Su who stopped in front of him, slightly frowning. Although this man was of the prince* rank, he was actually not very old.

*T/N: Prince of the Emperor's generation

But he was very tall and extremely sturdy, with muscular contours that even the complicated clothing could not hide. Broad shoulders, long legs, and actually quite handsome looks, but his face was too fierce, looking like he wanted to hit someone, making people instinctively want to avoid him.

However, in his impression, he had no interaction with Prince Su. What did it mean for him to suddenly stop in front of him now? Could it be that he also wanted to beat him up?

He Yan couldn't help but regret a little. If he had known earlier that it would attract the ill-fated star Prince Su, he would have endured and not kicked the Second Prince.

It was rumored in the capital that this prince had a terrible temper. Before he left the capital to go to the border, quite a few nobles had suffered at his hands. Moreover, Prince Su was different from the Second Prince. He could find an opportunity to torment the Second Prince a couple of times, relying on nothing more than Emperor Wen Xiao's dislike for this son, and his Xie family was in its prime, so he was certain that Emperor Wen Xiao would not blame him for the Second Prince being kicked.

But Prince Su was different. He was extremely favored, and his status in Emperor Wen Xiao's heart was who knows how many times higher than the Xinyuan Marquis Mansion's. Even if he had ten times the guts, he wouldn't dare to treat Prince Su the way he treated the Second Prince.

Could it be that he would just be dragged and beaten without fighting back?

This was simply a disaster out of nowhere...

Just as He Yan's heart was sounding the alarm, Prince Su suddenly moved his mouth and stiffly said to him, "I'll escort you back to the Xinyuan Marquis Mansion."

He Yan: ".................."

What?