The study was noisy. Xie Guanghong stood at the very front, and the other noble youths formed a circle with him as the leader, while Qi Yan stood alone in the center, his face frightfully ugly.

Xiao Shao pushed Xie Guanghong aside and squeezed in: "What is going on here?"

Xie Guanghong bowed and saluted, saying, "Your Highness picked a servant a couple of days ago. It should have been a joyful matter, but his hands are unclean."

Xiao Shao: "Unclean in what way?"

Xie Guanghong: "Just look at that box by his hand."

Xiao Shao looked over as told. It was a narrow ebony box containing a jade hairpin, entirely translucent and flawless, clearly of great value.

Xie Guanghong: "The Qi family's home has already been confiscated, where would he get such precious jade? If he didn't steal it from your mansion, how else could he have gotten it?"

Xiao Shao frowned: "Qi Yan?"

Qi Yan looked up and glanced at Xie Guanghong, then lifted his robes and knelt down straight, not saying a word and offering no explanation.

Having secret dealings with inner court officials was a severe crime. The Qi family was currently at the center of the storm; he wouldn't, and couldn't, give up Grand Tutor Song.

Unable to explain its origin, he had no choice but to admit to all the charges.

Xiao Shao's brow twitched.

Having been ill previously, Qi Yan had a fever that left his mind clouded and his movements sluggish; his whole person was as soft as a bag of water. And when facing Xiao Shao, he seemed to intentionally hold back and deliberately show weakness, so much so that Xiao Shao had forgotten that Qi Yan had once stood at such a high position and wielded such heavy power.

And that single glance he gave Xie Guanghong, for some unknown reason, reminded Xiao Shao of rotting skulls in the wild.

Xiao Shao scrutinized Qi Yan with great interest, wondering if that glance just now was an illusion, and whether the other party was pretending to be docile. At this moment, his vision suddenly blurred, and a fluorescent blue screen quietly emerged: "Important plot node, please pay attention, Host."

Xiao Shao raised his eyebrows.

Living a second life, his days were so comfortable and cozy that he almost forgot about the system: "Is this in your plot?"

Although he had memories of his past life, he had intercepted the Crown Prince's target, so those memories couldn't be fully counted on. When Qi Yan was following the Crown Prince, it seemed there hadn't been an incident like this.

System 55 flew a circle around him: "There is."

System 55 really liked Xiao Shao because he was absolutely the most worry-free host System 55 had ever guided.

Xiao Shao truly hated Qi Yan. Detaining him in his mansion and making him accompany him to class while sick were all within the scope of the plot. Even without System 55 reminding him, Xiao Shao had torn up Qi Yan's letter himself. Although it was inexplicably rewritten later, this minor deviation was negligible. After experiencing the previous three differently weird oddballs, Xiao Shao was unbelievably well-behaved, outrageously so.

System 55 burst into tears of joy.

Since there were no mistakes that needed correcting in the early stage, System 55 had stayed silent.

Xiao Shao let out an "oh", full of interest: "Then what should I do?"

System 55: "Admit that the hairpin indeed came from your mansion, solidify the fact of his theft, and then... Hey, Host, wait, I haven't finished speaking!"

Before the voice faded, Xiao Shao had already bypassed it and walked toward the center of the incident.

System 55 suddenly became nervous.

Amidst System 55's apprehensive expression, Xiao Shao picked up the hairpin, examined it, and smiled: "Not bad, this is something from my mansion."

Qi Yan closed his eyes slightly. His raven-feather-like eyelashes drooped down, hiding all emotions beneath his face, eventually turning into a look of 'as expected' understanding.

System 55 breathed a long sigh of relief.

Before it could completely relax, Xie Guanghong said, "Since that's the case, the truth has come to light, and the dust has settled. To openly steal in a Prince's Mansion..."

Before he could finish speaking, Xiao Shao smiled and said, "Wait, how is it open theft?"

He suddenly raised his hand, pulled out the wooden hairpin from Qi Yan's hair, undid his hair bun, then gathered the hair together with his hands, and slowly inserted that jade hairpin into it.

Under the dumbfounded gazes of the crowd, he lightly kicked Qi Yan's knee: "The hairpin this young master rewarded you with, why don't you wear it? Keeping it hidden in your sleeve away from people, will it grow flowers?"

From the moment he acted, Qi Yan froze in place. It wasn't until his hairpin was removed, his scattered hair gathered up again by Xiao Shao, and that jade hairpin neatly inserted, that he suddenly realized Xiao Shao was giving him a way out.

He lowered his eyes and replied, "The hairpin is precious, I was afraid of chipping or bumping it."

Xiao Shao: "Wear it. If it gets chipped or bumped, I'll replace it for you." He cast a disdainful glance at Qi Yan. "Following by my side, dressed so shabbily, what does that look like? Since when could my personal attendant not even wear a jade hairpin?"

"..."

His tone was critical, but he was actually protecting him.

Qi Yan silently let go of his tightly clenched sleeves, his kneeling posture relaxing slightly: "Your reprimand is correct."

System 55: "..."

It tried to squeeze in: "No, Host, listen to me finish my sentence. The second half isn't like this, we..."

Xiao Shao, however, had already drawn a final conclusion to the matter. He lazily glanced at Xie Guanghong, crossed his arms, and said, "The misunderstanding has been cleared up. What are you still surrounding this place for? Disperse."

System 55 broke out in a non-existent cold sweat: "Wait, Host, we..."

Xiao Shao then raised his head and swept a careless glance over it.

System 55: "!"

That glance was plain and ordinary, yet imposing without anger. The system shivered, suddenly feeling a surge of coldness.

Xiao Shao had been the Emperor for over a decade, holding the power of life and death, ruling the world. Whatever he wanted to do, since when was it up to some unknown spirit monster to control?

System 55: "..."

QAQ

It wanted to take back what it just said! Bad guy!

Mr. Xie, Mr. Lin, and Mr. Bai were still better! At least they wouldn't be fierce to it!

It missed the previous three hosts!

Now that the matter was resolved, the crowd scattered like birds and beasts. Xie Guanghong was slightly unwilling, but with Xiao Shao present, he ultimately didn't dare to say anything and left together with Yuan Yu.

Xiao Shao then opened the book, seeing that the ink on the pressed letter paper had dried. He read through it from beginning to end and couldn't help but develop a bit of appreciation for talent.

The policy essay had been perfected, making its logic smoother and its points more penetrating. It listed the obstacles and dilemmas of the reform one by one. The carefulness of the deliberation made Xiao Shao, who had personally witnessed his imperial brother's reform, have to admire it.

While he was flipping through the letter, Qi Yan remained kneeling properly in place, allowing Xiao Shao's gaze to fall upon him, examining him from head to toe. That gaze was highly aggressive, as if it wanted to see him clearly inside and out.

Xiao Shao was thinking.

He looked at Qi Yan and thought to himself: 'Grand Tutor Song did not misjudge him. This student of his indeed has the talent to save the world, help the people, and support the state. If I, Xiao Shao, ascend to the throne in my future life and have such a supporting minister to constantly guide me, it will definitely yield twice the result with half the effort.'

Trapping Qi Yan in the back room was like trapping a flying bird in a cage, it was a pity.

It was true that Xiao Shao hated the Lord of his past life. At that time, the two belonged to different factions, and Qi Yan's ruthless methods inevitably made people wary. Moreover, he was inextricably linked to Xie Guanghong's death. Xiao Shao and Xie Guanghong grew up together. When Xie Guanghong died, Xiao Shao might not have had very deep feelings for him, but he was still displeased. But now...

Xiao Shao thought to himself: 'If I were Qi Yan, I would also want to ruin Xie Guanghong.'

To be kicked while down at his lowest point, falsely accused of theft, and have his most cherished teacher insulted, didn't the man deserve to die?

In his past life, Xiao Shao was an outsider, content to be a carefree, idle prince. He didn't plan to seize the throne, so he didn't pay attention to the rights and wrongs of the Capital City. But given Xie Guanghong's straightforward and vindictive personality, Qi Yan must have suffered quite a bit of torment at his hands.

Xiao Shao propped up his chin, thinking: 'The older Qi Yan was certainly detestable, but this current young one doesn't look that annoying. If I pick him up and raise him for fun, and later squeeze him to review memorials for me, it seems pretty good?'

In his past life, Xiao Shao died of overwork. The affairs of the entire empire pressed down on his head, from the Tatar border skirmishes to the Jiangnan floods. He was so busy that his feet barely touched the ground, waking up earlier than chickens and sleeping later than dogs every day. Yet, unfortunately, this dynasty lacked a trustworthy, capable minister to govern the world, not even leaving him someone to share the burden.

...What if he let Qi Yan review them? It seemed feasible?

Eunuchs had no maternal family to rely on and naturally depended on imperial power. Moreover, with Qi Yan's clear and bright character, he wouldn't do anything that would corrupt the government and harm the people.

As long as he raised Qi Yan a little better.

Xiao Shao felt it was workable. Thus, when Qi Yan became increasingly tense, he lifted his hem and stopped making things difficult: "Get up. Everyone's gone clean, what are you still kneeling here for? Come home with me."

He strolled leisurely in front, walking for quite a distance before turning his head, only to find that Qi Yan hadn't followed.

Xiao Shao raised an eyebrow, thinking to himself: 'Could it be that Qi Yan got a bit of good treatment and started to go against me?' So he paced back, running into Qi Yan exactly at the door of the study.

For some reason, Qi Yan's face was three shades paler than before. He bit his lower lip hard, biting out a deep tooth mark. The flesh and skin there were tender; once the teeth ground against it, it became a bloody mess.

Xiao Shao felt faintly displeased.

He had just decided to raise him well, and now something had gone wrong.

He clicked his tongue and took two steps forward. The words of blame had just reached his lips when his gaze was attracted by Qi Yan's knee.

.A patch of the azure-blue fabric was wet, with scarlet seeping through from the inside, staining a blood patch the size of a bowl.

Just now, he had knelt straight down, landing right on a stone. The sharp edges of the broken stone pierced his skin and embedded into his knee. The blood flowing from the wound soaked his pants, but with Xiao Shao and Xie Guanghong present, he hadn't dared to move.

He was already being universally condemned. If he lost his manners in front of the Prince again, it wouldn't be as simple as twenty strikes of the cane.

With an injury on his leg, he naturally couldn't walk fast. Even though Qi Yan held his breath and tried, he was still far behind Xiao Shao. Seeing Xiao Shao return, he gritted his teeth and forcedly lifted his injured leg, about to step over the threshold.

Xiao Shao frowned: "Stand still."

Winter outer pants were two layers thick, plus the inner pants beneath. For the outside to be stained with blood like this, the inside must have long been an unbearable sight.

He stepped forward two paces, pressed Qi Yan down, and made him sit on the threshold. Then, grasping his ankle, he was about to roll up the pant leg.

Qi Yan paused at first, but when his ankle was grasped, he began to struggle violently. He trembled unsteadily, as if Xiao Shao's fingertips were burning red-hot coals, scorching his flesh.

Xiao Shao: "Be quiet, I'm checking the injury."

Since he had chosen and brought Qi Yan back, Qi Yan had never done anything so disobedient. But now he was thrashing about so fiercely, like a fish out of water, that Xiao Shao couldn't even hold him down.

"No..." Qi Yan shivered, his lips turning white. The wound on his lower lip was bitten even deeper by him. He pressed one hand against Xiao Shao's shoulder but, mindful of his status, didn't dare exert force. He only weakly propped himself up in resistance, looking exceptionally pitiful.

Xiao Shao easily suppressed his resistance, feeling somewhat surprised: "You're afraid of this?"

When he first brought Qi Yan back, Qi Yan didn't say anything and didn't look at anything, acting like his heart was dead ashes. Whatever Xiao Shao did, he just plainly complied. Teasing him was completely boring.

Xiao Shao had trained horses and played with eagles; he liked pets that resisted fiercely. At the very least, it should be like teasing a cat—showing claws or pulling hair, giving him some reaction. But Qi Yan was like a dignified puppet. Pretty, yes, but uninteresting, lacking a bit of vitality.

Only now, in his struggling state, did he seem alive.

Xiao Shao was pushed hard by him but wasn't angry at all. Instead, he smiled and said, "Afraid I'll touch you? I just want to look at your injury. What are you tabooing about?"

He then saw Qi Yan pulling at his pant leg, shivering as he covered his ankle.

His ankle was thin and slender. This area hadn't seen the sun all year round, so the skin was as white as beautiful jade. The lines dipping into the shoes and socks were smooth and pretty, truly suited to be caught and played with in one's hand.

Xiao Shao's gaze swept around, brushing past the "Model Teacher of Myriad Generations" tribute altar above, and then saw a pair of couplets hanging in the seat of honor. The first line read, "Excellence in study, diligence in study, study brings deep fragrance," and the second line read, "Revere heaven, revere earth, revere writings." Xiao Shao paused, an absurd thought rising in him: "Do you think this is a place for studying, so you shouldn't expose your body?"

Xiao Shao knew that scholars had some bizarre etiquettes, like having to burn incense and bathe before reading the sages' books, or not baring their chests and breasts in the study. But being hurt like this, what was the point of holding on to these taboos?

Xiao Shao: "This is my family's study. When I was young, I roasted ducks from the Imperial Garden here and even plucked their feathers. If you look now, you might still find duck feathers under the bookshelves. What is there to be taboo about?"

Saying so, he went to pull Qi Yan's ankle.

The moment his fingers touched it, Qi Yan shuddered again, then suddenly lost all strength. He sat on the ground as if dead, his eyes tightly closed.

Xiao Shao found it even stranger. He had touched Qi Yan just earlier, and Qi Yan hadn't reacted like this.

But suddenly, he felt that the texture beneath his hand wasn't quite right.

The skin at the ankle was uneven, with peculiar protrusions. The strokes of the protrusions connected and turned, seeming to follow a certain pattern.

Xiao Shao paused and rubbed it slightly.

It was the character "贱" (lowly).

It was a "贱" character forcefully branded onto the ankle with a branding iron.

"..."

Xiao Shao released his hand.

He recognized this thing.

The methods of the Eastern Depot. Upon entering the Eastern Depot's prison, this would be used during interrogations. It was specifically branded on officials or scholars with scholarly honors, grinding a person's dignity and innocence into the dirt. Since Qi Yan had received a special imperial pardon and it couldn't be used on his face, it had landed on his ankle.

No wonder Qi Yan wouldn't let him touch it.

Speaking of which, in his past life, Governor Qi monopolized power but always wore boots that covered his calves, keeping his ankles tightly concealed. Who could have known that he actually had such a hidden scar on his body.

Xiao Shao unconsciously rubbed his fingers together.

No wonder Qi Yan had purged the Eastern Depot when he came to power in his past life. If he were Qi Yan, he would have been even more extreme and ruthless than him.

From the moment Xiao Shao traced that spot, Qi Yan remained quiet and motionless. He let Xiao Shao do as he pleased, seemingly having resigned himself to his fate, not resisting whatever Xiao Shao did.

Then, he was picked up into someone's arms.

Xiao Shao gathered his large cloak around him, wrapping him tightly, ankle and all. Then he weighed him in his arms and carried him out the door just like that.

He soothingly patted the bundle in his arms, his voice softening: "Stop tossing about. The palace is full of people and mixed eyes. We'll get an imperial physician for you when we get home."