Xuanqing Guard

Yang Shu, somewhat humiliated and angry, stayed silent, suppressing the fire in his heart and repeatedly reminding himself not to lose his temper since business was more important. But that took time, so he said nothing, just took deep breaths.

Shen Hao stood upright to the side, also quiet, as he sized up this Prince Ling.

The Emperor, Yang Jian, currently has seven sons, the youngest being this Prince Ling, Yang Shu. Among the seven princes, he’s also the most famous.

It’s not that Yang Shu is brilliant and thus famous—quite the opposite. He’s known for being "unreliable," and many old-school thinkers even consider Yang Shu the shame of the Royal Family. He’s also the prince impeached most often in the Temple Hall.

Rumor has it that Prince Ling, Yang Shu, is frivolous, eccentric, and utterly lacks royal dignity.

Because of these issues, Yang Shu was frequently disciplined by the Emperor in his younger years. Kneeling in the Ancestral Hall for reflection became routine, and getting beaten was common. There were times when the Emperor used heavy punishment—the beatings left his backside raw, and he stayed bedridden for a full two months before he could walk again. Anyone else would’ve learned their lesson, right? Not Yang Shu. He kept doing whatever he wanted.

Eventually, even the Advisors lost interest in him. Impeaching such an incorrigible troublemaker didn’t prove their own worth—if anything, it made them look powerless, as if they only knew how to pick on someone beyond saving. So, forget it; just ignore him.

After that, Prince Ling became even more outrageous. When the Flower House opened, he showed up as a celebrity to lend prestige; he mediated disputes between gambling dens; he even brazenly took a songstress into his Prince Mansion for the night...

If any other prince dared do just one such thing, they’d be verbally shredded by the Advisors. Only Yang Shu seemed invincible—no one cared. Even the Emperor seemed to forget he had a son like that.

Shen Hao had learned all this after offending the Song Family and asked around; none of it was a secret, people said as much in private without concern. And given Prince Ling’s disposition, he wouldn’t care about "idle gossip"—he was used to it long ago.

As far as Shen Hao was concerned, there’s a saying that fits Prince Ling perfectly: a dead pig doesn’t fear scalding water!

But then again, while Prince Ling’s reputation in the Temple Hall is terrible, he’s highly respected among city merchants. It’s said he’s got sharp business sense, not like other top nobles who take dividends but do nothing; Prince Ling likes to get involved, and always pushes commerce in good directions. He even has a secret reputation as the "God of Wealth."

Take Song Family in the Imperial City. This top wealthy household in the Jingjiu Dynasty only rose rapidly over a decade after forging close ties with Prince Ling. Their business covers the whole Dynasty—calling their profits "like channeling water" isn’t an exaggeration.

So, among all the princes, the richest is none other than Prince Ling.

Meanwhile, Shen Hao was turning over in his mind why Prince Ling came looking for him. The first meeting could’ve been a coincidence, but the second clearly implied he’d sought him out several times—it couldn’t just be to buy wine, could it? Or is he still after the Wuliangye recipe?

After quite a while, Yang Shu finally calmed down, gestured to the seat, and told Shen Hao to sit.

By then, nearly everyone had fled from the little shop. Except for the Shopkeeper and the server hiding behind the counter, only Shen Hao and Yang Shu remained. The place was very quiet.

"Lord Shen seems to have quite the guard up, huh." Yang Shu didn’t want the atmosphere too tense and suppressed his anger, replacing it with a smile, trying to ease the mood.

"Forgive me, Your Highness. Due to my duties, I often run into danger, so I’m always tense. I overreacted a bit earlier—please forgive me." Shen Hao said, bowing with cupped hands again. He wasn’t worried that the prince meant harm; after all, he’d been unaware before. One cannot blame the ignorant,

"True enough. I heard just days ago that Lord Shen was nearly assassinated on the main street in Fengri City. That must’ve been terrifying?"

"Indeed it was dangerous. The killer used Illusionary Kill techniques, very tricky to handle, but luckily Lord Pang sent experts to assist—otherwise, life or death wouldn’t be certain."

As Shen Hao spoke, he kept his eyes fixed on Prince Ling, but noticed no emotional fluctuation from him. It was like he was listening to someone else’s story, nodding two times, saying "oh, oh" and that was it.

Not one of Prince Ling’s people?

The previous assassin’s identity most likely originated with the Royal Family, and this Prince Ling had some entanglements with Shen Hao, showing up today proactively. Shen Hao naturally suspected him. Yet so far, it didn’t really seem that way?

"That truly is lucky. By the way, this Lord Pang you mention—is that Pang Ban?" Yang Shu didn’t care about Shen Hao’s danger but caught a key detail.

Shen Hao nodded, "Yes, that’s Commander Pang Ban, my lord."

"Pang Ban sent experts to protect you? That man earlier?" Yang Shu thought of that middle-aged man who had suddenly appeared before.

"Yes, that was him—thanks to Lord Pang’s favor."

Upon hearing this, Yang Shu’s expression instantly stiffened. He tugged at the corner of his mouth: "It seems Lord Shen is highly valued! Not only did Jiang Cheng take you as a disciple, Pang Ban gives you special attention too; the future’s boundless!"

"Your Highness overpraises me."

"It’s not flattery. I’m not one for tricks—I like to be straightforward, and I enjoy making friends, especially friends like Lord Shen with ability and potential.

Earlier, the Song Family’s meddling may have caused some misunderstanding between us. But Song Zhizhou has now been confined at home as a useless layabout, so that counts as punishment—hopefully Lord Shen can let bygones be bygones."

Having said that, Yang Shu picked up his wine cup again, poured Shen Hao’s bowl full, and signaled to drink together.

This cup represented reconciliation, whether Yang Shu meant it or not, Shen Hao had to give him that respect, so he lifted his bowl, clinked with the prince, and drank it in one gulp.

"Hahaha, Lord Shen has a fine tolerance! Wuliangye is great but strong—I typically only manage a half jin at most before I have to stop; when drunk, the headache’s awful."

"Heh, I’m just a rough man—good at drinking, but that’s all."

"Lord Shen isn’t rough, not at all. Your famous poems are classics—few scholars nowadays can match such talent. To call yourself ’able in both letters and arms’ isn’t exaggerated. Here, let’s drink another full cup!"

He filled Shen Hao’s bowl again, clinked, and drained it.

"I’ve been wanting to meet Lord Shen since the last time. Seeing you again now is fate. Will Lord Shen accept me as a friend?"

A prince inviting you to be "friends"—this isn’t a storybook, there aren’t so many good things falling from the sky. With his status, why would he befriend you? Shen Hao reckoned the friendship was a pretext—they actually wanted to bag him. Refer to the previous episode with Fifth Prince Yang Lin.

"Thank you for the honor, Your Highness, but Shen Hao is crude in character, eccentric in temperament, not good at making friends, and unsuitable as a companion. With Your Highness’s noble status, I fear I can’t aspire to it. Please don’t take offense."