Ning Xuan rolled his eyes at Yihua, looking as though he could not be bothered wasting words upon him. After thinking briefly, he sighed. “Were I Prince Rong, I certainly wouldn’t help his eldest brother, nor would I side with the Crown Prince.”
“What would you do?” Yihua’s smile deepened, though only he knew how much of it genuinely reached his eyes.
Ning Xuan glanced at Yihua’s beaming, apparently eager expression and answered casually, “Isn’t it obvious? The current Crown Prince is neither the eldest son nor the legitimate heir. He is merely the son of a favored consort, which is why the entire court is arguing and staging this performance about establishing the eldest or the legitimate son as the rightful successor. But if that is the argument, why can’t the equally legitimate-born Fifth Prince, Prince Rong, succeed? Besides, the emperor originally appointed the Second Prince, proving that he does not care about age order. If those who support legitimate descent can support the Eldest Prince, Prince Yi, why couldn’t they instead become a source of strength for the Fifth Prince, Prince Rong?”
Ning Xuan’s orderly and convincing explanation made Yihua, who had originally intended to listen only casually, restrain his expression and focus. The gaze gathering upon Ning Xuan now contained less curiosity than caution and vigilance.
Ning Xuan, having opened the floodgates, noticed none of this. He continued speaking to his heart’s content, then shifted his tone. His dark phoenix eyes narrowed into cunning slits. “But openly declaring oneself is never wise. Were it me, I would first pretend to be deaf and mute, act foolish, and feign allegiance. Then I would secretly build another path behind everyone’s backs—that would be the best strategy—”
As though suddenly realizing what he was saying, Ning Xuan abruptly fell silent. His eyes turned wary and faintly panicked as he stared at Yihua, who sat nearby as though none of this concerned him. Ning Xuan was not merely discussing political affairs without authorization. As a lowly servant, speaking about his masters behind their backs alone was sufficient to have him killed an unknown number of times. If this caused a series of complications—or spread into a public scandal that affected Prince Rong—then the lives of Ning Xuan’s entire family might not be enough to repay the offense.
“Heh, heh. Pretend I said nothing, and you heard nothing. I’ll treat you to a meal later—anything you want!” Ning Xuan hurriedly muddled through, not forgetting to offer material temptation at this critical moment.
At that instant, the tightly closed study door suddenly opened. A servant approximately Ning Xuan’s age entered without glancing sideways, completely treating Ning Xuan as though he did not exist. He walked forward respectfully, stopped before the desk, knelt, and lowered his eyes. “Master, the bathwater is ready.”
Master? Where?!
Ning Xuan instantly stiffened. Before he could look around for the supposed “master,” a quiet response sounded above him—soft, yet clear enough for everyone in the room to hear. To Ning Xuan in particular, it was like an explosion that left him dizzy and petrified on the spot.
“Mm.” The emotionless response was enough for every servant in attendance to understand its meaning.
The servant bowed respectfully again and withdrew outside. The room returned to its deathly silence with only two people remaining. Ning Xuan’s legs immediately went weak, and he collapsed onto his knees with a thud. He stared as though the sky had fallen at the leisurely Yihua—the reigning emperor’s Fifth Prince, Prince Rong Feng Xuanyi.
“Y-you are Prince Rong?!” It emerged as little more than a trembling whisper.
Feng Xuanyi neither confirmed nor denied it. He merely played with the teacup in his hands as though he had not heard Ning Xuan at all, occasionally taking another sip. When he finally lifted his eyes and met Ning Xuan’s disbelieving gaze, his usual frivolous and worldly carelessness had disappeared. A smile still rested upon his lips—the smile Ning Xuan had become most familiar with over the past few days and disliked above all others. Yet now it appeared impossibly unfamiliar and aristocratic, profound and cold, elevated beyond reach. Ning Xuan could neither read nor comprehend him and could only wait anxiously to learn his fate.
“Although I would also like to pretend I heard nothing and that none of this happened, your words have truly interested me. I cannot help wanting to ask why and to hear more of your opinions.” Within only a few sentences, Feng Xuanyi had changed the way he referred to himself, and the command within his words permitted no refusal. “I wonder whether this prince possesses the good fortune to hear them.”
Ning Xuan lowered his head and inwardly cried disaster. If he had remained capable of moving freely beneath that intimidating gaze, he would not have hesitated to slap himself across the face for speaking thoughtlessly without understanding the situation. For so many days, he had swallowed his temper and behaved inconspicuously. When interacting with others, he avoided speaking whenever possible, even enduring a reputation for being withdrawn and difficult. Yet despite all his precautions, he had somehow poured out so many unrestrained words before the one person who should never have heard them!
Ning Xuan wore a mournful expression and desperately wanted to dig a hole and bury himself. But judging by his current circumstances, he might not need to expend the effort. Someone would probably prepare a hole and bury him personally.
“I—” Ning Xuan struggled for a long time but managed to squeeze out only that single stammering word.
The light clink of porcelain sounded above him, followed by an ambiguous chuckle. “What is this? You were speaking endlessly moments ago, your ideas flowing like a spring, yet now you have become mute?”
Ning Xuan remembered everything that had happened before. Only a short while earlier, he had delightedly mocked Yihua for turning mute, yet fortune had already reversed. Worse still, he had struck his own master upon the forehead without even thinking. Ning Xuan instantly felt as though the heavens had collapsed. Even if he possessed a clever tongue capable of making the dead speak and talking the living into their graves, it probably could not save him now. He silently cursed his blindness. Such an important figure had wandered beside him for so long without Ning Xuan realizing it, and Ning Xuan had ordered him around, shown him displeasure, and rolled his eyes at him. At last, he understood why Mo Qi constantly accused him of lacking sense and why even Qing Zhu, whom Ning Xuan considered thoughtless and impulsive, looked at him with such profound sympathy. Ning Xuan had never taken their remarks seriously. Now, who could possibly lack sense if not him?
Ning Xuan desperately reviewed every interaction between them, trying to estimate whether he retained even the slightest chance of survival. The more he remembered, the worse it became. Finally, he closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. Since there was no good outcome inside or outside, he might as well end it cleanly.
When Ning Xuan raised his eyes again, the fear within them had disappeared, replaced by firm determination. Feng Xuanyi’s gaze tightened, disturbed by ripples of emotion too complicated to name.
“The open struggle between the Eldest Prince and the Crown Prince is already obvious to everyone. If one or several others stepped forward now to join the contest and determine supremacy, it would not be impossible. But it would make the situation even more chaotic and the outcome even harder to predict. Regardless of who enters the struggle now, doing so would be unwise. When two tigers fight, one must be injured, and it is entirely possible that both will suffer. Therefore, watching from the sidelines and reaping the fisherman’s profit would be the finest strategy.” Resigned to his fate, Ning Xuan simply spoke everything at once and held nothing back.
“Furthermore, Your Highness is the Eldest Prince’s full younger brother. If you stepped forward now, opposing the Crown Prince would be natural, but you would simultaneously declare yourself the Eldest Prince’s enemy. Such bloodshed between full brothers would dishearten many court factions that might otherwise lean toward Your Highness, as well as those still wavering and watching. That would be no different from weakening your own power merely to sew another person’s wedding clothes.”
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