My Years in the Jianghu with the Prince: A Time of Unethical Conduct

Chapter 180, Reminiscence 2.3 – The Prince

Chu Heng lowered his eyes, slightly curved his lips, and said neither humbly nor arrogantly, "I dare not, it was our fault."

"Humph! Don't you dare?"

Fu Zhijie scoffed lightly, his cold gaze sweeping over the two who couldn't even perform proper bowing, and he sneered repeatedly.

"I think you are quite bold. You know that His Highness is visiting, but you don't come out to greet me. I'm afraid you don't take me seriously at all?"

Before the two brothers could even defend themselves, Fu Zhijie curled his lips into a half-smile and said, "But since you've just admitted your mistake, you must now accept your punishment."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Fu Zhijie raised his hand and shouted towards the door, "Quickly! Arrest these two arrogant fools!"

The next moment, someone outside the door responded, and then several guards rushed in aggressively, heading towards the two brothers.

Only then did Chu Heng finally frown.

He turned to the side, using his body to shield Chu Ling.

With a solemn expression, he looked at Fu Zhijie and said in a deep voice, "Fifth Prince, why make such a fuss? If we have truly offended you, I am willing to apologize to you personally. I hope you will calm your anger."

But Fu Zhijie, upon hearing this, refused to give up. Instead, he slightly raised his chin at them and said mockingly, "Apologize?"

"Fine, then kneel down and apologize to me in public."

Chu Heng's eyes darkened, but he didn't hesitate for long before smiling indifferently and gently lifting the hem of his clothes.

Just as he was about to kneel down, Chu Ling grabbed him.

He frowned, his expression icy cold.

Seeing this, Fu Zhijie immediately let out a few sinister laughs, staring intently at Chu Ling, and said, "What? Judging from your appearance, are you perhaps planning to rebel against this prince?"

Chu Ling raised his eyes, a hint of fierceness hidden in them.

He pursed his lips and said in an icy tone, "Fifth Prince, please stop now."

“If I remember correctly, our Chu family has rendered great service to His Majesty and has never committed any wrongdoing. My brother and I are here to enter the palace because of His Majesty’s favor.”

"If word gets out that you're attacking us without even knowing the facts, it will likely attract a lot of gossip and severely damage His Highness's reputation."

Fu Zhijie seemed surprised that Chu Ling would say such a thing, and was taken aback at first.

Then she narrowed her eyes and looked at him leisurely, "What? Are you threatening me?"

Then he flicked his sleeves, his tone full of sarcasm, "Heh, no matter how many merits your Chu family has made, in the end, you are nothing more than a subject under my father."

"You think you can just live or die as you please? You really think you're something special?"

After saying that, Fu Zhijie raised his hand again.

"Stop them from here."

The guards immediately rushed forward upon hearing the sound.

Although the Chu brothers had been practicing martial arts since childhood, they were still young and naturally no match for these well-trained guards.

Therefore, they were easily suppressed.

Upon seeing this scene, Fu Zhijie immediately curled his lips into a smug smile.

As he slowly rolled up his sleeves, he walked toward the two brothers who were firmly subdued. "Today I will show you what it means to distinguish between superiors and inferiors."

After he finished speaking, he raised his hand high.

Just as he was about to deliver a powerful slap to Chu Ling, a series of hurried footsteps suddenly came from outside the hall.

In the blink of an eye, a young eunuch ran in from outside.

He was in a hurry, his face showing anxiety.

After rushing in, he looked around before hesitantly fixing his gaze on the disheveled Fu Zhijie.

"Oh dear, Your Highness! So you're here! What happened to you?!"

Fu Zhijie's raised hand froze in mid-air, and the smug expression on his face also froze.

He frowned, looking at the flustered eunuch, and recognized him as someone from his mother's palace.

He withdrew his hand and asked impatiently, "What happened?"

The young eunuch hurried forward, quickly tidying his appearance, and leaned close to Fu Zhijie's ear to whisper, "Her Majesty the Empress is currently in a rage in the palace! You should go back to the palace and try to persuade her!"

Fu Zhijie's expression immediately changed. "What happened again?! Didn't Mother say this morning that Father had promised to go to her palace tonight to dine with us, and that she was in a good mood?"

"Oh, that's why!"

The little eunuch stamped his foot. "Her Majesty the Empress had already instructed the servants to prepare the dishes, but His Majesty just changed his mind and sent word that he will stay in Wanning Palace tonight."

"Look, Her Majesty the Empress is furious! You'd better go back and see!"

Because Fu Zhijie was quite close to the Chu brothers at that moment, they could hear their conversation clearly.

You can also clearly see Fu Zhijie's originally smug face slowly turn ferocious, and his expression becomes extremely ugly.

"Wan Ning Palace".

He gritted his teeth and said fiercely, "It's that vile mother and son of Consort Chen again!"

He then muttered a few curses under his breath, and without paying any more attention to the two brothers, he hurriedly left with the eunuch.

With the leader gone, the guards immediately released their hold on the two brothers.

Everyone followed Fu Zhijie away, and in the blink of an eye, the place returned to peace.

The two brothers exchanged a glance before slowly letting out a sigh of relief.

At this moment, inside Wanning Palace—

Consort Chen was gently stirring a bowl of bird's nest in front of her.

She frowned slightly, glanced at the Xuande Emperor sitting beside her, and said with a hint of reproach in her voice, "Why has Your Majesty come to my humble abode?"

"Today is the fifteenth. According to custom, you should go to the Empress's palace."

"Otherwise, if the court officials find out about this, they might complain about the Emperor."

However, Emperor Xuande remained unconcerned upon hearing this.

He smiled and took Consort Chen's hand. "My dear consort, what are you saying? I can go wherever I want. Do I need anyone else to tell me what to do?"

"Anyone who dares to utter a word will be dragged out and beheaded."

After these remarks, Consort Chen said no more, only pursing her lips helplessly and letting out a soft sigh.

The hall was filled with a pleasant fragrance, and one dish after another of delicacies were served.

But even as the dishes gradually filled the entire table, the two of them still didn't touch their chopsticks, as if they were waiting for someone.

A moment later, a faint sound of footsteps came from outside.

The beaded curtain was lifted by a small, fair hand, and a short figure walked in.