Shi Qing waved his hand in the lavishly decorated room, but the surrounding fragrances continued to assault his nostrils. He could only cough a couple of times and covered his nose with his sleeve, reminiscing.
This was a world set in ancient times but with a twist.
The male lead was the Ninth Prince, Yu Chen Nian, following the path of a pitiable underdog striving for supremacy.
The Emperor had a total of nine sons, with Yu Chen Nian being the least favored among them. The novel explained that his birth mother was ugly and merely a palace maid. One day, when the Emperor was intoxicated, he forced himself on this unattractive palace maid, leading to the birth of Yu Chen Nian.
For an Emperor who had three thousand beauties in his harem, harmonizing with an ugly palace maid was as incongruous as harmonizing with a pig. When he woke up the next morning, he was in despair, demanding that the maid be dragged out and executed. Fortunately, the Empress had a kind heart and persuaded the Emperor to spare her life.
As a result, the maid became pregnant and gave birth to the Ninth Prince. It was said that on the day of his birth, all the lotus flowers in the palace pond withered overnight, and the Emperor regarded Yu Chen Nian as an ominous child.
According to the old customs, the son inherits the mother's status, so the palace maid who gave birth to the prince should have been granted a title. However, the Emperor was unwilling. He did not want to let a pig sit as his consort.
He ordered the execution of the maid immediately after she gave birth, leaving Yu Chen Nian as an orphan without a mother. The Emperor made it clear that he didn't care for him, and no one in the palace offered to raise the Ninth Prince.
In the end, it was the childless Empress who stepped forward to take care of the hot potato, Yu Chen Nian. She was already not favored, and with Yu Chen Nian carrying an ominous reputation, they became even more unpopular in the eyes of the Emperor.
It wasn't until the Empress's father and brothers died on the battlefield, leaving her without support, that she was falsely accused and sent to the cold palace. Yu Chen Nian followed her in, and mother and son were subjected to the disdainful gazes of others. Studying in the imperial study was no better for Yu Chen Nian, as his five older brothers found all sorts of ways to torment him. Despite being a prince, he lived worse off than the lowliest palace maids.
In his teenage years, the male attendants of the princes entered the palace, and even these attendants took pleasure in bullying Yu Chen Nian. The worst among them was the son of the Prime Minister.
The Prime Minister held a prestigious position in the court, especially considering his noble lineage. The Emperor showed more courtesy and trust towards him than he did to his own sons. It could be said that as long as the Prime Minister indicated support for a particular prince, that prince's chances of ascending the throne increased by half.
As a result, the Prime Minister's eldest son naturally became the target of the princes' efforts to win favor. This arrogant son of the Prime Minister took even greater pleasure in tormenting Yu Chen Nian than the five princes. Verbal insults were just the tip of the iceberg; he would engage in various pranks that seemed harmless on the surface but could potentially harm someone.
For instance, he once placed a snake in Yu Chen Nian's desk. Knowing that Yu Chen Nian was struggling to make ends meet and often saved his food to take back to the Empress Dowager, he intentionally knocked over his lunchbox and trampled on the food inside, among other malicious acts.
The most despicable incident occurred because Yu Chen Nian had a beautiful appearance that resembled a woman's. The Prime Minister's son, who frequented various brothels, once had someone hold Yu Chen Nian down and ordered a eunuch to behave inappropriately behind him.
For a man, this was a grave humiliation.
This incident finally provoked the usually patient Yu Chen Nian. He actively sought support from the Empress Dowager's family and kept a low profile. When foreign invaders attacked and several prominent generals in the court failed to repel them, Yu Chen Nian, who had gained the right to attend court by then, volunteered. Almost everyone thought he was going to his death, but he returned victorious. Not only did he survive, but he also brought back the head of the enemy prince.
Initially, the Emperor had been concerned about his son's hidden intentions, but Yu Chen Nian consistently showed himself to be harmless, readily handing over command tokens for the military. As foreign threats continued to arise, the Emperor had no choice but to send him into battle. Every time, Yu Chen Nian returned triumphant.
Gradually, the Emperor began to regard this once most despised son as his sharpest weapon.
And so, after several years, this weapon no longer needed its master.
Yu Chen Nian marched into the capital, killed his five brothers and two imperial sisters, and took his seat on the Dragon Throne.
Of course, he didn't forget the Prime Minister's son.
First, he castrated the man, left him on the streets to beg for over a month during the harsh winter, and finally had him torn apart by five horses, feeding his remains to the dogs. It could be said that his hatred ran deep.
In this self-contained world of the novel...
Yu Chen Nian, without the protection of a plot armor for the protagonist, was directly poisoned to death by the venomous snake hidden in his desk by the Prime Minister's son.
Shi Qing, after reviewing his memories, was not surprised by his own identity.
He was that Prime Minister's son.
Because his biological father, the Prime Minister, was incredibly influential, he had been able to flaunt his power since childhood. It could be said that in the entire capital, he was the most prominent second-generation power figure. After all, even the Emperor had fed him when he was a child, a privilege not granted to the princes.
And he was well-suited to the title of a "playboy."
In the original novel's plot, the original main character could be described as having committed every possible wrongdoing. Fortunately, at the age of fourteen, he was still relatively innocent, just strolling through brothels, bullying the Ninth Prince, and causing trouble for ordinary people in the streets.
Because he was born prematurely and had a relatively weak constitution, he couldn't engage in intimate activities even at the age of fourteen. So, his visits to the brothels were truly just visits, and his mischief-making was indeed just mischief-making.
It wasn't until he turned sixteen that he embarked on his career as an antagonist. He rode his horse through the bustling streets, trampling children to death, forcibly abducting young women, and when they resisted, he handed them over to his cronies to torment to death. For the sake of entertainment, he deliberately lured scholars who were preparing for the imperial examination into gambling, cheated them until they lost, and then cut off their hands to repay their debts, destroying their promising futures.
One could say that he was evil just for the sake of amusement.
His malevolence was abhorrent, and he managed to keep it hidden from his family. The Emperor was aware of these deeds and had even sent people to tempt him, knowing that the deeper he fell into depravity, the more leverage he would have over the Prime Minister's favorite son. With this Prime Minister's beloved son in his grasp, he wouldn't need to worry about the Prime Minister's loyalty.
However, before the Emperor could use this leverage, Yu Chen Nian seized control of the capital, ascended to the throne, and gave his biological father a satisfying death.
Now, Shi Qing had become him.
This fourteen-year-old, notorious figure, was a little tyrant whom nobody dared to approach.
He had become accustomed to always holding a villain card and decided to skip this topic, asking the system instead, "What is Yu Chen Nian's aversion level?"
Since the system had changed worlds and found that the host had once again obtained a level of difficulty that was SSS, it dared not take any risks. Now, seeing that Shi Qing asked the question with no sign of anger, it cautiously replied, "Yu Chen Nian's aversion level is 150/100."
Shi Qing: "?"
Shi Qing: "It can exceed 100%?"
The system was a bit nervous, "Well, in this world, he's a bit narrow-minded and holds grudges."
Shi Qing: "I understand."
He had just lowered the sleeve covering his nose and was about to get off the bed when the door was pushed open from the outside. A middle-aged woman, dressed extravagantly but with traces of her former beauty, approached with a smile. She naturally helped Shi Qing get dressed.
"Young Master Shi, it's already daylight. Have you had your fill of fun, or would you like me to call a few more girls to keep you company?" she asked.
"No need," replied Shi Qing with a yawn. He stood with his arms wide open, allowing the attendant to assist him while lazily saying, "I have to go to the study today. I'll come back to play in the evening."
"Ah, I'll tell Cuicui and the others to wait for you," the madam happily agreed, her face beaming.
After all, their favorite clients were these young masters. They were young, and besides hugging and kissing, they couldn't do much else. But they were generous when it came to tipping.
After the madam efficiently helped Shi Qing put on his clothes, she went to open the window. As soon as she did, a cold wind blew in, causing Shi Qing to shiver. "Why is it so cold outside?"
"Yes, it looks like it's snowing," she replied.
Snowing?
Shi Qing suddenly remembered.
Wasn't it on the day of the first snow this year that the original owner played a prank by putting a poisonous snake in Yu Chen Nian's desk?
Yawning, he didn't bother to bid the madam farewell. He got up and walked out.
As soon as he descended the stairs, a servant who was watching a performance rushed up to him and asked, "Young Master, would you like to take a carriage to the palace?"
Approaching the wall where a copper mirror hung, Shi Qing carefully examined his reflection.
He had a handsome appearance, even though he was young. His features were delicate, and with a slight lift of his chin, he exuded an air of pampered arrogance.
The copper mirror's reflection was somewhat unclear, but one thing was evident—he was fair-skinned.
"Go fetch a cloak from the mansion for me, the red one," he instructed the servant beside him.
The servant, who had grown up with Shi Qing and was well-acquainted with his quirks, found it strange. "Didn't you used to dislike the color red, Young Master?"
In response, Shi Qing kicked him just like in the old days and said, "If I ask you to go, you go. No need for all these useless words."
"Uh, yes, I'll go right away, Young Master."
The servant quickly moved aside and ran away.
After a short while, Shi Qing, wearing a red cloak, sat in a carriage and entered the palace.
The royal guards who managed the palace recognized the carriage as belonging to the Shi family. They didn't stop it and allowed it to pass without hindrance. As the most prominent second-generation aristocrat in the capital, Shi Qing had the privilege.
When he arrived at his destination, Shi Qing got off the carriage. He lifted his chin slightly and, in his usual spoiled manner, refused to step on the snowy steps. He called over a eunuch and had himself carried to the entrance of the Imperial Study.
Several people were waiting there, a total of five. Shi Qing glanced at four of them briefly but fixed his gaze on the young man standing at the end.
The young man wore clothes that were rather shabby compared to his brothers, and despite the snowy weather, his attire was too thin. His slender and fair hands were slightly curled, and he kept his head down, obscuring his face. It was clear that he was the most timid among the princes.
"Shi Qing is here, and surprisingly, not late today," the eldest prince greeted him first. He looked at Shi Qing being placed carefully on the clean ground by a eunuch, a friendly teasing tone in his voice. "Why, wasn't Ru Yi Lou entertaining enough for you?"
"They are all adorned with rouge and vulgar makeup, so, of course, it's not enjoyable," Shi Qing replied.
He looked every bit the young master from a wealthy family as he landed on the ground, his arms open, allowing a eunuch to brush off the snow. He raised his chin slightly, his fair face filled with pampered arrogance. "Yesterday, the girl who was the leading courtesan didn't even have hands as delicate as mine. I should ask His Majesty for a prettier one next time."
With that, he seemed generous as he turned to the eldest prince and said, "Why don't we go together? Let's ask His Majesty to grant one to you too."
The eldest prince quickly declined the offer. He was trying to earn favor with the emperor right now and dared not ask for a woman at this time. That would only earn him a reputation for indulging in women. Only someone as audacious as Shi Qing could make such a request.
As they chatted, the third prince hurriedly arrived, holding a food container. He immediately approached Shi Qing.
"Shi Qing."
He didn't even spare a glance for the eldest prince's displeasure due to his arrival. Instead, he took the young master to the side and whispered, "I've found what you wanted."
"Found it?!" Shi Qing exclaimed with excitement. The other princes didn't look pleased, and their gazes turned to the third prince, who seemed to be pleasing Shi Qing.
Only Yu Chen Nian, however, met the eyes of the young man, who was wrapped in a red cloak against the backdrop of the falling snow. With bright eyes and not bothering to hide anything, Shi Qing looked at Yu Chen Nian, then lowered his head to glance at the food container in his hand, his dark eyes filled with eagerness.
Yu Chen Nian's heart sank.
Shi Qing's blatant expression clearly indicated that there was something in the food container meant to prank him. The third prince was in on it as well.
The third prince whispered to Shi Qing, "I'll distract him, you go ahead and place it inside."
"Alright!"
With excitement, Shi Qing snatched the food container and, with the energy of someone who couldn't wait any longer, pushed it toward Yu Chen Nian. Then, in a display of arrogance, he raised his chin and looked at Yu Chen Nian, his delicate features exuding superiority. "Third Brother wants to talk to you. Until he's done, you're not allowed in."
The third prince said, "..."
This was as clear as day.
Yu Chen Nian silently raised his head and gazed at the proud and audacious young man, whose eyes sparkled beneath the red cloak, which concealed his entire figure. Without a word, he lowered his head and said, "Alright."
"Third Brother, he said yes. You can go talk to him," Shi Qing eagerly declared.
Excitement shone on the young man's face as he turned around and ran into the room. Midway, he hesitated, then ran back to pick up the food container from the ground, still casting a wary glance at Yu Chen Nian. "I said you can't come in until I say so."
The third prince: "..."
Wasn't this making it too obvious?
Yu Chen Nian remained silent and met the arrogant and proud gaze of the young man in the bright red cloak against the snowy backdrop. He pursed his lips and said, "Alright."
As soon as he agreed, Shi Qing became elated. He picked up the food container and, in a flash, ran inside.
The eunuch responsible for attending to him hurriedly followed. "Young Master, please slow down..."
The other princes exchanged glances and followed suit, leaving only the third prince and Yu Chen Nian outside.
In the midst of the falling snow, the two remained in silent confrontation.
Yu Chen Nian knew that these two were planning to prank him again.
The third prince knew that Yu Chen Nian was aware of their intentions.
What was meant to be a playful joke had turned into this awkward situation.
Neither of them spoke, just standing there, waiting for Shi Qing to call them in.
A chilly breeze swept by, leaving them in an indescribable awkwardness.
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