Chapter 21

Xue Jin'an admitted that he was tempted.

Xue Jin'an did not consider himself a materialistic "gold-digger" phone that had to pursue the most expensive, best, and latest configurations. However, just as there is no manufacturer in this world that does not pay attention to its competitors' product launch events, a phone could not help but want to visit a mobile technology exhibition.

—He used to be a phone and is now a human, so his brain automatically calculated the equivalent: Human = Peer = Phone. This logic was flawless.

Moreover, the exhibition was free and for a limited time, and someone had even brought over a promotional brochure for the exhibits. Not going would be a disgrace to "phone-kind"!

With the pure mindset of a device attending an exhibition, Xue Jin'an nodded. He recalled the way humans went on outings from his memories—a shut-in was worthy of the name. He used to be a sword cultivator whose mind was filled with cultivation, fighting, and becoming stronger; later, he was a shut-in whose mind was filled with anime, games, and surfing the internet. He never liked going out, but that was fine; there were parts in the novels and anime he had read that he could use for reference.

For example, primary school students going on spring outings, collective dates in ambiguous, multi-cornered romantic entanglements, or bored humans wandering around abandoned suburban hospitals in the middle of the night.

Hmm... they all sounded a bit strange, but that was unimportant; they were all useful references nonetheless.

He turned back to his room and rummaged for his small cloth bag, stuffing it to the brim based on a checklist he had extracted and organized. Some items were packed directly, like water and snacks; for things he didn't have, he substituted them with items of similar function—such as coarse paper to stand in for tissues, or a flint lighter to stand in for a flashlight.

Although Xue Jin'an did not fully understand why one would bring these, there must be a reason why humans always brought them when traveling. As someone who had just started being a human, following local customs was never a bad idea.

Fu Lu and Shou Quan watched on, stunned. Seeing him leave with his bag, they were too preoccupied to contemplate what kind of conspiracy the Fifth Prince might be hatching this time.

Shou Quan reminded him tactfully, "Master, you are going to the Imperial Study today. Shouldn't you bring some... books?"

Fu Lu took out half a box of old, yellowed books from a partition in the wardrobe. These were what Consort Zhen had used to teach the original owner to read. The original owner had learned halfway through when Consort Zhen passed away. The Zhaoyang Palace was briefly opened during that period, and the master had even performed rituals and kept vigil for a few days.

Everything in the main hall of the Zhaoyang Palace was registered, and the Emperor did not allow anyone to take anything. The guards at the palace gate had almost stripped the blood-dragon wood bracelet off the master's hand; it was only because Cui Yun had stuffed them with silver and spoke sweet, soft words that they let it go. Because of this, Fu Lu always kept Cui Yun's kindness in his heart, even though she had become a senior maid in the Yihe Palace shortly after Consort Zhen's downfall. He sincerely felt that Cui Yun was lucky and was happy for her to have found a good path without having to suffer.

Still, Fu Lu wanted to leave the master with a memento, so he had secretly smuggled these books out of the side hall one by one through a dog hole—the East Water Pavilion of the Zhaoyang Palace side hall was where the Seventh Prince, Xue Jin'an, had once lived.

It was a pity that while the books were brought out, they were never put to use. Fu Lu had only learned to read a few characters by following his master, barely able to recognize the words in the books, but recognizing them did not mean understanding them. He could not comprehend the books at all, let alone teach his master.

Thus, the books remained stacked in the partition, the pages yellowing and curling at the edges.

"It won't fit, and besides, I'm just going to take a look," Xue Jin'an righteously rejected this "unreasonable request" to bring books.

"Then at least take the sword!" Shou Quan shoved over a sword with a newly acquired hilt engraved with lotus patterns.

Xue Jin'an, carrying his cloth bag and slinging the sword over his shoulder, walked out the door and stood obediently in front of the Fifth Prince. He paused when he saw the Prince’s empty hands.

"I'm ready, we can go." Although this tour guide didn't look like the ones in novels who wore hats and held little flags, considering the differences in era and spacetime, it was understandable that a tour guide in an ancient book world might not be as professional.

Regardless, the Fifth Prince had said he was taking him to the Imperial Study for fun, so he had to automatically accept the "tour guide" identity for him. Xue Jin'an opened his contact list and silently changed the Fifth Prince's note to "Temporary Tour Guide."

***

The Fifth Prince, who had been pondering what Xue Jin'an’s glance at his hands meant—thinking perhaps there should have been something in them—suddenly felt an itch in his palm, as if he were missing a small triangular flag.

He clenched his fist, raised his right hand, and involuntarily cleared his throat, raising his voice: "Those going to the Imperial Study, line up here! Do not run around. Check your bags; do not bring anything you shouldn't. We are departing immediately. There is an assessment at the Imperial Study today, and the Emperor will be bringing these officials along—"

The Fifth Prince's words came to an abrupt halt. Seeing Fu Lu and Shou Quan, who had subconsciously lined up obediently behind their master at his gesture, let out a drawn-out "Oh" in sudden realization.

Although they still did not know what malicious intent the Fifth Prince harbored, the appearance of the Emperor was clearly a major event. Fu Lu and Shou Quan, whose hearts were already uneasy, instantly tensed up.

They could not stop their master's actions, so they might as well follow to see what happened; if something truly went wrong, they could react immediately.

The Fifth Prince did not care whether Xue Jin'an went alone or with two attendants; it wouldn't affect his plan. However, this did not mean he could accept the fact that he had actually slipped up and given out information he shouldn't have.

The Fifth Prince did not think this was an accident. He covered his mouth, his brows knitted tightly, and he questioned Xue Jin'an with sharp urgency: "What did you do? Is it... a Gu?"

This world had martial artists with internal energy, so naturally, there were also experts in poisons and Gu. Following stereotypes, most came from ethnic minorities in the southern mountains, just like the Dian Province where the original owner's uncle, Zhou Yushu, had gone, which had supplied many Gu masters to the Central Plains martial arts world.

The Fifth Prince expressed extreme disgust when mentioning Gu, as if speaking of something filthy. This was understandable; after all, Gu masters were rarely portrayed as positive figures in any novel, not to mention that Gu insects rarely aligned with most humans' aesthetic preferences.

But Xue Jin'an was a data-driven brain. He instinctively organized the Fifth Prince's information and, following the logic of the Fifth Prince's hatred for Gu, deduced several potential causes. The most likely one was: "Your heart ailment is caused by a Gu insect."

"That has nothing to do with you." The Fifth Prince's instinctive reaction heightened the credibility of the answer.

After saying this, he immediately realized he hadn't denied it. He stiffly changed the subject: "The security checks are very strict. It will be troublesome if you are caught with anything improper."

As he spoke, he stepped forward to inspect Xue Jin'an's bulging cloth bag. At first glance, he saw a section of...

"A bamboo tube?" The Fifth Prince curiously pulled it out. Hearing the sound of liquid flowing inside, his first reaction was that it contained colorless, odorless, water-like poison.

Under Fu Lu's guidance, he twisted off the bamboo cap and saw that it was, in fact, just water.

The Fifth Prince could no longer maintain his "man of few words" persona. He said with an indescribable expression, "Why are you carrying water? Are you going to die of thirst at the Imperial Study? And why, as a prince, are you drinking from a broken bamboo tube?"

Fu Lu did not dare to say that this bamboo tube was actually made just two days ago, and the one they had used for nearly a year before was truly broken—broken to the point of being pitiful.

There was no help for it; the Qifeng Courtyard was simply too poor. There wasn't even a complete, clean set of porcelain, which was very inconvenient. So, Fu Lu used his brain and took some bamboo from the Green Bamboo Courtyard to make many bamboo tables, bowls, ladles, and chopsticks. Fu Lu was quite glad he had acted quickly; later, when the Fourth Prince moved into the Green Bamboo Courtyard and looked at Xue Jin'an with a sour face, he likely would have been mocked relentlessly if he had known the bamboo used for the utensils came from his own courtyard.

A prince using a bamboo tube once could be called pursuing elegance or novelty, but using it all the time was somewhat shabby.

The Fifth Prince did not know this, but just looking at the bamboo tube was startling enough. He knew his seventh brother was living poorly, but he hadn't dared to imagine it was to this extent. No wonder he hated the Fourth Brother so much.

He figured that once they got to the Imperial Study and saw all those glamorous brothers, the Seventh Brother's anger would surely flare up even more. The Fifth Prince could hardly wait to see them fight.

***

The Fifth Prince led the way to the Imperial Study with high spirits, but before going, he deliberately took Xue Jin'an on a swaggering detour back to the Hanxiang Courtyard.

The expression management of Consort Rong's senior maid, Hong Ling, was much better than that of Consort Zhen's Cui Yun. Her gaze merely lingered on Xue Jin'an for a fleeting moment, and the change in her expression was extremely difficult to discern with the naked eye.

But Xue Jin'an had high-definition cameras and slow-motion playback, so he clearly concluded that the features of her face had shifted downward by two points.

To blend in, the Fifth Prince had also packed a cloth bag for himself, stuffing it with plenty of melon seeds and fruits. He shook the paper that was filled with descriptions of his brothers' specialties—which, in Xue Jin'an's eyes, was a "product brochure."

"Let's go. I'll take you to the Imperial Study; I guarantee you won't make this trip in vain." The Fifth Prince laughed heartily, like a scavenger who had found a melon patch.

"—Your Highness, you are going to the Imperial Study?" Hong Ling stepped forward in shock. She stopped a step away, restrained herself, regained her composure, and her tone returned to a gentle state. "You have just recovered from a major illness, and your body is still weak. Her Grace has already requested leave for you; you do not need to attend today's assessment..."

"If Mother is displeased, she can simply grant me a 'Length of Red' (a death sentence by strangulation)." The Fifth Prince curled his lips coldly. Ignoring the terrified palace maids and eunuchs kneeling on the ground, he turned and left without looking back once.

The Fifth Prince was bent on watching the drama, even wanting to create it if there wasn't any. Yet, he didn't expect that today was an unlucky day, and he was about to become the drama himself.

The Fifth Prince remembered the time for the assessment and arrived right on the dot. From afar, however, he saw that the entrance to the Imperial Study was heavily guarded, with twice as many guards as usual. The dragon carriage was parked to one side, and two rows of eunuchs and palace maids waited respectfully with downcast eyes.

Beside it was parked a low-key carriage. A man wearing a bamboo hat and coarse linen clothes sat on the carriage; he looked like a coachman, yet he held a scroll of books in one hand and toyed with a precious jade pendant in the other. The bamboo hat obscured his face, making it impossible to see his appearance.

Clearly, the Emperor had finished the morning court session early and had already arrived at the Imperial Study, accompanied by others. The assessment must have started early.

The Fifth Prince looked displeased. He knew his father had arrived, and no matter how much he tried to sow discord, his brothers would pretend to be fraternal and respectful and would not cause trouble in front of their father.

"Don't want to go anymore," the Fifth Prince muttered. His pace faltered but did not stop; he was impatient to introduce the "King of Hell" Seventh Brother to his good brothers.

Xue Jin'an's gaze lingered on the "coachman" for a split second before quickly turning away. He heard an abnormal and short sound, like that of a hidden weapon being released.

"Assassins! Protect the Emperor—!!" A eunuch's shrill voice pierced through the Imperial Study.

In an instant, the sound of weapons being drawn echoed out. The Imperial Guards rushed inside, scrambling over one another. The coachman reacted slightly slower; he dropped his book and was about to draw a weapon to save the Emperor.

Just then, Xue Jin'an's safety protection function activated: [Detected a falling object ahead, Anti-Fall Mode activated!]

Xue Jin'an suddenly retreated sharply as the assassin, who had just flashed into view, clawed directly toward him.