The Villain Runs Wild

Ch 64 - Ruthless Crown Prince x Foolish Prince: Big Brother Crown Prince


The dense branches of the towering old trees cast thick shadows like a cover, corresponding with the red pillars and green vines.

The young man who leaned back lazily with a loose gown seemed like a seductive, essence-stealing ghost wondering about the inner palace, even though it was clearly still daylight at the moment.

That black gown had been closed by him, only a glimpse of white had accidentally emerged during the flash of movement, but it had been covered up extremely quickly.

Yan Qin pressed up against the back of the rockery, his heart beating very fast due to nervousness.

He had already ducked away when the noble youth’s angry gaze had swept past.

It was actually the Crown Prince. If he was discovered, he would surely be unable to escape death.

He had originally been thinking about his birth mother’s reaction when he was a fool, so he had unconsciously wandered into a secluded location. He had suddenly heard faint movement and had come over to take a look, but he didn’t expect to be met with this scene.

Lin Sui was currently in a very bad mood. Very, very bad.

He was right in the middle of an urgent and important moment, he couldn’t go out like this, but since he didn’t know where Yan Qin was hiding, he couldn’t call him out either.

Lin Sui would absolutely not do that sort of thing in front of the current Yan Qin. After all, he was someone who had lived for several hundred years, he simply had no interest in a little kid who hadn’t even grown hair, and he didn’t want to lead him astray either.

Lin Sui leaned back against the pillar, closed his eyes tightly and adjusted his breathing, then asked the System in his mind: [Is he gone?]

The System spoke frantically: [Not yet!]

Lin Sui: [Is my back towards him?]

System: [More or less.]

Lin Sui inwardly cursed the Imperial Noble Consort a few times for playing such a dirty, underhanded trick. He bit down on his clothes, knit his brows, and dealt with his situation with slight movements.

Yan Qin bent over, planning on leaving little by little, but heard the sound of extremely soft, muffled groans, and unconsciously poked his head out to take a look.

He had already moved to a different place, so he saw the Crown Prince’s profile.

The pointed ends of those eyes were flushed, still filled with hostility, and his teeth were biting down on the black cloth with his lips looking as if they had been smeared in rogue. His appearance was both powerless and stubborn.

It was a kind of extremely special feeling which the still-young Yan Qin didn’t understand, he just felt an uncomfortable, numb ache from the pit of his stomach, so he left holding his breath.

He actually didn’t see what Lin Sui was doing too clearly, but he seemed to know that he would find no clues amidst the clouds and mist, so he abandoned his investigation and tossed this unexpected meeting to the back of his mind.

The System: [He left, he left!]

Lin Sui let out a sigh of relief, his originally taut and straight body crumpled abruptly, beads of sweat clung to his temples, and his skin flushed pink as he breathed.

For the first time, Lin Sui felt like the System wasn’t that annoying when it played out its duties.

Not to mention the fact that the current Yan Qin could not, his own body was only sixteen years old and hadn’t yet crossed the final line.

The System, who sensed his thoughts, said: […Aren’t you quite the upright gentleman?]

Lin Sui spoke indifferently: [Mother-in-law is being too nice.]

The System: [You really think I’m being nice?!]

Lin Sui didn’t pay any more attention to the System’s nonsense, and the System once again fell silent after a few more superfluous words.

Lin Sui recovered a bit of his strength, used a handkerchief to wipe himself clean, and tidied up his clothes.

Looking down at the filthy handkerchief in his hands, Lin Sui had a rare feeling of slight awkwardness.

It wouldn’t be good to carelessly throw it away, after all, the dark patterns embroidered on the handkerchief were enough to clearly show it belonged to the Prince, but bringing it back with him… He still wanted to maintain the Crown Prince’s appropriate appearance in front of the palace people.

Lin Sui thought about it, but still put the handkerchief away and stood up.

He walked slowly back to the Eastern Palace, and once inside the hall, Fu Shu informed him of the things he’d inquired about.

“It is unknown who actually planted those jade luan flowers in that place, but they are new this year, this servant passed through that spot last year and never smelled them. It was Concubine Zhou who originally invited His Majesty to look at the lotuses on the other side of the Clear Jade Pond, and Noble Lady Liu had promised to accompany them. The path they took did not originally cross that area, it was Noble Lady Liu who said she smelled the flowers, and after describing the flower’s scent, His Majesty walked towards that place with a dark expression.”

Noble Lady Liu lived in Consort De’s side palace hall, Lin Sui knew the person who arranged this was the Imperial Noble Consort, but he never expected Consort De to have a hand in it as well.

The way Lin Sui saw it, this Consort De was not smart at all. She wanted to join hands with the Imperial Noble Consort to oust the Crown Prince and vacate the position of heir so her son, the Seventh Prince, could compete for it. But once this three-side containment situation was broken, the Imperial Noble Consort was determined to win. King Qing was now nineteen years old, and the Seventh Prince was only eleven, did she really think she could win this match?

If Lin Sui stood in her place, then he would inevitably let both sides fight each other to maintain balance, sow discord among them, and ultimately become the biggest beneficiary.

Lin Sui collected his thoughts and listened to Fu Shu’s continued words.

“His Majesty heard a shriek as he walked in, and was surprised to find First Class Attendant Yu when he entered. Attendant Yu’s clothes were intact, but her hair was dishevelled and she was about to knock her head against a pillar, which was very frightening. His Majesty was startled and immediately pulled her away, and the maids who witnessed this said Attendant Yu hid herself in His Majesty’s arms and wailed, sobbing that eunuch Zhong Xiang intended to defile her.”

“His Majesty just then discovered eunuch Zhong Xiang still laying on the bed, and his face was quite unsightly. No matter how much eunuch Zhong Xiang kowtowed and explained that he didn’t know how he got there and that he was a victim, His Majesty’s face did not improve at all.”

According to Attendant Yu’s words, she had happened to walk by and discovered the jade luan flowers, and thought to herself that someone had actually dared to secretly plant these even though His Majesty didn’t like those flowers. She went to report to Zhong Xiang, but Zhong Xiang insisted she had been the one who planted them to frame her, using this to blackmail her into giving money and even threatening to speak ill of her to His Majesty, and today he even demanded her do those kinds of things.

“Attendant Yu tearfully complained that she had been rendered unconscious and brought here, and that His Majesty’s grace and divine protection had allowed her to wake up first so eunuch Zhong Xian wasn’t able to succeed. If His Majesty had been one step late, what he saw would have been her corpse.”

Lin Sui was rather pleased, it seemed like this Attendant Yu still had a few tricks and strategies, he hadn’t misjudged her.

Attendant Yu’s words were very ingenious; she adored the Emperor and was unwilling to be dirtied by another’s touch, even if it was just a eunuch, and would rather knock her head into a pillar and die. This not only clearly showed her loyalty, her response also showed that Zhong Xiang hadn’t laid a finger on her, so she was still pure and clean.

Most men would never tolerate being cuckolded, especially not this man who was the supreme ruler of the land. How could he allow another to have improper thoughts about his woman? Especially when the person was his own favoured, tyrannical eunuch.

“Attendant Yu also said a few brilliant words.”

Fu Shu’s expression was subtle as she quietly whispered those words to Lin Sui.

After she finished accusing Zhong Xiang, Attendant Yu began apologising again, roughly saying that it was all because she was too beautiful, so beautiful even eunuchs would have improper thoughts and do things that deserved being hacked into pieces. However, no matter what kind of appearance she had, she only belonged to His Majesty, was born for His Majesty and would die for His Majesty, and that if His Majesty held any grudges in his heart, she would voluntarily request three feet of white silk and leave her innocent body behind in the world.

Lin Sui let out an unclear laugh: “Brilliant indeed.”

Attendant Yu understood men quite well, she knew about men’s inferiority and vanity and spoke without delay, otherwise even if the Emperor didn’t blame her, as long as he remembered that she had once laid in the same bed as a eunuch, he would still feel revulsion even if nothing had happened.

But with the pitiful, lovely beauty’s weeping words, the Emperor probably didn’t even have enough time to take pity.

Fu Shu spoke in a low voice: “As for eunuch Zhong Xiang, His Majesty said he had stolen the Madame’s belongings, and already had him beaten to death.”

The Emperor could naturally not disclose the real reason to the public, so he dealt with Zhong Xiang quickly and decisively.

He simply didn’t listen to Zhong Xiang’s explanation. He didn’t care if Zhong Xiang had been set up, there was no need for him to keep him after this. How would others look at him if he let him stay? Moreover, Zhong Xiang had a record for being fond of women, so even if he had let him go, he wouldn’t be able to stop constantly worrying about whether or not Zhong Xiang had meddled in his harem.

All of this was within Lin Sui’s expectations. In the original book, Zhong Xiang hadn’t left the stage that early, he was still working as senior eunuch when the original owner was deposed.

When an old favoured minister left, a new favoured minister inevitably showed up. Lin Sui hadn’t only played this hand and killed with a borrowed knife to get rid of this predicament, he also wanted to vacate Zhong Xiang’s position.

The candidate Lin Sui had his heart set on was not Liu Zhonghai, he was a eunuch from the Eastern Palace and the Emperor wouldn’t use him even if his adoptive father was Liu Ji. Lin Sui already had something in mind, but it wasn’t time for that person to appear yet.

Lin Sui asked casually: “And Fu Xi?”

“Eunuch Fu Xi seems to have an upset stomach and is not better yet.”

Fu Shu didn’t really like Fu Xi, and her tone was neither cold nor warm as she spoke.

Lin Sui thought he would frantically come to apologise later, so he went to bathe with a cold expression.

Leaving aside the initial set-up, he hadn’t even begun to settle the accounts for that strange perfume.

That night, the imperial palace was especially bustling due to Zhong Xiang’s matter.

Those whose plans fell through didn’t say a word, while the maids who didn’t know about the twists and turns of the matter lamented Attendant Yu’s holy grace.

“It’s really scary how much Attendant Yu is favoured, eunuch Zhong Xiang just stole her things and was beaten to death.”

The maids and eunuchs of the Zhongyu Palace got together and whispered, not caring at all about their Master still playing with wooden blocks nearby.

Yan Qin knew in his heart that this matter wouldn’t be so simple, but these people weren’t enough to know about those secrets.

“You dare gossip in front of the Master, do you not want your tongues any more?”

Bao Su raised her long eyebrows and glared at the maids and eunuchs.

“Apologies, Sister Bao Su, we won’t speak again.”

The palace people apologised for the disturbance and left under Bao Su’s angry stare with their tails between their legs.

Bao Su had no way to deal with the anger in her heart, the Zhongyu Palace’s hall was desolate, there was hardly any difference between it and the Cold Palace[1], and there were only a few low-level, miscellaneous envoys available. These people knew the Zhongyu Palace had no future, and every one of them wanted to fly away.

“Master, You should have dinner.”

Bao Su led Yan Qin into the room, looked around to make sure there was no one, lit a candle, and recounted the inside story she had inquired about today.

A few days ago, when she found out her Master had recovered his senses, she paid her respects to his mother’s soul in heaven and wept the whole night before slowly coming back. She still pretended as before outside, her Master was right, it would be dangerous if the matter of him recovering his mind was exposed with the current tense situation.

“Killing with a borrowed knife.”

Yan Qin muttered, he looked at the food in front of him and a dark light flashed past his eyes.

This whole arrangement was certainly not targeting Zhong Xiang, so it must have been aimed at that person in the Eastern Palace, and the jade luan flowers were the best proof.

As for that First Class Attendant Yu, it was still unknown whether she was a pawn or one of the two birds to be killed with one stone.

He simply didn’t know how the Crown Prince had avoided this, and even had Zhong Xiang appear at that place. It seemed like the Crown Prince was not as easy to scheme against as he had imagined.

Yan Qin remembered that scene he involuntarily bumped into today, and felt inexplicably flustered, even the food in front of him couldn’t suppress that baseless feeling. Luckily, that feeling didn’t last long, and was quickly eliminated.

At night, Yan Qin was once again woken by a nightmare.

He opened his eyes and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, it was as if he had returned to that night the cold wind blew on him, his dream was noisy for a while, then he dreamt of the death of his birth mother.

He didn’t remember how long this had lasted for, but he seemed to find it hard to sleep peacefully at night since he returned to the Zhongyu Palace. Perhaps it was because he spent his whole time thinking and trying to draw out even the tiniest clues from his muddled memories that he even saw them in his dreams.

Throwing out the things in his heart he couldn’t speak of, the best time he spent after waking was surprisingly in the Eastern Palace, he actually slept peacefully under the Crown Prince’s feet.

He didn’t know what kind of incense they lit at the Crown Prince’s palace, or what kind of perfume was on the Crown Prince’s body, but it was an especially warm and sweet kind of scent. It was indeed strange to use these kinds of words to describe the Crown Prince, but he couldn’t find anything more fitting.

Yan Qin went to sleep again in a haze. This time, his dream was not of cold winds and rainy nights, but rather of green vines and red pillars, among which was a young man biting the hem of his clothes, his facial features were vague, but his eyes were particularly clear.

Like a blade carved out of water, both soft and sharp.

That appearance was terrifying, yet soft and helpless.

In the early morning, inside the Eastern Palace, Fu Shu carried the bedsheets and the handkerchief she had found on the bed in her arms, her expression a little grave.

His Highness was already sixteen, long past the age of understanding human affairs, but there wasn’t even a privately serving maid in the Eastern Palace, let alone a concubine.

Normally, these kinds of things would be arranged by one’s elders, but the Empress had already passed away, and the Governor of State Affairs could absolutely not interfere in these matters.

Before Lin Sui ate, he heard the senior maid off to the side gracefully inquire if he wanted to make arrangements for someone, and his eyebrows rose.

“No need, this One doesn’t want the person this One shares a bed with to be another’s spy. This matter does not need to be brought up again.”

Fu Shu felt the same way. His Highness had not yet achieved his goals, and he was surrounded by a pack of wolves, so it was better to not waste any more energy on this.

Lin Sui stepped out of the palace hall, and Fu Xi was already waiting for him there. Yesterday he’d come to apologise and kowtow with a pathetic look, Lin Sui didn’t make it too hard for him and looked as though he believed his words.

Lin Sui still had some use for him, if he didn’t stay here, how would the Imperial Noble Consort scheme against him according to his whereabouts?

Zhong Xiang died, and the Emperor quickly ordered a new senior eunuch to attend him.

Lin Sui didn’t care whose side he was on, only when Zhong Zhuo became favoured would it be time for the person he had his sights on to enter the scene.

Zhong Zhuo didn’t disappoint him, and quickly made a name for himself in front of the Emperor.

He’d already been transferred out of the Ministry of Rites and into the Ministry of Revenue. The work at the Ministry of Revenue was all linked to money and wealth, and there were many ways to go about it.

Lin Sui found an excuse to secretly meet Zhong Zhuo again. Zhong Zhuo was not the same as before, being particularly proud of his success, but was still reverent and respectful in front of Lin Sui.

Lin Sui instructed him, letting him know of a way to gain favour even faster.

“Deposing the heir… th-this… Your Highness, please understand! This humble official has never had such thoughts before!”

Zhong Zhuo knelt on the ground, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead.

He had climbed up thanks to the Crown Prince, he knew full well that His Majesty had thoughts about deposing his heir, but he had never planned on agreeing with him on this. When he decided to get on the Crown Prince’s boat, he was planning on becoming the future Emperor’s trusted aide.

Although it was said that a new Emperor brought along new ministers, he could think far ahead.

Lin Sui laughed softly: “Sir Zhong needs not be alarmed, this One naturally knows your thoughts. This One was merely telling you of a way to gain even more of Father Emperor’s fondness, after all, the more you are favoured, the more you can express your loyalty to this One.”

“This humble official understands, and will definitely comply with Your Highness’ decree. This humble official offers his life in sacrifice for Your Highness, and is ready to risk life and limb to be of use!”

Zhong Zhuo guaranteed again. Lin Sui simply didn’t take his words to heart, he just needed to get the final result.

After Lin Sui arranged matters and discussed a few things with his grandfather Lin Sen, he returned to the palace.

But he hadn’t arrived at the Eastern Palace yet when he happened to meet someone on the trail.

He was wearing blue-green minister’s robes[2], had a slender statue, and a face as handsome as a jade crown, making him look like a refined scholar.

Lin Sui swept his gaze past him unenthusiastically, not wishing to talk to him.

But the person stood in place and saluted Lin Sui.

“Your Highness, it’s been a while. The Crown Prince is looking well.”

“King Qing is not bad either, you’ve returned from Linzhou?”

This person was Yan Xun, King Qing. A month ago, Lingzhou had been overrun with bandits, he had been sent to sent to supress them with an imperial decree, and had returned today.

According to what Lin Sui knew, King Qing didn’t know martial arts, and his horseback archery skills were mediocre, so even though it was said he was going to suppress the bandits, he was just going to earn military service achievements.

But the common people didn’t know these things, and when it came to singing the praises of King Qing, it turned into public praise, so he was basically more popular among the people than the Crown Prince.

“I just got back from presenting memorials to Father Emperor. I heard the lotus flowers in the palace have bloomed nicely recently, would you do me the honour of coming to look at them with me?”

Although King Qing was older, he was respectful and polite towards his younger brother the Crown Prince. The outside world saw him as a refined gentleman, temperate, kind, courteous, restrained, and magnanimous.

The original owner disliked his attitude, he clearly wanted to take his place, yet he pretended to be gentle and refined, which made the original owner seem all the more fickle and shallow in contrast.

Lin Sui actually felt that this was only normal, in fact, gentleness and ruthlessness were not inherently mutually exclusive.

This kind of adversary actually piqued Lin Sui’s interest, so he raised his chin and spoke in pretend arrogance: “Then this One will do the honour of accompanying you, and would like to hear any interesting stories brother has to share along the way.”

King Qing walked next to Lin Sui, chose a few things to chat about, and even talked about a certain commander of the imperial guard.

“Commander Gao is frank and outspoken, and his martial skills are outstanding. Although he looks burly, he is rather well-mannered, and an exceedingly good person. He also accomplished great merits while supressing the bandits this time, which I have already presented to Father Emperor, so he will surely be commended.”

King Qing praised this Commander surnamed Gao to high heaven, intending on recommending him.

If these words had reached the original owner’s ears, he would have already assigned this person to King Qing’s sphere of influence and targeted him, but Lin Sui wasn’t that stupid.

This person was most likely from the neutral faction, and hadn’t been completely roped in by King Qing, so in order to prevent the other party from supporting the law-abiding imperialist party, Qing King had planned on forewarning Lin Sui while using viewing the flowers as a pretence.

“Elder brother is really talented, it’s a pity you’re not the heir.”

Lin Sui spoke ambiguously, his complexion increasingly unsightly.

This stupid and arrogant look landed on the other person’s sight, making him scorn him all the more.

King Qing spoke warmly: “You’re joking, Your Highness.”

Lin Sui thought to himself, indeed, he really was joking.

They hadn’t yet entered the imperial flower garden when they heard some noise ahead, a large group of palace maids and eunuchs were blocking the road, and the situation inside was unknown.

“What happened?”

King Qing asked a eunuch standing nearby, and, upon seeing the Crown Prince and King Qing, that eunuch hurriedly saluted.

“His Highness the Eighth Prince carried the Ninth Princess to play around with His Highness the Fifth Prince, but His Highness the Fifth Prince was unwilling, which scared the Ninth Princess into crying.”

“Move aside.”

Lin Sui was originally just pretending to have a bad expression, but now he really wasn’t doing well.

Both the Seventh and the Eighth Prince were only eleven years old, as Lin Sui saw them, they were just incredibly annoying and malicious little kids.

“Hold him down! Fifth Brother, isn’t it just pretending to be a horse? What’s wrong with letting Ninth Sister ride on you? Didn’t you even use to bark like a dog for me before?”

“Will you, or not? If you don’t, don’t think about bringing this maid back with you. Someone, come, the lowly slave has offended this Prince, slap her for me!”

The Eighth Prince’s voice had just ended when someone grabbed Bao Su and extended a hand to hit her in the face.

The Ninth Princess was seven years old this year, and had been so scared by the situation that she bawled loudly, so the palace people were in the middle of anxiously working to calm her down off to the side.

Yan Qin’s hair was dishevelled from being pulled and he was sitting on the ground, looking at Bao Su, whose head was still shaking from having been slapped. His heart felt cold as he bent his knees slightly, planning on doing as his brother said and letting his younger sister ride on him like a horse.

It was he who was useless.

Yan Qin’s heard brimmed with hatred, he was about to kneel down on all fours on the ground, but was suddenly kicked down.

“Worthless rubbish, you’re a fool, not a brainless dog. Are you just going to kneel if you’re told to kneel?”

A foot stepped on his knee. Yan Qin was very familiar with the owner of this foot, he had once had both his bare feet on his chest.

He looked up in a daze, the young Crown Prince’s gaze was filled with scorn and revulsion, brimming with disdain.

Everyone at the scene saw the foolish Fifth Prince who’d just been stunned happily hug the Crown Prince’s leg, which was stepping on him, and affectionately calling out: “Big brother Crown Prince!”

“Big brother Crown Prince, A-Qin doesn’t want to be a horse, Eighth Brother really wanted to have Ninth Sister ride on me, and Ninth Sister cried, he even hit Susu, he’s mean!”

Yan Qin put on an extremely aggrieved expression, sat up on the ground, and dependently rubbed against Lin Sui’s leg.

This look made Bao Su’s eyes get even more wet, her Master didn’t even hesitate to curry favour with the Crown Prince like this in order to save her.

In his mind, Yan Qin thought that the Crown Prince didn’t actually seem to like it when others touched him, since he could feel him stiffen and shiver slightly when he rubbed against his lower leg.

Lin Sui took his leg back, this time his body seemed to be more sensitive than before.

He gave the Eighth Prince a sideways glance: “Eight brother is so mighty, if you want to ride a horse, why don’t you go make a fuss at the horse track?”

“Imperial Brother, this brother and Fifth Imperial Brother were just playing, but his servant spoke rudely and offended me, I was just teaching her a lesson.”

“Second Imperial Brother, You’re back!”

The Eighth Prince giggled as he apologised to the Crown Prince, his face turning affectionate and adoring upon seeing King Qing.

The Eighth Prince stood with King Qing, and anyway, he had just punished a servant, and King Qing was back here, so what could the Crown Prince do to him?

“Bring this One’s Tayun over.”

Tayun[3] was a precious horse, the original owner’s mount.

Fu Shu had rushed over earlier, just in time to accept these orders. Upon seeing this, King Qing wrung his brows slightly.

“I’m afraid we won’t be able to use the Imperial Flower Garden, what is the Crown Prince bringing Tayun over for?”

“Didn’t Eighth Brother want someone to ride a horse? This One also wants someone to ride a horse, and since Eighth Brother likes playing around so much, it’d be better for him to have fun with it, we’ll even get a chance to see how good his riding skills are.”

The Eighth Prince’s face turned pale, and he turned to look at King Qing as if pleading for help.

King Qing spoke: “Eight Brother is still little, I’m afraid it’s inappropriate.”

Lin Sui sneered: “Fifth Brother is still a fool, is that appropriate?”

Yan Qin timidly pulled on the hem of Lin Sui’s clothes, his expression wronged as he acted like a fool.

 

◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

[1] The place where concubines who fall from favour are banished to. ⤴

[2] Also known as ‘python robes’, official robes worn by ministers in the Qing and Ming dynasties. The dragons embroidered in these robes only had 4 toes, while the dragons in the emperor’s ‘dragon robes’ had 5 toes, so they were called pythons (蟒 mang3) instead, hence the name python robe. 

Example pic.

 ⤴

[3] The horse’s name means ‘to walk on clouds’ and I was really tempted to tl it as Skywalker lol. ⤴