一夜情

“I want to be the Number One Scholar. Can you give me that?”

The Third Prince couldn’t answer that.

“Your highness, can’t you give me that?”

“I’m sorry. I can’t do anything about the Imperial Examination.”

“Junjun is my brother as well. Your highness, you don’t need to worry that I will use Junjun’s relation to the royal family to do anything. Even if Junjun inherits the position of the emperor, all I can do is help him secure that position.”

“How dare you?!”

“Your highness, you don’t believe that I don’t have ambitions, yet you don’t believe my ambitions. Is that your reason for wanting to kill me?”

The Third Prince took a good look at Xie Heng and asked slowly, “Do you know that if what you said just now gets out there, you would be executed for it?”

Xie Heng looked back at him and said seriously, “Unless you decide to tell someone else, no one will know about this conversation. I genuinely hope that Junjun will be safe and happy. But if someone wants to kill him, I won’t just sit and watch. That is not what a brother should do.”

The Third Prince remained silent.

After quite a while, he finally said, “Xie Heng, no one can tell what is going to happen in the future. At the very least, you are protecting Junjun right now, and that’s good enough. Rather than suspecting you, I’d rather spend my time thinking about how to eliminate the threats toward Junjun in Imperial City. I hope to see you in Imperial City during the next Imperial Examination.”

Upon saying that, the Third Prince patted Xie Heng’s shoulder and said, “No one else shall know about what happened today. I will tell Junjun about his real family at an appropriate time. Until then, I hope that you can help me guard this secret, Zizhao. Oh, right, please keep the pendant. Don’t lose it.” Before Xie Heng could reply, the Third Prince left the study room.

He had said enough.

If Xie Heng dared to take advantage of Xie Jun, the Third Prince wouldn’t mind making him blind again.

For now, he couldn’t take his brother away yet. The safest option was for Xie Jun to stay with Xie Heng.

At least, no one would suspect a powerless student.

The Third Prince didn’t leave immediately. He went to Xie Jun’s room to watch him do homework.

A few days later, a couple came to the Xie clan.

Zhao Chuchu raised her eyebrows and asked, “You are?

The lady bowed slightly and introduced herself. “Madam, I am Chang Hong, and this is my husband, Chai Le. We will be servants for the Xie family from today onward. These are our contracts.”

Zhao Chuchu took a look at the contracts. They were death bonds.

That meant that these two people would be servants of the Xie clan until the day they died.

“Did the Third Prince tell you to come?

“We belong to the Xie clan and only the Xie clan from today onward. We are only loyal to the Xie clan.”

Zhao Chuchu took a good look at the two of them. They had clearly trained in martial arts.

The Third Prince probably sent them over to protect Xie Jun.

“What can you do?”

“I’m good at needlework and tailoring, while my husband can cook.”

“What about your weapons?

Chang Hong was startled for a moment.

Chai Le said, “I’m good at bow and arrow and some concealed weapons. My wife is good with a sword.”

“Stay here for now. I need to wait for my husband to decide whether to let the two of you stay with us.”

“Yes, madam.”

Although the Third Prince sent these two people, Zhao Chuchu didn’t know who they were. Naturally, she couldn’t take them in so easily.

The two of them behaved as though they belonged there. They put down their things and started working.

Chai Le cooked lunch. Although he wasn’t nearly as good as Xie Heng, it was more than enough for Zhao Chuchu, who was basically cooking poison.

Xie Heng returned when the sky was almost dark.

When he saw Chai Le and Chang Hong, he immediately knew what was happening.

Before Zhao Chuchu said anything, he agreed to let the two of them stay.

After dusk, Xie Heng explained the situation to Zhao Chuchu. “These two were there since the beginning, so they are absolutely loyal to Junjun.”

“That’s all I needed to hear,” Zhao Chuchu said. “I was thinking about buying a few servants to help out at home. Now we can save that money.”

“Have you opened Ruyi Pavilion yet? Do you need my help with anything?”

“No. Ruyi Pavilion only serves ladies, so you can’t really help with anything.”

“Are you only going to sell to women in the future as well?”

“Not really. Oh right, Da Lang, I’m quite free recently. How about I give free consultations at the academy? What do you think?”

“Why do you want to do that suddenly?”

“I was thinking maybe I could help you.”

“It’s all guys in the academy. If you don’t mind…” Upon saying that, Xie Heng suddenly laughed. “I’ll tell the principal about it later.”

Zhao Chuchu picked up on his incomplete sentence and asked, “If I don’t mind what?”

Xie Heng shook his head and said, “I just said it out of habit. I swear.”

The barrier between men and women didn’t mean anything to Zhao Chuchu, not to mention that she was a doctor.”

“I thought you were going to say that I’m a woman, so I should keep a distance from men, especially in a place like an academy..”