Chapter 31: Fate Plays Such Tricks on People—Su Yingxue is the Precious Jade, While Chu Xingchen is the Worthless Weed.

Both are imperial relatives, both share the emperor’s bloodline. Yet fate plays such cruel tricks. Su Yingxue is the precious jade, while Chu Xingchen is the worthless weed.

The precious jade is cherished and pampered within its case, while the weed grows wild since childhood—unnoticed, left to live or perish on its own.

Chu Xingchen mocked himself inwardly.

The heaven-favored daughter, blessed since birth, how could she understand the suffering of weeds or the hardships of the world?

Just as he, Chu Xingchen, being a weed, couldn’t help but envy everything the precious jade had always possessed.

A chill settled in Chu Xingchen’s heart—fate was often so unjust. If heaven intended to create weeds, why let them know that precious jades even existed?

Could it be merely to use the weed as a foil to the jade, making people better appreciate the weed’s bitterness through contrast?

Shivering against the biting wind, Chu Xingchen sneered at himself. The wind was truly cold, sharp as a blade, cutting through his soaked, thin clothes and chilling him to the bone, making him tremble and sneeze uncontrollably.

Her small face was pale, her clothes drenched and clinging—so pitiful and disheveled, she appeared more docile than usual.

This way, she looked much more agreeable. Chu Xingchen stared at the finely dressed young woman before him and snorted coldly.

Chu Xingchen had been freezing by the lake for a long time when a group of guards and eunuchs finally arrived. Quickly, the leading guards pinned him down, shouting, “You treacherous Hostage Prince! How dare you harm the Eldest Princess! Men! Take him to the Inner Eunuch Directorate!”

Without hearing his side, they dragged Chu Xingchen away, beating and pulling him. He didn’t even have time to grab his only cotton robe.

As they hauled him off, Chu Xingchen’s expression turned icy. He sneered, “I should have known—when has the world ever missed a chance to torment a weed?”

You owe me a life, Su Yingxue. Chu Xingchen gritted his teeth, inwardly mocking himself.

This is what you owe me, Su Yingxue. Just wait—one day, I will reclaim it from you!

Before being dragged away, the young man’s eyes burned crimson as he fixed a deep, intense gaze on the woman before him—her hair disheveled and soaked, face deathly pale, eyes tightly shut—and grumbled inwardly.

“Prince Chu, I noticed you deep in thought just now. Do you have questions about what I explained earlier?” Mr. Qingming, seeing Chu Xingchen lost in contemplation, assumed he was puzzled by some part of the lesson and promptly paused to inquire.

“Not at all, sir.”

Chu Xingchen’s thoughts were drawn back by Mr. Qingming’s voice. Regulating his unsettled emotions, he replaced them with an elegant smile and replied gently, “Your lecture was exceptionally vivid, rich with classical references, and deeply captivating, sir. I was so moved by your words that I became lost in reflection—please forgive my distraction.”

Chu Xingchen stood and bowed in apology, prompting a hearty laugh from Mr. Qingming. “In that case, I shall continue with the lesson.”

Thus, the minor interruption passed.

Mr. Qingming’s lecture was well-structured, filled with classical allusions, and logically clear. Soon, the morning session concluded. After confirming that both students had understood the material, he assigned their homework and took his leave.

After the teacher departed, Su Yingxue swiftly gathered the books and scrolls on the desk, while Qiushuang tidied up the writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstone beside her. Once the Eldest Princess’s study materials were neatly arranged, they were placed together into a bamboo case.

Now, Chu Xingchen had to pack these things himself. He quickly gathered everything and stored it in the bamboo case. Fortunately, he had paid some attention to today’s lessons, though the content was not particularly profound. Completing the assignments in the evening would not be difficult.

After packing, Chu Xingchen stood to the side, holding the bamboo case as he waited. Only then did he notice Su Yingxue leisurely finishing her preparations and rising to her feet. Her graceful silhouette was cast upon the white gauze screen, and through the screen, she appeared as if veiled in mist—a hazy, elusive beauty shrouded in mystery.

The fair maiden’s shadow on the screen, the young lord waiting respectfully before the hall.

Somehow, as Chu Xingchen watched Su Yingxue, these two lines surfaced in his mind.

Qiushuang stood to the side, holding the case for Su Yingxue. After rising, Su Yingxue smoothed her skirt and turned to leave the hall. As she passed by Chu Xingchen, who stood motionless, he could not help but speak up.

His voice was cool, carrying an air of indifference and detachment. The young man’s expression was cold, his eyes filled with nothing but aloofness and chill. “Elder Sister, may Chu Xingchen speak with you alone?”

Perhaps this was the first time Chu Xingchen had actively addressed Su Yingxue as “Elder Sister,” which left her somewhat taken aback. Surprise followed, and then she observed that the young man before her no longer carried the resentment and hostility he had shown that day at the Inner Eunuch Directorate, when he had been trapped like a cornered beast.

Now, he appeared detached and elegant, dressed in a blue robe, his slender and tall frame reminiscent of bamboo. In that moment, he seemed like an exiled immortal—serene, detached, and far removed from the mundane world.

“If Younger Brother is willing to set aside past grievances and address This Palace as Elder Sister, it means he intends to be This Palace’s younger brother in his heart,” Su Yingxue replied with a faint smile. She dismissed Qiushuang and the other attendants in the hall, then looked at the young man with a cheerful expression. “This Palace has said that as long as Younger Brother is willing, This Palace will treat him as a true brother. In the entire Da Sheng Guo Du, with This Palace here, no one can lay a finger on Younger Brother.”

Previously, Su Yingxue had always felt that Chu Xingchen carried a certain harshness and stubbornness, hostile to everything like a trapped beast.

But the current Chu Xingchen seemed more like an ordinary teenager, full of youthful vitality. Su Yingxue was quite pleased with this change in him, as it suggested that the fate of being executed by the male lead might have a chance to be altered.

Upon hearing this, Chu Xingchen pressed his lips into a faint smile. His handsome face, already marked by detachment, grew even colder, and his eyes turned icy.

He spoke softly, his voice hoarse and low, “Elder Sister has shown such care for Xingchen. May I ask what Elder Sister seeks in return from this younger brother?”

“Elder Sister has sent clothes and gifts, rescued me and applied medicine, arranged accommodations and attendants, and even arranged for me to study alongside Elder Sister. Each of these meticulous arrangements, one after another, shows how much thought Elder Sister has put into caring for this younger brother.”

Chu Xingchen’s expression remained cold, his eyes sharp. After all, he was still a young man, and his emotions were not entirely concealed. For him, the words he was about to speak felt disdainful and repulsive, as if tainted with boundless contempt and disgust.

He said coldly, “After much thought, the only thing I possess now that could make Elder Sister scheme so patiently is this barely passable appearance—something you once desired to claim but never did.”

After all, he was still a youth. Having spoken these words, his face turned pale then flushed, yet his starry, radiant eyes were filled with undisguised fury and disgust.

Turning his head away from Su Yingxue, he continued icily, “If Elder Sister truly wishes to secretly keep me as a Male Consort, hidden away in the Side Hall, you certainly have the power to do so. Why go through such elaborate schemes to mock me?”