The young man with the crooked mouth was named Liu Zheng, and he was none other than Liu Ruyan’s older brother. "Future brother-in-law, you are betrothed to my sister, yet here you are at the Plucking Stars Pavilion. Aren't you afraid she’ll refuse to acknowledge you after this?"
The remark was heavy with a thick, unmistakable air of menace.
Huh?
The room was filled mostly with young scions of wealthy Capital City families, all of whom now turned their gazes toward the Second Prince, Li Feng.
The inner circles of the capital were small, so everyone naturally knew of the Second Prince’s infatuation with Liu Ruyan. To win her hand, Li Feng had stooped to all manner of sycophancy, not only showering the Liu family with money and official positions but, according to rumors, even demeaning himself to climb trees to retrieve kites or wade into rivers to fetch her embroidered shoes.
No one had expected that this lovesick puppy of a prince would appear in a brothel tonight, let alone dare to openly challenge Wang Peng. It all seemed incredibly irrational.
"Wang Peng, I hope tonight is merely a misunderstanding, and not a sign that your Wang family intends to usurp the throne," Li Feng said. He knew he could only capitalize on this opening, so he took the opportunity to issue a warning.
Wang Peng had already decided to report the matter to the Princess's Estate to ensure the Second Prince would suffer, but for now, he offered a fawning smile. "This is truly a misunderstanding. Our Wang family is absolutely loyal to the Li family!"
Despite the Wang family's immense prestige, his father was the Emperor’s chief sycophant; they had no capital for a rebellion.
Recalling the Wang family’s betrayal in his past life, Li Feng felt only contempt, though he knew it was far from his place to rule the world just yet. His goal for tonight remained to spread the word about the day's events. "Liu Zheng, I am no longer your brother-in-law! I intend to dissolve my betrothal to Liu Ruyan. From now on, no one can dictate whether I visit a brothel or not—and I fully intend to spend the night here at the Plucking Stars Pavilion!"
At these words, the guests exchanged bewildered glances.
Leaving aside whether it was appropriate for a prince to be patronizing a brothel so brazenly, everyone knew how obsessively Li Feng had pursued Liu Ruyan. To hear him voluntarily declare an end to the engagement was like seeing the sun rise in the west.
Liu Zheng seemed to think of something and decided to goad him. "Second Prince, I know you must be upset after being punished by the Empress for trampling those Imperial Yellows today, but surely that is no reason to abandon yourself to such depravity!"
"Trampled the Imperial Yellows and was punished by the Empress?"
Hearing this piece of royal gossip, the guests immediately perked up, their interest piqued.
Although the affair between Liu Ruyan and Li Xian in the back garden had been hushed up, no such secrecy surrounded Li Feng’s destruction of the Imperial Yellows; it was clear they were being held to a double standard.
Now, combined with the sight of the Second Prince in a brothel, everything seemed to make sense—it appeared the Second Prince had simply chosen to give up on himself.
"I did indeed trample the Imperial Yellows and face the Empress's punishment, but did Liu Ruyan fail to tell you there was a reason for it?" Li Feng’s left hand still ached faintly, and he spoke with a cold indifference.
The remark instantly piqued even Wang Peng’s curiosity.
Liu Zheng had naturally learned of the incident from Liu Ruyan. "If you didn't want to do it, who could have forced you? The Imperial Yellows are the Empress’s most prized possessions. Since you committed the error, you should accept your punishment and stop spouting foolish nonsense about breaking off the engagement!"
Though Liu Ruyan did not fully grasp the stakes, her brother understood the importance of this marriage. It was the key opportunity for the Liu family to cement their position among the elite families of the Xia State."Your good sister engaged in illicit relations with Li Xian in the back garden today, and I happened to catch them in the act! That's why she carelessly ruined the Empress's Imperial Yellow and got punished by the Empress. I took the punishment upon myself, but your Liu Family's moral standards are truly appalling. I refuse this marriage!" Raising his injured left hand high, Li Feng seized the opportunity to broadcast the whole story.
A buzz...
As soon as these words fell, the entire Plucking Stars Pavilion erupted in an uproar.
The First Prince carrying on illicitly in the back garden with the Second Prince's fiancée, Liu Ruyan, only to be caught in the flagrante delicto by the Second Prince himself—even dramas wouldn't dare to script such a plot. It was simply too explosive.
Liu Zheng's face instantly turned the color of liver, and he pointed at Li Feng, stammering in defense, "You... don't talk nonsense! My Yan'er would never commit such a scandalous and disgraceful act!"
"When she was fornicating with Li Xian, I saw with my own eyes that both of them had a mole on their buttocks. Besides, your sister is no longer a virgin at all. Go back and check for yourself, and you'll know!" Naturally, Li Feng wasn't about to let the other party clear her name; instead, he dropped another bombshell.
The matter of the moles on their two backsides was naturally no secret to him, given his rebirth. Now that Liu Ruyan was no longer a virgin, only in his past life had he been foolish enough to believe it was caused by horseback riding. In reality, Liu Ruyan had already been used and ruined by Li Xian.
Now that he had been reborn, he naturally had to lock these two wretched people together to keep them from going out and plaguing anyone else.
Thinking of his sister's character, coupled with the fact that his wife had previously suspected something from the way his sister walked, Liu Zheng stammered, "You... you... haven't you always pursued my Yan'er? You even said you would marry no one else!"
"If she were still a virgin, I naturally would still be willing to marry her! But she was betrothed to me, and today she actually dared to seduce Li Xian and fornicate with him in the Empress's back garden. Such a woman—the First Prince can have her!" Knowing it would be hard to thoroughly pin the blame on Li Xian, Li Feng shifted his target to Liu Ruyan.
This...
The crowd present exchanged glances and then let out secret sighs.
The Second Prince Li Feng's infatuation with Liu Ruyan was common knowledge, and it had even become a laughingstock in the Capital City.
After all, as the dignified and sole legitimate heir of the Xia State, what kind of woman could he not have? Yet he had fallen exclusively for the illegitimate daughter of a humble family.
Now that the Second Prince had suddenly changed his mind, who could blame him?
No matter how infatuated he had once been, for Liu Ruyan to fornicate with the First Prince—any ordinary man would cast her aside like worn-out shoes, let alone the high-and-mighty Second Prince. This was entirely Liu Ruyan bringing this upon herself.
As for the Liu Family, their days ahead would likely be difficult unless they could attach themselves to the First Prince.
The First Prince?
Realizing that his sister had gotten into massive trouble, Liu Zheng licked his lips. Sensing that the First Prince Li Xian wielded greater influence in the imperial court, he actually felt a spark of temptation.
An elderly man surnamed Qin nearby had originally harbored doubts, but upon seeing Liu Zheng's reaction, he couldn't help gently shaking his head. He had finally witnessed firsthand the insatiable greed of the Liu Family.
Seeing that the situation had quieted down, the madam of the house stepped forward to announce the theme for this poetry gathering: "The theme for our competition at the Plucking Stars Pavilion today is 'Ambition.' Everyone, please compose a poem!"
Wang Peng's lips curved upward slightly. He stepped forward, directly wrote down his masterpiece, and then looked with supreme confidence at the gathered crowd, declaring, "This is a piece by Elder Kong, the greatest Confucian scholar in the Capital City. Who can possibly rival it?"
To ensure absolute success this time, he had not only used his influence to pressure others, but had also acquired the theme from the Plucking Stars Pavilion in advance and begged the great Confucian scholar Elder Kong for a poem.