Pink Lotus-jie suddenly lifted her hand. A faint smile tugged at her lips, and her voice drifted down like a feather.

  The entire room fell silent—dozens of eyes all swung toward us at once.

  My hand froze mid-air, stiff as stone. “Huh?!”

  Her gaze was half-sultry, half-cool. She adjusted the cloth I’d hastily draped over her shoulders and said lazily,

  “Little brother, the purple jade is indeed yours. But surely you don’t intend to just pluck it off me like that, do you? One must at least make it presentable. I need to go change—put on something proper—before I can hand the jade over to you.”

  “What?!” I almost leapt three feet high. “That’s stalling! Pure stalling!”

  Pink Lotus-jie lifted the corner of her eye, her smile deepening into something velvety and dangerous.

  “I never renege on my word. I’m simply following decorum. If you truly want the jade… you’ll have to come with me and watch me take it off. How about it?”

  Boom.

  The whole place exploded.

  Hua hammered the table, flicking his fan open. “Oh my, Little Gong, Little Gong, what blessings you enjoy! That’s Pink Lotus-jie’s private chamber! If you follow her in… heh… I fear you’ll lose far more than you gain!”

  The deputy envoy flushed scarlet, nearly overturned his jug.

  “No! Absolutely not! This—this is far too improper!”

  Shangguan Fengliu lounged back in his chair, giving me a sidelong look—half amused, half genuinely intrigued.

  “If you really go in… tsk. The jianghu might just gain a new legend tonight.”

  They tossed lines back and forth, every last one of them dragging the conversation into the dirtiest possible alleyway, and every word made my heart drum harder against my ribs.

  The one person I absolutely did not dare look at… was Lian.

  He said nothing. Just stood there in silence. But the cold pouring off him was enough to freeze marrow.

  Those eyes—if I so much as nodded and followed Pink Lotus-jie in—he’d probably draw his sword and level the entire gambling den in one stroke.

  My throat tightened. I nearly fell to my knees.

  “Aiya—n-no, no! I’m not going into any boudoir! I have no interest in that! If I must wait, I’d rather sit in your—your servant quarters!”

  “Pff—!” Hua almost passed out laughing.

  The deputy envoy’s hand shook so hard the jug nearly smashed into his own skull.

  Shangguan Fengliu tapped his fan on the table, eyes glinting.

  “Little Gong, your tastes are… unconventional.”

  Pink Lotus-jie blinked in surprise, then broke into a tinkling laugh. Her gaze shimmered dangerously.

  “You really do know how to tease, little brother. But rules are rules. If you want the jade, you must come with me. Otherwise… we have nothing to discuss.”

  My throat closed up; I very nearly choked on my own spit.

  My eyes darted sideways—Lian! Save me!

  Lian finally moved. He stepped forward, cold as a drawn blade, his voice cutting clean through the air.

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  “I will go with him.”

  Pink Lotus-jie tightened the cloth around her shoulders, a faint smile playing at the corner of her mouth—but her gaze did not retreat.

  “I invited him alone. This gentleman is handsome indeed, but rules are rules. Handsome or not, I cannot make an exception.”

  She even shot me a glance—one so teasing it pinned my soul to the spot.

  My heart hammered, my legs filled with lead, and under dozens of watching eyes I forced out a smile uglier than crying.

  “A-aiya… f-fine. I’ll… go then. I’m a man of rules, after all.”

  Lian’s gaze grew colder still. My stomach flipped, but I no longer had any room to retreat. Pink Lotus-jie beckoned, and I followed her stiffly into her private chambers.

  The door had barely opened before I nearly staggered backward.

  There was someone else inside.

  A familiar face.

  “P-Prefect Li?!” My eyes flew open. Terror shot through me like lightning.

  No, no, no—if he asked how I got here, I’d be exposed! If he discovered we’d escaped trouble earlier by relying on the “system,” we were finished!

  But Prefect Li broke into a delighted grin the moment he saw me. He hurried forward as though greeting a god of wealth.

  “Aiya! Young Master Nangong! Truly an honor! We are celebrating a very important guest today! Please—please, come in!”

  I stood frozen, brain filling with question marks.

  Important guest? What guest?

  I came for a jade pendant—what in the world is happening now?!

  Before I could ask, he was already ushering me further inside. He lifted a heavy curtain; warm lamplight flooded out, thick sandalwood incense rolling toward us.

  Inside, someone was already kneeling with long robes trailing behind him, head bowed.

  Prefect Li suddenly dropped to his knees with a loud “thump,” his voice trembling with excitement:

  “Your servant pays respects to Your Highness, the Eighth Prince!”

  I froze.

  Like a turned-to-stone statue.

  My brain detonated in one deafening boom.

  The Eighth Prince?!

  The emperor’s most beloved younger brother?!

  My limbs went weak.

  A hundred gruesome visions flashed through my mind—confiscation of assets, exile, execution—lining up like they were waiting their turn.

  I stood there, too panicked to even know where to put my hands.

  Then a low, urgent whisper snapped beside me:

  “Why are you still standing?! Kneel!”

  I whipped my head around—and nearly fossilized on the spot.

  Kneeling on the floor…

  was my own elder brother—Nangong Bo.

  My mind cracked like thunder.

  What—what was going on?!

  Before I could think, my knees buckled on their own and I fell down with a loud thud.

  Above us, a young man spoke—his voice calm, steady, but carrying an unmistakable authority.

  “Prefect Li. Leave me alone with the two young masters of the Nangong family.”

  “Y-yes, yes!”

  Prefect Li bowed so low his forehead nearly scraped the floor, then tip-toed out, vanishing beyond the curtain.

  The young man’s voice came again—quiet, but carrying effortless command.

  “You may rise. Sit.”

  A jolt shot through my heart. I stiffly lifted my head.

  Behind the case table sat a young nobleman, lamplight outlining features as refined as carved jade.

  His bearing was noble without being ostentatious; his eyes were clear and sharp, as though a single glance could cut straight into a man’s soul.

  Tall, poised, hair bound with a white jade coronet—he was nothing like the pampered princelings we usually saw.

  “This… this is the Eighth Prince?”

  My heart hammered wildly. My throat bobbed up and down, nearly choking on its own swallow.

  So this was the emperor’s most favored brother. No wonder the whole capital spoke of his brilliance.

  My legs trembled. I managed to scramble into a chair, sitting on only the very edge of it, terrified that any sudden move would end with my head rolling.

  My elder brother Nangong Bo sat beside me, stiff as a board. He opened his mouth.

  “Your Highness—”

  But the Eighth Prince lifted a hand. His voice remained soft, but the power behind it allowed no argument.

  “I already know about your family’s situation.”

  My stomach plummeted.

  Finished. I was finished.

  My head was going to roll for sure—

  But before terror could swallow me whole, he continued:

  “I did not come today to pursue that matter. Rest assured—the emperor will not learn of my meeting with you.”

  I nearly exhaled a long “hooooo—” then and there. Cold sweat drenched my spine.

  The Eighth Prince’s tone shifted, his gaze settling on the two of us brothers, deep and unreadable.

  “I am here,” he said, “to ask the two of you for a favor.”

  That single sentence dropped the heavy stone in my chest right back where it was.

  My elder brother and I exchanged a long look, the same enormous question mark written all over our faces:

  —The Eighth Prince… wants our help?

  What on earth is he plotting?