Chapter 201 -

Chapter 201: Chapter

Yueqing watched the brutal beating unfold. Part of her wanted to tell him to stop, but seeing how arrogant the prince had been, she honestly didn’t mind seeing that face get disfigured a little.

Just then, a sharp, authoritative voice boomed across the courtyard.

"Stop this at once!"

Everyone froze. The moment they heard the voice of the Crown Prince, the atmosphere turned ice cold. The other princes immediately straightened up, wiping away their panic. Lu Yue and Nine quickly rushed over, gently helping Yueqing back up to her feet.

The Crown Prince’s personal guards marched forward, forcefully pulling Xiao Chen off the bruised and bloody prince before he could do any more damage.

Seeing their older brother arrive, the other princes and princesses instantly rushed over to him, weeping and crying exaggerated tears. "First Brother! You have to help us! Xiao Chen has gone mad, he’s bullying us for no reason and nearly beat him to death!"

The Crown Prince didn’t even look at his whining brothers. His gaze cut straight past them, landing directly on Yueqing. He recognized her immediately as the Grand Chancellor’s daughter.

Ignoring the crying princes entirely, the Crown Prince stepped forward, his expression softening into polite inquiry. "Lady Su. Are you alright?"

Yueqing steadied herself, offering a respectful bow. "My greetings to the Crown Prince," she said smoothly, her voice clear and steady. "I am quite well, thank you. The Third Prince was merely trying to defend me... after one of Your Highnesses chose to violently push me to the ground."

The Crown Prince turned back to Yueqing, offering a smooth smile as he tried to brush the incident aside.

"My brother is still a prince," the Crown Prince said smoothly. "He will be disciplined for pushing you, but I hope Lady Su can let this matter go. After all, he is still just a child at heart."

Yueqing kept her face completely blank, hiding her annoyance. A child? The prince who shoved her was a grown man acting like a bully, yet the Crown Prince was dismissing it with a flimsy excuse just to sweep it under the rug.

After that, the Crown Prince turned his attention to Xiao Chen.

The two men stared at each other across the courtyard. They were close in age, but Xiao Chen stood taller and much more muscular, built strong from years of physical hardship.

A heavy silence filled the air. Beneath their polite smiles, a dangerous tension hung between them. Among all the Emperor’s sons, Xiao Chen was the only one with the strength, the cunning, and the raw power to truly threaten the Crown Prince and take the throne.

The Crown Prince cleared his throat, shifting the topic away from the squabble. He looked smoothly at Yueqing.

"How is General Wenzhe recovering?" the Crown Prince asked, his tone carefully polite. "He and I share much weight in the court after all. His health is vital to us all."

Yueqing kept her voice steady and guarded. "He is resting, Your Highness. The injury was severe, but he is enduring."

The Crown Prince offered a faint nod, exchanging one last heavy look with Xiao Chen before turning on his heel and walking away, his guards falling in line behind him.

Yueqing and the others bowed respectfully until the Crown Prince had completely vanished down the corridor. The moment he was out of sight, Yueqing’s face hardened back into a cold, flat stare. She didn’t waste a second, turning around to walk away.

Before she could take two steps, a hand caught her arm.

"Yueqing, wait."

It was Xiao Chen. He stepped into her path, his eyes filled with a desperate, heavy plea.

"Are you still angry at me?" Xiao Chen asked, his voice dropping low. "You tried to help me back there... and now here you are, acting like you utterly hate me."

Yueqing shoved his hand away, her eyes flashing with pure disgust.

"You are all the same," she snapped, her voice sharp and bitter. "You only care about a bloody throne. You’re ready to hurt even your own family just to get ahead."

Xiao Chen flinched, opening his mouth to defend himself, but she cut him off.

"I don’t know what exactly conspired between you and Wenzhe in the past," Yueqing continued, her chest heaving with anger. "But why can’t you both just come together and settle it? Why must you turn into bitter enemies?"

Xiao Chen let out a bitter, humorless laugh, shaking his head as the frustration boiled over in his own chest.

"Settle it?" Xiao Chen scoffed, his voice laced with sharp disbelief. "You think this is just a simple misunderstanding over tea, Yueqing? You think men like us can just sit down and shake hands?"

He stepped closer, his dark eyes burning with intensity as he looked down at her.

"The throne isn’t just a shiny seat, Yueqing. It’s survival. If I don’t crush them, they will bury me and everyone I ever cared about, including my mother’s memory. And Wenzhe... Wenzhe chose his side a long time ago. He stands in my way, and in this palace, a rival’s breathing is a threat to my life."

Yueqing stared at him, her expression chilling even further. She didn’t want to hear his excuses, didn’t want to understand the tangled web of blood and ambition that made them all monsters in designer robes.

"Then keep your power and keep your wars," Yueqing said coldly, turning her back on him completely. "Just leave me and Wenzhe out of your madness."

Yueqing was about to walk away when Xiao Chen’s voice stopped her dead in his tracks.

"My mother was the only one who ever cared about me in this entire palace," Xiao Chen said, his voice cracking slightly with a raw, buried agony. "She is the only one who ever had good intentions for me. After her, the only person who has ever shown genuine concern for me is you, Yueqing."

He took a desperate step forward, his dark eyes pleading as he stared at her back.

"Why are you on his side, then?" he whispered, bitterness bleeding into his tone. "Why must he have everything?"