Chapter 40

The Third Prince’s four subordinates had died in a manner similar to that of the assassins from before, all succumbing to the same kind of internal force. The Dali Temple had turned the Capital City upside down in their search but failed to locate this hidden expert. For the time being, the case went cold.

Tao Chuyi was off to the Elegant Poetry Academy, with all her things prepared. In the early morning, she rode in the carriage, drowsy and nodding off, until she was roused right at the academy’s main gate.

“Young Master, it’s time to head in.”

Xichan straightened her collar for her and offered a few reminders.

Tao Chuyi suddenly changed her mind. “Can I just… not go?”

Xichan shook her head. “No, Young Master. You promised the Princess. A person can’t break their word like that—going back on promises makes you a bad kid.”

She couldn’t be a bad kid.

Tao Chuyi gritted her teeth. Fine, she’d go. Worst case, she could just sleep through class.

Xichan watched her determined figure disappear into the distance, then secretly wiped away her tears.

The coachman looked puzzled. “Won’t the Prince Consort be back this afternoon anyway?”

Xichan choked up. “Young Master all by himself in the academy… what if someone bullies him?”

Meanwhile, Tao Chuyi sat in the classroom, listening to the teacher drone through the classics—”of,” “this,” “that,” and so on—her eyelids growing heavier by the minute.

How was this even more soporific than a bedtime story?

Dozing off as she was, her head bobbed forward and thunked onto the desk as she fell fully asleep.

In her dream, a feast of delicious foods beckoned to her, inviting her to dig in. What a wonderful dream. Someone by the banquet table smiled at her too, though she couldn’t make out the face.

She hadn’t even gotten to the chicken, duck, fish, or meat when someone shook her awake.

“Is it time to eat?”

Tao Chuyi bolted upright, only to find a pack of foppish young masters crowding around her.

No such luck.

Tao Chuyi hung her head, all hope drained from her.

Laughter exploded around her from the group of young masters.

“So this is the Third Prince Consort. What an idiot.”

“If we bully him now, you think he’ll go tattling?”

“Let’s find out.”

Young Master Qi, their ringleader, suddenly grinned. “Prince Consort, how about a little game? If you lose, you serve as our lackey for a month. Sound good?”

Tao Chuyi wasn’t interested. “And if I win?”

The young masters burst out laughing as if they’d heard the biggest joke of the year, jeering at her arrogance.

Young Master Qi slammed the desk. “If you win, we’ll be your lackeys for a month.”

During the noon break, the students gathered for arm-wrestling. The girls watched from the sidelines while most of the boys jumped into the fray.

Tao Chuyi faced off alone against seven young masters. She was only a year or two older than them—barely worth mentioning—and they were all tall and burly, or round as balls. By comparison, she looked downright scrawny, the perfect target for bullying in anyone’s eyes.

Young Master Qi went first, striding up with supreme confidence and rolling back his sleeve as he sat across from her. “Let’s go!”

His six cronies cheered him on wildly. Amid the hype, he went down in glorious defeat.

“How is that possible?”

Young Master Qi gawked at Tao Chuyi like she’d sprouted horns. He hadn’t been able to muster even a shred of strength.

Their morale plummeted. Tao Chuyi proceeded to crush all seven of them in a row—a total rout.

“I won!”

Tao Chuyi beamed. “That means you have to buy me lunch.”

The seven exchanged uneasy glances before bowing deeply and shouting in unison, their voices booming.

“Big Bro!”

Boys that age loved nothing more than playacting as outlaws—forming gangs, bawling about brotherhood, strutting around like it made them hot stuff.

In just one day, Tao Chuyi had become the boss of the academy. With her seven little brothers in tow, no one dared bully her or crack jokes about her being dim.

Class finally ended, and Tao Chuyi bolted out first. From way down the path, she spotted the Princess Mansion’s carriage waiting.

“Xichan!”

Xichan waved frantically. “Young Master, hurry! Time to go home.”

Tao Chuyi scrambled aboard in a flash, threw back the curtain, and tumbled right into someone.

“Sister? Sister!”

She threw her arms around Nangong Yunshang in a hug. Her sister had come to pick her up!

Nangong Yunshang patted her back, soothing her excitement.

“How was the academy?”

Tao Chuyi settled into her seat and tilted her head, thinking. “Pretty good.”

Relieved at that, Nangong Yunshang let out a quiet breath. She’d been worried someone might pick on the Prince Consort.

Still, she pressed. “Did anyone bully you? If they did, you have to tell me.”

Tao Chuyi waggled her head vigorously. “Nope!”

“That’s good, then.”

Nangong Yunshang smoothed down a stray lock of her hair.

“Hungry?”

Tao Chuyi opened her mouth to reply—then let out an enormous belch by accident.

“Nuh-uh.”

That was unusual.

Nangong Yunshang gave her a once-over, then reached out to pat her belly. Evidently, lunch had been substantial.

With those seven rich kids watching her back, Tao Chuyi quickly became the talk of the academy. She mastered everything but poetry and books: arm-wrestling, cricket fighting, drinking games—she was unbeatable.

“Come on, recite the Three Character Classic for your sister.”

Nangong Yunshang lounged on the couch, ready for a homework check.

Tao Chuyi scratched her head and launched in. “At birth, man’s nature is good…”

“Mm-hm. Go on?”

Tao Chuyi pursed her lips. “At birth… man’s nature is good. At birth, man’s nature is good.”

Something was off. Nangong Yunshang propped herself up to peer at her. “Is that seriously all you know?”

At that, Tao Chuyi scooted closer. “Sister, why’s man’s nature good, anyway? What if it’s evil by nature? Or naughty? Or stubborn…”

She didn’t get to finish. Nangong Yunshang flicked her forehead. “Sounds like you’re naughty by nature to me. So, what exactly have you been up to at the academy?”

Tao Chuyi ticked off her exploits on her fingers, dead serious—daily routines aside, there were tree-climbing for bird eggs, blocking dogs in their dens, drowning ant hills.

Nangong Yunshang let out the faintest sigh. She didn’t scold her, though. She’d never planned on turning Tao Chuyi into some great scholar in the first place—just giving her some life experience.

“Sister, you’re mad at me.”

Tao Chuyi moped, burrowing face-first into Nangong Yunshang’s chest.

Nangong Yunshang hauled her back out before she suffocated. “I’m not. Chuyi’s right—human nature could be anything.”

From day one, the Princess Mansion didn’t need to worry about Tao Chuyi’s lunches. Her seven little brothers took turns sending over their family chefs’ best dishes. The only concern was whether the Prince Consort might eat herself to death.

Tao Chuyi was content reigning as the academy’s little tyrant when she happened to notice someone. The girl always kept her head down as she walked, taking the others’ mockery and even their roughhousing without a peep, as if she were used to it.

“Who’s that?”

Young Master Qi followed her gaze. “Oh, Squire Yang’s eldest daughter. Total pushover—mud that won’t stick to the wall. Why’s Big Bro asking?”

He paled suddenly and whispered in horror. “Big Bro, you better not be getting ideas. Isn’t the Third Princess beauty enough for you?”

Tao Chuyi had no clue what he meant and shoved him away with an elbow.

Just then, Miss Yang ran smack into a group—boys and girls alike—blocking her path.

“Where do you think you’re going? This miss isn’t done having fun yet.”

Their leader, a girl, shoved Miss Yang toward her cronies.

“Drag her to the backyard. We’ll play at our leisure.”

Tao Chuyi cradled her face in her hands. Her sister had said the Elegant Poetry Academy was the top school under the emperor’s gaze, open only to nobles and officials’ daughters—students brimming with talent and refinement.

This wasn’t matching up at all.

Tao Chuyi’s brain felt like it was about to explode. She leaped from the colonnade, grabbed Miss Yang’s arm, and yanked her to safety behind herself.

“Hey! No bullying people.”

The group scattered quickly.

Tao Chuyi turned to check on Miss Yang—and found her already on her knees.

“Young Master, I’ll do anything you want. Anything.”

Miss Yang was petrified, quaking as if Tao Chuyi were a rampaging beast.

Tao Chuyi reached down to help her up, but Miss Yang flinched away, trembling.

“I’m not scary. Don’t be afraid.”

“Yeah, Big Bro’s the most upright guy around.”

Young Master Qi chimed in from the side. “Miss Yang, don’t bite the hand that feeds you.”

That only terrified her more, shrinking her into a ball.

Tao Chuyi fumed and stomped hard on Young Master Qi’s foot. He hopped around yelping.

Worried the bullies might come back for her, Tao Chuyi took Miss Yang to her own hangout spot. But Miss Yang kept shaking uncontrollably, refusing to even look at her.

“Class’ll be over soon. You can go then.”

Tao Chuyi tried handing her some water—but before she could, Miss Yang dropped to her knees again.

“I’ll do whatever you say.”

She was frantic, clawing at the ground until her fingers bled, even crawling in circles around Tao Chuyi.

“I’ll bark like a dog! I can do anything— just let me go! Please!”

The display left Tao Chuyi utterly baffled.

“You… you can go. Now.”

Miss Yang scrambled up like she’d been pardoned and bolted.

Tao Chuyi felt deeply wronged. Was she really that frightening?

When the carriage arrived to pick her up, she spotted Miss Yang lingering by the roadside.

“Yang-jiejie? Wanna ride with us?”

Miss Yang’s smile cracked. She shook her head wildly and fled.

Xichan blinked in confusion. “Young Master, who was that?”

“A…” Tao Chuyi fumbled for words. “An academy big sister.”

Even at dinner, she was still dwelling on why the girl bolted at the sight of her. So distracted, she barely touched her food.

“What’s wrong?” Nangong Yunshang picked up a piece of food for her with her chopsticks. “What happened to leave our Chuyi looking so glum?”

Tao Chuyi had always been carefree and happy-go-lucky. Nangong Yunshang had grown increasingly accustomed to this side of her after accepting it, even coming to think it suited her perfectly.

Tao Chuyi snapped back to attention and tugged at Nangong Yunshang’s sleeve. “Sister, why do people get scared? Why do they tremble?”

It was a question out of nowhere. Nangong Yunshang pondered it for a moment, sensing there was a story behind it. But she wasn’t in any rush. She patiently explained, “It could be because they sense danger, or maybe they’ve been subjected to malice for so long that fear has become ingrained.”

So that was it. Tao Chuyi got it now. That Sister Yang must have been bullied by bad guys all the time and had mistaken her for one of them too.

“There’s a Sister Yang at the academy. She’s scared of me.”

Nangong Yunshang arched a brow slightly. Suddenly, she pinched her ear and yanked her closer. “Where did this Sister Yang come from?”

She’d only been gone a few days. Hadn’t learned anything else, but somehow picked up another sister along the way.