Clink.
Ji Yuheng picked up the last southern pearl from the tray—the very one he had held in his mouth earlier, now washed clean—and placed it into the treasure casket, making exactly two hundred.
He personally carried the casket to the throne, knelt respectfully at Qixue’s feet, and held it overhead. “Please accept my congratulatory gift, Your Ladyship.”
Qixue’s smiling face fell. He wanted to slap the casket apart, but noticing the small animals all staring at him eagerly and the gray rabbit in his lap gently pawing at his robes, he could only helplessly call out, “Dong Yuan.”
Dong Yuan understandingly took the casket and said amiably, “Young Master Ji has put thought into this.”
Helan Ji glanced at Ji Yuheng. “Well done. You may withdraw.”
“Yes, Your Majesty. I take my leave.”
Ji Yuheng rose, bowed deeply once more without looking up at Qixue, and exited Jianzhang Hall.
With his departure, most of the small animals left the palace too, leaving only a few gray rabbits, which Qixue kept.
There were too many demons and fierce beasts in the palace, making it too dangerous for them. Qixue planned to build a small rabbit garden in Chenglu Palace to house them all.
After the audience ended, Qixue personally carried the few gray rabbits back to Chenglu Palace.
Including the pregnant doe, these five gray rabbits were siblings from the same litter. The buck that had impregnated the mother had been bitten to death, leaving only these few in the palace now.
Qixue felt heartbroken upon learning this and resolved even more to protect them well. He instructed Dong Yuan to quickly build a suitable rabbit garden in Chenglu Palace.
Dong Yuan was always efficient and thorough. In just two or three days, he had the rabbit garden built.
He selected the quietest side hall in Chenglu Palace. The floor tiles were first covered with a thick layer of sand and soil, then divided into sections paved with dry grass, turf, and wood shavings for the gray rabbits to live in.
A passage was carved into one wall corner, leading to a small rabbit corridor that extended to an outdoor rabbit garden. The garden was planted full of rabbit grass they loved, with dense bushes for play and hiding.
But merely providing housing for the gray rabbits wasn’t enough—after all, this was the imperial palace, where practicality had to pair with beauty.
Thus, Dong Yuan planned an elegant garden around the rabbit garden, currently digging channels for a stream and transporting rocks from various places to create a landscape of artificial mountains and flowing water.
This setup was quite lavish, but Qixue loved it. Besides, the gold and silver His Majesty had sent to Chenglu Palace piled up like mountains—the cost was but a drop in the bucket. So he readily approved Dong Yuan’s plans.
After handling this, Qixue flipped through the original novel and calculated the days, suddenly realizing an upcoming plot point.
In the original story, Ji Yuheng had good relations with many court officials, especially the old Prime Minister Li Mo, who strongly supported him. One reason was that when Ji Yuheng first arrived in Shangjing, he had sent a petition letter to Prime Minister Li.
This was still the early stage of the plot, where Ji Yuheng greatly respected Helan Ji. He believed the young Emperor would have his own children in the future and didn’t need to select an heir from the imperial clansmen, which might cause unrest.
So after arriving in Shangjing, Ji Yuheng wrote a petition outlining the harms of adopting a clansman’s son as heir and anonymously delivered it to the Prime Minister’s Mansion.
Prime Minister Li greatly admired the petition’s author, seeing him as a talented and loyal young man devoted to the country. But without a signature, he didn’t know who it was and regretted it, always searching for the person.
Later on, when Ji Yuheng revealed his identity, Prime Minister Li leaped to become a loyal supporter of the Crown Prince. A few years later, after Helan Ji suffered a severe backlash from witchcraft and grew increasingly deranged, Prime Minister Li came to despise Helan Ji’s tyranny and cruelty. He then defected to Ji Yuheng’s faction, convinced that Ji Yuheng was the true lord worthy of ruling Great Yong.
Qixue studied the plot and felt it necessary to intercept Ji Yuheng’s petition. That way, Prime Minister Li wouldn’t come to trust and admire Ji Yuheng so much, and none of the subsequent events would unfold.
He wasn’t sure if he could succeed in snatching it, though. With Ji Yuheng’s destiny on his side, was it even possible to block him?
Harboring a faint worry, Qixue entrusted this crucial task to Dong Yuan. He now fully trusted Dong Yuan’s abilities—if anyone could handle it, it was him.
“Rest assured, Your Ladyship. I will get it done for you perfectly.”
Dong Yuan said with a smiling drawl, then lowered his voice to ask Qixue, “Your Ladyship, do you truly despise this Ji Shizi that much?”
“Yes.” Qixue naturally hated Ji Yuheng to the point of grinding his teeth. “I wish I could kill him, but I can’t.”
Dong Yuan chuckled. “He is a shizi who will inherit his title, after all. Killing him would be troublesome. But if we can’t kill him, we can always tie him up and give him a good beating. I guarantee it’ll be done without a trace—send him out of the Imperial Palace by dawn. What do you think, Your Ladyship?”
Qixue’s eyes lit up. It was a great idea. He had been fretting over the lack of opportunities to get close to Ji Yuheng and properly humiliate him. If they could drag him to Chenglu Palace…
“How confident are you in pulling this off?” he asked Dong Yuan.
Dong Yuan replied, “I wouldn’t claim ten out of ten, but nine is no problem. I’ve already scouted for you, Your Ladyship. Ji Shizi doesn’t have many guards around him. It’ll be easy to make our move, and I promise not to leave a single trace.”
“Then give it a try,” Qixue said. “If you can’t bring him back, that’s fine—but you must seize the letter.”
“Rest assured, Your Ladyship. There won’t be any issues,” Dong Yuan guaranteed.
For extra caution, Qixue lent the jade token to Dong Yuan. If needed, he could release the Buddha Ghost inside to eliminate unfavorable evidence, though it could only devour objects, not take lives.
Dong Yuan took a few trusted men and left the palace. Qixue waited anxiously, with no confidence in whether Dong Yuan could succeed. After all, Ji Yuheng was the protagonist blessed with great destiny—he always turned danger into safety and escaped dire situations.
Perhaps Ji Yuheng’s destiny had failed him this time. Just half a shichen later, Dong Yuan returned to Chenglu Palace. One of his trusted subordinates tossed a sack onto the ground and opened it, revealing the unconscious Ji Yuheng inside.
Dong Yuan knelt and presented the letter to Qixue. “Your Ladyship, this is the letter Ji Shizi carried on him. Please have a look.”
Qixue opened it and skimmed the contents. It matched the original story exactly—the petition letter.
Not only had Dong Yuan seized the letter, he’d even kidnapped Ji Yuheng. Qixue was thrilled and generously asked Dong Yuan, “What reward do you want this time? As long as it’s not excessive, I’ll grant it.”
Qixue was always lavish with rewards for his palace servants, especially Dong Yuan. The man was no longer the poor boy from before; he lacked neither status nor power.
Dong Yuan’s dark, greedy gaze slid over Qixue’s delicate features. A smile tugged at his lips as he bowed deeply from the waist. “I need nothing. As long as Your Ladyship is pleased, this servant is more than satisfied.”
Seeing how sensible he was, Qixue nodded approvingly. “Then it’ll be the same as last time. Go to the treasury and claim the money yourself.”
“Yes, Your Ladyship.” Dong Yuan smiled and led his men away.
Once everyone had left, only Qixue and Ji Yuheng remained in the bedchamber.
Qixue gazed at Ji Yuheng’s tightly shut eyes and murmured to himself, “What should I do with you?”
Since Ji Yuheng had been successfully kidnapped, did that mean his luck was poor tonight? Qixue had originally just wanted to humiliate him, but now… should he try breaking Ji Yuheng’s legs?
If he succeeded, Ji Yuheng could never become Crown Prince. His Majesty wouldn’t appoint a cripple as heir, right?
Malicious ideas bubbled up in Qixue’s mind. Seeing that Dong Yuan and his men had gotten away cleanly emboldened him, and he set his sights on Ji Yuheng’s thighs.
He searched outside and found a wooden stick—leftover material from building the Rabbit Garden that hadn’t been cleared away.
The stick had some real weight to it; Qixue struggled to lift it. But if it was too thin, he worried it wouldn’t break Ji Yuheng’s legs.
Become a cripple, become a cripple…
Qixue chanted inwardly as he exerted himself until his face flushed red. He had just reached Ji Yuheng’s side when, somehow, his foot suddenly slipped, and he tumbled toward Ji Yuheng.
“Ah—”
Qixue panicked and flung the stick away, trying desperately to steady himself. But he still crashed into Ji Yuheng, landing squarely with his buttocks on Ji Yuheng’s face.
“……!”
Ji Yuheng, who had been feigning unconsciousness on the ground, shuddered violently.
