Chapter 23 Provoking the Third Prince

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“A lesson? You, a creature lower than swine and dogs, dare presume to teach me a lesson?”

The Third Prince’s eyes were red with rage, every inch of them bloodshot as he glared fixedly at Zhou Hao, as though he wished he could kill him with his eyes alone.

“What? You seem rather dissatisfied. Was my lesson too light?”

Zhou Hao raised his fist, making as though he would smash it into the Third Prince’s face.

That immediately filled the Third Prince’s eyes with fear.

He did indeed want revenge against Zhou Hao.

But he had no desire to test the strength of Zhou Hao’s iron fists.

Those blows had been anything but light.

“I’m satisfied, I’m satisfied. But the customs of this barbarian land are ultimately inappropriate in the Imperial City. Why don’t we follow the customs of the Imperial City instead?”

“The customs of the Imperial City?”

Zhou Hao nodded, a smile appearing on his face.

“Very well. According to the customs of the Imperial City, do you step forward with your left foot first or your right?”

Before the Third Prince could answer, another punch slammed into his face.

This blow carried all of Zhou Hao’s fury and knocked him straight to the ground. It took the Third Prince a long while before he staggered back to his feet.

Several servants tried to pull him up, but Zhou Hao’s iron fist stopped them all.

“Did you come here just to pick a fight?”

“You hit me again before I’d even finished speaking.”

Zhou Hao looked at him with a hint of surprise.

“Hm? You’re only realizing that now?”

The Third Prince stared at him in disbelief.

“So the rule about stepping forward with the left foot or the right was fake?”

“Of course it was fake. What sort of ridiculous rule would there be in a barbarian land like this? I merely needed an excuse to come over and beat you up.”

Zhou Hao chuckled and turned to leave.

This was just the right amount. It was enough to make the Third Prince so furious that he lost his head, while still leaving him with a little room for thought.

Watching Zhou Hao’s departing back, a vicious expression crept across the Third Prince’s face. His gaze was filled with malicious intent.

“Very well, very well. It seems this First Prince truly has no desire to live. How dare he humiliate me like this!”

…

Within the imperial palace, the Empress sat listlessly in her chambers, quietly waiting for time to pass.

Although there were no guards stationed outside the palace gates, the Empress knew that the Son of Heaven’s orders outweighed everything.

The moment she dared step outside, her position as Empress would be abolished the very next day.

The Son of Heaven was ruthless enough to do such a thing!

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“Mother, you must stand up for me!”

Before the Empress could react, the Third Prince’s figure appeared before her.

“Qing’er, what happened to you? Come, let Mother have a look. How did your face get so bruised?”

The Empress took out a handkerchief and carefully wiped the wounds on the Third Prince’s face, as well as the traces of blood from his nose.

“What happened? Your face is covered in injuries. Who did this to you?”

Anger spread through the Empress’s mind. The Third Prince was her beloved son—how could she allow anyone to beat him so brutally?

She had never seen him in such a wretched state.

“Mother, you have no idea. That First Prince is simply inhuman!”

“He barged into my residence and said that stepping forward with the left foot first was an insult to the customs of the barbarian lands, then punched me. After that, he said that stepping back with the right foot first was another insult, and punched me again.”

“Before I could say more than a few words, his fists came down on me like raindrops.”

As he spoke, the Third Prince did not forget to display his injuries to the Empress.

“All of these wounds were caused by the First Prince. I didn’t do anything at all!”

“Very well, very well. He’s actually bullying my own son now!” the Empress roared. “Someone, come here!”

A young eunuch hurried over and knelt before her.

“What are Your Majesty’s orders?”

“Summon the imperial physician to treat Qing’er’s injuries. Then call in all the people I have trained.”

A cold, sinister light flickered in the Empress’s eyes.

The malice in that gaze was so chilling that the young eunuch shuddered involuntarily.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

As he watched the young eunuch leave, some of the venom in the Third Prince’s expression faded. Even so, he continued to plead with the Empress.

“Mother, just look at me. I did nothing today, yet I was subjected to such humiliation. If we can’t kill him, then quickly find some bitterly cold wasteland and enfeoff him there.”

“I never want to see him again.”

The Empress lovingly stroked the Third Prince’s forehead before speaking slowly.

“My son, I want to drive him away as quickly as you do, but the time is not yet right. His fief is still under discussion, and your father must first punish him.”

“Only after he has suffered every humiliation in the Imperial City can we send him away. Once he leaves this time, who knows when we will see him again.”

The Empress’s voice grew colder and colder, her gaze fixed intently on the Third Prince.

She had already developed murderous intentions toward Zhou Hao.

Never mind what sort of upheaval killing a prince in the Imperial City might cause.

At this moment, she simply wanted the man dead.

She wanted him dead—thoroughly and cleanly.

His repeated provocations had finally pushed the Empress past the limits of her patience.

The Third Prince, however, had more or less realized what she intended.

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“Mother, you mean to assassinate the First Prince? Won’t something go wrong?”

“Go wrong?”

What could possibly go wrong?

As long as every trace was cleaned up well enough that no one could find any fault, then there would be no fault to find.

The dead could not speak.

Zhou Hao had only just arrived in the Imperial City and had not yet gained a single powerful patron. Even if he died, who would avenge him?

Who would go out of their way to investigate the truth?

“Qing’er, rest assured. I know what I’m doing.”

…

At dusk, Zhou Hao was already seated beside the Grand General, waiting for the evening feast.

“My son-in-law, though we should naturally spend more time together and grow closer, shouldn’t you be having dinner at home?”

The Grand General was somewhat puzzled.

Zhou Hao gave a sheepish laugh, snapped apart his chopsticks, and said casually, “Forget it. The servants in my household still haven’t all been vetted. Besides, what I did today was a little excessive. It’s safer to eat here than risk someone poisoning me.”

“What did you do?”

The Grand General glanced at Zhou Hao. Since his own son-in-law had called it excessive, it must have been something truly disgraceful.

“My son-in-law, just tell me what you did so I can at least be prepared.”

“It was nothing much. I just found an excuse to beat up the Third Prince. Only a few punches, that’s all.”

Although Zhou Hao did not elaborate, the Grand General understood.

The excuse itself was probably what his son-in-law considered excessive.

Bi Yutang, who was sitting nearby, looked astonished when he heard this.

“Brother-in-law, what excuse did you use? You must have had some reason for beating a prince, right?”

Bi Ruxue did not look at Zhou Hao. Instead, she first shot Bi Yutang a glare.

I haven’t even changed the way I address him, and you’re already calling him brother-in-law?

Zhou Hao smiled, glanced at Bi Ruxue, and slowly replied, “It was nothing much. I said he stepped forward with his left foot first, so I hit him once. Then I said he stepped forward with his right foot first, so I hit him again. Finally, I said he had stepped with neither foot, and hit him once more.”

The Grand General broke into a cold sweat.

That was more than excessive. It was practically deliberate humiliation.

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