My Years in the Jianghu with the Prince: A Time of Unethical Conduct

Chapter 179 Recollection Part 2.2 - Making Things Difficult

Chu Heng put down the broom in his hand, stood inside the hall and glanced outside, then turned to Chu Ling beside him and said, "Do you know how livestock mark their territory?"

Chu Ling chuckled lightly and said coldly, "All I know is that dogs mark their territory by urinating."

Hearing this, Chu Heng, who was dusting himself off, smiled and said, "That's right. We'd better be careful not to get covered in dirt."

While the two were talking, the group of teenagers walked in and were brazenly looking around.

"I heard that the two boys from the Chu family have been summoned to the palace to serve as study companions, and they will be living here from now on."

"Honestly, I don't know what His Majesty was thinking, actually sending two country bumpkins to be the prince's study companions. Are they even qualified?"

Someone, with a contemptuous look on their face, kicked at the weeds in the yard with disgust while making sarcastic remarks to the Chu brothers.

However, their words were too unrestrained, and they even seemed to harbor resentment towards the Emperor. Immediately, someone coughed and gave a wink to those who spoke without restraint.

"What do you know?!"

Someone gave a small rebuke, "This is of course a special favor bestowed upon them by His Majesty out of kindness and compassion for his subjects."

He then approached the leader with a beaming smile and said obsequiously, "Don't you agree, Your Highness?"

The flattered youth nodded slightly, his expression unreadable, but his eyes clearly flashed with coldness and impatience.

"Father has his reasons for doing this, and you should not make any comments."

"Ah, yes, Your Highness is right."

The group of spoiled young men nodded in agreement, not daring to say anything more.

Chu Heng narrowed his eyes slightly and looked over, quickly recognizing the boy who was called His Highness.

He was Fu Zhijie, the fifth son of Emperor Xuande and also the son of the Empress.

Although the current emperor has not yet appointed a crown prince, almost everyone assumes that he will be the only choice for the future heir apparent.

This is because he is not only the emperor's legitimate son, but also has the support of the empress's family—the current prime minister's mansion.

The Chu brothers exchanged a glance.

The Prime Minister's residence has always been at odds with the Chu family, and they are like oil and water.

Previously, he had secretly withheld supplies and medicines destined for the battlefield, almost causing a defeat and resulting in the loss of many soldiers.

The Chu family was already too famous, and was constantly slandered and attacked in the court, which aroused the emperor's suspicion and fear, resulting in them being attacked from both sides.

Their current situation is already so difficult; if they wait for the Fifth Prince to ascend the throne, the Chu family will truly have no way to survive.

At this thought, a dark glint flashed in Chu Ling's eyes.

He tilted his head slightly, lowered his voice, and said to Chu Heng, "Should we make sure something happens to him?"

Chu Heng seemed to have already guessed what Chu Ling was thinking.

Upon hearing this, he showed no surprise, only shook his head slightly.

He then said earnestly, "Brother, how many times have I told you not to be so extreme in your actions? Right now, we're all barely able to protect ourselves, and who knows how many eyes are watching us in the dark."

"Besides, even if there's no Fifth Prince, there will be a Sixth Prince or a Seventh Prince. Are we going to let them all have accidents one by one?"

Chu Ling looked at him, pondered for a moment, and then humbly asked, "Then, brother, what do you think we should do in the face of the Chu family's current predicament?"

Chu Heng patted his shoulder and said seriously, "Of course, we must solve the problem at its source, eliminate the hidden dangers from the root, and achieve a permanent solution without any future troubles."

Chu Ling remained silent for a long time before finally realizing what was happening.

He looked speechless: ...It seems you're even more extreme than me.

As the two brothers were talking, the group of people drew closer and closer.

Someone couldn't help but mutter a curse: "What two ill-mannered country bumpkins! They don't even know how to greet people properly. How dare they not come out to greet His Highness?"

"That's right, didn't you see His Highness arrive? Where the hell have you all been?"

"Hey, wait a minute, look, there seems to be someone in the front hall."

Following the directions, Fu Zhijie also saw the two figures with their backs to them, and immediately frowned slightly, feeling displeased.

Logically speaking, the noise they made when they came in and spoke should have been quite loud, but the two of them didn't react at all, not even moving an inch.

This is clearly a sign that they don't take them seriously.

"Hey! That's really bold. You're right here, yet you dare to pretend you can't hear me."

"Isn't this blatant disrespect for His Highness? They're utterly ungrateful! Let's go teach them a lesson!"

Fu Zhijie, fueled by the crowd's encouragement, also felt a surge of anger and immediately strode towards the two men.

Even after the group had left, the two brothers remained as if they hadn't seen anything, still turning their backs to them and diligently sweeping dust in the hall.

Hey! You guys—

The group angrily pushed open the door, but unexpectedly, a thick cloud of dust rushed towards them in that instant.

By the time they instinctively tried to block it with their hands, it was already too late.

The crowd scrambled to avoid them and couldn't help but cough.

After the dust settled, the group of people were seen looking disheveled and covered in soot.

Fu Zhijie, who was at the very front, was the one who suffered the most.

Not only was his robe completely covered in a layer of gray dust, obscuring its original color, but his hair and face were also covered in a layer of dust.

It looks absolutely ridiculous.

"...Oh my god! Your Highness! Are you alright?!"

Someone realized what was happening and immediately rushed forward, grabbing their sleeve and wiping it on Fu Zhijie's face.

But they forgot that their clothes weren't much cleaner either.

With this wipe, the Fifth Prince's face immediately became darker and darker.

Fu Zhijie finally lost his temper, raised his hand to wave the crowd away, and shouted sternly, "Get out of the way!"

He took two deep breaths, took out his handkerchief, wiped his face clean, and then walked up to the Chu brothers with a grim expression, questioning them in an icy voice: "You actually dared to mess with me?!"

Upon hearing this, the two brothers looked at him innocently, and after a long while, as if they had just recognized him, they quickly bowed to him.

"Ah! Greetings, Fifth Prince."

After the ceremony was completed, Chu Heng straightened his back and earnestly defended them, saying, "Your Highness has misunderstood. How could we have done it on purpose?"

"As you can see, the environment here is really not good. There's too much dust. Even my brother and I are covered in it."

"And we really didn't expect that you would suddenly barge in before we even finished cleaning."

Upon hearing this, Fu Zhijie stared at them with a sinister look and sneered, "Oh? So, according to you, this is my fault?"