After being reborn, the aloof prime minister was once again forced by a tyrant.

After Xiao Jingchen finished shouting, the room became so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Xiao Jingyuan picked at his ear, then turned to Xie Qinglan: "Was I hard of hearing just now? He said he slept with who?"

Xie Qinglan was not surprised: "Ashina Yushu".

Xiao Zhaoyue dropped her fan to the ground with a "thud," her beautiful eyes widening: "Who slept with whom?"

Xiao Jingchen huddled in the corner of the bed, humming in a voice barely above a whisper, "I...I'll sleep with him..."

Xiao Jingyuan sized him up and then scoffed, "You? Sleep with him? Do you think I haven't fought Ashina Yushu on the battlefield? That man looks frail, but when he fights, even five of you tied together wouldn't be enough to stop him from falling. What do you have to offer him? Your cunning schemes, or your life?"

Xiao Jingchen, his neck stiff, shouted, "I took advantage of him being drunk! He was completely unconscious, and I was momentarily blinded by greed... and that's how it happened!"

Xiao Zhaoyue narrowed her eyes: "Are you really the one up there?"

"yes!"

Xiao Jingyuan pressed his temples, looking troubled, and said in a deep voice, "Tell me exactly what happened."

Xiao Jingchen said with a mournful face, "This really can't be entirely my fault. That day at the Northern Barbarian Horse Racing Festival, everyone in the tent was drunk. I was just trying to help him back to his tent, but who knew he..."

"What's wrong with him?" Xie Qinglan asked.

Xiao Jingchen hesitated for a long time before finally squeezing out, "He seemed a bit off at the time, his face was flushed, and his eyes were watery. He kept snuggling against me, saying he was hot. I thought I'd help him all the way, so I helped him take off his outer robe. After that, he still said he was hot, so I took off his inner robe. After taking off his inner robe, he—"

"That's enough," Xiao Zhaoyue interrupted, raising her hand. "Get to the important stuff."

"The important thing is..." Xiao Jingchen stammered for a while, then closed his eyes, "He hugged me, kissed and rubbed against me, and cried like a baby, saying things like 'Have you ever had even a shred of love for me?' and 'I've waited for you for so long, how could you be so heartless?' He even mistook me for Prime Minister Xie! I was completely drunk, and seeing how pitiful he was, I thought that as brothers, it wouldn't hurt to say a few words of comfort, but who knew..."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Jingyuan's face turned as black as ink. Xie Qinglan's lips twitched almost imperceptibly.

Xiao Jingchen stammered, "I don't know how, but I ended up riding on top of him... But he kept crying and pushing me away, saying I couldn't do this, I couldn't do this... Seeing him crying so hard, I don't know why, it just got more exciting..."

Xiao Jingyuan raised an eyebrow, thinking to himself, "As expected of someone from the Xiao family: So you just forced yourself on me?"

"No, no, no! Fourth Brother, please let me finish!" Xiao Jingchen waved his hands repeatedly. "I... I did ride on him at the time... but... but—"

His voice grew softer and softer, almost a whisper: "He was crying, but his hands weren't idle. He... he... he... he... I was so confused, and in the end it became... he was on top of me, and I was on top, crying and moving at the same time..."

The room fell silent once again.

Xiao Jingyuan stumbled and bumped into Xie Qinglan's shoulder. He turned his head and asked in a low voice, "Qinglan, did I hear that right? This idiot tried to ride on someone's back and even managed to ride himself on top of them?"

Xie Qinglan reached out to help him up, and said gently, "You heard me right, that's true."

Xiao Zhaoyue took a deep breath and said, word by word, "Say it again, you are the one on top."

Xiao Jingchen pleaded pitifully, "...I was definitely on top."

"But you're the one who gets fucked."

"Could you please not be so blunt!"

Xiao Jingyuan rubbed his forehead, annoyed, and said, "You're too promiscuous, you deserve to get fucked!"

"Fourth Brother!" Xiao Jingchen exclaimed anxiously, "How could you say that about me! I was just drunk! Really! That mare's milk wine has a strong aftereffect; I'm not usually like that!"

"What are you like normally?" Xiao Jingyuan sneered. "You usually write those ridiculous books, full of 'jade arms gently outstretched,' 'cherish lips slightly parted,' and 'the red silk curtains are damp with warmth,' I can't even be bothered to settle accounts with you. Do you think I don't know that you've been gossiping about me and Qinglan behind my back?"

"That was... artistic embellishment!" Xiao Jingchen's voice rose. "Besides, how subtle was my writing! Unlike your usual style..."

"Alright," Xie Qinglan interrupted their childish bickering, looking at Xiao Jingchen, "And then? If you 'voluntarily' went, why did you hide back in the capital?"

"I didn't do it willingly! He kept crying, saying he was afraid of the pain, and I... I couldn't bear to hurt him, so he..." Xiao Jingchen sobbed, "You don't know, Yu Shu is a cunning devil! He looks innocent and harmless, but he's actually a black sesame dumpling! The whole time he acted like he was being forced, crying and begging me to stop, saying things like 'Your Highness, please don't do this,' 'Your Highness is drunk,' 'Yu Shu can't take it anymore'... The more I heard, the more it itched, and the more excited I became, until finally he suddenly stopped crying, bit my shoulder, and said, 'Since Your Highness insists, Yu Shu has no choice but to obey.' And then... and then..."

Xiao Jingyuan became interested and leaned forward: "Explain in more detail."

Xie Qinglan glanced at him sideways: "...Why do you need to listen so carefully?"

Xiao Zhaoyue raised her hand to her forehead: "Although I am your own sister, you are being far too informal."

Xiao Jingchen cried, "You won't believe me if I don't tell you the details! Waaah... These aren't the scariest things. The scariest thing is that he drugged me to get revenge on me."

Xiao Jingyuan: "?"

Xie Qinglan: "?"

Xiao Zhaoyue: "?"

Xiao Jingchen said, sounding aggrieved, "After it was over, I sobered up a bit and saw him staring straight at me. I got creeped out by his gaze, so I told him not to take it to heart, that it's only natural for good brothers to help each other out of loneliness. He laughed, nodded, and went out to bring in a bowl of porridge. I was really starving, and I finished it off in a few gulps. Then, after watching me finish, he casually said—"

"What did you say?" the three asked in unison.

"They say they put a secret Northern Di drug in my porridge. If I leave him for more than seven days, I will feel feverish all over and go crazy thinking about him. It's worse than death. Unless he personally cancels it, I will never get better in this lifetime."

Xiao Jingchen wiped his face: "I thought it was just a joke at the time, and I ran away before dawn the next day while he was still asleep. But on the way back to Beijing, it really flared up. I felt like I was being roasted over a fire, and all I could think about was him. Trying to relieve it myself didn't work; it just got worse and worse, like ants crawling in my bones..."

"Alright, alright," Xiao Jingyuan raised his hand to interrupt, looking disgusted. "There's no need to describe it in such detail. I don't want to hear how you masturbated."

"Fourth Brother, I'm so scared! The poison has been acting up more and more frequently these past few days!" Xiao Jingchen rushed over and hugged Xiao Jingyuan's leg. "It's been half a month, why hasn't he come after us? Is he furious, brewing some kind of ultimate move? Prime Minister Xie, you have to save me! You're the one who sent me to the Northern Barbarians! You can't abandon me!"

Xiao Jingyuan kicked the man away and sneered, "Serves you right! Serves you right for being so reckless!"

Xie Qinglan said calmly, "I told you to go to the Northern Barbarians for some peace and quiet, but I didn't tell you to get drunk and do something immoral like riding on someone's back."

Xiao Jingchen choked, then turned to Xiao Zhaoyue for help, calling out in a soft voice, "Royal Sister..."

Xiao Zhaoyue smiled, her eyes crinkling, but her tone was cold: "Don't look at me. I'm only good at watching the show, not cleaning up the mess. You'd better pray for yourself."

"Are you even my real brother and sister anymore?!" Xiao Jingchen wailed, pacing barefoot around the room. "It's all over! Yu Shu seems so gentle on the surface, but he's incredibly ruthless behind the scenes. You have no idea, he was smiling while executing the traitorous general in the Northern Di, even though the knife was already piercing his heart! He'll definitely drag me back, slice me into a thousand pieces, tear me apart by five horses, and make me into a human skin lantern to hang in the Northern Di king's tent!"

"You seem to know him quite well," Xie Qinglan said in a flat tone. "Since you knew he was that kind of person, why did you sleep with him in the first place?"

"I'm drunk! I told you I'm drunk!" Xiao Jingchen squatted on the ground, clutching his head. "That mare's milk wine was sweet at first, but it had a really strong aftereffect. I drank two jars, and everything looked like a painting to me. Yu Shu looked like a celestial being descended from a storybook. I was totally intoxicated..."

"So you got carried away and rode him?" Xiao Jingyuan's face turned ashen.

Xiao Jingchen's voice grew softer and softer, but his ears turned redder and redder: "He was so gentle, he kept calling me by my nickname and kissing my ear, which made me dizzy and I just... just did it without thinking."

"You even told him your nickname?"

"Well, so what! He's my best brother. I even tell him where I hide my secret stash of money. What's the big deal about a nickname!"

Xie Qinglan suddenly asked, "Did he satisfy you in the end?"

Xiao Jingchen suddenly looked up, his eyes wide: "Prime Minister Xie! How did you become so vulgar, just like my fourth brother!"

Xie Qinglan remained expressionless and raised her chin slightly: "Ask him."

Xiao Jingyuan said impatiently, "Stop talking nonsense, just answer whatever he asks you."

Xiao Jingchen blushed, and after a long while, he managed to squeeze out, "...It was...it felt really good. Yu Shu looked so delicate and frail, who knew that once she took off her clothes—"

Xie Qinglan interrupted, saying calmly, "Since you've had your fun, why are you running away? You slept with someone and now you're denying it; it's wrong of you both morally and logically."

"I'm not denying it! I just haven't figured out how to face him!" Xiao Jingchen said anxiously. "Besides, doesn't Yu Shu like you, Prime Minister Xie? He's been thinking about you all these years. If I have this relationship with him, who knows how much he'll hate me after he sobers up!"

Xie Qinglan raised an eyebrow upon hearing this, a half-smile playing on her lips, and said, "You think he likes me?"

"Isn't it? For you, he offered up the entire Northern Di and submitted to the Great Shuo! What else could this be but love?"

Xie Qinglan shook his head and said softly, "Jingchen, you've misunderstood. His decision to send the Northern Di into the territory of Da Shuo was a political maneuver within the Northern Di royal court, a way to secure his Khanate through the power of Da Shuo." He paused, then added meaningfully, "If we're talking about who he truly likes, there's probably someone else he's really eyeing."

Xiao Jingchen blinked blankly: "Someone else? Who is it?"

Xie Qinglan did not answer, but turned to Xiao Jingyuan and said, "Your Majesty, we cannot interfere in Jingchen's matter. The one who tied the knot must untie it. Why not invite him here, clarify things face to face, and properly cure Jingchen's 'poison'?"

Xiao Jingyuan sneered: "Invite what? That kid is living in the Court of State Ceremonial now. Just kick this fool out of the Princess's residence, and he'll come knocking on our door himself."

Xiao Jingchen jumped up abruptly: "What?! He's here?! Why didn't anyone tell me?!"

"What good would it do to tell you?" Xiao Jingyuan glanced at him. "Where can you run to?"

Xiao Jingchen paced anxiously around the room, muttering to himself, "What to do, what to do? He must be here to interrogate me. Fourth Brother, you have to save me! You're my own brother, you can't just stand by and watch me die! I have elderly parents and young children to support—"

"Where did you get the idea that you're 'little'?" Xiao Zhaoyue scoffed.

"Doesn't the litter of rabbits I keep in my mansion count?"

Xiao Jingyuan and Xie Qinglan exchanged a glance and then turned around together.

"Qinglan, you've traveled for so many days, your back and waist must be aching. I see the weather is nice today, how about we go back to the palace, soak in a hot spring, burn incense and brew tea, and get some proper rest?"

"Your Majesty is right. I heard that the early plum blossoms in the Imperial Garden have bloomed, so I'll pick a couple of branches to put in a vase."

The two walked out after talking, neither of them glancing at Xiao Jingchen again.

"Hey! Hey! Don't go! Fourth Brother! Prime Minister Xie! You can't abandon me! What's so great about the plum blossoms in the Imperial Garden! My life is more important!"

Xiao Zhaoyue snorted coldly: "I thought something terrible had happened, but it turns out it's just another little game between you two scoundrels. Alright, now get back to your Prince Rui's mansion right now, don't come here to freeload. I don't keep idle people here, and I certainly don't keep stupid people."

"No, no! Dear elder sister, please let me hide for a while. I promise I won't cause you any trouble, and I can even help you feed the horses!"

"You can dodge the first day of the month, but can you dodge the fifteenth? Guards, throw Prince Rui out of the mansion!"

With a loud bang, the vermilion gate of the Princess's residence slammed shut mercilessly in front of Xiao Jingchen.

Xiao Jingchen rushed to the door, pounding on it and shouting, "Xiao Zhaoyue! Don't you have any conscience?! I'm still your own brother! If you kick me out, I'll die! I'll haunt you even as a ghost!"

Xiao Zhaoyue's roar came from inside the door: "If you want to die, go somewhere else! Don't die right in front of my door, it'll bring bad luck! In your next life, be more careful not to ride on every handsome man you see!"

The footsteps faded into the distance. Xiao Jingchen sat slumped at the doorway, his face filled with despair.

It's over. This time it's really over.