Chapter 32: The Cold Prince Whose Heart Belongs to a Pure Love 12

"What did she mean by that?" Situ Che asked Zhaoyun, who stood behind him.

"What did she mean? Your Highness, you certainly know how to ask!" A woman appeared behind Situ Che.

"Qiu Haizhu?" Situ Che frowned the moment he saw her.

Qiu Haizhu was the daughter of General Qiu. The General and Grand Tutor Jing were sworn brothers and had been instrumental in helping the current Emperor ascend the throne. Because of this, Qiu Haizhu and Jing Yunluo had been close childhood friends. However, they had seen little of each other since Qiu Haizhu left for the frontier with her father.

"This humble general greets the Prince," Qiu Haizhu said, offering a perfunctory salute.

"When did you return, Young General Qiu?" Situ Che did not have a good impression of her. Before he and Jing Yunluo were married, he had frequently received letters from Qiu Haizhu, all of which had the same repetitive theme: warnings not to bully Jing Yunluo.

"I returned yesterday, but I had to accompany my father to the palace to report for duty, so I only now found the time to see Luoluo. However... I had barely entered the capital when I heard of your magnificent achievements, Your Highness! Leaving your wife on your wedding night to go drinking at a tavern. Welcoming an old flame back just days later and even forcing your own Princess to accompany you! To support that old flame, you stayed away from home for three days, even forgetting your wife's homecoming visit. You should be grateful that Uncle Jing is not currently in the capital; if he were, he might have come here himself to take Luoluo away!"

Situ Che’s mind was in turmoil. He could suppress his temper when facing Jing Yunluo, but by what right did Qiu Haizhu speak to him this way?

"Young General Qiu, this is my personal family matter. It has nothing to do with... you, does it?"

Qiu Haizhu sneered, looking Situ Che up and down. "It seems our Luoluo truly did cure your coughing ailment, Your Highness... In light of that, why don't you come out for a walk with me?"

"I am very busy and have no time." Situ Che walked past Qiu Haizhu and left Nianyun Courtyard.

"If you come, Your Highness, you will understand exactly what Luoluo meant earlier!"

Qiu Haizhu's sudden remark successfully made Situ Che stop in his tracks. In the end, curiosity prevailed, and Situ Che followed her out.

***

By the time they went out, it was already late, but the taverns on Phoenix Avenue were just beginning to bustle with life. Qiu Haizhu led Situ Che to Yunkelai, the tavern where he had held the welcome banquet for Jin Yunlan, and went straight to a private room on the third floor.

"Why are we here?" Situ Che felt an urge to leave.

"Don't worry, it's not just me." Qiu Haizhu gestured toward the other person in the room.

"Imperial Brother?"

"Yes, come and sit down." Situ Che Qing sipped his tea and gestured for Situ Che to join him.

Situ Che had no choice but to walk over and sit beside his brother. "Imperial Brother, why are you here too?"

"Young General Qiu invited me, saying there was a play I simply had to see."

Situ Che glanced at Qiu Haizhu. "What is this all about?"

"Patience." Qiu Haizhu pointed to the adjacent room. "Listen carefully to what they are saying next door."

"Sigh! Have you heard? That Princess Jin is essentially a cast-aside woman now!"

"Of course I've heard. The Prince's sweetheart has returned. Even though she's married to someone else, it doesn't stop the Prince from doting on her!"

"I wonder when Prince Jin will divorce that Jing Yunluo. Perhaps when she's destitute, we'll have a chance to taste what a Princess is like!"

As soon as the words fell, the group next door erupted into coarse, lewd laughter. Situ Che and Situ Qing were about to strike, but Qiu Haizhu held them back. Her young face mirrored their anger, but she held her ground.

"I don't have any interest in Jing Yunluo myself. After all, if she can't even hold her husband's heart, she must be as dull as chewed wax in bed."

"That's hard to say. What if Prince Jin has been saving himself for his sweetheart and hasn't even touched her?"

"That’s true, a virgin... Now that, I would be interested in. I—"

In the next second, the wall between the two rooms collapsed. The men who had been fantasizing about Jing Yunluo were lying on the floor in the blink of an eye. The attackers were the Crown Prince and Qiu Haizhu; Situ Che had to maintain his facade of frailty, and the Crown Prince would not have allowed him to fight anyway.

The Crown Prince and Qiu Haizhu—one trained in martial arts since childhood, the other fresh from the battlefield—made short work of these pampered, soft-handed scions. They lay on the ground, wailing and howling. The pain blurred their vision, making it impossible to see who had struck them, but as sons of officials used to throwing their weight around, their first reaction was to curse and threaten.

"Which little bastards are you? Don't you know who your grandfather is?"

"I'll have my father kill you for this!"

"Is that so? Who wants to kill me?" Situ Qing’s voice was cold, his eyes fixed on them as if they were already dead.

Upon hearing that voice, the men on the floor suddenly sobered up and looked at Situ Qing.

"His... His Highness the Crown Prince!"

Seeing it was Situ Qing, they scrambled to their knees, ignoring their pain to beg for mercy. "Your Highness, please spare us!"

"We have foul mouths, we deserve to die, please spare our lives!"

Listening to their chaotic pleas, Situ Qing’s expression grew darker. "That is correct—you truly do deserve to die!"

Situ Che emerged from behind Situ Qing, looking down at the men from a height.

"Prince Jin, Prince Jin, have mercy!"

Qiu Haizhu sneered from the side. "You gossip about another man's wife and then beg him for mercy? How are your brains wired?"

"Young General Qiu, thank you for today. If not for you, I would never have known that these people were coveting my wife!" Thinking of what they had said, Situ Che felt a deep sense of distress. He had not realized how much Jing Yunluo had been enduring, nor that people in the capital spoke of his wife in such a manner. Even if he did not love Jing Yunluo, he could not accept others coveting his wife, nor could he allow these arrogant fools to insult her.

"Situ Che, these people are yours to deal with. As Luoluo’s friend, I hope you can protect her—or at the very least, shoulder your responsibilities as a husband."

Having said this, Qiu Haizhu turned and left. She wanted to cut out their tongues, but she couldn't; if she were to dish out private justice immediately upon returning to the capital, her father would be implicated. But it didn't matter—just because she couldn't deal with them now didn't mean she couldn't later.

Situ Che did not go home that night, and neither did the men who had slandered Jing Yunluo. Their families had no idea where they had gone. By the next morning, they were found dumped at their doorsteps, beaten within an inch of their lives. Rumors soon spread that it was Prince Jin who had done this, and before long, the Emperor’s desk was buried under memorials impeaching Prince Situ Che.