The newcomer was also dressed in royal attire. He wasn't tall, but his eyes gleamed with an extremely shrewd look, and there was even a hint of ferocity in his glances.
"Third Brother, you got here early?" Ye Rong recognized the man at once, his smile undiminished, and greeted him.
"The earlier one arrives to pay respects to the Grand Tutor on his birthday, the more sincere it shows one to be. Fourth Brother, you've always said the Grand Tutor favors you greatly—so why are you so late? Could it be that your words don't match your heart?"
This man was Ye Zheng, the third son of the current King. Among all the princes, his status was slightly higher than Ye Rong's, but he had basically no hope whatsoever of becoming Crown Prince.
And Ye Zheng, having probably realized long ago that he stood no chance of being Crown Prince, had been sticking very close to the First Prince Ye Dai all along, eagerly aligning himself with him.
"Third Brother, you still love to joke around. We brothers have all received the Grand Tutor's kindness—surely the sincerity behind our attendance can't be ranked in degrees of importance?"
Ye Rong laughed heartily, unwilling to get entangled with Ye Zheng. "Third Brother, I'll go make the rounds and greet everyone first."
Ye Zheng half-smiled. "Fourth Brother, I was just talking about you—you've been a bit too showy lately. What's this, going around greeting people, befriending this one and that one? Could it be you've got some ambitions?"
The remark was loaded with insinuation. The so-called "ambitions" clearly implied that Ye Rong harbored designs on the Crown Prince's position.
Ye Rong put on an innocent look and said with a wry smile, "Third Brother, we're all young people here—it's just basic etiquette to exchange greetings. Otherwise people will say we royals are arrogant and lacking in manners. Wouldn't that lose face for our Ye family?"
"Well said, well said!" Suddenly, a resonant, magnetic voice came from behind.
At the sound of the voice, Ye Rong knew who it was.
Sure enough, from beside the rock garden stepped a man with a face like polished jade and eyes bright as stars. He wore a pale yellow robe that set off his tall, slender frame, giving him an air of extraordinary elegance and distinguished bearing.
"Eldest Brother, you're here too." Ye Rong had no desire to deal with this man, but since the other had appeared, there was no avoiding it.
The newcomer was none other than the First Prince, Ye Dai—imposing in presence, impeccable in demeanor. Behind him trailed five attendants, a reflection of his special privileges as the First Prince.
Both were attending Ye Chonglou's birthday banquet, but as the First Prince, Ye Dai—though not yet formally named Crown Prince—was allowed to bring five attendants.
Ye Rong, as the Fourth Prince, had only three slots.
The difference in numbers might seem minor, but it spoke volumes about the gulf between them.
"Fourth Brother, you've finally shown up."
"Eldest Brother, what do you mean by that—were you waiting for me?" Ye Rong feigned confusion.
"You guessed it. Heh, I was indeed waiting for you." Ye Dai smiled mildly.
"I hear you have an attendant named Jiang Chen. I wonder if he came along this time?" Ye Dai's gaze swept lightly and casually over the people behind Ye Rong. The nonchalant manner in which he did so—as though glancing past a few wooden posts—laid bare his superiority as the First Prince without reserve.
Ye Rong was momentarily stunned. He had braced himself for Ye Dai to cause trouble, but he never expected the man to be so blunt and direct about it.
"Royal Elder Brother, on an occasion like today, starting trouble hardly seems appropriate, does it?" Even if Ye Dai intimidated him, Ye Rong couldn't afford to back down now.
"Ha ha, Fourth Brother, you're overthinking things. Trouble? What trouble could there be between brothers? I've just heard that this Jiang Chen has been making quite a stir lately. I wanted to see for myself what kind of remarkable figure this young man from the Eastern Kingdom really is."
Ye Dai smiled with perfect ease. Clearly, when it came to Ye Rong, he felt not the slightest pressure—every word and smile radiated effortless confidence. And he seemed to quite enjoy the way Ye Rong was wary of him, treating him as a formidable foe.
At that moment, someone behind Ye Dai spoke in a sinister, nasal voice: "Jiang Chen, the First Prince wants to see you—that's smoke rising from your ancestors' graves, a sign of great fortune. Hiding behind the Fourth Prince like a woman—too ashamed to show your face?"
The owner of that voice spoke in a cutting tone dripping with boundless hatred. It was none other than Deputy Commander Lü Wuji. This time he had taken a severe fall. Though he hadn't been demoted, his prestige within the Dragon Tooth Guard had suffered to some extent. On top of being fleeced by Jiang Chen, which had badly depleted his vitality, and suffering the man's humiliation—his resentment was so deep that all the waters of the Three Rivers and Five Lakes could not wash it away.
"Too ashamed to show my face?" Jiang Chen smiled faintly. "Lü Wuji, those are words you should say to yourself. If I were you, I'd be the one hiding inside a turtle shell, not coming out to make a fool of myself. What, last time wasn't humiliating enough for you?"
Lü Wuji's eyes flashed with vicious light, and he snarled, "Jiang Chen, don't get cocky too early."
"Ha ha, does that kind of drivel really bear repeating? Why shouldn't I be cocky? In front of you, Lü Wuji, what reason could I possibly have not to be? Go on—find me one."
"Jiang Chen, you beast—do you remember me? You killed my disciple from the Qianlan Northern Palace. That debt—once we step outside these doors, I, Liu Can, am going to settle with you properly. This time, let's see if you can still run off to Qingyang Valley!" Another figure leaped out, making fierce threats.
It was none other than Liu Can of the Qianlan Northern Palace—the very same man who had led the pursuit against Jiang Chen with the greatest ferocity.
"Oh, it's you, you eunuch? What's this—Elder Fei didn't slap you to death with one palm last time, so instead of crawling back to the Qianlan Northern Palace to hide, you come to the Royal Capital to swagger about? Planning to rob someone this time?"
Eunuch! That was the commoner's derogatory term for castrated men. And Liu Can did have peculiar looks—he was indeed male, but his features carried a certain effeminate softness, so that he truly did resemble a eunuch.