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

Tao Xian lifted the lid of the medicine pot and fanned it, blowing the boiling medicine back up.

Wuya was squatting next to her, playing with the Gu worms. Noticing Taoxian's gaze, she looked back.

"Why...why do you claim to be Young Master Xie's fiancée?"

Tao Xian's voice rang out, tinged with a hint of hesitation.

Wuya was taken aback when Taoxian asked this question. She paused for a moment, then smiled slyly: "Sister is very curious about this?"

Tao Xian nodded calmly. Actually, she wasn't very curious about this matter, but a certain prince had specifically instructed her to come and find out.

Uya rested her chin on her hand and stared at her for a while before smiling maliciously, "I think it's not that you're curious, sister, but rather that it's someone else."

Tao Xian sighed and acquiesced.

What boss would wake you up in the middle of the night while you're still sound asleep and have a heart-to-heart talk all night?

In the end, it was only after Tao Xian figured it out herself that she was allowed to go back to sleep.

So, she soon learned the answer from Uya.

"Because Brother Xie is handsome!"

Peach Fairy: ...What a simple reason.

"Sister, you're beautiful too."

Uya clung to Taoxian, taking her arm. "We people of Southern Xinjiang are the most devoted, and we all practice monogamy. Sister, will you be my wife?"

Peach Fairy: ...So this is what monogamy means?

Xie Yan sneezed again.

Before Chu Ling could even open his mouth, he immediately pointed ahead and changed the subject, saying, "It seems we've arrived."

After passing through a lush bamboo forest, an elegant bamboo house came into view.

It was midday. But the sun was rarely seen at this time of year, and the towering bamboo blocked out much of the light, making the bamboo house and its surroundings appear incredibly dim and devoid of human presence.

"They actually live in such a desolate place."

This was the residence of the Shi brothers that they had inquired about.

"It's not surprising that he's a scholar."

After all, literary figures in this world love to use some method to show their detachment from the world and their difference from the ordinary.

Chu Ling smiled and stepped forward to knock on the door with his paper fan.

After a while, light footsteps came from inside the door. Along with the footsteps, a clear, elegant voice reached their ears: "Who goes there?"

Unexpectedly, it was the painter himself who answered the door. He opened the door and was stunned when he saw the two people in front of him.

Before the two could speak, Shi Hanxi's expression suddenly turned ugly, and she impatiently tried to close the door: "I'm not in the mood to paint for anyone right now, please leave!"

Before he could close the door, suddenly with a "whoosh," a folding fan squeezed through the crack in the door and got stuck precisely between the door and the frame.

"Wait a minute, we're here to find Young Master Shi."

"...Looking for my brother?"

Upon hearing that it wasn't for her, Shi Hanxi's expression softened slightly.

The door opened again, but Shi Hanxi did not immediately invite the two into the house. Instead, she looked them up and down first.

He carefully observed the expressions and behavior of the two people, and only after confirming that the visitors meant no harm did he step aside to make way for them to enter.

"His room is in the innermost room. You can go there yourselves. I still need to make medicine for him."

He walked back to the courtyard and pointed in a direction. Only then did the two see a medicine stove burning brightly behind him, with several rolls of drawing paper stuffed underneath.

Shi Hanxi ignored the two of them and sat back down to continue boiling the medicine.

The two then walked in the direction he had just pointed.

But as they passed a study, they suddenly heard a crisp sound coming from inside—it sounded like something had been knocked over.

The two men exchanged a glance and hesitated before stopping. If they were not mistaken, only the Shi brothers should live here.

Could it be that Young Master Shi is not in his room right now, but in his study?

However, before the two could knock on the study door, a meow rang out, and a completely black cat pushed the door open with its head and crawled out.

They looked inside and saw a pen holder lying on the floor of the study. There was no one inside, only a window swaying slightly.

It seems the cat just jumped into the study from there, causing things to be knocked over and making noise.

Without lingering any longer, they walked to the front of the inner room and, as expected, heard several muffled coughs coming from inside.

I heard that this young master Shi has been plagued by illness since childhood, and is so weak that he cannot be exposed to wind or cold, so he rarely goes out.

Even when meeting strangers on ordinary days, he would stay indoors and talk to them through a curtain.

"Excuse me, are you Young Master Shi?"

This time, Chu Ling didn't knock on the door, but instead asked loudly.

"……who is it?"

A voice, slightly deeper than Shi Hanxi's, rang out, and a figure slowly appeared by the windowsill.

"I have a painting that I would like to ask Young Master Shi to help restore. I am open to any kind of compensation."

As if walking itself was tiring for him, he coughed a few more times, the figure behind the curtain coughing so hard he could barely straighten up.

The two waited silently for him to catch his breath. Fortunately, it didn't take long before the curtain was suddenly pulled up a bit. A pale hand reached out, "Let me see."

Chu Ling took out the half of the treasure map from his pocket and handed it over.

Of course, the markings from the previous dynasty had been erased. To anyone else, it was just a half-worn treasure map, and no one would ever imagine that it was actually connected to the treasury of the previous dynasty.

The person inside took the treasure map, and through the window, watched as he unfolded it and examined it for a moment before saying, "Repairing this map is not difficult, but it will take some time. As for the reward, you can give whatever you think is appropriate."

After he finished speaking, the curtain was immediately drawn, completely obscuring the window.

Xie Yan: ...Is this the kind of artist who treats money like dirt? I really admire him.

He sighed silently, then took out a few copper coins from his sleeve. He shook them, then put two back in.

Unfortunately, he couldn't give out his money. Before he could even extend his hand, Chu Ling, anticipating his move, pressed his hand back down.

The latter took out several gold ingots and placed them on the windowsill.

But the person had already left, and the curtain was never raised again, truly showing a disregard for money.

Those few gold ingots lay there all alone, inconspicuous like the stones and weeds by the roadside.

The two left and passed through the courtyard again. The cat had disappeared, and Shi Hanxi remained silent, boiling medicine with her back to them, not even glancing at them.

The medicine stove had some kind of medicinal herbs on it, and besides the smell of herbs, it also had a fishy smell, which was quite unpleasant.

Before leaving, Xie Yan looked back one last time and saw through the gap at Shi Hanxi's feet that the scroll burning fiercely under the medicine furnace had not yet finished burning, revealing half of the beautiful painting of a woman.

The ashes from the burnt food drifted on the wind to Xie Yan's feet. Just before the door was about to close, he looked up again and met Shi Hanxi's gloomy and cold gaze.

"what happened?"

Chu Ling was lost in thought when he turned around and found Xie Yan standing by the door with a serious expression, seemingly deep in thought.

"Your Highness, tell me, under the laws of the Great Jing Dynasty, what is the sentence for browsing unhealthy materials?"

Chu Ling: "?"

Xie Yan said with a heavy expression, "I knew he was going to stay in a place like this. Turns out he was doing something illegal and disorderly behind people's backs."

Chu Ling: "??"

Xie Yan continued angrily, "You can know a person's face but not their heart. Behind his back, he's also a man who doesn't uphold male virtues! Did he think he could get away with it by burning the evidence? He even had the nerve to glare at me after I found out!"

Chu Ling: ...What did I miss?