Chapter 18: Chapter 3.2

Fan Yuan packed his luggage that was sparse to begin with, and followed the male lead daren to live in his manor.

Though he was a prince that had already come of age and left the palace to live in his own estate, the male lead had yet to be granted any titles or ranks. This was an awkward matter—written in extremely exquisite calligraphy on the residence’s plaque were the three characters “Prince’s Manor”, and everyone who walked by would examine it and proceed to mock it.

This Third Prince also had very good tolerance, you couldn’t see any sign of dissatisfaction from him. His face remained expressionless and cold as if it was frozen, his behaviour so unusual that it caused others to feel puzzled.

However, the reality was that Fan Yuan was too lazy to care. This kind of male lead who kills the donkey the moment it leaves the millstone and burns the bridge after crossing it, he felt this completely did not deserve any kind of thinking about, the two big words “human slag” were already written across his forehead!

Third Prince Pei Qi did not know that he had already been labelled as scum. He expressionlessly ordered a guard dressed in black at the side, “Cui Hong, help prepare a place for Second Young Master Xiao to stay.”

Fan Yuan immediately entered a dedicated acting mode, uneasily saying, “Your Highness can just call for Xiao Yuan to do it by myself.”

Upon hearing his words, Pei Qi looked back at him, a sliver of a smile evident from his profound gaze, “Good, did you hear that Cui Hong, help Xiao Yuan prepare his accommodation.”

That guard dressed in black immediately bowed and said, “This subordinate obeys.”

The corners of Fan Yuan’s lips frowned, why was it when the male lead called him “Xiāo Yuǎn” just now, he actually heard “Xiǎo Yuǎn” instead? He must have heard it wrong...right?

In order for the actor to integrate into the world they were acting in, the original owner’s name would automatically be replaced by that of the actor. Fan Yuan had always felt grateful for this user-friendly affordance, but this time, he felt very bad! Extremely bad! Why the f*ck did it have to be the surname Xiao! Xiāo Yuǎn, Xiǎo Yuǎn, it sounded very ambiguous okay!

On his side, he was extremely caught up over a name. On this side, Cui Hong had already gestured at him to enter. Fan Yuan panicked slightly and directed a bow towards him, following behind him to another courtyard.

Although Pei Qi was not favoured by the Emperor, he was still a prince. Though his manor could not compare to those of the princes that had already been titled, but compared to the An Le Marquis manor, this manor was more than enough.

Hence, his stay here was actually much better than his previous stay in the Marquis manor—not only was the environment quiet and tastefully laid out, there was a pond of brilliantly blooming lotuses outside the house, and the decorations within the house were also quite good. The brushes, ink, paper, and inkstone were all of superior quality, and even the pavilions outside the courtyard were made of pear wood and carved with elaborate designs. It was truly extravagant to the extreme.

Fan Yuan couldn’t help but be left speechless, sighing, “Cui Hong, the treatment from the prince’s manor is really good, just a normal commoner’s accommodation, yet the standards are so high.”

Cui Hong lifted his gaze and looked at him, and then looked away while coldly saying, “This place is not a commoner’s residence.”

Upon seeing Fan Yuan look puzzled, he explained, “This place is Ji Feng Courtyard’s side courtyard.” After a pause, he added, “Ji Feng Courtyard is the prince’s residence.”

Fan Yuan: “.........” So? What was an advisor like him living in the master’s compound for?

Yet Cui Hong did not explain any further, only informing him of a few things that he needed to take note of before briskly leaving without any hesitation.

Fan Yuan walked around the house a few times, confirming that each item was of the finest quality, shaking his head inwardly all the while—just a side courtyard in the prince’s manor was extravagant to such an extent. As expected, feudal society was really darkah.

When he turned back to take a look, he immediately saw that on top of the closet in his bedroom, there were two illuminating night pearls properly placed there. He finally could no longer keep his cool⁠—wasn’t this kind of rare object the kind that was expensive to the point of being worth cities? In his room there were two cities so casually and carelessly placed, what if they were lost, would they ask him for compensation?! Mother’s eggs, even if he was sold away he wouldn’t be able to pay it back ba!

Fan Yuan picked up one of the pearls and played with it in his palm for a while, suddenly saying a bit dejectedly, “Xiao Wu, why do I have the feeling of being a mistress kept in a golden houseah.”

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Although the male lead daren seemed to have forgotten about the Second Young Master, who was leisurely eating and drinking, that he brought back from An Le Marquis manor in the last few days, Fan Yuan felt that he couldn’t just sit by and wait idly for his death (?).

The original script did not say anything, but since the objective was to allow the male lead to realise his ability, Fan Yuan naturally must occasionally brush faces in front of the male lead, only then will he have the opportunity to show himself off, no?

So that day, he determinedly endured the scorching sun, waiting at the path to the study that the male lead had to pass through. In one hand, he used the tree leaves plucked from the sides of the path to shade him from the sun as he waited anxiously for the male lead’s silhouette to appear.

After waiting half a shichen, he finally saw the male lead walk over in his direction along with a few guards. Fan Yuan immediately flung away the branch with leaves in his hand, and assumed a concentrated expression, as if wondering how to achieve tall ambitions. He muttered as he walked, “Galloping at the speed of a thousand miles as if riding the clouds, where can one receive Bo Le’s appraisal. If one is able to, they will be able to cover the Sun and Moon in just nine days, conquering territories all the way to the frontier.”

Fan Yuan recited the poem while glancing at the male lead through his peripheral vision. He saw the male lead stop walking, and then head over in his direction. He secretly lifted the corners of his mouth, and thought in his heart, The plan was successful!

However, what he did not ever expect was that although male lead did indeed walk to where Fan Yuan was standing, he instead made a turn and first bent down to pick up that branch with leaves that Fan Yuan had used to shade himself from the sun. Only after that did he lift his body to face him, coldly asking, “You broke this off?”

Fan Yuan: (⊙v⊙)???

The male lead daren creased his brows , murmuring, “This jasmine orange plant, is something this prince ordered men to transplant over from the South, because the water and soil are different, it took many years for this plant to come to life, yet you broke it so easily.”

Fan Yuan swallowed his saliva, his legs feeling slightly weak, as he said, sounding a bit strangled, “Was it very valuable? S...Sorry.”

Pei Qi twisted his eyebrows and used an overbearing tone, “Is it useful for you to feel sorry?”

Fan Yuan remained silent, and tried to negotiate, “Then...I’ll compensate you with one plant?”

The male lead narrowed his eyes instead, his tone harsh, “A new one, is not this current one in the end.”

Fan Yuan: “.........”

A person who would casually place night pearls around, was yet so serious over a plant. Damn this world was so unrealistic!

# It is everyone’s responsibility to care for the environment #

# Having cheap hands is an illness that needs to be cured ah, dear! #

# The male lead with a black face is so scary_(:3」∠)_ #

To compensate for the male lead daren’s jasmine orange plant, Fan Yuan undertook the task of raising the plants in Ji Feng courtyard, watering the plants in Pei Qi’s bedroom and study daily, pruning the leaves and things like that. The work was pretty simple, laid-back, and not tiring. The wages and benefits were good, the quality of life was high, but the problem was......

He was here to become a strategic advisor, not a gardener ah, angry! This progression was not quite right ah QAQ

As he watched the part of the plot when he had to come clean with the male lead approach, Fan Yuan estimated that his current image in the male lead’s heart, was most probably as a gardener who was very good at tending to the plants—this completely did not match with that of an advisor. If he came clean with the male lead now that he was actually his father’s spy, who knew if the male lead would, in a fit of rage, kill him immediately with a sword. Just thinking of it made him feel sorrow.

That day, he once again watered the few pots of kaffir lilies in the outer room of the male lead’s study, but he suddenly heard a huge commotion in the inner room.

He peeped in through the curtains, only to see the male lead sweep a stack of books harshly onto the ground, practically about to break the floor. A few trusted advisors were all kneeling on the floor begging for mercy, not daring to even breathe. The entire study’s atmosphere was oppressed to the point where it was a bit gloomy, as if a huge storm would rise in the very next moment.

Fan Yuan reviewed the plot, and understood that this moment was exactly the time when the Third Prince was being suppressed the hardest by the Crown Prince. The Third Prince’s birth mother, the former Empress’ clan was wiped out because they had been charged with the crime of high treason. The only reason that the Third Prince escaped death was because he had the imperial family’s blood flowing through his veins, thus allowing him to keep his life under the protection of the Empress Dowager.

Over ten years had passed, and the events that happened that year were practically almost forgotten by the people. Yet the Crown Prince had brought up these old matters today, saying the blood following through the Third Prince was that of a traitor’s, unsuitable for any positions of importance, causing the Emperor’s heart to once again feel afraid and hence distance himself from Pei Qi.

According to the original story, this crisis was resolved due to the original owner’s advice, but the current him was not viewed as important, with his current circumstances being vastly different from the original situation of the original host. If he rushed to offer advice without careful consideration, it was inevitable that he would be suspected of eavesdropping on the master’s private conversations, and more than that, someone might suspect him to be a spy. But if he did not say anything, his own plot would not move along, and as a result, the main plot would also not move. That would be very troublesome.

Fan Yuan thought about it, but still decided on waiting first; this matter could not be rushed.

By the time it reached approximately around zishi that day, Fan Yuan carried a lantern and headed over to the male lead’s study. Sure enough, the lights in the room were still lit, it seemed that the male lead was still having a headache over that matter ba.

“Knock, knock, knock”, he knocked three times, and after a moment he heard Pei Qi’s low and deep voice, “Come in.”

Fan Yuan entered the house and shut the door. Setting his lantern aside, he took a deep breath, and only then did he enter the inner room with a calm expression.

Pei Qi saw that it was him, but was also not surprised. He simply raised his eyebrow, his tone serious, “It’s so late, what did you come here for? If you are trying to offer yourself up as a pillow, you should go to the bedroom, the study isn’t a place for you to fool around.”

“............”

All the courage Fan Yuan had just mustered was instantly attacked to the point of being scattered all over in tiny pieces, mother’s eggs, what offer myself up as a pillow?! Don’t think you can say this nonsense just because you are the male lead! laozi came here to talk proper matters, okay!

Only for the sake of following the story, laozi will bear with this!

Fan Yuan pretended that he heard nothing, kneeling on the ground with a sound ‘pu tong’, “Your Highness, this subordinate has urgent matters to report.”

Pei Qi narrowed his eyes, his tone unchanging, “What matter?”

“Today this subordinate unintentionally overheard your Highness discussing matters with a few gentlemen. Although I do not know all the details, but I still know that your Highness has encountered a difficult matter. Though this subordinate is not talented, these few days I have received your care and hospitality, so I returned to the An Le Marquis manor to inquire on this matter from my father. Only then did I realise, the Crown Prince had actually used such an insidious scheme!”

Pei Qi coolly quipped, “You are usually not favoured in the Marquis’ manor, the Marquis would even be willing to tell you these kind of things?”

Fan Yuan replied in a muffled voice, “If it was before, he would naturally not tell me, but now it is slightly different.”

Pei Qi contemplatively let out an ‘oh’, “What is different?”

Fan Yuan tone was mixed with bitterness and an evident sense of hatred, “Because he sent me over to you, for me to act as a spy, as you would inevitably give me some information. Actually, my father, An Le Marquis, has long already turned to the Crown Prince’s faction.”

Pei Qi rotated the mutton jade ring on his thumb, not saying a single word, only listening silently.

“This subordinate also knows that if these matters are told to your Highness, I will inevitably be subject to suspicion. As for why I dare to come clean in front of your Highness, it is actually because I have the intention to pledge allegiance to your Highness, while at the same time to offer a strategy for your Highness, to show my sincerity.”

Hi guys! Hope y’all enjoyed the chapter Just a little announcement, we have yet another new person onboard our MGLR train⁠—please welcome our lovely proofreader rf~ (her full username’s bloodyredfox, pretty edgy no? lmao)

Have a beautiful day ♡