Winning the male lead

In front of Prince Xiang’s Manor, the retainers of the Marquis’ Residence carried buckets filled with tung oil. Holding a torch, Le Tian grinned and commanded, “Pour it!”

The guards of the Prince Xiang’s Manor attempted to step forward, but the Marquis’ retainers simply splashed tung oil onto them. As a result, no one from the Prince Xiang’s side dared to advance and stop them.

“You bastard, Ge Chengyu! Today, I’ll set fire to your Prince Xiang’s Manor and see which burns better—the plaque on your door or the flames of my Dingyuan Marquis’ Residence!” Le Tian shouted again. “Pour it! Splash it all over their gates!”

The commoners gathered to watch this aristocratic feud unfold in the capital, clicking their tongues in amazement. They whispered among themselves about how arrogant and domineering the young marquis of the Dingyuan household was—even daring to burn a prince’s manor.

Prince Xiang had initially hidden inside his residence, but as the commotion outside grew louder, he rushed out and slapped the trembling Ge Chengyu across the face. “You fool! Of all the people to provoke, you had to pick Yun Le Tian? Don’t you know that cripple is a madman?!”

Ge Chengyu whimpered. He had only taken notice of Yun Le Tian because of his striking looks—how could he have known that he was so wild and reckless? He had assumed that all noble youths were the same, equally hedonistic and harmless. But he never expected him to be completely unrestrained. Now, he had truly backed himself into a corner.

With no other choice, Prince Xiang stepped out. The moment the gate opened, a bucket of tung oil was poured all over him. “What do you think you’re doing? Such insolence!” he bellowed.

“Oh my, looks like the father of the bastard has come to take responsibility,” Le Tian sneered. The glow of the torch illuminated his face, making his sharp features even more striking. He grinned. “Prince Xiang, you’ve raised a useless son. Hand him over and make him kneel before me with three resounding kowtows. Do that, and I’ll spare your manor.”

Prince Xiang had never suffered such humiliation. His face turned red with rage, and he nearly fainted. “You—you… Such behavior! I will report you to His Majesty!”

“Hahaha! Oh no, I’m so scared!” Le Tian laughed uncontrollably, but his eyes turned ice-cold. Mocking, he said, “You’re only a prince because of Consort Yuan’s favor. What real power do you have? Your ancestors’ accumulated virtue isn’t enough to offset your son’s foolishness. In front of the Emperor, you’re nothing! Even if I burn your manor to the ground today, His Majesty will probably praise me for ‘out with the old, in with the new.’”

Prince Xiang was indeed the son of Consort Yuan’s brother. Back in the day, the consort had been favored, so the late emperor granted him the title of prince. But he was nothing more than a paper tiger. Le Tian’s words struck where it hurt most. Prince Xiang, his round belly glistening with tung oil, looked utterly pathetic.

“Stop this!”

A squad of cavalry galloped in from the north side of the street. Le Tian turned to see Zhao Xin riding toward him, his face stern. Acting fast, Le Tian tossed the torch into the air.

Oh yeah, setting fires is so much fun. Anyway, Zhao Xin will clean up the mess for me.

The system strongly condemned his behavior of taking advantage of an honest man… but it was powerless to stop him.

Zhao Xin was an expert archer with exceptional eyesight. He had clearly seen Yun Le Tian notice him before deliberately tossing the torch toward Prince Xiang’s Manor. His expression darkened instantly.

The moment the torch landed, flames erupted. Fire slithered up the tung oil like a serpent. Prince Xiang fled in terror. Seeing that the situation was beyond saving, Zhao Xin quickly ordered, “Put out the fire!” He then rode forward and halted in front of the grinning Yun Le Tian, his voice sharp. “You’ve gone too far!”

“Is my dear brother-in-law going to discipline me?” Le Tian clasped his hands behind his back, utterly fearless. In a small voice, he added, “You’re so loud. I’m terrified.”

Zhao Xin had never encountered such an audacious youth. He was at a loss for words. He could only focus on extinguishing the fire, then turned to the Marquis’ retainers. “If you continue causing trouble alongside the young marquis, be prepared for punishment.”

The retainers exchanged hesitant glances, not daring to move.

Unexpectedly, Le Tian waved his hand lazily. “Listen to him.” Then he turned back to Zhao Xin with a smirk, his face saying, See? I’m obedient.

For the first time, Zhao Xin felt a splitting headache. He grabbed Le Tian, preventing him from stirring up more trouble. “You’ve caused a huge mess.”

“So what? Isn’t my dear brother-in-law here to clean up after me?” Le Tian narrowed his eyes, looking utterly unrepentant.

Zhao Xin was momentarily speechless.

Fortunately, the fire hadn’t spread too far, and the combined efforts of the bystanders managed to put it out. The commoners, thoroughly entertained, continued chattering about how Yun Le Tian had insulted Prince Xiang and his son.

Zhao Xin had sharp ears and caught bits of the gossip. Piecing things together, he understood the reason behind Le Tian’s rampage. He turned to him and said, “I already settled yesterday’s matter for you. Why go to such lengths?”

“Who said I did this to settle things? I want to stir up as much trouble as possible! I want to make sure they never dare look down on me again!” Le Tian lifted his chin stubbornly, locking eyes with Zhao Xin.

Zhao Xin saw not a boy, but a young leopard cub—proud and defiant. He reached out, adjusting the jade coronet on Le Tian’s head. “You’re a man. Having this mindset is fine, but you’re going about it the wrong way.”

The moment the fire was put out, Prince Xiang began wailing about taking his grievance to the Emperor. He even started cursing Zhao Xin, convinced that the general was siding with Yun Le Tian—which wasn’t entirely wrong.

Thus, the three of them headed to the palace.

Emperor Li Liang listened to Prince Xiang’s endless sobbing, then looked at the other two standing before him. He, too, felt a headache coming on.

In Le Tian’s mind, he said to the system, I like this emperor.

The system was stunned. He’s almost fifty.

I like his name, Le Tian replied.

…?

It sounds like ‘your mother’ when spoken aloud.

The system fell silent. Even at a time like this, Le Tian still had the energy to joke about the Emperor’s name. The system, much like Zhao Xin, was utterly speechless.

Prince Xiang wept for a long time but received no response. He wiped his tears and said pitifully, “Your Majesty, you must seek justice for me!”

“Mm, mm, mm. I’ll seek justice for you,” Li Liang replied lazily. As Le Tian had predicted, he didn’t take Prince Xiang seriously. He barely spared Le Tian a glance, focusing instead on Zhao Xin. “Zhao Xin, you rascal. Well? Explain this to me!” His favoritism toward Zhao Xin was obvious.

Zhao Xin bowed and said earnestly, “Your Majesty, I am at fault.”

“What fault?” Li Liang asked disinterestedly.

Zhao Xin cast a brief glance at Le Tian and replied, “I failed to discipline my younger brother.”

Just like that, he had accepted Le Tian as his younger brother. Le Tian was stunned. He had only wanted to test his limits—to see how much he truly cared for Yun Qianshuang. But Zhao Xin had completely embraced him.

The Emperor sighed. “You, you’re always too sentimental.”

Le Tian stepped forward and said, “Your Majesty, this is not General Zhao’s fault. Prince Xiang’s son harassed me first, and I retaliated accordingly. I believe that makes us even.”

Li Liang’s expression turned colorful. “Prince Xiang’s son harassed you?”

“Yes.” Le Tian remained unbothered. “He found me handsome and charming and tried to grope me. As a proud man, I could not tolerate such an offense.”

“Pfft.” Li Liang burst into laughter. Pointing at Zhao Xin, he said, “Your little brother has quite the sharp tongue.”

Zhao Xin silently agreed.

And so, the matter was brushed aside. Li Liang instructed Zhao Xin to keep Yun Le Tian in check. Zhao Xin agreed.

The moment they left the palace, Le Tian turned back and grinned at Prince Xiang. “You’ve lost all dignity today. If I were you, I’d just hang myself with my own belt rather than continue embarrassing myself before my juniors.”

Zhao Xin frowned and scolded, “Why do you refuse to let it go? A true gentleman does not seek petty victories through words.”

“What’s it to you?” Le Tian immediately turned on Zhao Xin as well.

“You’re utterly incorrigible.” Zhao Xin furrowed his brows, suddenly reaching out to grab Le Tian’s jade belt. He turned to his attendant and ordered, “Go to the Dingyuan Marquis’ Residence and inform the Old Madam that the young marquis will be staying at my manor as a guest for a few days.”

Le Tian struggled at once. “What are you doing? Let go of me! I’m not going!”

Zhao Xin said calmly, “His Majesty ordered me to discipline you. This is an imperial decree.” Ignoring Le Tian’s resistance, he lifted him onto his horse.

Le Tian appeared to resist on the surface, but inwardly, he spoke to the system: Heh, he said he’s going to ‘discipline’ me.

The system: …Don’t get too excited. Zhao Xin is a strict military man.

Le Tian: And I’m very good at ‘polishing’ weapons.

The system: …It’s over. I’m tainted. I actually understood that. My purity… it’s gone. I feel a deep sadness for my lost innocence.

Zhao Xin’s manor was simple, far less grand than the Dingyuan Marquis’ Residence. Le Tian struggled all the way there, forcing Zhao Xin to hoist him over his shoulder and carry him inside.

He leaned down and tried to bite Zhao Xin’s waist, but Zhao Xin was a trained warrior. Even in the deep autumn, he wore light clothing, yet Le Tian couldn’t get to his flesh—Zhao Xin had sensed his intent and tensed his muscles. Seeing his plan fail, Le Tian’s hand, dangling behind him, teasingly groped his rear.

Zhao Xin froze instantly. He set him down and frowned. “Why are you so unruly?”

Le Tian made a face at him. “Born this way!” He turned to run, but Zhao Xin grabbed his jade belt again.

Le Tian rolled his eyes. “Brother-in-law, you can’t possibly keep me tied up all day, can you?”

“From today on, you won’t leave my side.” Zhao Xin’s tone was stern.

Le Tian: …Mission accomplished.

After the morning’s chaos, Zhao Xin had finished his martial training and hadn’t even bathed. The attendants hurried to prepare water, but Zhao Xin still hadn’t let go of Le Tian’s jade belt. Le Tian chuckled. “Brother-in-law, if you’re going to bathe, I’ll excuse myself.”

Zhao Xin gave him a sidelong glance and said seriously, “Don’t even think about running. You’re coming to the bathhouse with me.”

Le Tian: …Mission accomplished x2.

Afraid that he would slip away, Zhao Xin dragged him into the bathhouse. “You reek of oil,” he remarked. “Wash up too.” More importantly, Zhao Xin worried that if he entered the water alone, Le Tian would escape.

Le Tian thought, Brother-in-law, I love you to death. Outwardly, however, he protested vehemently. The more he refused, the more Zhao Xin worried, until finally, he pulled him into the hot bath—clothes and all.

The water was deep. Standing in it, Le Tian was soaked up to his chest.

Zhao Xin still hadn’t let go of his belt. “You’re already wet. Just behave.”

Le Tian: Being wet only makes me act up more.

Seeing him fall silent, Zhao Xin held onto his jade belt with one hand while undoing his own robe with the other.

Le Tian deliberately leaned in. “Brother-in-law, need help undressing?” As he spoke, he reached for Zhao Xin’s waist belt. Zhao Xin caught his hand and frowned. “Stop fooling around.”

“Then let go of me,” Le Tian taunted.

They remained locked in a stalemate in the bath. In the end, Zhao Xin relented—he knew Le Tian was deliberately provoking him to make him loosen his grip. Since they were both men, Zhao Xin simply let him be.

Le Tian’s heart raced as he eagerly pulled open Zhao Xin’s wet inner robe.

Zhao Xin had a solid, muscular build—clearly a trained warrior. His chest bore numerous scars, remnants of old wounds, yet they didn’t mar his physique; rather, they added a wild, rugged charm, creating a stark contrast with his normally refined demeanor.

Le Tian nearly forgot to breathe. He reached out and traced one of the scars.

Zhao Xin shuddered slightly. “What are you doing?”

“Brother-in-law, you’re amazing,” Le Tian said, full of admiration.

Zhao Xin finally saw a glimpse of innocence in him. His expression softened slightly. “It’s nothing. On the battlefield, blades and arrows have no eyes. Surviving is already a blessing.”

“Brother-in-law, I want to go to war with you!” Le Tian’s eyes sparkled.

“Don’t be ridiculous. Just wash up and get out.” Seeing that Le Tian had calmed down, Zhao Xin finally released his grip.

But the moment he let go, Le Tian pounced.

Before Zhao Xin could react, he felt a firm grip on his most vulnerable spot. A warm breath tickled his ear as Le Tian whispered, “So, do you agree or not?”