"...."

Upon hearing this, Xu Yuan silently gave the person a thumbs up.

In the two years after the war ended, as the only existing heart of Dayan, Di’an City attracted a large number of local nobles to settle here, naturally leading to an increase in the number of second-generation heirs.

Compared to the low-profile nature of those nobility from the peak of Dayan’s hierarchy, these second-generation heirs from local areas appeared extremely ostentatious, bringing their hometown ways of bullying and intimidating the common people into Di’an, much to Xu Mengxi’s distress.

Fang Hongru took a deep breath and spoke in a calm and unhurried manner, appearing quite graceful:

"In fact, a mere entertainer is not worth making me, Fang Luo, go to great lengths. The purpose of my visit here today is to express my interest in you. As long as you apologize, I can give you a chance to associate with me."

After hearing this, the young man with a beard sat up for the first time, glanced at the opponent’s guards, and said earnestly:

"I heard they call you Third Young Master?"

"Yes."

Fang Hongru squinted his eyes: "My father....."

"Di’an has really changed, hasn’t it? Even any Tom, Dick, or Harry dares to call themselves Third Young Master."

"...."

Fang Hongru’s face twitched with anger, and after a moment, he squeezed out a sentence through gritted teeth:

"Your habits truly command Fang’s respect; refusing to be a honored guest, you’d rather be a stray dog."

With that said,

he turned around and whispered to the Guest Elder guards beside him:

"Don’t overdo it, just disable three of his legs."

"Tch....."

The young man with the beard couldn’t help but laugh:

"Debauchery is debauchery, yet you care so much about reputation; why not just take action directly?"

As soon as he finished speaking,

the entire building was immediately filled with surging Origin Qi!

And it was at this moment,

"Ah....."

As if an auditory illusion, a sigh echoed in everyone’s ears. Just as Fang Hongru was puzzled, he heard a strange yet familiar voice:

"You all have quite the courage."

"...."

Instinctively looking back, at the moment Fang Hongru saw the newcomer, the faint sense of familiarity instantly overshadowed the strangeness.

It was from when his father took him to the court,

an imprint veiled deep in his memory of a distant glance.

Why would this person appear here?

There was no time to think further as icy chills had already risen from the soles of his feet to the back of his head.

Thud.

Fang Hongru knelt directly, his forehead hitting the ground, his voice shaky with humility:

"Prince... Prince Han."

The sudden designation left all present momentarily stunned, then everyone knelt down thereafter.

No one knew why this lord appeared here; although there were rumors of him enjoying wandering the marketplaces, those were just rumors.

Tap...

Tap...

Tap...

The light footsteps weighed on everyone’s hearts, and the room was so quiet it was unsettling.

Until...

"Disperse, I won’t hold this against you today; don’t make the same mistake again next time."

The sense of relief spread quickly, and in a few breaths, the entire upper floor was emptied.

Upon reaching the lower level, Fang Hongru came out of his panic, looking around and realizing the bearded young man had not come down with the rest. He cast a puzzled look upwards and heard a slight conversation.

It was the voice of Prince Han.

"Is bullying kids so entertaining?"

What does this mean?

Fang Hongru was somewhat confused, but a conversation involving Prince Han was not something he could eavesdrop on. Just as he was considering leaving to avoid suspicion, the voice of the young man, with whom he had clashed, sounded:

"Sister wouldn’t meet me, so isn’t this my only option to come find you, brother?"

"...." Fang Hongru.

Prince Han has an older brother and a younger sister, but supposedly no younger brother, yet that young man mentioned a ’sister’ just now?

Sister... does that refer to the Emperor?

An identity instantly surfaced in his mind....

...

...

"Coming back just to stir up trouble?"

Sitting down, Xu Yuan casually asked, turning his gaze toward the young nobleman from outside.

The bearded young man was none other than Li Junqing, the Third Prince of Dayan, who went overseas twenty years ago as a student in Japan, now a protector of the Endless Sea and the Five-star Emperor.

Li Junqing chuckled and explained:

"They were the ones who troubled me first, don’t think just because they’re youngsters you should take their side; Miss Yuan’er and I are truly in mutual affection."

Xu Yuan rolled his eyes and didn’t probe further into the matter:

"How did you know I’d be passing by here?"

Li Junqing rubbed his hands together, smiling awkwardly:

"My former subordinates told me."

Xu Yuan raised an eyebrow, with a meaningful smirk:

"Ah... The Third Prince has quite the means, even twenty years later, still able to spy on the happenings within the Imperial Palace, even tracking my whereabouts."

Li Junqing grew a little anxious and quickly said:

"Hey, don’t mislabel me, I can’t handle such accusations. Who could possibly track your whereabouts?"

Saying so, Li Junqing scratched his cheek and truthfully said:

"My old subordinates merely mentioned that you’d dealt with a lot of second-generation heirs in the past two years in the market, so I thought creating a disturbance might draw you here."

Xu Yuan was a bit speechless:

"Couldn’t you just come to the Han Prince Mansion to find me directly?"

Li Junqing waved his hand with a laugh:

"It’s not the same."

Xu Yuan stared at him for a few seconds, shaking his head:

"You sure have a lot of things going on."

With that,

Xu Yuan looked at the madam carrying a wine tray approaching, and in a low voice asked:

"Got nothing better to do, care to have a drink with me?" 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

Li Junqing was a bit surprised, not expecting the other to invite him proactively, but then quickly caught on and jokingly remarked:

"Seems like our Third Young Master has been repressed all these years, can’t even find a drinking buddy?"

"Yes, I’ve killed them all."

"....."

Li Junqing’s expression instantly turned colorful.

Wanghai Pavilion should be considered one of the most upscale brothels in Di’an City. The madam, being someone who knew how to read the room, left immediately after setting down the wine tray and swiftly cleared all other guests from the establishment.

After a few drinks, Xu Yuan sipped the sour wine, speaking to himself in a calm and measured tone: