Sui turned a deaf ear and continued walking forward.

His mind was occupied by the secret his mother had mentioned, and all he wanted now was to hurry back.

Until a sudden tug from behind forced him to stop—someone had yanked the book bag slung over his shoulder.

"Didn’t you hear me tell you to stop?!"

Guo Xiong stood there, arrogant and hostile.

Sui turned around unhappily, his expression blank as he stared at him, his little face exuding an air of authority eerily reminiscent of Emperor Jingxuan.

"What do you want?"

Meeting his gaze, Guo Xiong instinctively let go of the bag.

But upon recognizing Sui’s face, he flew into a rage. "It’s you?!"

"You again!"

It was because of this country bumpkin that he’d been scolded by his father and forced to stay in the palace to learn some ridiculous rules.

The old man teaching him was strict—if he failed to memorize them, he had to copy texts and endure strikes on his palms. Even now, Guo Xiong’s hands still ached faintly.

His father had also mentioned that after the New Year, he’d have to remain in the capital and enroll in the Hongwen Institute, where he might even end up sharing a classroom with this very person.

And all of this was thanks to Sui!

Guo Xiong, who had always been pampered, had never suffered such humiliation before.

He’d recognize Sui even if he were reduced to ashes!

"I’ve finally caught you today, and I’m going to teach you a lesson!"

He glared at Sui venomously, rolling up his sleeves as if ready to pounce.

His attendant sensed trouble and quickly intervened, "Young Master, you mustn’t! Have you forgotten what His Highness said? You’re supposed to apologize if you see the young lord!"

"Apologize to him?"

Guo Xiong spat in disdain. "In your dreams! I, the heir of the Prince of Pingnan, bow to some penniless nobody?"

If he weren’t a penniless wretch, why would he be staring at someone else’s carriage? Clearly, he was just some country bumpkin who’d never ridden in a fine carriage before.

P ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌‌‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌‌‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‍enniless?

Him? Sui found this amusing—it was the first time anyone had ever called him that.

The palace servants nearby, who had been watching the situation closely, twitched their lips in silent disbelief.

The attendant, looking miserable, tried to reason with Guo Xiong, managing to dissuade him from acting rashly after much persuasion.

But Guo Xiong wasn’t so easily appeased. Shoving his attendant aside, he stood before Sui, his tone haughty and domineering.

"Fine, I’ll let you off—but only if you hand over that jade pendant on your waist! Give it to me, and I won’t hold this against you!"

His greedy eyes fixed on Sui’s waist, his instincts telling him it was something valuable.

And all good things belonged to him.

Sui remained still, silently observing this short-tempered, round little ball of a person.

Seeing this, Guo Xiong’s pudgy face twisted in anger, and he immediately reached out to snatch it.

Sui sidestepped neatly. "No!"

"You’re rude—go away!"

His eyes flashed with displeasure.

Guo Xiong stumbled forward, missing his target, and nearly face-planted on the ground.

His attendant barely managed to cushion his fall, sparing him the indignity of eating snow.

This only fueled his fury. Scrambling up, he glared at Sui hatefully. "You dare call me rude?!"

Sui: "You are rude."

Always threatening to gouge people’s eyes out.

Guo Xiong was about to retort when a young eunuch approached and whispered something in his ear. His expression instantly turned scornful.

Hands on his hips, he sneered at Sui. "Oh, so you’re a fatherless brat? Born to a mother but raised without a father—no wonder you’re so ill-mannered!"

At this, Sui’s temper flared. "I have a father!"

Guo Xiong smirked triumphantly. "Then where is he? Call him here to discipline me, if you can!"

The words were deliberately cruel, mocking the fact that Sui’s father was no longer alive.

A passing noble youth couldn’t stand it and spoke up for Sui. "Guo Xiong, that’s too much. Lu Changsui didn’t even provoke you!"

"Exactly! Why dig at his wounds? How petty!"

"Typical southern behavior, riding on his father’s title as the Prince of Pingnan..."

Anyone with basic decency wouldn’t taunt someone over a deceased parent.

Guo Xiong shot them a disdainful look, chin raised. "None of your business! Stay out of it, or I’ll have my father beat you all!"

He said this without a hint of shame, as if it were a perfectly normal threat.

The leader of the group glared. "You—!"

His companion pulled him back, signaling not to escalate things—after all, the Prince of Pingnan’s influence was at its peak now.

Lu Changsui might not have much, but he still had Consort Zhao and the Lu family backing him.

Misinterpreting their hesitation as fear, Guo Xiong grew even bolder and turned back to Sui.

"Kneel and kowtow to me, or I’ll make sure you regret it!"

With that, he shoved Sui—but Sui didn’t budge an inch.

Over the past few months, Sui had been diligently training, especially in martial arts. His horse stance was the steadiest in class, and his muscles were solid.

Even Yun Wan had noticed the firmness in his arms when helping him change clothes.

Humiliated, Guo Xiong snarled, "My mother says people like you shouldn’t even exist—you probably killed your own father!"

"Hahaha—OW!"

His mocking laughter was cut short as Sui’s head rammed into his stomach like an enraged little bull.

Unable to tolerate his vile words any longer, Sui charged despite Guo Xiong’s larger size.

Guo Xiong clutched his belly in disbelief. "You dare hit me? My father is the Prince of Pingnan!"

Another punch landed.

Guo Xiong: "I’ll end you today!"

Sui ignored him, kicking his shins with all his might.

Agony shot through Guo Xiong’s legs, contorting his face. "Aaaah! I’ll kill you!"

As the Prince of Pingnan’s only son, he had been spoiled rotten since birth.

In the southern borders, his father was practically an emperor, and he the crown prince—no one dared cross him.

Yet today, some "penniless wretch" was beating him up.

Blinded by rage, Guo Xiong lunged, wrapping his arms around Sui’s waist and slamming them both to the ground.

But Sui, despite his youth, was no pushover. His fists rained down on Guo Xiong like a storm.

This person had been rude to him, but worse—he’d insulted his parents. Sui was furious.

All that talk about gentlemanly conduct and patience could wait.

Sui wanted revenge now.

Having studied pressure points, he knew exactly where to strike for maximum pain, and he put all his strength into it.

"AAAAH! IT HURTS!"

The palace servants panicked, some pretending to intervene. "Stop fighting!"

"Please, show mercy!"

But in reality, they did nothing to stop Sui from pummeling Guo Xiong atop him. Some even subtly formed a circle to block outside views, making it seem like a mutual brawl.

They’d long despised this bratty little tyrant.

Ugly and ill-behaved.

As palace staff, they knew Sui well—naturally, they sided with him.

In an instant, the snowy courtyard descended into chaos, lively as a festival.

Someone hurried off to report: "Disaster! Disaster!!"

"The Prince of Pingnan’s heir insulted the young lord—then attacked him!"

"......"