My second brother stood up as he spoke.
"Lu Xiong, shut your mouth! Apologize—now!"
A somewhat languid voice snapped at Lu Xiong.
The voice came from the entrance of Fenglai Pavilion; a handsome man, appearing humble and courteous, stood in the doorway and began walking toward us, step by step. "Sister Long, that is Prince Jing—Li Wenxin."
Yang Zongsheng whispered in my ear, his face full of trepidation.
Although the man was handsome and appeared humble and courteous, my instincts told me he was a truly ruthless and vicious individual—someone easily on par with, if not worse than, Pang Xing.
"Lu Xiong, hurry and apologize to His Highness the Crown Prince. If he were to report your conduct to my Imperial Father, you'd be in serious trouble. You might even find your entire clan wiped out without fully understanding why."
Prince Jing, Li Wenxin, spoke to Lu Xiong with a kindly expression.
Upon hearing Prince Jing's words, the faces of Lu Xiong and his companions instantly turned pale.
They had realized my second brother's true identity and recalled their own earlier remarks; if he really did lodge a complaint, even if they avoided total annihilation, there was a very real possibility that their father would be reprimanded or even demoted.
"Your Highness, I was blind and failed to recognize your true stature. Please forgive my ignorance!"
Enduring the pain in his arm, Lu Xiong knelt on the ground and pleaded for mercy.
"Forget it. Just try to keep your eyes open in the future—otherwise, you might end up dead without even knowing how it happened."
My second brother didn't press the issue further; he knew that even if he reported the matter to the Emperor, the worst punishment Lu Xiong and the others would face was a stern reprimand.
So, after removing his mask, he magnanimously forgave them.
"Little Brother, it's been a long time. I never expected your martial arts skills to have improved so much; you must be at the mid-stage of the Xiantian realm by now, right?"
Prince Jing asked, looking at my second brother with curiosity.
"Indeed. Do you have any pointers for me, Big Brother?"
My second brother asked with a smile. "I wouldn't presume to offer pointers, Big Brother, but I've recently taken on a subordinate with impressive martial arts skills. Would you be interested in testing your mettle against her?"
Prince Jing asked with a provocative look on his face.
As soon as he spoke, a tall, scantily clad beauty stepped up to his side.
She cast a sultry, alluring glance at the Second Prince and said, "Your Highness, Crown Prince, I am a retainer of Prince Jing. Might I ask for the honor of exchanging a few moves with you?"
While Prince Jing and the Second Prince conversed, the high-ranking officials' scions gathered in the brothel's main hall had split into three distinct factions.
One group stood behind Prince Jing, and another behind the Second Prince; the two sides were roughly equal in number. A third, slightly larger group remained neutral, keeping their distance in hopes that the impending conflict wouldn't spill over onto them.
The situation within this modest brothel was a perfect microcosm of the political landscape at court.
At this moment, both Prince Jing's faction and the Second Prince's followers were hoping the Second Prince would accept the challenge and fight the alluring woman.
Prince Jing's camp wanted to see the Second Prince humiliated, while the Second Prince's followers hoped he would crush the opposing side's morale.
However, I knew full well that the Second Prince was no match for that sultry woman.
He perceived her as being at the mid-stage of the Xiantian realm, but I could clearly see that she was a powerhouse at the peak of the Xiantian realm—and a formidable one at that.
I hadn't seen her during the battle at the Martial Arts Alliance; she must have been one of those who sat that fight out. Just as my second younger brother was about to answer, I quietly sent him a telepathic message: "Don't agree—leave them to me!"
After saying that, I stood up and stretched, then looked at Prince Jing with a sneer. "Prince Jing? You really have some nerve! Having a peak Xiantian expert challenge a mid-stage Xiantian expert—who raised you to be so shameless?"
As soon as I finished speaking, the expressions of both Prince Jing and the seductive woman changed.
A look of venomous hatred flashed briefly in Prince Jing's eyes, but he quickly put on a smile and asked, "And who might this young lady be?"
"Heh! You act magnanimous, but in my eyes, no amount of pretense works. A vicious, petty man is just that—vicious and petty. Now, you have two choices. One: tuck your tail between your legs and run—humiliating! Two: muster the courage to fight me!"
I said this with a look of utter disdain.
After I spoke, Prince Jing was left with only one choice.
Although he was still smiling, the expression looked forced; anger had made it impossible for him to maintain his feigned composure.
"Since the lady puts it that way, let's fight! What are the rules?"
As he spoke, Prince Jing glanced at the scantily clad beauty, hoping to gauge whether she stood a chance of winning.
When he saw the smile on her face, the corners of his mouth curled up slightly.
"Simple: the Crown Prince is sending only me to fight, while you lot can send however many people you want! If you win, you can do whatever you please with me. If I win, this slut with the big tits and round ass has to stick her big rear end out and let the Crown Prince—and our side—have their way with her for two days."
I said this to Prince Jing with a smile.
In truth, I had wanted to make an even more outrageous demand, but I decided against it for fear of damaging the royal family's reputation. Upon hearing my words, both Prince Jing and the scantily clad beauty laughed; they believed victory was assured, as the terms I had proposed were overwhelmingly in their favor.
Prince Jing gave a slight wave of his hand, and a man at the peak of the Xiantian realm immediately stepped in from outside the brothel.
Seeing the man enter, I frowned, a flash of murderous intent flickering in my eyes.