Chapter 33: A Clear Conscience

In the courtyard, Li Tai looked at his brother Li Ke with an expression as if he had seen a ghost. "Second Brother, are you really this gentle?"

Li Ke: "..."

*Don't look at me. When he tore down the fence and beat me with a wooden stick, he certainly wasn't like this...*

After a while, Li Kuan finally managed to soothe his younger sister, who was teary-eyed with guilt.

"Be a good girl and wait for me here." Li Kuan smiled, pinched Changle’s dainty nose, and turned to enter the inner chamber. He still intended to keep the secret of his space to himself.

"Second Brother, what is this?" A few moments later, Princess Changle, having composed herself, looked curiously at the silk-wrapped box Li Kuan had brought out from the room.

"Open it and see for yourself." Li Kuan ruffled his sister’s hair, his tone filled with such doting affection that it made Li Ke and Li Tai, who were watching from the sidelines, shiver uncontrollably.

*Has Second Brother been possessed by something?*

Changle, who likewise ignored her two other brothers, reached out to take the box and slowly opened it...

"This is... so beautiful!" The young girl’s cheer piqued the curiosity of Li Ke and Li Tai. The two brothers leaned in, their eyes widening the moment they caught sight of the contents.

Inside the box lay a pair of glass spheres the size of goose eggs. They were exquisitely crafted; the transparent, smooth surfaces showed not a single flaw. Yet, within them swirled a colorful, starry haze, and inside each sat a tiny blue sphere that appeared to be embedded within, yet felt entirely seamless with the whole. The entire object looked like a piece of the cosmos itself.

"Second Brother! I love it!" Changle cheered as she gazed at the glass spheres.

"As long as our Changle likes it," Li Kuan smiled. "It isn't worth much, but the process was tedious and time-consuming. It really took quite a bit of effort."

Li Kuan was, of course, telling a half-truth; he only knew the rough method for creating these "starry sky" glass spheres. Having been bored lately, and feeling a twinge of guilt for planning to swindle a large amount of grain from the great clans, the Prince of Chu had decided to burn some extra glass for the world.

While experimenting, he remembered the idea of these starry spheres. He had patiently directed the shadow assassins at his suburban estate to select the clearest pieces from the finished batch, reheat them, and polish them using special molds. After countless failures, he had finally produced this pair.

"I knew Second Brother was the best to me!" Princess Changle beamed, cradling the box. She couldn't wait to share her joy with the Empress and her other sisters.

"Hmm," Li Kuan nodded with satisfaction, then instructed his two younger brothers, who were watching with eager eyes: "Remember to tell Eldest Brother that I am Changle’s favorite brother."

When it comes to killing, one must strike at the heart.

Li Tai and Li Ke, rendered speechless by their second brother’s blatant favoritism, exchanged a glance. Li Tai spoke up, "Eldest Brother, what about ours?"

"What?" Li Kuan frowned, looking at the two of them.

"Our gifts!" Li Tai glanced at the box in Changle’s arms, signaling with his eyes that their brother should have sent them something too.

"Ah, gifts..." Li Kuan stood up thoughtfully, walked over to the pair, and then, curling his fingers, flicked them—*thwack, thwack*—a sharp rap on the head for each.

"Ouch!" Li Tai immediately clutched his head and cried out. Li Ke, beside him, was slightly better off, but he was rubbing his head frantically, his face scrunched in pain.

"If you two keep acting like idiots, you'll get plenty more of these," Li Kuan scolded with a straight face. "Don't spend your days just cockfighting, walking dogs, and causing trouble. You two should be doing something productive. You brats, do you really think I don't know what you've been up to lately?

"You, Little Tai," Li Kuan fixed his gaze on Li Tai. "Two days ago, after Wei Zheng finished his shift, you and Fang Yi'ai ambushed him on his way home. If General Qin Qiong hadn't happened to pass by—and if he weren't such a kind-hearted man willing to let you off—you wouldn't have gotten away with just a few lectures."

"Second Brother, but that old scoundrel Wei Zheng is always bad-mouthing you! I just wanted to teach him a lesson, and Fang Yi'ai and the others felt the same..." Li Tai rubbed his head, feeling aggrieved.

"You two-hundred-and-fifty! Fang Yi'ai is also a two-hundred-and-fifty, and add Cheng Chumo to that—the three of you are total blockheads..." Li Kuan was truly exasperated. Did these guys really think Qin Qiong just happened to run into them? He had sent people to watch over these idiots, and upon sensing trouble, had sent word to Qin Qiong to come and prevent a disaster.

If Li Tai and his cohorts had actually succeeded... Wei Zheng was not like that old fool Linghu Defen. Although he was a scholar, he had the backing of the powerful Shandong clans. Furthermore, Wei Zheng was a man who refused to bend. If he thought the humiliation of being beaten by a group of playboys would be recorded in history... a man who valued his reputation above all else might very well have smashed his head against the Taiji Palace pillars.

Then, there would be hell to pay. Even if Li Tai was Emperor Li Er’s beloved "Little Qingque," he would likely be plucked clean and devoured. After all, such a scene would essentially end Emperor Li Er’s dreams of being a legendary emperor.

As for the other troublesome one, Li Ke, Li Kuan sighed helplessly. When he looked at Li Ke, his tone softened: "Little Ke, Second Brother knows you went to find Xiao Yu, Qutu Tong, and other former officials to help suppress the fallout from my beating of Linghu Defen. But do you know that doing so does more harm than good? Not only can it not get me out of here, but it puts Xiao Yu and the others in an awkward position. As for you, you’ll become a target for certain people. You... why go to such lengths?"

"Second Brother..." Li Ke stammered, unsure how to respond. He then realized something was off: "How did you know..."

"I have people watching Xiao Yu!" Li Kuan retorted, saying the opposite of the truth. In reality, he had secretly dispatched people to follow and protect all his siblings. As a brother, he hoped they would grow up safe. As for future conflicts or regrets? Don't be ridiculous—would he, Li Kuan, care about such things?

As long as he had a clear conscience, that was enough.