Gradually, someone began to have ideas.
Although Kaios was not favored by the emperor, he was still a prince after all. And looking at his appearance of “indulging in beauty” and “being moody”… he was definitely young and easy to control!
Amidst the turbulent undercurrents, some forces prepared to buy off or win over that mysterious “little lover”, while more forces began to ponder the young prince’s preferences, wanting to send their own people in.
This was also normal. Nowadays, which noble or royal family didn’t keep three wives and four concubines, and a dozen male companions?
How could a lowborn from the wild areas compare to specially trained beauties?
Could His Highness remain devoted for one year, or even for three to five years, or decades?
Besides those shrewd and calculating political figures, there were not a few who simply wanted to marry into the royal family for social climbing, or who were even captivated by the young prince’s appearance and rebellious temperament.
However, for a long period of time, both Jiang Jianming and Ryann were busy with plans to govern the star city, completely unaware of this.
After entering late autumn that year, Jiang Jianming’s physical condition finally stabilized, and he rarely fell ill. The medications were mainly for conditioning, and the daily dose of tranquilizers was reduced significantly.
The small hospital where he stayed was located behind the prince’s residence. It was originally a high-end medical facility established for the lord of star city, fresh and quiet, with only one flat path leading to the outside. Once the road was blocked, it became an isolated environment.
But Ryann couldn’t bear to keep him confined like a prisoner. Occasionally, the disabled human would be accompanied by the little nurse Maria, walking Seth on a leash, stepping on fallen leaves outside the ward.
Once, they inadvertently walked too far and went around to the official mansion side. From a distance, they heard several young women speaking in elegant noble accents.
The leading young woman wore a red dress with green diamonds, adorned with dazzling jewelry, her tone full of contempt. Words like “wild area”, “lowborn”, and “disabled human” could be vaguely heard.
Maria had sharp ears and immediately knew this wasn’t good. She hurriedly said, “Your Excellency, I, I feel a bit cold. Shall we go back and put on some more clothes? It’s already autumn, we can’t let your body get chilled.”
She still didn’t know Jiang Jianming’s real name. She occasionally heard His Highness call him “Aslan”, but the little nurse didn’t dare address him directly, only calling him “Your Excellency”.
Jiang Jianming turned his head, but before he could speak, a burst of laughter erupted from the noble ladies in the distance.
“I heard that little vixen doesn’t even know how to use a knife and fork to eat cake!”
The young woman in the red dress covered her vermilion lips with a feather fan, chin raised high, sneering, “In the past, he probably ate by scooping up cream with his hands. Just thinking about it makes me feel so disgusted.”
The young women crowding around her all chimed in, giggling and making a fuss.
“Goodness, how can someone be so stupid? Are all people from the wild areas unable to use cutlery, or is it just him?”
“It is quite pitiful, but how could someone as noble as His Highness the Prince take a liking to such a lowborn?”
“That must be because His Highness hasn’t yet seen Miss Ke’s beauty and elegance, hehe…”
In the distance, Jiang Jianming held onto the little dog with a subtle expression, saying softly, “There are no cakes to eat in the wild areas.”
Maria’s face turned red with anger, “Your Excellency! Let’s go back and tell His Highness Kaios…”
Jiang Jianming shook his head, raising his index finger in a “shh” gesture to indicate not to make a fuss, and led Seth, who was wagging its tail wildly, back.
Behind them, the grating laughter continued.
“That’s right, even the noble ladies of Yongle Garden Star City can’t compare to Miss Ke’s grace, let alone a little vixen from the wild areas.”
“After all… no matter how hard a lowborn struggles, they’re still inherently inferior by birth!”
Jiang Jianming: “Who are those ladies?”
Maria said angrily, “The one in the lead, wearing the big red dress, is the daughter of the current Blue Mother Star City Guard Commander, Lord Ke Xi. The others are Miss Ke’s companions.”
“Miss Ke’s full name is Ke Luna. She’s a renowned beauty in several major districts of Blue Mother Star. Because of her noble birth, she’s quite famous… But her character is too vicious. Almost every month there are servants who die by Miss Ke’s order!”
Maria said earnestly. “Your Excellency, please don’t take it to heart. This kind of malicious and harsh girl is the one who can’t compare to you at all. No matter how beautiful she is, His Highness the Prince wouldn’t give her a second glance!”
Jiang Jianming smiled slightly, “You misunderstand, His Highness and I don’t have that kind of relationship.”
This little nurse was kind-hearted and genuine, with a quick mind, and never discriminated against him. She was truly a rare and good girl.
However, the City Guard Commander Ke Xi that Maria just mentioned…
Jiang Jianming’s thoughts stirred.
The Ke family was an old power in Blue Mother Star, staunch conservative nobles who would extract every last drop of blood and sweat from the lower classes if they could.
His Highness Kaios had just arrived, but conservative nobles like the Ke family had already been rooted in Blue Mother Star for generations, with their own set of “operating rules”.
If Ryann wanted to truly grasp real power, there were several powerful figures he had to eliminate.
The question was, how to eliminate them? Directly declaring a purge of the star city was impossible, he had said himself that he needed to keep a low profile in the beginning.
However… now it seemed there might be a way.
Jiang Jianming pursed his lips, revealing a slight smile.
“By the way, Maria, do you know if there’s any occasion soon where this Miss Ke will attend together with her father, Commander Ke Xi?”
Maria didn’t know why His Excellency was asking this, so she could only answer honestly, saying that there was a common noble night banquet next week where the Ke father and daughter should both be in attendance.
— Heaven have mercy, if Maria had known the consequences of this statement, she would definitely have wanted to slap herself for her quick tongue.
–One week later.
The official mansion was brightly lit, filled with singing and dancing.
Jiang Jianming wore a gray-white silk formal attire and sat on the edge of a white stone platform by the fountain pool in the outer courtyard of the official residence, gazing faintly at the splendid figures inside.
He turned sideways and said softly to the girl beside him, “It’s so lively inside. Can you help me get some cake and red wine?”
“Your Excellency!”
Maria, who had changed out of her nurse’s uniform, stood beside him on the verge of tears, “Please listen to me, let’s go back, alright? His Highness Kaios isn’t in the mansion tonight. If something happens to you…”
Of course the Little Highness isn’t here, Jiang Jianming thought to himself.
He had sent him away.
The black-haired young man shook his head and said in a low voice, “Don’t be so nervous. I just want to experience a noble party in the city… Look, I’m not going in to bother anyone, I’ll just watch from afar.”
These words sounded a bit pitiful. The young nurse probably thought of the gossip about His Excellency the other day, and her face immediately became awkward. She stammered an agreement to bring him some snacks and wine to try.
Jiang Jianming watched Maria walk away quickly, silently estimating the time in his mind.
—Ryann had always protected him very strictly, but Maria should be relatively easy to investigate. As long as the little nurse showed up in the corner of the banquet, those with ulterior motives would surely find their way here…
Sure enough, before long, he heard the sound of high heels hitting the gravel path. A graceful figure stepped out of the hall and parted the night, coming towards him.
In the originally quiet sound of the fountain, a young girl’s dismissive voice suddenly rang out.
“I thought it would be some devastatingly beautiful person to catch the prince’s eye, but it’s just an ugly sickly ghost?”
… The splendor of the hall didn’t reach the corners outside.
Most of Jiang Jianming’s body was sitting in the darkness, only his right hand vaguely resting on the stone platform faced the light, revealing the emaciated paleness of his fingers.
Having been sick for many years in the wild area before, when Ryann barely pulled him back from the brink of death, he had already become as thin as a mummy, his appearance and figure unable to withstand such torment.
Miss Ke slowly approached and sneered, “Could it be that the prince has a strange fetish, specifically liking the disabled and sickly?”
The pale invalid across from her lowered his eyes to look at the rippling water, not even glancing at her.
Ke Luna grew annoyed and taunted him with a few more insults, her skirt almost thrust in the disabled human’s face. “You lowborn! This young lady is talking to you, are you deaf, or can’t you even understand the common language!?”
The other party finally raised his eyebrows slightly, revealing eyes as dark as the deep sea, “I am one of His Highness’s people. I don’t know you, nor do I need to.”
Ke Luna’s expression went blank for a few seconds.
This young lady was used to bullying others, most people either feared or flattered her, and occasionally she would encounter some stubborn types who put on an unyielding facade, but being disregarded was a first.
When she came to her senses, her little face flushed red in an instant. She jumped in rage, cursing the commoner for being blind and habitually citing her family name.
“Ke Xi?” Unexpectedly, the disabled human laughed lightly.
“He’s not worthy either.”
Jiang Jianming changed his posture to face Miss Ke directly, with the moonlit rolling pool behind him.
He said calmly, “I only listen to His Highness. If there’s anything, you should ask His Highness Kaios to come and talk to me personally.”
“You? You… You inferior lowborn!”
Ke Luna stared in disbelief, her pretty face changing from red to blue, then from blue to black, quite a spectacle.
She suddenly raised her arm, the crystal on her wrist flashing. Just at that moment, Maria returned, exclaiming from afar, “Your Excellency!?”
Miss Ke stomped her foot, ultimately not daring to directly harm someone belonging to the prince. She angrily said, “You just wait.” Then she ran away, holding up her skirt.
Jiang Jianming couldn’t help but feel disappointed: he had originally hoped that Ke Luna would push him into the water…
But it wasn’t a big problem. Miss Ke’s demeanor clearly indicated she was going to find her father, and according to his understanding, Ke Xi’s temperament was equally arrogant and vicious, with no regard for others.
Next, as long as Ke Luna or Ke Xi hurt him – in his current physical state, even being pushed and falling could possibly damage his internal organs, he could fall ill from anger alone – it would give His Highness an excuse to act.
The decadent nobles of the Blue Mother Star were all connected, and if His Highness wanted to deal with Ke Xi, someone would surely come to plead for him. Then he could let Ryann pretend to be furiously angry, losing his reason… As for the specific operation, how many treacherous officials could be removed would depend on luck.
This strategy could be considered brilliant from any angle. While comforting Maria, Jiang Jianming took out his wrist device and sent a message to Ryann, briefly explaining his plan.
His intention, of course, was to indicate that he had everything well planned and under control. There was no need for His Highness to worry.
At the same time, knowing that Ryann probably wouldn’t want him to trouble himself, he waited until he saw Ke Xi’s burly figure approaching angrily in the distance before sending the message at the last moment, then immediately turning off his wrist device.
He thought to himself: By the time His Highness rushed back, it would already be too late.
As it turned out, at that time, Jiang Jianming’s understanding of his Little Highness was not yet precise enough.
Just three minutes later, when Ke Xi had been provoked by his words and actions to the point of fury, publicly releasing his crystal bones, preparing to intimidate this lowly disabled human…
The sky trembled as a wormhole tore through the night. A black humanoid mecha jumped through, and the gale force swept up the fountain’s water, making it seem like a torrential downpour.
Amidst the shocked cries of onlookers, the L-type mecha’s fists, like heavy hammers, came crashing down towards Ke Xi’s head without warning!
Boom!!
Jiang Jianming was bewildered as he was drenched in water.
Maria tugged at him, exclaiming joyfully, “It’s His Highness! Look, that’s His Highness Kaios’s mech!”
As the dust and mist cleared, Ke Xi, the commander of the city guard, was forced to his knees. His crystal bones desperately resisted the mecha’s heavy fists, his face purple-red, large beads of sweat rolling down. “Your, Your Highness, forgive me! This official didn’t… Ugh!”
With a crack, the man’s kneecaps shattered, blood flowing from his nose and mouth under the crushing pressure. Miss Ke fainted from fright, and the crowd descended into chaos.
“…”
Jiang Jianming’s black hair was soaked by the splashing water. He stared in shock, shielded behind the shadow of the steel giant.
This was the first time since his childhood that he had witnessed the power of a military mecha up close.
The mecha’s cockpit opened, revealing a platinum-haired youth with a coldness in his features that bordered on the demonic.
He glanced sideways at the disabled human standing behind, and only after confirming he was unharmed did his expression soften slightly. He languidly extended a crystal bone towards Jiang Jianming.
“Get up here,” Ryann said through gritted teeth.
“I’ll deal with you later.”
