Watching the girl before him enthusiastically introduce her new product—essentially just adding flower petals to those oddly shaped soaps—she pouted, "No one's buying them."
Prince Huai instinctively reached for his purse. Joking aside, the Emperor had bestowed so much gold and silver upon him—if not now, when else would he spend it?
But Fang Zhiyi's cold water came pouring down once more: "Bet you Feng Yusheng will show up within three sentences."
Prince Huai's hand froze mid-reach.
"Zhiyi-gege, what should I do?"
"Hmph, if nothing else, I’ll just have to ask Feng Yusheng to buy them."
"He’s very generous—he buys a lot every time there’s a new product." Xia Luo said, her eyes repeatedly darting toward Prince Huai’s dumbstruck face, inwardly cursing.
Prince Huai suddenly felt the girl before him lacked the radiance he remembered, and the restlessness in his heart began to fade.
This wasn’t how it was supposed to be.
"Warning, Host—the charm talisman’s effect is weakening."
"Damn it, was I too impatient? System, exchange another one."
Hearing the conversation, Fang Zhiyi suddenly understood. Then he watched as a talisman floated out from the center of her eyeball and stuck itself onto Prince Huai.
Prince Huai’s hesitant gaze gradually hardened, and he pulled out a stack of banknotes: "I’ll take them all!"
"Zhiyi-gege is the best!" Xia Luo, the Princess, was overjoyed. She needed a lot of money—only then could she help Feng Yusheng.
Two servants carried the bundles back to the manor, with Prince Huai following behind, grinning like an idiot: "How was that? Did you see it? Luo Luo’s sparkling eyes!"
Meanwhile, Fang Zhiyi focused on the talisman stuck to him, trying to peel it off. After several attempts, he finally managed to pluck it from his body.
In that instant, Prince Huai’s gaze cleared. Staring at the soaps carried by the servants ahead, his expression grew complicated.
"Actually, I think I acted impulsively. Ah, I just can’t control myself around her."
No kidding—she’s using both tricks and technology. Even the Emperor would fall for it, let alone you, Fang Zhiyi thought to himself.
"Do you think I should visit Feng Yusheng this afternoon?" Prince Huai had learned about the day’s events from his subordinates, including Xu Man'er’s sentence of immediate execution.
"Mm, you could." Fang Zhiyi was also quite curious about this Feng Yusheng.
At Feng Yusheng’s residence, Prince Huai sat nervously while Fang Zhiyi had already instructed him to just follow his lead.
"Congratulations on your triumphant return, Prince Huai," Feng Yusheng said with a smile.
Prince Huai paused, then cupped his hands in salute. "Thank you, Master Feng."
"Bring up yesterday’s incident yourself—just follow my words," Fang Zhiyi whispered, relieved.
"Master Feng, I must apologize. Yesterday, I had just moved into my new residence, and the servants were all newly hired. They may have misunderstood my intentions, which is why Xu Man'er… Alas." Prince Huai sighed.
Feng Yusheng observed him expressionlessly before finally shaking his head. "A life for a life. Xu Man'er acted recklessly—I warned him many times. This was his fate. Prince Huai need not dwell on it."
Fang Zhiyi, watching through Prince Huai’s eyes, noted that this guy was perhaps slightly more handsome than himself, but his demeanor was impeccable—no wonder he had the transmigrator Princess Xia Luo smitten.
Fang Zhiyi didn’t participate in the rest of the conversation, watching as Feng Yusheng effortlessly extracted details of Prince Huai’s recent campaign. He couldn’t help but feel a headache coming on—was Prince Huai destined to be Feng Yusheng’s stepping stone?
"How did I do today?" Prince Huai asked cheerfully on the way back, now accustomed to discussing things with Fang Zhiyi.
"Average," Fang Zhiyi replied, feeling the need to reinforce the lesson. "Do you still think that as long as Princess Xia Luo is happy, you’d do anything?"
Prince Huai hesitated.
Fang Zhiyi had figured it out—that low-tier green tea was only relying on her system’s tricks.
"Well… she was personally assigned to me by His Majesty," Prince Huai said uncertainly.
Fang Zhiyi scoffed lightly. "There are plenty of good women out there—why fixate on one you have to simp for?"
Prince Huai froze, then after a moment of contemplation, had an epiphany: "I get it! If I simp for one, you call me a simp—but if I simp for ten, I’m no longer a simp!"
Fang Zhiyi blinked. "What?"
"Simping for ten makes me a war wolf!"
"You—" Fang Zhiyi suppressed the urge to curse, consoling himself that at least the guy had snapped out of it. Otherwise, things would’ve been troublesome.
Feng Yusheng watched as Princess Xia Luo entered his room late at night, still maintaining his courteous demeanor. "Greetings, Princess."
Xia Luo waved dismissively and pulled out a stack of banknotes. "I avenged you."
"Oh?"
"That’s the money Prince Huai paid for those soaps—I sold them to him at ten times the price."
Feng Yusheng chuckled, reaching out to pat her head. "You’re so childish."
Xia Luo flushed, her heartbeat quickening. "I’m not a child! I’ll prove it to you!"
Feng Yusheng’s smile faded. Calmly, he said, "Thank you, Princess. However, you are betrothed to Prince Huai. Visiting me so late is improper."
Xia Luo grinned dreamily. "Don’t bring that up! I’ll get His Majesty to annul the engagement sooner or later! Besides, I snuck in. Oh, and guess what? The Second Prince and the Third Prince are conspiring against the Crown Prince!"
Feng Yusheng’s eyes flickered. "Oh?"
Xia Luo planted her hands on her hips. "Praise me!"
Feng Yusheng nearly slapped her but restrained himself, considering her usefulness. "Luo Luo is amazing."
The two whispered for a long while until, at Xia Luo’s insistence, Feng Yusheng reluctantly gave her a light peck. Overjoyed, she scampered off. Watching her retreating figure, his gaze turned icy—such a frivolous woman, and yet she was a princess!
Everyone remarked that Prince Huai had wised up. Though still eccentric, at least he wasn’t offending people as much.
Only Fang Zhiyi looked at this blockhead with some satisfaction. Freed from the talisman’s influence, he had finally shed his lovesick brain—only to fixate on becoming a "war wolf."
When news spread of Prince Huai harassing other women, Xia Luo paid it no mind, dismissing it as his nature. She was glad for the excuse to push the Emperor into canceling the engagement. Just thinking of Feng Yusheng’s kiss made her grin in her sleep.
But she still had work to do—Feng Yusheng’s task for her was to spread rumors in the palace using her status as princess. For instance… scandals about the Crown Prince.
The thought of Feng Yusheng’s schemes filled her with admiration. With her system and his brains, they were unstoppable!
She could already picture the day Feng Yusheng would marry her.
The plan went smoothly. The Old Emperor was paranoid, and the Second Prince and the Third Prince used the rumors to impeach the Crown Prince. Enraged, the Old Emperor stripped the Crown Prince of his title, leaving the position vacant—and the other three princes began scheming.
All of this was still within Feng Yusheng’s plans. He was already directing his subordinates in the Thousand Mechanisms Pavilion to prepare for a major operation—using a government salt heist to expose the Third Prince’s smuggling ring.