ITVCFITB CHAPTER 82

Chapter 82 — Who Are You?

Even with Shen Mingyun playing go-between, his effect was limited. He hadn’t burned any “best-friends-forever” type props, and both the Fourth Prince and Zhou’s Second Prince were all surface manners. Besides, Mingyun was now a married ger who’d rounded out conspicuously. Even if he slapped on the fair-skin, pretty-face buff, that figure made people hesitate. Zhou’s Second Prince had briefly entertained thoughts about Mingyun’s frankness, but the moment he remembered this is another man’s spouse who’s borne two children, the notion died. It would be indecent.

Blissfully dense, Mingyun didn’t see that Zhou merely wanted his introduction to the Fourth Prince. He still wanted to slap backs and swear brotherhood, forgetting his role as husband and father.

The Fourth Prince almost warned him to stop cozying up to handsome strangers but thought better of it. Zhou’s Second Prince had come all this way, why not gamble? So long as he left no obvious trail, who could prove collusion? First secure Father’s trust and haul down the Crown Prince and the Yan clan then talk risks.

Once the heir was deposed, whose turn would it be? His. The Third Prince had a shot, sure, but he was far away in the north; Father hadn’t seen him in years. And heirs? He, the Fourth, already had a son and a daughter, both adored by the emperor. As for the Third… that consort of his “lays no eggs”; five or six years of marriage with no children.

Clearly, heaven favored him.

The more he thought along those lines, the more pleasing Mingyun became, even padded out. Mingyun liked pretty faces, yes, but he’d never blundered on major matters. The daughter’s paternity nagged, but girls marry out; the son was undeniably his. What mattered?

If he ascended with no overbearing in-laws? No forced abdication like Father had once suffered? He even felt a flicker of admiration for the emperor, enduring for the sake of Li’s realm.

Mingyun, for his part, found the “alliance” going too smoothly. No drama, no system task? He trudged up a little hill to “lose weight” and grumbled inwardly: “System, I delivered Zhou’s Second Prince, where’s my quest? No points, no props; how am I supposed to climb the Empress track?”

Five minutes later, the system replied, cool as ever: “Progress is smooth; tasks are temporarily unnecessary.”

Mingyun squinted at the horizon, then had a brainwave. “I only read three chapters of the original novel. Can you tell me the real plot? Who’s the villain? Who ends up on the throne?”

“No,” said the system. “That would break balance. If we reveal everything, there’s no point in tasks or points.”

“Right… sure.” He felt hustled, but after a miscarriage, childbirth, month-in, month-out, and two kids in three years, truth hardly mattered. He was comfortable; the empress seat glimmered ahead. Means were details.

He was the protagonist, his path was meant to be different.

“Don’t rush,” the system added. “When the Crown Prince’s situation concludes, there’ll be plenty of tasks.”

“Why wait?”

“With Zhou assisting, dismantling the Yan clan is a matter of time.”

“But the Fourth seems hesitant to accept Zhou’s help.”

“We can’t divulge the future, but Zhou’s Second Prince is a key aid in the Fourth’s ascent. Your job is to bind them.”

“Easy,” Mingyun said brightly. Playing matchmaker was his forte. Zhou wanted a throne just as much; otherwise why come seeking allies like that Ghost-Yan prince had?

Speaking of which, poor Hachi. Unlucky. Exposed in Gucheng and seized. If he’d listened and kept his mouth shut, maybe… Who knew if he was even alive? They’d been “battle brothers” of a sort; Mingyun felt a twinge.

All the Third Prince and Luo Shuyu’s fault. Always ruining his plans. He huffed. “System, aren’t those two the real villains? Every time they’re near me, they pick me apart. Even this two-stone weight is their doing.”

The system, opportunistic as ever, floated a shop item: “Slim-Instant Pill, 999 points: one day to a svelte figure.”

Mingyun stared at his meager 500 points and bared his teeth. “Then hurry up and give me quests! I’m broke.”

The system… went silent. First time he’d ever begged for work.

—

The Fourth Prince came to find him. Servants nearly announced him, then saw Mingyun vacant-eyed and thought better of it. The Fourth was secretly pleased; he’d noticed that Mingyun’s “blank mode” often heralded good luck. Granted, the pose had lost some grace with the added padding and that open-mouthed, almost-drooling habit was… not ideal.

He shook it off. Pillow partners share a life; he could accept the changes.

“Mingyun! Mingyun!”

Two calls before Mingyun blinked. “Oh... you came?”

“They said you were hiking,” the Fourth said. In truth, Mingyun had managed a short walk and a lot of sweat. Summer was merciless.

Mingyun tugged him to sit. “Too hot. Next time, send for me.”

Warmth flickered in the Fourth’s chest. “How’s your health?”

“I’m fine.”

They sat on a sun-warmed rock. “I miss our son,” the Fourth admitted.

“I do too. He’s toddling around shouting papa now. When we’re back, we’ll spend more time with him.”

“Of course.”

The moment was gentle until Mingyun chirped, “Don’t you miss our daughter?”

The Fourth’s jaw tightened; the old doubt iced the mood. He needed Mingyun now, so he smoothed his face. “Naturally.”

Mingyun, oblivious to micro-expressions, launched into how adorable she’d been, how he’d always wanted a girl, and so on. The Fourth mm-hmmed until the sweetness curdled.

Sometimes feelings were misplaced. Perhaps both of theirs were.

Zhou’s Second Prince stepped out of the command tent and spotted the pair returning hand-in-hand. A sour note hit his chest. In his amnesia, he had liked Shen Mingyun, well, the slender version. Not this one.

—

Far to the north, Luo Shuyu and Li Mingjin couldn’t care less about a love triangle featuring two princes and a… plump third point. What mattered was Zhou’s Second Prince formally allying with the Fourth. The man wasn’t simple; he’d been shopping allies since the capital years. With Mingyun’s bridge, events still drifted toward the book’s broad currents.

If Zhou’s movements hadn’t been so elusive, Mingjin would’ve expelled him long ago. But for now, the alliance served a purpose: let the Fourth and Zhou gnaw at the Crown Prince.

The keenest watcher remained Li Mingjin. He couldn’t play the loud hand yet; the emperor was surely aware of the Fourth’s dance. If hard proof of foreign collusion surfaced, the Fourth would never sit the throne.

Meanwhile, a more immediate problem hit Gucheng: spies had slipped into the city. Martial law tightened; any suspicious person got checked.

That afternoon Luo Shuyu planned a small errand, pick up a custom saddle set for Mingjin’s Qixi gift, then browse the bookshop. His escort was An-Ten: the sort of plain-faced shadow no one noticed.

They collected the tack set without trouble and headed for the largest bookstore in town. The moment Shuyu stepped inside, the air felt… wrong. Too quiet. The “customers” didn’t look like readers; shoulders tight, eyes scanning like hunters. The shopkeeper stood rigid, gaze flickering, cheeks trembling.

An-Ten sensed it too. “Master, something’s off. We should leave.”

“It’s fine,” Shuyu murmured, steady. “Act as if nothing’s wrong.”

“But your safety—”

“I have a measure.” He plucked three books at random and walked to the counter. “Wrap these, please.”

The shopkeeper wiped his brow. “Y-yes, esteemed customer. One moment.”

Steel hissed.

Every “customer” drew a blade from beneath a book and leveled it at Shuyu. “Third Prince Consort, if you’d come with us.”

Shuyu widened his eyes, theatrically aghast. “Heavens, who are you? What do you want?”

“You’ll know soon enough.”

Shuyu flicked a glance at An-Ten, don’t move.

They were herded through the back door and bundled into a carriage.

A quarter of an hour later, news reached Li Mingjin: Luo Shuyu had been abducted.

Who had the gall to snatch his consort in broad daylight... in his city?

---

Author’s Note
Third Prince: Babe, today you’re the CEO’s secret lover. I’m the CEO. You’re madly in love; I only see you as a warm bed. I give you hush money to leave; you insist on one last night and run off pregnant.
Luo Shuyu: I take the money, leave immediately, think there’s a tumor in my belly, panic, and have it removed at the hospital.
Third Prince: …

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