Why are you walking so fast?

Inside a small courtyard.

Liu Ji was flipping through a martial arts manual. After practicing for a short while, he casually tossed the manual onto the ground, picked up another one to skim through, and discarded that one as well.

Seventy or eighty martial arts manuals now littered the ground of the courtyard.

"Not a single one of them suits this Prince. Sigh! It seems only the truly top-tier martial arts manuals are worthy of someone of my status."

These manuals had all been meticulously selected for Liu Ji by Liu Xun. The worst among them was a Profound-grade low-tier martial art, while the best were Earth-grade top-tier manuals.

Yet, all these martial arts manuals were scattered across the floor like garbage.

It was not that these manuals were unsuited for Liu Ji; the brat simply lacked the patience to practice.

He had never endured the hardships of martial arts training. That he had managed to cross half a step into the Body Refining Realm was purely by a fluke.

Just as Liu Ji was feeling vexed, he spotted a familiar figure walking in.

Who else could it be but Xu Mu?

Seeing Xu Mu, Liu Ji immediately perked up.

"Xu Mu, have you changed your mind? Want to acknowledge me as your boss? Fine, kowtow to me three times, and this Prince will take you in today," Liu Ji said triumphantly.

"The sun hasn't set yet, why is the Prince daydreaming in broad daylight?" Xu Mu smiled faintly, kicking aside a martial arts manual near his foot.

"Then what are you here for?" Liu Ji asked suspiciously.

"Your Highness, have you taken a fancy to Xu Shuangyi?" Xu Mu asked with a smile.

Liu Ji did not deny it; he nodded frantically.

Otherwise, he wouldn't be idling about today—instead of going out to eat, drink, gamble, and visit brothels, he was here locking horns with a huge pile of martial arts manuals.

At the mere thought of Xu Shuangyi in her qipao, with those full, perfectly rounded, powerful yet incredibly sexy long legs, Liu Ji felt a surge of excitement.

What man wouldn't like that?

"Your Highness, I'm not good at much, but I excel at wooing women. Want to know how to win over Xu Shuangyi?"

Liu Ji continued to nod frantically.

"I want her to be my Princess Consort," Liu Ji declared.

"Do you want me to teach you?"

Liu Ji suddenly wore a look of disdain.

"Hah! This Prince has been listening to music in the pleasure quarters since I was ten and buying perfume in brothels since I was twelve. Who understands a woman's mind better than I do? Do I need you to teach me how to court women?" Liu Ji said dismissively.

"Those are mere common powder and painted faces; how could they possibly compare to Xu Shuangyi?"

Liu Ji still looked utterly disdainful.

"Well, whenever Your Highness wishes to ask for my guidance, feel free to come find me," Xu Mu said.

"Hmph!"

Liu Ji tossed his head back, looking even more contemptuous.

"Your Highness, are you interested in the ways of making a fortune? If you are, I can bring you along to make some big money," Xu Mu asked again.

"Not interested."

Liu Ji refused without even thinking.

"This Prince was born with a silver spoon to spend money, and I have endless wealth that can never be spent. I've never had any interest in money. My father the Prince told me that the fortune he accumulated for me could not be spent in eight lifetimes! Making money? Is that something this Prince should even consider?"

Damn it, this brat Liu Ji managed to flex on him!

The Xu family actually had people born to spend money too, but those few were the legitimate sons of the old master.

"Oh."

Xu Mu nodded faintly.

"In that case, I shall take my leave. Since Your Highness has no interest in making money, I suppose you have no interest in messing with people either."

With that, Xu Mu turned to walk away.

"Wait!"

Liu Ji covered three steps in two, rushed up to Xu Mu, and blocked his path.

"Mess with people? Mess with whom?" Liu Ji's eyes gleamed with golden light.

He had no interest in making money, but when it came to messing with people, his interest skyrocketed.

He was born to spend money to the extreme and torment people to the absolute limit.

What else could he do? Who made him the Prince of Liang's heir?

"Zhao Mingshan, the Vice Governor of Liang Prefecture," Xu Mu said.

Liu Ji raised a hand to stroke his chin.

"Messing with Zhao Mingshan wouldn't be too easy. He's an imperial official of a relatively high rank. However... messing with his son is much easier."

Liu Ji seemed to recall something that made him gnash his teeth in anger.

"Damn that bastard Zhao Peng, all polished and shiny on the surface, but a thoroughly rotten scoundrel underneath! I've always wanted to mess with him, but never really had the chance," Liu Ji said, grinding his teeth.

"Does Your Highness hold a grudge against Zhao Peng?" Xu Mu asked.

"A huge one! That damn Zhao Peng has repeatedly competed with me for courtesans in the brothels. If I could beat him in a fight, I would have smashed his teeth in long ago!" Liu Ji said resentfully.

"Doesn't Your Highness have a Divine Awakening Realm guard by your side?" Xu Mu asked dubiously.

"Which noble scion in Liang Prefecture doesn't have a few martial experts by their side? I have them, and so does Zhao Peng," Liu Ji retorted.

"Ah, I see! Your Highness, would you like to mess with Zhao Peng?" Xu Mu asked with a smile.

"You have a way?"

Xu Mu grinned broadly.

"I may not have much, but I have plenty of schemes. What do you say we join forces and fix Zhao Peng good and proper?" Xu Mu proposed.

"Deal! As long as you can make him suffer and lose face, this Prince will reward you with five hundred taels!" Liu Ji said.

"Five hundred taels? What's that? As long as this plan succeeds, giving you tens of thousands of taels will be a walk in the park," Xu Mu said.

"Damn it, how much did you say? Tens of thousands of taels?" Liu Ji found it completely unbelievable.

"Didn't Your Highness say you have no interest in money?" Xu Mu asked with a smile.

"I'm a prodigal, not a fool! I have no interest in a mere thousand taels, but how could I not be interested in tens of thousands? Tell me, who in this world isn't interested in tens of thousands of taels?" Liu Ji retorted.

Sure enough, because Xu Mu hadn't laid out his stakes initially, Liu Ji had no idea how much profit could be made.

Tens of thousands of taels of silver—that was an astronomical sum of money.

"Still... although the Zhao family is wealthy, they surely can't cough up tens of thousands of taels, right?" Liu Ji doubted.

Xu Mu didn't know exactly how much wealth Zhao Mingshan possessed, but corrupt officials like him certainly wouldn't be short on funds.

When Xu Mu schemed against Zhao Mingshan last time to make him pay for money laundering, the man had forked over eight thousand taels of silver on the spot.

Yet those eight thousand taels were definitely not the old fox's entire net worth.

He would never spill all his hidden cards the first time, meaning he undoubtedly had plenty more left.

As long as Liu Ji was willing to cooperate, he would hollow out Zhao Mingshan's foundation this time.

By now, Xu Mu had changed his strategy.

Trying to target Zhao Mingshan directly might not be so easy; it would be better to change the target to his son, Zhao Peng.

The moment this thought crossed his mind, Xu Mu suddenly grew a bit anxious.

"Oh no, I have something urgent to attend to. Your Highness, come to my place tonight, and I will explain all the specific details to you properly!"

With that, Xu Mu turned and hurried away.

"Hey, why are you walking so fast? I was going to take you to a brothel so we could drink and discuss this while being entertained! Hey?"

Liu Ji shouted a few times, but Xu Mu did not stop, striding away at a rapid pace.

He needed to stop Xu Shuangyi from inviting Zhao Mingshan, and have her invite Zhao Mingshan's son, Zhao Peng, instead.