The Tang Family’s Seven Os - Chapter 160

“Classmate Sheng, do you understand?”

“En……” Sheng Cen replied absentmindedly, and continued to play with the cufflinks on Tang Qi Yuan’s sleeves. After school, the students around had already left, and he was the only one held back by Tang Qi Yuan to explain the test paper again.

Tang Qi Yuan moved his arm and tried to free his cufflinks from Sheng Cen’s hand.

Sheng Cen tugged on it and said in a deep voice with a frown: “Don’t move.”

Tang Qi Yuan looked down at his own cufflinks and reminded Sheng Cen, “You also have them on your own school uniform.”

“Yours is more fun.” Sheng Cen hooked his lips slightly, looking at the identical cufflinks, saying without blushing.

While Tang Qi Yuan was putting down his pen and trying to explain to his table mate that there was no difference in quality, colour or material between the two cufflinks, his table mate’s mobile phone rang, and his cufflinks were finally successfully rescued by this call.

Sheng Cen let go of his hand, picked up the phone and answered it, the other party on the phone said something, and the smile on his face suddenly darkened. After listening for a while, he said in a deep voice: “I know, I’ll go back immediately.”

After Sheng Cen hung up the phone, his face was still cloudy and uncertain, and his eyes were filled with emotions.

Tang Qi Yuan asked with some regret: “Are you leaving?”

He had not finished explaining this set of papers even after two days, the pace of progress was too slow.

Sheng Cen calmed down his expression, looked at the lost look on his face, hesitated for a moment and said: “You can also go back with me and explain, I’ll send you home at night.”

Tang Qi Yuan nodded without much hesitation, “Sure.”

He immediately stood up and started to pack his things, Sheng Cen’s tone just now sounded quite urgent and he didn’t want to delay Sheng Cen’s time.

Standing next to him, Sheng Cen couldn’t help but reach out and pinch his earlobe, sighing helplessly, “Aren’t you afraid of being deceived by me?”

“Would you lie to me?” Tang Qi Yuan asked, not taking it seriously.

Sheng Cen pursed the corners of his lips, “No.”

Tang Qi Yuan pursed his lips and smiled, putting his backpack on his back, “I knew I am good at reading people, Classmate Sheng, you are indeed a good student, let’s go now.”

Sheng Cen couldn’t resist and reached out to pinch Tang Qi Yuan’s soft earlobe again.

It was only when Tang Qi Yuan followed Sheng Cen to the palace that he realised that by ‘home’ Sheng Cen meant the majestic and inviolable palace of the empire, which he had only passed by before and had never been inside.

He looked at the glorious palace with his mouth open, reached out to straighten his clothes and asked: “I came wearing my school uniform, will it be a bit lacking in etiquette?”

“There aren’t that many rules.” Sheng Cen tugged his school bag strap and pulled it forward.

Tang Qi Yuan snatched his bag strap back into his hand, his bag strap was a bit long and Sheng Cen always liked to hold his bag strap and pull him along.

He looked around, after all, it was his first time in the palace, and he couldn’t help but feel a bit of novelty in his eyes.

“How does it feel to be here?” Sheng Cen glanced at him and asked as he walked, the security guards along the road all bowed low when they saw him.

Tang Qi Yuan thought about it and commented bluntly, “Beautiful, lofty, luxurious……but a bit cold, it doesn’t look like a place where people live.”

The corners of Sheng Cen’s lips curled up and he said carelessly: “You’re very right, the people living here are indeed not human.”

He looked ahead and stopped in his tracks, narrowing his eyes coldly.

Tang Qi Yuan followed his line of sight and saw a teenager about Sheng Cen’s age walking slowly over. The teenager was on the thin side, with gloomy eyebrows, and was also wearing a school uniform, but it was not the uniform of Huang Han High School.

That person gave a lazy smile when he saw Sheng Cen, put his hands in his pockets and said in a casual manner: “Your Second Highness, it’s been a long time ah.”

Sheng Cen gave him a sullen look and walked past him without a glance.

The corners of the young man’s mouth sank as he spoke with a gloomy look on his face: “It’s been so long since I’ve seen you, Your Second Highness is still as arrogant1目中无人 (mù zhōng wú rén): an idiom, lit. to have no one in your eyes, means to be arrogant and look down on others. as before.”

Tang Qi Yuan unconsciously frowned and looked back at the person, Tang Qi Yuan always felt that he spoke in a voice like a poisonous snake, making one’s body uncomfortable listening to it, and makes his hairs unconsciously stand up.

“But……” the teenager turned his words around and laughed lightly: “Compared to you, the Eldest Highness has a much better temper, although he is lame and always has to look up at me, but every time Imperial Father orders me to visit him, he can’t chase me away, he also has to let someone serve me tea and water, oh, and your mother, our honourable Empress Xia, who obviously hates me to death in her heart, but can’t stop me from entering or leaving the Orchid Palace2兰宫 (lán gōng): I decided to translate it as Orchid (兰花) because it sounds nicer and is easier to rmb for readers who don’t understand Chinese. because of His Majesty’s orders……”

Before Tang Qi Yuan could react, Sheng Cen had already turned back around, tugging the teenager by the collar and pressing him fiercely against the wall, his face fierce as he said in a deep voice, “Sheng Lian, you still dare to find trouble with my brother and my mother, do you want me to kick you down the stairs again?”

Sheng Lian’s face turned ugly for a moment and he said in a cold voice: “Back then, I only said that your brother was a cripple and you kicked me down the stairs, but so what?

He snorted: “I stayed comfortably in the hospital for two months, you were locked up by Imperial Father, your mother and your brother accompanied you and were scolded by Imperial Father over and over again, in the end it was your grandfather who came to plead for you and offered to give up some of his power before Imperial Father let you go.”

He raised his chin arrogantly and looked at Sheng Cen and said: “You really can’t think straight, even if I didn’t say your brother was a cripple, would he be able to stand up? He’s a cripple, a cripple for the rest of his life.”

The blue veins on Sheng Cen’s forehead bulged, and with every word Sheng Lian said, his face turned uglier. He grabbed Sheng Lian’s neck with one hand and swung his fist to hit Sheng Lian’s face, but his fist stopped a centimetre from his cheek.

His fist was clenched tightly, his eyes were bloodshot, but he was trying to control his anger.

Tang Qi Yuan, who had been standing quietly next to him, suddenly stepped forward, took Sheng Cen’s arm and said: “It’s time to do your homework.”

Sheng Lian’s eyes widened in disbelief, and if he wasn’t still being choked by Sheng Cen and unable to speak, he would have wanted to ask Tang Qi Yuan if he didn’t want his life, letting Sheng Cen do his homework at this time?

Sheng Cen’s eyes twitched and he stiffened as he looked back at Tang Qi Yuan.

Tang Qi Yuan’s hand gripped his arm with a slight force, and his pure, clear eyes looked at him without blinking.

Sheng Cen’s throat rolled and he closed his eyes, his hand slowly loosened Sheng Lian’s collar, he couldn’t hit Sheng Lian here or he would implicate his mother and brother again.

He loosened his strength and took Tang Qi Yuan’s hand, without looking at Sheng Lian again, and led him straight ahead.

Sheng Lian covered his neck and looked in surprise at Sheng Cen who had really loosened his hand, Sheng Cen had really let him go because of this person’s words?

He took a few deep breaths and reluctantly looked at their backs, shouting provocatively again: “Second Prince Sheng, you’re not really going to do your homework, are you? You’re such a good and docile student, but I remember you only got a zero on your last exam, right?”

This time Sheng Cen was unmoved and continued to walk forward as if he hadn’t heard him, but Tang Qi Yuan suddenly stopped in his tracks, let go of his hand and walked back in anger.

Tang Qi Yuan walked up to Sheng Lian and stopped, looking at him and asking: “As a student, what’s wrong with doing your homework? Didn’t your teacher ever tell you that you should respect your elders, and that you should be respectful to His Majesty and the Empress? Empress Xia is the empress of the empire, after she became the empress, she has been focusing on charity over the years, helping many poor people and doing a lot for the empire, everyone respects her, so as you are part of the empire, please respect her as well. As for the Eldest Highness and the Second Highness, they are both rightful sons of the emperor, their identity is honourable, I don’t care what your identity is, I just heard you disrespect the two princes, please apologise!”

Sheng Lian snorted angrily: “I apologise? Do you know who I am? Their status is honourable? Heh……my identity is also very honourable!”

Tang Qi Yuan looked at him without fear, “Is your status as honourable as the Eldest Highness and the Second Highness? If not, then please apologise immediately, otherwise I will go report to His Majesty now, I would like to see who His Majesty punishes this time?”

He is an illegitimate son, then naturally he was not as honourable as them……Sheng Lian held a breath in his chest.

He couldn’t tell if Tang Qi Yuan really didn’t know his identity or he was just pretending to be stupid, for a moment the anger in his chest tumbled and he looked at Tang Qi Yuan with darker eyes, “Do you think you can see His Majesty just because you want to see him?”

“If I can’t see him, I’ll let my father talk about it, if my father can’t see him, I’ll talk to the reporters, there’s always a way to let His Majesty know.”

Sheng Lian’s face sank, looked at Tang Qi Yuan for a long time, then suddenly looked at Sheng Cen and sneered: “Second Highness is really powerful, letting an Omega stand up for you, heh…… fine, sorry, I apologise, okay?”

He finished with a shady glance at Tang Qi Yuan, turned around and left. His identity was awkward, if Sheng Cen took the initiative to provoke, he is able to get His Majesty to help him out, but if it was him who took the initiative to provoke, and this matter got out, even His Majesty would not be able to protect him.

The anger in his eyes was raging. This time, if it wasn’t for this eyesore Omega, he would have had a way to provoke Sheng Cen, to achieve the goal of taking advantage of the opportunity to divide the relationship between His Majesty and Sheng Cen, and also to damage Sheng Cen’s image in the eyes of the officials in the process, as he had often done so before.

Sheng Xi, that waste with his crippled leg, was no threat at all. Only this Sheng Cen had been his greatest rival to succeed the throne from start to finish.

Sheng Cen ignored the provocation in Sheng Lian’s words, he looked at Tang Qi Yuan with a complicated and surprised gaze, he hadn’t known that this little nerd could be so angry, nor did he know that this little nerd was so powerful when he hated on someone.

“Do you really not know who he is?” Sheng Cen asked.

Tang Qi Yuan’s anger remained in his eyes, he looked up at Sheng Cen and walked back in a huff, saying breezily, “I know ah, isn’t he your younger brother?”

Sheng Lian, Sheng Cen’s younger brother, was the illegitimate son conceived3The raws actually said ‘gave birth’ but then the birth order would be wrong (he would be the 2nd prince if he was born while Empress XIa is still pregnant) so I changed it to conceived. outside by Madam Zhen Wei and His Majesty during Empress Xia’s pregnancy, a secret story known to almost everyone in the empire.

“……You know and still talk about him like that?” Sheng Cen couldn’t help but smile in a good mood.

Tang Qi Yuan slung his school bag upwards, “Because he’s just too annoying!”

The smile on Sheng Cen’s face couldn’t help but widen, this little nerd didn’t seem dull4小书呆子 (xiǎo shū dāi zi): little nerd; 呆 (dāi): dull/stupid either.

melon: urgh the disgusting Third Prince is back

Also Xiao Qi, he’s actually really smart