Didn't you go to Teyvat to earn money to support me?

He felt a throbbing sensation in his temples.

The person that Aunt Chiyo cares about... is me.

Yu Yu Dao Qi's heart clenched. How annoying! Such a beautiful little demon god, yet she uttered such irritating words. Eat a dozen bowls of noodles? I've never even eaten a meal cooked by my mother. Every time I've seen her over the years, she's always busy. I thought she was just a general with her country and the world in her eyes, but I never expected her to have such tenderness.

The sun was gradually setting outside the window; it was the last moment before dusk, and many shops along the street had already lit their lanterns. Miyuki Michiki recalled the few times he had met Miyuki Chiyo, remaining silent and unwilling to speak.

Miyuki Chiyo rarely returned to the Miyuki residence. She had a place to live in the castle tower, and her occasional visits were only for work-related matters. When she was home, her husband, who had married into the family, would return to the side courtyard, and they would not meet. When Miyuki Michiki came to see her, he would usually only find his mother sitting imposingly in the drawing room, playing with her cats. She spent most of her time drinking with a few colleagues, such as Kitsai-no-miya and Reizen-bo, discussing important national affairs. After paying his respects, Miyuki Michiki had nothing to do and usually had to take his leave. However, when he woke up the next day, he would find that Miyuki Chiyo had already left without saying goodbye, taking her belongings back to the castle tower.

The head of the Mikoto family is indeed Mikoto Chiyo, but she generally doesn't care about anything related to the family, as long as the family is known as "Chiyo of Torakami, the Supreme Commander of the Eastern Expedition." Even though her adoptive father basically controls the Mikoto family's finances and keeps many mistresses outside, Mikoto Chiyo doesn't care at all.

Miyuki Michiki knew this was "adult society," where marriages were mere formalities with no real family, yet everyone seemed perfectly content. He'd known since childhood that Miyuki Chiyo was a heartless monster; despite being a mother, she still looked like a seventeen-year-old girl—truly deserving of the title of Inazuma's most beautiful woman. It was understandable that she had no concept of husband, children, or family; those were merely products of duty. Once that duty was fulfilled, she could disregard them. After all, everyone depended on Miyuki Chiyo and lived well and wealthy lives—wasn't that enough?

Over the years, Yu Yu Dao Qi thought he should have gotten used to it by now, but when he saw the handsome white-haired boy in front of him, he gritted his teeth.

It turns out that someone received the love that Mikoto Chiyo had not given him.

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Chapter Eight is a very typical urban novel plot.

Shen Liang is actually a cold-hearted child by nature. He doesn't bother to carefully observe people he doesn't care about, so he didn't notice the big boy's gloom at all.

"Mother... how are you doing at the castle tower?" Mikoto Michiki remained silent for a long time before regaining his composure and asking casually.

"Aunt Chiyo, you just got back. Your room in the castle tower isn't cleaned yet, is it?"

"Then can she go back to the Yu Yu family tonight?" Yu Yu Daoqi's eyes lit up.

"Probably not. Aunt Chiyo hasn't been back for a long time, so everyone gave me to her today."

"What do you mean by giving it to...Your Highness?"

"So, Aunt Chiyo can sleep at my place tonight. I don't mind. Her room needs to be incense-burned all night before it's usable. Don't let Aunt Chiyo's carefree attitude fool you; she's actually quite particular. Every day, she bathes in a wooden tub filled with flower petal essential oils and then sleeps in the incense-burning room until she wakes up in the bright sunshine. That way, she won't smell of blood at all; she'll only smell clean and fragrant." Shen Liang recalled for a while, then said with a smile, "Besides Sister Ying... besides the General, the only one who can practice martial arts with me is Aunt Chiyo. She's very conscious of her image and doesn't even want to sweat. She always wears a demure twelve-layered kimono and dresses to give me proper instruction. But sometimes, when she gets really annoyed by Aunt Saigu's teasing, she'll pull out a small dachi from under her skirt and throw it at them."

Shen Liang glanced at Yu Yu Dao Qi, who seemed to be stunned for a long time.

Having been born and raised in the inner palace, he lacked experience interacting with outsiders and was unaware that his words were actually hurtful. A young man asked his mother expectantly, but she had a new home not far from him and was living happily, with friends, best friends, and even a new child, never thinking of him.

Yu Yu Dao Qi stared at Shen Liang's bewildered little face, and suddenly wanted to slam his fist on the table. He wanted to shout that she was his mother, and that she should be with him, guiding him in martial arts and swordsmanship! But he knew very well that he didn't have the courage or the right. Although His Highness was a demon god, he was still young and no different from a human, and was ignorant and naive.

It wasn't easy for Miyuki Michiaki to care about his so-called "mother" in front of so many people. He knew that the Miyuki family was just an ordinary family that depended on Miyuki Chiyo for survival. If it weren't for the Oni clan needing Miyuki Chiyo to have a certain voice in court, given Miyuki Chiyo's personality, she wouldn't even want to settle down and start a family. The entire Miyuki family relied on Chiyo's vast wealth and stipend of ten thousand koku of rice obtained through her battles. They had no right to ask Miyuki Chiyo to give up the life she loved.

Chiyo, the most beautiful woman in Inazuma, and a leader of the military. Mikoto Michiki is incredibly proud to have such a mother, but he is also forever unwilling... Despite being her biological child, he is unwilling to accept that he has left no trace in his mother's mind.

"My mother is unruly, Your Highness, please bear with her and take good care of her." Despite having so much on his mind, Yu Yu Daoqi swallowed it all and spoke slowly with a maturity beyond his fifteen years.

"Yes, I know," Shen Liang said. He felt he had done his job, after all, he had been quite tolerant of Hu Qiandai over the years. For example, when she was burning incense and taking a bath in his room, preparing to surprise him when he came in, she tripped over the wooden tub and the bathwater splashed all over him. Then she lay in the tub, naked and laughing wildly. Shen Liang simply took all her clothes without expression, locked her in the room, ordered all the maids not to give her new clothes, and then called his mother, aunts, and sisters over to watch and comment.

Thinking of this, Shen Liang's lips curled into a slight smile, while Yu Yu Daoqi silently gazed at the handsome and adorable little boy. Shen Liang was at least a head shorter than him, and although supposedly an adult, the young prince still looked like a young boy, even appearing somewhat feminine due to his fair and delicate complexion. He suddenly seemed to understand his mother; if she had such a lovely child, and not born out of some so-called "sense of responsibility," she would indeed spoil him rotten. In essence, Yu Yu Daoqi was merely a child born from a human partner chosen randomly by Yu Yu Chiyo, like a tool to ensure the oni's intervention in the shogunate.

He carries the blood of Miyuki Chiyo, but so what? He is the heir of the Miyuki family, the oni clan, in the world, yet he is not Miyuki Chiyo's. Compared to him, this adorable child is so beloved by his mother, perhaps because he is the true heir in Miyuki Chiyo's eyes, the other half of Miyuki Chiyo's soul.

Sadly, the woman who has a new child will only become less and less like your mother.

Suppressing his jealousy, anger, and resentment, Yu Yu Dao Qi raised his cup and invited Shen Liang to drink, "Your Highness, let me toast you!"

"My mother said I shouldn't drink alcohol at my age..." Shen Liang was at a loss.

The people in the private room exchanged glances. Inside the palace, Shen Liang had always addressed him as "General," but now he revealed himself as "Empress Dowager." Perhaps he was too young to understand how to conceal his true feelings, but the meaning behind "Empress Dowager" was self-evident.

The people in the private room quickly became even more enthusiastic. They had initially thought that "His Highness the Crown Prince" was just a guess, but now it seemed that this was clearly the genuine Crown Prince. It's likely that the General even gave him the name "Fire-Chasing Demon God," since the General hadn't said the child wasn't related to her... It's just that the probability of a demon god's child also being a demon god is the highest, right?

“Your Highness, as a dignified demon god, you possess such refined taste and lofty character. Why must you obey your mother's orders in every matter when you are out in the world? Your subject also toasts you!” someone said first.

“Your Highness is a demon god, and you are not much older than me. We are all young people from the shogunate here. Why are you so reserved? Oh, if Your Highness looks down on us, you can just say so.” A socially adept girl boldly tried to get closer to him.

"Why is Hina from the Kujo family pretending to be a commoner? Hey, hey, hey, your chest is practically rubbing against His Highness's head! I think I should ask him what you want to ask for you: His Highness is of age, but is he betrothed? Hina from the Kujo family is fourteen and still unmarried, and she's been watching you closely this morning at court~"

"Who was staring at Your Highness? I was just amazed by Your Highness's beauty. To be honest, Your Highness, I thought this morning that our Inazuma was going to have a princess... Your Highness, you won't be angry, will you?"

Shen Liang was naturally not angry. He cheerfully served soup instead of wine and treated everyone to drinks, showing no airs whatsoever. Most of the young people in the private room were fourteen or fifteen years old, practically teenagers. They couldn't maintain their official airs for long before quickly losing their awe of his demon god status and starting to shout and play drinking games.

Shen Liang was quite interested in the finger-guessing game and quietly watched for a while with his head tilted to the side. This cute scene made the young people even more excited. As if they wanted to show off in front of him, they shouted louder and played the finger-guessing game more vigorously.

"[In the presence of a handsome and noble young man, young people generally subconsciously tend to show off and work harder; it's a common human failing," Mistelin said casually. "Oh, by the way, the term 'handsome young man' doesn't exclusively refer to men. In general contexts, 'young man' can also refer to a young girl."]

Do you have to find a way to laugh at me at all times?

How is saying you're beautiful considered mockery? Do you perhaps consider yourself ugly?

[Illusion, begone!]

"[Sadness, you can't get rid of me. How many times have you tried?]" Mistylin pinched his cheek, squeezing until he winced in pain, yet still smiled calmly. "Besides, are you willing to get rid of me? Tell me, Pandora, who is truly the most beautiful woman in the world?"

【My mother.】 Shen Liang grinned, still stubborn.

【I'm giving you time to rewrite your language, Pandora Shaniat. Think it over, or I'll make your blood boil right now... Ha, that fox who's got a smattering of knowledge about the Book of Yin and Yang isn't even beside you.】

Shen Liang glared angrily at her own scornful illusion, replying humiliatingly, "[Sister Yu Tu is the most beautiful woman in the world.]"

[Such a good girl, truly the apple of the Shaniat family's eye.]

Misterlin often subtly reveals many things to him, such as that the Shaniat family is said to be the story before he transmigrated, and that he and Misterlin both seem to belong to this family. The difference is that Misterlin is the guardian deity of this family, but now she only protects him.

But considering that everything, including Mistelin, might be a figment of his imagination, he felt it necessary to go to Liyue to cure his hysteria. Staying in Inazuma wouldn't work; everyone there would just pat him on the head and say, "Liang'er has an imaginary friend, how amazing! Let Mommy hug you. Many people don't have imaginary friends when they grow up. Mommy had such a good friend when I was little."

Hold.

After several rounds of drinks, Shen Liang suddenly noticed something and a large group of people entered Wuyou Pavilion.

He looked downstairs, and the others looked over as well. Such a large group couldn't possibly go unnoticed by the other people in the store. Shen Liang looked at the group of people wearing well-made foreign clothes and vaguely felt that something was amiss.

At this moment, Shen Liang noticed that the person in the lead seemed to glance upstairs as if nothing had happened, and it looked like he had made eye contact with him. At that moment, the man's eyes lit up, and Shen Liang frowned slightly, feeling very uncomfortable.

Kujou Hime whispered, "Your Highness, that's the diplomatic mission from the Winter Kingdom. They were recently reorganized and are called the 'Foolish Clan.' It's said that although they're a diplomatic mission, everyone in them is from the military. The one in charge is the deputy envoy, the second-in-command of the diplomatic mission stationed in Inazuma. He's usually responsible for the ambassador's security. But since arriving in Inazuma Castle, the ambassador rarely goes out. He has nothing to do, so he often comes out to have fun. This group isn't just made up of Fools; there are also many local ruffians from inside and outside the city who follow him to make a living."

Haven't you all already subconsciously started calling him "Little Prince"? It's "Prince Liang"! Or you can just call him by his name!

Shen Liang was very curious. He saw that the group of people had already chased away a table of guests and occupied seats on the first floor with great fanfare. "A foreigner acting as a hooligan in Inazuma Castle? Doesn't the Shogunate care?"

"It's precisely because he's a foreigner, and has some diplomatic status, that he's harder to manage. Just treat him like he's out having fun." Kujo Hime sat down gently next to Shen Liang. Shen Liang was too short to sit in such a large seat by himself, so he left the seat for her. Seeing that Shen Liang didn't seem to care about her, she couldn't help but feel secretly pleased. She leaned closer and said softly, "At most, he's just out collecting some protection money to make a little extra income. Consider it an expense for the embassy."

"Anyway, it's the ordinary people who were extorted who pay, not the shogunate, which actually reduces the shogunate's expenses." Mistral said calmly, "Ancient civilizations, so filthy."

"He usually comes here to treat his brothers to something nice after he's swindled a little money?" Shen Liang looked down at the bold little girl from the Kujo family who had subtly wrapped her arms around his waist, and chuckled to himself. However, he wouldn't directly offend the fourteen-year-old Kujo Hime, so he pretended not to see it and asked.

"How could someone who makes extra money by being a thug afford to feed these 'brothers' such lavish meals? Uyu-tei isn't cheap either." Yu Yu Daoqi chimed in, giving Kujo Hime a complicated look. Kujo Hime avoided his gaze. "These thugs are here to cause trouble. That deputy envoy is very strong; he has the Eye of God. Just that alone is enough for him to swagger around. Uyu-tei is a newly opened establishment; they haven't paid their protection money yet."

"Even Daoqi's shop can be charged protection money?"

“Inazuma City, right under the general’s nose, any shop you randomly pick is probably run by high-ranking officials and nobles. Normally, there wouldn’t be such a brazen thug. But he’s a foreigner after all, he doesn’t understand these things, and he can get away with anything because of his status as ambassador, so he’s even more unscrupulous.” Yu Yu Daoqi looked somewhat helpless. “It’s normal for him to cause trouble.”

Shen Liang smiled. He didn't intend to get involved. Anyway, it didn't seem like a big deal. Although Yu Yu Dao Qi was young, he seemed capable of handling it.

At this moment, the waiters of Wuyouting hurriedly came to serve these gentlemen. After they were seated, they first laid out cold dishes and plates, and then pushed out a small cart filled with jugs of sake. Their service was excellent, as they were afraid that these thugs would find an excuse to cause trouble.

"Does Your Highness want to bet with your sister? It seems they're just here for dinner, maybe one drink at most, and then they'll have to start their performance." Kujou Hime's face flushed, her hand under the table lightly resting on Shen Liang's thigh, her movements a mix of awkwardness and forced composure as she tried to maintain her composure. "The bet... the bet is, if your sister loses, tonight..."

"Don't gamble, they're too obvious," Shen Liang interrupted her with a smile.

I can sense your disdain, Pandora. She's actually quite cute.

I'm cuter.

At this moment, the waiter poured wine for the group of hooligans, and the deputy envoy, dressed in the attire of the Winter Kingdom, raised his wine glass and laughed loudly in the hall: "These past few days have been hard work for you all, following your brother in his campaigns across the north and south. The income in just a few days is more than I earned in a year in the Winter Kingdom. How satisfying! I have to thank you all, my brothers! Cheers!"

"Then you have to call the manager," Kujou Hime whispered.

Sure enough, just after the thugs finished drinking, the deputy envoy slammed his hand on the table and roared, "This is the infamous Wuyou Pavilion? Where's the manager? Manager, get out here!"

Chapter Nine: The fox wants to play too, and Liang'er wants to play too!

Immediately, the manager of Wuyouting Restaurant ran out from the kitchen with a smile on his face. The manager was a servant of the Yuyu family. He first protected the frightened maids behind him and then bowed and scraped.

Sitting next to Shen Liang, Miss Kujo suppressed a laugh: "These people are definitely going to say, 'Trying to fool us with this kind of stuff? Do they think they can be bullied just because they're foreigners?'"

Downstairs, the envoy's henchman immediately grabbed the shopkeeper by the collar and shouted menacingly, "Are you trying to fool us with this kind of stuff? Do you think you can bully my boss just because he's a foreigner? Compared to the fire and water of our Winter Solstice Kingdom, this is nothing but a child's pee!"

As soon as he said that, everyone in the private room burst into laughter.

The thugs downstairs immediately glared at him, and upon seeing that it was a group of teenagers, the oldest no more than fifteen or sixteen, they roared, "This has nothing to do with you, don't cause trouble! Laugh again and we'll tear your mouth apart!"

Shen Liang was taken aback, then glared back unhappily. The thug blushed instantly, and though he was about to yell, he lowered his head and sat back down. At this moment, Yu Yu Dao Qi stood up with a displeased expression. "I apologize for disturbing Your Highness's enjoyment tonight. I'll go and take care of some of the Yu Yu family's internal affairs."

Ultimately, this Wuyou Pavilion is also part of the Yu Yu family's property. With such important figures around, Yu Yu Dao Qi cannot tolerate these local thugs continuing their misdeeds.

He leaped down from the railing and landed steadily in the main hall. As he jumped, the thugs all stood up at once, staring at Yu Yu Dao Qi with hostile expressions.

Yu Yu Daoqi frowned. He realized that these thugs had no sense of propriety at all. It was one thing if they didn't recognize him, but seeing his rich clothes and elegant demeanor, they should have been able to guess that he was a nobleman from the shogunate. It was really not right for them to dare to provoke him.

Although he knew this in his heart, he knew he had to show some ability, knowing that the young prince was watching from upstairs.

With a cold laugh, Yu Yu Daoqi straightened his clothes and said calmly, "The sake from Wuyou Pavilion is famous far and wide. Even in Tenshukaku or the Shadow Mountain, it is a top-notch product. My Yu Yu family would never try to fool our distinguished guests with inferior goods."

"This kind of stuff is top-notch?" The thug couldn't stand people who showed off, so he picked up the wine jug and threw it at the handsome fifteen-year-old boy! Yu Yu Daoqi turned around gracefully, brushed the wine jug with his sleeve, caught it steadily, and took a sip by himself.

"Yes, based on my own testing, the wine is indeed excellent. However, I can understand you all. Growing up in a harsh and barren place like the Kingdom of Winter, and having only ever drunk the so-called 'fire water' that was only fit to be used as fuel in Inazuma, you naturally cannot accept the real sweet rain." Yu Yu Dao Qi said casually, "When your barbaric and backward national culture encountered the beauty of Inazuma, you naturally felt resentment and jealousy, which ultimately turned into powerless anger."

These words were spoken lightly yet with intonation, and for a moment all the guests in Wuyou Pavilion burst into applause! Everyone was Inazuma who had long disliked them, and this was so cool. This kind of unhurried rebuttal was so insightful and broke through their defenses. He truly deserved to be called a cultured person. It was so exciting to listen to!