SBCEJM -Chapter 230 Keeping Men at the Northern King’s Villa? Father Feng: As Long as My Daughter Likes Him!

The Third Prince?

Which one was that again?

Feng Zexuan searched her memories for a long while, only to find her mind completely blank, like it had been factory reset.

Her memory had always been selective. Anyone or anything that failed to catch her interest would be forgotten the moment she turned around.

On the other hand, if something intrigued her, even events from eight hundred years ago would remain crystal clear.

Sensing her confusion, the system immediately jumped in with a helpful explanation:

【Host! He’s the one who tried to make a move on your brother, but you stuffed two men into his room and made him put on a live adult performance in public!】

【And that other time, when he tried punishing a handsome man, but you stripped him naked, tied him up like a rice dumpling, and hung him upside down from a tree…】

【And the prince whose beauty mirror showed absolutely no reaction, making him socially die right there in court!】

【He got three days of marriage leave, so he didn’t come today.】

After the system’s intense memory-recovery service, Feng Zexuan finally pieced everything together.

Oh.

So it was that plague god.

Her casual internal thoughts, however, landed in the silent imperial court like a nuclear bomb.

On the dragon throne, Xiao Juechen’s slender fingers slowly tightened beneath his sleeve, every knuckle turning pale.

Good.

So the Third Prince’s scandal — the greatest disgrace to the royal family, one that had become completely taboo — had actually been caused by the Northern King?!

And the reason was because that rebellious son had tried to target Feng Zekai?!

That wretched beast!

Xiao Juechen’s gaze swept over the Feng father and son. For the first time ever, the deep fury in his eyes unexpectedly softened into a trace of guilt.

Meanwhile, Minister of War Zhang Hui felt the golden tiles beneath his feet sway violently.

The entire world tilted.

The color drained instantly from his face.

It was over.

Completely over.

That day, he too had seen the beauty mirror fail to react to the Third Prince, and already suspected something improper about him.

But the imperial marriage decree had been personally begged for by both his daughter and the Third Prince. By the time he found out, it was already too late.

And now, hearing all this…

The Third Prince wasn’t merely morally corrupt.

He liked men too!

Then wouldn’t the precious daughter he cherished in the palm of his hand…

be condemned to a lifetime of living as a widow in marriage?!

Zhang Hui’s heart felt as though an invisible hand had clenched around it so tightly he could barely breathe.

The other ministers were equally shaken.

Especially those with handsome young sons — alarm bells were already ringing furiously in their minds.

When they got home, they absolutely had to warn their boys:

Beware of fire, thieves, and the Third Prince!

If that bisexual disaster happened to fancy one of them, wouldn’t that be catastrophic?!

Third Princess Xiao Mingyue’s pretty face flushed crimson with anger. Grinding her teeth, she felt her royal family’s reputation had been thrown straight into the latrine by this third brother of hers.

She secretly glanced at the Crown Prince beside her, who was grinning foolishly to himself without making a sound…

For the first time, she felt that having a silly happy-go-lucky brother wasn’t so bad after all.

At least he only liked gossip.

He would never create a scandal this earth-shattering.

Meanwhile, the Crown Prince was already celebrating wildly inside:

Hahahaha! Third Brother is absolutely miserable!

Crashing and burning repeatedly because of the Northern King — thank goodness I’m not close to him.

Feng Zexuan, however, couldn’t understand something.

【Didn’t I already bend that unlucky guy into a mosquito coil? How can he still get married?】

【What girl is so lacking in judgment that she’d volunteer for poverty alleviation?】

The system instantly replied:

【Minister Zhang Hui’s legitimate third daughter — Zhang Raoyue.】

【Besides, the Third Prince swings both ways. He’s not fully gay.】

Hearing the words “swings both ways,” Minister Zhang unexpectedly relaxed a little in silence.

【And honestly, it’s not exactly poverty alleviation! The relationship between these two is a grand annual drama called “The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind it!”】

It was here!

The moment they heard there was gossip, the entire court immediately threw aside all contempt for the Third Prince and sympathy for Minister Zhang.

Everyone stretched their necks and perked up their ears, terrified of missing a single word.

Feng Zexuan became interested too.

【Go on! How exactly is it “mantis stalking cicada”?】

【This matter starts with an acquaintance of yours, Host!】

The system chuckled.

【That acquaintance is Wang Qi’an — oh wait, he’s called Liu Qi’an now.】

【The handsome scholar currently staying at your villa.】

What?!

The Northern King was keeping a beautiful man in a private residence?!

The gossip radar of the entire court activated instantly, buzzing at full power.

Who would’ve thought?!

The young Northern King actually played that openly?

Even secretly keeping a lover now?!

Everyone silently and collectively ignored the phrase “temporarily staying.”

Only Feng Huai’an reacted differently.

Not only was he not angry, he even nodded in satisfaction, his fatherly gaze filled with approval.

Very good.

His daughter was grown now. It was only natural she should have someone by her side to care for her.

As long as Xuan’er liked him, let alone a scholar — even if he were a butcher…

As her father, he would still accept him!

He was already planning in his heart to have his wife send more nourishing tonics to Feng Zexuan later.

Feng Zekai, meanwhile, remained calm.

He had long known about Liu Qi’an’s existence and had even personally tested him before.

That young man truly was exceptional.

As for his sister’s “angel investment” theory, he deeply agreed with it.

Feng Zexuan was puzzled.

【Liu Qi’an? Isn’t he staying at my place studying hard for the spring imperial examinations?】

【How did he get dragged into gossip involving the Third Prince?】

The system began laying out the story.

【Host, your Qingfeng Residence outside the capital isn’t located just anywhere. The entire area is filled with imperial relatives and nobles.】

【And by sheer coincidence, the estate next door to Liu Qi’an’s belongs to the Third Prince.】

【Wasn’t the Third Prince previously confined by His Majesty? Well, he pulled a cicada-shedding-its-shell trick — had a shadow guard stay behind in the prince’s residence while he secretly slipped off to his private villa to enjoy himself.】

【Then, while climbing over the wall one day, he just happened to spot Liu Qi’an reading aloud in the courtyard. And wow — he was instantly captivated.】

Feng Zexuan looked speechless.

【So that bastard took a liking to Liu Qi’an too?】

【What rotten luck.】

【Liu Qi’an didn’t suffer any losses, right?】

【If he dares touch one finger of my person, just try it!】

The words “my person” landed heavily, completely confirming every official’s belief that the Northern King was indeed keeping a male lover.

The system replied:

【No, nothing happened. Ever since you dealt with him once before, his courage shrank considerably.】

【And once he realized the neighboring estate belonged to you, he didn’t dare act recklessly anymore. So he decided to switch to a gentler strategy instead.】

Feng Zexuan raised an eyebrow.

【What kind of gentle strategy?】

【He disguised himself as a poor scholar and kept “coincidentally” running into Liu Qi’an to discuss literature and academics.】

【To be fair, the Third Prince hadn’t returned all his learning to his tutor yet. After enough conversations, the two genuinely started developing a bit of a “kindred spirit” connection.】

【Liu Qi’an just got tricked like that? No way. That kid’s pretty sharp.】

【Of course not! Liu Qi’an isn’t stupid. Once he noticed the Third Prince’s gaze becoming more and more ambiguous, he deliberately started distancing himself.】

【But the Third Prince stuck to him like dog-skin plaster. Since he had nothing better to do, he kept shamelessly chasing after him every day.】

【One moment he’d be kicked out with “It’s getting late, I won’t see you off,” and the next moment he’d send over things like “rare manuscripts personally copied by hand”…】

Feng Zexuan interrupted:

【But what does any of this have to do with Minister Zhang’s daughter? How did those two end up together?】

【Because while the mantis stalked the cicada, the oriole waited behind!】

The system deliberately paused for suspense.

【And this Miss Zhang Raoyue… was the oriole waiting in the back.】