The next day.
Yang Cheng was about to head to Autumn Water Courtyard to cultivate when his eyes suddenly froze on Shen Muxue's face.
There was a clear palm print there.
With Shen Muxue's Martial Master cultivation, a slap mark would normally fade quickly. The fact that it was still so visible could only mean the strike had been vicious.
Shen Muxue quickly lowered her head.
"Who did this?" Yang Cheng asked coldly.
Shen Muxue looked down, her voice dim. "Your Highness, it's nothing. This is just a small matter. I wouldn't dare trouble you over it."
Yang Cheng stared at her with deep eyes. "Muxue, since you say you're my maid, you have no right to hide anything from me. Speak."
Shen Muxue's body tensed as she bit her lip.
Lin Shu, irritated by her hesitation, answered directly, "Your Highness, it was Shen Muxue's older brother, Shen Huiyang."
Shen Muxue's fingers clenched tightly around her sleeve.
"Shen Huiyang? Why did he do it?" Yang Cheng asked.
"He said Muxue serving you—a baby—as a maid is a disgrace to the Shen family. So he slapped her," Lin Shu said coldly.
Without hesitation, Yang Cheng said, "Hu Po, I'm not going to Autumn Water Courtyard today. Have someone send word for me."
Then he turned to Lin Shu. "We're going to the Shen residence."
Shen Muxue looked at him in surprise.
Yang Cheng's face was stern. "Remember, you're my maid now. Other than me, no one has the right to lay a hand on you. If they do, they're insulting me. That's a debt I have to settle."
Shen Muxue's heart trembled, and her eyes turned misty. "Yes, Your Highness."
Lin Shu happily accepted the order.
Not long after, the golden dragon chariot arrived at the gates of the Shen residence.
"The Crown Prince has arrived! Open the gate at once!" Lin Shu shouted.
The guards at the gate were stunned and immediately ran inside to report.
Soon after, the Shen clan's head in the capital—Shen Muxue's grandfather, Shen Santong—came out to greet them.
Shen Santong bowed. "Your Highness honors us with your presence. Forgive me for not greeting you sooner."
"No need for formalities, Minister Shen." Yang Cheng jumped down from the carriage and walked straight into the estate.
Shen Santong didn't dare stop him and could only follow beside him. "I wonder what brings Your Highness to my humble home today?"
Yang Cheng didn't bother with pleasantries. "Minister Shen, I've come to your Shen family today to demand justice for someone under my care."
Shen Santong didn't take it seriously, thinking it was just childish nonsense. He chuckled, "Your Highness must be joking."
Inside the main hall, Yang Cheng sat directly at the head seat without a hint of politeness. He looked around. "Which one of you is Shen Huiyang?"
The Shen family members all looked confused.
A fifteen-year-old boy stepped forward. "Your Highness, are you looking for me?"
Yang Cheng gave him a cold glance. "Where did you get the courage to hit my maid?"
Shen Huiyang reflexively said, "Your Highness, when did I ever hit your—"
Halfway through, he caught himself. "You mean Muxue? As her elder brother, disciplining my little sister is my duty. Why would that trouble Your Highness?"
He shot an annoyed look at Shen Muxue. "Over something so trivial, you actually tattled to the Crown Prince? I really underestimated you."
Even now, he was still taking it out on Shen Muxue, which made Yang Cheng laugh.
"What exactly did Muxue do to deserve such a beating from her own brother?" Yang Cheng asked. "Anyone who didn't know better might think she was your mortal enemy."
Shen Huiyang frowned. "It was just a slap. Your Highness, isn't this a bit of an overreaction?"
"Overreaction?" Yang Cheng said. "If it were one of your other sisters, I wouldn't care if you slapped her a thousand times. But Shen Muxue is my maid—my person."
"I'm the sovereign. You're a subject. Since when does a subject get to casually punish someone who serves their monarch?"
If Yang Cheng were a grown man, Shen Huiyang might have panicked.
But he was just a three-year-old. Shen Huiyang clearly didn't take him seriously.
"If Your Highness insists on abusing your power as the Crown Prince, then I've got nothing to say," Shen Huiyang scoffed. "But don't blame me if word spreads across the land that the Great Zhou Crown Prince meddles in his subjects' family affairs."
The rest of the Shen family remained silent, obviously agreeing with him.
For the first time, Yang Cheng truly felt what it meant to be dismissed as a child.
But he didn't get angry. He looked calmly at Shen Huiyang and said, "You should actually be grateful I'm treating you as a subject with proper courtesy."
"Oh yeah?" Shen Huiyang sneered. "If you weren't the Crown Prince, with you being just a three-year-old brat, you wouldn't even be qualified to stand in front of me."
Shen Muxue and Lin Shu both frowned.
"Fine. As you wish. Right now, I'm not the Crown Prince," Yang Cheng said. "I'm just Shen Muxue's master."
Everyone in the room looked confused. They didn't understand what he meant.
Then Yang Cheng stood up, faced Shen Huiyang, and said, "Take three of my moves. If you can withstand them, we'll drop the matter. I'll even apologize to you. But if you can't, then you'll slap yourself ten times—hard enough to swell your face each time. How about it?"
Everyone in the Shen family turned pale.
Shen Huiyang's expression twisted with fury.
He wasn't some nobody. He was the first-born legitimate son of the Shen family's newest generation, a well-known genius of the clan.
He was already fifteen and had just advanced to the Martial Grandmaster realm last month.
Now, Yang Cheng, a mere three-year-old, dared to talk big about landing three moves on him—and even said it like he wouldn't be able to take them? How could he tolerate that?
If he didn't crush Yang Cheng today, people would laugh that he couldn't even match a toddler.
But with the prince's status, Shen Huiyang didn't dare agree rashly. Instead, he looked to Shen Santong.
A sharp gleam flickered through Shen Santong's murky eyes before he smiled and said, "Huiyang, since His Highness wants to test you, do your best to perform well. Just remember, he said three moves. Whatever you do, don't hurt His Highness."
Shen Huiyang immediately understood what he meant. He only needed to take three moves from the Crown Prince. He didn't have to strike back. That way, no matter what happened, it wouldn't count as harming the prince.
Even if the Crown Prince got injured from the force of his own attacks, that would just be his own doing. Neither the Emperor nor the Empress could blame him.
"Yes."
Shen Huiyang answered and turned to Yang Cheng. "Please, Your Highness, make your move. If I can't take three moves from you, I'll slap myself one hundred times and kneel to apologize to Shen Muxue."
Yang Cheng grinned. "Good. Remember what you said."
Without any flourish, he slapped straight at Shen Huiyang.
He didn't use any techniques. Just pure strength.
Shen Huiyang's eyes flashed with scorn.
A three-year-old child, no matter how exaggerated the rumors, couldn't possibly be that strong.
He didn't even bother circulating his qi. He casually raised a hand to grab Yang Cheng's arm.
But—
A gust of wind erupted. The air seemed to rip apart!
Right before contact, Yang Cheng's slap exploded with terrifying force. A faint sonic boom echoed through the hall.
"What?!"
Shen Santong's pupils shrank. He gasped in shock.
But it was already too late.
That slap, which looked ordinary at first, now surged like a five-fingered mountain.
The pressure burst out like a flood.
Shen Huiyang realized something was wrong, but there wasn't enough time to react.
Bang!
Yang Cheng's palm collided with Shen Huiyang's arm.
It snapped like a dead twig.
Smack!
The slap landed solidly on his face. His body shot backward like a ragdoll, slamming into a pillar with a loud thud.
"Pu!"
He coughed up a mouthful of blood, eyes wide in disbelief.
The entire Shen family hall went silent.
Everyone stared at the small figure in the center of the hall, stunned beyond words.
"You couldn't even take one move," Yang Cheng said calmly, withdrawing his hand.
Shen Muxue's eyes turned red.
Having someone stand up for her like this... felt amazing.
Lin Shu's eyes lit up as well.
She was also His Highness's maid now. Seeing him protect Shen Muxue filled her with a deep sense of security.
Meanwhile, Shen Huiyang's left cheek was grotesquely swollen.
"This… this can't be…"
He staggered to his feet, clutching his face. "You… how can you be this strong?!"
Yang Cheng didn't reply. He just raised a second finger.
Shen Huiyang understood what that meant.
"I was just careless earlier!" he shouted, his expression twisted. He refused to believe he'd lose again if he went all out.
Whoosh—
He activated his qi at full force, summoning a massive qi bell around his body.
But before he could finish speaking, Yang Cheng had already vanished.
"Watch out!" Shen Santong shouted.
Boom!
Another slap came crashing down.
Shen Huiyang's breath hitched—and then came a loud boom.
His qi bell exploded into fragments.
Yang Cheng's palm landed square on his right cheek.
Crack!
The sound of bone snapping was clear as day.
He flew across the room again, crashing into a sandalwood table. Porcelain shattered and flew everywhere.
"Argh!"
Another mouthful of blood sprayed from his lips—this time with two teeth in it.
Both sides of his face were now grotesquely swollen. His head looked like a pig's.
Even his gaze was starting to drift—he was dazed and beaten silly.
"Please show mercy, Your Highness!" Shen Santong couldn't stay seated anymore. He rushed forward. "This is all due to my failure in disciplining him…"
"Minister Shen."
Yang Cheng turned toward him, eyes cold and sharp like obsidian. "Just two slaps. What, are you saying I'm making a fuss over nothing?"
Shen Santong froze.
When Shen Huiyang had said the same earlier, not a single person from the Shen family had corrected him. They'd clearly approved.
If he tried to lecture Yang Cheng now, wouldn't that be slapping his own people in the face?
Yang Cheng no longer looked at him. He turned back to Shen Huiyang. "Are you going to take my third move, or fulfill the terms of our bet?"
If Shen Huiyang still dared to resist, Yang Cheng didn't mind making him suffer even more.