Starting My Cultivation With Time Management

The confrontation between Long Hu and Qi Yingzhu took everyone by surprise.

Little Tiger Qi Yingzhu, though willful, had a very simple logic behind her: My father is the Emperor, my mother is the Empress, on what grounds do you dare to provoke me?

Of course, Long Hu wasn’t having any of it—who didn’t have an Emperor for a father?

However, in the eyes of Qi Qiao’an and Qi Qiaosong, it seemed like their sister was simply jealous of Long Long and Long Hu’s close relationship. Wasn’t this all you, the little White Dragon’s fault?

Therefore, the two of them looked at Long Long in unison, their glances conveying, "Aren’t you going to break it up quickly?"

But Long Long had no intention of intervening. Instead, he let the two continue their war of words without ceasing.

Because he was pondering why these people had come.

At first, Long Long subconsciously assumed that Qi Yingzhu had heard about the marriage and wanted to meet her fiancé in person.

If that were the case, it would be reasonable for Qi Qiao’an, as her brother, to accompany her. But why should Qi Qiaosong come along?

Or, should he just take advantage of this critical moment... Perhaps I should just tie him up and take him as a hostage as I escape back to the Eastern State!

Long Long gazed at Qi Qiaosong, deep in thought, while the little Qilin seemed to sense the danger and instinctively shrank behind his brother.

"Long Long, Long Hu, how can the two of you be so disrespectful?" Seeing that Long Long did not react for a long time, Qi Qiao’an finally spoke up accusingly.

Although Mother Lü Ya was recently busy dealing with the aftermath of the Emperor’s sudden death, she had not forgotten to remind Qi Qiao’an to take his brother Qi Qiaosong out more often to foster the deep familial bond between brothers.

And since Qi Yingzhu would soon be betrothed to Long Long of the Dragon Clan of the Eastern State, she had also instructed him to socialize more during this time and bond with his future brother-in-law. The stance of the Azure Dragon Clan was crucial to the Qilin Royal Court at the present time, and they could not afford to offend them.

Qi Qiao’an outwardly complied, but inwardly he was extremely discontented.

His fiancée was suddenly gone, his sister was suddenly getting married, and out of nowhere, he had an additional brother who inexplicably stole the attention and affection of the whole clan, the revered ancestor, and his mother. How could he, the great prince, possibly feel happy about all of this?

Qi Qiao’an, born to the White Tiger, was naturally impulsive and unrestrained and had been spoiled by his mother from an early age, possessing almost no political intelligence.

Soon enough, he had a clever idea. Using the excuse of accompanying his sister to survey her fiancé, he brought his brother Qi Qiaosong along as well.

Seeing that the prince dared to posture before him, Long Long did not quite know how to respond.

Had your mother not informed you that the Dragon Clan of the Eastern State is now too powerful for you to offend?

If you really anger us, we’ll switch allegiance to the Xuanwu Clan and, together with the Feathered Clan, we’ll eliminate you all!

"Your Highnesses have come from afar, and the Dragon Clan has failed to meet you properly, please forgive us," Long Long responded calmly.

"Indeed, you have been rude." The little Qilin stepped out from behind his brother and said with a frown, "Although you hail from the Dragon Clan, you have no title to your name. Having encountered the Imperial Clan’s princes, why have you not paid your respects?"

Long Long: ???

This Qilin illegitimate child must be out of his mind! He actually expects our Dragon Clan to follow protocol?

Seeing Long Long momentarily at a loss for words, Qi Yingzhu thought he was embarrassed and awkward, so she instinctively defended her fiancé:

"Qiao Song, we will all be family soon, there’s no need for such formalities."

"Until we are joined in marriage, sovereign and subject must be distinguished, and propriety must not be lost," Qi Qiaosong said, his expression softening as he took on a pedagogical tone and reminded Long Long, "If seen by others outside, it would also affect the reputation of the Dragon Clan."

Long Long: ...........

He had finally seen clearly: among these three siblings, the eldest, Qi Qiao’an, was crude and reckless, utterly lacking in intelligence. If not for the protection of Empress Lü Ya, he probably wouldn’t survive a few days in the capital. @@novelbin@@

The young Qilin, Qi Qiaosong, was a naive child. Because of his lowly birth as an illegitimate child, he probably hadn’t received much education before, and it seemed that recently he had been urgently cramming political lessons, preparing to succeed the throne.

"Seeing a monarch should be done with correct ritual," "One must not be impolite,"—these were surely what the Royal Court’s etiquette teacher had taught him.

Such practices might work within the Qilin Clan, considering an illegitimate child inherently lacks status, so bolstering his position with protocol and influence was a passable tactic—however, that teacher certainly hadn’t had the time to tell him not to provoke the great nobles with this standard.

As for the young princess, Qi Yingzhu, although she was a spoiled child like her brothers, at least she retained virtues of compassion and integrity, and therefore didn’t have a notorious reputation like her brothers.

Long Hu, having keenly observed these characteristics, obviously wouldn’t have missed them, and couldn’t help but feel both annoyed and amused.

Qi Qiaosong might be brainless, which could be excused by his origins... but what was the deal with those foolish White Tiger siblings?

"Anyway," Qi Qiaosong, unaware that he had been secretly despised, continued earnestly, "our visit this time is private rather than official, so there’s no need to inform the Dragon Clan elders."

Enjoy new chapters from NovelBin.Côm

"Is that so," Long Long sighed inwardly upon seeing his earnest demeanor, then spoke up, "Please come inside and have a seat, Your Highnesses. I will have someone serve tea."

"No need for such formality," Qi Qiao’an interrupted, "It’s our first time visiting the Dragon Clan embassy. Just show us around outside... I heard you have a Desolate Tower in the backyard?"

"Indeed," Long Long replied with slight surprise, "That is where the Dragon Martial Emperor, Long Ye, once secluded himself in his youth, though it has been neglected and fallen into disrepair for many years."

"The former residence of Long Ye?" The young Qilin, Qi Qiaosong, immediately lit up.

Long Ye was none other than the grandfather of Emperor Ying Long (also Long Hu’s great-grandfather).

Having been born an illegitimate child, he originally held no favor within the Jiaolong Clan and had once lived alone with his mother in a high tower.

Eventually, through personal effort (and the tide of the era), he had managed to turn his fate around and rise to power, his life a classic textbook example of a struggling underdog, incredibly inspiring.

Long Hu was very distant from even his own grandfather and naturally had little interest in his great-grandfather.

Qi Qiaosong was different; he had not been under royal education for long. The first lesson of his history course had detailed the splendid struggles of Long Ye’s life; combined with his own status as an illegitimate child, the young Qilin regarded Long Ye as a spiritual idol and mentor.

"May I visit and observe for a moment?" Qi Qiaosong asked earnestly, "I greatly admire Emperor Dragon Martial, and to behold his former residence would truly make this trip worthwhile."

In the Eastern Emperor Demon Realm, the use of posthumous titles was common, but Demons were generally rough and discourteous, lacking any taboo against calling someone by their name directly.

Qi Qiaosong’s respectful reference to "Emperor Dragon Martial" showed his genuine admiration for Long Ye, prompting Long Long to smirk again, seeing that the Qilin was indeed like a bookish character.

"Since Your Highness is interested, how could I refuse? Please, follow me," Long Long responded with a smile.

As Long Long led the trio to the backyard, Long Hu quietly approached from behind and whispered to Long Long:

"What are they doing here? They aren’t seeing the elders; surely they can’t just be here to play, right?"

"I don’t know," Long Long pondered briefly, "With the important matter at hand, let’s just quickly get them taken care of and on their way."

Seeing the two whispering intimately, Qi Yingzhu watched furiously from behind, her resolve to monopolize Long Long growing even firmer.

Even if he is my fiancé, he is still my husband to be!

No, this won’t do. I must speak to my mother when we return, and have her issue an imperial order to the Dragon Clan to drive this fox away from my husband’s side!