Chương 175: Extra: Hysonrella

[Prompt by Silverwind:

Jia as Cinderella with all of the gongs as princes, maybe with Bebe as Lucifer or the Grand Duke or the Evil Stepmother?]

....

...

Once upon a time, there was a very handsome young man called Hysonrella.

He was named that because his father was a wealthy tea merchant and his mother was a fan of the green tea he had sold. Because Hyson tea was what brought them together, they decided to name the product of their love that as well.

Unfortunately, when Hysonrella was thirteen, his mother died. And it was only a year later his wealthy merchant father brought in his new stepmother(?) Bebe Bebeton and two stepdaughters, Pan Shuchun and Tang Muxin.

Why do Bebe's daughters have two different last names? Because they were also from two other marriages. It was really just a mess if you think about it.

Bebe: Bebe doesn't approve of this stupid setting at all.

For some reason, stepmother Bebe didn't like the look of Hysonrella. The more stepmother Bebe looked, the more annoyed he was in his heart. In fact, the moment the merchant father left on a business trip, stepmother Bebe immediately changed face and scolded poor Hysonrella.

"Are you a pig?! Why is your room so dirty?! Your desk is filled with random shit! Go, go clean it up!" Stepmother Bebe screams.

Hysonrella looks at his cluttered room blankly, "No, you misunderstand, stepmother, this is just organized chaos. It is modern feng shui. In the mess, your mind is clear."

"MODERN FENG SHUI BEBE'S ASS!" (ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡┻━┻

Hysonrella glances down at his stepmother's rather shapely rear and sneers, "I don't think your ass has enough good karma to contribute to the feng shui of my room. I'm going to politely ask you to leave."

"…You fucking fuck."

Stepmother Bebe was very mean, and his mouth was extremely poisonous. Unfortunately, he had met his match with the shameless Hysonrella.

The only saving grace for stepmother Bebe was that his two daughters intimidated Hysonrella enough that his control over the household wasn't completely undermined. Unfortunately, stepdaughter Tang Muxin worked in the palace as a royal guard who was rising in the ranks, and stepdaughter Pan Shuchun is an aspiring businesswoman who followed Hysonrella's merchant father on his business trips. This generally meant it was only stepmother Bebe and Hysonrella in the house with a few servants.

Stepmother Bebe: '…'

Hysonrella: '…'

In the end, after a year of fighting and throwing insults, they both went to watch a musical and built a tentative truce full of bickering and reluctant affection. However, that didn't stop stepmother Bebe from being a nag. Especially over Hysonrella's nighttime activities.

"Hysonrella, we need to talk." Stepmother Bebe pats the couch cushion next to him.

Hysonrella rolls his eyes but obediently complies nonetheless. He had a feeling that he knew exactly what his stepmother wanted to lecture him about this time.

Sitting down, they stared at each other for a minute. Finally, stepmother Bebe broke the silence.

"The stable boy. Really? Could you be more cliche?"

Hysonrella shrugs. "If the horseshoe is hot and single, might as well have sex with it, right?"

"…" Stepmother Bebe closes his eyes. And prays for the lord for strength. "That could not be more wrong, Bebe is sure there was not a single right thing about that sentence."

"Aiyah, why can't you be happy for me ah? Look at it more positively." Hysonrella lounges back on the couch languidly, chuckling with a sly smile that makes a passing maid blush and almost walk into a wall.

"And how, pray tell, can this be turned into a positive note?" Stepmother Bebe asks through gritted teeth.

"Well, for starters," Hysonrella pauses, trying to think of something, "Now I've successfully slept with every single servant in the estate under sixty years old."

Stepmother Bebe was so angry he shut Jia Hyson in his room.

Jia Hyson would usually take it and spend the rest of the day lazing about reading or writing his newest popular novel. However, today was a rather special day.

"Stepmother!" He protests as he was led to his room. "Wait, you forget it's the start of the ball tonight!"

Stepmother Bebe was startled. He indeed had forgotten. After all, his daughter Tang Muxin was being courted by the head guard, and his other daughter Pan Shuchun was focusing more on foreign trade, while he himself was not ambitious. The royal ball was exciting, but it wasn't a very big thing in their household. Only Hysonrella was very interested in the ball.

The Blue Lake kingdom that they lived in had six princes. The oldest was Prince Guiren who had joined the watchmen that specialized in solving crimes and enforcing law and order. He had slowly risen up to become the head of the watchmen, both a police and detective, and many citizens knew of his name.

The second prince was Prince Sefu, who was of mixed race. His mother came from a distant resource-rich island known as Samotrelis. Sefu chose to join the guards, and with his high physical strength and decisive spirit, he quickly gained many fans in the military and led his own division of specialized guards.

The third prince, Prince Silas was not precisely an official prince of the kingdom, because he was the son of a princess but not the Blue Lake king's blood. Still, the king was very generous and counted him as a part of the family. Prince Silas has only made an appearance for a year now and is said to show amazing talents in magic.

Prince Gong is the fourth prince. However, he had thrown away his royal title and right to the throne in exchange for a fiefdom* known as Da territory and is now known as Da Gong. The people of Da territory, who were once a land of simple villagers, became a big power in the kingdom, and Da Gong had become unanimous with a great and domineering ruling.

*a territory or sphere of operation controlled by a particular person or group.

Prince Drake was the most favoured and most legitimate fifth prince, born from the empress. He was one of the ones with the most access to the treasury and could be said to be the wealthiest of the princes. However, while he is not very impressive and many secretly call him an idiot, he is considered quite a culinary genius and has helped improve many traditional dishes and even made many new food products that could be affordable for the lower and middle classes, which boosted the economy greatly.

Conversely, the sixth prince and seventh princes, Prince Monroe and Prince Shun were the ones with the poorest backgrounds and were not very favoured. Prince Monroe's mother was a free soul but also a scum woman, escaping the moment she recovered from giving birth to Monroe's younger sister Princess Maddy, directly offending the king. And Prince Shun's mother was suspected of having had an affair with Prince Guiren and died during childbirth.

Even though the rumours were finally determined to be false, the damage was done, Prince Shun was seen to be born under suspicious circumstances, and the king did not feel good looking at him as a consequence. Therefore Prince Shun was notoriously hostile to Prince Guiren, and Prince Guiren, whose reputation was dragged into the mud due to this event, also didn't have a good attitude toward the younger prince.

However, even if they weren't the most favoured, it could be said Prince Monroe and Prince Shun were the most intelligent and diligent of the generation of princes. Monroe was talented in accounting and finances, and Shun had a similar level of talent but also a very gloomy and quite cutthroat temperament that made it harder to go against.

Prince Monroe went to take care of the treasury and straighten out other departments, and Prince Shun dealt more with taxes, loans and tax evasion. Of course, because of that, there was a lot of overlap between both Prince Monroe and Prince Guiren, with the former being quite a harmonious relationship and the latter being more akin to getting along like a horse on fire. Meaning a lot of screaming all around and everyone getting very upset.

Finally, there was the eighth and youngest Prince Kylan, who was not technically a prince either. He was the younger brother to the bar hostess the king had picked up and had been given the title of Prince. Which really seemed to make these titles seem a little worthless to be honest. But this was a monarchy, after all.

While Hysonrella had not seen Prince Silas or Prince Kylan who were relatively new, he had seen, met, flirted or even had the opportunity to sleep with most of the other princes.

If the emperor was well known for his lasciviousness across the country, then Hysonrella was a playboy known across the kingdom. Because of his witty and beautiful writings, his handsome face and his charm, Hysonrella was already famous in his own right as an author. Even if he didn't generate income through writing, his father's tea business was incredibly profitable, and Hysonrella's net worth from his father alone was probably enough to compete with the poorer noble families.

This allowed Hysonrella to go around the kingdom and play around without worries under the excuse of 'gaining inspiration. It was true he gained a lot of inspiration; however, he had also gained a body count of people he had loved and lost his heart along the way.

He helped Prince Guiren solve a mystery of three unknown bodies in an abandoned basement and got fucked furiously by the man after he protected him from being stabbed by a broken mirror shard from the female culprit hiding behind the mirrors of the house.

Prince Sefu, who visited his step-sister Tang Muxin to court her, slowly changed his mind the more Tang Muxin used Hysonrella as a human meat shield, forcibly interacting with each other and slowly growing affectionate. However, Hysonrella was, unfortunately, a slag and only kept the relationship as an ambiguous friendship before running off to seduce other people.

His longest relationship was with Prince Da Gong. They met because Hysonrella had to help his tea merchant father renegotiate tea supply lines, as his father at the time still had some hopes of cultivating his son to become his heir to the tea empire he had cultivated.

Generally, Da Gong would not personally oversee such a thing now that he had already established his power, but because of his domineering character, he came anyway on a surprise inspection. After all, tea had many benefits, and many could be accessible to the poorer areas, so he put quite a bit of value in this negotiation.

Finding Hysonrella's witty sales pitch that hid a few hidden pits* for anyone who got sucked into it rather cute, he quickly dismantled the young Hysonrella's attempt at deception. It was then Da Gong realized that while the sneaky Hysonrella was cute, the dumbfounded silly expression on his face was even cuter.

*traps

Two years later, the tea flowed merrily in the fiefdom of Da, and Hysonrella had spent many days being pampered in Da County by his domineering lover. It was almost enough to win Hysonrella over.

Unfortunately, Hysonrella was young and unwilling to be tied down yet to one rooster, no matter how handsome he crowed or how big his wings were, so he broke it off and ran back home.

Then there was meeting an incognito Prince Drake who was accompanying his sister Maddy to a food festival, bonding over honey-coated mimimelons, before tasting different foods mouth to mouth. It was very exciting and so Hysonrella dated him for a month.

Unfortunately, Prince Drake was not very smart, and it wasn't like his face wasn't fairly well known in many circles. It was very good he lasted a month really before Hysonrella found out. Angry, Hysonrella took advantage of one last fantastic night of sex before leaving the prince.

A little amused at how 'lucky' he was, Hysonrella decided to bring it upon himself to try to complete the collection.

Unfortunately, while he had the opportunity to meet the two young princes, because of their ages, Hysonrella had not laid his hands on Prince Monroe and Prince Shun. Instead, he occasionally brushed up their favorability toward him before going off to play around, similar to how he treated Sefu.

Eventually, his fickle mind forgot this plan, and he basically ignored the two princes even though they had long passed the age of consent. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

The teased then forgotten Prince Monroe and Prince Shun: '…' ( ಥ_ಥ)( º言º)

It was only when the king issued to the public a large scale ball to look for suitable marriage candidates for all his single dog sons did Hysonrella recall that he had such a goal.

Because he had been fooling around in his ideal easygoing life, and also spending more time with his step-family as well, he had not been following the royal family too closely. After all, his step-sister Tang Muxin despite being a guard who had more access to insider information was not very talkative and disliked gossip. Step-sister Pan Shuchun was more chatty but mainly talked about overseas happenings which Hysonrella, who had limited travels outside the kingdom, found more fascinating to discuss.

In short, politics was boring and the princes were all scattered in different fields. Admittedly there was some overlap, but if you were such an avid fan of the royal family, keeping track of all of them was probably a full time job. In fact there actually were multiple agencies dedicated to this sort of gossip, but the problem was Hysonrella really wasn't interested.

The princes were handsome but Hysonrella was also handsome. It is good to admire their photos once in a while, but as a healthy scum man, Hysonrella had always felt the vision of seeing many flowers is more beautiful and pleasing than staring at the same flower all the time. To put so much effort into a few rare flowers when there was a field he could much more easily admire and sate his desire felt too stupid to Hysonrella.

Now that his attention returned thanks to the announcement, Hysonrella found Prince Monroe and Prince Shun to have become particularly handsome men with an abstinent cold air that he felt particularly lined up to his current taste during this period of time.

As for the other princes, they were still as good looking as ever. It is not a problem to savour the flavour again if he had a chance.

Hysonrella thought about it and determined even though the ball was three nights long and sounded a bit too crowded and tedious, it would be worth it just to see these men in their rare formalwear. Not to mention there would be other gentlemen and gentleladies in their best dressed. So many people, and only a limited number of princes.

Now Hysonrella wasn't the best at math but that sounded like an awful lot of desperation and disappointed single people that needed some comfort.

And who was he, but a charitable man? ,,UwU,,

Stepmother Bebe, who was well aware of what sort of scum man his stepson was, thought on a similar line, and his face instantly went dark.

Because he was the mistress of the house, Stepmother Bebe had to take care of many affairs. Cleaning up after this manwhore of a stepson was one of them. If Hysonrella only took in commoners to play with like most sensible rich second generation did, then it would be relatively fine. But Hysonrella was ambitious and overconfident, aiming for those above his station. It was lucky no jealous ex-lovers had ruined the family yet, though there had been indeed some close calls.

Stepmother Bebe felt really annoyed the more he thought about it.

It was already embarrassing enough to be married for the third time with two daughters, but now he had such a promiscuous step-son too. His first husband, Tang Muxin's father, died on the battlefield, and his second husband, Pan Shuchun's father, died by an accident with his new mistress. None of these things were Bebe's fault but unfortunately being widowed twice tends to leave quite a stinky reputation.

Usually, it was already irritating enough to be avoided and gossiped by others, but now he also had to deal with many noble wives staring daggers at him with resentment because Hysonrella broke their daughters or sons fragile little hearts.

So with such an insatiable young man, if he didn't stand firm now and let him out of house arrest, wouldn't he, Stepmother Bebe be the farmer who led the hungry fox into the chicken coop? Even a chicken coop is too understated, it was more like leading the fox into a chicken convention slash competition. Where all the high-class chickens and chicken enthusiasts gather.

"You are not allowed to go to the ball, Hysonrella!" Stepmother Bebe orders fiercely.

"But my outfits for the ball, I have already custom ordered it." Hysonrella calmly retorts, knowing how much Stepmother Bebe loves face and not wasting money.

Not to mention, Stepmother Bebe was well known for his fashion and ability to find 'trendy' things. It was how his father met Stepmother Bebe in the first place, and why he was so eligible despite his unfortunate marriage history. "If I don't wear it now, by the time the spring ball comes the fashion might be already out of season ah."

Stepmother Bebe's vein throbs, before suddenly being hit by inspiration. "That's perfect," He grins, "Tang Muxin that tomboy, dithered around so long with her work, she never got any new outfit for the occasion. Your taste in clothing is always very good Hysonrella, Bebe thinks after a bit of adjustment that she would look very dashing in them."

Hysonrella imagines the image of his cold baby-faced but mature bodied step-sister in his formalwear and immediately panicked at such a handsome image. Once Stepmother Bebe sees her in those clothes, Hysonrella truly believes the other would go through with it. "You can't do this!"

"Bebe can, Bebe will, and Bebe is." Stepmother Bebe chuckles cruelly, "Bebe knows you have food and water in your room. Don't worry about the second and third nights, Bebe will prepare better food for you, but for now, just stay put and enjoy what you have. If you're good, Bebe will try to steal some cake for you to try."

"Fucking-!"

Hearing the bedroom being locked, Hysonrella shoves his raised middle fingers at the door angrily before clicking his tongue and lying down on his bed mournfully.

Self-reflecting in isolation, Hysonrella feels a little wronged but ultimately reluctantly understanding as well. If his stepmother could see the consequences of his behavior, it wasn't like he also didn't know. He doesn't want to be so flighty either ah. But even though he knows he should try to restrain himself he has suffered so little consequences Hysonrella really could not muster up any real determination to stop.

He was like a chubby foodie who was healthy and only had a few slight health concerns but nothing major. While the foodie was interested in losing weight, the desire was easily pushed aside for the desire of biting into a warm gooey chocolate chip cookie*.

*The foodie is the author *cries tears*

Determining nothing but what he already knew with no new resolve whatsoever, Hysonrella sighs and shoves a hand down his pants. He wasn't really in the mood but there wasn't much else to do anyway ah.

Idly stroking himself, Hysonrella thinks about the ball he was missing out. Ah, if he could go, he would dress up gorgeously, drawing many an admiring eye, and he would dance with anyone who catches his eyes. Pressing his body close to the other, they would laugh and whisper and twirl, and if any interest and heat was sparked maybe they would go out of the crowded ballroom and-

Hysonrella groans as he tightens his grip around his hardening shaft. "Ah, I really want to go to the ball." He mutters breathily with a mixture of yearning and lust, eyes fluttering closed as he focuses on the sensation of his hand.

"I can help with that."

"SH-!" Hysonrella almost falls out of his bed, he immediately pulls his hand out of his pants and reaches for a hidden dagger hidden in plain site against his carved bed frame.

However the other person in the room was far faster and slapped the knife from Hysonrella's hand. Even though it was a slap, Hysonrella couldn't help but swear viciously at the pain the sharply radiated through his wrist. Cradling it and tentatively rubbing circles on his throbbing wrist he glares at the unknown person before he subconsciously swallows. "W-who, who are you ah?"

"I am, Zheng Xin*," A handsome older man, stood in front of him with a cold expression. With his business like appearance in a light grey blue suit and a cloak of a slightly darker shade giving a more mysterious and magical appeal. Hysonrella was immediately attracted and entranced. "Your fairy godmother."

*He is the older brother of the male protagonist in Prince Farrell's arc (Arc 3). Suggested by my cute fans Kaid/BB.

"Shouldn't it be fairy godfather?" Hysonrella smiles in a sly and flirty manner as he asks with some curiosity, and some joking.

"No." Fairy godmother Zheng Xin coldly and curtly rejects.

Hysonrella: '…' I would have thought my fairy godmother would be more fun.

Fairy godmother Zheng Xin glances at his watch impatiently, "You want to go to the ball, right?"

Knowing that this man was the blunt and straight to the point type, and most importantly, very uninterested in him, Hysonrella gets down to business, and nods.

Opening his briefcase, Fairy godmother Zheng Xin pulls out… A stack of money.

Hysonrella: '…'

"Hey, I really thought you would pull out a magic wa-OW HEY!" Hysonrella yells in surprise as Fairy godmother Zheng Xin ruthlessly throws the stack of money at his stomach.

However, to his surprise, after the initial burst of pain, the stack of bank notes scattered, glowing as they surrounded Hysonrella's body until it transformed into a beautiful golden gown.

Hysonrella jumped up with a gasp, tentatively touching the soft and satiny dress, awed at this magical scene. Even the most skilled mage he had met could not do such an intricate transformation and transmigration of clothing. The value of his original clothes wasn't low, but they couldn't possibly be compared to this glowing golden gown.

…Hysonrella frowns. "Uh, Fairy godmother, as beautiful as it is, I really don't think it's appropriate given my gender."

"Can't you pull it off?" Fairy godmother Zheng Xin asks dryly. Hysonrella sneers.

"Of course, I can; I just don't want to deal with anyone getting angry because I lied," Hysonrella tsks. He was there with the intention of having sex. He wouldn't be satisfied with just over the clothes action. Therefore he couldn't possibly hide his manhood… well… it wasn't impossible… kekeke…

Fairy godmother Zheng Xin: '…' (¬_¬) This pervert doesn't deserve a fairy godmother.

"After knowing the context of your situation, I have deemed it the best measure for you to crossdress. This is the best way to disguise yourself without compromising your attractiveness." Zheng Xin folded his arms and explains.

Hysonrella raises his eyebrow, "Disguise myself?"

Fairy godmother Zheng Xin mirrors his expression with more disdain, "Your stepmother Bebe and your step-sisters will be there. Did you forget?"

Hysonrella: '…' He really forgot for a second there.

With a sigh, he plays with the skirt of his ballgown and rubs his legs together under the dress, feeling it was a little novel to not be wearing pants and wearing such an extravagant gown instead.

The dress was puffy but light and comfortable, with no dress hoops or corsets, just the power of magic holding everything up and in.

He wonders if he could do something naughty underneath. After all, this was really a once-in-a-lifetime chance to play hard.

A little excited, Hysonrella goes to his dressing room mirror.

"What are you doing?" Fairy godmother Zheng Xin stands curiously as he opens the dressing room drawer.

"Um, some makeup," Hysonrella lies smoothly as he picks a few cylindrical items that look like lipstick and other makeup products. "I don't usually wear it unless I want to change my look for reasons. Some of it are from exes too and some I just thought were pretty but never bothered using in the end-"

"Ah," Fairy godmother Zheng Xin had a faint smile on his face. Hysonrella felt it was very good-looking, but somehow, he couldn't find it in him to be very appreciative. Instead, the place where the banknotes had hit his stomach throbbed faintly as a chill went down his back.

"Don't worry; I came here to give you the full package." Fairy godmother Zheng Xin pulled out multiple stacks of banknotes. "This one is for your hair, this is for jewellery, this is for face and makeup, this is for-"

Hysonrella: '…' Beauty is pain. _(ಥ ཀ ಥ 」∠)_

And so a gorgeously dressed, if slightly battered, Hysonrella staggered into a pumpkin-shaped carriage and sped off to the castle.

…

"The princes are all different races and appearances. Doesn't anyone think that's strange?" Pan Shuchun comments as she fans herself with a lovely silk fan with a unique but beautiful design painted on it.

She was very beautiful and caught many people's eyes when she walked in the most fashionable appearance and dress that was a mix of the classic gown that was trending in the kingdom and an incorporation of exotic clothing inspirations that many had not seen before.

Unfortunately, other than greeting some clients and meeting people that she felt would be interested in investing or visiting her future fashion store, Pan Shuchun did not have much enthusiasm for this big excuse to matchmake with the Blue Lake kingdom's princes. After all, most, if not all of them, had been romantically or sexually acquainted with her step-brother. And because she had constantly travelled and spent more time out of the country than in, she didn't have too much enthusiasm or interest in the royal family in itself.

Instead, she leaned against the wall and chatted with her sister, who, while dressed up handsomely as a guest, still maintained her habits as the royal guard and was also standing vigilantly against the wall, watching the guests.

"Not really," Tang Muxin shrugs nonchalantly, a hint of disdain on her face, "You already know the king likes to travel and pick up various lovers. Even at his eightieth last year, he had officially picked up two more little pregnant lovers. Apparently, one is a rumoured 1000-year-old vampire princess who already had a child, and the other is a bar hostess with a delinquent younger brother."

"…Damn, his majesty really knows how to play, huh." Pan Shuchun sips her drink, and her mouth twitches, "Are you sure our dear stepfather isn't wearing a green hat? The resemblance is quite uncanny."

"Isn't it?" Tang Muxin smiles wryly. "To be honest, you won't know this, but on his sixtieth birthday, he secretly came to me and asked if I could take a hair from his majesty in order to do a paternity test for Hysonrella."

Pan Shuchun spat out her drink, thankfully back into the cup and not on her newly designed dress she took so long to produce. Wiping the alcohol from her chin in a slightly unladylike manner, she gestures to a passing waiter for a new drink. "Stepfather really did that?"

Her sister nods, bemused by Pan Shuchun's emotional reaction, "The test came out negative of course. Stepfather had said it wasn't that he didn't trust his wife, but the similarities were too similar, and according to his calculations, Hysonrella had been born during the same time in the same hospital ward with one of the many princesses."

"Sixtieth birthday… could it be…" Pan Shuchun thought it was strange. If a man suspected such a big thing, he would not wait so patiently and figure things out in such a roundabout way after so long. She suddenly snapped her fingers, "Could it be he was stimulated by Hysonrella's bestseller during that time? A Tale of Two Princes!"

A Tale of Two Princes was a big face-slapping script. It was about how two young men were swapped at birth, one was a prince and the other was from a rather mediocre declining noble family. However, the prince was not very well favoured and was embroiled in a lot of stressful palace intrigue, and the nobleman's son, while not as well off as other nobles, still lived better than commoners and was well-loved and pampered.

On the surface being a prince looks far better, but in reality, it was the relatively poorer noble family that was full of warmth.

When the sons and their respective families realized the swap, there had been a lot of drama. After many twists and turns, unexpectedly, the sons formed a good brotherhood and worked together to help each other, swapping over and face-slapping away their families' original problems.

The true prince, who used to be a noble was more savvy, flexible and outspoken. Being witty and confidently playful, he won the fatherly affection of the emperor and made a lot of unexpected moves that made it hard for the palace people to fight against. And the true nobleman's son with a prince's education, domineering attitude, and understanding of palace matters, helped bring back vitality to the noble family, letting it rise back to its former glory and more while beating down the family's various enemies that had been suppressing them beforehand.

It was a very satisfying story with twists and intrigues, but also a strong brotherhood and great face-slapping, and quickly became a hit among both the commoners and nobles alike. Pan Shuchun had also read it and was a fan, especially toward the business plot line in the true noble son's part of the story. She had also been given distributing rights thanks to her familial relationship, so she was fairly knowledgeable about her step-brother's stories.

However, that wasn't the main thing. The main thing was. Hysonrella had kindly given his father his first copy a week before the man's sixtieth birthday as an early birthday present. So if he read such a thing and thought too deeply… The thought made Pan Shuchun and Tang Muxin's lips curve up in amusement. Their stepfather may not resemble his son much, but their creative and quite random thinking process was quite similar ah.

As the sisters continued chatting as they ignored the crowd, they missed out on seeing one of the topics of their conversation entering the hall in beautiful women's clothing.

….

Meanwhile, the Blue Lake Emperor glares at his sons who are standing in front of him in the throne room. Seeing them stare back with no enthusiasm at all about tonight made the emperor want to sigh deeply.

To be honest, he really looked down on his sons. He is not the type that thinks opposites will always attract and prefers people similar to himself- amorous and free in romantic matters. To him, love was very nice, but it was a poison that could drown people and muddle even the brightest minds. Look at his sons, they were all good in a very specific way, but it could be said none were particularly fit for ruling an entire kingdom.

Prince Gong, no, Da Gong, was the most suitable in his opinion as he had shown his ruling process the clearest. However, his nature was inherently a bit tyrannical and unreasonable, if something or someone is unsightly, he will kick it out. Straightforward and stubbornness is good but not necessarily always. Da Gong can play big fish in small ponds well enough, but both of them knew he may not do so well in an ocean.

He also showed signs of being the type of emperor who was willing to destroy a kingdom for beauty. No, it should be said nearly every son of his was the type of person who would be willing to destroy a kingdom for beauty.

The Blue Lake Emperor was really distraught. 'Ah,' he thinks as he looks at his handsome sons, 'How nice would it have been if this famous Hysonrella was his son.' Smart, able to socialize, charismatic, and unwilling to pin his heart down onto a single lover.

To be honest, he was tempted to brush up on one of his daughters as heir to the throne, but none of them held an interest in leadership matters at all. Princess Maddy was helping in revolutionizing the food industry. Princess Song Chuntao was not bad, but she was more interested in developing technology and art.

She also had a fiancé with a crown prince from a very economically strong kingdom and therefore would eventually be married out. There's no way the other kingdom was richer than them, and the crown prince was the only male in the family after the eldest brother disappeared under mysterious circumstances. Some say fairies took him away.

As for the other princesses.. vain, greedy, or timid, they didn't really have much potential to be trained up so late in their life at all.

With a sigh, the Blue Lake Emperor once again solidified his previous decision. "My darling bastards." He greets his sons with the majesty and gentleness of an amiable king. It was really a shame the words he spoke was anything but regal. "I have determined that none of you are completely suitable for the throne given your sad, pathetic social and love lives. You guys are all also annoyingly very unbalanced in your skill sets. Not to mention your personalities… In short, you guys are really annoying ah."

The princes: '…' This man is really the explanation for why father issues exist.

"Father, with all due respect," Prince Drake adjusts his tie and clears his throat, "Is there anything else you summoned us for other than to bitch?"

As the emperor's favourite, Prince Drake could really afford to sass back. The Blue Lake Emperor chuckles, not offended at all, and nods, "Indeed. As you all know I am putting a lot of effort into this ball for all of you. You are all of marriageable age, and no longer can hide it. Especially Prince Li Guiren and Prince Sefu. They really, really can't hide it."

Prince Li Guiren and Prince Sefu: '…..' ( ´༎ຶㅂ༎ຶ`)( ´༎ຶㅂ༎ຶ`) Father, why?

"However, I also know most of you have chosen to stay single because of a knot in your heart." With a sigh, the Blue Lake Emperor gives them all a disappointed look, "I really don't understand where you got your monogamous romanticism from. It must be your mothers ah."

Before the princes could respond, the emperor claps his hands excitedly, "That's why I have decided! As long as you're part of the royal family and can win over Hysonrella, I will favour you as the official next in line to the throne!"

Yes! This is his plan! Using the power as the monarch to finally tempt those cowardly sons of his to take the initiative to remove their heart knots, capture their white moonlight and finally move on! It would be even better if they could marry him and let Hysonrella become his good son-in-law! (╯✧∇✧)╯

This produced varying reactions in the group of men. Many who were once entangled with Hysonrella's eyes lit up and flushed. Those that had never gotten the chance to go further than the ambiguous stage of a relationship were even more excited. Only Prince Silas and Kylan had a cool head, having never met Hysonrella before.

Prince Kylan nervously speaks out, ambition flickering in his eyes, "Does this include us as well, your highness?"

"Of course," The Blue Lake Emperor smiles with little worries, completely heartless toward his biological sons, "I have given you the title of prince in my kingdom, and by extension you are part of the royal family. So why shouldn't it count?"

Prince Silas lazily raises an arm, "Do we have to do it? Seems a little annoying."

"Then don't do it." Prince Tian Shun spits out, irritated by the much better looking new brother of his that was of similar age to himself.

The silver-haired prince shrugs and didn't even bother to muster up the energy to respond back, making Prince Tian Shun scowl.

Da Gong's train of thought was very different compared to Prince Kylan and Prince Silas'. "Does that mean when I win over Hysonrella I still have to take over the role as emperor, despite choosing to drop out of the fight for the crown?" He asks coolly, instantly garnering nearly everyone's aggro.

"What do you mean 'when'?" Prince Drake demands, "He left you too, don't forget!"

Da Gong's feathers were a little ruffled at the words but he kept a domineering expression on as he tilted his head and rebuts, "At least I had two years, unlike some people."

"How cocky," Prince Sefu sneers, "The fact he stayed longest with you doesn't mean anything other than how he might have long been bored with what you and your fiefdom have to offer."

"Tsk, better bored after two years than bored before even sleeping with each other."

"Why you-!"

"Oh, by the way, your little uncle has woken up." The Blue Lake emperor adds as a happy afterthought as he delightedly watches his sons bicker. His old face grinning like he couldn't get enough chaos in the world and was pleased to add more.

Immediately all the princes stopped and groaned in unison.

"I'm happy to see you're so enthusiastic about it," A melodic and youthful voice cheerfully calls out. Prince Tian Shun and Prince Drake jump in shock as their weird ageless uncle appears out of the shadows, his soft golden curls and sweet-looking face seemingly shining as the light kisses his skin.

"Fuck, how come every time I see him, he looks even younger?" Prince Guiren mutters to Prince Sefu. The other princes had similar ugly looks as they stare at the other's appearance that resembled a beautiful cherubic angel.

Prince Silas and Prince Kylan, the two youngest and newest princes, expressed their shock silently as they glanced between the young uncle and the Blue Lake Emperor.

Even if the Blue Lake Emperor still looks handsome for his age, it's undeniable he was reaching the end of middle age at best. But for this new uncle of theirs…

Well… it's hard to believe this human was in his mid-fifties.

Ah, genes were so cruel.

"So, is what you said true?" Prince* Rigel smiles widely, but the silver eye that wasn't hidden by his eyepatch was shining with bright and ambitious interest. "Anyone in the family who successfully seduces this little Hysonrella person will be deemed next in line for the throne?"

*I dunno, apparently the brother of the king in western royalty is called prince as well. That or Royal Duke. Is this even western setting? Most of these guys are chinese- anyway I'll keep prince for now _(:3」∠)_

The Blue Lake emperor nods, his own eyes curved up playfully with interest, "You know me brother, I won't go back on my word."

"Father, you can't be serious," Tian Shun immediately protests, "Uncle Rigel is not only narcoleptic but a fucking-"

*narcoleptic- a person affected by an extreme tendency to fall asleep

Prince Rigel turns and stares deeply at the young prince with a wide smile, "A fucking-?"

Tian Shun falls into silence before weakly changing his sentence, "A fucking… old man shota?"

Other Princes: '…' He's not wrong, but damn.

Prince Rigel: '…' When I become king, this little shit nephew is the first to go.

And so a lively night was definitely guaranteed at the ball.

....

...

Due to time, this little lazy author has decided to give you, the readers, the ability to vote for what you want for the smut!

A. You can choose one of your favourite gongs (Drake, Monroe, Li Guiren, Tian Shun, Sefu, Da Gong, Silas, Kylan, Rigel)

B. You can choose a combination of up to four people (e.g. Monroe + Tian Shun, Sefu + Da Gong + Drake, Kylan + Tian Shun + Silas + Monroe and so on)

C. Full-on orgy/ harem (for obvious reasons this will take longer ahahaha but hehehehe)

D. None of the above, let's bring in someone else instead (e.g. Mr Garth, the hot Chef from arc 1, the masochist Samotrelian Symon, one of the ghosts from arc 2 etc)

You can pick two of these options (e.g. I pick the Option C (GUYS I CHECKED YOU CANT WRITE ORGY WITHOUT BEING CENSORED SO JUST SAY HAREM CHOICE OR OPTION C PLS), and my second choice is a combo with Da Gong + Sefu)

You get to vote for two options on the WN chapter (just put your vote in the chapter comment~), then if you're a discord member you can vote again (with either same or different options) and if you donate to ko-fi you can put in another vote in the donation message ah~!

This author will announce the vote results in next chapter and then slowly work on it over time hehe

This is my trick or treat, treat~

Also thanks @silverwind for the fun prompt thingy <3