Chapter 110: My Silly Self

Nan Xueyin managed to muster a bit of interest and asked, "What is it?"

Shu Yu gave a cheeky grin, "Wait for me here! Just for a moment! Don't you dare walk away!"

Saying this, he turned and left.

Nan Xueyin actually waited right where she was.

Before long, Shu Yu returned, cradling something.

He walked up to her and opened his hand; it was a small bamboo-woven cage, meticulously crafted from fine, soft bamboo strips with holes neither too large nor too small. Looking through the gaps, one could see all sorts of insects.

Cockroaches, centipedes...

"This is what I promised to find for you. As soon as I finished my urgent business, I rushed to get it," Shu Yu said, looking immensely pleased with himself. "Well? Touched, aren't you?"

Nan Xueyin gave a hum and took it.

The small cage had gaps, and her palm brushed against the long, slender antennae of a cockroach.

"But, are you really going to scare the Crown Prince?" Shu Yu asked.

"It's not scaring him," Nan Xueyin said, stubborn. "It's to help him build up his courage."

"Oh, oh, oh, right, right, right, build up his courage."

Shu Yu gave her an approving look, "Then go ahead, I support you!"

Nan Xueyin nodded and started to walk inside.

"However," Shu Yu remembered something, "if you're going to scare the Crown Prince, know when to stop. Don't scare him too badly."

Nan Xueyin paused in her steps, "Why?"

Shu Yu did not hide anything from her and said, "The Crown Prince's fear of cockroaches and such didn't actually start when he was a child. He was named Crown Prince the moment he was born and received the Emperor's unique favor and instruction, so the other princes were more or less jealous of him. Sometimes the Empress Dowager would have disagreements with the Emperor, and the princes, being young, would often take those opportunities to deliberately tease the Crown Prince. The worst time was when the Jing Prince put a very large cockroach inside the Crown Prince's book. When the Crown Prince opened the book before bed, the cockroach flew right onto his face..."

Nan Xueyin stared, silent.

"After that, the Crown Prince was left with a shadow over his heart regarding cockroaches and similar insects. Later, the Crown Prince raised a cat, also because of this, since cats are agile and catch insects. But that cat was pitiful, too; it was drowned by the Duan Prince..."

Shu Yu spoke lightly about the matter regarding the cat, keeping the focus on the cockroaches, and told Nan Xueyin earnestly, "So, you must gauge the degree of it well, and don't scare the Crown Prince again. He doesn't actually want to be like this."

Nan Xueyin felt a strange emotion, gave a hum, and said, "I know."

She weighed the bamboo cage in her hand and walked inside.

She ran into Linglang, who said, familiar with the routine, "The Crown Prince is in the study!"

Nan Xueyin:...

She didn't seem to have asked yet.

What if she was simply going back to her own room?

"No officials from the court came today, and that Jiang Lian'er and her father have both been sent away. There is only the Crown Prince alone in the study."

Nan Xueyin:...

It was as if she were going to do something to the Crown Prince.

Nan Xueyin took a deep breath, "Why do you say these things the moment you see me? I don't care that much about the Crown Prince."

Linglang blinked her eyes, "Then... what are you going to do, Miss?"

Nan Xueyin gritted her teeth, "I... I am going to find the Crown Prince."

Linglang couldn't help but curl the corners of her lips.

Nan Xueyin suddenly felt a wave of embarrassment, refused to look at her again, and strode toward the study.

There was no one outside the door.

Nan Xueyin stepped inside and caught sight of Xiao Youlan at the desk.

His complexion was still poor, and hearing the movement, he raised his head.

His expression had been indifferent, but the moment he saw Nan Xueyin, a gentle smile appeared in an instant, "You're back."

Nan Xueyin kept one hand behind her back and gave a lukewarm hum.

"Why are you standing at the door instead of coming in?" Xiao Youlan asked.

"Is your injury any better?" Nan Xueyin asked, ignoring his question.

She slowly weighed the small cage in her hand, feeling hesitant inside.

"It still hurts." Xiao Youlan's tone was noticeably weak.

"Jiang Lian'er stabbed you; will you not punish her?" Nan Xueyin asked again.

"There is a reason for it," Xiao Youlan said. "If she had intended to cause harm, I would naturally have to punish her. But she did it for her own father. I find it hard to be heartless. Sometimes, I only feel that the people of the world all suffer, and as the Crown Prince, the things I have done are truly too few. It is my fault that they have fallen into such desperate straits."

Nan Xueyin's heart suddenly softened.

The powerful officials she had met in the past would only say: The commoners are poor, hungry, and dying—what does that have to do with me? I have already done enough! It is all the fault of those unruly people themselves, who are both stupid and lazy!

This was the first time she had heard someone in a high and powerful position say it was his own fault.

"Little Snow, you are in a bad mood."

Xiao Youlan gazed at her and quickly noticed that something was wrong.

Nan Xueyin looked at him expressionlessly.

Xiao Youlan pondered briefly and guessed, "Did you run into Xiao Mingyu?"

Nan Xueyin was stunned for a moment.

Was the Crown Prince... too smart?

"Firstly, it is common knowledge that Xiao Mingyu covets my position as the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace. Since I was attacked at the Empress Dowager's birthday banquet, he must be suspicious, and he would take any opportunity to go and probe the envoys of the Loulan Kingdom. Secondly," Xiao Youlan paused, his tone revealing a hint of helplessness, "he seems to always make you unhappy."

Nan Xueyin was stunned again.

She hadn't realized this point herself.

"Perhaps it is because you still like him, or perhaps it is because some of the things he has done or said are disappointing, but..."

Xiao Youlan looked at her with a smile in his eyes, "If you are truly that unhappy, would you like to bite me? I remember that whenever I made you angry before, you would always bite me, and then you would feel better."

Nan Xueyin's heart softened once again.

She finally made up her mind, tossed aside the small bamboo woven cage in her hand, and huffed, "I don't want to."

She bit him, though it was unclear who was actually enjoying it.

Stepping inside, Nan Xueyin emphasized, "I am not unhappy."

Xiao Youlan played along, saying, "It was my mistake."

Lowering his voice, he added, "I am being silly."

Hearing this, Nan Xueyin couldn't help but take a few more looks at him.

Not silly, but manipulative.

"So, you came to find me the moment you returned—is it because you missed me?"

"No," Nan Xueyin denied without a second thought, "I need to go see Wu Zhui again this afternoon."

"Didn't you already see him once today?"

Nan Xueyin gave a forced smile: "I can't be bothered to expose you."

Xiao Youlan couldn't help but chuckle, "Alright then."

In truth, he had felt somewhat uneasy about granting Nan Xueyin special permission to go out today.

He worried she might flee; although he still held Wu Zhui in his grasp, he would never actually kill Wu Zhui, because once Wu Zhui died in the Eastern Palace, it would mean there was no longer any possibility between him and Nan Xueyin.

Of course, Xiao Youlan had left a contingency plan; Nan Xueyin might be able to escape a certain distance, but she would be caught and brought back before she could even leave the city.

But...

He naturally hoped even more that she would return of her own accord.

Fortunately, she had returned.

After returning, she immediately came to find him and even asked how his wounds were.

How was this not a form of caring?

Xiao Youlan curled his lips, feeling secretly pleased, but given his nature, he was certainly the type to want it all at a time like this.

Thus, he nodded, "I can let you go see Wu Zhui; this time, I grant you permission to meet and talk."

He then gazed at her with deep eyes, "However, my wounds hurt. I want you to help me apply the medicine."