Chapter 120: The Virtuous Crown Prince

Xiao Youlan is not Nan Xueyin; his body cannot heal rapidly when injured, and if he were to continue kissing, there is no telling when the swelling would subside.

Xiao Youlan paused after hearing this, his voice low but very earnest, "But I want to."

Nan Xueyin, however, was not swayed, "Wanting to is not allowed."

As she spoke, she let go of him and sat up on the couch, "I'm hungry, I want to eat."

She had slept all afternoon and hadn't eaten dinner, so naturally, she was hungry.

Nan Xueyin got off the bed; her hair was a bit messy, so she tidied it up casually.

"At this hour, the Eastern Palace's small kitchen has already closed, there is no hot food." Xiao Youlan was unhurried as he also sat up.

Nan Xueyin was unconcerned, "I can make it myself."

Xiao Youlan was a bit surprised, "You know how to cook? What can you make?"

Nan Xueyin spread her hands, "Add some water, add some noodles, isn't that enough?"

In the past, when she finished a mission in the middle of the night and returned to the Duan Prince Mansion, the cooks and kitchen maids would have already gone to bed; not wanting to wake them, she would just make something herself, and what she ate most often was this kind of boiled noodle soup.

Although it tasted bad, it could fill her stomach.

In all her years as an Assassin, Nan Xueyin had always felt that being full was the most important thing.

Xiao Youlan said nothing; he sat up and got off the couch.

Nan Xueyin tilted her head, "What's wrong, do you want to eat too?"

"I'll make it for you." Xiao Youlan's expression was exceptionally earnest.

Nan Xueyin was taken aback and asked, "You know how to cook?"

"I do."

Nan Xueyin had assumed the Crown Prince was the type who never lifted a finger, so she was truly very astonished that he could actually cook.

In the Eastern Palace's small kitchen, everyone had indeed already retired, and there wasn't a single candle lit, save for the faint light cast by the moonlight.

Xiao Youlan hadn't brought anyone with him, but he didn't mind doing it himself, naturally using the moonlight to light the candles on the stove.

But he had done this sort of thing too rarely, so he lit the candles clumsily.

While he was fussing with the lamp on the stove, Nan Xueyin had already circled the small kitchen and lit all the remaining candles.

By the time Xiao Youlan had painstakingly lit that one lamp, the entire small kitchen was already bright.

And Nan Xueyin stood under the candlelight, just woken from sleep, the laziness still lingering in her eyes and brows, her hair slightly disheveled; because she had lit the lamps much faster than him, she was clearly feeling quite pleased with herself, and she looked over at him with raised eyebrows as if to provoke him.

Xiao Youlan suddenly laughed, "So smug, are you?"

He then asked softly, "What do you want to eat?"

Nan Xueyin was concise, "Something delicious."

Xiao Youlan was intrigued, "Then let's have boiled dough flakes. The last time we went to the gambling den to rescue Wu Zhui, we ate boiled dough flakes. Remember? You liked them a lot back then."

Nan Xueyin paused, "You know how to make that?"

"I didn't before, but seeing how much you liked them, I taught myself later."

Nan Xueyin felt a warmth in her heart, yet she remained stubborn, "What you make probably isn't as good as what they have at the shop."

Xiao Youlan then laughed, "How is it that I remember someone not caring whether the food was good or not? Originally, you only wanted to eat plain boiled noodles."

"..."

Nan Xueyin felt guilty, cleared her throat, and changed the subject, saying, "Do you need help?"

"No need," Xiao Youlan's voice was gentle, "You sit on the side and wait, it will be ready in a moment."

Nan Xueyin then sat on a small stool, looking at the moonlight outside the window, then at Xiao Youlan in front of the stove.

Watching the noble Crown Prince roll up his sleeves, knead dough, chop vegetables, and tend the fire, she truly felt a sense of unreality.

Inexplicably, an image surfaced in Nan Xueyin's mind: the Crown Prince holding a child, coaxing it, patting its little back, and humming a lullaby.

A peaceful time.

Nan Xueyin could only think of these four characters to describe it.

She suddenly felt ashamed; she wasn't even married yet, and she was already thinking about having children!

Absurd!

Bizarre!

She suspected the Eastern Palace had cast some kind of bewitching spell on her!

Nan Xueyin frowned fiercely, casting both Xiao Youlan and the child out of her mind, and turned her head to look out the window; this was truly the first time she felt the moonlight was so beautiful.

Before long, a fragrance wafted through the kitchen.

One whiff and you knew it was noodle-based, fresh and savory.

"It's ready."

Xiao Youlan said, bringing over a bowl.

The fragrance before Nan Xueyin's nose became even more intense.

There was a small table to the side; Xiao Youlan set down the bowl, then placed a spoon and a pair of chopsticks, "Eat."

Only then did Nan Xueyin withdraw her gaze from the night sky and let it fall upon the bowl.

The broth was clear, the dough flakes were uniform in size, and a handful of chopped green onions had been sprinkled on top.

It looked more refined than what was served at a noodle shop, and it was even more appetizing.

Nan Xueyin feigned composure as she picked up the chopsticks and lifted a dough flake to her mouth.

"Careful, it's hot."

Xiao Youlan reminded her.

Nan Xueyin didn't even look up as she bit into the dough flake.

The dough flake was chewy and perfectly flavorful.

I have to admit, it tastes much better than the one at the noodle shop.

Nan Xueyin polished off the bowl in almost no time at all.

"Is it that good?" Xiao Youlan watched her, his tone filled with a smile.

Nan Xueyin looked up at him; normally, according to her usual style, she would definitely choose to deny it, but for some reason—perhaps because Xiao Youlan's virtuous appearance just now had shocked her a little—she actually nodded and said, "It's good."

She even added, "Better than the one at the noodle shop."

Xiao Youlan was slightly stunned; he had not expected to receive her approval.

His heart softened, and he leaned in to kiss the corner of her mouth.

His brows and eyes were full of gentle smiles, "Then, shall you have another bowl?"

Nan Xueyin gave a hum of agreement.

She ate three bowls in a row.

In fact, she still wanted to eat a fourth bowl; if nothing went wrong, she could have finished it.

But before Nan Xueyin could speak, she suddenly caught the look of surprise in Xiao Youlan's eyes, and because of this, she had a change of heart, thinking that for a woman of her age, eating one whole bowl was already quite impressive, so if she really ate three whole bowls, wouldn't that be a bit too unrefined?

Therefore, when Xiao Youlan asked, "Would you like another bowl?"

Nan Xueyin shook her head, set down her bowl and chopsticks, and wiped the corner of her mouth.

"Shall we go for a walk together?" Xiao Youlan asked.

Nan Xueyin nodded.

Today is the middle of the month, and the moonlight in the sky is bright and clear.

Nan Xueyin and Xiao Youlan walked slowly, not in a hurry to return to their room to rest.

After walking two steps, Nan Xueyin began to regret it; she realized she really wasn't full, and she should have just steeled her heart and eaten that fourth bowl—why did she care about her image in Xiao Youlan's mind?

At this moment, Xiao Youlan spoke slowly, asking, "You said you wanted to see Xiao Mingyu?"

Nan Xueyin looked up half a beat late.

In the night, Xiao Youlan's brow ridge blocked a little of the moonlight, and his deep eyes were shrouded in shadow; she could not see the expression in his eyes clearly.

She only heard him say, unhurriedly, "Three days from now, Xiao Mingyu will be betrothed to the Yan Family, and I will be going too. At that time, I will go with you."