Chapter 54: Brother Youlan Promised to Take Care of Me

Nan Xueyin's mind was in chaos; for a moment, she did not know how to respond.

Xiao Youlan held her wrist with one hand, while his other hand lifted to stroke her cheek, tucking the stray locks of hair disheveled by the fighting and rushing behind her ear.

His movements were extremely gentle, his voice low, "Why do you always think of leaving my side? Am I not good enough to you?"

For some reason, Nan Xueyin felt that the Xiao Youlan before her right now was a little different from the Xiao Youlan she had known and seen in the past.

Clearly, his appearance was the same, but the feeling was different.

Where exactly had something gone wrong?

"Do you not like that manor?" Xiao Youlan asked suddenly.

His fingers rubbed her wrist twice, his tone soft, "Then let us return to the Eastern Palace, how about that?"

Nan Xueyin's gaze shifted behind Xiao Youlan, where there were nothing but Eastern Palace personal guards.

She knew she could not escape tonight, so she caught her breath and said, "Back to the manor."

Xiao Youlan stared at her for a long time, smiled slightly, and said, "Very well, then we shall go to the Eastern Palace."

Nan Xueyin:?

Without allowing for argument, Xiao Youlan scooped her up horizontally from the ground.

This posture made Nan Xueyin feel incomparably ashamed; she struggled a little, "Put me down!"

Xiao Youlan walked steadily forward, "You are injured."

"It does not hinder my walking." As she said this, Nan Xueyin began to struggle again.

Xiao Youlan then stopped his steps, his expression helpless, "I am merely carrying you to the carriage; if you keep moving like this, I will have no choice but to stand here and wait for you to calm down."

The position he was in at this moment was directly in front of all the personal guards.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Nan Xueyin could only endure the humiliation and restrain her struggles.

Seeing that she had stopped making a scene, Xiao Youlan smiled, "That is better."

Having said that, he continued to carry Nan Xueyin toward the carriage.

Once in the carriage, Xiao Youlan gently set Nan Xueyin down, lowered his eyes to examine the injuries on her body, and frowned, "Your wounds are healing very slowly now."

Nan Xueyin did not speak.

"It does not matter; from now on, you are in the Eastern Palace, and I will not let you get hurt." Xiao Youlan said, sitting down beside her.

Nan Xueyin still did not speak.

But what she could be certain of was that she would not stay in the Eastern Palace forever.

The carriage began to move, and neither of them spoke again.

Along the way, although it was a bit slow, the knife wounds on Nan Xueyin's body had all slowly healed.

"The room has already been cleared out for you; it is the one right next to my bedchamber. The things you left in the room before—the jewelry, the dresses—have all been moved over and put away."

Xiao Youlan spoke in a low voice, though his voice grew lighter and lighter, until it was almost impossible to hear at the end.

Nan Xueyin was just about to turn her head to see what was wrong with him when she felt her shoulder sink, and she heard the sound of steady, long breaths in her ear.

Xiao Youlan had actually fallen asleep leaning on her shoulder.

Nan Xueyin was truly stunned for a moment.

The carriage had already arrived at the Eastern Palace, and the people below noticed that there had been no movement for a long time; they looked at each other, feeling strange, yet they dared not ask casually.

In the end, it was Shu Yu, who was guarding the Eastern Palace and was close enough to the Crown Prince to share a pair of trousers, who had relatively more courage; he stepped forward and said, "Your Highness the Crown Prince, it is time to come down."

Nan Xueyin glanced at the man sleeping soundly beside her and replied to the outside, "He is asleep."

She used her own voice, not that of Doukou.

Shu Yu was stunned for a moment, "Who are you?"

Nan Xueyin did not answer this question, only saying, "Call a few people to get the Crown Prince down."

Leaning on her was making her shoulder tired.

Since it concerned the Crown Prince, Shu Yu did not pursue the question of who she was any further and quickly arranged for two personal guards to carefully help Xiao Youlan down from the carriage.

He was still sleeping quietly, as if he had been exhausted for a long time and could finally sleep with peace of mind.

The personal guards escorted the Crown Prince into the Eastern Palace; Shu Yu had just heard the report from the guards who had gone out with the Crown Prince about what happened tonight and learned that this woman had been brought back by the Crown Prince himself and was to be kept in the Eastern Palace, so his expression was complex as he looked her up and down.

Nan Xueyin roughly understood that Xiao Youlan had not told Shu Yu much about her affairs.

"Did His Highness say where you are staying?" Shu Yu asked.

"It is said to be the room next to his bedchamber, the one that was just tidied up." Nan Xueyin answered.

Shu Yu nodded, "Then come inside with me."

Nan Xueyin followed.

As she walked inside, Nan Xueyin thought that, in truth, the time she had spent in the Eastern Palace could not be considered long; she did not know why, but after not returning for a few days, she now felt a sense of familiarity, as if meeting an old friend after a long separation.

However, this feeling did not last long; as they neared the Crown Prince's bedchamber, Nan Xueyin heard a woman's voice choked with sobs: "Is Brother Youlan really just asleep? Is he alright?"

Nan Xueyin saw Zhong Yun; her eyes were still red, and the tear tracks on her cheeks had not yet dried.

The personal guards had just finished settling Xiao Youlan in the room and come out; Zhong Yun was worried and kept asking this and that.

The personal guards answered one by one with good temper, and only then was Zhong Yun willing to be at ease, patting her chest lightly, "It is good that he is alright, it is good that he is alright."

She noticed Shu Yu and immediately raised a tearful smile, hurrying over two steps, "Brother Shu!"

Nan Xueyin had not expected that she was also quite familiar with Shu Yu.

"Is something the matter?" Shu Yu asked, his attitude polite.

"Have you heard? My grandfather passed away today." As she spoke, Zhong Yun's voice choked up again.

Shu Yu nodded, "I heard."

He was straightforward and could not help but say, "I really do not mean to be rude, but your grandfather is of such an advanced age and his health is poor; why did you insist on him running all the way to Fengdu? How could his constitution withstand such a long and arduous journey?"

Zhong Yun's expression changed slightly, and she pursed her lips as tears fell in torrents: "Why does everyone say it was me who made Grandfather come? It was Grandfather who was worried about me; he wanted to come himself."

Sniffling, she added, "What I want to say is, before my grandfather passed away, he entrusted me to Brother Youlan. Brother Youlan promised my grandfather that he would take good care of me."

Shu Yu nodded as he listened; he knew the Crown Prince was a man who respected his teachers and followed the Dao.

After hearing this, he asked, "And then?"

"And then," Zhong Yun looked at him, "since Brother Youlan is to take care of me, I naturally have to come stay at the Eastern Palace. Just now, I intended to ask Brother Youlan which room I should sleep in, but Brother Youlan fell asleep. I am not familiar with the Eastern Palace; Brother Shu, you arrange it for me."

Shu Yu shrugged, "I wouldn't know about that; I don't live in the Eastern Palace either, and I'm not familiar with this place."

Zhong Yun choked for a moment, her gaze falling onto Nan Xueyin.

She was born too beautiful; Zhong Yun had noticed it just now but had deliberately pretended not to see. Looking closely now, she was indeed beautiful in an overly flamboyant and intense way.

A flash of jealousy and hatred uncontrollably swept through the depths of Zhong Yun's eyes, but she managed to suppress it and asked, "Brother Shu, do you know who she is?"

Shu Yu told her exactly what he knew, "I don't know who she is, but His Highness the Crown Prince brought her back and said to arrange for her to stay in the Eastern Palace; the room was prepared long ago."

Upon hearing there was a room, Zhong Yun's eyes suddenly lit up, "What room?"

Shu Yu raised his hand and pointed, "This one."

Zhong Yun took a look; this was right next door to the Crown Prince's room! Such a prime location.

She glanced at Nan Xueyin, then looked at Shu Yu, "Is this room really prepared for her, and not for me?"

Shu Yu found it strange, "What kind of nonsense are you spouting?"

Zhong Yun, however, had an expression of taking it for granted, "I said just now, Brother Youlan promised he would take care of me and let me live in the Eastern Palace with him, so the room next to his should naturally be for me to live in."