Chapter 56: My Subject Likes It Very Much

Nan Xueyin was almost pressed against Xiao Youlan, which made her entire body stiffen severely.

He had many things to do today and had not had time to bathe and change, still wearing the grey-blue round-collared robe from the daytime; the fabric of the robe was of high quality, not particularly dirty or messy, and had no foul odor, only stained with a bit of ink and tea fragrance, unexpectedly smelling quite pleasant, as if it were a scent that put one at ease.

Xiao Youlan's breathing was very shallow, and because they were close, it slowly puffed against the side of her ear, soft and gentle, carrying a somewhat indescribable tingling sensation.

Nan Xueyin could not remember when she had actually fallen asleep.

By the time she woke up with a start, it was already dawn.

Nan Xueyin realized belatedly that she and Xiao Youlan were still lying together.

She frowned and turned her head to look.

Xiao Youlan's sleeping posture was still very good, exactly the same as last night, not having moved even a fraction.

Nan Xueyin stared at his face, which was incredibly beautiful, yet inexplicably felt a bit annoyed, contemplating whether to push him off with a palm or kick him off with a foot.

Perhaps sensing her gaze, Xiao Youlan's thick eyelashes trembled slightly, and he slowly opened his eyes.

The rims of his eyes were still red, and his gaze lingered on Nan Xueyin's face for a long time.

Nan Xueyin had an unpleasant expression as she met his gaze.

After a long while, Xiao Youlan suddenly leaned in close and kissed the center of Nan Xueyin's brow.

Nan Xueyin felt the soft, warm touch; her pupils widened in surprise, and her first reaction was to quickly raise her hand and push Xiao Youlan away entirely with one palm.

The force of it was indescribable.

Xiao Youlan, an adult man, was pushed off the pear-blossom couch, landing at a distance from the edge of the couch.

He lay on the ground, his whole body aching severely, the most painful part being his chest where she had struck him with her palm; it hurt so much that Xiao Youlan broke out in cold sweat, and for a moment, he even suspected that his ribs had been broken.

Should one say it is worthy of her...

"Your Highness!"

This noise reached outside the door, startling Feihong, who for the moment could not care whether he might see something he shouldn't, and rushed into the room in a hurry.

Seeing Xiao Youlan sprawled on the ground, Feihong quickly ran over, "Your Highness, what happened to you? Are you alright?"

Xiao Youlan clutched his chest and sat up, saying, "I'm fine."

Looking at his appearance, Feihong did not think he looked fine at all.

But before he could press for more, Xiao Youlan had already ordered, "Go and bring the clothes I am to wear today."

Feihong wanted to say something but hesitated, and Xiao Youlan added, "Knock and report before coming in again; this is the rule."

Hearing this, Feihong lowered his head and tactfully retreated.

Xiao Youlan climbed up from the ground, gently brushed off his hem, and walked toward the pear-blossom couch.

Nan Xueyin sat there, her gaze falling on his chest, knowing she hadn't held back her strength just now and had struck very hard.

"You hit really hard; it hurts."

Xiao Youlan's tone was pitiful; he stood still in front of the pear-blossom couch, leaned down slightly, and stared at her without blinking, "Rub it for me."

As he spoke, he grabbed her hand to place it against his chest.

Nan Xueyin was stunned and, without a word, tried to pull her hand back.

Xiao Youlan, however, gripped her wrist tighter and lowered his voice, "Wu Zhui has left the Prince of Duan now; tell me, how many people are coveting the secrets he knows? And how many people hate him and want his head?"

Nan Xueyin's movement to pull back her hand stopped abruptly.

Following Xiao Youlan's force, her palm pressed against his chest.

"Rub it," Xiao Youlan said, releasing the hand he had been holding.

With things having reached this point, even without his coercion, Nan Xueyin could not pull her hand back.

She braced herself and rubbed her palm randomly against Xiao Youlan's chest a couple of times.

In truth, this was not what one would call rubbing, nor did it have any effect on relieving the pain, but Xiao Youlan was very pleased, the corners of his lips curling up, "It really is much better."

Nan Xueyin's earlobes burned.

"It's time to get up." Xiao Youlan squatted down to put her shoes on for her.

Nan Xueyin did not resist; her mind was entirely on the matter of Wu Zhui.

Over these years, in order to expand his power, Xiao Mingyu had offended and killed no small number of people, and those who ran errands and did things for him were his subordinates, such as Nan Xueyin, such as Wu Zhui.

Therefore, those who held grudges also included Nan Xueyin and Wu Zhui.

Nan Xueyin was slightly better off, as basically everyone who had seen her was dead.

But Wu Zhui was different; many people he had offended were still alive, and some were even powerful and influential.

If they knew Wu Zhui had left Xiao Mingyu's side, someone would definitely come looking for him.

While Nan Xueyin was deep in thought, Xiao Youlan had finished putting on her shoes and even went to the cabinet to fetch a dress to put on her.

Nan Xueyin hesitated for a moment, but in the end, she did not refuse.

Xiao Youlan dressed her carefully, his fingers very proper; he was not trying to take advantage of her, but truly just serving her.

Once dressed, he ordered Linglang to bring warm water and personally washed Nan Xueyin's face and hands.

Finally, he styled Nan Xueyin's hair.

The Crown Prince had never done anything of the sort; he had never even combed his own hair from childhood to adulthood, and the comb dropped several times while he was combing out Nan Xueyin's long hair.

He was not discouraged and continued to comb patiently.

Outside the door, Feihong gathered his courage to remind him, "Your Highness, it will be late for the morning court session..."

Xiao Youlan then put down the wooden comb, "I will let Linglang come."

He turned his face and instructed her, "I am going to the morning court in a moment; you wait for me. When I return, we will have breakfast together."

Nan Xueyin gave a casual "mm," thinking to herself that once the Crown Prince left, she would just eat breakfast first; who could stop her?

Xiao Youlan seemed able to see through her thoughts and smiled, "If you eat first, you will never hear news of Wu Zhui again."

Nan Xueyin was stunned.

Xiao Youlan stroked her face: "Be obedient and stay by my side. Whatever you want, I will give to you."

On the other side.

Xiao Youlan had been delayed a bit too long by Nan Xueyin's side, and by the time he arrived at the imperial court, he was indeed late.

But the Yongzheng Emperor did not show any dissatisfaction, merely speaking indifferently when the court was dismissed at the end: "Crown Prince, stay behind."

Xiao Youlan had originally intended to return for breakfast, but hearing this, he could only pause his steps and answer in the affirmative.

Once the court officials had all dispersed, the Yongzheng Emperor's expression turned cold and stern as he asked: "I heard you brought a woman back to the Eastern Palace?"

"Replying to Father Emperor, that is indeed the case."

"You like her?"

"This son likes her very much."

Xiao Youlan answered quickly and with a firm tone, which actually made the Yongzheng Emperor pause for a moment.

He stared at this son of his and said: "You have never been close to women in the past; now that you have a woman you like, this is not a bad thing."

He paused, his voice dropping a few degrees: "It is just that you must not forget you are the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace; romance must take a backseat. The state and the nation, responsibilities and rules, are what you should truly keep in your heart."

Xiao Youlan knew that his Father Emperor was quite dissatisfied with the series of things he had done recently.

He obediently lowered his head, "This son understands. This son will not commit such errors again in the future."

The Yongzheng Emperor nodded, "There is one more urgent matter."

"Father Emperor, please speak."

"Grand Tutor Zhong passed away in the palace yesterday. His dying request to you still rings in my ears. You personally promised to take care of his granddaughter, Zhong Yun. How is it that you turned around and forgot?"

Xiao Youlan did not understand the meaning behind this, "Master Zhong said that the Zhong family had been away from Fengdu for many years and no longer had a residence here, so this son kept the Zhong family girl in the palace and even sent people to serve her carefully. This son does not understand why Father Emperor would say this."

The Yongzheng Emperor snorted, "You did keep the Zhong family girl in the palace, but are you aware that Zhong Yun developed a high fever last night? If the Empress Dowager hadn't sent someone over this morning to have the Zhong family girl go to Baoci Palace for breakfast, we wouldn't even have known she was ill! If it had been a few hours later, I fear the little girl would have followed her grandfather!"