Chapter 378: 378 Night and Lamplight

"You protect my dad, my mom, and my sister when I'm awake during the day, but when you're sleepy at night, you come protect me?"

"Sounds like no big problem, but you're so tired you just fall right asleep—so between the two of us, who's protecting whom?"

After hearing Hearing Li Ang's words, the freckled prince stared blankly for a full ten seconds before barely sorting out the logic, then couldn't help but snap angrily:

"Damned bastard! I'm going to the Bureau of Cleansing to file a complaint against you!"

"Mm-hmm."

Having trailed the princess for an entire day as well, Hearing Li Ang no longer had the energy to pay him any attention. He sleepily closed his eyes and replied in a thoroughly perfunctory tone:

"Go ahead, file it. But the Head Office has been pretty busy lately, so the processing might be slow—they might even just bounce the complaint back and tell our branch office to handle it ourselves."

"Our bureau chief is busy lately too, so when the time comes it'll probably still be me handling your problem for you. So if you can accept that, then file away—I'll take whatever you throw at me."

"……"

I file a complaint against you, and then my complaint ends up being handled by you? Then what's the damn point of filing?!

So furious at Hearing Li Ang's reply that his face turned green, the freckled prince instinctively wanted to make a move. But the bastard in front of him was nothing like anyone he'd ever dealt with before—if pushed too far, he really would dare to lay hands on him and slap him hard across the face.

"This isn't fair!"

Thinking back on the beatings he'd taken before, Watching Watching Qiaoshuya barely managed to swallow his anger, stamped his foot twice, and shouted furiously:

"I'm the prince! Why should you protect Veronica when you're awake, and only come protect me when you're too sleepy to stand? What if something dangerous happens at night? What if something happens to me?"

Hm? He's actually learned to try arguing with reason?

Somewhat surprised, he opened his eyes and looked at the freckled prince "arguing his case" before him. Hearing Li Ang pondered for a moment, then said with a rather odd expression:

"Sure, if you want to swap, we can. But mine is close-quarters protection.

"You and your uncle the Finance Minister have been actively reaching out to the old nobility these past two days, and repeatedly negotiating terms with the Lower House, trying to get them to cooperate with you in taking down the princess, right? If you have me follow you during the day, aren't you afraid I'll leak the information?"

"……"

Put that way, it really does seem a bit inappropriate… wait!

"How do you know who I've been negotiating with?"

"Saw it on your sister's desk, duh… Also, you don't really think that's still a secret, do you?"

Glancing at the freckled prince, who had gone pale with shock, Hearing Li Ang curled his lip contemptuously and said:

"The old nobility were never of one mind to begin with, and a place like the Lower House is full of loose lips—it's leaky as a sieve. There's no way you could keep it secret. The news that you've been courting them was already in the papers last Wednesday, got it?"

"……"

……

To be fair, you're really trash…

Looking at Watching Watching Qiaoshuya, who had been roasted into speechlessness, Hearing Li Ang couldn't help but give a small shake of his head.

Although uniting the old nobility and cozying up to the Lower House was an open stratagem—as long as the princess still wanted to carve flesh off the old nobility and the great merchants, she couldn't stop you lot from banding together, so it wasn't something to be afraid of people knowing.

But something that should have been kept as quiet as possible, you lot managed to turn into the talk of the whole town—truly unparalleled. Even when you went to pay visits, you wouldn't even bother switching out the carriage you rode in. Who could you possibly fool?

At your level, if you could outmaneuver the princess, that would be a sight!

"Any more questions?"

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Too lazy to deal with Watching Watching Qiaoshuya, whose face was cycling between green and red, Hearing Li Ang—who had spent the whole day doing close-protection work and had nearly been kept behind by the princess to "attend her in bed"—yawned hugely once more.

"If there are no problems, then sleep. Tomorrow your sister has to be up a little past five to fight the Finance Minister over the candidate for the new Tax Secretary. I'm planning to go take a look too…"

"Wait!"

Seeing that Hearing Li Ang had pulled the thin blanket over himself and seemed ready to end the conversation, the freckled prince couldn't help but stamp his foot again and angrily stopped him:

"Get out! I don't need your protection! What right do you have to sleep here? Get up! Get out to the servants' quarters outside! Otherwise I…"

"Have I been too polite to you?"

Seeing that after all his explanations Watching Watching Qiaoshuya was still trying to pick a fight, Hearing Li Ang—who'd been under a bit of work pressure lately—flung the blanket aside and sat up, rolled up his right sleeve, then narrowed his eyes and said:

"I'll give you two choices. First: you go back to sleep right now and sleep straight through till tomorrow morning. Second: I put in the effort to beat you up so you stay unconscious till tomorrow morning… pick one yourself!"

Same old trick again!

Realizing Hearing Li Ang seemed ready to make a move, the freckled prince hastily retreated half a step, then argued with a stiff upper lip:

"You… you're brutal! You're barbaric! Resorting to force is the worst choice! A true superior should…"

"A true superior is the one with the bigger fist."

Raising his right hand, held flat like a palm, and scaring Watching Watching Qiaoshuya into retreating another half step, Hearing Li Ang lay back down,

"Besides, a choice that works is the right choice—who needs you telling me whether I'm barbaric or not? Just go to sleep!"

"……"

Just you wait!

The freckled prince stood in front of the sofa panting heavily for a while. Considering the huge gap in strength between them, in the end he still didn't dare make a move.

And when Hearing Li Ang had already closed his eyes and his breathing had gradually lengthened, looking as if he was about to fall asleep, the prince could only let out an angry snort, then stamped heavily on the carpet, trudging step by heavy step back to his own bed.

I'll let you sleep! I'll shake the life out of you!

And you! You've only got a few more days to act so arrogant!

Once I take down Veronica and take my father's place as the new king, I'll definitely put up a sign at the palace gate: Hearing Li Ang and dogs are not admitted! Then I'll issue a decree that anyone who beats up the king without cause will be hanged!

Having failed to drive him out, Watching Watching Qiaoshuya threw himself in a flying leap onto his own bed with a heavy thud, then began violently shaking the blanket, producing a string of thwapping sounds.

After fussing for quite a while, he heard the sound of Hearing Li Ang turning over and an unhappy mumble from his direction. Satisfied that he had successfully gotten his revenge, Watching Watching Qiaoshuya, under the sway of drowsiness, drifted into dreamland with a faint sense of satisfaction.

……

"About time."

Not long after the freckled prince closed his eyes, on a clock tower on the west side of the palace, about three streets away, an aged voice rang out.

Gazing at the capital before him, which had sunk into a quiet darkness where even the street lamps had been extinguished, the old investigator, sitting cross-legged atop the tower, said with a calm expression:

"Aside from Blood Hair Princess and that Li Ang, everyone from the Maiden Branch Bureau has already left the capital, and those two have also fallen asleep... Nicole, it's time for you to get to work."

"Okay..."

Following a slightly hesitant reply, a faint light appeared behind the old investigator, and the female reporter who had vanished after stealing the wallet stepped out carrying a small lantern whose glow was very warm.

After casting a somewhat hesitant glance at the old investigator, the female reporter pressed her lips together and gently shook the delicate glass lantern in her hand.

And with her careful movement, the capital—most of which had been hidden in darkness—also flickered slightly along with the lantern's flame, and then suddenly blazed with brilliant radiance: a blazing sun replaced the original moon, hanging high in the center of the sky.