Chapter 1545: Regent Prince Dotes on Me Too Much—What Should I Do 14

Jin Chen had barely left Long Moon Pavilion when he keenly sensed the Heavenly Hidden Guard vanish; it seemed their purpose was indeed to monitor him, not Mu Zhongzheng.

Fortunately today he didn't let Mu Zhongzheng say anything about killing Xie Zhiwei; otherwise, given Xie Zhiwei's increasingly strange temperament, he might have prematurely triggered the conflict in the original plot.

Having eaten and drunk his fill, with the matter settled, Jin Chen was about to return to the Azure Splendor Palace to rest, but as he just crossed the brocade carp pond at the Imperial Garden's arched bridge, he heard a startled cry.

Jin Chen's steps halted.

"Who!" the guards behind him instantly drew their swords, shielding him from behind, "Who's in the Imperial Garden at this hour! You've frightened His Majesty! Come out quickly."

A young lord slowly rose from the bushes, his fine robes stained with dirt and grass, looking quite pitiable.

Upon hearing that the person before him was the Emperor, the young lord hurriedly knelt and paid his respects, though his legs seemed inconvenient.

"Whose son are you?" Jin Chen asked.

The young lord's face turned even paler, as if he were in too much pain to speak.

"Your Majesty," Gao Kun flicked his whisk and said, "This young lord appears to be the legitimate son of the Grand Tutor's family; he was brought into the palace last year during the banquet."

The young lord, supporting his frail body, knocked his head again, "Sir Eunuch's words are correct; I am Yu Huayao."

"This…" Gao Kun started, hastily scolding, "How can you refer to yourself as 'I' in front of His Majesty? Young lord, you lack manners!"

Consequently, Yu Huayao's face grew paler, looking as if he might breathe his last any second.

Jin Chen secretly felt something was off, "Forget it, Gao Kun, send a guard to escort him out of the palace."

Curiosity is how stories begin, but he had no leisure to ask how this person suddenly appeared in the Imperial Garden or how he got covered in injuries. The handsome prince has a sharp tongue.

Jin Chen's retreating back as he headed for the Azure Splendor Palace even seemed somewhat hurried.

Yu Huayao frowned dubiously, gave the escorting guard a faint smile, and left the palace gate.

——

Having just entered the Azure Splendor Palace, Jin Chen was mulling over how being a soft‑rice emperor still came with plenty of troubles, idly bickering with Ling Gun Gun about "If I'm emperor again, I won't let Ling Gun Gun go meet Bai Ze," when he suddenly sensed a faint breath in the inner hall.

Jin Chen's expression darkened, and he quickened his pace.

"Who is in my… little imperial uncle's?"

The inner hall's windows were not all shut; the summer night's warm wind blew in, only the loose black hair swaying gently. Hearing this, Xie Zhiwei, Youyou glanced sideways, the wine‑tinged depths of her eyes gradually kindling like candle‑flame brilliance.

"Your Majesty, you've finally returned."

Jin Chen raised his brows slightly.

How could I have the feeling of a favored consort being neglected?

Do you still remember your identity, Regent Prince Your Highness!

"I didn't know the little imperial uncle was waiting here; I and my older cousin chatted idly for a while."

Jin Chen walked toward him, only to notice that the palace maids and eunuchs attending the inner hall were all absent; after turning over several thoughts in his mind, Jin Chen sat beside Xie Zhiwei.

"Little imperial uncle, I have a slight headache," Jin Chen said softly, lowering his gaze to the open collar of Xie Zhiwei's robe flushed with drink, then shifting his eyes away, "You dismissed the palace maids—who will help me rub my temples?"

"I am willing to serve Your Majesty," Xie Zhiwei said, not knowing what he had thought of; the smile at the corner of his lips deepened. He sat up but did not leave the couch, merely kneeling and moving behind Jin Chen to gently press his acupressure points.

The loose black hair, stirred by the wind from the window behind, carried a dark, cool fragrance from Jin Chen's back—precisely the scent on Xie Zhiwei's body.

Jin Chen lightly inhaled a few breaths but could not identify the scent.

His headache was genuine, so he simply closed his eyes and slowly circulated his dantian's spiritual power; besides, Xie Zhiwei wouldn't notice anything.

Jin Chen had no particular thoughts, but Xie Zhiwei, who was pressing his acupressure points from behind, certainly did.

Just before Jin Chen returned, the amount of time it takes to burn an incense stick, the Hidden Guard had already told him everything that had happened at Long Moon Pavilion.

His Majesty loves male beauty……

Xie Zhiwei's downcast phoenix eyes were full of gloom; over the past month and a half, the scene of that night he kept replaying in his mind kept returning, and though he couldn't say why, he couldn't dispel it.

Clearly, just a few months earlier, Xie Zhiwei had merely regarded this little emperor as a means to prolong his life, often too lazy even to give him face.

But since……

Since when, exactly, had it begun? Xie Zhiwei had pondered long and hard; perhaps it started on the eve of the royal hunt, when the little emperor became completely different.

The summer night's heat and the scorching alcohol vapors intertwined, as if a surging tide boiled in his heart; Xie Zhiwei even thought this was fine—if they parted, neither could survive.

Thinking of this, the fingers threading through his hair grew even gentler.

Feeling wave after wave of cold air at his back, Jin Chen: "……"

No joke, I think the handsome prince is a poisonous snake in disguise.

He reached back, intending to pull Xie Zhiwei's hand down, but didn't notice Xie Zhiwei was kneeling and offering no resistance; the tug dragged him straight into Jin Chen's embrace.

Xie Zhiwei also blinked in a daze, lifting his trembling lashes to look at Jin Chen; as he fell, his robe slipped completely off, sliding down to stop below his shoulder.

"Your Majesty, you……"

Jin Chen glanced at the person in his arms, suppressed a smile, and gave a light cough.

"Actually……"

"I did it by accident; do you believe me?"

"I didn't mean to," Jin Chen said, straightening his robe and pressing his lips as if embarrassed, "Little imperial uncle, please rise quickly."

The faint spark that had just risen in Xie Zhiwei's heart was snuffed out just like that.

His slender fingers, gripping the corner of Jin Chen's waist‑robe, gradually tightened; his downcast phoenix eyes carried the damp chill of a plum‑rain season, his reason teetering on the brink of collapse.

Yet each time a different thought began to rise, he could hear Jin Chen repeatedly calling "imperial uncle."

Blast it, imperial uncle—he isn't even of the Jin surname; he's merely someone who crawled out of a demonic abyss to seize supreme power.

Had I known this would come to pass, I would never have let the fourteen‑year‑old Jin Chen follow at my heels and cry out "imperial uncle."

"Little imperial uncle," Jin Chen, unable to guess what he was thinking, called again in a worried tone, "Are you not feeling well?"

Xie Zhiwei paused, then lifted his gaze to Jin Chen; his phoenix eyes seemed to brim with the summer night's heavy heat, his gaze turning scorching red, mingling with the cool, secluded fragrance that wrapped around the Jin Chen holding him.

"I… drank too much wine at the banquet and cannot hold my liquor."

"So you were drunk," Jin Chen realized, overlooking the clarity in Xie Zhiwei's eyes, and a wicked thought arose.

"Then I'll have the imperial physician……" "No."

Xie Zhiwei almost hurriedly cut off Jin Chen's words; he himself wasn't quite sure what he wanted, so he just thought it was because he was drunk, and slowly put his arms around Jin Chen's neck.

Unlike any previous embrace, Xie Zhiwei could no longer see Jin Chen as the little emperor in his memory who only knew how to numbly weep.

Even in his heart he thought, he is not the little emperor; he is simply Jin Chen.

"Your Majesty…" Xie Zhiwei's voice trembled, dazed, as if he were really drunk, and he rubbed against him again, all sticky.

"I feel terrible, don't move."

"Is that so?"

Jin Chen gently lifted that overly delicate chin, carefully examining Xie Zhiwei's brows and eyes, then lowered his head to get closer, saying, "Alright, then I'll stay here with you."

Too close.

Xie Zhiwei's breath unconsciously tightened; the breath falling between his neck mixed with the agarwood steamed out by the warmth, making his face flush.

He buried himself in Jin Chen's embrace, his warm cheek rubbing against the neck, then closed his eyes.

【Detected Villain Heartthrob Value +10, total 50!】

After about a quarter of an hour, Jin Chen asked again if he felt better; Xie Zhiwei's mind was too tumultuous, so he really couldn't tell what he wanted at the moment, and thus hastily took his leave.

【Host, this isn't like your style.】 Ling Gun Gun had already prepared to lock himself in the small black room.

【He hasn't figured it out yet; he just urgently wants to control me.】

That won't do.

Things that are too easy to control cannot be unforgettable, especially for someone like Xie Zhiwei, who is naturally ruthless and indifferent.

Jin Chen leisurely picked up the cup that Xie Zhiwei had just drunk from, smiled, and tilted his head back to drink.