Chapter 0138: Lord Shen Overthinks, Lord Shen Gets Provoked
Hearing Shen Yuan’s voice, Su Qinghe turned around in surprise. “Brother Shen?”
Right, he remembered now—Old Gu had mentioned Shen Yuan was also in Liaozhou. He just assumed Brother Shen would be handling affairs at the prefectural office and never expected both him and His Highness to be in this small county magistrate’s residence.
Seeing Shen Yuan naturally brought Su Qinghe joy. He smiled and explained, “I answered a summons to assist Old Gu with matters in Liaozhou.”
“Whose summons?” Shen Yuan relaxed his furrowed brow and walked over with a natural expression, appearing completely unbothered.
“His Highness’s, I suppose,” Su Qinghe thought for a moment. “His Highness wanted to eat pastries I made.”
Hah.
A faint, almost imperceptible cold smile tugged at Shen Yuan’s lips. It seemed someone knew how to indulge—calling someone all this way just for a bite of pastry.
Or perhaps it wasn’t just about the pastry.
His gaze fell on the food box in Su Qinghe’s hand. “There aren’t many ingredients in the magistrate’s residence,” he remarked casually. “What did you use to make them?”
“I guessed there might not be ingredients here, so I bought some on the way,” Su Qinghe answered honestly. His eyes drifted to Shen Yuan’s chest, catching a faint scent of fried oil. He couldn’t help but ask, “Brother Shen, what are you holding…?”
“Nothing. Dog food,” Shen Yuan replied indifferently, using his sleeve to block the item in his arms. “Don’t mind it.”
Dog?
There’s a dog in the magistrate’s residence?
A flicker of confusion crossed Su Qinghe’s eyes, but he quickly dismissed the thought and nodded. “Brother Shen, these pastries are getting cold. I should deliver them to His Highness first. We can talk afterward.”
He had so much to say—about what His Highness had done for him, what he’d been up to lately, and how he’d finally found something he enjoyed and excelled at.
“Let’s go together,” Shen Yuan said flatly, taking the lead and walking ahead. “Coincidentally, I need to see His Highness too.”
“Ah, oh, alright.” Su Qinghe nodded, yet his gaze kept drifting inexplicably to the concealed item in Shen Yuan’s arms.
Strange, he distinctly smelled something like fried pastry…
Do the dogs here eat this well?
Puzzled, Su Qinghe followed Shen Yuan toward Xie Chengze’s room. When they reached the door, Shen Yuan knocked but received no response, so he pushed the door open and entered directly.
Su Qinghe, standing to the side, was horrified: !!!
Is this really acceptable?!
This is His Highness’s room! It’s improper to barge in without being summoned!
Shen Yuan moved too quickly for Su Qinghe to stop him. He could only watch as Shen Yuan entered the room, turned a corner, and swiftly disappeared from view. Su Qinghe hesitated at the doorway, torn over whether to follow, until he heard the sharp, slender sound of a sword being drawn inside, snapping him back to attention.
“Swish—!”
Who drew a sword?!
Worried for Xie Chengze’s safety, Su Qinghe cast aside concerns about propriety between ruler and subject and hurriedly stepped into the room.
Xie Chengze was no longer at the writing desk. Su Qinghe anxiously scanned the surroundings and saw Shen Yuan confronting a black-clad figure, the Azure Sword usually hanging at his waist now pressed against the other’s neck.
The black-clad figure stood before the heated kang, facing the two people sleeping on the bed, his back to Shen Yuan. His right hand gripped the hilt of his waist-slung blade, revealing a section of cold, pale, and sharp steel.
He seemed poised to draw his sword and assassinate someone.
Su Qinghe’s food box clattered to the ground with a crash. “An assassin—?!”
“What are you doing?”
Shen Yuan’s voice was icy cold as he recognized the person—it was Wuhen.
Why would Wuhen suddenly draw his blade against Xie Chengze? Had he discovered that Xie Chengze wasn’t the Second Prince?
If that were the case, then he absolutely couldn’t let Wuhen live… With himself and Da Dangjia combined, they should be able to handle Wuhen. The only uncertainty was which side Wuji would take. If Wuji also wanted to kill Xie Chengze, then things would become difficult…
In that instant, countless thoughts raced through Shen Yuan’s mind. He even considered what would happen to Xie Chengze if he were left alone here, should he prove no match for Wuhen and Wuji.
Without Wuhen and Wuji, who else could protect him?
Those who had protected him before only cared about the “Second Prince,” not Xie Chengze himself.
Perhaps he shouldn’t have been so open and honest with Xie Chengze from the start. It was his indulgence that had made Xie Chengze increasingly unlike the “Second Prince,” to the point where Wuhen and Wuji had noticed something amiss…
The thought that he had put Xie Chengze in danger made Shen Yuan’s entire body turn cold, his arms trembling along with the chill.
“Su Qinghe, go find Zhu Xiaobiao. Tell him to fetch Da Dangjia and Er Dangjia.”
Clenching the Azure Sword in his hand, Shen Yuan advanced toward Wuhen as he issued the command to Su Qinghe.
Su Qinghe nodded hurriedly and turned to run. Though he didn’t know who Da Dangjia or Er Dangjia were, he had seen Zhu Xiaobiao before—he would definitely find him!
The sound of departing footsteps faded into the distance. Wuhen lowered his eyes, completely indifferent to the sharp sword pressed against his neck. With a slight downward pressure of his hand, he slid the half-drawn blade back into its scabbard.
His thin lips parted, his voice carrying a chill. “Still not getting up?”
It was unclear who he was speaking to, but no one moved. Wuhen finally exhausted the last of his patience. Stepping forward, he grabbed Wuji—who was lying on the heated kang, pretending to sleep while clinging to the young man—by the collar and dragged him out of the room with utter disregard for propriety.
As he passed by Shen Yuan, Wuhen tilted his head slightly and paused. Though his eyes were obscured by black gauze, Shen Yuan could still feel the cold indifference and disdain radiating from him.
His thin lips curled into a provocatively mocking arc, infuriating to behold.
Yet the provocation lasted only a moment before vanishing. Wuhen turned his head back and continued walking, dragging a thoroughly disheveled Wuji behind him. Realizing his feigned sleep had failed, Wuji could only open his eyes and call out to the figure on the bed, “Your Highness! Your Highness, it’s time to wake up!”
Wuji’s voice was loud, and Xie Chengze, still in the depths of sleep, finally stirred awake. However, he only had time to see Wuji’s feet disappearing around the corner of the doorway.
Xie Chengze: ?
Huh? What happened?
Still groggy from sleep, Xie Chengze rubbed his bleary eyes and looked at the only man left in the room. “Shen Yuan? What brings you here? Is something the matter?”
“Hah, as if anything could be the matter.” By now, Shen Yuan could clearly see that Wuhen’s drawn blade hadn’t been intended for Xie Chengze at all, but for Wuji—who had the audacity to sleep beside his master, utterly disregarding propriety.
But what kind of guard would be so unruly as to dare share a bed with their master?
It was likely their master was deliberately indulging them…
Shen Yuan forcefully sheathed the Azure Sword, his tone neither warm nor cold. “Your Highness truly has attendants for every aspect of life—eating, dressing, living, and traveling.”
When it came to eating, Su Qinghe personally fed him mouthful by mouthful; for lodging, Wuji accompanied him to sleep by his side; and for travel, Er Dangjia even served as his cushion. The only thing missing was someone to dress him…
Shen Yuan let out a cold snort and couldn’t resist mocking, “I wonder if Your Highness will require this humble servant to assist with changing your clothes day and night from now on?”