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Ning Shu frowned slightly, he slept rather restlessly.
When he woke up, he saw someone standing by his bed and jumped in fright.
I couldn’t help but take a closer look, and then I realized it was the prince.
The Crown Prince stood by his bedside, handsome as a fairy. Those amorous peach blossom eyes looked at him: “Were you frightened by me?”
There were few guards in the Prince’s Palace, all driven out by Loneliness Xuan Ce. Ning Shu slept in a side hall, watching the Prince dressed in white, no more than sixteen years old.
He couldn’t help but purse his lips slightly: “Your Highness, why aren’t you asleep yet?”
“I can’t sleep well.”
The prince’s face looked forlorn in the light. He murmured softly, “Before Mother passed away, she always sang me to sleep. Since she died, I haven’t had a good night’s sleep.”
Ning Shu looked at the person.
The prince’s features were exquisite, a face that would surely captivate any woman. Especially the slight sneer and air of loneliness at the corner of his lips, quickly vanishing as if it never was, evoked a feeling of pity in one’s heart.
But Ning Shu understood now. In this Prince’s residence, incense was burned every day.
At first, he thought it was just Lone Xuan Ce who loved incense. Now that he thinks about it, he probably had trouble sleeping at night. That’s why he asked the palace maids to light the incense that helped with sleep. No wonder he always seemed a little sleepy when he was in the Prince’s Palace.
It turned out to be because of the incense.
After Ning Shu had thought it through, combining the prince’s past experiences, she couldn’t help but feel a little soft-hearted. No matter how fearsome the prince was in front of others, he wasn’t really a child after all.
He saw the Crown Prince standing alone, and for a moment, he felt a pang of sympathy.
“Your Highness, have you heard the story of the Three Visits to the Thatched Cottage?”
“I’ve never heard of it.” The prince said, then got into bed.
Ning Shu didn’t realize anything was wrong at first; he felt a little tired. But he still tried his best to open his eyes and told the prince the story of Liu Bei’s three visits to the thatched cottage.
The prince listened with relish and then said, “Why haven’t I heard of this person’s name in the history books?”
Ning Shu came back to her senses and then remembered that the world she was in was different from the one she had known before. She opened her mouth and said, “I also saw it by chance in the folk stories. Perhaps it was made up by someone else.”
“Such a person, actually fabricated. I’m curious, who fabricated him?”
The prince slept at his side, his breath warm against his neck as he spoke.
Ning Shu shifted a little uncomfortably, afraid that the prince would investigate the origins of this story. She pursed her lips and said, “I saw it when I was very young, and now I can’t remember its name.”
The prince slightly raised the corner of his lips and said, “Ning’er tells me a story, my heart feels much calmer.”
His eyes, emotionless, stared into the distance as he said softly, “Perhaps it’s because I killed them. They come looking for me day and night to demand vengeance.”
Ning Shu looked on, her heart also feeling a bit heavy.
He said softly, “Your Highness has killed those who deserved it. There is no need to worry.”
Loneliness Xuan Ce grasped his hand, gently sniffing the scent on him, and whispered softly, “Ning’er is truly loyal to me. My heart is filled with joy.”
Ning Shu only felt a slight itch where she was lightly brushed by the other person.
The two leaned against each other affectionately. The incense in the hall was still burning, and he felt a touch more drowsy. He couldn’t help but say, “Your Highness, please don’t kill so many people from now on.”
The prince remained silent, only staring at him.
The look in his eyes dimmed: “Why?”
Ning Shu sensed the look in his eyes and shivered involuntarily. She regained some composure, opened her mouth, pursed her lips, and whispered, “…I have overstepped my bounds. I am ignorant of propriety.”
The crown prince looked at him: “This son of mine speaks, and I will listen to it.”
Ning Shu hesitated for a long time before finally speaking.
He had heard before that the dead carried yin energy and murderous aura. If one killed many, it would affect their fortune and even their lifespan.
Ning Shu’s slender wrist was tightly grasped by the prince, unable to move at all. After a moment of hesitation, she nodded: “I heard about it too, Your Highness. I thought it was just something I read in folk tales.”
After all, he didn’t expect his words to shake the prince.
The crown prince didn’t think that being unaware of his own limits was a good thing.
“I promise you,” the prince leaned in and gently kissed the youth’s cheek, “I won’t kill at random anymore.”
“Aren’t you happy?”
Ning Shu’s cheek, kissed by the prince, became even more flushed. He looked up. The prince was also looking at him, his expression and movements intimate and natural.
He paused for a moment, as if suddenly remembering.
That day, the crown prince told him about the prince’s affairs and inquired about his family matters. Could it be that the crown prince treated him like a younger brother?
Ning Shu doesn’t know.
His heart tightened slightly, and he asked softly, “My lord, why would you kiss me?”
The prince didn’t answer but asked, “Don’t you like it when I’m close to you?”
Ning Shu moved his lips, feeling that the prince’s words were very cunning. He definitely wouldn’t say he disliked it, so he had to swallow his words and touched his cheek: “It’s just that no one has ever kissed me… my elder brothers at home have never done this to me either…”
The prince reached out and pulled him into his embrace.
He lightly sniffed the air around the young man, then said, “How could they possibly know how good Ning’er is? They didn’t treat you well before because they were blind and couldn’t see.”
Ning Shu hesitated for a moment.
What he meant was that, even among family members, doing something like this was a bit too intimate.
But the prince didn’t seem to catch his meaning.
As he drifted off to sleep, the Crown Prince seemed to whisper something in his ear. Ning Shu didn’t hear clearly and fell asleep.
If he remained conscious, he would hear the crown prince whisper in his ear: “If they dare to touch you, I will spare them because of your kinship, but I make no guarantees about whether they will remain whole or not.”
A sigh echoed from the Prince’s palace.
Dugu Xuan ce held the beauty in his arms, warm and soft, nothing better.
…..
Ning Shu sometimes felt that he wasn’t here to be a reading companion, after all, no reading companion had ever lived in the Prince’s palace. When tired, he could rest, and sometimes even be held in the prince’s arms.
But the crown prince did not intend to keep him imprisoned in the East Palace.
For example, at this banquet, Dugu Xuan Ce brought him along.
There have been so many banquets in the palace. This one was for the Noble Consort’s birthday. However, the Emperor didn’t know what to do and didn’t appear at all throughout the event.
The noble consort’s face was somewhat unsightly, but she still maintained a semblance of composure.
As soon as the prince entered, several women cast their glances his way.
They whispered amongst themselves, some afraid of the prince yet beguiled by his stunningly beautiful face.
And several princes also noticed the people behind the crown prince.
They looked at each other, realizing that the Third Prince was telling the truth. There was indeed a beautiful woman hidden in the palace by the Crown Prince, and she was a breathtaking beauty.
Although he was young, his physique looked excellent.
Her skin was as smooth and white as jade, her face even more beautiful than the most renowned courtesans in the capital. To top it off, she possessed a captivating allure mixed with an air of innocence, especially in her eyes.
Spotless, pure and simple.
One look and you can tell what they’re thinking, they’re guileless.
It’s no surprise to the princes that this is the case. The crown prince doesn’t consort with women or men. Despite so many people sending him companions, none have ever been taken into the crown prince’s palace.
And when the Third Prince returned that day, he seemed to have been bewitched.
He recklessly brought in many men from outside and indulged in male companionship for a while. When the Fourth Prince heard about it, he hurried to find out what was going on.
The Third Prince that day, heard it was the companion of the Crown Prince’s study he had seen.
They scoffed inwardly, a man, no matter how handsome, could only be so beautiful.
But now, they truly realize that this beauty is indeed breathtaking. Just looking at her makes one’s heart flutter.
The Crown Prince arrived at the location with his entourage, but he did not greet everyone.
“Talking with the boy beside him.”
Although Ning Shu felt a little awkward, she still took the grapes from the crown prince’s hand. Then, she put them in her mouth.
One grape had been squeezed so hard that some juice was coming out of it.
The crown prince turned his head and bowed it low.
Ning Shu only felt a heat on her finger, and then the prince sucked it in. She was startled and wanted to pull her finger back, but then she remembered that they were in the main hall.
The prince’s lips and tongue circled his fingertip.
Ning Shu’s heart was a little numb and tingling, he endured the sensitivity. Only then did the prince let go of his hand.
The prince had already turned away.
And the few princes only saw that the Crown Prince was intimate with the young man, whispering in his ear. They did not know what he had done. The Sixth Prince, who had been silent all along, stared blankly at the frail and boneless young man beside the Crown Prince for a long time before finally saying: “Isn’t the Crown Prince known to dislike men?”
A few princes narrowed their eyes.
In their eyes, if the crown prince were close to men, things would be easier.
Several people had their own thoughts and plans, each with their own hidden agendas.
Ning Shu sat obediently beside the crown prince, as music and dancing filled the hall. A sudden urge to urinate overcame him, and he couldn’t help but tug at the prince’s robes.
The Crown Prince lowered his head.
Ning Shu’s eyelashes trembled, and she pursed her lips and said, “Your Highness, I need to use the restroom.”
The prince told him to go early and return early.
And a slave was also sent to follow him.
After Ning Shu left the hall, she went out to pay her respects. The maidservants waited outside, but when he came out, there was no trace of him.
He couldn’t help but gasp.
“Young Master Ning, it’s been a long time.” A sharp voice rang out.
Ning Shu looked and discovered that someone was standing in the shadows.
He couldn’t help but take a step back.
The man walked out, revealing an ordinary pale face. It was Li Huai’de, whom they hadn’t seen in quite some time.
“Li Gonggong.”
Ning Shu spoke.
At the same time, Li Huai’de appearing here without a sound… probably wasn’t for good.
His heart was filled with anxiety.
Li Huai’de sneered: “I see that young master is living a life of luxury in the Prince’s Palace, isn’t it?”