The events that happened inside the palace quickly spread everywhere. Of course, most people only knew that the second prince had encountered some trouble and would likely be absent for a long time. That night, the eldest prince, who had been in a state of madness for an entire month, regained his sanity.
Some quick-witted individuals quickly thought of the connection, though they would not openly speak of it.
That evening, after returning from a meeting, His Majesty the King, upon hearing about Jun Yuze’s incident, also fell into a poor mental state for quite a while.
However, time kept moving forward, and people could not afford to stay in place for too long.
No matter how sorrowful the mood, some established facts could no longer be changed.
Therefore, half a month later, Jun Yuzhou, the Queen, and His Majesty had all regained their composure and returned to their usual selves.
After Jun Yuzhou regained consciousness, he quickly became busy.
He had already come of age and had participated in various state affairs. Normally speaking, his level of busyness was no less than that of the king.
While some ministers were relieved and happy, they soon noticed that Jun Yuzhou insisted on keeping Xu Yin in the palace, not allowing him to leave.
They had heard rumors about Xu Yin’s abilities before, that even dozens of skilled illusionists could not cure the eldest prince, but Xu Yin managed to heal him completely.
Some of the ministers were fortunate enough to have witnessed the clingy behavior of Jun Yuzhou towards Xu Yin when he was still mad.
At the time, they could not help but frown in disapproval!
Let alone now.
Recently, both Jun Yuzhou and the King and Queen had received some ambiguous warnings from ministers. The message was clear: they should hurry up and send Xu Yin out of the palace. After all, when the eldest prince was still mad, his attachment to Xu Yin was already abnormal. What would happen if he truly developed feelings for Xu Yin once he was sober?
Several ministers, meanwhile, were secretly scheming to marry off their daughters to Jun Yuzhou!
“Your Majesty, I must say, in order to ensure that our descendants grow stronger, the royal family has strictly adhered to the principle for nearly a century that princes and princesses must marry illusionists. Xu Yin is not only not an illusionist, but he is also a man,” one of the ministers spoke up in a righteous tone, as if he were wholeheartedly considering the royal family’s future.
The King, listening with a headache, tried several times to interrupt but couldn’t. He couldn’t help but glance at the Queen.
Without even raising her eyes, the Queen put down her teacup and spoke, “Why didn’t you mention this when Yuzhou was still being treated?”
“Is it really necessary for the eldest prince to wake up as soon as possible?” The minister was rattling on with his thoughts when he was suddenly interrupted, his words getting tangled.
The Queen calmly replied, “When Yuzhou was still mad, he was already overly attached to Xu Yin. Why didn’t you react then?”
The minister paused, his eyes darting around, and after a brief cough, he answered, “Of course, it was still about the eldest prince’s health…”
“So now that Yuzhou is healthy,” the Queen said with a faint smile, “you want to separate them immediately, without caring whether they’ve fallen for each other, and then…?” She paused for a moment, her smile becoming more pointed, “Then you intend to marry your daughter to Yuzhou?”
After the events of that night, the Queen had changed a lot.
She used to be mindful of her position, and most of the time, she would speak with some restraint, never being so blunt or disrespectful.
But now, the Queen no longer cared about such things. She would say whatever was on her mind, which left those she confronted dumbfounded.
The minister didn’t expect the Queen to be so direct. He turned red and green with embarrassment, standing there stunned for a while before angrily retorting, “Your Majesty, what do you mean by that? It sounds like you’re accusing me of crossing the river and tearing down the bridge!”
“That’s exactly what I mean,” the Queen said, looking at him earnestly.
The minister: “…………”
The King: “Cough, cough, cough.”
Realizing what had just happened, the minister’s face turned even redder. Spitting in frustration, he exclaimed, “I’m not the kind of person who would sell my daughter for gain!”
The Queen feigned surprise, “Oh? That’s great to hear! But you also know that recently, several of your colleagues have been bringing their daughters into the palace, all trying to make their way to Yuzhou’s palace. But now, Yuzhou is so busy that it’s rare for him to have time to spend with Xu Yin. Every time you guys disrupt them, it makes him frown for half a day.”
She smiled and continued, “I do feel sorry for the two of them. If you, Uncle, really have no such intentions, then… well, from now on, please don’t disturb them anymore.”
The minister, still in disbelief, asked, “Your Majesty, what exactly do you mean?”
The Queen spoke calmly, “What I mean is, we’re both quite satisfied with Xu Yin. If the two children truly have feelings for each other, His Majesty and I would support them. You don’t need to spend so much energy on this matter. As for Yuzhou’s marriage, he will decide for himself.”
After she finished speaking, the King, who had been listening, stroked his chin and nodded in agreement.
The minister stood there dumbfounded.
Although there were historical precedents for male consorts, he never imagined that the Queen and King would so… so easily accept this matter?!
They were actually agreeing to let the eldest prince be with Xu Yin?
The Queen had not been so easily convinced before. But after the events involving Jun Yuze, she had come to terms with much more.
She had failed to notice how her own son had schemed against his brother. In the end, it was Xu Yin who helped Yuzhou regain his sanity. What right did she have to oppose these two?
However, after the shock wore off, the minister, still unwilling to accept this, moved his lips and said begrudgingly, “But Lord Ling would never accept this…”
Lord Ling, also known as Jun Weiling, was the father of the current King—making him Jun Yuzhou’s grandfather.
Jun Weiling had been travelling abroad for many years, and according to the timeline, he was expected to return to the capital soon.
In response to the minister’s comment, the King simply said, “That’s between Yuzhou and his grandfather. You don’t need to worry about it, old sir.”
A few days later, a similar situation unfolded with Jun Yuzhou. However, the minister who came to see him wasn’t trying to marry off his daughter. He genuinely believed that Jun Yuzhou shouldn’t be with Xu Yin, but after much discussion, it proved to be in vain. Jun Yuzhou’s stance was very clear.
In the end, Jun Yuzhou politely escorted him out, and the minister left, his face dark with anger.
After a long, busy day, Jun Yuzhou rubbed his eyes, then turned and walked back to the palace, following the corridor to the room at the very end.
This used to be his bedroom, but now, it was no longer just his.
When he opened the door, his expression softened immediately.
Inside the room, Xu Yin had just finished doing push-ups and was still catching his breath.
A faint scent of jasmine lingered in the air, and Jun Yuzhou’s throat moved as he took it in.
He walked into the room and asked, “Not asleep yet?”
It was already quite late.
“I’ve been waiting for you.”
The three words made Jun Yuzhou’s expression even softer.
Xu Yin moved his limbs a bit, caught his breath, and then gave him a glance before saying, “You should still spend more time in your beast form when you have the chance.”
This was an important point for someone recovering from an energy disorder. Even if the person was healed, an illusionist should spend the next month in their beast form for a longer period, as it helps the body recover faster.
As the eldest prince, Jun Yuzhou couldn’t appear in his wolf form when meeting ministers, but privately, it didn’t matter.
Hearing Xu Yin’s words, Jun Yuzhou’s gaze darkened.
He walked up to Xu Yin, wrapped his arms around his waist, and whispered, “Want to shift later?”
Xu Yin raised an eyebrow, his expression teasing. “Don’t you think you’ve been a bit excessive lately?”
He seemed like a child who had been hungry for too long and finally got his meal, without any self-restraint.
Jun Yuzhou’s ears visibly reddened.
He lowered his head and gently kissed Xu Yin’s lips. “Yin Yin…”
…
Afterward, Xu Yin lay on his side, with the man holding him from behind, kissing him intermittently.
Xu Yin, feeling exhausted, gave the man behind him a light slap. “Shift now!”
The man paused for a moment.
The next second, a fluffy silver wolf’s tail began to wag vigorously, occasionally brushing against Xu Yin’s thigh, tickling him.
Xu Yin turned around and saw the silver wolf, ears perked up, full of energy. If it weren’t for the tail wagging so fast, one would hardly recognize the goofy look from before.
Xu Yin found it amusing. He reached out and petted the wolf’s head, then gently pinched his fluffy ears. The silver wolf obediently let him ruffle and knead his ears.
As he kept petting, Xu Yin spoke, “I plan to go back to school.”
The silver wolf suddenly froze.
The tail behind him immediately stopped wagging, and the silver wolf quietly stared at him.
Without him needing to shift back, Xu Yin could almost instantly imagine the frown that would be furrowing the man’s brow.
Xu Yin chuckled softly and sat up.
His slender frame was evident, but only Jun Yuzhou knew that the youth was far from just being weak.
Perhaps due to the continuous training over the past few days, Xu Yin’s body had grown increasingly firmer, and faint muscle contours were beginning to show.
Not even a little exaggeration, and in fact, it was beautifully and seductively striking.
Normally, the silver wolf would have pounced on him without a word, and Xu Yin would never resist, always smiling helplessly and letting him have his way.
But at this moment, the silver wolf had no intention of doing that.
He stared at Xu Yin seriously.
Xu Yin had also heard plenty of rumors circulating outside. Although the Queen and the King were very supportive of him and Jun Yuzhou, the ministers’ opinions weren’t so easily swayed. Unable to influence the Queen and the King, they were eagerly waiting for Jun Yuzhou’s grandfather, Jun Weiling, to return and “put things back on track.”
Xu Yin wasn’t really afraid of that legendary “grandfather.”
It’s just that he wasn’t the type to simply hide in the palace, enjoying the protection of Jun Yuzhou and the others.
He certainly couldn’t just settle for being a “male consort” and contribute nothing else.
Take the future, for example. If he truly took on the “ultimate mission” of becoming Jun Yuzhou’s partner and guarding the entire empire with him—was sitting on the “Queen’s” throne really enough to protect this empire?
No, he would undoubtedly have to make other efforts.
Returning to school was inevitable.
Or, to be more precise, he wanted to return to school to take part in the upcoming palace illusionist qualification exam, which was being held in their academy a week later.
Xu Yin explained his reasons to Jun Yuzhou, then rubbed the back of the silver wolf’s neck and smiled. “After passing the exam, we’ll get married. Isn’t that better?”
The silver wolf was slightly taken aback, seemingly not expecting that to be the reason.
Xu Yin gently rubbed the wolf’s fluffy big ears, then lowered his voice with a hint of implication. “Besides, the dorms are four-person buildings, but everyone has their own room.”
“If you miss me, you can always sneak over at night…”
