As soon as Shen Qingzhuo stuffed his little disciple in, the palace doors were kicked open rudely from the outside.
He confirmed once again that the person was well hidden, quickly adjusted his expression, turned around as if nothing had happened, and asked, “Who is it?”
Xiao Yichen rushed into the inner hall with great momentum, but when his eyes fell on the person standing beside the bed, his mind went blank in an instant, and he forgot the purpose of his coming here.
Lord Shen was wearing only a snow-white undergarment that fit his thin and soft body curves, making him look indescribably fragile and beautiful.
“Your Highness the Crown Prince? What a rare guest ah.” Shen Qingzhuo smiled faintly and took the initiative to attack. “I wonder why Your Highness the Crown Prince broke into the Jiyue Pavilion at night?”
Xiao Yichen finally came to his senses and strode into the palace doors.
“Your Highness the Crown Prince, you can’t—” Xiao Dezi followed closely behind, looking at his young master beside the bed for help, “Young Master!”
“How dare you! Xiao Dezi, you have been away from the Eastern Palace for too long and have forgotten who you are?” Xiao Yichen waved his sleeves and scolded coldly, “If Gu wants you to die at three watch, who dares to keep you alive until the five watch1This proverb means that death cannot be delayed.!”
Xiao Dezi immediately kneeled down and begged for mercy: “The servant dares not! Your Highness, please forgive the servant!”
On the surface, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince’s words were a scolding to Xiao Dezi, but in reality he was indirectly criticizing Lord Shen and warning him not to get carried away.
Shen Qingzhuo acted as if he hadn’t heard anything and said calmly, “Xiao Dezi, you retreat first.”
Instinctively obeying his young master’s orders, Xiao Dezi overcame the fear brought by His Highness the Crown Prince. He kowtowed, stood up, and walked back to the door. He closed the door with his hands and stood guard at the door with a nervous expression.
If His Royal Highness the Crown Prince intended to do something bad to his young master, he would definitely rush in to rescue his young master at all costs.
Shen Qingzhuo casually took a brocade robe, put it on his shoulders, and asked slowly, “If Your Highness has something to say, please speak directly.”
Xiao Yichen stared at him gloomily and said straight to the point: “Gu ask you, what did you find out about Pan Chong’s case?”
“So it’s because of this ah.” Shen Qingzhuo raised his eyes and said with a smile, “In this case, the Eastern Palace and Your Highness the Crown Prince are the most suspicious. How can we tell the suspects about the case?”
Xiao Yichen said in a stern voice, “Gu was clearly framed by a villain, and you can’t even figure it out?”
Shen Qingzhuo smiled slightly: “When investigating a case, the Beizhen Fushi only focus on evidence, not on personal relationships.”
“Shen Qingzhuo, you—” Xiao Yichen was completely enraged. He took a few big steps forward and approached the bed.
Shen Qingzhuo frowned. “Your Highness, calm down.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Xiao Yichen suddenly raised his hand, grabbed the slender white neck, and pushed the person onto the bed heavily.
There was a noise from under the bed instantly, and Shen Qingzhuo kicked the bedboard with lightning speed to prevent his little disciple from coming out.
“Shen, Qing, Zhuo!” Xiao Yichen’s face was gloomy, and he threatened fiercely, “Gu tolerate you again and again because of our past friendship. If you continue to be ignorant of good and bad, Gu will never be soft-hearted again!”
“Your Highness…” Shen Qingzhuo was being pinched by the neck, but he did not struggle and spoke with difficulty. “If you have something to say, say it nicely…”
Seeing his fair face turn a beautiful pink, Xiao Yichen’s desire to commit violence intensified. He lowered his head and moved closer, continuing, “Say, if Gu strangles you to death, will it be over?”
“No…” Shen Qingzhuo tilted his neck and actually laughed, “If I… die, the reputation of the Eastern Palace as a murderer… will be completely established.”
After hearing just these few words, Xiao Yichen’s expression changed drastically, and he had to grit his teeth and let go of his hand.
“Cough cough…” Shen Qingzhuo regained his breath and started coughing, covering his neck.
“The Beizhen Fushi found the lowly maid, Lu Mei’s body, and the Jinyiwei took Lu Zhu’s body away from the Eastern Palace. What is the connection between the two?” Xiao Yichen stared at him. “Emperor Father repeatedly criticized me and expressed his dissatisfaction with the Eastern Palace. What did you say to him?”
“Your Highness has too many questions.” Shen Qing came to his senses and regained his composure. “The Beizhen Fushi is only following orders to investigate the case and report the truth to His Majesty.”
Xiao Yichen obviously didn’t believe him and said aggressively, “What exactly is the Beizhen Fushi investigating? Why did the investigation lead to the Grand Tutor?”
The case of Pan Chong was confusing, and Lord Shen never announced the progress of the case to the public, so the Eastern Palace could only sit on the sidelines.
But he got news that Beizhen Fushi had actually begun to secretly investigate the Grand Tutor, Cao Ren, which was clearly aimed at the Eastern Palace.
“Lord Cao?” Shen Qingzhuo sat up, his tone rather helpless. “Then Your Highness the Crown Prince has really found the wrong person. There is someone else who sued Lord Cao in front of His Majesty, and the Beizhen Fushi is also acting on His Majesty’s orders.”
“Who?” Xiao Yichen suddenly became alert and asked hurriedly, “Who sued Grand Tutor Cao in front of Emperor Father?”
“Your Highness is so wise, can’t you guess it?” Shen Qingzhuo smiled and said meaningfully, “Your Highness, think about it carefully, who has Lord Cao offended recently?”
Xiao Yichen reacted very quickly and blurted out, “Third Brother?”
Shen Qingzhuo stood up from the bed, neither confirming nor denying. “The person behind the whole thing is actually very obvious. Instead of troubling me, Your Highness the Crown Prince should…”
Xiao Yichen’s expression was unpredictable, with a sinister gaze that seemed to be fixed on a hole in Shen’s face.
Shen Qingzhuo let him look at him, looking directly at His Royal Highness the Crown Prince with an open gaze, without a trace of guilt.
“Qingzhuo.” After a while, the Crown Prince’s expression changed again, and he put on the mask of a hypocrite again. “In fact, Gu already knew that you are not the kind of ungrateful person.”
Shen Qingzhuo lowered his eyelashes. “Thanks, Your Highness the Crown Prince for the praise.”
“Think about it, who else in this palace is really good to you, besides Gu—and Junior Preceptor Pei?” Xiao Yichen said gently, “When Gu ascends to the throne, what will a small Jinyiwei mean?”
Shen Qingzhuo smiled but remained silent.
When intimidation failed, he started to tempt.
Xiao Yichen felt that there was hope, so he took a step forward and raised his hand to hold the thin shoulders. “Perhaps you don’t want to stay in the palace and want to return to Youbei to reunite with your father and brother. Gu can also satisfy you.”
Shen Qingzhu thought to himself, I don’t believe you, but he pretended to be surprised and opened his eyelids, saying in an excited and unbelievable tone, “Really?”
“Of course, the king does not joke.” Xiao Yichen pinched his shoulders and drew the biggest cake ever2It means to make an empty promise. “As long as you are willing to help Gu, Gu can give you whatever you want.”
He has not yet ascended the throne, but he is already self-proclaimed “king”. Shen Qingzhuo knew that His Highness the Crown Prince was really anxious.
“Qingzhuo understands.” He nodded slightly, his tone still a little hesitant. “Qingzhuo will carefully consider what Your Highness the Crown Prince said.”
“What are you still considering?” Xiao Yichen tightened his grip, his tone anxious. “There is no way that Emperor Father will appoint someone else as the Crown Prince. You’d better follow me than anyone else!”
Shen Qingzhuo frowned. “Your Highness, you hurt me.”
Xiao Yichen subconsciously let go, took a step back, and found a step for himself to go down. “Alright, then Gu will give you some time to think about it. But Gu has to say this first, Gu’s patience is limited.”
“Don’t worry, Your Highness. Qingzhuo knows it in his heart.” Shen Qingzhuo picked up the brocade robe scattered on the bed and said, “Let me escort Your Highness out.”
Xiao Yichen knew that he couldn’t push him too hard, so he could only take a step back.
The two people walked out of the inner hall one after the other, and Xiao Dezi followed them nervously.
“By the way, Your Highness may have to leave through the back door.” Shen Qingzhuo reminded, “Otherwise, if others see you, you won’t be able to explain yourself clearly.”
Xiao Yichen frowned. Seeing that he looked serious, he could only reluctantly agree, “Alright.”
“Someone, send His Highness out through the back door.” Shen Qingzhuo summoned the young eunuch and stood where he was, watching with a smile as the distinguished Crown Prince walked towards the narrow back door.
He turned around again, and the curve of his lips disappeared quietly. “Xiao Dezi.”
“Young Master!” Xiao Dezi heard the call and ran over in a hurry, “Is Young Master alright?”
“Replace all the eunuchs guarding the gate today.” Shen Qingzhuo said coldly, “A bunch of useless things.”
If it weren’t for Xiao Dezi’s quick-wittedness and shouting to remind him who was coming, the Crown Prince would have already bumped into his little disciple and caused a series of troubles.
***
Xiao Shen lay under the bed the whole time, his hands clenched into fists and pressed tightly against the floor, his back teeth clenched with a clanging sound.
His dark eyeballs were filled with blood red. In his mind, he imagined eating his flesh, drinking his blood, pulling out his tendons, cutting him into pieces with thousands of cut, and crushing his bones to ashes over and over again. Only then did he manage to suppress the urge to make the Crown Prince bleed to death on the spot.
His master has planned so much for him, and he cannot let himself go on impulse and cause his master’s achievements to fail.
He endured it with all his might until the noise outside the palace door gradually faded away, then he slid out from under the bed.
The youth sat on the ground, gasping for breath, trying hard to calm the anger surging in his heart.
“Xiao Qi?” A familiar voice sounded in his ears. He raised his face, and the bloody aura in his pupils had completely disappeared.
“Master!” He soared into the air, rushed over, and threw himself into his master’s arms.
“Ai…” Shen Qingzhuo’s body trembled when he was hit by his little disciple, and then he was held tightly by a pair of strong arms, and he quickly stabilized his body.
“Are you scared?” He raised his hand and stroked the back of the youth’s head and said softly, “It’s alright.”
Xiao Shen buried his face in the warm neck, and the heart in his chest felt like it was being squeezed tightly by a hand.
Obviously it was his master who was threatened and hurt, but he was still worried whether he was frightened or not.
He couldn’t help but tighten his arms, his voice choked: “Master…”
“Alright, Master is also fine.” Shen Qingzhuo understood his disciple’s unspoken worries and deliberately joked, “If Xiao Qi wants to grow up, you should stop acting coquettishly towards Master.”
Xiao Shen rubbed his cheek against his and whispered, “No! I will still hug Master and act coquettishly even when I am a hundred years old!”
Shen Qingzhuo was amused by him and patted the arm that was holding him, “Let go of Master first, let Master sit down and rest for a while.”
Xiao Shen immediately loosened his arms, looked around helplessly, and finally carefully helped his master to sit down on the chair.
“Cough, cough…” After Shen Qingzhuo sat down, he felt his throat a little itchy and couldn’t help but raise his hand to touch his neck.
Xiao Shen’s gaze was focused there, and his pupils shrank.
There was a large red patch on his master’s exposed, fragrant jade-like neck, and the distinct marks of five fingers were imprinted on the snow-white skin, which was shocking.
The thick and beautiful red reflected in his eyes, as if he had been enchanted. He couldn’t help but stretch out his fingers and lightly touch the skin between his neck.
The next moment, he shrank back from the heat again.
“What’s wrong?” Shen Qingzhuo noticed something was wrong with his little disciple and asked in confusion.
“Master…” Xiao Shen stared at the swan-like neck intently, his throat seemed to be blocked by something.
Shen Qingzhuo blinked and suddenly reacted. He pretended to be relaxed and said, “Is Master’s neck red from being pinched? It’s fine ah, that’s just Master’s physical condition. It just looks scary, but it doesn’t hurt.”
The problem is that the original owner’s body is too white, tender, and fragile. Any slight bump or touch will leave lasting marks, not to mention that he was forcefully pinched by the Crown Prince for a long time just now.
Xiao Shen was of course aware of how sensitive his master’s physique was. He looked at his master with red eyes, and there seemed to be a wet mist in his eyes again.
He was reluctant to leave any marks on his master and held his master’s wrist as if he were holding precious porcelain. How dare he? How dare that bastard treat his master like this?
“It’s really fine, be good.” Shen Qingzhuo leaned over helplessly and pinched his little disciple’s face. “You just heard it as well. No matter how arrogant the Crown Prince is, he dares not touch Master easily. He even dreams of recruiting Master.”
Xiao Shen raised his hand, covered the porcelain-white hand, pressed it intimately against his cheek, and rubbed it gently and slowly.
“Master.” After a long moment, he half-knelt in front of his master and swore in a tone that he had never used before, “I will become strong soon, I will protect Mastee well, and I will never let anyone hurt a hair on Master’s head.”
The author has something to say:
The Master: I’m relieved that my little disciple has really grown up.
The Wolf Cub: What? Master finally admitted that I have grown up!
The Master: ……
The countdown to the Crown Prince going offline has begun, he will really die a miserable death… Everyone be mentally prepared haha~
