All sorts of strange sounds rang through the lonely courtyard at night; not only the sound of her sword-dancing, but also the occasional sound of her movements. Being disturbed by these sounds, Pu Yangyue was sitting in the room with no intention of reading. So he took a bottle of purplish-blue ointment, and then started rolling his wheelchair over the path to cross into Princess b.u.t.terfly’s courtyard.
“Brother, where are you hurting? Shall I rub it for you?”
From the other side of the door, he heard the little girl teasing Junzhi, then a hysterical scream from Junzhi. It seemed that Princess b.u.t.terfly had deliberately touched his wound.
PuYang Yue showed a helpless smile, and pushed through the door.
Because of the inconvenience of the prince’s movement, the palace of the prince had been thoroughly renovated. All the thresholds had been removed, so even if there were no servants around, he could still go wherever he wanted. What’s more, there was a peculiar wheelchair that could help him walk.
Princess b.u.t.terfly didn’t expect that her father would come. After hearing a gentle cough, she immediately rolled down from Junzhi’s bed and lowered her head like a good girl. “Dad, why are you here?” she asked as she leaned on the bed.
PuYang Yue ignored her and went straight to the bedside. He looked at Junzhi, who was lying on the bed with a pained face, and asked indifferently, “How is your wound?”
“If Princess b.u.t.terfly can let me be, I should be able to recover in less than three days,” Junzhi complained and began to cry.
PuYang Yue gave Princess b.u.t.terfly a sidelong glance and warned her, “For the next three days, you must not torture him anymore.”
“If Dad spares more time to accompany me, I will not be so bored!” Princess b.u.t.terfly resorted to sophistry.
So Junzhi immediately took PuYang Yue’s arm and pleaded bitterly, “Prince, please accompany her more!”
PuYang Yue expressed his embarra.s.sment, saying, “I haven’t much time.” Turning to Princess b.u.t.terfly, he said, “I have something to discuss with Junzhi. You should go back to your room and go to bed.”
“No!” It was rare to see his face so mild, and he seemed in a good mood. So Princess b.u.t.terfly was preparing to break the rules. But in the next moment, when she saw that his expression suddenly cooled down, she expressed her obedience with reluctance at once. “Oh.”
PuYang Yue saw that she left with some hesitation and closed the door obediently. Then he turned back and threw the bottle to Junzhi. At the same time, he asked, “Do you know the man who tried to kidnap Princess b.u.t.terfly?”
Junzhi shook his head honestly and sniffed. “How can I know? I don’t want to get into trouble yet!” Looking up at the prince’s unpleasant face, Junzhi suddenly realized that his att.i.tude was a little rude and hurried to make amends. “Um. I do not understand the rules, and hope you will forgive me for my mistake. Before going down the hill, Master had told me to respect you and Princess b.u.t.terfly, but I really don’t know how to do that. Should I pretend to be your servant like my sister?”
PuYang Yue looked at the sky without words. The reason why he was angry was not that he was rude, but because he was upset about the safety of Princess b.u.t.terfly. “No, you may do was you wish. More importantly, you need to protect Princess b.u.t.terfly.”
Listening to him, Junzhi was relieved and happy in his heart. It seemed that the prince was not as hard to serve as the rumors said. “But there are more powerful masters in the world than me and my sister. Why do you choose us? You don’t know it, but if my second brother hadn’t come by chance today, neither I nor my sister would have been able to cope with those robbers. Alas, in the final a.n.a.lysis, Princess b.u.t.terfly’s lifesaver was not us at all!”