The Chancellor"s son proceeded on his merry stroll to the Crown Prince"s private study. It was already deep into the night and a bright moon dangled upon the skies.
He let out a quiet yawn and stretched. He didn"t care too much about the proper etiquette, especially when the only people who dared to judge him were buried in their wives" arms.
"Your Highness, you sure love to bully your subordinates, don"t you?" the Chancellor"s son said whilst pus.h.i.+ng the doors open to the Crown Prince"s private study.
He was so acquainted with the man that he didn"t bother knocking first. Besides, who else would be visiting the Second Prince so late at night?
Lu Tianbi didn"t even lift her head to greet her cousin. She was burdened with a stack of Yu Zhen"s workload.
Hu Dengxiao, on the other hand, was snoring away with a brush in hand. He had drawn fake eyes onto his eyelids as if anyone was stupid enough to fall for that trick.
"As predicted," the Chancellor"s son said.
As punishment for their failure to act accordingly by sending out the Silent River Squadron and proper seekers, they were being punished with mountain high of paperwork. Lu Tianbi was initially worried about taking this duty. Shouldn"t she be standing on patrol near Li Xueyue"s room?
But darn that possessive Prince. He didn"t allow anyone inside of her bedroom in fear that they"d disrupt her rest. He only gave permission to allow some guards to be stationed there.
"What do you want?" Yu Zhen coldly asked. He continued working on his doc.u.ment, but this time, he didn"t have to do much except stamping it.
"Bringing you more work, Your Highness," the Chancellor"s son mused. "It"s so late in the night and you"re making all of us suffer. All for what, Your Highness?"
"That"s a good idea," Yu Zhen declared. He raised his head with a scathing glower. "Wu Xiang, take a seat."
Wu Xiang"s lips twitched in disappointment. He didn"t mean to dig himself a grave.
"Y-Your Highness, you must be jesting," he teased.
"That stack of doc.u.ments is yours to finish," Yu Zhen instructed. He s.h.i.+fted his attention back to the doc.u.ment in front of him. He narrowed his eyes in displeasure upon seeing how stupid this particular one was. Without warning, he crushed it up and tossed it aside.
"It"s time to dispose of the senile Minister Gu," he spat out.
"You seemed upset, Your Highness. More than usual, of course," Wu Xiang murmured. He wanted to argue with the Crown Prince, but saw it was to no avail. When the Crown Prince"s temper reached its peak, nothing could change his mind.
Wu Xiang began to settle into the room. He approached the Crown Prince, but paused beside one of the rectangular tables on the side. In silence, he shoved the table, startling the Advisor.
Hu Dengxiao shot up from the table and the doc.u.ment he had drooled on. He tiredly wiped his mouth and continued working, as if he hadn"t just made a spectacle out of himself.
Wu Xiang snickered in amus.e.m.e.nt. The Advisor didn"t even realize what had happened. He watched as Hu Dengxiao"s head began to droop a bit before he startled himself and continued working.
"Oh, Wu Xiang," Hu Dengxiao murmured upon noticing the Chancellor"s son. He was surprised to see Wu Xiang"s decent-sized stature was able to tower over the table.
"You"re here," Hu Dengxiao added on whilst dipping his brush in dried-up ink. "What for?"
"To behave as a messenger apparently," Wu Xiang replied as a great idea came to mind.
"A messenger?" Hu Dengxiao asked.
His eyes wandered to Lu Tianbi and his mind recalled the argument they had yesterday. They were bickering about who would become the messenger who would be killed on the spot.
"Yes, one of the guards from a supposedly unoccupied part of the palace told me something very interesting," Wu Xiang responded. He rested his hands behind his shoulders and took an airy step towards his dear friend.
Yu Zhen didn"t show any interest in hearing his childhood friend out. He continued working but with ears perked.
"Your Highness," Wu Xiang sang. "I should"ve known you weren"t celibate for all of these years. I mean, with so many beautiful women throwing themselves at your path, how could you not entertain a single one of them, Your Highness?"
Hu Dengxiao tilted his head in confusion. He scratched his head and wondered what the Chancellor"s son was babbling about. Just then, something clicked and his eyes widened.
But it was too late, Yu Zhen was the first to realize it.
"Where was the guard from?" Yu Zhen demanded in a low, threatening voice.
Wu Xiang raised a brow. Oh ho. So quick to respond. It was different from his usual behavior.
Wu Xiang had grown up by the Crown Prince"s side. He was familiar with Yu Zhen"s aloof silence. But who would"ve thought the Crown Prince was so quick to react to this piece of information?
He revealed a deep, wicked smile. "So my predictions were correct?" He let out a small "tsk."
"Of course, Your Highness, you can take as many concubines as you please. But you"re marrying Wuyi"s Princess very soon. You should keep that concubine of yours hidden—" Wu Xiang"s body swerved to the left when a blade was tossed towards his neck.
The knife grazed him and nearly stabbed one of his servants right through the eyes. The servants behind him jumped back in fear, their lives flas.h.i.+ng before their eyes.
"Violent as always," Wu Xiang breathed out. He tucked a strand of hair back into place and chuckled. Had he hit a nerve?
Seeing the Crown Prince"s vicious expression, he quickly added on, "I was joking, Your Highness."
"Get to the point," Yu Zhen growled. His patience had reached its limits.
Wu Xiang pressed his lips together. He glanced at the spot that the knife landed. Right upon the closed door. He touched his neck and saw blood staining his pale finger-tips.
Tsk. The Crown Prince"s aim was perfect as always. If Wu Xiang hadn"t dodged, he would"ve dropped dead right here. But something about poking the lion was so fun…
"The guard came from the Crown Princess"s palace. You should kick that concubine out very soon. a.s.sign her elsewhere. That residence is made for Wuyi"s—"
Wu Xiang was interrupted yet again. This time, it was by Yu Zhen himself. His eyes grew wide when the Crown Prince stormed towards him.
Wu Xiang flinched in fear and blocked his face. But Yu Zhen wasn"t going to hit him. No. The Crown Prince had shoved him aside. And quite frankly, bolted out of the room.
"What just happened?" Wu Xiang wondered out loud. He had blinked once. And the Crown Prince was gone. Just like that.
He tilted his head in confusion. "Hey Tianbi," he called out to his younger cousin. "Why is the Crown Prince in such a hurry?"
Lu Tianbi finally registered that her cousin was in the room. She was so focused on her work to even realize he had stepped inside of here.
"Oh, Xiang-ge," she acknowledged. "When did you get here?"
Wu Xiang frowned at her words. "Was my presence that small that you didn"t notice me?"
Lu Tianbi revealed an amused smile. She tucked strands of hair behind her ears to see him properly. Her head had been bent for so long, her hair was falling lower.
"I was just distracted, that"s all," she said.
Lu Tianbi blinked in confusion. That"s strange. Yu Zhen"s overbearing presence was gone. It was easier to breathe now. She searched the room for the Crown Prince, but didn"t see him.
"Xiang-ge, did the Crown Prince leave just now?" Lu Tianbi questioned. She was perplexed by the Commander"s disappearance. He was the most diligent out of them all. The Commander wouldn"t just abandon his duties like this.
"Ah yes," Wu Xiang nodded. "The Crown Prince just made a mad dash out of the door right now. Though, I don"t know why."
"I know, I know!" Hu Dengxiao spoke up like an excited child. He was eager to lessen Lu Tianbi"s confusion. It was a rare opportunity to prove himself.
"Wu Xiang just told Yu Zhen that our little lady is awake!" Hu Dengxiao exclaimed.
Lu Tianbi stumbled out of her chair in shock. "What?!" she hissed.
Hu Dengxiao nodded. "And Yu Zhen is undoubtedly rus.h.i.+ng towards her as we speak. Isn"t it romantic?"
"This is why I told him I should"ve stand guard!" Lu Tianbi huffed. "But nooo, he never listens."
Hu Dengxiao blinked. "But if you stood guard, who would help me finish all of the work?"
Lu Tianbi scowled upon seeing his stack of doc.u.ments hadn"t reduced the slightest bit. Her"s were almost done now, so was the Crown Prince"s.
"If he had just listened to me," Lu Tianbi bit out. "Then Wu Xiang wouldn"t have found out about her."
Wu Xiang raised a brow. "Find out about who?"
"None of your business," Hu Dengxiao chimed.
"Really now?" Wu Xiang suspiciously asked.
Hu Dengxiao rapidly nodded. "Wu Xiang, you should pretend tonight never happened."
"And why"s that?" Wu Xiang questioned.
Hu Dengxiao innocently blinked. He revealed a sweet smile. "Well, don"t you value your life?"
Wu Xiang was surprised by the eerie chill that crawled up his spine. Threats like this rarely terrified him. But he had felt genuine fear just now. As if his precious life was about to end very soon…
Why was that?
"And who would dare to execute the Chancellor"s son?" Wu Xiang asked. He was entertained by the Advisor"s threat. This man was just an orphan. Did Hu Dengxiao dare to raise his sword against an aristocrat?
"Silly boy, who else?" Hu Dengxiao teased. He c.o.c.ked his head and let out a deep, humorless chuckle.
"Yu Zhen will not hesitate to behead you if a word of this gets out," Hu Dengxiao deadpanned. He watched in satisfaction as Wu Xiang"s eyes grew wide. The Chancellor"s son gulped.
Wu Xiang had understood the message.