Did The Young Prince’s Kingdom Get Destroyed Today? Chapter 199

Ling Rui turned to look back at Shui Shui’s room for a few seconds, but eventually gave up on going back to ask.

Shui Shui was very busy, and Ling Rui didn’t want to disturb him.

After leaving Shui Shui’s place, Ling Rui went looking for Ah Wu. He had barely spoken to him during dinner since he’d spent most of the time talking with his brother and uncle.

Ah Wu’s room was right next to his own, so by now Ah Wu was likely already back in his room.

“Little Seven.”

Before Ling Rui could reach Ah Wu, he was called out by Ling Chen.

Though Ling Rui had no memories of his elder brother, he still had a good feeling about him.

Obediently, he tilted his face up and called, “Big Brother.”

Ling Chen smiled, ruffling his little brother’s hair. “Come, keep your big brother company for a while.”

Ling Rui hesitated for a moment before nodding in agreement.

He followed Ling Chen back to his room, which was furnished simply, without a hint of extravagance. Anyone walking in by accident would never assume this was the living space of an emperor.

“Have some tea,” Ling Chen said, pouring a cup and handing it to Ling Rui.

The two brothers sat at the tea table, each holding a teacup in hand.

Ling Rui gulped down the tea in a few quick sips and, once finished, asked, “Big Brother, do you have something you want to talk to me about?”

“Yes, I do.”

Ling Chen’s tone was calm and unhurried as he said, “Has Shui Shui’s antidote been helping you?”

“I don’t know yet, I just took it.”

Ling Rui raised his hand to touch his head. It was probably because it hadn’t been long since he took the medicine, and he didn’t feel anything yet.

Ling Chen had confidence in Shui Shui’s medical skills, so seeing that there was no effect for now, he didn’t worry.

“After taking it a few more times, you should start remembering,” Ling Chen said, adding, “By the way, once the war here is settled, I’ll be setting off to return home. At that time, we’ll go back together.”

“Huh?”

“Father and your mother miss you a lot. Even Ling Fu keeps asking about you.”

“Alright,” Ling Rui nodded instinctively upon hearing the mention of his father and mother. “Then we’ll go back together.”

Ling Chen, seeing his younger brother being so obedient, smiled in satisfaction.

He reminded him, “Father’s health has not been good for a long time. When you return, spend more time with him. Seeing you will lift his spirits.”

Ling Rui nodded obediently again.

After talking about bringing him home, Ling Chen also brought up his marriage.

“Little Seven, besides Ling Yi, all your other brothers and sisters have partners now. Even your fourth brother’s child is returning to the capital soon.”

“Now, it’s just you left. Tell your big brother, what kind of girl do you like? Big brother can help you find one.”

“Big brother, I don’t like any kind of girl.”

“Don’t talk nonsense.”

Ling Chen didn’t take his words seriously. He glanced at his brother’s fair face and figured he was still too young to understand matters of love.

“Let’s wait until we return to the palace to talk about it.”

There were people in the palace who would teach him about such things.

The two brothers continued drinking tea and chatting. After finishing his tea, Ling Rui poured himself another cup.

While sipping his tea, he looked at his big brother and hesitated for a moment before asking, “Big brother, I heard you don’t have any concubines or an empress. Why don’t you have a harem?”

Ling Chen: “…”

For him to have reached this age without opening a harem, he naturally had his reasons.

Calmly, he replied, “State affairs keep me busy. I don’t have the time or energy to focus on a harem.”

Ling Rui wasn’t convinced by this explanation. Holding his teacup, he responded honestly, “Even if you’re busy, you still need to sleep. If you can’t handle many concubines, you could just have one empress. That way, you wouldn’t have to sleep alone.”

Compared to sleeping alone, Ling Rui personally thought it was more comfortable to have someone sleep with him.

He was planning to go back to his room and sleep with Ah Wu later.

“Big brother wants to find someone he likes to be the empress,” Ling Chen explained. “It’s not the right time yet.”

Although Ling Rui had lost his memory, he was still sharp. He sensed something unusual and directly asked, “Big brother, do you already like someone?”

Ling Chen didn’t say anything.

Ling Rui’s eyes curved into a smile.

It seemed his intuition was right!

“Don’t concern yourself with your big brother’s affairs.” Ling Chen knocked on his little brother’s head lightly, then took away his teacup.

“Drinking too much tea at night isn’t good. Go wash up and get ready for bed.”

“Alright.”

Ling Rui stood up and was about to leave, but when he reached the door, he couldn’t resist turning around, leaning on the doorframe, and softly asking, “Big brother, who do you like? Can’t you tell me?”

“No one.”

After denying it, Ling Chen urged him, “Go back and rest.”

Ling Rui was sent away by his big brother, though somewhat reluctantly.

Soon after, he returned to his own room.

His room was empty; Ah Wu wasn’t there.

A servant brought in hot water for a bath. Ling Rui glanced at the water and, after thinking about it, decided to take a bath before going to find Ah Wu.

He never allowed anyone to assist him while bathing, so no one was around to see the unusual marks on his body.

Perhaps his skin was too fair, as even the slightest red mark stood out sharply.

Before he had gone out yesterday, his skin had been flawless. Now, looking at himself again, there were bruises and red marks all over him, as if he had been beaten.

“I look awful,” Ling Rui muttered as he touched the red marks on his body, sighing to himself.

He soaked in the bath for a long time. By the time he came out, he felt completely refreshed.

His new pajamas had already been neatly folded on the bed. He put them on, leaving the buttons undone, and went to knock on the door next to his.

After several knocks, the door finally opened.

Ah Wu, who had also just finished bathing and was dressed in sleepwear, answered the door.

Ling Rui smiled brightly and cheerfully squeezed inside.

Once inside, he casually closed the door behind him.

Murong Xu, who happened to be passing by, saw this and shook his head slightly, muttering to himself, “When will Little Seven finally grow up?”

Even when he was just a little one, he loved clinging to Ah Wu.

Now that they were both grown, they were still so close, which wasn’t quite appropriate.

However, Murong Xu was used to seeing their closeness, so he didn’t think much of it.

Without pausing, he continued on his way.

Inside the room.

As soon as Ling Rui entered, he wrapped his arms around Ah Wu’s neck.

Ah Wu was much taller than him, so for them to embrace like this, Ling Rui had to tilt his head back to meet Ah Wu’s eyes.

“Did you miss me?” Ling Rui asked, his voice as sweet as sugar. “Because I missed you.”

Ah Wu looked down at him, his voice low as he gently reminded, “We’ve only been apart for a little while.”

“Yeah, but even after just a little while, I missed you. That means I love you so much.”

Ling Rui’s sweet words flowed out in abundance, making Ah Wu’s heart feel soft.

Ah Wu knew that these loving words were something he might only get to hear now during this lifetime.

So, he cherished them deeply.

“Ah Wu, give me a kiss.”

Ling Rui wanted kisses and hugs, and Ah Wu indulged him, letting him do as he wished.

The air seemed to sweeten around them.

Before long, they tumbled onto the bed together.

Ah Wu kissed the tips of his hair and asked, “Is your body okay?”

He was worried that Ling Rui might feel uncomfortable.

Ling Rui, hearing this, touched his leg and said, “My leg hurts a little.”

Ah Wu: “…”

Ah Wu sat up and immediately began massaging his leg.

“Get some proper rest today,” Ah Wu said while massaging. “I’ll keep massaging you, so go ahead and sleep.”

Ah Wu’s pressure was just right, and though Ling Rui initially resisted sleep, wanting to chat with him, drowsiness soon took over.

Ling Rui started making little humming sounds, and after a while, even those faded away.

Ah Wu noticed that Ling Rui had fallen asleep, but he didn’t stop his massage.

He lowered his gaze to Ling Rui’s sleeping face, feeling like no matter how much he looked, it was never enough.

The room was quiet, with only the sound of their breathing.

Ling Rui’s breathing became a bit labored in the middle of the night.

He was dreaming.

In his dream, fragments of his lost memories surfaced. Though not many, the memories were slowly returning.

The first memory he regained was of how he and Ah Wu first met.

He dreamt of how the two of them depended on each other for survival, and in the dream, he also heard distant voices conversing.

The conversation was about Ah Wu.

They said Ah Wu was the leader of the ferocious beasts, and keeping him alive might bring future troubles.

They also said Ah Wu should never have existed and that they needed to erase him.

They sighed and said, “How did this little auspicious beast get involved with this ferocious one? As long as the little auspicious beast is around, it will be difficult to get rid of the ferocious one.”

Their sighs and conversation continued for a long time.

Towards the end, Ling Rui vaguely heard them say—

“If the little auspicious beast insists on protecting him with his life, perhaps we should just let him go, so he can accumulate some merits…”

After that, the words became too faint to hear.

That night, Ling Rui’s dreams were continuous, and when he woke the next morning, he yawned as soon as he opened his eyes.

Ah Wu, who was still beside him, asked, “Did you get tired from sleeping?”

“I dreamed, so I’m a little tired.”

Ling Rui yawned, leaning his head on Ah Wu’s shoulder. He seemed boneless as he rested against him.

Ah Wu’s shoulders were sturdy and very comfortable to lean on.

“Ah Wu, I remembered something.”

The memories Ling Rui regained were all related to Ah Wu.

Although he was a little tired, he was in high spirits: “Ah Wu, it turns out we’ve known each other for a long time.”

“So, it wasn’t love at first sight for me.”

“I fell in love with you over time!”

As Ling Rui spoke, he became more and more cheerful, but Ah Wu, hearing this, couldn’t share in his joy.

Ling Rui was truly regaining his memories, which meant their time together was nearing its end.

“Ah Wu, aren’t you happy?”

Ling Rui looked up when Ah Wu didn’t respond, noticing his expression wasn’t quite right.

“I’m not unhappy.”

Ah Wu adjusted his mood and said, “I’m just surprised at how effective Shui Shui’s medicine is.”

“Shui Shui is amazing.”

Ling Rui confirmed, “Everyone in the camp calls him a miracle doctor.”

Ah Wu responded with a brief “Mm” and said no more.

As they held each other that morning, Ling Rui’s thoughts began to wander.

“Ah Wu, I’m well-rested now. Are you?”

Ah Wu, still lost in his thoughts, didn’t catch the hint and simply answered, “Yes, I’m well-rested.”

Hearing this, Ling Rui’s cheeks turned red as he leaned in closer.

And so, two well-rested people found themselves engaging in another round of very different “rest.”