Ch 36 “Your Highness, how terrible.”
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Xie Chaoling still lived in this manor.
One has to say that this place was indeed more comfortable and had a better view than King Ke’s Mansion.
The only thing was that it was too quiet, and there was no one in the surrounding area for dozens of miles. Xie Chaoyuan said that he was going to be locked up, but he actually really wanted to lock him up and isolate him from the world.
Xie Chaoyuan stayed with him, and rarely returned to the capital except for court once every five days.
After that, it continued to snow for more than ten days until the end of the year.
When Xie Chaoyuan entered the door, Xie Chaoling was reading a book on the couch, and ignored him when he heard footsteps, never taking his eyes off the book in his hand.
This had been the case for this period of time. Since Xie Chaoyuan decided to imprison him here that day, the two of them have fallen into a state similar to a cold war. He didn’t speak, and Xie Chaoyuan didn’t bother him. Even though he was in the same room every day, he did his own thing. As for the night…
They were all young, lying on the same bed, being pure-hearted and ascetic, that was not possible.
Xie Chaoling suspected that the Gu was responsible for that, but when the lights were turned off, the darkness covered all the unspeakable embarrassment and the desire was magnified several times. He didn’t want to treat himself badly, and would rather choose to indulge.
Xie Chaoyuan took off his cloak, and roasted near the brazier by the door for a while to relieve the cold, and then went to sit on the couch.
Xie Chaoling turned over lazily, not wanting to talk to him, but after reading the book all afternoon, he was inevitably dizzy and bored, so he put down the book and closed his eyes to rest.
Xie Chaoyuan leaned closer and rubbed his fingers lightly on his temples, but Xie Chaoling didn’t move and kept his eyes closed.
“Chinese New Year will be in a few days. I have to go to the New Year’s festival in the Palace for many celebrations and sacrifices. I will not be able to come until the third day of the lunar new year.”
Xie Chaoyuan finished speaking in a low voice, waited for a moment, then added another sentence: “Linlang, are you still angry?”
Xie Chaoling finally opened his eyes and looked at him. He has been competing in patience with this little beast for more than ten days, and Xie Chaoyuan was more patient than him. He imagined that he was more calm, maybe it was because he felt that he couldn’t escape from him?
Although he really didn’t intend to run now.
“If I’m still angry, what’s your Highness going to do?” Xie Chaoling smiled, it was the first time in so many days that he was willing to talk to someone.
“Nothing,” Xie Chaoyuan said, “wait patiently until you calm down.”
“It’s the first time I know that Your Highness is such a patient person.” Xie Chaoling sneered.
“Linlang doesn’t understand me at all,” Xie Chaoyuan changed the subject, “What do you want to eat tonight?”
Xie Chaoling thought for a while, “You said it before, hot pot.”
Fifteen minutes later, the steaming pot was served on the table, and all kinds of dishes were served. Shabu-shabu meat and vegetables were placed on the table, and the aroma filled the whole room.
Xie Chaoling ate slowly, and when Xie Chaoyuan talked to him, he only spoke up once in a while.
“When I was young, when I first went back to the palace to celebrate the New Year, the family banquet was held in the palace, and this was what I ate.” Xie Chaoyuan picked up food for Xie Chaoling, and talked about the past abruptly.
Xie Chaoling listened silently and did not answer.
Xie Chaoyuan didn’t take it personally, and continued on: “I didn’t even know how to use chopsticks at that time. I didn’t have a wet nurse to teach me, nor did my mother. When I ate at my palace, I directly used my hands. In the palace, I couldn’t, especially not in front of His Majesty. I would be punished for my disrespect, so I could only watch other people eat.”
“Older Brother was not a crown prince at that time, he was the fifth prince, and he was sitting next to me. He discovered I haven’t eaten, and when he asked me why I didn’t eat, I said I wasn’t hungry and I didn’t want to eat. In fact, my stomach was growling with hunger, but I didn’t want to be found out that I couldn’t use chopsticks.”
Xie Chaoyuan raised his eyes to look at Xie Chaoling. With the mist from the hot pot, the emotion in his eyes was a little blurred: “But in fact, the prince could see through it. He didn’t expose me. He also took the trouble to pick the vegetables for me again and again, and dipped them carefully. Then put the sauce into my spoon, and told me to eat even if I was not hungry, and not to be a picky eater.”
Xie Chaoyuan’s voice became lower: “Crown Prince Brother must have forgotten such trifles long ago.”
Was there such a thing? Xie Chaoling thought about it carefully, and it seemed that there was indeed an event like that.
However, he felt that Xie Chaoyuan had probably made a mistake. He was never warm-hearted. At that time, he was willing to take care of the sixth younger brother because he thought that the younger brother was good-looking and he liked him.
If he had known that he would have provoked such a lunatic in this way, he would not have meddled in his own business back then.
…Sure enough, beauty misleads people.
There was a feeling of awkwardness in his heart. Without revealing anything on his face, Xie Chaoling slowly ate the food that Xie Chaoyuan put into his bowl, and said: “Since the crown prince is so kind to Your Highness, Your Highness plotted against him and treated him as the fish in the pond. It’s a bit ungrateful.”
Xie Chaoyuan looked calm, and continued to serve him food: “Yeah.”
Xie Chaoling looked at him: “Yeah, what do you mean by that?”
“Linlang is right, I am ungrateful and wolf-hearted, not a thing.”
Xie Chaoling: “…” Forget it.
After eating and drinking enough, Xie Chaoling was full and sleepy, so he wanted to wash up and go to sleep. Xie Chaoyuan pulled him up from the couch: “The snow has stopped outside, go out and have a look.”
Xie Chaoling was not interested, and went back holding the hand warmer, reluctant to move: “Not going.”
Xie Chaoyuan looked down at him for a while, stretched out his hand, pulled him up with his arms around Xie Chaoling’s waist, and then took a cloak to help him put it on: “Let’s go.”
It lasted for more than ten days until the snow finally stopped tonight. The courtyard was only cleaned in the evening, so there was a thin layer of snow, which reflected an ambiguous warm light under the palace lanterns.
Xie Chaoling who was still holding the hand warmer, his nose red from the cold: “Your Highness is really in a good mood, it’s so cold, and there’s not even a shred of moonlight outside, so what’s there to see?”
Xie Chaoyuan kept silent, leading him forward, and finally stopped in front of an open flat land.
“What are you doing here?” Xie Chaoling asked with a frown.
Xie Chaoyuan let go of his hand, let him stand where he was, and went forward alone.
Xie Chaoling didn’t understand, so Xie Chaoyuan bent down with his back to him, took out the fire starter, and lit the fuse on the ground.
The lead wire burned quickly and split into several pieces, and a whole row of fireworks and lanterns sprang up suddenly, brightening the silence of the night, and reflected in Xie Chaoling’s slightly surprised black eyes behind.
He subconsciously looked at Xie Chaoyuan. Xie Chaoyuan was also looking at him, Xie Chaoling was slightly taken aback.
Xie Chaoyuan walked back with the fireworks and lanterns behind him still alive, clearly outlining that handsome face. Xie Chaoling was still in a daze, staring at the approaching person, his heart was inexplicably hot…how did the Gu come out again?
“Linlang.”
Xie Chaoyuan had already walked in front of him, calling him in a deep voice.
The fireworks behind him were all put away at the same time. Xie Chaoling finally regained consciousness, coughed lightly: “Your Highness, it seems that a child of the age of Princess Leping would like to play with this?”
“Was it nice to look at?” Xie Chaoyuan asked him.
Xie Chaoling didn’t want to admit it, but he couldn’t say anything against his will, so he nodded: “It’s okay.”
Xie Chaoyuan looked at him, and suddenly smiled: “I think it’s good too, crown prince brother took me to play this game when he was young, he also said it was pretty.”
Xie Chaoling’s eyelashes moved slightly, he actually couldn’t remember most trivial things when he was a child. After entering the Eastern Palace, he even forced himself to forget the rare and free days of his childhood, and worked hard to learn how to do things, and even pretended to be a dignified and prudent heir to the throne.
This was not an easy task. He spent five years and still couldn’t achieve perfection.
Xie Chaoling always thought that he had forgotten it long ago, and he had indeed forgotten it, but someone had always remembered what he deliberately forgot.
Xie Chaoling asked with a smile, “Why does Your Highness always mention your elder brother in front of me?”
There was teasing in his eyes: “Your Highness has such an obsessive tone when mentioning the crown prince, don’t tell me there is an intent toward your elder brother that shouldn’t be seen? Your Highness calls me older brother, is it because of this? It turns out that in His Highness’s heart, I am actually a substitute for the prince of the Eastern Palace?”
Pointing his finger at Xie Chaoyuan’s shoulder, Xie Chaoling continued to laugh at him: “If that’s the case, I’m too sad. Is it because of the face? So why didn’t Your Highness directly attack your crown prince brother? Could it be because of your brother’s disobedience? It turns out that Your Highness also dared not do things, which is unexpected. Your Highness, this doens’t seem like you.”
“Your Highness said that the crown prince was also a fish in that pond, and his life and death unknown. Did you think that since you can’t get it, you should destroy it? Your Highness, how terrible.”
Xie Chaoling spoke more and more without boundaries. Xie Chaoyuan listened silently, not answering a word. After Xie Chaoling finished speaking, he felt bored again, and was uncomfortable being stared at by him for a while, then finally smiled and stopped talking.
“I’m talking nonsense, Your Highness just listen to it casually.”
Xie Chaoyuan took a step forward and was almost touching Xie Chaoling. Xie Chaoling frowned subconsciously. The little b*stard raised his hand, brushed the end of his eyes, and said: “If you don’t like to listen, I won’t talk about it.”
Xie Chaoling clicked his tongue again: “That’s not necessary, just say what your highness wants to say, I also really want to know the past events between your highness and your crown prince brother, so just treat it as a joke for me.”
Xie Chaoyuan looked at him deeply, he didn’t make any sound for a while.
Xie Chaoling’s mind moved slightly. He stood on tiptoe, his eyes were level with Xie Chaoyuan’s, he held his face with both hands, and patted it lightly: “Your Highness, when you mention your crown prince brother, do it with a gentle and pleasant tone.”
Xie Chaoyuan grabbed his face. His hands pressed the person into his embrace.
Silently hugged for a while and then let go, Xie Chaoyuan walked back and continued to light the fireworks and lanterns in the second row.
Afterwards until nightfall, Xie Chaoyuan kept doing the same thing over and over again.
Xie Chaoling saw it while standing and then approached and sat in the next booth to watch, he could tell that the one who wanted to play this was actually Xie Chaoyuan himself.
Xie Chaoyuan lit the last few rows of fireworks together, came back to Xie Chaoling, and stretched out his hand to him: “Let’s go back.”
Xie Chaoling was already sleepy, nodded, got up and walked back with Xie Chaoyuan.
After returning to the house, Xie Chaoling washed up and fell into the bed. Xie Chaoyuan asked people to turn off the light and went to bed, and hugged him from behind.
Xie Chaoling closed his eyes, thinking that this kid probably would let him off tonight, and didn’t bother to move.
“When I was in another palace, I raised a little white cat.” Xie Chaoyuan said suddenly, his voice was low, right next to Xie Chaoling’s ear.
Xie Chaoling didn’t make a sound and listened to him quietly.
Xie Chaoyuan squeezed Xie Chaoling’s fingers lightly, and continued slowly: “It’s a lovely little thing, it came to the palace by itself. I fed it a mouse I caught once, and it just clung to me and won’t leave. As long as I got food, I would give it some.”
“What happened next?” Xie Chaoling asked lazily with his eyes closed.
“Then it disappeared. I searched for three days inside and outside the palace, but I couldn’t find it. I never saw it again. At that time, I thought, I shouldn’t raise it freely. If it was locked in the palace, it won’t run away.”
Xie Chaoling frowned, but still didn’t open his eyes, he seemed to understand the meaning of Xie Chaoyuan’s words. Xie Chaoyuan said this to him specially.
“Your Highness, I am not your little white cat.” Xie Chaoling reminded him.
“You are not, you are more important than the little white cat.”
So it was even more important to lock him up.
Xie Chaoling patted the back of his hand: “Next time I see a beautiful little white cat, I’ll give His Highness another one.”
His voice was a little fuzzy, and soon he fell asleep completely, and his breathing became steady.
Xie Chaoyuan bowed his head, and carefully kissed him on the back of his neck.
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