Your Highness, Please Love Me Tender

15. An Identical Pattern

Translator: Flying Lines

Xiao Shengnian brought Su Jie to the House of Auspice, gently put him on the bed and turned to take from the shelf a hand-crafted medicine case of high quality pearwood carved with a novel pattern of a flower.

Su Jie was astonished the moment he saw the pattern. That was the same flower patten on his jade pendant.

He stared fixedly at the case and hastened to look away when Xiao Shengnian picked a bottle of unguent from it.

Prince Rui walked to the bed, sized him up and went straight to the point, “Take off your clothes.”

Su Jie did as told, without raising any objection.

Xiao Shengnian bent down to apply the unguent on Su Jie’s wounds.

‘Damn! It hurts!’ Su Jie complained inwardly. While in fact he didn’t utter a sound as such injuries were nothing to him. But this was the first time that his wounds were treated with such tenderness.

Was Prince Rui always so gentle and tender to others? Su Jie thought, surprised.

Truth was, Prince Rui was just suddenly seized by a whim. His heart somehow ached and softened the moment he saw Su Jie’s pale face, his stubbornness, and his wounds oozing blood. The boy’s weakness mixed with toughness somehow struck a nerve.

What Xiao Shengnian despised the most was the weak begging for mercy. Su Jie’s unswerving will was what impressed him the most.

Xiao Shengnian had no intention of letting Su Jie out of the prison. His identity of a royal member allowed him to have complete control over the life of either the slaves or servants. So seldom would he show any sympathy toward others. Beneath his gentle and graceful look was a cold heart.

Su Jie was supposed to be a dead man the moment he was thrown into the secret prison. However, Xiao Shengnian changed his mind when he saw the jade pendant.

The pendant was originally placed under the pillow in the guest room, which was found by his guard and immediately brought to him.

He had compared the pattern on the medicine case with that on the pendant. They were identical.

The pendant was even more delicately crafted than the case with the word “Jie” inscribed in the lower right corner.

Seeing that, Xiao Shengnian went straight to the prison.

In a sense, Su Jie was saved by his own jade pendant or his mission would have failed shortly after he stepped in the mansion of Prince Rui.

Still, Prince Rui personally treating his wound gave Su Jie a good fright.

Su Jie’s knitted brows brought Xiao Shengnian’s hand to a pause. Gently he asked, “It hurts?”

“No, I’m fine.”

Though getting a negative claim, Xiao Shengnian applied the unguent with greater caution and later bandaged Su Jie into a living mummy.

Su Jie was nearly reduced to tears.

Xiao Shengnian, however, was quite proud of his “work”. “This is the first time I bandage a wound,” so he said.

Su Jie was speechless.

Xiao Shengnian spoke again, “Don’t move with your wounds. I’ll let Yu Jiang take care of you.”

‘I can barely move with these bandages!’ Su Jie complained by stealth while hummed as a response.

Xiao Shengnian leaned over and kissed him on the forehead before taking out the jade pendant, “Is this yours?”

Su Jie’s eyes lit up as his lips arched into a smile. The jade pendant meant a lot to him. He nodded vigorously, “Yes!”

Xiao Shengnian asked with some casualness, “Xiaonu, where did you get it?”

“I don’t know. I’ve been wearing it since young,” Su Jie weighed his words with great caution. Loose lips sink ships. He had to be extra careful in this mansion.

Xiao Shengnian nodded and put the pendant next to Su Jie’s pillow. As a prince, he couldn’t allow himself to dwell much on a single person, that would be a waste of time. He had to put his time into better use, to read and learn to better equip himself. He now had already wasted too much time on this boy.

“I’m right next door.” With that, he strode out of the room.

Yu Jiang came in the moment he left.