Your Highness, Please Love Me Tender

89. Prince Xian Was Missing

Translator: Flying Lines

When Xiao Shengnian returned to the House of Auspice, Su Jie had already finished bathing. There was still some moisture on the youth’s body. He wore a white robe made of brocade, and there was a lonely expression on his face. It revealed a noble indifference that kept others at arm’s length.

White-robed Su Jie seemed like a snow lotus that silently blossomed on the peak of a far-away mountain, giving rise to holy pureness. The lotus could only be admired from afar, but couldn’t be approached.

At this moment, the distance between the two people seemed vast.

Xiao Shengnian felt some discomfort. Subconsciously, he still thought Su Jie looked better when he wore red robes. The red of the robes was gorgeous and only served to make the young man appear more lively and full of youthful vigor.

“Teacher, thank you for curing Nianxuan’s poison.” When he saw the calm-looking Su Jie, Xiao Shengnian inexplicitly relaxed and became happier. He looked at Zhou Zaiyue and talked with a modest and polite tone.

Zhou Zaiyue waved his hand. “What are you thanking me for? Even if you didn’t say anything, I would still try my best to cure his poison.”

“After all, Nianxuan is mine. When teacher cures the poison for Nianxuan, you are also helping Shengnian.” Xiao Shengnian said as he gave a faint smile.

Zhou Zaiyue was helpless and didn’t continue to argue with Xiao Shegnian. Instead, he said to Su Jie, “Bathe in this medicine once every three days. It should be effective after around ten or so baths. The last bath may be a little painful. From now on, I will prepare the herbal bath for you after every two days.”

“Thank you, Elder Zhou.” Su Jie said with a smile.

It was probably because there was progress in curing the poison that the three of them felt pretty happy. After they ate dinner together, Zhou Zaiyue returned to his room to rest. He had worked hard these few days, and now that he had returned, he naturally had to rest for a bit.

On the other hand, Su Jie and Xiao Shengnian went for a walk around the residence.

The moonlight gave a soft glow, just like a lover’s throbbing heart. The stars twinkled in the night sky, and they breathed in the crisp, cool air. Every breath seemed to expel the turbid air from their bodies. Their slow pace was leisurely and peaceful. Neither Su Jie nor Xiao Shengnain spoke. They simply walked together quietly, as if there was not an end to this.

“The views inside Prince Rui’s residence are pretty good.” Su Jie’s clear voice rang when they passed the rockwork.

“Of course.” Xiao Shengnian’s words had a hint of languidness. He squinted at the crescent moon that hung overhead, the smile on the corner of his lips revealed his inner content and happiness.

This was Xiao Shengnian’s first time strolling at night with a lover. There had never been someone like Su Jie, who brought him a sense of homeliness. The young men from before only acted humble to win Xiao Shengnian’s favor, and Xiao Shengnian was naturally tired of dealing with those kinds of people. But Su Jie was different. Su Jie could move his heart, just like a seed of love was buried into the ground of his heart that had been barren for so many years. It grew quietly and sprouted tender green buds, which swayed in the gentle breeze.

Xiao Shengnian had always felt that love was an unnecessary emotion. Love caused one to have a weakness and caused one to feel happy because of another’s happiness. He would always subconsciously think about Su Jie. He thought about the youth’s radiant smile and beautiful expressions. Sometimes, Xiao Shengnian found it strange. He wondered why he cared so much about one person and was quite happy to do so.

Nevermind talking about weaknesses, and nevermind about caring for someone else. Since he was the person Xiao Shengnian loved, he would grasp tightly onto the other’s hand and never let go.

On that night, Xiao Shengnain’s unprecedented tenderness made Su Jie a little confused. He felt Xiao Shengnian was somewhat… sentimentally attached to him.

The next day, when the first ray of sunshine shone down, they woke one after the other. Su Jie yawned sleepily, squinted at Xiao Shengnian, and then slept for a bit longer before he got up to wash himself.

When he sat down to eat breakfast, Xiao Shengnian was playing a game of chess with Zhou Zaiyue. On the other hand, Su Jie decided to exercise a little bit. But as soon as he stood up, Zhui Xing rushed in to find Xiao Shengnian.

“Your Highness, Prince Xian has been kidnapped.”

“Kidnapped?” Xiao Shengnian’s expression didn’t change; only a trace of concern flashed through his calm eyes. He asked, “Do you know who took him?”

Zhui Xing answered, “I don’t. According to the attendants in Prince Xian’s residence, no one discovered anything strange after Prince Xian blew his candles out and went to sleep. But when a manservant entered his room early this morning, the ashes of confusion incense was found, and Prince Xian was nowhere to be seen.”

Xiao Shengnian frowned. He was not well informed when it came to intelligence reports. Instead, it was his missing ninth brother who was good at this, but sadly, the person who was missing was his ninth brother. Xiao Shengnian could only rely on his own power to investigate this.

“What about father?”

“His Majesty has ordered for the capital to be locked down. The palace guards will search the city. At the moment, there haven’t been any results.” Zhui Xing replied.

“I understand, for now… assign some of the guards to investigate this matter. We must find ShengXian’s whereabouts as quickly as possible.” Xiao Shengnian ordered.

“Yes, Your Highness.”