“Jinghe, you’re still young and don’t understand. Your brother and I are already married and have our own nightlife. The servants in the manor wouldn’t be so ‘inconsiderate’ as to disturb us so late at night,” Xie Chang’an replied meaningfully.

Ye Jinghe understood his unspoken meaning and asked Ye Jingchen in a pitiful tone, "Brother, should I not have come to see you?"

Xie Chang'an gritted his teeth in hatred.

"No, even if you hadn't come to see me, I would have gone back to the palace to find you anyway. Your arrival is just in time," Ye Jingchen said with a smile.

Ye Jinghe's expression froze for a moment. If he had known his brother would return to the palace to find him, he wouldn't have come to the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion.

He didn't want to see Xie Chang'an at all.

However, the thought that his brother hadn't forgotten him because of Xie Chang'an made him happy again.

"Brother, is there something you need from me? What do you need me to do?" Ye Jinghe asked excitedly.

"It's nothing, I just wanted to let you know that I'll be staying at the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion for a while. You need to eat well and go to bed on time every day," Ye Jingchen said.

"Brother, you're so kind!" Ye Jinghe hugged Ye Jingchen tightly, deeply moved.

"Hiss—" Xie Chang'an saw this scene and immediately wanted to separate the two people, but he forgot that he was still injured. Every movement caused a tearing pain, and he gasped for breath.

"What's wrong with you?" Ye Jingchen quickly pushed Ye Jinghe away, turned around and walked to the bedside to look at Xie Chang'an.

Fortunately, the wound on Xie Chang'an's back did not bleed due to his movements.

"I...I'm fine..." Xie Chang'an endured the pain, waiting for it to subside.

"Why are you moving around when you're injured? Are you trying to get your brother's attention?" Ye Jinghe leaned over and asked with an unfriendly expression.

"Jinghe, it's getting late. You should head back to the palace. Be careful on your journey," Ye Jingchen said, patting Ye Jinghe on the shoulder.

Xie Chang'an was about to retaliate when he heard Ye Jingchen's words, so he stopped talking and just looked at Ye Jinghe with a smug look in his eyes.

"Alright, brother, get some rest." Ye Jinghe glared at Xie Chang'an and said sullenly.

"I'll see you out of the mansion," Ye Jingchen said, preparing to escort Ye Jinghe out.

"No need, I can walk by myself." Ye Jinghe stopped Ye Jingchen and quickly left.

Although he wanted to spend more time with his brother, who knew what kind of self-harming behavior Xie Chang'an, that jealous man, would do behind his brother's back to gain his brother's sympathy?

"Your Highness, you are a married man now. How can you let an outsider hug you?" Xie Chang'an rebuked as soon as Ye Jinghe left.

"Who are the outsiders?" Ye Jingchen asked.

Xie Chang'an hesitated for a moment, then was overwhelmed by a wave of bitterness. "I'm the outsider, Your Highness. Is that what you mean?"

Ye Jingchen stared at Xie Chang'an for a long while before asking, "You've only been the Crown Princess for a few days and you're already tired of her? You want to be an outsider?"

Xie Chang'an was momentarily speechless.

"I knew it. I'll never be as important to you as your beloved younger brother," he said listlessly.

"Shall I go back to the palace now?" Ye Jingchen made a move to leave.

"You dare—" Xie Chang'an grabbed Ye Jingchen's hand.

"Alright, don't get jealous unnecessarily. Jinghe is a bit clingy, but you should be able to tell that he only sees me as an older brother, and I only see him as a younger brother," Ye Jingchen said, squeezing Xie Chang'an's hand in return.

Xie Chang'an remained silent.

He believed that Ye Jingchen always treated Ye Jinghe like a younger brother and doted on him, but Ye Jinghe's feelings for Ye Jingchen were definitely not just the feelings of a younger brother for an older brother.

Ye Jinghe's life revolves around Ye Jingchen, and all his emotions are entrusted to this one person.

That won't do.

Ye Jingchen can only be his.

"Don't you think Jinghe is a bit pitiful right now? He doesn't have any friends, his relationship with his siblings isn't good, he's all alone," Xie Chang'an said to Ye Jingchen.

“Jinghe does need to make friends, but he’s very resistant to it. What can you do?” Ye Jingchen asked.

"Given his personality, he's incapable of making friends on his own initiative; friends have to come to him," Xie Chang'an said.

“He is very perceptive, and approaching him with ulterior motives will not work. Moreover, becoming his friend with ulterior motives cannot be considered true friendship,” Ye Jingchen said.

"Let him meet more people first, and he'll naturally make friends. If you trust me, leave this to me, and I'll make sure he has lots of friends!" Xie Chang'an said confidently to Ye Jingchen.

"Give it to you?" Ye Jingchen looked at Xie Chang'an. "Do you even have any friends? How can you be so confident?"

As everyone knows, Xie Chang'an has the same problem with friends as Ye Jinghe; neither of them has any friends.

Moreover, the reasons why they don't have friends are similar: they don't want to make friends.

Otherwise, someone as enthusiastic as Yun Shu and as innocent as Ye Jingyu would have been able to become friends with them.

"I don't have any friends, but I have a lover. I'm different from him," Xie Chang'an said with a hint of pride.

“You can arrange it, but the friends you choose for Jinghe must be of good character and upright. I must see them first before they can be sent to him,” Ye Jingchen said.

“Okay, once I’ve decided on the candidates, I’ll definitely let you take a look first,” Xie Chang’an readily agreed.

He was determined to choose more friends for Ye Jinghe so that Ye Jingchen would have no time to bother him in the future.

The bed in Xie Chang'an's room was large enough for two people, but Ye Jingchen was worried that he might unintentionally touch Xie Chang'an's injuries while he was asleep, which would aggravate his injuries. Therefore, he did not sleep with Xie Chang'an, but instead placed a couch next to the bed and slept on the couch.

The tatami mat was placed vertically next to the bed, so although they couldn't sleep together, they could still sit head to head, very close.

The next day was March 6th, Xie Chang'an's birthday.

But he could only spend his birthday in bed.

Before going to sleep, Ye Jingchen called out to Chenxi, asking him to wake him up the next day.

“I can wake you up; there’s no need to trouble Chenxi,” Xie Chang’an said.

In the days following their marriage, Xie Chang'an took on all the tasks of serving Ye Jingchen, including waking him up. Not only were Fangfei and the others free, but even Chenxi felt superfluous.

Aside from attending court, Xie Chang'an stayed with Ye Jingchen at all times, even more closely than Chenxi, Ye Jingchen's personal bodyguard.

"I have to get up early tomorrow. If you don't want to wake me up, it will cause problems," Ye Jingchen said.

"Didn't you already ask for leave and not have to attend the morning court session? What else could you possibly need to do so early in the morning?" Xie Chang'an asked, puzzled.

"You'll find out tomorrow!" Ye Jingchen kept everyone in suspense.

At dawn the next day, the sun appeared precisely on time, ready to wake Ye Jingchen.

Xie Chang'an had been awake for a long time and had been staring at Ye Jingchen's sleeping face for quite some time.