Chapter 48 Will this move work?

Long Zhaoming straightened up and watched him jog over, his gaze falling on the umbrella in his hand: "Why did you only take one umbrella?"

Xiao Mowen handed the umbrella he was holding to Mingyue and said, "One is enough for you and Your Highness."

Long Zhaoming's face darkened again, while Mingyue raised an eyebrow, took the umbrella, and thanked him, saying, "Thank you."

Although his expression changed, Long Zhaoming still squeezed under the umbrella with Xiao Mowen. The two tall men were clearly beyond the umbrella's coverage. Mingyue lagged behind them by half a step and glanced at Xiao Mowen's clothes, which were half-soaked.

Mingyue: Will this trick work?

Whether it worked or not, Mingyue didn't know. She only knew that after returning to the carriage, Long Zhaoming immediately kicked Xiao Mowen out. Xiao Mowen was a little unhappy. Mingyue said quietly from the side, "Brother Xiao, half of your body is wet. You'll have to take a hot bath to warm up when you get back."

Long Zhaoming, who was still chasing people away, paused and his gaze fell on Xiao Mowen's black clothes, which were half soaked. However, he did not show any sign of softening his heart. Instead, he drove him out even more firmly.

"Who told you to only bring one umbrella? You deserve to get wet. Get out."

Seeing that Long Zhaoming seemed genuinely annoyed, Xiao Mowen didn't dare to linger any longer. He lifted the curtain and quickly rolled out, not forgetting to turn back and exchange a glance with Mingyue, clearly very grateful to his good brother for his encouragement.

Mingyue: Okay, no use.

Long Zhaoming sat back down on the cushion, feeling a little uneasy. He was thinking about how to explain if his elder brother asked him later. But after waiting for a while, he still didn't hear Mingyue's voice. He looked over there and saw that the person had already closed her eyes and fallen asleep.

As the carriage swayed gently, a few raindrops drifted in through the heavy curtains, like crystal-clear pendants hanging from them.

The arrival of this spring rain also heralds a new beginning for everything.

......

Seventeen stared at the note in his hand and fell silent. On it, written in ink, was a line of words: "Meet at the bandit camp at midnight."

He couldn't understand who would send him a note. It wasn't there when he went downstairs to call the waiter for hot water, but it appeared on his desk when he came back.

This must be for myself, but I don't know who gave it to me?

After thinking for a while, Seventeen put the note away. He felt a little uneasy, as if something bad was about to happen.

Hearing the commotion outside, Seventeen quickly ran out and leaned on the second-floor railing to greet them: "Your Highness! Brother Yue!"

He then gestured with his chin towards the waiter who had just come out from behind: "Serve the food."

Mingyue folded her umbrella and set it aside. It was raining heavily today, and there were hardly any people in the lobby on the first floor. The boss wasn't there, and only one or two young waiters were busy running around.

Since he had been staying for a long time and held a noble status, the servants certainly wouldn't dare to neglect him, and soon they brought him hot food.

Mingyue sat beside Seventeen, when a wisp of steam suddenly entered her nose. She turned to Seventeen and asked, "Did you take a bath?"

Seventeen nodded: "It got a little wet."

"Don't catch a cold, boil some ginger water to ward off the chill?"

"No, ginger water tastes awful."

Seeing that Seventeen was wrinkling her nose, Mingyue chuckled and didn't press the matter.

The two were speaking in hushed tones. Long Zhaoming, watching from the opposite side, felt his teeth ache, but out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Xiao Mowen leaning closer and subtly moved to the side.

"Let's eat first, we're all starving."

Long Zhaoming invited everyone to eat. As time went by, Seventeen also realized that this prince was really approachable and easy to get along with.

After the four of them finished their meal with slurping noises, Seventeen slumped in his chair, rubbing his stomach and remarking, "I feel like I've gained some weight."

Long Zhaoming laughed out loud: "Little Seventeen was too thin before, it's better to be a little chubby."

Mingyue's gaze fell on Seventeen's belly.

Because of the arrival of spring, they were gradually wearing less clothing. Although it rained today, it wasn't too cold. After washing up, Seventeen simply wore his inner clothes with a light outer robe over them.

The belt of her outer robe was tied tightly, which clearly outlined her slender waist. However, because she had eaten too much, the wide belt was rolled up a little below.

He started laughing as he watched. Seventeen, not understanding why, turned to look at him and asked, "What are you laughing at, Brother Yue?"

Long Zhaoming, looking like he didn't want to see them, pulled Xiao Mowen away, but Seventeen quickly called out to him, "Your Highness! Wait a moment, I have something to say to you."

The four moved to Seventeen's room. Seventeen reached into his pocket and handed the note to Long Zhaoming: "Your Highness, it wasn't on the table when I came back. After I went to get hot water, I found this on my table."

Long Zhaoming took the note with a puzzled look, unfolded it, frowned, and asked, "What does this mean? Who gave it to you?"

Seventeen shook her head: "I don't know, it happened so quietly, I didn't notice anything at all."

"show me."

Long Zhaoming handed the note to Mingyue, who glanced at it and then looked up at Long Zhaoming.

"What's wrong?"

"Doesn't Your Highness find the handwriting on this note somewhat familiar?"

Long Zhaoming looked completely bewildered. Why did he look so familiar? He wasn't blind, so why couldn't he recognize him?

He took the note and examined it carefully from top to bottom for a long time before finally understanding what Mingyue meant by "familiar".

"They wrote it, trying to win over Xiao Shiqi?"

Mingyue nodded, organized her thoughts, and said, "When His Majesty pushed the Seventeenth Prince before the court officials earlier, he must have guessed that this day would come."

After saying that, he turned his head to look at Seventeen, who indeed showed a blank expression.

Mingyue admitted that there was an element of gambling involved. What would Seventeen think when he learned that his beloved and respected Emperor had always treated him as a pawn on a chessboard?

Long Zhaoming was also taken aback when Mingyue brought up the matter in front of Seventeen. He was slightly stunned, then said in a low voice, "Xiao Mowen, you may leave now."

The door closed, and Long Zhaoming looked at Seventeen's bewildered dark eyes, then saw Mingyue's seemingly nervous expression, and stroked his chin and laughed.

"Little Seventeen, do you know why His Majesty bestowed these gifts upon you in front of all the officials?"

Seventeen turned to look at him, her eyes still glazed over. Wasn't the reward given to him because evidence had been discovered?

Seeing that Mingyue was about to make things clear, Long Zhaoming spoke up for him, revealing what was hidden behind his words.

"That's one reason, and there's another reason."

Long Zhaoming turned to look at Seventeen. His fox-like eyes were clearly smiling, but Seventeen felt a sense of... oppression.

“Little Seventeen should know that my brother and I have been investigating the old faction, but for some reason, the people who came to win me over have been hiding things from me. So my brother came up with a plan to push you out.”

"The former secret guards were a team hidden in the shadows. No one knew where they hid, only that they would be loyal to His Majesty."

"But now His Majesty wants to bring the secret guards into the open, which undoubtedly sends them a message that His Majesty may want to make good use of this team."

Seventeen was confused. He didn't know much about the power struggles in the court, but he could barely make out from Long Zhaoming's words that His Majesty might want the secret guards to compete with certain people.

"Putting you in front of the officials at this time serves two purposes: first, to put pressure on them, and second, to test the old party and see if anyone would set their sights on you."

Long Zhaoming tapped the note on the table with the tip of his fan and said with a smile, "Here it is."

Why would they target me? What can I do?

Seventeen was puzzled. He was just a bodyguard. What could he do for those old party members?

"His Majesty was the first to recommend you, and everyone knew about your close relationship with him during that time. Anyone who thinks about it will know that His Majesty definitely values ​​you. So, if you bring the person His Majesty trusts most to your side, wouldn't it be much easier to take action against him?"

"This..." Seventeen hesitated, unable to speak, his mind a jumble.

"Does Your Highness mean that His Majesty wants the old faction to believe that I am deeply trusted by His Majesty, so that they can try to win me over?"

Seventeen felt as if there was a tangled mess in her mind, a chaotic jumble that she couldn't find a way out of.

"But how can they be sure they can successfully win me over? If... I disagree, wouldn't their entire plan be exposed?"

Long Zhaoming pointed to himself and laughed, "Little Seventeen, have you forgotten? I'm one of them too."

This time, Seventeen understood: they wanted His Highness to win him over.

"But......"

Seventeen hesitated a lot, but Long Zhaoming was very clear: "You are the guard that my brother sent to me. No matter what the reason, you should obey me. What if I ask you to do something?"

The saying goes, "A higher rank can crush a lower one." Long Zhaoming is still a prince, and Seventeen is just a guard. If he doesn't obey Long Zhaoming's orders, whose will he obey?

Seventeen felt a little down and didn't speak for a long time. Long Zhaoming glanced at Mingyue, who was still holding a teacup, but hadn't drunk a drop of water.

"Your Highness..."

"Alright, alright, why are you so nervous, Little Seventeen? I'm not really going to make you do these things."

Long Zhaoming smiled and patted his head, feeling a pang of emotion: He's still just a child.

But he felt no remorse for scaring the child and changed the subject.

"Do you have anything to say about His Majesty's decision?"

Seventeen blinked, pulling himself out of his slightly depressed mood, and asked with renewed energy, "What decision? What did you say?"

"Ah, are you referring to the matter of having the old party try to win me over?"

He tilted his head and looked at Long Zhaoming, his eyes full of doubt: "Do I need to say anything?"

Long Zhaoming choked up. He thought Seventeen would be a little unhappy, but it seemed that this part had been completely skipped.

With a "clatter," Mingyue placed the cup on the table, looked up at Seventeen, and asked, "Don't you feel that His Majesty is using you as a pawn? Aren't you angry with His Majesty?"

Seventeen looked at Mingyue with an indescribable gaze and asked the same question again: "Brother Yue, are you really not upset with His Majesty?"

Long Zhaoming: ?

Bright Moon: ?

"I don't really understand the decisions Your Majesty has made, but I know that if it weren't for Your Majesty, I would have been reincarnated countless times. Even if Your Majesty asked me to go through fire and water, I wouldn't hesitate."

Seventeen was very puzzled by this. Why would they think that he would disagree with His Majesty's decision?

"His Majesty's plan is naturally the result of careful consideration. I only need to follow the decree. Why should I speculate? Although I don't know why he won't tell me directly, I'm sure His Majesty has his own decision."

He rested his chin on his hand and looked out the window. The rain had lessened, and a sliver of golden light appeared on the horizon.

Long Zhaoming fell silent and looked at Mingyue silently, and Mingyue also fell silent.

At this moment, Mingyue finally understood that Seventeen truly regarded her as his master and emperor, and that everything he said was golden rule. Even if it meant going through fire and water, he would not hesitate to die.

I don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing, Mingyue thought.

In the past, he would have appreciated this unconditional trust, but for some reason, he felt somewhat dissatisfied with it when it came to Seventeen.

Why doesn't Seventeen blame him? Why is she so devoted to him?

As an emperor, one would always feel gratified by the loyalty of one's subordinates, but when it came to Seventeen, he only felt that the future was bleak.

If I didn't have those thoughts, it wouldn't be so bad, but now...

Mingyue's vision went black.