Chapter 53 "Remember to think of me when you get back."...

Yan Jiarou was stunned, her face flushed red, and she said angrily, "You...you're teasing me! You didn't...you didn't want to kiss my chest, so why are you looking there..."

What began as a fierce interrogation gradually faded into a softer and softer voice as the words were spoken…

What is she even talking about?

...She was questioning him because she felt cheated, but the way she said it...it sounded like she was actually quite regretful...

It's better not to ask...

"Teasing?"

Xiao Che smiled faintly: "Does my royal sister mean she's blaming me?"

He pulled her slender waist into his arms and pressed her down onto his lap: "Then I can do that too, without teasing you."

"You won't let me see you if I don't kiss you?" His breath brushed against her neck, burning hot. "But my royal sister was born to be seen by me."

Her back was pressed against his hot chest, and her breath was filled with Xiao Che's scent, which wrapped around her in wisps. She couldn't break free, so she could only dizzily sink into it.

His warmth seeped through her thin clothes, flowing continuously to her, and a strange heat gradually spread deep within her body.

It's hard to tell which one is hotter.

Yan Jiarou's breasts heaved slightly as she fastened her clothes.

Suddenly she cried out and froze, too afraid to move.

Xiao Che's hand was completely enveloping hers...

His hands were large, yet they were still barely large enough to be grasped.

The delicate, snow-white ink flowed from between her fingers, trembling as if about to drip.

Xiao Che chuckled softly, leaned close to her ear, and said in an ambiguous tone, "So big..."

Yan Jiarou's head went blank for a moment. She slowly turned her head to look at him. A thin layer of sweat floated on her fair forehead. Her red lips were slightly parted, still smiling, but her eyes were somewhat unfocused, as if she did not know what had happened.

Xiao Che stared at her, then slowly smiled: "I was referring to my sister's eyes."

——

He eventually let her go.

Because Yan Jiarou cried.

Tears streamed down her face like beads from a broken string, falling in large drops.

For the first time tonight, Xiao Che showed his helplessness: "What's wrong, my darling?"

He gently kissed away the tears on her cheek: "Okay, okay, I won't touch you anymore, alright?"

He assumed that since Yan Jiarou was willing to let him kiss her, she probably wouldn't mind if he held her hand.

Who knew she would suddenly burst into tears.

Yan Jiarou couldn't stop sobbing; she just felt wronged and ashamed.

Everything that happened tonight was far beyond what she could accept.

In truth, all she wanted was to hug and kiss Xiao Che like a brother and sister, but today he saw her bare feet and almost kissed her breasts... She originally thought she should just give up and not care about her reputation anymore. In addition, she had angered Xiao Jue by meeting him before, and since she needed his help, she endured everything in order to please him.

But why... did he still bully her like that?

It was clearly intentional... Once, twice, he clearly intended to make her fierce, but he claimed it was because of his eyes, making her foolishly misunderstand, and observing her blushing and embarrassed appearance...

He still held her tungsten carcass, without even asking her anything...

He had slipped his hand under her skirt before... but that was because she foolishly let him touch her tail. He lost his temper afterward, and she realized he didn't mean it. After all, you can't judge a book by its cover, so she didn't bother to argue with him. But this time it's clearly not like that...

Does he think this is fun? To manipulate her like a plaything.

She looked at him through teary eyes: "You don't like me at all... We didn't get along before, and you want to get revenge on me, don't you?"

"You...you did this on purpose to embarrass me...I've been taught etiquette since childhood and know how shameless I am, but now...you've forced me to behave like a prostitute, making me look like a complete wretch. Don't you care about me at all? So you think it's no big deal? Xiao Wenqi, is it fun to make fun of me?"

The thought of this possibility made her feel like she was dying of sadness, and tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.

"I'm sorry, Yan Yan. It's because you're just too cute. I couldn't help myself when I saw you, so I wanted to tease you and bully you..."

"How could I not like you or not care about you?" Xiao Che cupped her face in his hands, pressed his forehead against hers, and sighed softly, "Yan Yan, you have no idea how much I like you."

Yan Jiarou choked back a sob: "How...how much do you like me?"

Xiao Che was stunned for a moment: "What?"

Yan Jiarou grabbed his wrist anxiously: "Didn't you say you liked me? How much do you like me? Tell me... I want to hear it... Are you lying to me? I can tell right away!"

Xiao Che chuckled, grasped her slender, fair wrist, and said good-naturedly, "Sweetheart, how should I put this?"

"Just tell me what you're really thinking! Or are you just lying to me, so you have nothing to say?"

Xiao Che had a bit of a headache. He racked his brains for a while, and finally could only say, "The moment I see you, I can't help but want to get close to you, want you to look at me, want you to pay attention to me..."

His Adam's apple bobbed slightly as he leaned close to her ear and lowered his voice, saying, "The moment you kiss me, I... I dream about you. I only do this with you. Tell me, how much do I love you?"

Yan Jiarou slowly opened her eyes wide, a blush spreading from her cheeks all the way down to her snow-white ears and neck. She looked at him incredulously.

She had originally thought that Xiao Che would say some tender and beautiful love words, or at the very least, recite a few sentimental poems. She had not read as many books as he had, but she knew poems like "The bright moon shines in the clouds, this feeling is sent to the bright moon."

To her surprise, he launched into a string of lewd remarks, leaving her embarrassed and annoyed. "You... why are you talking nonsense again..."

How did I say anything wrong?

He laughed heartily: "Yan Yan, what I said is all from the bottom of my heart."

The more he spoke, the redder her face became, and she glared at him.

Xiao Che chuckled: "No, did you tell me to say it?"

"What, did I not say enough, and you still don't believe me?" He took her hand and slowly played with her fingers. "Then let me tell you more, for example, the details of the dream..."

"No, stop talking..." Yan Jiarou hurriedly said, "I believe you... I believe you..."

Xiao Che smiled.

"Are you still angry?" He couldn't help but lightly peck her fair fingers.

Yan Jiarou, somewhat confused, shook her head in agreement.

Xiao Che touched her face: "Good girl."

Having said that, there was no way to ask any more questions, and the matter was easily dropped, although she still had some doubts in her heart.

She pulled her hand back; he had kissed almost every finger of hers.

She lowered her head and said sullenly, "I'm leaving." Then she quickly added, "This time I really am leaving."

The implication was that Xiao Che should stop bothering her and let her go back quickly.

"Go ahead," Xiao Che laughed. "I'm not holding you back."

Yan Jiarou pursed her lips, shakily got up from his arms, and turned to leave when her arm was suddenly pulled, causing her to turn around.

Turning around, she met Xiao Che's displeased gaze. Frowning, he asked her:

"You're just leaving like this, without even saying 'see you later'?"

Yan Jiarou: "…………"

Didn't they tell her to leave? She didn't understand why such a pointless statement was worth saying.

It seems more like... they're deliberately stalling for time.

She had no temper left, and patiently curtsied to him, saying, "Third brother, goodbye."

Xiao Che didn't say anything, he just stared at her.

Yan Jiarou grew somewhat impatient under his gaze and couldn't help but urge, "Can I leave now?"

Xiao Che's hand rested on the table, his slender fingers slightly curled, and he scoffed upon hearing this.

Yan Jiarou sighed, bent down and cupped his face, kissed his lips, and stared at him with her watery eyes: "Is it okay now?"

Xiao Che slowly curved his lips into a smile, a hint of pleasure in his expression: "That's more like it."

“Go,” he said, stroking her fair cheek, his voice hoarse, “Remember to think of me when you get back.”

With his permission, Yan Jiarou felt a great sense of relief and immediately turned around and ran outside.

In the blink of an eye, the person had vanished.

Xiao Che snapped out of his daze and couldn't help but let out a soft laugh.

"It runs faster than a rabbit." No wonder it's a rabbit.

Could it be that he's going to eat her?

He touched his lips with a hint of lingering satisfaction and muttered under his breath, "You little ingrate."

——

Three days later was Emperor Wei Yuan's birthday. A grand banquet was held in the palace, and the Imperial Music Bureau prepared nine musical pieces. After the banquet began, the sounds of string and wind instruments filled the air.

During the banquet, dancers performed to entertain the guests, and officials paid their respects, creating a lively and festive atmosphere.

On the emperor's birthday, princes and princesses would naturally attend the banquet together.

Officials were divided into four ranks, with those of the fourth rank and above allowed to sit inside the hall, taking their seats in order of rank. Princes, on the other hand, sat in front of the officials in order of rank.

Logically, the Crown Prince, being the eldest son of the legitimate wife, should sit to the left and below Emperor Yuan of Wei.

However, because Emperor Wei Yuan favored Jiang Chenyu, he naturally extended his affection to Xiao Che as well. Therefore, Xiao Che always sat to his left and below him—the seat that should have been Xiao Jue's.

Today, Xiao Jue still cannot sit in that position, nor can Xiao Che sit in it.

Emperor Yuan of Wei actually specifically asked Xiao Yan to sit down.

Xiao Yan was taken aback, quite flattered, and couldn't hide his delight, but still declined, saying, "Father... this... I'm afraid it's against etiquette?"

"If I tell you to sit, then sit."

Emperor Wei Yuan said, "The 'Geography' you recently oversaw the compilation of is excellent. It covers the history of administrative divisions, the evolution of administrative divisions, and the topography of mountains and rivers. The response from the court and the people has been very positive. Everyone says that it will be a very valuable historical material for future generations, with far-reaching influence. It is a remarkable achievement, which is a good thing. I have some questions to ask you later. It will be more convenient if you sit next to me."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Jue's face instantly darkened. To him, it was certainly disgusting to see Xiao Che sitting in the position that should have been his, but after so many years, firstly, he had long been used to it, and secondly, no matter how much his father favored him, because his bloodline was not pure and he had half of the lowly Lanling bloodline, even if he sat in that position, he would not pose any threat to him, but would only disgust him.

But Xiao Yan was completely different.

At this moment, the officials below were also discussing the matter animatedly.

It should be noted that this "Geography" is said to have been compiled in the name of Xiao Yan, but the scholars who gathered it and the textual research were all done by Xiao Che himself. However, it seems that Emperor Yuan of Wei intended to attribute all the credit to Xiao Yan.

Although Xiao Che has recently become very close to Xiao Yan and is now a clear supporter of the Second Prince's faction, and his achievements are Xiao Yan's achievements, Emperor Wei Yuan's words and actions today still surprised everyone.

After all, although he had favored Xiao Yan in the past, because of the Consort, his most beloved prince was still Xiao Che.

His affection for Xiao Che was unparalleled by the other two princes.

How come it has completely changed now?

Not only was Xiao Yan given the seat that Xiao Che had always occupied, but now all of Xiao Che's achievements were also given to Xiao Yan, without even mentioning his name.

The difference in attitude before and after was not too significant.

Could it be that after the death of the Imperial Concubine, Xiao Che also fell out of favor?

That's probably the case.

So what's the situation now?

Although Emperor Yuan of Wei had intended to make Xiao Che his heir, it was only because he favored Consort Gui. Now that Consort Gui is dead, he has no chance because of his special status. Not only that, but Emperor Yuan of Wei's favor has also disappeared. That's why he turned to Xiao Yan.

Is his choice also a sign of a changing trend?

Why did he side with the Second Prince instead of the Crown Prince? Was it simply because the two were closer?

Or perhaps it was a case of father and son being of one mind, and he had already glimpsed Emperor Wei Yuan's intentions?

Between the Crown Prince and the Second Prince, did he prefer the latter?

This was not a secret, but now Emperor Wei Yuan's favor towards Xiao Yan is growing stronger, and he even attributed all of Xiao Che's achievements to him. Could it be that he is thinking of changing the heir apparent and wants to increase Xiao Yan's chances of seizing the throne?

The group looked at each other, their expressions filled with doubt.

Xiao Jue naturally thought of this as well, and his expression turned very ugly.

Throughout, only Xiao Che remained calm, a faint, enigmatic smile playing on his lips as he turned the white jade thumb ring on his thumb.