Chapter 20

But at this moment, Ling Huanchen had no self-awareness at all. There was mist in his eyes, his red lips slightly parted, and he kept smiling at Yu Xi.

Yu Xi's eyes suddenly became dark, and he leaned over to pull down the curtain.

The next day, Ling Huanchen woke up at noon. He rubbed his temples and recalled how he returned to the bedroom last night. The more he thought about it, the more frightened he became, and the hotter his face became.

Did he run to the pond, take off his shoes and play in the water? Did he also order Yu Xi to pick flowers and carry him on her back?

Ling Huanchen covered his forehead and closed his eyes, not wanting to face the facts.

Drinking is harmful.

What happened later?

Ling Huanchen racked his brains but couldn't figure it out, it was as if his memory was completely disconnected.

Just as he was daydreaming, Yu Xi had already entered the bedroom.

Ling Huanchen froze in place. It was too late to pretend to be asleep, so he had to go ahead.

"Your Majesty..."

When Yu Xi saw the red and slightly swollen lips of the person on the bed, her eyes became more tender.

"Did Huanchen sleep well?"

"Well, I slept very well." Just a little too well.

Yu Xi grasped the other's hand, rubbing it in his palm and saying with a curved lip, "You don't have to call yourself a subject anymore. It makes me feel distant."

Last night, he relied on his last bit of determination but failed to make it to the end.

The dignified King of Youcheng disdains to take advantage of others in distress, but he only makes things difficult for himself.

Ling Huanchen blinked. His mind was still a little fuzzy due to last night's hangover. "Your Highness... I understand."

Ling Huanchen belatedly sensed something different about Yu Xi's undisguised tenderness. Not only did Yu Xi order lunch to be brought into the room and feed him herself, she also insisted on dressing him herself and doing all the personal chores herself, practically leaving Xiao Qi and Yun He with nothing to do.

After the sun went down, Yu Xi brought Ling Huanchen to the martial arts training ground, just because Ling Huanchen mentioned that he wanted to watch him practice sword.

Ling Huanchen was still hiding in the small pavilion. This time, watching Yu Xi practicing sword was different from before. Last time, he could feel Yu Xi's sword energy coming at him while sitting in the pavilion, but now he couldn't feel it.

Yu Xi practiced swordplay alone, deliberately holding back his internal energy to prevent it from harming anyone in the pavilion. Those without martial arts skills couldn't tell, but despite his seemingly varied skills, Yu Xi only retained a fraction of his internal energy, essentially just dancing with the sword for the crowd to see.

"Sister-in-law, I've been looking for you for a long time. So you and my brother are here." Yu Zhao walked into the pavilion with a smile. "Sister-in-law, could you please give me a snack?"

Ling Huanchen then withdrew his gaze and said, "Zhao'er, just take whatever you want to eat."

Yu Zhao sat down carelessly, glanced at Yu Xi who was dancing with a sword, and then showed a strange look, which was fleeting. After looking at Ling Huanchen, he suddenly felt relieved.

"What's wrong?" Ling Huanchen asked when he saw his expression changing.

"I was wondering why my brother didn't use any internal force when practicing sword skills. It turns out that he did it simply to impress my wife. What my wife doesn't know is that no matter how high my brother's standards are for himself, he will always be serious when he takes action, and that's only if you are here." Yu Zhao was amazed. It turned out that the saying that there is always something that can defeat something else is well-founded.

Ling Huanchen turned his head and realized that his previous perception was not unreasonable.

This person is really gentle in places that are not easy to find.

"What are you doing sitting in the pavilion? Come out and let me see if your Kung Fu has improved."

In the past, Yu Zhao would have found an excuse to flee, but ever since Ling Huanchen's words sparked his fighting spirit, his skills, both literary and martial, seemed to have been unlocked, and he made rapid progress in a short period of time. Seeing Yu Xi practicing with the sword, he felt itchy, and when he heard Yu Xi calling him, he picked up a long sword and rushed forward.

Yu Xi only used a third of his strength, not really fighting, and exchanged a few moves with Yu Zhao. When the two men put away their swords and returned to the pavilion, Yu Zhao was still excited, staring intently, waiting for Yu Xi's judgment.

Before she could finish her words, Yu Xi received Ling Huanchen's eye contact and heard his silent lip syncing.

Encouragement is the main focus.

Yu Xi reorganized her words and spoke again, "There has been progress, but there is still a long way to go."

Ling Huanchen sighed silently. It was indeed difficult for his king to praise someone.

"Don't worry, my king. I will definitely keep working hard!" Yu Zhao was very happy when he heard the first half of the sentence. You know, my king had never praised him before, even though he himself had nothing to praise.

Yu Xi patted Yu Zhao's shoulder and said, "Stay for dinner."

At the dinner table, Yu Xi did not forget to continue testing Yu Zhao's homework. He simply asked him what book he had read recently and picked out some words and sentences from the book. Yu Zhao could answer them fluently.

Yu Xi finally nodded, revealing a hint of approval, "Not bad."

After being praised, Yu Zhao smiled so hard that he couldn't stop and put a big mouthful of food into his mouth.

On the left was the younger brother whom he had raised since childhood, and on the right was the one his heart desired. Yu Xi naturally picked up the dish and put it into Ling Huanchen's bowl.

Yu Zhao raised his eyes inadvertently and saw this scene. He was immediately attracted by the warmth and couldn't take his eyes off.

A perfect match!

When Yu Xi turned around, she saw her younger brother biting his chopsticks and smiling foolishly.

"What are you grinning about?"

Yu Zhao chuckled twice, "This humble servant thinks that my brother and my wife are truly a perfect match made in heaven."

Yu Xi curled his lips and said, "I haven't asked you yet why you suddenly became so smart. You used to run away when I mentioned homework."

Yu Zhao looked proud and glanced at Ling Huanchen. "It's all because the princess told me that if I work hard enough, I can become a wise and brave man like you. I also want to be a great hero, to help the weak and fight against the strong, and to benefit the people. You are an outstanding and wise ruler, so of course I want to be an outstanding and famous minister. People like you deserve to be respected and loved. If I can do the same, there will definitely be a beautiful woman who will fall in love with me in the future!"

Ling Huanchen's eyelids twitched. Why did this kid exaggerate what he said?

Yu Xi looked at Ling Huanchen with burning eyes, but asked Yu Zhao, "Did you really say that?"

"That's exactly what he said." Yu Zhao assured.

Ling Huanchen unconsciously put the food into his mouth, not tasting it, his entire attention focused on the gaze beside him.

The two of them stayed at the dinner table until Yu Zhao left. If no one stood up and called for a stop, dinner would probably have lasted all night.

Fortunately, Yu Xi spoke first, "In Huanchen's eyes, am I like this?"

Ling Huanchen gritted his teeth, raised his head and met Yu Xi's eyes, "Yes."

His original words were not exactly as Yu Zhao relayed them, but when things got close, he just accepted it regardless of how much truth there was in it. In his mind, Yu Xi was even worse than him anyway.

Unexpectedly, Ling Huanchen admitted it so openly that the person who originally intended to tease him was caught off guard and was speechless.

"I..." Yu Xi flicked her fingers lightly, "Is it as good as Huanchen said?"

Ling Huanchen noticed the slightly reddened tips of Yu Xi's ears, took his hand, and looked at him lovingly, "Your Majesty is even better than I said."

Sure enough, Yu Xi's ears turned red.

Ling Huanchen couldn't help but smile secretly. It turned out that the King of Youcheng, whose face was as thick as a city wall, could not withstand the sincere praise.

The hottest days of summer were getting increasingly sweltering. Even though there were a lot of ice cubes placed in the Jade Luan Palace to cool down, it was still difficult to completely resist the overwhelming heat. Ling Huanchen noticed that Yu Xi was increasingly fond of holding him, not only when sleeping but even when eating. He deeply suspected that Yu Xi was using him as a magical object to cool down.

Although he has become accustomed to Yu Xi's embrace, he cannot allow him to go further.

But Yu Xi would not let him get away easily. After all his efforts of coaxing her, he finally won the beauty.

"Master, does your waist hurt?" Xiao Qi had been secretly observing for a long time and finally couldn't help but ask.

Ling Huanchen paused holding the teacup and continued to drink tea elegantly.

It was all because he woke up early last night. He wanted to get up, but Yu Xi held him down and he stayed there frozen until dawn.

"No problem."

Xiao Qi rolled his eyes and slapped his forehead, "Look at me, my master must be tired from serving the king at night, and the king is the same, why doesn't he care about the master at all?"

Ling Huanchen swallowed his tea hastily, nearly choking on it. "Where did you learn all that?"

Xiao Qi scratched his head. "That's what it says in the storybook. You'll have back pain the next day."

"Don't read these things if you have nothing to do." Ling Huanchen suddenly remembered something and added, "Don't let Ah He be led astray."

Xiao Qi said bitterly, "But, it was Sister A He who gave it to me."

Ling Huanchen: “…”

"master."

Speak of the devil and he will appear. Yun He pushed the door open and walked in. Before he could report, he saw the two people in front of him looking at him with unclear eyes, and he was immediately confused.

"Master, is there something wrong with me?" Yun He looked down at herself, becoming even more confused.

Ling Huanchen shook his head slowly, "Nothing." Since it was given by Yunhe, then forget it.

"Master, an envoy has arrived from Youcheng today." Yun He glanced at him stealthily. "They are from the Mermaid Tribe."

When Ling Huanchen suddenly heard that the mermaids had sent envoys to meet him, he was stunned for a moment.

In his previous life, ever since he was sent to the Nether City Palace, the mermaids had vanished, never hearing a word from them again. This was the mermaids' custom: tributes sent out were left to their own devices. The mermaids had already treated this person as if he had never existed. His brothers and sisters were no different, never to be seen again, dead or alive.

In this life, his people suddenly became more humane?

Soon, Ling Huanchen denied this assumption, thinking that his cold-hearted father would not do such a good thing.

When things are out of the ordinary, there must be something wrong. It is best to wait and see how things develop. Since there is no lesson from the past, we can only deal with it as it comes.

"Do you know the identity of the person sent?"

Yun He thought for a moment, "The man who came claimed to be a minister of the mermaid tribe, and he was accompanied by a prince."

The Crown Prince was a member of the royal family of the Jiao Clan, belonging to a branch of the family. It was said that ministers came to visit to discuss matters, but bringing the Crown Prince with them meant something different.

Ling Huanchen had some suspicions in his heart, but he didn't show any expression. "Have they been settled in the palace?"

"My Lord, he was placed in the Foreign Minister's Residence." Yun He observed Ling Huanchen's expression and continued, "It is said that the prince of the mermaid tribe performed a dance before the emperor. This matter has spread like wildfire."

The author has something to say:

Thank you "Qingxi" for the encouragement!

Thank you "Jiangze" for the nutrient solution encouragement!

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