Chapter 42 Her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes were blurry…
Mingyue remained silent, unsure how to offer comfort, for what Seventeen had said was true.
A silence fell between the two of them. Seventeen's emotions were in turmoil. He was not an innocent naive girl, and many regrets in the world could not be resolved overnight.
I just always felt that if I could help even one person, that would be one less.
Mingyue tilted her head slightly to look at Seventeen's profile. The soft moonlight shone on her eyes, as if a light veil had been draped over them, hazy yet alluring.
Back then... we really only took him in because of his face...
But now, the thought of glancing at someone more because of their appearance seems to have changed.
Mingyue turned his head away in a fluster. His feelings for Seventeen were churning in his heart. He couldn't explain why, but he always felt that he couldn't suppress his emotions when facing Seventeen.
But Seventeen never looked at him; her heart was only for His Majesty.
Sometimes Mingyue wondered if she should just be honest with him. After all, Seventeen cared so much about His Majesty that he certainly wouldn't be angry about her deception.
But when he got to the point of speaking, he choked up.
Seventeen had no idea what the people around her were thinking. She just stared intently at the pitch blackness ahead, and from afar, she could vaguely hear hurried footsteps approaching.
His eyes narrowed, and he whispered to Mingyue beside him, "Brother Yue, the people have arrived."
The two immediately went on alert, hiding in the shadows and observing the approaching dark figure.
Sure enough, it was Yu Huixin. She kept looking back as she ran, worried that she would be discovered by the bandits.
Fortunately, she made it to the tree stump without any major incidents along the way.
Yu Huixin stopped and examined the patterns on the wooden stake. She prepared to descend the mountain following the patterns when she noticed footsteps behind her. Startled, her heart nearly jumped out of her throat. She turned around abruptly and bumped right into a beautiful face.
Seventeen wasn't wearing a mask; her all-black attire made her very inconspicuous in the darkness, and her face would have been almost impossible to spot if it weren't for it.
"You, you all..."
Yu Huixin's eyes widened in disbelief, and a sense of fear and despair welled up in her heart.
But just as her mind went blank, wondering if she was about to face death, the handsome man in front of her suddenly spoke: "Are you Yu Huixin?"
Yu Huixin blinked, stunned for a long time, before stammering, "...Yes, I am."
“Come down the mountain with us, your father has been looking for you.”
Mingyue stepped out from behind Shiqi, her significantly taller figure exuding a powerful aura. Yu Huixin swallowed hard, wondering where her father had found these two people. They looked terrifying.
"Who...who are you?"
Seventeen smiled and said, "Let's talk about it when we get back. It's not convenient here."
Yu Huixin, still a bit dazed, went down the mountain with Seventeen and the others. When they returned to the inn, Master Yu had already been waiting for them for a long time.
However, because it was late at night, no one else was disturbed. Long Zhaoming leaned against the side and yawned, while Xiao Mowen stood guard at the door with his sword in hand.
Seventeen and the others didn't go through the main entrance. There were still waiters in the lobby, and they didn't want to be discovered, so they simply took Yu Huixin and scaled the walls to sneak in through the window.
When Master Yu heard the noise and turned around, he saw his daughter standing safely in the room. Instantly, tears welled up in his eyes, and his knees buckled as he was about to kneel again.
Mingyue quickly caught him again and whispered, "We have something to ask Miss Yu."
Master Yu knew their identities and nodded repeatedly, but Yu Huixin was still kept in the dark and looked at her father with suspicion.
“Huixin! Silly child! This is the Prince of Huainan, and these two are guards from the Prince’s residence.”
Yu Huixin then realized who had brought her back, and exclaimed in surprise as she quickly bowed.
Although she has a carefree and easygoing personality, she is, after all, a lady from a respectable family, and she doesn't miss any of the proper etiquette.
Long Zhaoming waved his hand, clearly feeling sleepy: "Mingyue."
"yes."
Mingyue stepped forward and looked at Yu Huixin, asking, "Who was the man who hid you in the bandit camp?"
Yu Huixin was surprised that they even knew this, and couldn't help but feel a little admiration.
"He is the accountant in this bandit camp. According to him, his parents died at the hands of bandits, and he has been collecting evidence of their crimes under an assumed name ever since, hoping to get rid of them all one day."
Yu Huixin understood that now was not the time to lie, and... she felt that this Prince of Huainan might be able to help the people of Fenglin Town.
"I see... Do you know this person's name?"
His surname is Xie, and his given name is Qingyan.
Mingyue murmured, "Xie Qingyan..."
"Alright, you should all go back and rest now. We will personally go to the Yu residence tomorrow to inquire about the situation further."
Master Yu glanced at Long Zhaoming, whose attitude clearly aligned with that of the guard Mingyue. Seeing this, he stopped insisting and, with great tact, pulled Yu Huixin away, saying, "Thank you, Your Highness, and thank you to the two guards. Tomorrow, this humble subject will prepare fine wine and food to welcome you."
"Stop with all this nonsense. We're just going to ask about the situation. Don't worry too much; this bandit camp will be wiped out sooner or later."
Long Zhaoming's words reassured Master Yu, who thanked him repeatedly and then left with Yu Huixin.
The young waiter, who was dozing off in the lobby, was awakened by the sound of footsteps. He looked up, groggily asked, "Why are you going out so late, sir?"
"I'm handling some matters; it's none of your business."
Master Yu's voice was very calm. The young waiter shuddered, decided not to cause trouble for himself, and continued to sleep on the table.
Seventeen watched Long Zhaoming yawn, and then he yawned as well, feeling sleepy. He wiped away the tears that had seeped out and said, "Then Your Highness should also go back and rest early."
Long Zhaoming nodded, forced his eyes, which were almost glued shut, and returned to his room, where he fell asleep immediately.
Seventeen looked at Mingyue beside her and asked, "Brother Yue, aren't you going to rest?"
Mingyue turned her head to look at him, and after a long while, she said, "I..."
Before he could finish speaking, a sudden clap of thunder struck outside, accompanied by a blinding white light, startling Seventeen.
"Why is it thundering all of a sudden? Is it going to rain?"
Seventeen walked to the window and opened it to look out. Although the distance was already covered by night, she could still vaguely see dark clouds gathering, and she could still smell the dampness that comes before a thunderstorm in the air.
"Spring thunder is merciless, and it comes suddenly."
Mingyue walked up behind him and looked outside. Seventeen didn't take it seriously, closed the window, and said, "Then Brother Yue should go and rest early. We have things to do tomorrow."
He turned to face Mingyue, but Mingyue remained motionless. Seventeen looked up at him, puzzled, and asked, "What's wrong?"
"I...I'm afraid of thunder, could I sleep with you for the night?"
As soon as he said this, Mingyue regretted it, thinking to himself how could he have come up with such a clumsy excuse. Seventeen, who was in front of him, also widened his eyes when he heard him say this.
Seventeen had never known that Mingyue was afraid of thunder. He looked up and down at Mingyue's larger physique and thought that some people cannot be judged by their appearance.
However, he still fully respects individual character.
"Sure, let's sleep together then."
Seventeen lifted the blanket, then belatedly realized the problem: "But I only have one blanket here. Why don't you go and get yours, Brother Yue?"
Mingyue nodded, turned around and went to her room to get her blanket. Seventeen watched Mingyue's back thoughtfully.
He had a vague idea in his mind, but it wasn't very clear. However... he knew that Mingyue's fear of thunder was probably just an excuse.
Then why would you want to share a bed with yourself?
Seventeen blinked, remembering a casual remark he'd made before: "Is Brother Yue gay?"
Could it be that Mingyue has feelings for him? Seventeen's heart was pounding. He didn't know if Mingyue had those kinds of feelings for him, but... it didn't seem so hard to accept.
Mingyue quickly returned carrying a quilt. The two thick quilts on the bed looked rather hasty, like two white, fluffy steamed buns.
Seventeen huddled under the covers, gazing at the bright moon. He felt a strange mix of emotions, though he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
As he pondered, he drifted into a dream. The bright moon beside him reached out to tuck him in and then closed its eyes to fall asleep as well.
The sun was shining brightly. Seventeen looked around and realized that he seemed to be in the palace.
Wait, shouldn't he be in the palace?
Seventeen felt like he had forgotten something, but he couldn't remember it. Just then, he heard someone calling him from ahead.
"Seventeen."
He looked up and saw a figure dressed in black standing not too far away, but he couldn't see the face clearly.
However, Seventeen knew at a glance that this was His Majesty.
He quickly jogged over and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty."
"Seventeen."
Emperor Jing's face was blurry, but Seventeen knew that the other person was looking at her.
But Emperor Jing's next move left the Seventeenth Prince stunned.
The other person's large, warm hand reached out and gently stroked his cheek. Seventeen wanted to dodge, but then he remembered that this was His Majesty, so he stood stiffly in place, letting those hands caress him.
"...His Majesty?"
Seventeen looked up at the other person, somewhat confused as to why His Majesty would do such a thing to her. But Emperor Jing did not intend to explain, and simply smiled gently.
As his actions became increasingly excessive, Seventeen's cheeks flushed red. Forgetting everything else, she reached out and grabbed Emperor Jing's hands, stammering, "Your Majesty? Did Seventeen do something wrong?"
"No, Seventeenth, you did very well. I'm just rewarding you."
A reward? Is this a reward?
Seventeen felt the blood rushing to his head, making him dizzy and disoriented.
Just then, another person walked out from behind Emperor Jing. Seventeen squinted at the familiar voice and said in a light tone, "Brother Yue?"
Two people greeted Seventeen.
......
Seventeen suddenly sat up in bed, his face still flushed. He looked at the now-cooled bed beside him, covering his face in disbelief.
Good heavens, what did I dream about! How could I possibly dream about His Majesty and Brother Yue...?
The thought of the hazy scenes in her dream made Seventeen want to jump off this building and end it all.
He didn't know how to face Brother Yue!
A knock sounded at the door, and Mingyue's voice came from outside: "Seventeen, are you awake?"
"Ah! She's awake! She's awake!"
Upon hearing Mingyue's voice, Seventeen inevitably recalled the hands and eyes in his dream that were so similar to Emperor Jing's...
He patted his cheeks, forcing himself to stop thinking about it, quickly dressed, and opened the door, where he saw Mingyue standing at the door carrying a basket of steamed buns.
When the door opened, Mingyue was about to speak when she noticed that Seventeen seemed a little off.
Her cheeks were very red, and her eyes were blurry.
"What's wrong? Are you sick?"
Mingyue walked in with a frown, put the things she was carrying on the table, and reached out to touch Seventeen's forehead, but was dodged.
His outstretched hand was still hanging in mid-air when Seventeen belatedly realized that he had overreacted, but there was nothing he could do about it!
As soon as I saw Mingyue's hand, I...
"I'm fine, Brother Yue, don't worry."
He looked up at the bright moon, and the other person's worried eyes met his gaze. Seventeen's heart pounded so hard that he could hardly breathe.
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Author's Note: I'll probably be taking a few days off. I'm experiencing some writer's block and feeling a bit tired. I'll probably update again around Friday. I'll post a leave notice tomorrow.
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