Chapter 37 It melted my heart.
Hearing Seventeen's praise, Xiao Mowen didn't seem particularly pleased. He simply smiled faintly and said, "Seventeen is also very capable. He's so young, yet his skills are already so good."
Seventeen smiled shyly, not mentioning that his skills weren't even among the best in the Dark Guard, but that wasn't something he could casually discuss with others.
The group rested and walked intermittently along the way. Apart from the first few days when they were not used to it, Seventeen gradually got used to this kind of travel.
A few days later, one evening, despite their hurried pace, they still couldn't reach the next town and had no choice but to find an open space to set up camp temporarily.
Fortunately, the Prince's mansion didn't have many people with them, so the group wasn't too conspicuous.
After Xiao Mowen, Seventeen, and Mingyue tied up the horses, he said, "I'll go cook."
Seventeen's eyes widened upon hearing this: "Brother Xiao, you can cook?"
Xiao Mowen smiled slightly and said, "It's not difficult, just enough to fill my stomach."
Although Xiao Mowen said it was barely enough to fill his stomach, Seventeen ate without even lifting his head.
Mingyue was somewhat surprised after taking a few bites. His cooking skills were indeed quite good, especially considering the limited resources available. It was truly rare to be able to make such a delicious dish.
This made his gaze towards Xiao Mowen change slightly.
Long Zhaoming, who was eating happily, didn't notice that Mingyue's gaze lingered on Xiao Mowen for a long time.
"Did Your Highness eat this often before?"
Upon hearing Mingyue's seemingly casual question, Xiao Mowen nodded and was about to reply when he saw Long Zhaoming suddenly look up at him, then glance at Mingyue.
Their eyes met, but Xiao Mowen felt inexplicably uncomfortable.
"Uh, it tastes pretty good, hahaha."
Long Zhaoming was afraid that Xiao Mowen would say something shocking, and he didn't want his elder brother to know about his absurd deeds.
Mingyue frowned slightly, saying nothing about Long Zhaoming's clumsy attempt to conceal the truth, but simply lowered her eyes and pondered.
Long Zhaoming glared at Xiao Mowen, which made Xiao Mowen scratch his head in confusion, wondering what he had done to offend him.
Seventeen was completely unaware of this brief interlude, and after munching on a bowl of rice, she comfortably closed her eyes.
"Brother Xiao, your cooking is really good. Saying that it's just enough to fill your stomach is really too modest."
Xiao Mowen smiled, his smile carrying a hint of sincerity: "You flatter me, you flatter me."
Obviously, even for someone who isn't a professional chef, receiving recognition is very gratifying.
Xiao Mowen and several servants went to clear away the dishes, while Seventeen yawned inside the tent.
"Aren't you going out for a walk? We just finished eating."
Mingyue lifted the curtain and walked in, holding a quilt in her hand, and asked.
Tonight is special, there aren't many tents available. Although Long Zhaoming can rest in the carriage, they, as guards, can't, so they have to squeeze into one tent.
Seventeen didn't care, since she had slept in the same room with Yue before. Mingyue, however, was taken aback. Although she quickly composed herself, she was still caught by Long Zhaoming.
He squinted his fox-like eyes at Mingyue with a half-smile, while she looked back without any fear.
After making the decision, I went and brought in some blankets. Although it was starting to feel warm, it was still a bit chilly at night.
Seventeen rubbed her eyes, thought for a moment, and agreed: "Okay, let's go for a walk."
Mingyue hadn't expected him to agree. She smiled, made the bed, and turned around to say, "Let's go then, together."
After saying goodbye to Xiao Mowen, Seventeen and Mingyue walked side by side, strolling under the twilight.
Before nightfall, the dim sunset gilded the earth with a golden veil, beautiful and gentle, like a mother gently stroking the clothes that had fallen on her child.
Seventeen took a deep breath of the fresh air and chatted idly with the bright moon beside her.
Are you cold?
"It's alright, not too cold, I'm wearing plenty of layers."
Seventeen turned out his cuffs to show Mingyue, a smile on his delicate face. If it weren't for his black guard uniform, he wouldn't look like a secret guard at all; he would clearly look like a wealthy young master from some family.
"Hey, Yue-ge, how old are you this year?"
"Hmm? Twenty-three."
"That's the same age as His Majesty."
Seventeen tilted his head and thought for a moment. So he really was the late emperor's illegitimate son from another place? They were even about the same age.
Thinking of the late emperor's biological son that they had previously discovered, Seventeen's feelings were somewhat complicated.
They're both parents and children, but the differences are huge.
As the two were talking, Seventeen and Mingyue stopped at the same time. A dark shadow suddenly darted out of the bushes not far in front of them. It didn't look like a human; it must have been some kind of animal.
Seventeen quickly stepped back to the side, and Mingyue also took a step back in the opposite direction. The dark figure rushed out of the bushes and darted towards Seventeen's feet, looking completely lost.
"Huh?"
He bent down and saw that the dark shadow was a kitten, but it was so dirty that he couldn't see its original fur color. He could only vaguely make out that it was white.
Following the kitten out was a snake.
The snake was as thick as a wrist, and it was fiercely flicking its tongue.
Seventeen's heart tightened, and then he heard a whooshing sound as a jet-black, sharp sword was plunged into the snake's body.
After being stabbed by the sword, it writhed wildly for a long time before finally coming to a stop.
Seventeen bent down and picked up the kitten. It was quite well-behaved, neither scratching nor biting, but just huddled in Seventeen's arms, trembling.
"It's a little raccoon dog."
After drawing her sword, Mingyue casually wiped it clean and put it back in its sheath. She then walked to Seventeen's side and looked down at the dirty little cat.
"Yes, take him back. He can't survive outside."
At seventeen o'clock, the two stopped their walk and turned back to their campsite.
Hearing the commotion, Long Zhaoming got out of the carriage, followed by Xiao Mowen.
Upon seeing the two figures emerge, Mingyue's expression immediately changed. Long Zhaoming shuddered, coughed lightly, and asked, "What is Little Seventeen holding in her arms?"
"Hey, where did this little raccoon come from?"
Long Zhaoming teased the kitten a few times with his fan. Its round, bright green eyes shone brightly, like the rarest emeralds.
Seventeen briefly recounted what had just happened and asked, "Your Highness, may we take it with us?"
"Of course, but we need to figure out how to wash it first. Hmm? Is there something on its neck?"
Long Zhaoming used the tip of his fan to lift something covered by fur on the kitten's neck; it was a thin string.
Because it was so dirty, Seventeen carried it the whole way without even noticing.
"It even has a neck rope! Is it someone's pet?"
Seventeen picked up the kitten and looked it over. The kitten wasn't annoyed by being lifted up; it just let out a soft meow.
This softened Seventeen's heart, and she patted the kitten's head.
"I don't know, let's wash her first. Xiao Mowen, go boil some water, don't let the little fox catch a cold."
"yes."
Xiao Mowen gave Long Zhaoming a deep look, then turned around and went to boil water.
After the four of them had hurriedly washed, dried, and cleaned the kitten, Seventeen finally carried it into his tent.
"Are you going to sleep with it tonight?"
Mingyue wiped her hands and asked, while Seventeen smiled and tapped the kitten's head, saying, "It's already snoring, it's too late to say anything now."
Indeed, the little white kitten was already purring softly, sleeping on its back with its paws in the air, and it didn't forget to snuggle up to the warm Seventeen.
Mingyue chuckled, suddenly finding the scene quite heartwarming.
"Go to sleep early. This cat doesn't look like a stray. Maybe it belongs to someone in a nearby town."
Those who have the leisure to keep cats are probably from wealthy families. It's just a mystery why this little white cat escaped and almost lost its life to snakes.
The next day, just as dawn broke, Seventeen was awakened by a noise on his chest. He opened his eyes alertly and saw that it was the little white kitten vigorously kneading his chest.
Seventeen smiled as she hugged the little white kitten to her chest, inhaling its warm, cat-like scent, when something seemed to tickle the tip of her nose.
I reached out and touched it; it was a clump of black hair.
The moon beside him was fast asleep, its breathing gentle, its long eyelashes covering its dark eyes, a picture of tranquility.
Seventeen was momentarily stunned, staring at him blankly for a long time.
"What's wrong?"
Mingyue squinted at Seventeen, then sat up, propping herself up on her side.
"Nothing much, I was just woken up by the cat."
Seventeen held up the little white kitten and handed it to Mingyue. He reached out and tapped the kitten's head, saying with a smile, "We can go to town today and ask around to see if anyone has lost a cat."
Long Zhaoming yawned and leaned back on the soft cushions in the carriage. He watched as Seventeen walked in carrying a cat and asked, "What's wrong, Little Seventeen?"
"Your Highness, is it alright to leave the kitten in the carriage for now? It's not very convenient for us to stay outside."
"nature."
Long Zhaoming took the kitten, which nestled obediently in his arms, meowing softly at him, melting his heart.
Seventeen turned around and rode his horse alongside the carriage.
After noon, when everyone was starving, they finally arrived at the town where they would stay.
The town is named Fenglin County, and as its name suggests, every autumn the maple leaves turn the entire town red, stretching endlessly like a dazzling phoenix.
After entering the town, the group found an inn to rest for the time being. Seventeen asked the innkeeper, who was doing the accounts, "Innkeeper, has anyone in town lost a cat recently?"
"cat?"
The shopkeeper looked up at them with a puzzled expression, pondered for a moment, and said, "I really don't know. Perhaps you distinguished guests could ask someone else?"
A young girl serving dishes nearby leaned over and asked, "What kind of cat?"
"It was white, and there was a red string tied around its neck."
Seventeen gestured, and the little girl exclaimed, "Ah!" and asked, "Is it from Master Yu's family?"
The shopkeeper stopped what he was doing, and Seventeen noticed that his expression seemed to have changed: "Master Yu?"
"Yes, my sister works for Master Yu's family. A few days ago, she told me that Miss Yu's white cat had gone missing."
At seventeen, he nodded and asked, "Where does Master Yu live? I'll send the cat over later."
"Oh, esteemed guest..."
The shopkeeper waved to the little girl, who stuck out her tongue and ran away.
"What? Is there a problem?"
Mingyue walked over to Seventeen's side and watched the two of them talk while leaning against the table.
He glanced at the towering moon, then pondered the group's identities; they must be wealthy and powerful. If something were to happen to them...
"Distinguished guest, you may not know this, but the Yu family has been quite restless lately."
"Tell me about it."
Although it's a cliché, the silver tael method is always the most effective. The shopkeeper quickly accepted the loose silver and said with a smile, "It's not convenient to talk about it here. How about I serve the dishes to our distinguished guests later?"
Seeing this, Seventeen stopped arguing and turned to go upstairs.
This time, he and Mingyue were still living separately. After Seventeen rested for a while, Long Zhaoming came over with the cat.
"Did you get the answer?"
"Your Highness."
Seventeen stood up and took the little white kitten. It had clearly had a good sleep all morning. Now it was looking up at Seventeen with its little head raised, as if it knew that this was its savior. It rubbed against Seventeen affectionately.
"It does like you."
Seventeen smiled and recounted what she had learned from the shopkeeper.
"Restless?"
Long Zhaoming couldn't understand why, after traveling between Jiangnan and Yejing for so many years, he kept running into trouble this time. It must all be because of his imperial brother!
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