Seventeenth Master couldn't fall asleep no matter what he did, and he found it strange that he had slept in almost every place he had been in during this period.
Jungle, haystacks, kitchen, water tank, and now he's still sleeping in a cave cell. It's cold and damp here, with small insects crawling around from time to time. Seventeenth Master's hands and feet are bound, so he can only move closer to Fourteenth Master.
"Fourteenth Brother, are you asleep?" Seventeenth Master asked softly. Fourteenth Master noticed that Seventeenth Master was moving, so he struggled to sit up and make room for Seventeenth Master.
"Hehehe... there are... there are bugs!" Seventeenth Master huddled in a ball, somewhat embarrassed. Fourteenth Master felt a pang of sorrow, his eyes reddening as he almost cried. He said with heartache, "You shouldn't have come to save me! Now you're trapped in this cage with me. Who knows, Zhu Wanqing might kill us tomorrow..."
Upon hearing this, Seventeenth Master exclaimed excitedly, "I'm not afraid of death, and I've never regretted coming to the island to save you... You're my Fourteenth Brother! How could I stand by and watch you die? Besides, didn't you also risk being discovered to save me?"
The two looked at each other and couldn't help but burst out laughing.
Fearing that the Fourteenth Prince was overthinking things, the Seventeenth Prince confidently assured him, "Don't worry, Fourteenth Brother, the Thirteenth Brother will come to rescue us soon!"
The Fourteenth Prince nodded, and said with a sigh, "I really regret it. How could I have been bewitched by this vixen and almost made a terrible mistake!"
Seventeenth Prince wanted to comfort Fourteenth Prince, but found that he couldn't move his hands and feet. He could only encourage him with his eyes and pretend to be relaxed, saying, "It's alright! The master once taught that 'to err is human, to forgive divine.' It's not too late for you to understand now..."
The Fourteenth Prince lowered his head in self-reproach and said softly, "I know you are all very angry, angry that I have been used by that vixen until now. If you hadn't come to secretly inform me, I would have believed that Fourth Brother really killed my entire family..."
“How could that be? Although Fourth Brother appears very serious and somewhat intimidating, making people think he’s cold-blooded and ruthless, he actually values relationships very much!” Seventeenth Master paused and then advised Fourteenth Master, “Fourth Brother was very worried about your safety, which is why he sent us to rescue you… If he wanted to kill you, you wouldn’t know how many times you would have died already. Fourth Brother has always valued brotherhood; he said that as long as you change your mind, he will forgive and forget…”
The Fourteenth Prince was even more ashamed and cried, "I was so foolish, I was so greedy, and now I've ended up like this. Father and Mother must be so disappointed in me..." The Seventeenth Prince was at a loss when he saw his Fourteenth Brother's emotional state and watched with heartache from the side.
"Fourteenth Brother, don't worry, Fourth Brother won't hold it against you! Besides, Fourteenth Princess is still waiting for you to return to the manor... As long as you can return to the capital safely, everything can start anew..." Seventeenth Prince patiently persuaded him. Fourteenth Prince suddenly paused for a moment, muttering to himself, "She's still at the manor?"
The Seventeenth Prince knew that the woman the Fourteenth Prince was referring to was his Fourteenth Princess Consort. Although he had heard that the Fourteenth Prince and his wife did not have a harmonious relationship, he believed that after going through such a life-or-death ordeal, she would cherish him even more. So he nodded and said, "The Thirteenth Princess Consort has been waiting for you to return. That night, she escaped death. To protect her, Fourth Brother never announced to the public that the manor had been attacked. He even specially dispatched heavy troops to guard the manor. The Fourteenth Princess Consort is doing well..."
The Fourteenth Prince felt a pang of sorrow and heavy with self-reproach, saying, "Fourth Brother treated me so well, yet I repaid kindness with enmity. I am utterly inhuman!" The Seventeenth Prince sighed helplessly; the more he tried to persuade him, the worse it seemed. He decided to give up. He wasn't suited to be a mediator, so he quietly stayed by the Fourteenth Prince's side, listening to his incessant remorse and self-reproach throughout the night…
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
