Chapter 106 Pampering

Duan Mingchong's feet were nearly swollen from being stepped on, so he could only force a smile at Duan Lushu.

Duan Lanshu pointed at the bald tree and said angrily, "There is only one red plum tree in the whole Yu Garden! Only one! How come you have such good taste that you only cut this one tree?"

Duan Mingchong tilted his head and met Sui Yan's innocent eyes. He smiled helplessly and took the blame without complaint: "It's my fault. I shouldn't have cut them all."

Duan Lushu roared: "You were the one who cut the flowers on this tree a few years ago, no wonder everyone was hesitant and didn't dare to speak no matter who I asked."

Sui Yan, the main culprit, coughed dryly, feeling somewhat reluctant that the prince should also bear the blame for the past few years.

Sui Yan walked forward, picked out two brightly blooming flowers from Duan Ming Chong Huai, pinched the branches and gently twisted them, then handed them to Duan Lu with a frown, saying, "Princess, don't be too angry. If His Highness knew that you loved this plum tree very much, he would definitely not be so merciless to cut it clean. Ignorance is not a crime - right, Your Highness?"

Duan Mingchong had no choice but to follow his words and smiled helplessly: "That's it."

Duan Lushu wanted to get angry again, but when she saw Sui Yan handing her the flowers, she reluctantly suppressed her anger and reached out to take the flowers.

Sui Yan smiled and said, "It's so cold, why doesn't the princess bring a hand warmer when she goes out?"

As he spoke, he handed over the small hand warmer in his sleeve and said, "Be careful not to freeze your hands."

Duan Lushu glanced at him dimly, speechless and filled with hatred.

Stupid men, one by one, I don’t know if they are really slow or just pretending.

Duan Lushu said coldly, "No need for that. I see that the Crown Prince's hands are red from the cold. You should give the things to the people who need them. Don't bother with me, an outsider."

Sui Yan: “…”

He didn't know why he was suddenly knocked to the ground, and he tilted his head and looked at her innocently.

Duan Lushu glanced at him, then raised his head and glared at Duan Mingchong, then turned around and ran away.

Sui Yan watched her back as she left, then turned around and found Duan Mingchong looking at him indifferently, and immediately gave him a flattering smile.

"This little princess has a really bad temper. Is it because of you, Your Highness, that she got into this bad temper?"

Duan Mingchong said calmly: "Do you still want your spring love?"

Sui Yan hurriedly took over Duan Mingchong's full of spring heart, thought for a moment and gave the flower to the palace maid, turned around and held Duan Mingchong's slightly red hands in his palms.

Sui Yan tried to warm the cold back of Duan Mingchong's hand with the weak warmth of his palm, and looked at him affectionately: "Your Highness's hand is so cold, it hurts my heart."

Duan Mingchong just looked at him with a half-smile.

Sui Yan wanted to take out the small hand warmer secretly, but he didn't dare to do so in the face of Duan Mingchong's cold smile, so he had to grab his hand and put it on his waist inside his coat.

Duan Mingchong only spoke at this time: "Aren't you cold?"

After opening the cloak, he lifted the side of his coat, and pressed his cold hands against the thin clothes. Si Yan shuddered, shivered, and said righteously, "Warm your hands, Your Highness. No, it's not cold."

Duan Mingchong smiled softly. He stood up and walked forward, holding the cold bracelet around Sui Yan's waist and thrusting it inwards: "How about this?"

Duan Mingchong had been cutting branches for a long time and was already as cold as an ice cube. Even with his clothes pressed against his body, he could not stop the chill from penetrating into his body.

Sui Yan jumped and shivered as he said, "No, I'm not cold. I won't tell you even if you freeze to death!"

Duan Mingchong couldn't hold back his laughter any longer, so he retracted his hand, hugged Sui Yan in his cloak, and said, "What about this?"

Sui Yan was surrounded by the warmth of Duan Mingchong's body, so he raised his arms and hugged Duan Mingchong's neck, smiling and saying, "Your Highness, why are you so good?"

Duan Mingchong smiled and said, "That's not what you said when you accused me of cutting flowers just now."

Sui Yan didn't expect that he was still thinking about this matter. He secretly said, "Oh no!" He pushed Duan Mingchong's shoulder and stepped back a few steps, saying faintly, "Are you going to bring up the past again?"

Duan Mingchong said helplessly: "It's only been a matter of a stick of incense, how can it be considered an old account, you..."

Sui Yan put the small hand warmer in his arms and said, "Warm your hands yourself."

After saying that, he turned and ran.

Duan Mingchong hurriedly followed.

After the two disappeared around the corner of the Plum Garden, a group of people walked out from the quiet path in the Plum Garden.

The emperor looked coldly at the place where the two disappeared, and no one knew what he was thinking.

The palace maid behind him looked at the emperor's expression, bowed and whispered: "Your Majesty, the Crown Prince and the Marquis may have been playing too much..."

The emperor suddenly smiled and said, "You are playing too much..."

He reached out his hand and gently touched the bald branches, watching them tremble slightly. Although there was a smile on his face, his eyes were cold and murderous.

"It's too much, then," the emperor thought of something and sighed softly, as if expressing regret or emotion, "If the prince likes it, there's nothing wrong with keeping a noble pet."

The palace maid's shoulders trembled slightly and her head hung even lower.

It snowed heavily on the first day Sui Yan moved into the East Palace.

The floor heater was on in the bedroom. He lay on the couch in front of the window, leaning against the window frame to look out, his two feet still swinging unconsciously.

Duan Mingchong was reading a book on the desk nearby. Seeing Sui Yan's bored face, he put down his book helplessly and walked over to him, saying, "Ayan, what are you doing?"

Sui Yan tilted his head and said, "Counting snowflakes - I'm so boring. Did you bring me here just to let me grow mushrooms?"

Duan Mingchong asked: "What do you do all day in the mansion?"

Sui Yan thought for a moment and said truthfully, "Eat, sleep, tease Haitang. Oh, by the way, there is a new servant in our house named Le An. I like to tease him the most. When I tease him, he blushes and trembles non-stop."

Duan Mingchong couldn't understand Sui Yan's bad taste, so he sat down helplessly and said, "Then I'll accompany you."

Sui Yan suddenly became excited: "You don't want to look at the memorials? I just saw there are still a lot of them outside, like a small mountain."

Duan Mingchong said: "Those are not important."

After hearing this, Sui Yan quickly replied, "Being with me is the most important thing, right?"

Duan Mingchong laughed: "Where did you hear that? Aren't you ashamed?"

Sui Yan was not ashamed at all and said seriously: "Your Highness, I admire you too."

Duan Mingchong: "..."

Duan Mingchong pursed his lips and said, "That's not what you said in Yu Garden today."

Sui Yan didn't expect that Duan Mingchong would still remember such a small thing, and looked at him strangely.

Duan Mingchong said calmly: "Remembering small grudges, I learned that from you."

Sui Yan's face darkened, and he said, "I just said a few words to you casually, but you still want to hold a grudge against me for such a small thing?"

He reached out and grabbed Duan Mingchong's collar, then pulled Duan Mingchong towards him with force.

Duan Mingchong was stunned for a moment, then he heard Sui Yan mutter, "I'll give it back to you."

As he spoke, he kissed Duan Mingchong on the lips, then pushed him away as if throwing away a hot potato, saying, "Okay, let's go."

Duan Mingchong: "..."

Duan Mingchong was so angry that he lost his temper and tapped him on the forehead: "Are you asleep?"

Sui Yan nodded, and then seemed to have thought of something, looking at him warily: "Pure, pure sleep?"

Duan Mingchong was stunned for a moment, not knowing what he was thinking about. He felt unnatural. He pretended to be calm and stretched out his hand to Sui Yan, saying: "You...if you want to do something else, it's not possible..."

Sui Yan: “…”

Sui Yan looked at the Crown Prince who was trying to take advantage of him but was reluctant to do so, and quickly slapped Duan Mingchong's hand away: "Go read your book, I don't need you to accompany me, I'll go to sleep by myself."

As he spoke, regardless of Duan Mingchong's hesitant look, he held the small hand stove, pushed aside the bed curtain and went in.

Duan Mingchong was about to follow him in, but Sui Yan said, "Don't come in. Come in after you finish those memorials, or I'll kick you out."

Duan Mingchong: "..."

Duan Mingchong had no choice but to go to the front hall obediently.

Sui Yan spent seven or eight days in the East Palace in a daze. Every day was almost the same as when he lived in the Marquis' Mansion. However, in his opinion, with Duan Mingchong by his side, it was completely different from the boring days before.

With Duan Mingchong around, it seems that even in the world of ice and snow, one can see the sky full of bright flowers.

Time passes by like a flash of light.

Soon, it was January 24th, the wedding date was approaching.

Sui Yan had gained a lot of weight in the East Palace these few days. He ran back from the small kitchen leisurely, biting a steamed bun, and saw Duan Mingchong packing things for him in the bedroom.

Sui Yan was a bit of a germaphobe and never allowed strangers to touch his underwear. In the Marquis' Mansion, Haitang was the one who cleaned it. But when he arrived at the East Palace, he was incredibly lazy and no one else could touch him, so Duan Mingchong had to do it himself.

Sui Yan swallowed the steamed bun, took out a small paper bag from his sleeve, and said casually, "Your Highness, what are you packing? Don't you have any business to deal with?"

Duan Mingchong smiled and said, "You will be going back to the Marquis' Mansion tomorrow. I will pack up so you don't have to get up early tomorrow."

Sui Yan was stunned: "Ah?"

Duan Mingchong turned around helplessly: "Have you forgotten? Your brother's wedding is in two days."

Sui Yan nodded dryly: "I remember it, but I didn't expect... to leave tomorrow. I thought I would stay here forever."

Duan Mingchong said, "Stop making trouble."

After knowing that he was about to leave, Sui Yan became depressed. He didn't even eat much for dinner and climbed into bed listlessly.

Duan Mingchong packed his things, opened the bed curtain and saw him curled up in the quilt like a quail. He couldn't help laughing: "You should go back and live for a few days, and come back after the wedding. Otherwise, others will say that you are rude and didn't come back to your own brother's wedding."

Sui Yan said gloomily, "Then will you come back to live with me in the Marquis' Mansion?"

Duan Mingchong smiled helplessly and said, "What do you think?"

Sui Yan was accustomed to sleeping with Duan Mingchong's feet touching all day long. He felt inexplicably uncomfortable when he suddenly had to go back home and sleep alone.

He tossed and turned in bed for half a day. Even after Duan Mingchong had washed up and gone to bed, he was still feeling resentful.

Duan Mingchong tidied Sui Yan's messy hair and tied it up with a hairband, saying, "Don't press on your hair."

Sui Yan rolled around for a few more rounds before stopping. He climbed up from the bed and suddenly asked, "Your Highness, are you going to get up early tomorrow?"

Duan Mingchong's black hair hung down, and the candlelight made him look even more handsome. He shook his head and said, "No need. What's wrong?"

Sui Yan threw the quilt over himself, climbed onto Duan Mingchong using his hands and feet, and covered both of them.

The candlelight was blocked out, and a shroud of darkness quickly descended.

Duan Mingchong was stunned for a moment, and then he felt Sui Yan groping to untie his belt in the darkness.

In the small space, Sui Yan's breath sprayed on Duan Mingchong's face. If you listened carefully, you could still hear his faint panting.

Duan Mingchong's breath was choked, and he raised his hand with difficulty to hold Sui Yan's hand: "Ah, A Yan, what are you doing?"

Sui Yan leaned forward slightly, opened his lips and took a bite.

Duan Mingchong: "You..."

Sui Yan said: "Oh, sorry, did you bite your face?"

Duan Mingchong: “Yeah.”

Sui Yan said hurriedly: "It's too dark, I didn't see it, let's try again."

This time, he reached out to hold Duan Mingchong's chin, and bit Duan Mingchong's light-colored lips.

Duan Mingchong held onto Sui Yan's waist, and his breathing became noticeably heavier.

Sui Yan bit Duan Mingchong's lips gently, and soon the two lips separated, and both of them gasped weakly.

Duan Mingchong: "Ayan..."

Sui Yan panted a few times before muttering softly, "Your Highness, if you don't go a little slower this time, there won't be a next time."

Duan Mingchong: "..."

Duan Mingchong said nothing, he just turned over and pressed him down on the couch.