Chapter 21 Pain

Sui Yan looked at Duan Shensu with obvious impatience, but due to his status he couldn't chase him away, so he had to wait for him to speak.

After waiting for an unknown amount of time, Duan Zhisu realized that it was not appropriate to keep someone here in the middle of the night. He lowered his eyes slightly and said softly, "If I get involved in the fight for the throne in the future, will you help the prince or me?"

Sui Yan was stunned for a moment, and suddenly felt a little sad.

If Duan Zhisu had told him everything in the previous life, then there would be no doubt that he helped Duan Zhisu in seizing the throne.

But he didn't.

In Sui Yan's previous life, he willingly fought with others for half his life because of a lie told by Duan Zhisu, and in the end he even lost his life. But now that he knows everything, it is naturally impossible for him to repeat the same mistake again.

Sui Yan took a deep breath, and the cold wind blowing in from the crack in the door was sucked into his lungs, making him shiver with cold.

"Your Highness, do you know what happened to me after I drank that cup of infamy?" Sui Yan suddenly asked.

Duan Zhisu looked at him in amazement.

Sui Yan stretched out his wrist, and the blue veins were clearly visible on his slender arm. He whispered, "I will be weak and sickly all my life. It is unknown whether I can live to the age of 25. Even a cold wind in winter will put my life in danger..."

Duan Zhisu's pupils trembled violently and he looked at him with pain in his eyes. He moved his lips, but he didn't know what to say.

Sui Yan murmured, "Do you expect me to use this broken body to get involved in the fight for the throne?"

Sui Yan walked forward gently, tiptoed and whispered in Duan Zhisu's ear, "Do you want me to die?"

Duan Zhisu suddenly took several steps back and looked at him in horror.

Sui Yan saw that he was frightened and wanted to laugh out loud, but his lips only curled up slightly and he couldn't laugh no matter what.

Yeah, nothing funny.

This night was just a point of disagreement for the two people, who would take completely different paths in the future.

There was still confusion and pain in Duan Zhisu's eyes: "I... I never thought of hurting you..."

Sui Yan lowered his eyes, his long eyelashes casting a shadow under his eyes: "Well, but you don't believe me."

Duan Zhisu immediately said, "I trust you. I didn't involve you in this matter because I really just wanted to protect you."

Sui Yan said nothing.

Duan Zhisu has always been a person who does things without saying much, and when he sends good things to Sui Yan, he never brags about how rare or expensive they are. He just says casually that he wants to give him a small gift. Sui Yan knows this very well and can't bear to break up with him in such an ugly way.

But it is impossible to go back to the way it was before.

Duan Zhisu felt that Sui Yan was getting farther and farther away from him, which made him a little flustered. He reached out and tentatively grabbed Sui Yan's wrist, trying to speak softly, and said, "Wang Gui, Song Xian is different from you. His family has been important officials in the court for three generations, and they will not be severely punished even if the truth is revealed. But you are different..."

Duan Zhisu was born in the royal family and was precocious. Normally, he did not want to tell Sui Yan about his deep calculations, for fear that he would think he was scheming.

She held his cold hand, gently closed it in her warm palm, and said softly: "Although Sui'an Marquisate looks big and powerful, once General Sui Xun returns to the frontier, you will be the only one supporting the Marquisate with the favor of the emperor. But if one day, the emperor thinks that you are a scheming person like me, how will he treat you? Have you ever thought about it?"

Sui Yan had naturally thought that if the emperor became jealous of him, he would naturally throw him to the battlefield to fend for himself, just like he did to the other members of the Sui family. Anyway, with Sui Yan's dissolute personality, he could not survive on the battlefield. If he accidentally died on the border, that would be the best thing for the emperor.

Sui Yan said calmly: "Isn't it the responsibility of our Sui family to protect our country?"

Duan Zhijue tried to persuade him but he didn't listen, and even his voice was a little unsteady: "Sui Wanggui! I'm serious with you, don't use your usual playful tricks to deal with me!"

Sui Yan was unmoved: "I am serious about this, too."

Duan Zhisu was so angry that his breathing became unsteady: "How long can you survive in the border area? Are you...not going to live anymore?"

Sui Yan said nothing more and struggled to pull his hand back.

Duan Zhisu rubbed his brows, not knowing what to say to him for a moment. He looked at Sui Yan's body shivering from the wind, and suddenly he couldn't bear to drag him into fooling around with him in the middle of the night.

Duan Zhisu breathed a sigh of relief and was silent for a long time before he asked with difficulty, "Prince...will he protect you?"

Sui Yan looked up at him in surprise.

Duan Zhisu forced a smile: "I know that nothing I say now will help. If the prince can really protect your life one day, then..."

He suddenly didn't know how to continue.

Sui Yan was a little stunned.

Duan Zhisu simply shut up and said no more. He just walked forward and gently hugged Sui Yan, patted him on the back twice, then pushed the door open and walked into the wind and snow without saying a word.

Sui Yan turned around and watched the inky figure slowly melt into the darkness, and suddenly a boundless sadness surged in his heart.

He knew that he and Duan Zhisu would go their separate ways and even break up in this life, but he never thought it would be so peaceful.

Sui Yan stood there blankly for half a day before Jun Jingxing came and dragged him back to the room.

When Sui Yan took off his clothes and was tucked into the warm quilt by Jun Jingxing, he blinked his eyelashes lightly and whispered, "Don't leave yet."

Jun Jingxing had no choice but to yawn and pull a stool to sit beside his bed, and said preparedly: "Okay, what do you say?"

Sui Yan asked, "Do you think someone like the Crown Prince can survive to the end?"

Both of them knew exactly what this meant in the end.

Jun Jingxing was very straightforward: "The prince is indecisive and too gentle and kind to others. He can be a loyal minister, but he cannot be a wise ruler."

In short, a person with a hesitant personality will never achieve great things.

Sui Yan pulled the quilt to cover his chin: "What do you think of me? Can I survive to the end?"

Jun Jingxing said calmly: "Who do you plan to be loyal to?"

Sui Yan didn't answer directly: "Just tell me if I can survive to the end."

Jun Jingxing said: "It's difficult. It's a blessing from God that you can live to adulthood."

Sui Yan: “…”

Jun Jingxing looked at Sui Yan's speechless eyes and asked curiously, "Was I wrong in any way? Aren't you going to inherit the title after you come of age? Would the emperor really let you inherit the title of your father, Marquis Sui An?"

Sui Yan was originally in a bad mood and wanted to talk to Jun Jingxing to get some advice, but he didn't expect that the more he tried to advise him, the worse he became.

Sui Yan waved his hands in disdain and said, "Hurry up and leave. Don't bother me here anymore."

Jun Jingxing said angrily: "You are the one who kept me here!"

Sui Yan: "I don't want to keep you anymore. Go back quickly. I'm going to sleep. Remember to wake me up tomorrow morning."

Jun Jingxing was so angry that he really wanted to drag him out and beat him up, but in the end he suppressed his anger and left in anger.

Sui Yan thought he would be thinking about random things until late at night before he could fall asleep, but after Jun Jing had been walking for a while, he felt exhausted and fell into a deep sleep in just a moment.

The next morning, snow began to fall again.

Sui Yan got up early, and stood under the porch wearing a shawl and holding an umbrella. Soon, the prince's carriage slowly came in the snow and wind.

Duan Mingchong opened the car curtain and caught a glimpse of Sui Yan standing at the door. The corners of his lips curled up in a gentle smile.

Soon, the car stopped and Duan Mingchong got out of the car in a dark green brocade robe. When he saw Sui Yan bowing, he hurriedly said, "No need."

Sui Yan stood up obediently, holding the small hand stove, and eager to try: "Then your highness, shall we go?"

Duan Mingchong said, "It would be rude to just leave. Is General Sui in the mansion? I'll go and say hello to him and it won't be too late."

Sui Yan said, "Brother has been very busy these past few days. He didn't come back last night. He will probably come back tonight. Your Highness will not be able to see him."

Duan Mingchong had no choice but to give up the idea and said, "Then come up."

Sui Yan hurriedly followed Duan Mingchong into the carriage.

It was not until the carriage quietly drove out of the long street of Sui Anhou Mansion that Sui Yan seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and turned on the exquisite little hand warmer in his hand.

Duan Mingchong took a glance and found that there were no charcoal blocks inside, but some candies wrapped in cellophane.

Duan Mingchong didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "General Sui won't let you eat candy?"

Sui Yan took out the candies one by one as if they were treasures, and then kicked the small hand warmer into his sleeve. He smiled and said, "No, it was the quack doctor in my family who said that you can't eat candies when you are sick because it is bad for your health. It's all nonsense."

Duan Mingchong's eyes curved with laughter: "Oh? What do you mean?"

Sui Yan said confidently: "I feel better after eating candy. When I feel better, my illness will naturally get better faster. Isn't this killing two birds with one stone? How can it be bad for my health?"

Duan Mingchong listened to his nonsense, smiled and opened the lid of the small cup that was warming on the charcoal basin under the small table, and a hint of sweet aroma overflowed.

Sui Yan looked over and his eyes widened.

Duan Mingchong said, "I woke you up so early. I thought you probably wouldn't have much appetite for breakfast, so I asked someone to warm up the sweet porridge and bring it over. Do you want to try it?"

Sui Yan nodded like shaking garlic, almost falling directly into Duan Mingchong's arms.

In just a short while, Sui Yan drank up all the sweet porridge in the small cup, and lay down on the small table with satisfaction, looking at Duan Mingchong eagerly, and whispered: "Your Highness, let's come to Xiangguo Temple again tomorrow."

Duan Mingchong couldn't help laughing: "Just for porridge?"

Sui Yan nodded: "Okay?"

Duan Mingchong stuffed his small hand warmer into his arms and said, "Nonsense, aren't you afraid of getting sick by torturing yourself again?"

Sui Yan curled his lips and decided not to mention the matter anymore.

Sui Yan looked around the carriage in boredom, and his eyes caught sight of the Buddhist scriptures in a red sandalwood box on a small table nearby. He curiously leaned over to take a look and asked, "Are these the Heart Sutras that will be offered to the Buddhist temple?"

Duan Mingchong nodded and said, "Well, if the young marquis has nothing to do, he can copy the Heart Sutra to calm his mind."

Sui Yan waved his hand and refused: "No, I feel my mind is quite calm now. If I can be calmer, I will become a monk."