Chapter 23 Encounter [Inverted V Start]

Ever since he saw the snow, Sui Yan has been in a daze. He even nearly bumped his head against the incense burner when he was praying for a peace talisman. It was only when Duan Mingchong cushioned it with his hand that he was saved from a bloody head.

On the way back, Duan Mingchong supported the pale-faced Sui Yan, and was afraid that he would lose his balance and fall down the stairs, so he did not dare to let go.

Sui Yan's face turned pale, and he forced a smile towards Duan Mingchong: "Thank you very much, Your Highness."

Duan Mingchong said nothing.

It took them a while to finally reach the foot of the mountain. Sui Yan did not walk around any longer, and his silence made everyone feel a little uncomfortable.

The carriage was waiting by the roadside.

Sui Yan paused, slowly turned his head to look at the long mountain road, and he didn't know what he was thinking about, his eyes were slightly dazed.

Duan Mingchong said softly, "Let's go back."

Sui Yan then nodded, bent down and entered the carriage.

Along the way, Sui Yan had a listless look on his face, leaning against the car wall with his eyes closed. I wonder if he was taking a nap. He was so cheerful and jumpy when he came here, but when he suddenly became quiet, Duan Mingchong actually felt a little uncomfortable.

A small charcoal brazier was burning in the carriage, and the curtains were not closed too tightly. The cold wind blew in through the small gaps, blowing the hair on the old man's forehead slightly.

Duan Mingchong was afraid that he would freeze again, so he walked forward and gently lifted his shoulders, letting him lean on them. He then put his hands on his shoulders and patted them gently, as if he was coaxing a child.

Sui Yan was not asleep, but he did not want to close his eyes. He did not move and let others manipulate him. He leaned on Duan Mingchong's shoulder, smelling the scent of green wood on him, and thought to himself: "If he dies, I might as well die with him. Anyway, the three brothers will end up fighting like they did in their previous lives. It's disgusting and boring."

If there is any difference between the present and the previous life, it is the Duan Mingchong in front of me.

If Duan Mingchong hadn't died, even if the other princes did something bad, they would not be able to shake his position as the crown prince.

Sui Yan was lost in thought, and suddenly said, "Your Highness..."

Duan Mingchong tilted his head slightly and said softly, "Hmm? Are you awake?"

Sui Yan didn't want to move, and murmured, "Why is Your Highness so nice to me?"

Duan Mingchong didn't expect him to ask this and looked at him in surprise.

Since Sui Yan had already spoken, there was no reason for him to keep nagging him. He sat up with his hands on his back, looking at Duan Mingchong quietly, wanting an answer.

Duan Mingchong thought for a moment and said with a smile, "Maybe it's because...of jealousy."

Sui Yan didn't expect to get this answer. He was stunned for a moment and said blankly: "Jealous? What do you envy me for?"

Duan Mingchong thought for a moment before saying, "I have been in the palace for many years, growing up under my father's lap. Since I was young, I was taught to follow the rules in what I do and say, and not to lose my status as a crown prince. So I have been strict and self-disciplined for the past fourteen years, and I dare not overstep the line. When I first met you..."

The five-year-old prince was just sitting in the East Palace, holding a dizzying book and reciting it obediently, while the cicadas outside the window were chirping non-stop and very noisy.

The little prince was probably a little annoyed. He put the book down and was about to climb up the window to read. The tutor beside him, who had closed his eyes, said, "Your Highness, be calm."

The little prince curled his lips but dared not say anything more. He sat back down and continued to recite the extremely boring book while listening to the cicadas' chirping.

Suddenly, a shout came from outside the window, startling the closed-eyed Taifu.

The little prince was stunned and looked outside with blinking eyes.

Right outside his window, on a cherry tree, a child in purple clothes was climbing up the tree using his hands and feet. Perhaps he was scratched on the face by a branch, and he was laughing and groaning, looking very lively.

The Grand Tutor took a look, then immediately opened the door and walked out with his beard puffed and eyes glared.

"Sui Yan! Get down here right now! How can you behave like this?!"

Duan Mingchong leaned on the window frame and looked out with wide eyes, curiously.

When little Suiyan heard the tutor's voice, he climbed faster and soon reached the branch, holding on to the trunk tightly with his little hands.

He smiled and said to the tutor under the tree: "Teacher, reading is too boring. I caught a cicada to relieve my boredom. Please don't tell my uncle."

The Grand Tutor angrily said, "Get down here! Where in the East Palace is the place for you to run wild?!"

Sui Yan exclaimed, "Is this the East Palace? I've never been here before."

While he was talking to the tutor, his men did not waste any time and quickly grabbed a cicada on the branch and put it into a small glass bottle in their sleeves - this action was so familiar that it was obvious that they did it often.

Taifu: "Get down here!"

Little Sui Yan grinned, and actually slashed down while holding the tree trunk. The tutor was about to reach out to grab him, but he suddenly jumped to the ground when he was about to hit the ground. Relying on his small size, he quickly slipped into the bushes and disappeared.

During the hottest days of summer, the Taifu was so angry that he almost broke out in a sweat. He angrily scolded the "little devil" and "devil" to the empty bushes, and it took him a long time to come back.

Duan Mingchong was stunned. It was the first time he knew that someone could make the calm and composed Taifu so angry.

The Grand Tutor was drinking water in the outer hall. Duan Mingchong was cautiously leaning against the window lattice to look into the bushes. Before he could figure out what was going on, a figure suddenly jumped out from under the window lattice and exclaimed "Wow!" at him.

Duan Mingchong was startled and nearly fell from the window frame.

Sui Yan saw that he was frightened and started to chuckle. He was cute to begin with, like a porcelain doll with beautiful eyes.

Duan Mingchong was stunned for a moment.

Sui Yan also stood on tiptoe on the window frame and faced him, holding a piece of grass in his mouth, and asked curiously: "Are you the Crown Prince?"

Duan Mingchong had never spoken to a child of his age before. He was stunned for a moment before he said in a panic, "Yes, yes."

"You look stupid." Sui Yan smiled and placed the small glass bottle in front of Duan Mingchong, saying, "Hey, I'll give this to you to play with."

Duan Mingchong looked at the cicada in the bottle curiously, poked it with his hand, and said, "How do I play with this?"

Sui Yan picked up the glass bottle and shook it. The cicada inside was frightened and started squeaking.

Sui Yan smiled and said, "Isn't it fun?"

Duan Mingchong: “Hmm…”

I don't see what's fun about it, but it's quite noisy.

But this was the first time Duan Mingchong was talking to someone else, and he couldn't bear to reject the other person's kindness, so he nodded and said, "Yeah, it's fun."

Sui Yan seemed to have finally found a like-minded person. He shook the bottle again, and the golden cicada continued to make noise, which was very annoying.

The sound finally attracted the Grand Master from the outer hall. He opened the pearl curtain and saw Sui Yan lying on the window frame. He immediately shouted angrily, "Sui Yan!"

Sui Yan yelled "Oh no!" and quickly jumped down on his short legs. While running away, he waved to Duan Mingchong: "I'm leaving now. I'll come play with you later."

Duan Mingchong looked at him with eyes wide open, and waved to him, saying, "Okay!"

The Grand Tutor said angrily, "Good, what's good about that? Not good! That Si Yan is not a good student. He is always making jokes and making no effort to make progress. Your Highness should not associate with such people."

Duan Ming Chong suddenly looked a little depressed. He secretly stuffed the small glass bottle on the window frame into his sleeve and said humbly.

That was the first time that Duan Mingchong knew that there were people who could live so wildly, like a ball of fire, dazzling people so much that they could not take their eyes off.

Since then, Duan Mingchong has been thinking about when Sui Yan would come to play with him, but that little bastard was too playful and forgot about it completely within a few days and went to find new fun.

When Duan Mingchong saw him again, Sui Yan had become Duan Zhisu's study companion, always sticking with Song Xian and the others, never even looking at him.

Duan Mingchong thought sadly: "He forgot about me. He said he would come and play with me..."

However, the little prince had been very considerate since then. He was depressed for a while before he comforted himself.

"I'm so boring." The little prince thought, "I can't find any fun playing with me. He's so fun, I'm still happier with other people."

Since then, the biggest interaction between the two was seeing each other at the Taifu's morning class. As time went by, Duan Mingchong no longer cared about it, but sometimes he would still think of the unruly child who leaned on the window frame and smiled at him.

Until one time when he was out of the palace to handle some business, a group of people gathered on the bridge and pointed at the river bank below. He glanced at them inadvertently and saw Sui Yanhun standing on the river bank with his body covered in water and a panic-stricken look in his eyes. Song Xian beside him seemed to be yelling something at him.

Duan Mingchong was stunned for a moment, then quickly ran over.

But before he could catch up, the young man seemed to be possessed by a demon. He pushed away the people around him and jumped into the icy river.

Duan Mingchong was startled and went down to save people without thinking.

Duan Mingchong thought of this and smiled a little embarrassedly, saying, "I am a very boring person, completely different from you, so... it is normal for me to envy your unruly and arrogant attitude."

Sui Yan was choked: "I..."

Sui Yan had no memory of meeting Duan Mingchong when he was a child. Seeing Duan Mingchong speak so seriously, he felt a little embarrassed and guilty for a moment, and said awkwardly: "I... I didn't know anything when I was young. I'm really sorry for offending Your Highness."

Duan Mingchong said seriously: "It's not an offense. I was... very happy at that time."

Sui Yan looked at him in astonishment. Only then did he realize that Duan Mingchong had stopped calling himself "Gu" to him since some time ago.

Sui Yan said hesitantly: "Your Highness..."

Duan Mingchong said: "A few days ago, I saw you by the river in a trance, and you even had thoughts of committing suicide. Since then, I have been wondering if you are not living well or have some difficulties..."

Sui Yan finally understood why Duan Mingchong had been coming to Sui An Marquis's mansion from time to time since then, and always gave him gifts to make him happy.

Duan Mingchong looked at him seriously and said, "If you really have any difficulties, you can ask someone to come to me. I keep my word. No matter what it is, as long as I can do it, I will definitely help you."

Sui Yan stared at him blankly, and for some reason he suddenly felt a sour taste in his nose. He said hesitantly, "Then Your Highness...are you willing to believe me?"

Duan Mingchong said: "Of course I believe it."

Duan Mingchong said the same words so softly, but it gave Sui Yan a feeling of a promise worth a thousand gold. He also knew that a man like Duan Mingchong would definitely do what he said.

Sui Yan suddenly smiled, his eyes sparkling, and he said in a hoarse voice, "Okay."

The author has something to say: Little Prince: You said you would play with me...QAQ!