Chapter 6 Silence

Duan Mingchong quickly lowered the curtain, preventing the embarrassing scene of Sui Yan leaning in the woman's arms from being seen by the guards outside.

Sui Yan's old face turned red, and he struggled to get off Yue Jian, but Yue Jian, for some reason, was crazy and still held his hand tightly.

Sui Yan whispered, "How long are you going to hold me?"

Yue Jian seemed not to notice the people around her, and murmured, "You just said..."

Duan Mingchong walked forward with a cold face, pulled Sui Yan off Yue Jian, and said in a low voice: "Don't you know how to write the word shame?"

The Crown Prince usually had a bright and gentle look, but when he suddenly looked gloomy, Sui Yan was actually shocked.

Jiang Enhe finally came to his senses and bowed quickly: "Greetings, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

Sui Yan was about to salute, but Duan Mingchong grabbed his wrist, turned around and left without saying a word, leaving Jiang En with a shocked face and Yue Jian in a daze.

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince arrived at the Wanhua Tower with his attendants in a grand procession. The officials who came there to look for prostitutes were nearly scared to death, and soon the crowded hall was empty.

Sui Yan was dragged away by Duan Mingchong, and for some reason he felt inexplicably guilty.

After going downstairs, Sui Yan glanced at his snacks on the table and said quickly, "Your Highness, Your Highness!"

Duan Mingchong did not even turn his head and said, "I do not want to discuss this with you here. You do not need to say anything more. When I return to the palace, I will tell my father about this and let him discipline you properly."

Sui Yan: “…”

Sui Yan felt that he could not celebrate the Little New Year today. Duan Mingchong had reported this to the Emperor, so he might have to celebrate the Qingming Festival instead.

"Your Highness, Your Highness!" Sui Yan said repeatedly, "I came here just to eat steamed buns, steamed buns! Look, everything on the table is mine!"

Duan Mingchong stopped and said, "Continue editing."

Sui Yan: “…”

Sui Yan said weakly: "What I said is true, if you don't believe me, you can..."

He was about to say, "You can ask the staff of Wanhualou," when Jiang Enhe poked his head out from the pearl curtain on the second floor and shouted, "Sui Yan, you are talking nonsense again. Didn't you just tell me that you came here for Yuejian?"

Sui Yan: “…” I’m going to kill you!

Sui Yan looked pale, and tried to defend himself: "Your Highness is wise, and will certainly not listen to the slander of a villain. Everyone in the capital knows that Jiang and I are not on good terms. This person has no other abilities, but he is an expert at slandering others. He has ruined my reputation today, and I will definitely..."

Duan Mingchong interrupted him: "You come to eat steamed buns, and you can eat them by sitting on other people, which is indeed a kind of skill."

Sui Yan: “…”

The evidence was irrefutable, and Sui Yan was speechless.

Duan Mingchong said: "Go back."

Sui Yan said, "Steamed buns, rabbit steamed buns."

Duan Mingchong: “…”

He rubbed his brows and asked the servant to pack the food for Sui Yan in a lunch box. Only then did Sui Yan obediently follow him back.

Along the way, Sui Yan was silent as a cicada, and followed Duan Mingchong back to the general's mansion like a quail.

Li Zhao was waiting anxiously at the door. When he saw Sui Yan coming back surrounded by his family, he hurriedly went up to greet him and said, "Your Highness, Young Master."

Sui Yan followed behind Duan Mingchong and mouthed to Li Zhao: Why don’t you stop him?

Li Zhao pretended not to see it and respectfully welcomed His Royal Highness the Crown Prince in.

Doctor Meng Yu was still waiting in the mansion. When he saw Sui Yan coming back like a quail, he wanted to laugh but didn't dare to. He hurried over to greet him and said, "Hello, young marquis. I have been waiting here for a long time."

Sui Yan smiled, thinking to himself, "Next time, don't even think about getting in through the door."

A charcoal basin was burning in the house. Haitang helped Sui Yan take off his coat. Sui Yan said, "Help me heat up those rabbit buns. Wait..."

Duan Mingchong interrupted and said, "First, take his pulse."

Sui Yan was angry but dared not say anything, so he had to sit in front of Doctor Meng Yu with his head down and stretched out his slender wrist.

It was only then that Sui Yan came to his senses and realized something was wrong. The prince didn't look like a very approachable person, so why did he care so much? He was one year younger than him, so why was he afraid of him?

In his previous life, after Zi Duan was convicted of a crime, he obtained the title of prince, but was still placed under house arrest for three years. After that, he managed to leave the palace, and then he teamed up with Yue Jianlang to commit crimes and cause trouble in the capital. At that time, he held power in the court, and no one dared to control him, even the emperor was not bothered by him, and he was like a dead pig that is not afraid of boiling water.

Considering that he was already over 20 years old in his previous life, he was actually afraid of this young boy. Sui Yan felt that he had lived a comfortable life for a while and was getting better and better.

"Isn't it just the crown prince?" Sui Yan thought, "I'm not even afraid of the emperor, so why should I be afraid of the crown prince?"

Thinking of this, he raised his head, smiled at Duan Mingchong, and wanted to speak: "Your Highness is busy with all kinds of affairs..."

Duan Mingchong said: "Silence."

Sui Yan: “…”

Sui Yan was a little upset and thought: "Damn, I'm really scared."

Sui Yan didn't know how such a young child could be so powerful when he frowned. Thinking back carefully, in his previous life, when he was fourteen years old, he was still quarreling with Jiang En and the people across the street. He was unruly and would not feel comfortable until he confronted anyone he didn't like.

Compared with Duan Mingchong at this moment, Sui Yan felt very ashamed. If he were someone with a thinner skin, his face would have blushed with shame.

After a moment, Doctor Meng Yu withdrew his hand and asked, "Young Marquis, have you still been taking medicine these days?"

Sui Yan said: "In use."

Duan Mingchong glanced at him, and Sui Yan quickly said, "I am taking medicinal food three times a day. Why is it that there is no effect?"

Doctor Meng Yu said, "Although the medicinal food is somewhat useful, it is still not as effective as the boiled medicine. Young Master, the cold has entered your body and your Qi is already weak. If it is not urgent, you should not go out and catch a cold."

Sui Yan said: "I understand."

Doctor Meng Yu wrote a new prescription and handed it to Li Zhao, giving him some instructions before he stood up and said goodbye.

Duan Mingchong, who had been silent all this time, suddenly said, "Doctor Meng Yu, what happened today..."

Anyone who has been in the palace for so many years must be very smart. Duan Mingchong only said the beginning, and Doctor Meng Yu smiled and said, "I just came here today to check the pulse of the young marquis. I don't know anything else."

Duan Mingchong nodded, and Doctor Meng Yu was sent out by Li Zhao.

The cold wind that blew in when the door opened made Sui Yan shiver, so he simply leaned against the charcoal brazier nearby to keep warm.

Duan Mingchong looked at him curled up into a ball and seemed to laugh out of anger: "Do you also know what cold is?"

Sui Yan raised his head and blinked: "Of course."

Duan Mingchong asked, "If you knew it was cold, why did you jump into the snow a few days ago?"

Sui Yan: “…Uh.”

It seems that the voice of Duan Mingchong that I heard before I fainted was not an auditory hallucination.

Sui Yan defended himself: "I...I didn't mean it."

Duan Mingchong laughed, but his eyes were cold, and it seemed that he didn't believe his lies.

Sui Yan didn't understand why Duan Mingchong was angry about him, so he asked tentatively, "Your Highness, why are you here today?"

Duan Mingchong took a deep breath and said, "My father asked me to come and check on your condition."

Sui Yan smiled and said, "I'm sorry to trouble your Majesty."

Duan Mingchong looked at his heartless appearance, sighed suddenly, and said: "Young Marquis, you will have to attend court in the next year. How can you gain a foothold in the court if you continue to be so lazy and inactive?"

The smile on Sui Yan's face disappeared.

Duan Mingchong added: "Three generations of the Sui family have been military officials, and their military achievements have been accumulated bit by bit. The old marquis has spent his entire life in the military to obtain this title, so you don't want it..."

What don’t you want?

Don't want to ruin the reputation of Sui'an Marquis Mansion?

Or should we not be cynical and destroy ourselves in the pursuit of wealth and fame?

Sui Yan knew what Duan Mingchong had not said yet. He chuckled and thought, "If not, do I have to live my life in a hard way, taking every step carefully and worrying about the future like in my previous life? No matter who I pledge my loyalty to, I will inevitably end up with the same fate. If that's the case, why bother to create so many problems and make myself unhappy?"

Thinking of this, the little bit of interest in life that I had finally felt today disappeared in an instant.

Sui Yan lowered his eyes and looked at the red charcoal exploding in the charcoal basin: "I know."

Duan Mingchong saw his expression, thought for a moment, and advised: "You grew up in the palace with your third brother. Those imperial tutors praised you for your intelligence, and your father also wanted to let you serve in the court several times. If you make more progress, you will not have to worry about not being able to gain a firm foothold in the court."

Sui Yan pursed his lips and suddenly asked, "Your Highness, are you worried that I won't live long enough to ascend to the throne?"

Duan Mingchong's face changed.

Sui Yan said, "I know your Highness has good intentions. I have already made up my mind on how Sui'an Marquis's residence can gain a foothold in the court. I am sorry to bother you to tell me so much."

Everyone praised the Crown Prince for his gentleness, modesty, and courtesy. Sui Yan had not taken it seriously before, but only then did he suddenly realize that the praise was not groundless.

Sui Yan smiled softly. He could give so much earnest advice to someone he had only met a few times. It seemed that this prince was really a nosy person, but he was also a gentleman.

If someone else had advised him like this, he would have certainly made a bunch of jokes and nonsense to get away with it, but that person happened to be Duan Mingchong.

People with cunning minds and scheming minds are often most afraid of people with pure minds.

Duan Mingchong saw that he looked gloomy, and perhaps he also saw his impatience, so he turned around and left without saying anything else. This time Sui Yan didn't even see him off.

Sui Yan sat on the ground, his eyes fixed on the burning charcoal brazier in front of him. He didn't know what he was thinking about, but his body suddenly moved closer to the charcoal fire.

Just when he was about to touch the charcoal brazier in a daze, Haitang suddenly came running over.

"Young Master!"

Sui Yanhun shuddered and suddenly came back to his senses.

Haitang said, "Young Master, the Third Prince is here."

Sui Yan looked at him blankly, and after a long while he said, "Oh, OK, please."

Soon, Duan Zhisu pushed the door open and saw Sui Yan sitting on the ground with a dazed look on his face. He frowned and walked over to him, pulling him up and scolding him, "Isn't the ground cold?"

Sui Yan was pulled up, forced a smile, and saluted, "Hello, Your Highness."

Duan Zhisu waved his hand and said, "I have been busy these days. I didn't know you were sick again. What will the doctor say when he comes?"

Duan Zhisu reached out and touched Sui Yan's forehead: "It seems to be still a little hot, go lie down."

Sui Yan smiled and said, "I just leaned too close to the charcoal basin just now. I don't feel hot. Why are you here?"

From outside the room came the sound of servants moving things back and forth. They said solemnly, "This year's lucky oranges for the imperial tribute have been shipped from Rongcheng. I asked someone to send you a few boxes to try."