Chapter 61: Court

The two brothers had lunch together. Sui Yan took two mouthfuls of porridge from the edge of the bowl. He stared at his brother's stern profile for a long time before whispering, "Does brother like Jiang Ning?"

Sui Xun paused, and said unnaturally: "Why are you asking this?"

Sui Yan said, "Jiang Ning has been waiting to get married for several years. People in the capital have been gossiping about her for who knows how long, but she still goes her own way and never cares how others look at her. I heard Jiang Enhe say before that her sister has no plans to get married for the time being. This time the emperor has granted her a marriage, and she doesn't seem to have any objection..."

Sui Xun probably didn't want to hear this, so he tapped Sui Yan's bowl with his chopsticks and said impatiently, "You know so much at such a young age, stop talking nonsense, don't you understand that you should not talk while eating?"

Sui Yan said "Oh" and had to lower his head to drink the porridge.

After a while, he continued, "I think the reason why she didn't marry is because she is in love with her brother..."

Sui Xun: "Sui Yan."

Sui Yan didn't dare to say anything. He drank the porridge silently and was about to get up and go back. Suddenly, he thought of something and sat back down. He said with difficulty: "Brother..."

Sui Xun put down his chopsticks and said coldly: "Jiang Ning is your future sister-in-law, don't always listen to those false rumors!"

Sui Yan hesitated and said, "I know. I just want to ask, didn't brother send secret guards to follow me today?"

Why did he need to hear from his family general about the assassination of Sui Xun?

Sui Xun suddenly felt a little embarrassed, and after a dry cough, he said, "No, the secret guards who followed were probably the Crown Prince's men. So, isn't the matter resolved?"

As soon as these words came out, Sui Yan's face turned pale.

Sui Yan returned to the side courtyard in a daze. He smelled the lingering scent of the soothing incense in the room, and it took him a long time to come back to his senses.

He buried his head in the quilt and began to recall in detail what he had said and done that day.

He ruthlessly killed all the assassins in front of Duan Mingchong's secret guards, and those secret guards had expressions of disbelief on their faces. They would report the matter to Duan Mingchong truthfully after returning.

Sui Yan shuddered suddenly.

"Duan Mingchong has to know my true nature..." Sui Yan murmured, but soon, he comforted himself, "He should have known my true nature three years ago. I am cruel and ruthless, but if those people hadn't provoked me first, I wouldn't have killed them."

He thought for a long time and felt that there was nothing wrong with what he said and did today.

Sui Yan's depression had improved a lot. He had just had an attack that had drained away a lot of his energy. He was now lying on the couch in a daze, and soon fell into a deep sleep.

In the East Palace, Duan Mingchong listened to the secret guard's story with an expressionless face and did not speak for a long time.

The secret guard knelt on the ground and whispered, "...After the Marquis finished speaking, he ordered the secret guards of the Marquis' Mansion to kill all the assassins, leaving no one alive. It was impossible to interrogate them."

Duan Mingchong took a deep breath.

The secret guard said hesitantly, "Your Highness, the Marquis seems to be a little different from what everyone imagines..."

How could a young nobleman who was ignorant of the ways of the world and lived a life of luxury order the killing of so many people without blinking an eye, and when he saw the scene of rivers of blood, his brows did not even move.

Dark Guard: "Your Highness?"

Duan Mingchong then said, "That's great."

It’s a good thing that Sui Yan is not someone who only knows how to rely on others.

The secret guard said: "But the assassin..."

Duan Mingchong said: "The assassins were no more than two groups of people, there is nothing to interrogate, and ah... Lord Sui is right, if the assassins reveal other people's names, I will not believe it."

If the worst-case scenario is implemented, the mastermind behind the plot that Sui Yan heard from the assassin is not someone else but the crown prince. Regardless of whether there is any cause and effect, Sui Yan's tendency to overthink things will sooner or later stab a needle in his heart.

Sui Yan probably thought of something, so he just shut up without asking any questions.

Duan Mingchong pondered for a long time, and then, as if he had made up his mind, he asked awkwardly, "Did he and Jiang Enhe stay in that... Wanhua Tower for an hour? What did they do?"

The guard didn't understand, so he answered truthfully, "I ordered a few steamed buns, listened to some songs, and didn't do anything else."

Duan Mingchong then breathed a sigh of relief without leaving a trace, and chuckled, "It seems that he really likes eating steamed buns."

Duan Mingchong suppressed his shyness and gave all the instructions to the secret guard.

The secret guard knelt for a long time before he clasped his fists and said yes, then left with a face full of shame.

The next morning, Sui Yan was dragged out of bed while he was sleeping soundly.

Sui Xun was not Duan Mingchong or Jun Jingxing. He just shouted "Get up and go to court", and Sui Yan dazedly shouted that he wanted to sleep for a while longer, and Sui Xun became impatient.

He looked at Sui Yan, who was lying sleepy under the quilt, and turned around to open the window. The howling wind and snow outside suddenly blew in, making the warmth chilly.

Sui Yan was so cold that he curled up in the quilt.

Sui Xun walked back with an iron face, pulled the quilt with his hand, and threw it directly to the ground.

Sui Yan: “Ahhhh——”

When Sui Yan sat in the carriage wrapped in his court robes, he was still grouchy from waking up, and looked so gloomy that he almost wanted to chop someone down.

Sui Xun's expression was even colder than his. He just folded his arms and said nothing the whole time.

The carriage rocked into the palace.

When Sui Yan got off the carriage, his anger finally subsided. He trotted to catch up with Sui Xun, who was walking at a brisk pace, and whispered, "Brother, don't lift my quilt next time. I'm not feeling well right now. If I catch a cold, I might die."

Sui Xun didn't even look at him, but just held the umbrella and kept leaning towards Sui Yan.

"You said yesterday that you wanted to go to court with me, but this morning you asked me to go and force you to go. Think about it yourself, who is wrong?"

Sui Yan said, "I didn't say you were wrong. I was wrong in this matter, but I am used to getting up at noon. You came to wake me up before dawn. You should give me some time to get used to it."

Sui Yan discussed patiently, hoping to get a promise from Sui Xun that he would not lift his quilt again. After all, no one wants to have their quilt lifted when they are sleeping soundly.

If it were someone braver, he would probably fight to the death with Sui Xun.

But I am too old to understand and can only explain it to him with my feelings.

Sui Xun was annoyed to death by his nagging. He stopped and said, "Adapt? Adapt until noon?"

Sui Yan suddenly became too embarrassed to speak.

Sui Xun grabbed his wrist and dragged him into the Hall of Supreme Harmony, whispering, "You come to court once every eight hundred years, K.D.T.C. Don't tell me nonsense."

Sui Yan said: "I will definitely not say anything, I will just watch the show."

Sui Xun glared at him, then stood in his seat and waited to go to court.

Sui Xun got up too early, and when he arrived at the Hall of Supreme Harmony, there were hardly any ministers there. When they saw Sui Yan coming, they all looked at him as if he were a rare object.

Sui Xun gave him a cold glance, and the civil officials in the court were very afraid of this military commander with fierce and violent eyes, and they all turned their eyes away.

After a while, other ministers arrived one after another.

Sui Yan spotted Jiang Enhe and was about to greet him, but Sui Xun, who was standing beside him, immediately grabbed his dangling hands and whispered, "Shut up!"

Sui Yan then curled his lips and reluctantly put his hand down.

After Jiang Enhe stood up, he caught a glimpse of Sui Yan standing opposite him, and was immediately shocked as if the sun had risen in the west.

Sui Yanchong winked at him.

Soon, Duan Mingchong also arrived. When Sui Yan saw him, he immediately turned his head away, feeling a little guilty and not looking at him.

Every time Sui Yan attended court, he would just stand there as if it were a routine. He didn't have to say or listen to anything. When the emperor made a decision, he would follow others and say "Your Majesty is wise", or when the emperor was angry, he would kneel down a little bit late and say "Your Majesty, please calm down". He had nothing to do with anything else.

This time, after the emperor went to court, he stood there bored as usual, staring blankly at Duan Mingchong who was sitting diagonally across from him.

Although Duan Mingchong is young, he has great prestige in the court, and his serious look almost makes Sui Yan dizzy.

Sui Yan had been staring at Duan Mingchong, but at this moment he heard someone kneel down next to him, trembling and shouting that he was wronged.

Sui Yan was startled and turned his head to see that the person kneeling on the ground was the Minister of War Ning Yuan.

He looked around again and saw that everyone had different expressions. Finally, his eyes were fixed on the emperor's angry old face.

Sui Yan suddenly cried out in his heart, and looked at Duan Mingchong's handsome face, and then he felt a little relieved.

The emperor said angrily: "You are so brave!"

Ning Yuan couldn't help but kowtow: "This old minister is innocent!"

Sui Yan thought to himself: "My dear mother, what's going on? Why is the emperor starting to get angry at his brother-in-law?"

He looked confused.

Sui Xun said in a cold voice: "Making a clique for personal gain and mobilizing troops without authorization, Lord Ning is really so arrogant. If all the generals at the border acted like you, I'm afraid the enemy would have already reached our capital city."

He clasped his fists slightly towards the emperor and said, "The Ministry of War has not issued an order to mobilize troops without authorization. This is a serious matter. I hope Your Majesty will impose severe punishment."

Although Sui Xun had not been in the court for long, he had made great military achievements and he disliked people who abused their power, so no one would find it strange that he was the first to speak.

Sui Yan blinked and looked at Sui Xun. This was the first time he saw Sui Xun being so strong in the court. He suddenly felt that he was very gentle when he called him and lifted the quilt in the morning.

Sui Yan unilaterally forgave his brother and almost bowed down to Sui Xun with his hands clasped in his hands.

As soon as Sui Xun spoke, other ministers who were dissatisfied with the situation also spoke up.

The emperor looked at the ministers below with a cold face and said nothing, and no one knew what he was thinking.

After the ministers had finished speaking, he asked, "Prince, what do you think?"

Duan Mingchong, who had been quiet all this time, nodded slightly and said calmly, "I think that military officers, weapons and military orders all come from the Ministry of War. People like Lord Ning who disobey military orders should be severely punished to serve as a warning to others."

Ning Yuan's legs went weak and she looked at Duan Mingchong in shock, as if she had not expected him to say that.

Everyone in the court thought that Duan Mingchong was weak and indecisive, and they had long disrespected him privately. It was not until now that they were shocked to realize that the prince seemed to have been hiding his talents all along.

Sui Yan looked at Duan Mingchong's calm profile and was stunned for a long time before he came to his senses. He held down his heart which was beating violently for no reason. He felt that the prince who had just killed so decisively was more attractive to him than his usual gentle appearance.

After Duan Mingchong finished speaking, he stepped back and remained quiet, as if the words just now were not said by him.

The emperor sighed and said after a long while, "Forget it, let's do as the prince says."

Ning Yuan's crime has been settled.

After the court session, Sui Yan said goodbye to Sui Xun and wanted to look for Duan Mingchong, but because of what happened yesterday, he was afraid that Duan Mingchong would distance himself from him. He paced back and forth at the gate of the Hall of Supreme Harmony for a long time and was unable to move forward to the East Palace.

Finally, Duan Mingchong came out of the Hall of Supreme Harmony after discussing the matter. He saw Sui Yan turning back and forth indecisiveness and asked in confusion, "Ayan, what are you doing?"

Sui Yan shuddered, immediately turned around and looked at Duan Mingchong, hesitatingly saying: "I...I? I didn't do anything, I..."

Duan Mingchong came over, touched his hand, frowned and said, "It's so cold, why don't you go home?"

Sui Yan repeated to himself several times: Were my clothes comfortable to wear yesterday? Can you give them back to me today?

He mumbled to himself for a long time before speaking as stutteringly as possible: "Your Highness...yesterday your waist felt so good to touch. Can I touch it again today?"

Duan Mingchong: “…”

Sui Yan: “…”

Ahhhh I'm going to die!