Chapter 96: Fence

Song Xian would never let Duan Zhisu go back to Tianshui Lane when Duan Zhisu was in such a state of madness, so he quickly called his followers to help Duan Zhisu onto the carriage.

After the carriage hurried away, a man slowly walked out from the shadows at the end of the street.

Duan Ruwang, wearing a dark blue robe with dark patterns, looked at the direction the carriage left with interest. In his hand, he was holding a wooden stick with only three hawthorn fruits left on it. He didn't know how long he had been here.

He curled his lips into a smile and murmured, "Interesting."

A voice came from behind: "Brother, what's wrong?"

Duan Ruwang turned around with a smile and said, "Nothing, what? Are you done shopping?"

The Ninth Princess held the lantern in her hand and tilted her head and said, "Okay."

Duan Ruwang handed the candied haws in his hand to the little princess, but she didn't take it. She came over with squinting eyes and bit a fruit off the wooden stick.

Duan Ruwang said, "She doesn't look like a girl at all."

The little princess ignored him and stared at the lantern in her palm with her long eyelashes. After looking carefully, she found a few words written on the five corners of the lantern.

Duan Ru looked at them and said calmly, "Let's go back quickly after we finish our tour. If the emperor knew that I brought you to Tianshui Lane without permission, he would definitely punish me."

Duan Ruwang was still blamed for the assassination of the crown prince some time ago. The emperor disliked him very much and did not allow him to interfere in any matters in the court. Sometimes he would get angry with him over trivial matters.

The little princess was extremely beautiful, about fourteen or fifteen years old. She stared at the lamp for a long time before she whispered, "Didn't my brother say... that he would take me to find Sui Yan?"

Duan Ruwang smiled and said, "You really like him?"

The little princess blushed and said hesitantly, "No, no? I also heard that... General Sui Xun once wanted Sui Yan to marry me. Although I don't know why it didn't come to fruition in the end, I am serious about it."

Duan Ruwang and the little princess divided the last two fruits one by one, and said vaguely: "What do you like about him? His face? Wang Gui is indeed good-looking."

At the last moment, the hawthorn fruit seemed a little sour, and there wasn't much sugar on it. The little princess was so sour that she jumped twice on the spot, then frowned and said, "I just like him. When he and the third brother were studying in the palace, I thought he was very interesting. I asked secretly, and it seemed that many young ladies in the court liked him very much. But in recent years, he always walked with the crown prince, and no one dared to go to him."

Duan Ruwang didn't know about this: "Is that so? I thought the young ladies in Beijing all hated Wang Gui. After all, he..."

After all, Sui Yan had a bad reputation, being idle and cynical.

The little princess said, "Those women who judge people by appearance are probably attracted by Brother Wanggui's face. I am the only one who is serious."

Duan Ruwang looked at the little princess's eyes sparkling in the candlelight, sighed and said, "Sister, why did you choose Wang Gui when you could choose anyone else?"

The little princess glanced at him disapprovingly and said, "If you say bad things about him again, I will tell my father that it was you who kidnapped me today."

Duan Ruwang shrugged and said, "Okay, then don't expect me to take you back later."

The little princess stamped her feet in anger: "Second brother!"

Duan Ruwang said: "Well, actually I just want to say..."

The little princess looked at him.

Duan Ruwang was innocent: "Wang Gui doesn't like women."

Little Princess: “…”

The little princess was stunned for a long time before she looked at him in shock: "What?!"

Duan Ruwang kindly repeated: "Sui Wanggui is a broken...hiss..."

The little princess stepped on the back of his foot and crushed it several times.

Duan Ruwang managed to hold on, struggling to keep a smile on his face: "Little ancestor, you should go and kick the old man instead of stepping on me?"

Although he said this, he did not retract his foot.

The little princess gritted her teeth and stepped on it a few more times: "If I could bear it, why would I step on you?"

Duan Ruwang: “…”

Well-founded.

He stood still and let the little princess step on him. After the little princess stepped on him for a long time, her beautiful little face wrinkled slightly, and suddenly, without any warning, she burst into tears.

She slowly squatted on the ground, wiping her tears with her hands, and choked up, "I originally thought that it would be enough to just snatch him from a woman, why is there suddenly another man?"

Duan Ruwang comforted him: "Don't worry, even if he likes women, he won't like you like this."

Little Princess: “…”

The little princess cried even harder.

Duan Ruwang only knew how to stir up trouble and never knew how to coax anyone. He squatted down without any manner, frowned, and wiped her tears.

"Okay, okay, there's nothing to cry about. He's just a man. Our little princess can have any kind of man she wants. Why does she have to be so old?"

The little princess cried and sat on the ground. She stretched out her foot to kick Duan Ruwang's calf and sobbed, "Who said that? I want him!"

Duan Ruwang: “…”

Although Duan Ruwang liked to stir up trouble in the court, he doted on the only little princess in the royal family. Seeing her crying like this, he sighed helplessly.

Just as he was racking his brains to think of a few more words to comfort her, someone suddenly rushed between the two of them and pushed him away.

Duan Ruwang was stunned for a moment, then he stood up and took a few steps back.

Sui Yan came over at some point, stood in front of the little princess with an expressionless face, and asked coldly, "What are you doing?"

Duan Ruwang was startled by the sudden appearance of Sui Yan, and looked at him in confusion. Even the little princess stopped crying and looked up in shock at the person standing in front of her.

Sui Yan glared at him fiercely, then turned around and helped the stunned little princess up.

It was the first time the little princess was so close to Sui Yan. She was so shocked that she forgot her mind for a moment and stared at him blankly.

Sui Yan patted the little princess's arm and whispered to comfort her, "Don't cry, did he bully you?"

The little princess stared at him in amazement, not knowing how to retort, and nodded desperately.

Sui Yan glanced at Duan Ruwang coldly: "I knew it."

Duan Ruwang: “…”

Fortunately, Duan Ruwang never cared about what others thought of him. He chuckled and said, "Why are you alone, Wanggui? Isn't the prince with you?"

Sui Yan looked at him with fear: "This matter has nothing to do with you. You are a prince, but you actually bullied a weak woman in broad daylight. Aren't you afraid of bringing shame to the royal family?"

Duan Ruwang laughed and said, "Bringing shame to the royal family? Shouldn't this sentence be sent to the crown prince and Wang Gui?"

Sui Yan's face turned cold.

"Tsk, two men hanging out together, one is a duke of the dynasty, the other is the heir apparent of a country, aren't you afraid of being laughed at by the world?"

Sui Yan retorted: "No matter what, we are upright. Unlike you, you secretly think about some dirty things all day long. Aren't you afraid of being hated?"

Recalling how he almost lost his life because of Duan Ruwang's medicinal fragrance, new hatred and old grudges came together, and Sui Yan wished he could just have someone beat him up.

The little princess behind Sui Yan finally understood what the two were saying. She looked at Sui Yan hesitantly, holding on to the last bit of hope, and whispered, "Wang Gui...Brother, are you really with the Crown Prince?"

Sui Yan was looking around to see if Duan Ruwang had brought anyone out. When the person behind him spoke, he frowned and turned around, looking for a long time before recognizing him.

"Hedge?"

Duan Lingshu nodded.

Duan Lushu was born to the Empress and was Duan Mingchong's younger sister. As she was the only princess in the royal family, she was loved by the Emperor and several princes. Even Duan Ruwang, who had the worst temper, never said a harsh word to her and doted on her terribly.

After Sui Yan came to his senses, he felt a little embarrassed.

Over the years, he had heard many people talk about how much Duan Ruwang doted on the little princess. Even if he was crazy, he would not make Duan Lushu cry in public.

Duan Ruwang looked at Sui Yan with a half-smile.

Sui Yan turned around, bowed, and said hesitantly, "I've met the princess."

Duan Longshu could stomp her feet and throw tantrums at her brother without blinking, but was surprisingly well-behaved towards Sui Yan, blinking her eyes and looking at him expectantly.

Sui Yan asked, "What did the princess ask just now?"

He was surprised for a moment and didn't remember much about it.

Duan Lushu asked cautiously, "Are you and the Crown Prince really like this?"

Sui Yan didn't want the little girl to know about this, so he whispered, "I'm sorry I can't answer. There are too many people at the Lantern Festival. The princess should return to the palace earlier to save His Majesty from worrying."

When Duan Lushu saw that he avoided the question, his heart sank to the bottom of the valley. He exerted a little force on the lantern with his hand and almost broke the paper lantern.

Sui Yan vaguely remembered that his brother seemed to have wanted to bring the two of them together before, and he felt even more guilty towards Duan Lushu.

Ever since he had a quarrel with Duan Zhisu, he had never been to the palace to serve as a tutor again, and naturally had never seen Duan Lushu. He had almost forgotten her.

Meeting in this place, Sui Yan felt more and more embarrassed. He tilted his head to look at the lantern and abruptly changed the subject: "Princess, this lantern is indeed exquisite in style. Where is it..."

Before he could say anything, he saw Duan Lushu shudder and the lantern in her hand suddenly fell to the ground. After watching the flame burn the oil paper with the words on it, she breathed a sigh of relief without leaving a trace.

Sui Yan looked at her in astonishment.

Duan Lushu forced himself to suppress the sadness in his heart, smiled and said, "This lantern is broken. I'll ask my brother to buy me another one."

Sui Yan was a little confused: "Oh..."

Duan Lushu walked up to Duan Ruwang, lowered his head to wipe away the tears from the corners of his eyes, and then raised his head with his usual smile.

"Isn't Brother Crown Prince with Brother Wanggui?"

Sui Yan said, "His Highness said he was going to buy some lanterns and would be back soon."

Duan Lushu really wanted to meet Duan Mingchong, but now she wanted to cry when she looked at Sui Yan, so she didn't dare to stay any longer.

She tugged at Duan Ruwang's sleeve inconspicuously.

Duan Ruwang understood and said calmly, "Then Lu Shu and I will return to the palace first. Please ask His Royal Highness the Crown Prince for me to be well."

Sui Yan sneered in her heart, not wanting to be too disrespectful to her brother in front of Duan Lu Shu, so she nodded reluctantly: "Farewell, Your Highness, Princess."

Duan Ruwang put his hands on Lu Shu's shoulders, turned around and left without saying a word.

As soon as Lan Shu turned around, tears began to fall. She reached out and wiped the tears from her face with the back of her hand, muttering to herself, "It's okay, it's okay, nothing at all."

Duan Ruwang looked at her with his eyes lowered, without saying a word, his eyes deep and cold.

.

Sui Yan looked at the two people's leaving backs, and it took him a while to come back to his senses.

I always feel like something is wrong.

At this moment, Duan Ming Chong Shan Shan arrived late, holding two lanterns in her hands.

As soon as Sui Yan saw him, he immediately put aside what happened just now and walked forward with a smile.

“It’s so slow.”

Duan Mingchong smiled and said, "I picked the two best looking ones."

Sui Yan said, "There's nowhere to put it now, why would I choose something so beautiful?"

Duan Mingchong held up his hand and placed the lantern in his palm. He blinked gently and said, "Follow me."

Sui Yan understood what he meant and was led forward by him. He asked in surprise, "Your Highness, did you ask someone to break all the ice on Ming River?"

If this is the case, when Duan Mingchong ascends the throne, he will surely be a tyrant who sacrifices the people's property and labor for the sake of beauty.

Duan Mingchong said helplessly: "What are you thinking about?"

Sui Yan said "Oh", feeling relieved but also a little disappointed.

Duan Mingchong couldn't help laughing out loud when he saw the disappointment on his face without any concealment.

"There is a hot spring villa in the southwest suburbs of the capital. The water in the lake comes out from the ground and it won't freeze even in winter. Let's go there."

When Sui Yan heard this, he hurriedly followed him.

But as soon as he got on the carriage, he remembered something and said, "It takes about half an hour to get from here to the west of the city. We'll be within curfew by the time we get there and back..."

Duan Mingchong smiled and said, "We'll stay there tonight."

Sui Yan was stunned: "Then my brother..."

Duan Mingchong said: "I will take you back early tomorrow morning."

Sui Yan then felt relieved and followed him quietly, not afraid of being betrayed.