Crown Prince Xie Jingyuan
Inside the East Palace of the Southern Kingdom.
Agarwood burned in the incense burner, and wisps of white-gray smoke drifted out from the lid of the burner carved with mountains, swirling forward and finally dissipating at the fingertips.
Xie Jingyuan turned the dagger in his hand and lowered his eyes to listen to the information collected by his servants.
They were all records of Xiao Lin's daily life, some ordinary things, and Xie Jingyuan was not very interested in listening to them.
When the name "Ayan" appeared between the servant's lips, he raised his head and looked at the shadow guard kneeling in the center of the hall. "Yinchuan said that this eunuch became Xiao Lin's close attendant, is it true?"
"Reporting to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, I went to conduct a secret investigation last night and it is credible." Yingxiao answered meticulously.
Xie Jingyuan turned his gaze to the palace maid named Yinchuan and asked, "You said your news was given to you by your brother Aning. Since Aning is relatively trustworthy, why didn't Aning go instead of that Ayan? Why, don't you want to?"
Yinchuan heard Xie Jingyuan's toneless question and kowtowed repeatedly, apologizing in fear. "Your Highness, please forgive me. According to the original plan, Aning was supposed to go, but Ayan said that he felt sorry for Aning's young age, so he took the initiative to go. Your Highness, Aning is also willing to help Your Highness in a small way. I have no second thoughts. I hope Your Highness will show mercy."
Xie Jingyuan looked at the trembling people under his seat, put the short knife into his sleeve, and said coldly: "Forget it, it's not too much. Gu Nian is indeed loyal to you two siblings. Next time, don't try to be clever!"
"Yes, I thank Your Highness the Crown Prince for your grace." Yin Chuan responded with a trembling voice.
"Shadow Owl, follow me to the study."
Only after Xie Jingyuan left did Yinchuan dare to raise her head. Even the crown prince's back had vanished from her sight, but as she looked towards the throne, she could still recall the first time she had seen him—his brows were sharp, his eyes were hawkish, and his natural imperial majesty was so overwhelming that it took her breath away.
Ever since the Hu Kingdom hostage arrived in the Southern Kingdom, she and her brother Aning had been ordered to monitor Xiao Lin for no apparent reason. Although Yinchuan didn't understand state affairs, she could still find Xie Jingyuan's attitude toward Xiao Lin strange: why would a crown prince be so wary of a hostage sent by a defeated nation?
Yinchuan doesn’t know, and it doesn’t matter.
The orders of the Heavenly Family have always been to express gratitude.
The windows on both sides of the palace were open, and the wind blew in, making Yinchuan tremble.
Yingxiao carefully closed the windows of the study and inspected them one by one. Xie Jingyuan stood with his hands behind his back, carefully examining the scroll hanging on the wall. When Yingxiao thought he was just asking him to accompany him to appreciate the painting, he spoke, "Who is this Ah Yan? How come I don't remember him?"
"Your Highness, this man grew up in the palace. His master was Eunuch Qian, who served the Empress. He had a good relationship with Aning. You had them both transferred to the cold palace."
"I see. Now that you mention it, I do remember something. How could this be? I'm only twenty-one, and my memory isn't as good as it used to be. Shadow Owl, do you think I'm really unfit to be the ruler of a country?"
The current emperor is still sitting on the dragon throne, but this crown prince has already started to have thoughts about it. This is truly a heinous act.
Shadow Owl knelt on the ground, cold sweat dripping down his ears: "Your Highness, please do not underestimate yourself. His Majesty has appointed you as the Crown Prince, which is a recognition of you."
Xie Jingyuan sneered and stopped making things difficult for him. He briefly reminded him to keep an eye on Xiao Lin's situation and then let Ying Xiao leave.
When he was left alone in the study, Xie Jingyuan sat on the chair, his dark eyes still staring at the painting - a beautiful and elegant woman.
No one knows what he is thinking.
On the side, in the cold palace.
Su Manyan was so frightened by Xiao Lin's questioning that he couldn't speak, and regretted saying too much.
My mouth is broken! Eunuch learning medicine, whoever heard this would think there was something fishy. But if I didn't say I was a doctor, how could I treat Xiao Lin?
It all comes down to the system. Why would a modern woman travel back in time to become a eunuch?
Su Manyan looked into Xiao Lin's playful eyes, and then realized that the male protagonist had always doubted his identity, so he simply made up an excuse to deal with it, regardless of whether he believed it or not.
She put down her chopsticks, folded her hands neatly on her knees, and replied, "When I was little, I had a close relationship with a guard. He happened to know a palace medicine boy, so he lent me some medical skills."
Full of loopholes, no convincing reason at all.
Fortunately, Su Manyan made the right bet. Xiao Lin did not delve into it, but just looked at her and smiled even more intriguingly.
"Continue eating." Xiao Lin gave her a way out.
Su Manyan had just breathed a sigh of relief when the system voice flashed in her ears.
"Ding! Triggering the daily task of building closer relationships [After-dinner entertainment]. Host, please choose:"
A. Painting in the Study
B. Walking in the garden
C. Practice swordsmanship
Su Manyan: “…” Just as one calmed down, another one came.
She compared the three options, which one could bring her closer to the male lead?
A stroll in the courtyard? No, no, in this weather, a walk around would only bring back two snowballs. Sword practice? They wouldn't let me accompany them on such a private matter, would they? If they chased me away, wouldn't that be more than they deserved?
Su Manyan decided on the answer in his mind and chose A!
She just opened her mouth and invited enthusiastically: "Your Highness, wait a moment..."
"Don't talk when you sleep and don't talk when you eat." Xiao Lin interrupted without raising his eyelids.
Su Manyan's enthusiasm died halfway. The person who spoke ate the food on the plate slowly without even looking at her.
All right! Su Manyan gnashed his teeth. So you were waiting for me here! You knew I wouldn’t tell the truth, so you wouldn’t let me speak. You’re such a black-hearted person!
Su Manyan continued to pick up food with an unhappy look on his face. His stomach growled loudly in the middle of the meal, which made Xiao Lin laugh. But that's a story for later.
After Su Manyan finished her meal, she endured 625's urging and pretended to be good-tempered and asked again: "Your Highness, after dinner, you must go to the study to practice calligraphy and painting. I will grind ink for you."
"Okay, follow me."
It went so smoothly!
Su Manyan followed Xiao Lin to the study. Pushing open the door, the aroma of ink filled the air. The room was simply furnished, with a few landscape paintings hanging on the wall, and a pen holder, grinding block, rice paper, and other items on the table.
There are no other fancy decorations.
Xiao Lin sat at the table, pressed the rice paper with a ruler, picked up a brush, and looked at Su Manyan: "Didn't I say to grind ink? Come quickly."
Su Manyan took an ink stick and ground it on the inkstone. She had seen her grandfather grind ink before, but she had never tried it herself. Trying to imitate him, she was predictably unsuccessful. The ink came out slowly, and even stained her fingertips, leaving her in a state of disarray.
But Su Manyan's most confident quality was her thick skin. Even though she had just volunteered to grind the ink and it hadn't been successful, under Xiao Lin's burning gaze, she wasn't embarrassed at all. Presenting her messy results, she placed the inkstone filled with some ink next to Xiao Lin.
Use it now, you’re welcome.
Looking at Xiao Lin's distorted face, Su Manyan was puzzled: Why not use it?
As if by some sudden inspiration, she pulled out a handkerchief and wiped her hands first, then the dirty edge of the inkstone, tidying it up. When everything was done, she pushed it forward again.
"Ayan, stop pushing. My sleeves are about to fall into this big dye vat."
Su Manyan then gave up.
Xiao Lin was also amazed by the young eunuch sitting in front of him. He couldn't even be sure if he was a man or a woman, but this person had helped him twice. He looked like an ordinary eunuch, just a little paler and thinner...
Stop! Being willing to promote someone to his side naturally meant using them. He wanted to gain more benefits: magical elixirs, pending medical skills. He didn't even know how much benefit these would bring, but in this heavily besieged palace, he had to seize it.
But if it was someone boring, he didn't know if he would still be so patient?
Xiao Lin's eyes remained gentle, and he asked with a smile, "What does Ah Yan like? Calligraphy? Painting? Do you want me to draw a picture for you?"
"Ah?" She would never say that she was distracted just now.
Xiao Lin chuckled, shook his head helplessly, and started painting without asking any more questions.
Su Manyan looked at Xiao Lin, his stern profile, his prominent Adam's apple, his bony wrist gripping the pen...
Stop, stop! Su Manyan, what are you thinking about? Even after being transformed into an ancient eunuch, you are still thinking about handsome guys!
In order to divert his attention, Su Manyan began to carefully examine the calligraphy and paintings on the wall. Some were works by famous people in previous generations, and some were Xiao Lin's own works.
She was not an expert, but she felt that Xiao Lin's paintings were also very good, whether it was the strokes of calligraphy or the ink of paintings, and she could not tell the difference between him and everyone else.
"Ding! Triggering the side quest [Detoxification], time limit is ten days, host, please complete it as soon as possible!"
Su Manyan had just finished admiring it and had not yet had time to look away when 625 suddenly appeared. Naturally, she was confused.
Observing that Xiao Lin was still concentrating on his creation, Su Manyan anxiously asked with his mind, "625, what's going on? Why did the side quest suddenly trigger? Wasn't the poisoning discovered a long time ago?"
A mechanical voice rang out in her head: "The host will naturally unlock a new mission only after coming into contact with a key clue. I can't go into details about the specific matters on 625. I hope the host can complete it as soon as possible. If it is not resolved after ten days, there will be a punishment~"
Su Manyan really wanted to throw this system back into space. It had added a task for no apparent reason, and it was also said that there would be punishment if the task was not completed.
She secretly made up her mind that the next time 625 appeared, she would shake it out!
"Ayan, I've finished my painting. Do you like it?" Xiao Lin put down his brush and gently drew Su Manyan's attention back.
Su Manyan looked at the newly created paper: a thin eunuch in thick clothes was sweeping the snow. At the courtyard gate, a taller man, holding an umbrella, walked towards the eunuch...
In the upper left corner were inscribed two lines of poetry: "Sweeping the snow, my clothes are stained with white, holding an umbrella, I am at leisure with my shadow." Xiao Lin also thoughtfully stamped his own private seal at the end.
Xiao Lin had put so much effort into this painting that even though the characters in the painting lacked any facial features, she could still recognize them. The painting and the poem's meaning suggested they seemed very familiar.
What does this mean? Even if he's a hostage, Xiao Lin is still a prince of the Hu Kingdom. Throughout history, no prince has ever written an inscription or painted a picture for a eunuch.
Su Manyan's mind was in a mess: Did he intend to give me this painting so that he could find a reason to kill me?
Su Manyan suppressed his surprise and replied, "Your Highness is a master painter. It is my honor to watch you paint today. How could I not like it?"
"That's good, keep it if you like it."
As expected, he was going to kill her again? So suddenly?
Su Manyan fell to his knees and said, "Your Highness, I am terrified! As a eunuch, how can I accept your handwritten calligraphy and paintings? I don't want to die yet!"
Su Manyan acted like a dramatic character again, crying and begging for mercy.
Xiao Lin was initially displeased when Su Manyan refused. How could he refuse a gift he had given her? But then he thought, could Su Manyan be testing him? To see how much he held a place in his heart?
Xiao Lin helped Su Manyan up and said soothingly, "Ayan, why would I kill you? You are my benefactor, and I consider you a friend. This painting is just a token of my love, so don't refuse. Besides, since you know this calligraphy is precious, you must keep it well. I can't stand it being spread outside."
These words were like a knife hidden in a smile, giving a candied date and then slapping it in the face. Su Manyan listened to Xiao Lin's comfort and threats and accepted them with trembling fear.
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