Don't be greedy
Before Xiao Lin's eyes, Su Manyan carefully placed the ambiguous painting into a small box. Then, a brisk notification came from the system: "Ding! Congratulations on completing the mission [After-Dinner Entertainment], with a score of 85 for plot interpretation. You've been rewarded with a 'Veritaserum'."
But she wasn't happy at all. Putting aside the man's motive for the gift—he was clearly wary of her, so why would he give her something that could potentially lead to her death? Besides, there were other side quests waiting for her. She felt the road ahead was long, and completing the quests was like jumping from one mud pit into another.
Forget it, the deadline is ten days anyway, so let’s just call it a day tonight.
"Ayan, are you unhappy? Don't you like my gift?" Xiao Lin began to act aggrieved and pitiful.
Su Manyan stood quietly to the side, watching the man's tricks, and inwardly rolled her eyes: Oh, this guy is pretending again. He just forced her to accept this potentially life-threatening gift, and now he's turning the tables and blaming her for not liking it.
How should I put it, they are evenly matched and have a lot of tricks up their sleeves.
Su Manyan put on a humble smile, stretching every muscle on his face as much as possible, forcing out an exaggerated smile: "Your Highness, you have misunderstood. I like it very much and I am so happy. It is my honor to accept such a precious gift."
Xiao Lin nodded, his face turning from gloomy to cloudy: "That's good, Ah Yan must take good care of this gift from the king."
The peach blossom eyes were full of affection. Being stared at by such eyes, Su Manyan also surrendered: "Okay, okay, I will definitely keep it well."
Xiao Lin smiled happily and left a message before leaving: "This king looks forward to A Yan's return gift."
Su Manyan:?
When did she say she would give a return gift?
By the time Su Manyan realized she'd been tricked again, Xiao Lin had already left the study. She didn't dare chase him to protest, but she felt a need to vent her frustration. So Su Manyan peppered Xiao Lin's back with hooks, kicks, and left-right hooks, shaking with anger.
"Ayan, what are you doing?"
Su Manyan was startled by the sudden voice. She turned around and saw the servant who was cleaning the study coming in from another door, looking at her with a puzzled look on his face.
Su Manyan: "...It's okay, I...I'm exercising. Haha...haha."
After saying that, he ran away in shame.
Su Manyan returned to her own little room—still the one next to the stables. Ever since she became Xiao Lin's eunuch, someone had asked her if she wanted to move next to Xiao Lin's room, saying it would be more convenient for her to serve him.
But she didn't want to. Coincidentally, Xiao Lin didn't seem too happy about it either, otherwise he wouldn't have waved his hand and told her to do whatever she wanted.
The stables held two or three horses, the most prized of them all being Ta Xuanyun, the warhorse Xiao Lin had brought with him from the Hu Kingdom. Huge in stature, with sleek black fur and sturdy limbs, it was said to be able to travel a thousand miles a day. Once, it had fought alongside Xiao Lin on the battlefield, bravely defeating the enemy. Now, it was confined to a corner of the imperial palace, a truly unworthy endeavor.
Just like its owner.
Su Manyan was very fond of this black horse. She had just taken a carrot and a piece of peanut candy from the kitchen and, while no one was around, secretly fed it. As soon as Ta Xuanyun saw her, he eagerly approached and rubbed her neck, acting like a spoiled child, looking like a pet, without a trace of battlefield blood.
"Okay, okay, don't squeeze me! These are all for you." Su Manyan smiled and patted its big head.
I fed the evil-hearted guy's food to his warhorse, but I didn't eat it myself, so it doesn't count as stealing.
Su Manyan thought so.
Ta Xuanyun ate with rapt attention, steam rising from his nostrils. Su Manyan watched him chewing and couldn't help but ponder: The stables were open to anyone, and Xiao Hei was such a glutton. What if someone had ulterior motives? She was a "spy," and perhaps others were too. What if Xiao Hei was harmed?
This won't do! I have to find a way to tell Xiao Lin.
After a while, a steward came to teach Su Manyan the various duties that a close eunuch should master, such as setting the dishes and grinding ink. Setting the dishes was expected, but grinding ink also required special training. Su Manyan thought to himself that Xiao Lin was really a busybody, too fussy.
Halfway through practicing grinding ink, Su Manyan suddenly remembered the reward he had just received.
"625, what is 'Veritaserum'? How come I've never heard of it?"
An aggrieved electronic voice rang out along with the crackling sound of electricity: "Host, why did you only remember to ask 625 now!"
"Oh? Then why don't you take the initiative to explain?" Su Manyan turned the tables.
"Hmph! I thought you knew everything and didn't need my system to answer your questions." There was definitely a hint of sarcasm in these words.
Su Manyan took the initiative to surrender: "The greatest and most beautiful 625, please tell me quickly."
625 chuckled smugly before explaining, "Veritaserum, as the name suggests, is a potion that causes people to reveal their true feelings. When the host uses it on someone, they will answer questions with the absolute truth within a certain time limit."
"So powerful!" Su Manyan suddenly felt that this system was a treasure trove, as it could collect so many strange and bizarre things.
By dinner time, Su Manyan was full of fighting spirit. He planned to show off his skills in front of Xiao Lin and showcase the results of his afternoon studies, so that he could understand what it meant to "recognize the three 'times' and be looked at with new eyes."
She worked diligently, grunting. Although the affairs of the ancients were trivial, they were not difficult to learn.
"Ayan, don't be greedy." The helpless male voice sounded again.
I couldn't help but add a bunch of vegetables. Even pigs are not raised like this.
Others are "greedy for drinking", but she is "greedy for picking up pieces", which sounds really stupid.
Su Manyan put down his chopsticks and glanced at Xiao Lin several times. This hostage was relatively easy to keep among the all-too-dignified princes, devouring even simple dishes with gusto. Occasionally, when he found something he liked, he would squint his eyes, a smile playing on his lips, like a napping kitten.
It seems that he is in a good mood tonight?
After dinner, Su Manyan spoke carefully, "Your Highness, I live in the small room next to the stables in the west wing."
"This king knows."
"Ta Xuanyun is also in the stable."
"Um."
"Sister Skylark asked me to take care of it more when I have time, such as changing the hay and adding some water."
"Ayan, if you have something to say, just tell me. There's no need to beat around the bush." Xiao Lin couldn't help but interrupt this incoherent conversation.
"What I'm saying is, isn't it inappropriate to keep Ta Xuanyun in the stable like this? After all, the palace is full of mixed people, and there might be someone with... ulterior motives."
After Xiao Lin finished listening, she just smiled and stared at Su Manyan's hair. When she couldn't bear it any longer and looked up, she found the smile on his face - Su Manyan thought he was just being perfunctory again.
"What are you laughing at!" This matter concerned Xiao Hei's safety. Su Manyan forgot to observe etiquette for a moment and asked directly.
"Do you like Xiao Hei very much?"
Su Manyan nodded perfunctorily. "Brother, can you grasp the key points?"
Perhaps Xiao Lin was in a rare good mood tonight. He was not angry, but rather tolerated Su Manyan's exposed nature. He spoke softly, "I just found it funny that Ah Yan dared to speak so bluntly and say bad things about the Southern Kingdom Palace. Besides, although I am the prince of the Hu Kingdom, I am now just a hostage living under the protection of the Southern Kingdom. My glory is not as good as before, so naturally there are fewer people who are jealous of me. What's more, I am under house arrest in the cold palace. Ah Yan thinks who would want to harm me?"
Su Manyan was choked and speechless. She suddenly felt that Xiao Lin might not be in such a good mood.
Xiao Lin didn't wait for her response and continued, "Ayan, have you discovered anything? Do you think someone is plotting to harm me? And who is this 'person with two minds' you mentioned? Have you discovered anything?"
"No, I'm just worried. If I have any doubts, it's probably my intuition. Your Highness, just treat it as nonsense."
"Are you serious? Or, Ah Yan, you are the one with two minds?"
These words hit Su Manyan's mind like a huge rock, and the rumble of heaven and earth echoed through the earth's core to her heart. She clutched the corners of her clothes, cold sweat soaking her collar, but her face remained calm, and she tried her best to suppress the trembling in her voice: "Your Highness, please understand. A Yan is loyal to Your Highness and has no second thoughts. If anyone harbors second thoughts, I wish to cut them into pieces as a warning to others. I beg Your Highness to understand."
A soft laugh filled the air. Su Manyan felt a broad hand pat her shoulder. Xiao Lin's voice was tinged with laughter: "I was joking, Ah Yan, don't panic. Besides, you are already my eunuch, so I naturally trust you."
For some reason, Su Manyan felt that there was a hint of frivolity in his tone when he said the last sentence.
Brother, "close-knit eunuch" is "close-knit eunuch", and "believe" is "believe". What's going on with this strange tone, this wandering eyes, and that shy look?
Faced with Xiao Lin's sudden "acting", Su Manyan still couldn't adapt.
Xiao Lin seemed to sense her silence, so he put his fist to his mouth and coughed a few times to ease the awkwardness. He gently nudged Su Manyan's back, motioning for her to go out with him.
Su Manyan had no choice but to follow.
After finishing his meal and then wasting some time, Su Manyan realized the moon was already high in the sky as he left the house. It hadn't snowed tonight, but the gray-brown branches were dotted with white remnants of snow. A few birds circled the trees a few times before flying off toward the moon.
The weather was getting colder by the day. This afternoon, the housekeeper told me that New Year's Day would be just a month away. If nothing unexpected happened, Su Manyan would stay here and spend his first New Year in this world.
"A-choo!"
Su Manyan sneezed, a sneeze that was particularly loud in the still night. She tightened her cloak around herself, glimpsed Xiao Lin's broad shoulders, and, thinking she had hidden herself cleverly, quietly ducked behind him to avoid the cold.
Let this evil-hearted person get more wind.
"Are you cold?" Xiao Lin naturally noticed her little movement, but did not point it out. He just asked in a gentle voice.
Isn't that nonsense? Going out in the cold wind at night in the middle of winter, who wouldn't feel cold?
"It's a bit cold." Su Manyan didn't dare to say what was in his heart, but he didn't want to feel wronged, so he tried to ask in a wronged tone, "Your Highness, where are we going?"
This time it was her turn to act aggrieved and pitiful.
"Go and see Ta Xuanyun. Didn't you say you liked it very much?"
Su Manyan's heart felt inexplicably warm, and a soft corner of her heart seemed to be gently touched by these words and collapsed quietly.
She didn't expect that she just nodded casually, and Xiao Lin actually took her to see Xiao Hei, and left without saying anything, with only the two of them around.
"Oh..." Su Manyan replied softly, head bowed. Since he had gone out to take her to see Xiao Hei, she felt embarrassed to complain. She raised her head, looked at Xiao Lin's shoulder, and walked side by side with him in small steps, even trying to shield him from the cold wind.
Forget it, I’m a kind-hearted girl.
Xiao Lin turned his head to look at the person who slipped out from behind him, and smiled softly.
The shadows of the two were stretched very long by the moonlight, and they walked side by side towards the warm west wing.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
