Chapter 48

The next day, Lin Nanjie woke up, stretched and yawned. Halfway through the yawn, he suddenly froze, looked at the dim light outside, and jumped up.

It was almost time to go to court, but he actually slept the whole night.

Lin Nanjie pinched his cheeks hard, hurriedly put on his boots, and quickly walked into the dormitory.

Tall candles were burning, illuminating the warm bedroom. The eunuchs who were serving the guests with washing and breakfast were already busy and quiet. Li Chenghuan had also gotten up, wearing a bright yellow lingerie, and stood by the bed.

Lin Nanqi hurried forward and walked to Li Chenghuan's side to serve him: "Your Majesty, did you sleep well last night?"

Li Chenghuan glanced at Lin Nanjie, somewhat reluctant to answer this question.

"It's OK, change your clothes. You just came to watch over the night, how do you feel?"

Lin Nanjie took the court robes and helped Li Chenghuan get dressed.

While standing on tiptoe to unfold the clothes, he smiled and said, "Thanks to the emperor, I am quite adaptable. Being able to serve the emperor closely is really the blessing I earned in my previous life."

Li Chengqian let out a low hum from the tip of his nose.

He adapted quite well. I have never seen a eunuch sleep better than the emperor on the first night of his night watch.

Seeing that Li Chenghuan didn't say anything, Lin Nanjie also knew not to mention it. Who made him feel guilty?

Lin Nanjie helped Li Chenghuan put on the court dress, stood on tiptoe to smooth out the wrinkles on his shoulders, and straightened his sleeves on both sides.

Suddenly, Li Chenghuan said, "You talked in your sleep last night."

The stretched sleeves were instantly lengthened, and Li Chenghuan's body was shaken, showing a funny posture.

Wang Dehai stared with his eyes wide open, frowned and glared at Lin Nanjie, winking desperately.

Lin Nanqi quickly let go: "I deserve death, I accidentally dozed off for a while last night, I hope the emperor will forgive me."

【Let you sleep, let you sleep! 】

[The Emperor has heard your sleep talk, so don’t say anything you shouldn’t! ]

Lin Nanjie raised his head and carefully looked at Li Chenghuan's expression: "I wonder what I said in my dream?"

Li Chengqian looked straight ahead and said, "You seemed to have mentioned me in your dream."

Lin Nanjie's eyes widened.

【！ ！ ！】

【Did I mention the Emperor?】

Recalling last night's dream, Lin Nanjie lowered his head guiltily.

[I seemed to have dreamed about the Dog Emperor last night. I dreamed that he was very perverted and treated me like that! ]

Li Chenghuan still looked straight ahead, but couldn't help but distract himself to explore.

Pervert?

Why is he perverted towards Lin Nanjie?

Wait, did Lin Nanjie dream about what he did?

Thinking of what Lin Nanjie said yesterday, Li Chengzhen's heart skipped a beat. Could it be...

Li Chengqian looked at Lin Nanjie with a complicated look and a hint of reproach.

Do you admire me so much?

Lin Nanjie lowered his eyes, and from time to time he would steal a glance at Li Chenghuan's expression with a guilty look.

[Do you really have to take off my pants and beat me with a stick? Do you really have to pick on my butt? In my dream, I was beaten with thirty sticks! ]

Li Chengqian's lips twitched slightly for a moment.

What does it mean to be beaten with a stick and have your pants taken off?

He must have made a mistake in his dream, otherwise why would he be punished for no reason?

When Li Chengqian thought about how he had just been thinking in that direction, his face turned slightly darker.

It’s all Lin Nanjie’s fault for always saying some ambiguous things these days.

Lin Nanqi replied seriously: "It must be because I admire the emperor too much. I think about it during the day and dream about it at night."

Li Chengqian rolled his eyes rudely.

Decided to be magnanimous and not bother with him.

Lin Nanjie picked up the belt again. The belt was inlaid with gems and was heavy. Lin Nanjie could only hold one end in each hand, open his arms to wrap around Li Chenghuan's waist, and carefully wrap the other end around the front.

The distance between the two of them suddenly shortened, and Li Chenghuan froze, looking down at Lin Nanjie who was trying to stretch out his arms. From this angle, it seemed as if Lin Nanjie was hugging him.

Lin Nanjie didn't know what he was using, but there was a faint fragrance on his body, like the scent of soapberry, which was dry, clear, and light, lingering at the tip of his nose.

Lin Nanqi's nose was sweating as he finally buckled his belt.

【Finally buckled it, this belt is really hard to tie. 】

【The dog emperor stood like a wooden stake.】

Li Chengqian withdrew his gaze coldly.

After getting dressed, the little prince came in, walked up to Li Chenghuan and hugged his legs: "Father, hug me!"

Li Chengqian sat down to have breakfast, and took the little prince on his lap: "Why are you up so early today?"

Li Chengyu said seriously, "I got up early to review my lessons. The Master will conduct a random check today."

Li Chengqian said with relief: "Yu'er has put in a lot of effort."

Recently, the little prince has become more and more obsessed with reading, which has made Tang Ruoxu so excited that he loves to lecture the little prince every day.

Li Chengqian added: "You are studying well, but don't be too tired. You are still a child. If you feel sleepy, just sleep more. There is no need to rush."

Little Prince: "Yu'er is not tired."

Li Chengqian and the little prince finished their breakfast together: "Father will go to court first, you go first..."

The little prince said crisply, "I want Eunuch Lin to play with me."

After saying that, he took Lin Nanjie's hand, his eyes sparkling.

Li Chenghuan instantly wondered who this guy was coming for.

Lin Nanjie had no choice but to ask for leave from Li Chenghuan and not go to court with him today. He stayed behind to coax the little prince. He first learned his lessons in the East Palace, and then was dragged to the Yu Garden to play.

In the Yu Garden, some early spring flowers have already bloomed. The spring is in full bloom. The little prince dragged Lin Nanqi around the Yu Garden, pointed at the blooming crabapples, and said crisply, "Beautiful!"

Lin Nanjie also thought it looked pretty, so she picked a crabapple branch and pinned it on the little prince's head.

The little prince looks like a boy in a painting, and he looks even more handsome with a crabapple blossom in his hair.

The little prince touched the crabapple flower on his hair and asked, "Does it look good?"

The new nurse carefully fixed the crabapple flower and said with a smile, "It looks great. Your Highness will look good in anything he wears."

The young prince pulled Lin Nanqi's sleeve and said, "Eunuch Lin should wear it too."

Lin Nanqi felt a little embarrassed: "I won't be embarrassed."

The little prince stretched out his voice: "Wear it - the nurse said it looks good."

Lin Nanjie had no choice but to break off one for himself and pin it on his hat.

After putting it on, the little prince looked up and said seriously, "It looks good."

Lin Nanjie also found it novel and subconsciously touched the flower on his head. It is said that ancient people, both men and women, had the custom of wearing flowers in their hair, out of their love for beautiful things. This was the first time for Lin Nanjie to wear flowers in his hair, and he thought it was a case of following the local customs.

The young prince said again: "Eunuch Lin, I want to play hide and seek."

***

After Li Chenghuan left the court, he learned that the little prince had taken a group of people to play in Yu Garden, so he changed into casual clothes and went to Yu Garden to find him.

In Yu Garden, the spring breeze was warm and cozy, and the clouds in the sky looked like a thin veil. The early cherry blossoms and crabapples in Yu Garden were in bloom, and from a distance it looked like a floating cloud. In the cloud, a green figure was staggering, with a layer of white veil over his eyes, his arms stretched forward, cautiously exploring.

As soon as Li Chengqian walked into Yu Garden, he saw this scene. The spring light shone on the green figure, and the outline was covered with a layer of light. The person was wearing a flower on his head, and a blooming crabapple was pinned on his black gauze hat, as if the whole person was dyed with a layer of rouge. Li Chengqian's heart trembled slightly.

He couldn't help but laugh at how a little eunuch was so conceited.

Li Chenghuan was about to step forward when he was bumped by someone. The man uttered a low "ouch" and raised his head. When he saw Li Chenghuan's face clearly, he was startled and instantly fell to his knees.

Li Chengzhen and Wang Dehai were also startled. Li Chengzhen looked at the ghostly scribbles on the eunuch's forehead in shock and asked, "What is this for?"

The eunuch trembled and said, "Play hide-and-seek with Your Highness."

Wang Dehai pointed at his forehead and asked, "What about the turtle on your forehead?"

The supervisor said, "Those who are caught will have a turtle painted on their foreheads."

Li Chenghuan frowned, wondering who could have come up with such a bad idea. Thinking of the turtles running around the garden, it was really disgraceful.

The eunuch begged for mercy: "Your Majesty, please spare my life! I didn't mean to offend you."

Li Chenghuan didn't say anything because he just walked forward.

Wang Dehai was furious when he saw the turtle on his face: "Hurry up, hurry up, what the hell is going on."

The eunuch felt as if he had been pardoned and quickly slipped away.

Wang Dehai had just sent the man away when Li Chenghuan had already walked behind the blindfolded eunuch. Li Chenghuan stared at the eunuch's back calmly, wondering if his eyesight had improved.

Otherwise, how could I recognize this as Lin Nanjie at first glance?

Lin Nanjie was stretching his arms forward, groping unsteadily. He was wearing a green eunuch's uniform and felt like a zombie in a movie.

He heard footsteps behind him, the footsteps were neither light nor heavy, and they stopped behind him. Lin Nanqi was overjoyed, turned around, and jumped forward with his legs together like a zombie. After two jumps, he stopped the man with his fingertips.

His hands first touched a hard chest, and his palms felt the smooth touch of the fabric, then the steadily beating heart and the hard yet slightly elastic muscles.

[Huh? Your chest muscles are well trained! ]

Lin Nanqi moved his hands upwards again and touched the man's cheeks and high nose bridge.

[He is quite tall, and his nose is also quite high. ]

[He Xiu? No, He Xiu doesn't seem to be that tall.]

He moved his hands upwards again, touching the deep eye sockets and the well-defined brow bones, and the eyelashes trembled slightly under his palms. Lin Nanjie still couldn't feel it, so he had to move his hands downwards again.

[Her shoulders are quite broad, her chest muscles, oh! And her abdominal muscles, her waist is quite narrow, and at this height, her legs should be quite long.]

[Wow! Which guard is that? He has broad shoulders, a slim waist, and long legs. He has a great figure!]

Lin Nanjie called out tentatively, "Guard Liu?"

"Guard Sun?"

The man didn't respond.

[Neither? Let me feel it again.]

Lin Nanjie's hands were completely at a loss. He touched back and forth several times, trying to find the man's characteristics and match them to the person.

Wang Dehai was standing by, watching with fear as Lin Nanjie went wild on Tiger, touching him all over. He was about to touch the unspeakable parts, and Wang Dehai broke out in a cold sweat: "How dare you! Stop it!"

Lin Nanqie was frightened out of his wits by this roar, and his hands froze instantly.

[This voice... is it Eunuch Wang? ]

[Why is Eunuch Wang here to play hide-and-seek? Isn't he accompanying the emperor? ]

Lin Nanjie finally realized something was wrong.

【Ahhhhh!!!】

Lin Nanjie pulled off the cloth covering his eyes and looked directly at Li Chenghuan's face. Li Chenghuan put his hands behind his back and looked at him with an indistinct expression.

Lin Nanjie's knees suddenly went weak and he fell to the ground with a thump.

"Your Majesty, please spare my life! I didn't mean to do that!"

【Ahhhhhhhh! 】

[After searching for a long time, how come it is the dog emperor! ]

[I touched it up and down so many times? ]

[Can I still keep my hands? ]

Wang Dehai carefully observed Li Chenghuan's expression, but unfortunately he could not interpret anything. However, as the chief eunuch, he had to deal with such disrespectful behavior.

Because Wang Dehai stepped forward and shouted angrily: "You are such a bold slave! You are so bold! You dare to blaspheme the dragon's body!"

He said to Lin Nanjie in a very angry tone, "You seem to be quite smart on weekdays, why are you so stupid today?"

He then used the corner of his eye to glance at the emperor's expression: "Do you know that you have committed a capital crime?"

Lin Nanqi shuddered and cried, "I really know I was wrong. Your Majesty, please spare my life!"

[Why didn't the dog emperor make a sound when he was touched? 】

[Wuwuwuwu, I'm not really going to get cold, am I? ]

Li Chengqian cleared his throat and said, "You don't have to be sentenced to death. What are you doing in this state?"

Lin Nanqi's anxious heart was slightly relieved, and he said respectfully: "I am playing hide-and-seek with the little prince."

Li Chengqian raised his hand and tapped his forehead. A turtle with bared teeth and claws lay on his head: "You were caught too?"

Lin Nanqi smiled awkwardly and said, "That's right."

The little prince hid for a long time. Seeing that Lin Nanjie had not come to find him, he could not hold back his temper and came out first. When he came out, he saw his father standing in front of Lin Nanjie.

His eyes lit up, and he leaped forward skillfully, locking Li Chenghuan's legs, and shouted in a joyful tone:

"Father has also been captured!"

Li Chengqian suddenly felt that something was wrong.

Sure enough, the next second, the little prince opened his voice: "Draw a turtle, draw a turtle! Even if my father is caught, I will draw a turtle!"

The eunuchs, palace maids and guards who were playing hide-and-seek with the little prince all buried their heads and pretended not to hear.

Li Chenghuan glanced around, and even Wang Dehai lowered his head.

He suddenly felt that he had been pampering Li Jingyu too much.

Li Chengqian showed his cunningness at this time. He did not say yes or no, but asked, "Who proposed the turtle painting?"

Not only did Lin Nanjie's legs feel weak at this moment, he also wished he could find a hole to crawl into all over his body.

Li Jingyu blinked and said nothing.

He promised Eunuch Lin that if his father asked, he must not tell anyone about Eunuch Lin.

Seeing that Li Jingyu didn't give him away, Lin Nanjie secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

[Well done, little prince, you are so loyal! ]

Li Chenghuan's face turned dark, and he knew it!

Who else could it be except Lin Nanjie!

Li Chengqian tried to change the subject: "How is your study going? Did the Grand Tutor praise Yu'er today?"

Li Jingyu said honestly: "The master praised me for my good memory and quick memorization."

Li Chengqian nodded: "Do you want to go with father to see the Empress Dowager and recite what I learned today to her?"

Li Jingyu turned his face away and said, "No, I have already carried it today."

Li Chengqian: …

Li Jingyu narrowed his eyes like black grapes and looked at Li Chengqian expectantly: "Father, why haven't you drawn the turtle yet?"

Li Chenghuan's face turned slightly dark blue.

Because your father doesn't want to be a cuckold.

Li Jingyu's mouth flattened, and he was about to cry: "I know, father, this is not fun!"

Li Chenghuan's face turned even darker: "Who taught you this?"

Li Jingyu subconsciously glanced at Lin Nanjie, then immediately looked away: "No one."

He added: "Father is bad! I want to go find Grandma!"

When Li Chengqian thought about this absurd incident spreading to the Empress Dowager's palace, his eyes darkened. He grabbed the little prince and said with gritted teeth, "This is just the first time. It won't happen again!"

The little prince suddenly calmed down and put the brush into Lin Nanjie's hand: "Eunuch Lin, please paint quickly. I want to play more after you finish!"

Lin Nanjie's hand holding the pen was trembling, and he didn't dare to look at Li Chengqian's expression at this moment.

"Your Majesty?"