"I do have something important to discuss with Your Highness..." Su Yan swallowed hard and said nervously.
Feng Muting rolled his eyes at him: "It's hard enough for me to understand what you're saying, let alone discuss it."
Su Yan was taken aback, then tried to control his trembling heart and prevent his tongue from getting tied: "Your Highness, I have come to ask you for a favor."
"explain."
“Xuanyuan Pavilion is full of talented people, but Your Highness doesn’t have a capable guard by your side. So I was thinking, why don’t we find someone from Xuanyuan Pavilion to come and serve Your Highness? I think Xie Chen is quite good. Why don’t you transfer Xie Chen to the Prince’s residence to serve?” Su Yan said in one breath, his palms sweating.
Upon hearing this, Feng Muting raised an eyebrow: "You seem to care about him. Are you worried that it's too dangerous for him to be an assassin?"
Su Yan lowered his head and replied, "Being an assassin... is indeed very dangerous."
“It’s a waste of his talent to only have him serve as a guard in the Prince’s mansion. The stewards in the Prince’s mansion have been replaced one after another, and none of them have satisfied me. I see that you have managed the Xuanyuan Pavilion in an orderly manner, so I plan to transfer you to the Prince’s mansion as a steward. What do you think?” Feng Muting asked in return.
Su Yan was taken aback. He hadn't expected that instead of asking Feng Muting to transfer Xie Chen to the Prince's Mansion, he would learn that Feng Muting wanted to transfer him there.
"Your Highness, I will naturally follow your orders. But... but what about Xie Chen..." Su Yan didn't care where he was assigned, but he was worried that it would be too dangerous for Xie Chen to continue as an assassin.
"I recall that he only started carrying out missions this year, didn't he?"
"Yes."
“He needs more experience to become more mature. You, as his ‘old father,’ should loosen your grip and wait a couple of years before making a decision based on his condition.”
"yes……"
After leaving the Prince Ting's mansion, Su Yan returned to the Xuanyuan Pavilion with a heavy heart.
Xie Chen had been waiting for him, and upon seeing him return, he immediately asked, "Su Yan, where have you been? Why did it take you so long to come back?"
"It's none of your business where I went. You go to sleep and don't bother me." Su Yan sat down at the table and poured himself a glass of water.
Xie Chen paused, looked at Su Yan who was as if he had swallowed gunpowder, and asked again, "What's wrong with you? Who made you angry? It shouldn't be me, right?"
"It's you!" Su Yan replied irritably.
"Me? I've been lying here the whole time, how did I offend you?" Xie Chen was completely confused.
"Aren't you the number one assassin of Xuanyuan Pavilion? Didn't you say you'd protect yourself well during missions? Didn't you say you'd be fine?! Then who's lying in bed unable to get up now? Is it a turtle?!"
Su Yan launched into a tirade against Xie Chen.
Xie Chen looked at Su Yan, whose eyes were a little red, and couldn't help but lose his composure, murmuring softly, "Su Yan..."
Su Yan paused for a moment, then lowered his eyes and calmed himself down before speaking: "Are you hungry? I'll go to the kitchen and get you something to eat."
"good……"
"Okay, then you wait here." After saying that, Su Yan got up and went out again.
Thanks to Su Yan's meticulous care, Xie Chen's injuries have finally fully healed.
However, Su Yan promised Feng Muting that he would go to work at the Prince's mansion once Xie Chen's injuries had healed.
So now that Xie Chen is better, it's time for him to leave.
Chapter 14 Extra: Dust and Smoke (Fourteen)
Su Yan had just finished packing his bags and was about to leave when Xie Chen climbed in through the window. He had been all smiles, but when he saw Su Yan carrying the bags, he was taken aback, and his smile gradually disappeared from his face.
Su Yan looked at him and said, "Xie Chen, when are you going to get rid of this bad habit of climbing through windows instead of using the main entrance?"
Xie Chen rushed over, grabbed Su Yan's bundle, and asked, "Where are you going?!"
Su Yan paused for a moment, then replied, "Go to the Prince's mansion to be a steward."
"The prince gave the order?"
"Isn't that obvious?"
"When were you given the order?"
"When you were first injured."
Why didn't you tell me sooner?
"Why am I telling you this? It's me who's going to work at the Prince's mansion, not you. Besides, you're all grown up now, a head taller than me, and you don't need me to take care of you anymore. You can manage on your own, so I can leave with peace of mind."
"I!"
"What?"
"I..." Xie Chen paused, and after a long while, he continued, "I'm going to find the Prince."
As he spoke, he turned around and prepared to climb out the window and leave.
Su Yan grabbed him: "What do you want with the prince? The prince's mansion is short of a smart and capable steward. It turns out that the prince has taken a liking to me. This is my honor. Don't you dare go and cause trouble."
"You!" Xie Chen stared at Su Yan. "Are you really willing to do that?"
Su Yan was taken aback for a moment: "Willing to part with them? What do you mean by willing to part with them? You mean the brothers of Xuanyuan Pavilion? What's there to be reluctant about? The Prince's Mansion isn't that far from Xuanyuan Pavilion. If I miss the brothers, I can just take some time to come back and visit everyone, right?"
"Su Yan!"
Su Yan was startled by Xie Chen's seemingly angry shout and immediately cursed, "What are you doing, you little bastard? Don't you know I'm a coward? Why are you yelling like that all of a sudden!"
Xie Chen gritted his teeth and didn't say anything more. Instead, he shoved the bag of food he had been holding into Su Yan's hand and then climbed out the window and left.
"Hey, Xie Chen, don't go causing trouble in front of the Prince! He has a bad temper, be careful he doesn't beat you up, and you can't beat him!" Su Yan shouted from the window.
But Xie Chen can no longer be seen here.
Su Yan glanced down at the snacks Xie Chen had prepared for him, his eyes somewhat dark and unfathomable.
Then, he slung his bundle over his shoulder, took the bag of food, and left Xuanyuan Pavilion.
Time flies, and three years have passed in the blink of an eye.
Inside the palace.
Feng Muting went straight to his bedchamber after the morning court session.
Su Yan followed behind, asking, "Your Majesty, aren't you going to the Imperial Study to deal with the memorials?"
"Help me move the memorials to my bedchamber." After replying with a few words, Feng Muting disappeared in a flash.
Su Yan stopped, panting, and pouted, saying, "Your Majesty is too impatient. Aren't you afraid of being kicked out by the shy Empress Xiao?"
After that, he turned around and went to the Imperial Study to help Feng Muting move the memorials to his bedchamber.
Upon arriving at the entrance of the sleeping quarters, Xie Chen, who was guarding there, immediately came forward: "Brother, let me carry you, let me carry you both."
Su Yan didn't stand on ceremony and handed the stack of memorials in his hand to Xie Chen.
Before the two could even deliver the memorial, Feng Muting was kicked out by Su Fuliu.
“Liu Bao…” Feng Muting looked at Su Fuliu with a bitter face.
Su Fuliu immediately shushed him: "Qing'er just fell asleep, Tinglang, you should go to the Imperial Study and not disturb Qing'er."
Chapter 15 Extra: Dust and Smoke (Fifteen)
Feng Muting tugged at Su Fuliu's sleeve and said, "Liu Bao, don't send me away. I promise to stay quiet. Liu Bao, look, there are so many memorials. I can't handle them all by myself. Don't you have to help me?"
Su Fuliu glanced at the memorial in Xie Chen's hand, thought for a moment, and then replied, "Alright, then Tinglang, come in. Be sure to keep your voice down, okay?"
Feng Muting's eyes lit up instantly, and he nodded, saying, "Okay, okay, I'll keep my voice down."
As he spoke, he grabbed Su Fuliu's hand and followed her inside.
Xie Chen quickly put the memorial in his hand inside and then left the hall.
Su Yan was still watching, thinking to himself that Feng Muting really couldn't be separated from Su Fuliu for a moment.
Just as he was lost in thought, he suddenly felt light, and before he could react, Xie Chen had already picked him up in his arms.
He hurriedly said, "You little bastard, what are you doing! Put me down right now!"
They're doing this in public, aren't they afraid of being seen and feeling embarrassed?
Xie Chen smiled and said, "His Majesty has gone to accompany Empress Xiao and doesn't want to be disturbed right now, so naturally I must keep my brother company."
"No, you, you'll stay with me, but don't carry me. I can walk by myself." Su Yan's face was as red as a ripe tomato.
Why is my brother getting more and more shy?
Su Yan choked: "It's clearly you who's getting more and more shameless!"
And so, the two of them returned to their room, one flirting and the other cursing.
Xie Chen put Su Yan on the bed and said, "Brother, you haven't let me touch you for several days."
"Who told you to never know your limits? Do you think I'd let you touch things recklessly?" Su Yan scolded.
"But my dear brother can't keep ignoring me like this. We share a bed every day, and when I see my chubby, fair-skinned brother, my mouth waters." Xie Chen said, while secretly moving his hand down.
Su Yan knew he wasn't being honest, so he kept a close eye on him. Just as his hand was about to touch the belt, there was a "snap" sound.
Su Yan slapped his hand and said, "You little bastard, behave yourself. Talk to me, don't get physical."
Xie Chen looked at him with a pitiful expression, as if she was about to cry at any moment: "Brother, don't you want to?"
“I don’t want to,” Su Yan replied firmly.
"Unless you never let me touch you again for the rest of your life, if you keep me waiting for ten or fifteen days before letting me touch you, I'm afraid I'll become even more reckless and end up hurting you," Xie Chen analyzed with him.
After hearing this, Su Yan thought about it seriously and felt that Xie Chen's words made a lot of sense.
But he forgot that even if he came every day, that little bastard still had no sense of propriety.
Taking advantage of Su Yan's distraction, Xie Chen reached out again and succeeded this time.
Before long, Su Yan's angry curses came from the room: "Xie Chen, you little bastard, what happened to your sense of propriety!"
"It's so hard to control myself in front of my brother." Xie Chen still acted like "I can't help it," which made Su Yan furious.
He shouldn't have agreed. He should have continued to starve this little bastard. Since he's so reckless anyway, he might as well have him suffer less.
Xie Chen took Su Yan's arm in a fawning manner: "Good brother, I was wrong, I was wrong, please don't be angry, I'll take you out to eat something delicious later?"
"Get out, get out, get out." Su Yan shook off Xie Chen's hand and tried to get up to get dressed, but he was so exhausted that he failed to get out of bed.