He said the Kash people were definitely prepared this time, and the Battle of Uze Valley was just a signal. The northern border would certainly not be peaceful in the near future, and he had to keep a close eye on the enemy's movements to prevent those foreign tribes from having any further opportunities.
"Hmm..." Yu Tang breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Li Wen hadn't done anything reckless.
"General, you haven't eaten for three days, you must be hungry, right?" Xiao Si took the cup from his hand and stood up: "I'll go and ask the kitchen to prepare some food for you."
Seeing Yu Tang nod, Xiao Si walked towards the door, but as soon as he opened it, he was startled by the disheveled person standing outside.
"temple……"
The two words of address stuck in Xiao Si's throat. Seeing Xiao Lin make a shushing gesture, Xiao Si didn't say anything more.
Yu Tang asked curiously, "Xiao Si? What's wrong?"
"Oh, it's nothing, General." Xiao Si lied through his teeth: "It's windy outside, making the door rattle."
He closed the door, went outside, and asked Xiao Lin, "Your Highness, how did you arrive so quickly?"
He knew that Mu Chen had relayed the news of the general's injury back to the capital as quickly as possible.
But the capital city is too far from the northern border, how could Xiao Lin arrive so quickly?
However, his gaze fell on Xiao Lin's disheveled hair and wrinkled robes, and he suddenly realized.
Good heavens! His Highness didn't even rest, did he just ride all the way back like this?
What an amazing love story!
"Don't worry about that." Xiao Lin's voice was hoarse; he hadn't eaten or drunk much for days, and his lips were chapped.
He asked, "How is the general now?"
“He’s awake now,” Xiao Si said. “I was just about to have the cook prepare some food for him…”
"No need to trouble the cook," Xiao Lin said. "I'll do it."
Then, he gestured for Xiao Si to leave: "You should go back to sleep too. I'll take care of the General from now on."
Xiao Si nodded and hurriedly ran away.
He didn't want to ruin the atmosphere between the general and the prince!
Xiao Lin stood by the door for a while, straightened his clothes, took off the silver crown on his head, took out a wooden hairpin from his pocket and pinned his hair up, before going to the kitchen to find ingredients to make easily digestible medicinal porridge for Yu Tang.
His actions, which he thought he had kept well hidden, had already been fully revealed to Yu Tang by the system.
Oh dear, I wonder how many horses he must have worn out running to get to you!
The system kept revealing Xiao Lin's past within Yu Tang's consciousness, even asking Yu Tang: "But, host, tell me the truth, aren't you incredibly happy that he's back?"
Yu Tang rolled over: I didn't...
"Oh dear, the look in your eyes when you woke up just now already gave away your thoughts!"
The system added insult to injury: "Seeing it was Xiao Si, not Xiao Lin, your expression was so forlorn—"
If you miss him, you miss him. What's there to be ashamed of?
Yu Tang: No, I didn't, you're talking nonsense.
Even as she said this, Yu Tang couldn't shake the smile that had been playing on her lips.
He himself didn't know what this feeling was like.
I felt my heart beating very fast, a sour and swollen feeling, and a warm sensation.
This is really... inexplicable.
Xiao Lin made two bowls of porridge, placed them on a tray, and went to Yu Tang's door, knocking twice.
Yu Tang immediately stood up, but accidentally aggravated his wound and gasped for breath.
Trying to compose himself, he replied, "Xiao Si, right? Come in."
The door creaked open, and upon seeing who it was, Yu Tang feigned surprise: "Your Highness?! What brings you here?"
"I..." The words I had prepared vanished the moment I saw Yu Tang.
Xiao Lin's gaze fell on the man's bandaged head and the blood-stained gauze peeking out from under his inner garment. He pursed his lips, put down the porridge, took a few quick steps, and bent down to pull Yu Tang into his arms.
He gritted his teeth and said nothing.
He simply hugged Yu Tang with a very light touch, yet one could feel his deep and intense emotions.
The moment Xiao Lin saw the letter, he felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.
He hated himself for not discovering the traitor, which had put Yu Tang in danger and almost cost him his life in Wuze Valley!
Moreover, he had clearly sworn on New Year's Eve that he would stay by Yu Tang's side in every battle to come and protect the man, but in the end he failed to do so, and Yu Tang was still injured...
Self-blame and panic filled his heart, making it impossible for him to force a smile in front of Yu Tang.
His nose stung with tears, and Xiao Lin tried his best to control his emotions, his voice hoarse: "I'm sorry, General, I failed to protect you."
He said, "I will never let this happen again, I promise..."
Her hair was covered by a large hand and gently ruffled, interrupting Xiao Lin's words.
Yu Tang hugged the young man in front of him: "Your Highness, don't always take the blame upon yourself."
"You are His Highness, the future monarch, and you need to care about the people and the state."
"And I am a general, the commander-in-chief of the garrison of the Northern Nine Cities. It is my duty and mission to go into battle and kill the enemy."
"Your ability to deliver supplies to the Northern Territory this time has already saved countless people here."
So you don't need to blame yourself for my injury at all; you really... did a great job."
He pushed Xiao Lin away, looked into the boy's eyes, and said, "Besides, look, I'm still alive and well, aren't I? I just need a few more days of rest and I'll be back to my old self..."
Her lips were suddenly sealed shut, and Yu Tang's words came to an abrupt halt.
After a moment, their lips parted, and Xiao Lin looked at him with those unfathomable dark eyes.
He said, "General, you still don't understand."
"To me, your place in my heart far surpasses that of the common people and the imperial court that you speak of."
Chapter 35
He died for the villain for the fourth time (35)
The two were standing a little close together.
Although Xiao Lin had tidied his clothes beforehand, the late autumn weather and several days of riding horses inevitably left him with a chill and a rusty smell. His eyes were dark and his lips were dry and cracked, which made Yu Tang feel uncomfortable.
I also felt guilty and heartbroken.
For the first time, he didn't change the subject when Xiao Lin confessed; instead, he slightly tightened his fingers.
He replied to Xiao Lin, "Your Highness, I truly do not understand."
"But..." The aching and painful feeling in his heart made Yu Tang feel slightly suffocated.
“I’m glad you said that.”
"I don't know how I feel..." Yu Tang's eyes were blank: "But seeing you put everything aside and come to see me in the middle of the night, I really..."
Having no intention of admitting anything to the system, Yu Tang decided to confess after hearing Xiao Lin's words.
He looked up and stared intently at Xiao Lin.
"I'm really happy."
"Eek! It's a confession!" The system exclaimed excitedly in Yu Tang's mind, then quickly covered its mouth.
He was so moved he felt like he could take off: *sobs*, it seems his host has finally... finally fallen in love!
Upon hearing the system's words, Yu Tang was stunned and his face turned red.
"Well, Your Highness, I'm just saying, so please don't take it too seriously."
Yu Tang awkwardly scratched his head and stammered as he changed the subject: "You must be tired from the journey. Are you hungry? I see you made some porridge. Let's eat together."
"Hmm..." Unexpectedly, Xiao Lin also fell silent.
He stood up, his back to Yu Tang, his fingers pressed against the bottom of his nose, all the weariness in his eyes vanished, replaced by pure ecstasy.
I was so excited that my body trembled slightly.
He thought that if Yu Tang hadn't been injured, he really would have just pinned him down on the bed and taken care of him.
But reason ultimately prevailed over desire, helping him control the mad thoughts that were about to burst forth from his mind.
His dull-witted general is really starting to understand things little by little.
Xiao Lin felt excited and gratified.
He carefully and steadily carried the porridge over.
Yu Tang's expression had almost fully recovered, and he reached out to take the porridge: "Thank you, Your Highness."
Xiao Lin didn't give it to him, but instead gently stirred the porridge in the bowl with a spoon, and smiled at him: "Let me feed the general."
Looking at the young man before him, Yu Tang felt as if a bunch of tiny flowers had inexplicably sprung up around Xiao Lin, dazzlingly bright. He rubbed his eyes and realized it was just his imagination.
“No need to trouble Your Highness, I can do it myself.” He gestured for Xiao Lin to take another bowl: “Your Highness, please eat with me, otherwise it will get cold and won’t taste good.”
Xiao Lin pursed his lips but didn't insist.
He picked up the bowl, glanced at Yu Tang, took a bite, glanced at him again, took another bite, glanced at him again…
Yu Tang felt a chill run down her spine from his gaze.
He complained to the system: "System, the way he's looking at me is making me uneasy."
"Haha, he's probably already fantasized about you hundreds of times in his mind, right?"
The system said: "You should be glad you got injured. Otherwise, it would be a completely different story."
Yu Tang: ? Seriously, can you please stop with the suggestive language?
System Innocent: [Oh... my dear host, I was merely stating the facts.]
Yu Tang was disgusted by his affected and pretentious translation style and ignored him.
After finishing the porridge, I felt much warmer in my stomach.