Ch24.1 - Boring

The carriage leisurely stopped at the entrance to the Sui Manor, and the attendant had already lowered the steps.

Sui Yan bowed his head towards Duan Mingchong and was about to leave when Duan Mingchong stopped him. 

Sui Yan, “Your Highness?”

Duan Mingchong’s ears were hot as he pulled Sui Yan’s cloak open, pulled out a sachet embroidered with begonias from his sleeve, and tied it onto Sui Yan’s waistband.

“This is a peace amulet gifted by Master Gengxue. It’s said to exorcise evil spirits and keep you safe and healthy. You should wear it and make sure never to take it off.” Duan Mingchong’s slender fingers flew as he tied the red strings of the amulet onto the jade at Sui Yan’s waist. His eyes lowered as he gently continued, “General Sui will be leaving tomorrow. Your health is so poor that I don’t know if Father Emperor will even let you attend the Imperial Court.”

Sui Yan lowered his eyes and gazed at the side of Duan Mingchong’s face, not knowing what to say. 

“But it’s better if you don’t attend. It’s been snowing heavily this year, and the winter storms have been horrible in the North. All the officials are constantly arguing about this matter, but none do anything. It’s so annoying.”

Duan Mingchong casually tied the peace amulet before straightening up. Once he saw Sui Yan staring at him, his eyes curved as he smiled, “What’s wrong?”

Sui Yan blinked and quietly asked, “Is Your Highness busy on the day of the Lantern Festival?”

Duan Mingchong thought for a bit before answering, “I might have to deal with political matters with Father Emperor during the Lantern Festival, but I will be free in the evening.”

Sui Yan breathed a sigh of relief and pretended to be calm, “I……I heard there’s a night market on the street in front of Chenghuang Temple every year on the day of the Lantern Festival. It’s very lively! May I have the honor of accompanying Your Highness to take a look?”

Duan Mingchong froze and looked at him weirdly.

Sui Yan coughed dryly, afraid that Duan Mingchong had seen through him, and bluffed, “You-Your Highness, did Wanggui say something wrong?” 

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

Duan Mingchong chuckled, “I was right. You’re always having fun.” 

He felt both relief and regret. If Duan Mingchong had gotten to know Sui Yan when he was little, he might not have become so bland.

And if he had known earlier that Sui Yan was this approachable, Duan Mingchong would have gotten people to find him some playbooks to read, so that he would have things to talk about other than politics. In fact, he even found himself boring, let alone the playful Sui Yan.

Sui Yan blinked, unsure whether Duan Mingchong was praising or chastising him.

“Your Highness?” 

Duan Mingchong nodded, “Alright, as long as you don’t think I’m boring.”

Sui Yan laughed, “How could Your Highness be boring?”

Duan Mingchong froze, his ears immediately turning red.

Sui Yan didn’t notice. He bowed toward Duan Mingchong again before happily jumping off of the carriage. 

Duan Mingchong rushed to pull open the curtains and look outside.

Sui Yan stood under the lanterns outside of the Sui Manor, his eyes curving as he waved atDuan Mingchong, “Your Highness, the Lantern Festival, don’t forget about it.”

Duan Mingchong suddenly fell into a trance.

The youth’s fur-lined cloak had fallen off one shoulder when he got off the carriage, showing purple robes underneath. The left shoulder of his robes was embroidered with begonias, bringing out his beautiful face and making him look….. 

Just like light.

Duan Mingchong was stunned. He didn’t react until the carriage began to move before waving at the figure outside of the carriage.

The carriage had already left the Sui Manor a while ago. Duan Mingchong blankly stared at the houses passing by, murmuring, “I won’t forget.”

As long as you don’t forget about it, I won’t either. 

Standing at the entrance of the Sui Manor, Sui Yan finally looked away when the carriage turned around the corner and disappeared down the streets. He put his cloak back over his shoulder before cheerily going into the Sui Manor with a bounce in his step.

Halfway back, he suddenly felt that he was acting too clingy. Thinking back, ‘tn content=”he had already lived for twenty years”] he’s referring to his past life. He is currently 15 [/tn]. It was just inviting someone to view lanterns together. Why was he acting like a girl approaching her first crush?

Sui Yan started walking more humanly. After taking a few steps, he helplessly held onto his forehead and thought, My god, I actually feel happy.

He had carefully plotted elaborate schemes in his previous life and didn’t have the time for relationships or love. The emperor had previously offered to appoint a marriage for him, but he had directly refused. Why had he done so? 

Sui Yan jumped off the steps and couldn’t resist the urge to laugh. He remembered……

At that time, the emperor privately asked him whether he was interested in the daughter of the Assistant Minister of Rites. Sui Yan didn’t respond, only saying he wanted to think about it before deciding.

However, on the second day, he dragged a confused Yuejian into the palace, knelt down with a thud, and begged the emperor to allow him to marry Yuejian.

The emperor, “……” 

Yuejian, “????”

The emperor was so angry that he yelled at Sui Yan before grounding him for two months to reflect upon his actions.

Sui Yan didn’t care at all. He happily brought Yuejian back to his manor and prepared to leave for a countryside villa to spend the summer. 

Yuejian had bewilderedly followed Sui Yan into the palace and returned to the manor in a daze. His eyes glowed as he watched Sui Yan cough while packing. He hesitated for a while before probing, “Prince Jing, in the palace you said……”

Sui Yan heartlessly replied, “That was all to trick him. I can’t afford to marry the daughter of the Assistant Minister of Rites. Wouldn’t that be like driving a nail into my own eye? Don’t worry about them. It’s fine if we just fool them——Hey, where is the little box I put my candy in? Did you see it?”

Sui Yan had his back to Yuejian as he rummaged through his drawers, and he didn’t see the disappointment and sorrow that flashed through Yuejian’s eyes.

When Sui Yan didn’t hear a response, he turned around and asked, “Yuejian?” 

Yuejian forced a smile and awkwardly looked through the things on the table, “I……I saw it last night. It’s probably on this table. You can look for it……I-I’ll see if the medicine is done……”

As he spoke, he rushed outside and disappeared, not even waiting for Sui Yan’s response.

Sui Yan was confused, but he could only look for it himself.

When Sui Yan recalled the shameful thing he did in his previous life, he laughed, his eyes curving as he thought, If the emperor decides to appoint a marriage for me in this life, I’ll just say that I admire the Crown Prince and see how he reacts.