Chapter 190: Chapter 190: 190: Prince Longevity (20)

Yan Gui’s clever face revealed a hint of panic as he whispered softly, “I… I didn’t do it on purpose.”

The lush branches enfolded him, the youth’s eyes slightly raised, the beautiful curve of his neck and collarbone clearly visible.

The interplay of light and shadow falling from the canopy was just right, adding a surreal dreaminess to the silence.

He met Chuzheng’s cold and indifferent gaze and was momentarily stunned.

The next second, the young man suddenly moved closer, pressing his lips to the corner of Chuzheng’s mouth.

A breeze blew by, rustling through the treetops, the shifting light and shadows dancing between the two of them.

The youth just pressed against her for a few seconds before quickly letting go.

He leaned back, brushing against the leaves, making a faint noise.

Luckily there was a breeze, so no one noticed the sound from above.

“I…” Yan Gui’s pale face flushed with streaks of red, even his ear tips were red.

Before he could finish talking, Chuzheng pulled him back, holding his waist and kissing him back.

Yan Gui’s eyes widened in shock.

When Yan Gui came back to his senses, he was standing on the ground with Chuzheng holding his hand, heading towards his palace.

The girl’s expression was calm as if the kiss she had given him had just been an illusion.

But Yan Gui knew it wasn’t an illusion.

“Go inside.”

Without saying a word, Yan Gui withdrew his hand and quickly entered the sleeping chamber.

Only when he was certain Chuzheng couldn’t see him did the boy’s usually cautious and well-behaved expression slightly withdraw, showing a faint smile as he gently rubbed his fingertip over his lips.

“Your Highness, where have you been?”

Xiao Guizi appeared out of nowhere.

Yan Gui’s mouth returned to its usual curve, slowly saying, “I went out for some air, what’s wrong?”

“There’s an assassin in the temporary palace.” Xiao Guizi looked at Yan Gui very nervously, fearing that his prince might have been hurt somewhere, “You didn’t encounter them, did you?”

Yan Gui shook his head.

“That’s good, Your Highness. Please don’t go out again; the temporary palace is under martial law everywhere now.”

“Mm.”

–

There was an assassin in the temporary palace who had injured the Emperor’s new favorite concubine, causing the entire place to be under martial law, with each palace undergoing inspection.

When Chuzheng returned to her palace, the Imperial Forest Army was just conducting their search there.

Of course, they found nothing in the end, but the atmosphere in the palace was tense.

Cheng Xiao remained unconscious, and although the injury wasn’t serious, it was still a matter of the Emperor’s face.

The Emperor was furious and ordered that the assassin be captured at all costs.

Cheng Xiao regained consciousness in the evening.

She accused Chuzheng of the attack.

Chuzheng was summoned for questioning.

Cheng Xiao lay pale in bed, her forehead and arms wrapped in bandages, tears brimming in the corners of her eyes, looking pitiful and deserving of sympathy.

“Cheng Chuzheng, the beloved concubine says it was you who injured her, is that true?” asked the Emperor gravely, sitting beside Cheng Xiao with a stern expression.

Chuzheng was extremely calm, “No, it wasn’t.”

“Sister, you said you had something to tell me, and I agreed to see you. I didn’t expect you to treat me like this…” Cheng Xiao accused tearfully.

She looked pitiful indeed.

“I haven’t seen you today,” Chuzheng said, her words ringing with honesty. If Cheng Xiao were not the one involved, she might have believed it herself.

The Emperor narrowed his eyes as he appraised Chuzheng.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

He had never examined Prince Cheng Residence’s Miss Cheng closely before.

Now that he did, she appeared even more dignified than Cheng Xiao.

This made the Emperor think of Prince Cheng, the man who always opposed him.

“Your Majesty, the person who injured me used scissors. If it were an assassin, why use scissors? Please see the truth!” Cheng Xiao struggled to kneel on the bed, imploring the Emperor for justice.

The Emperor hurriedly had her lie back down and softly consoled her with a few words.

“Cheng Chuzheng, do you have anything to explain?”

“What weapon the assassin used, that’s something for the assassin to answer. I am not one, so I don’t know.”

Cheng Xiao’s eyes were red with accusing fervor, “Your Majesty, I have a witness, the eunuch from my palace can testify.”

The Emperor spoke in a deep voice, “Bring him!”

The eunuch approached with his head down, terrified, and instantly knelt on the ground, “Your… Your Majesty.”

The Emperor asked, “Is Cheng Chuzheng the assassin?”

The eunuch trembled as he replied, “No… not her, the assassin was masked, a man…”

“You’re talking nonsense!” Cheng Xiao interrupted the eunuch excitedly, “It was clearly her, why are you lying? Your Majesty, he is lying!!”

She was one of hers.

How could he say such a thing!?

“Your Majesty, this servant dares not, what this servant says is all true…”

The eunuch prostrated on the ground, kowtowing incessantly.

Cheng Xiao, furious, threw a pillow from the bed.

“Why would you lie, have you been bribed by her!”

“This servant has not, this servant dares not…”

Chuzheng insisted that she had never seen Cheng Xiao.

Since Cheng Xiao had no evidence, she was merely slandering her, and she would not admit it.

The Emperor frowned, pondering something.

“Assassin! There’s an assassin!!!”

Suddenly, there was a loud shout from outside.

Followed by chaos, the sound of fighting approached from afar. The Emperor stood and walked to the palace gates, watching the battle outside under the protection of the Imperial Forest Army.

The assassin was highly skilled in martial arts and was not at all disadvantaged despite being surrounded by the Imperial Forest Army, eventually escaping.

“Pursue!” the Emperor ordered with a somber face, “I want him alive, and if not, I want his body.”

“Take Miss Cheng back,” the Emperor then commanded, turning his head.

Cheng Xiao was completely stunned.

“Your Majesty!”

“My beloved, you must recover well from your injuries.”

The Emperor left without looking back, following the Imperial Forest Army.

Cheng Xiao’s chest heaved with great intensity, unwillingly calling out to His Majesty.

Chuzheng brushed her sleeve, calm and composed as she followed the eunuch out.

“Cheng Chuzheng!”

Cheng Xiao smashed everything within reach, her delicate face twisted with hatred.

How could it be…

That eunuch!

By the time Cheng Xiao thought of the eunuch, he was already nowhere to be seen.

In the entire hall, only she was left alone.

–

Night falls.

The entire travel palace was still under martial law.

A slender figure of a youth sat by the window, resting his chin on his hand as he gazed into the darkness outside the palace.

There was a faint sound of something cutting through the air behind him.

“Master.”

The man in black, his face covered, knelt on the ground, head bowed to receive orders.

The youth lowered the hand he had been resting on his cheek, his light brown eyes turning around, reflecting the candlelight inside the hall, tinting the pupils with a faint warm glow.

His hair, not tied up, cascaded behind him, lifted slightly by the breeze.

The front of his clothing was discreetly open, giving a glimpse of a beautiful collarbone, leading to the curve beneath his garment, sparking the imagination.

“You weren’t discovered, were you?”

The youth’s soft voice reverberated through the hall.

The night breeze wafted through the window, causing the candlelight to flicker and the youth’s shadow to sway with it, drifting like rootless duckweed in a storm.

The atmosphere inside the hall was oppressively heavy.

“Master, rest assured, I did not engage with them,” the man in black answered respectfully.

After a pause, the man in black added, “I am somewhat confused.”

The youth seemed to know what he was going to ask, the corners of his lips lifting slightly in a curve so faint that nobody could see. He raised his index finger, placing it upon his rosy lips.

The man in black knew he had overstepped; it was not his place to question.

His duty was to follow the master’s orders.

“You may leave.”

“Yes.”

The man in black retreated respectfully.

The youth’s pale fingertips glided from his lips, looking towards the flickering candle flame.

The night wind suddenly intensified, the candlelight abruptly extinguished, plunging the room into darkness.