Because of this incident, Zixiu had to put on hold his plan to explore the surroundings with full use of hanging about in the park. As soon as he returned to his chamber, he burrowed into the quilt with his face covered, pretending to be tired, which was the only way he could avoid Xingyiâs sharp gaze.
Zixiu had thought that he was alone here, and nobody would have known where he had ended up, so he was both surprised and overjoyed when he heard that guard call his name. However, after calming himself down and thinking it twice, he had a feeling that something didnât make sense. âIâve never seen that guard, so how come he knows my name? Before I lost my memory, my family had been living in the secluded mountains, so we would never have known a guard of a princeâs mansion thousands of miles away. Whatâs more, that pervert has cut everyone off from the news of Princess Liuxuâs missing and I look exactly like her when cross-dressed, so even if that guard knows me, he couldnât have recognized me at the first glance when he saw me in a womanâs attire at Prince Muâs Mansion. Was he sent by that jerk to probe my attitude? But a person as arrogant and proud as that pervert seems to have no reason to bother about such a frivolous thing. Itâs so weird! Who the hell is that guard?â
The more he thought, the more confused Zixiu felt. He had always had a lazy brain and if it werenât for lack of other options, he wouldnât have racked his brain to struggle with Nangong Du these days, which took a lot of effort. Moreover, with so few clues, he was unable to figure out who that mysterious guard might have been. Therefore, he stopped pondering and fell asleep soon.
Needless to say, Xingyi would never be âkindâ enough to wake this âprincessâ up for dinner, so when Zixiu awakened with a rumbling stomach, it was already afternoon.
Rubbing his eyes, he sat up slowly before he suddenly saw a face zooming in front of him. Zixiu was taken aback and he pushed it away instinctively.
âHow dare you push me?â Nangong Duâs cold voice suddenly rang in his ear.
Zixiu stiffened for a moment and then realized that he had done something stupid again, so he immediately explained, âYour⦠Your Highness, I didnât mean it. I just woke up and Iâm not fully awake yet. I didnât mean to do it, so please donât be mad at me! Whatâs more, rage might be detrimental to your health! Your Highnessâ¦â
âGuess if it were someone else, you wouldnât have pushed him away. Am I right?â Nangong Du suddenly blurted out something that muddleheaded Zixiu.
âSomeone else? What did he mean?â Zixiu wondered with a puzzled look.
With a snort, Nangong Du continued, âHoney, I heard that you hooked up with a young guard in the garden this morning!â
âHook up?!â Hearing this phrase, Zixiu didnât know whether to laugh or cry, as if he had just heard the most ridiculous dry joke in the world. âAre you kidding me? How could a straight man like me try to attract attention from the same sex?â he thought resentfully.
âAre you trying to deny it?â Seeing that Zixiu was caught dumbfounded, Nan Gongdu said even more harshly. âLiu Zixiu, I told you that I would hate to see you fall victim to your own cleverness. Youâre my legal wife now, so I wonât show mercy if I catch you flirting with any other man and having physical contact with him again!â
Though Zixiu grew angrier at his words, he didnât think that Nangong Du was deliberately humiliating him. âIs this psycho starting to doubt that guardâs identity as well?â he wondered.
âDid you hear me?â Hearing no response from Zixiu, Nangong Du suddenly raised his voice in rage.
After coming back to his senses, Zixiu nodded in a panic and answered, âGot it, Your Highness! Iâll bear it in mindâ¦â
âHow come you simply addressed yourself âIâ in front of me?â Nangong Du began to pick on him for no reason.
Zixiu was even more overwhelmed. âWhat should I address myself in addition to âIâ? This psycho is too difficult to please!â When he was complaining secretly, Nangong Du suddenly grabbed him by the collar.
âLiu Zixiu, if you dare treat me so disrespectfully again, youâll lose your tongue forever and be turned into aâ¦â
âYour Highness, calm down please!â At the thought of what this asshole was about to say, Zixiu couldnât help trembling. However, he had no idea what he said that made this prince feel offended. âCould that be because the word âIâ is a taboo in this household? Waitâ¦â At this point, a self-effacing address âhumble consortâ suddenly came to his mind.
The murder of the maid from the Wen delegation had been solved this morning, and Nangong Du was going to attend the dinner party at the imperial palace with the new princess tonight, so he did need Zixiu to address himself this way when speaking to him in public.