Chapter 59: So Sleepy, So Sleepy, My Eyes Are About to Close

Chapter 59: So Sleepy, So Sleepy, My Eyes Are About to Close

Sang Yu blinked innocently: "Why is the Young Master scolding me?"

"You, you..."

He really couldn't bring himself to say it. How embarrassing, how shameful. If anyone had seen that, he'd die on the spot—this earth couldn't hold him anymore.

Sang Yu got more and more outrageous. What was supposed to be a quickie ended up dragging on forever.

So long that Lu Zhao figured something had happened to them and came looking.

"What a pain."

Sang Yu muttered coldly. Maybe because he rarely looked like this, Li Zhiming couldn't help but snort with laughter.

Lu Zhao had no idea he'd already pissed someone off in just half a day. Still being a good guy, he called out everywhere until he found them, then sighed in relief: "Brother-in-law, you had me worried sick. You okay?"

Li Zhiming's face was unusually red, sweat beading on his forehead, and he was standing a bit weird.

He patted his cheeks and laughed awkwardly: "I'm fine. I just ran into some prey earlier but didn't have my gear. It almost got me, we tussled for a bit, and it only just ran off."

"Ah, I see." Lu Zhao nodded, suddenly getting it. "Don't worry, brother-in-law, as long as you're okay. You should walk with me—if any more prey shows up, I can help."

"Alright, alright, I was just thinking that."

The person beside them, who'd been completely ignored, felt his anger spike. He strode forward and yanked Li Zhiming back as he was heading toward Lu Zhao: "No."

"?"

"?"

Did he hear that right?

Lu Zhao was totally confused.

Sang Yu shot Lu Zhao a possessive glare, his voice icy: "General Lu should mind his own business. When it comes to hunting, I've got it covered—no need for General Lu."

"??"

Lu Zhao was totally confused. He looked at Li Zhiming, who didn't deny it and even quietly looked away, looking reluctant.

That wouldn't fly.

He said seriously: "Young Master Yu, that's not right. Li Zhiming is my brother-in-law, my elder. It's only right that I keep him safe. Just now, my brother-in-law was in danger, which is why he ended up so messed up. With me here, that wouldn't happen."

He was actually pretty confident, but his tone was gentle and unhurried, like a calm mountain stream.

But Sang Yu wasn't having it. All he heard was someone trying to take his man away—that was even worse.

The two were thick with hostility, about to throw down.

Li Zhiming realized he couldn't count on Lu Zhao to get him out of this, so he waved him off: "General Lu, don't worry. That was just an accident. Let's head back—we've been out here too long."

Then he turned and quietly tried to calm Sang Yu down.

"Don't cause trouble. The Emperor's probably looking for us. Let's go back."

This wasn't a carefree outing. The three of them headed back, each lost in their own thoughts. The Emperor was still fuming, face dark, and the Crown Prince was sprawled on the ground.

His ass was swollen up big.

He'd clearly just gotten the beating of a lifetime, and now he was kneeling there, trembling.

"Father, I'm sure the Crown Prince truly knows his mistake now. It was just a momentary slip. Please calm down and give him another chance."

The Third Prince knelt beside the Crown Prince, begging for him.

The two of them usually had a so-so relationship, and no one else dared to speak up for him. The fact that he actually did surprised everyone and won their respect.

The Emperor's dark gaze swept over him, and he snorted: "As a prince, don't you understand the importance of virtue?"

The Crown Prince didn't dare say a word.

The Third Prince replied calmly: "I do. Brothers share a deep bond. I can't bear to see my elder brother like this, and I grieve his loss of virtue. Please punish me, Father."

So fickle.

The Emperor's expression softened a bit: "No one speaks of this again. I don't want to hear another word."

The Third Prince fell silent.

Li Zhiming silently offered the Crown Prince a moment of silence and joined the crowd watching the show, unsure whether to feel lucky or amused.

The rest continued the hunt, Li Zhiming and Lu Zhao together.

*

The Eastern Palace.

The Crown Prince furiously smashed everything in reach, his face green with rage. The maids and eunuchs all knelt in a row, shaking, none daring to speak.

The Crown Princess brought tea, glanced at the mess on the floor, and sighed helplessly. She picked her way through the cleaner spots and handed him the cup.

"Your Highness, have some tea."

"I won't drink!"

The tea was knocked out of her hand in one sweep, the hot liquid splashing all over her hand, instantly scalding it red.

But she showed no anger or resentment. Gentle and patient, she poured another cup and comforted him softly: "Your Highness? The Emperor is just angry over losing face for now. He won't do anything to you. You still—"

"Shut up. Get out."

The Crown Prince was disgusted by the sight of her and didn't want to talk to her. He shoved her out the door and slammed it shut.

To play the obedient, sensible Crown Prince in the Emperor's eyes, to win his favor, to keep his position—he had to hide himself and wear a mask everywhere.

Even his wife was the woman the Emperor approved of most.

Gentle and virtuous, the Emperor said she had the bearing of a mother of the nation, the perfect choice to stay by the Crown Prince's side and run the household.

The Emperor admired her, so he obediently married this Crown Princess. But he didn't like such a bland, dull, and rigid woman at all—she had zero charm.

He didn't dare show it. He didn't even dare say it.

Now that this mask had been ripped off, he was furious beyond reason, and everything about the Crown Princess pissed him off.

The Crown Princess was shoved out, heartbroken, nearly crashing into a pillar.

The three-month confinement was far too long, so long that he felt utterly isolated from the world, so long that he thought he'd never see the sunlight outside again, and the lockdown still wasn't lifted.

The Crown Princess [Taizi Fei] served him diligently every day, bringing his three meals and snacks with her own hands, often having to endure a burst of rage in return—a blatant act of retaliation.

On this day, the sunlight outside was just right.

The Crown Prince [Taizi] sat in the room, dazed and still, his eyes fixed on a single spot as if he could stare a hole through it, a cold, hollow dread settling in his chest.

"Your Highness [Dianxia], it's time to eat."

The Crown Princess's voice pulled him back from his thoughts, and she gently set the meal before him.

He looked at the feast on the table and felt a wave of nausea.

"Why aren't you eating, Your Highness?"

Why isn't he eating?

He suddenly flew into a rage, overturning the table, his face twisted as he roared: "If you like it, eat it yourself. Get out! I'm not eating. Just get the hell out!"

The Crown Princess was startled and quickly moved the meal aside: "Yes, please calm down, Your Highness. Your health is what matters most."

As she spoke, she thoughtfully came around behind him to rub his shoulders, her soft, warm body nearly pressed against his back, tentatively trying to win him over.