Chapter 30: Your Secret Is Moving the Moment You Speak

The night wind rustled through the leaves, and the moonlight that filtered through fell upon her temples. The girl buried her head in her arms, and the fingers clutching the wine cup gradually relaxed. Before she passed out, she muttered, “This… is good enough…”

It was a stuffy summer night, but for some reason, a wind had picked up. It blew past, lifting a few strands of her hair from her cheek, and her wide sleeves.

A person was standing in the corridor not far away. Xue Chen leaned against a pillar. Her words just now had reached his ears without a single one being missed.

“Ning Shengsheng.”

He gently spoke her name. A hint of a smile touched the young man’s eyes.

“You really are not Ning An.”

He had come over tonight on a whim, wanting to find out why Princess Ning An knew about Snowball. As it happened, he had stumbled upon this scene.

Princess Ning An had subjected him to all sorts of humiliation, her eyes filled with nothing but contempt, seeing him as a beautiful object. But she was different. At first, he had keenly sensed something was amiss, but he had only thought she was playing a game. He had never imagined the truth would be like this.

Xue Chen’s gaze was fixed on the girl’s cheek, his pupils swirling with a mix of wild joy and restrained interest.

“Perhaps a different way of playing would be more interesting.”

He stood there for a long time, until the palace maids had helped Ning Shengsheng into the palace, and until his wildly beating heart had slowly calmed down. He returned to the pear courtyard under the cover of night, his mood better than it had ever been.

Even Snowball noticed its master’s good mood and jumped into Xue Chen’s arms, tilting its head to look at him curiously.

Xue Chen reached out with a well-defined hand and stroked Snowball’s head. “Snowball, I’ve found a very interesting person. Do you think she’s worth my effort?”

“Meow-ow!”

A soft, fluffy paw batted his hand away. The cat’s eyes were filled with curiosity.

“The girl who saved you, do you remember her?”

“Meow!”

“She’s a very interesting person.”

“Meow—”

Mimi doesn’t understand. Mimi just wants to eat. Snowball jumped onto the table and patted it with its paw, indicating that it wanted to eat.

The young man’s handsome features relaxed, and he said enticingly, “Snowball, if you follow Princess Ning An, you’ll have fish to eat every day. You might even get to eat the fish raised in the spiritual pool.”

“Meow-ow!”

The child jumped a full three feet in the air.

“Good boy. Go and find her.”

“Make her remember that there’s still a person like me.”

Snowball’s eyes blinked and blinked. It understood what Xue Chen meant, and with a light leap, it disappeared into the night.

The young man’s smile was radiant, and his beautiful eyes held an indefinable glimmer.

“Ning Shengsheng, your secret is truly moving.”

***

Ning Shengsheng had used the alcohol to sleep soundly. Just as she was about to open her eyes, she felt something heavy pressing down on her. She struggled to open her weary eyes, and a magnified cat’s head appeared before her. A round face, pure white fur.

“Meow~”

“Snowball? What are you doing here?”

She reached out and pinched Snowball’s ear.

“Oww-meow~~~”

Snowball’s round cat eyes looked at her pitifully. After meowing, it glanced outside the hall.

Ning Shengsheng thought for a moment and tentatively asked, “Is your master in trouble?”

“Meow!!”

The cat’s soft head rubbed against her chin, indicating that she was right.

Ning Shengsheng didn’t think much of it. She called for Songgao to come in and help her with a simple wash and change of clothes, then took a palanquin to the pear courtyard.

“Eat it or don’t, you little discarded son, throwing a tantrum. Don’t think you can do whatever you want just because Princess Ning An is backing you. Princess Ning An is going with His Majesty to Qionglin Garden to escape the summer heat today. She’ll be gone for two months. We’ll see how you fare then.”

Less than ten meters from the courtyard, the sharp and harsh scolding of a palace attendant could be heard.

Ning Shengsheng frowned, had the palanquin stop, and rushed to the entrance of the pear courtyard in a few strides. She saw the young man standing pale-faced in the courtyard, a food box overturned at his feet, and the food spilled out. A palace attendant had his hands on his hips, pointing at his nose and scolding him. And he, his hands clenched tightly, with a sharp chin from long-term malnutrition—she had painstakingly fed him for half a month, and he had gained a little weight. After a few days, it was all gone!

“Speak! You were so arrogant just now, weren’t you saying you wouldn’t eat? From now on, you can eat real pig slop!”

The arrogant palace attendant shoved him.

An ice-blue soft whip coiled around his arm, and with a sharp tug, the eunuch fell backward. He looked up and saw who it was, then scrambled to his feet.

“Gr… greetings, Your Highness!”

“This princess ordered you to deliver food to Hostage Prince Xue every day. Is this how you do it?”

“O-of course not! It was Hostage Prince Xue—”

“It doesn’t matter.” Xue Chen raised a hand to his temple, his body swaying slightly. “Your Highness has already taken care of me for a long time. No matter what kind of food is sent, I shouldn’t have wasted it. It has nothing to do with this eunuch.”

Eunuch: ??

He delivered the food every day and took the opportunity to scold him for a bit of fun. This hostage prince had always been submissive and wouldn’t cause any trouble. How… how did it turn out like this today?

Ning Shengsheng quickly helped Xue Chen up and turned to the eunuch. “Since you are not satisfied with the task this princess has assigned you, you need not serve in Zhaoxia Palace in the future. We cannot afford you.”

“Your Highness, I-I’m not dissatisfied!”

Seeing the princess’s displeased expression, Songgao said without expression, “You may leave.”

The palace attendant was driven away.

Ning Shengsheng helped Xue Chen sit down under the pear tree and had Songgao go to the small kitchen to bring a bowl of sweet soup. Songgao returned shortly after, her face troubled. “Princess, Hostage Prince Xue’s small kitchen has no honey or sugar.”

“Hostage Prince Xue is so pitiful!” Zaoni blurted out.

Ning Shengsheng looked at Xue Chen, who was sitting opposite her, with a worried expression. The young man just smiled bitterly, then said in a muffled voice, “It’s no matter. I’ll be fine after a little rest. Isn’t Your Highness going to Qionglin Garden with His Majesty? How can you be delayed because of me?”

As soon as word got out that she was going to Qionglin Garden, the sycophants in the palace had started to bully him again. If she were to leave for two months, Xue Chen would be eaten alive by that group of people, not to mention the students at the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion who were all targeting him. And when Ning Jin’s grounding was over, it would be even worse.

No. She had to take Xue Chen with her!

“Zaoni, pack Hostage Prince Xue’s things. He’s coming with us to Qionglin Garden.”

“Yes, sir! This servant will go and pack right now.”

The two maids went to pack with smiles on their faces.

Under the shade of the tree, only she and Xue Chen were left.

“Your Highness, a fine place like Qionglin Garden is not somewhere a discarded son from another country like me can go.”

“If you take me, you will displease His Majesty.”

The young man was not wearing a dark robe today, but rather a white, narrow-sleeved long shirt embroidered with green bamboo at the collar. His straight back was like that of the green bamboo.

How could she let a jade-like gentleman’s back be bent?

Ning Shengsheng waved her hand. “It’s fine. You don’t have to worry about these things. Leave it to this princess.”

“Older Brother has always doted on me, and he knows…”

“Ahem, and he knows I like your handsome face. He definitely won’t refuse.”

He lowered his eyes, and a look of successful plotting flashed in his long-lashed eyes. When he looked up again, his expression was one of innocent concern. “As long as it doesn’t implicate Your Highness, then it’s fine.”