——

Upon returning to the Crown Prince’s residence, Yan Yuning took one look at the unfamiliar maidservants and asked in puzzlement, “Where are Xiao Wan and Xiaoyue?”

“In reply to the Crown Princess — they have been given a caning, and for the next few days these servants will attend to you in their stead,” the maidservant explained with a smile.

Yan Yuning looked toward the man who was peeling grapes for her and pressed her lips together lightly. “Xuan Yanyu, I was the one who sent them away. There was no need to punish them.”

“Crown Princess.” Ye’an was afraid the two of them would quarrel over this and hurriedly explained, “This matter cannot be blamed on His Highness. By the rules, even if their mistress told them they need not stand watch through the night, they ought to have kept vigil from a distance, rather than retreating to their own chamber to rest.”

“That is right, Crown Princess — they failed to observe the proper rules,” Ye Chen also explained.

Xuan Yanyu gave Yan Yuning a nod. “Ye Chen and Ye’an are correct. This Crown Prince cannot be faulted — they forgot the rules, and punishment was warranted.”

“Very well. I understand.” Yan Yuning lifted the peeled grape from his hand and tossed the handkerchief to him. “Wipe your hands and go rest.”

The man wiped his hands in an unhurried, deliberate manner, narrowing his eyes. “Together?”

“You go by yourself.” Yan Yuning popped the grape into her mouth and raised an eyebrow with a faint smile. “Rest assured, I will not run off again. Go and rest without worry.”

Xuan Yanyu glared at her. “You snuck out of the Crown Prince’s residence alone in the middle of the night — this Crown Prince has not yet settled accounts with you over that. What if you had run into danger?”

The girl’s beautiful eyes glared right back at him, and she said, puffed up with indignation, “And I have not yet settled accounts with you either — who told you to get angry again, and again, and again?”

“I…” Xuan Yanyu’s bluster deflated somewhat, and he mumbled, “This Crown Prince knows this Crown Prince was wrong.”

“Go and rest.” Yan Yuning issued the command.

“This Crown Prince going to rest — alone?” Xuan Yanyu frowned.

“What else, Your Highness the Crown Prince?” Yan Yuning’s voice was languid and unhurried.

The man muttered his complaint under his breath, “Without you beside this Crown Prince, this Crown Prince cannot rest properly.”

“Xuan Yanyu, are you going or not?” Yan Yuning planted her hands on her hips, lifted her chin, and looked down at him sideways.

It was still all because he was afraid she would sneak away from the Crown Prince’s residence again!

Xuan Yanyu directed an imperceptible look at Ye’an, who understood at once and gave a small nod.

“Very well. This Crown Prince will go and rest.” Xuan Yanyu stepped close to her, bent down, and put his lips near her ear, his voice low with a restrained laugh. “But if you dare sneak out of the Crown Prince’s residence again, this Crown Prince will give you a proper lesson.”

The man’s warm breath swept across the tip of her ear. Yan Yuning’s heart skipped a beat, and she cleared her throat. “If you do not provoke me to anger, I naturally will not leave.”

Xuan Yanyu took her hand in his, his smile unchanged. “This Crown Prince will not provoke you to anger again. But if you dare leave this Crown Prince again, this Crown Prince will most certainly — most certainly…”

“Ah…” Yan Yuning suddenly pressed both hands over her stomach and let out a small, feeble sound.

“What is wrong?” The man’s heart lurched.

“It is all right now.” Yan Yuning kept her head lowered and did not look up at him. “I do not know what came over me just then.”

Xuan Yanyu flicked his finger lightly against her forehead, and a low laugh escaped his throat. “This Crown Prince will have you confined to the imperial ancestral hall — and then frighten you half to death.”

He refused to say no more, even if she would not listen.

Ye’an looked over at Ye Chen with an expression that said he had quite a few things to say and yet could not say any of them.

He had thought His Highness would say he would lock the Crown Princess away in a dark room to keep Yan Shiyao company.

Ye Chen heaved a silent sigh inwardly.

Who exactly was he planning to frighten?

The ancestral hall had guards outside too, and maidservants. Who was there to be frightened?

It was not as though it were the ancestral hall of Prime Minister Qilan’s residence!

“……?” Yan Yuning found herself quite at a loss for words.

Xuan Yanyu patted the top of her head, a curve forming at the corner of his mouth. “Be good. Otherwise this Crown Prince will have you shut in the ancestral hall this very instant.”

“Get lost!” Yan Yuning kicked him in a fit of anger.

Since when did he know she was afraid of being shut away in an ancestral hall?

She had been to the imperial ancestral hall when she was formally invested as Crown Princess — there had been all manner of guards and maidservants standing watch outside the hall. What in the world was there to be frightened of?

“Hiss…” The man went limping, barely managing to stay upright, and sagged against Yan Yuning’s shoulder. He requested lazily, “Help this Crown Prince along to rest.”

“I refuse. Or you can go ahead and shut me in the ancestral hall this very moment.” Yan Yuning said idly.

“……” Xuan Yanyu stifled a yawn. “The timing is not yet right.”

“Oh? Your Highness the Crown Prince thinks it is still too early to frighten me to death? Are you looking to pick an auspicious date for the occasion?”

“Pfft!” Ye Chen could not hold it in and burst out laughing.

Yan Yuning: “……?”

Xuan Yanyu turned to look at Ye Chen. The latter was holding in his laughter so hard his face had gone red, his eyes fixed rigidly ahead.

Ye’an quietly put a little distance between himself and Ye Chen, to avoid being caught in the crossfire.

“This Crown Prince will pick a date for you — how does that sound?” Xuan Yanyu raised an eyebrow with an air of nonchalance.

“Please do not trouble yourself, Your Highness.” Ye Chen’s smile died abruptly.

Yan Yuning pursed her lips and asked, puzzled, “You want to pick the date yourself?”

“No — Crown Princess, this servant knows he was wrong. This servant should not have laughed at you.” Ye Chen looked as though he might cry.

Ye’an rolled his eyes inwardly. That second sentence would have been better left unsaid entirely.

Yan Yuning: “……”

“Get out.” Xuan Yanyu had reached his absolute limit.

“Yes, Your Highness.” Ye Chen bolted for the door with both arms and legs moving in an awkward scramble. Xuan Yanyu watched him with a frown, and Ye Chen — caught under that stare — stumbled and went sprawling at his feet.

The man’s brows knitted together, his voice thick with impatience. “Out!”

“Y-yes, Your Highness.” Ye Chen scrambled to his feet and ran outside. Last night he had been strung tight with concentration searching for the Crown Princess, and now today, a single look from His Highness had been enough to make him lose his footing entirely.

His Highness was in a particularly short-tempered mood today — it was surely because he had not slept the night before. It had absolutely nothing to do with finding Ye Chen an eyesore. Absolutely nothing!

Having fled outside, Ye Chen breathed out a long sigh, shut his eyes, and silently prayed for the little young master to be born soon. He truly could not bear being spoken to like this much longer.

He rubbed at his arm where it had started to ache from the fall, then suddenly thought: His Highness’s temperament was much the same as His Majesty’s — His Highness had taken after His Majesty in many ways.

Which meant… the little young master would likely take after His Highness as well?

He supposed the little young master could only take after either His Highness or the Crown Princess. That little one, so thoroughly doted on and cherished — and if on top of that the little temper took after His Highness… tsk, that would mean no one in the world could keep them in line.

Ye Chen gave a shudder. In that case, he might be better off staying by His Highness’s side after all.

Ye Chen bit down on his finger and grinned to himself. He suddenly grew curious — if the little young master were to anger His Highness, whose side would His Majesty take?

“Ye Chen!” Qiuci spotted a familiar face and waved excitedly.

“Sir.”

“Sir.”

The two guards who had been following Qiuci bowed respectfully.

“Dismissed.” Ye Chen clasped his hands behind his back and gave a languid nod.

One of the guards shot him a strange look. “Yes.”

Once the two guards had withdrawn, Qiuci’s eyes lit up as she looked at Ye Chen. “How did Young Master Xuan become the Crown Prince of Xuanzhao? And you have become an official as well?”

Ye Chen: “……?”

How could someone be this obtuse?

Though one could hardly blame Qiuci — given that Xuan Yanyu had spent over a year at their Prime Minister’s residence, how could she ever have imagined that the Crown Prince of Xuanzhao would have stooped to staying there, hovering around their second young miss?

“Our Second Young Miss is now the Crown Princess.” The little maidservant smiled, narrowing her eyes. The Madam had never liked their Second Young Miss — and with the Second Young Miss’s current standing, the Madam must be regretting it enormously by now.

After the Prime Minister was released from the imperial prison, she had gone to visit him.

She had overheard the Prime Minister saying that the Madam, while inside the prison, had been screaming every day that her daughter was the Crown Princess of Xuanzhao — and that if anyone dared punish her, her daughter would never let Qilan off.