TL: Hua
Chapter 23: Gossip – “I don’t like people.”
Eunuch Lai waved his hand and took out his hidden sword, slashing the assassin’s throat while chiming at Yu Shaoyun, “His Highness said that you have regressed. Your hands and feet are too clumsy!”
“What!” Yu Shaoyun took some time to pat his forehead and gave himself a boost, “F*ck his ancestors!”
Eunuch Lai’s old arms and legs were very flexible. He supported himself with a sword and instantly raised his leg to break a neck. After landing smoothly, he turned around, ready to drink blood, and said sinisterly, “Whose ‘ancestor’?”
“Definitely not His Highness, don’t try to trick me, old man!” Yu Shaoyun shouted coldly at the circle of assassins again as if he was trying to clarify with the Crown Prince, who had already escaped, “F*ck your ancestors!”
*
With rain stinging his face, Pei Xiting was forced to run, gasping for breath as he spoke: “I thought Your Highness would remain unmoved under the sword.”
The Crown Prince’s breath was steady as if he wasn’t running, “You didn’t want to hear or see, did you?”
Pei Xiting was stunned and then smiled: “I’m really sorry for affecting your ‘style[mfn]逼格 or B格 (Bige). Internet lingo. Can have a positive or negative connotation depending on the context. A negative connotation would roughly be ‘You’re so pretentious’. A positive one would be ‘You’re so cool.'[/mfn].’ I will definitely compensate you with a new set of clothes when I go back.”
The world is vast in knowledge, and no one can learn it all. The Crown Prince without feeling any shame for not knowing the word: “Style?”
“You can interpret it as: aura.” Pei Xiting couldn’t see and didn’t pay attention. He kicked a severed branch with his toe and fell forward without any defense. Fortunately, the Crown Prince stopped him in time with his powerful arm and easily lifted him up.
Pei Xiting tore off the belt covering his eyes, glanced at the calm crown prince, thanked him, and continued to run forward.
“But why should we run?” He said, “Can we find a corner to hide——”
A man jumped down from the tree in front of him and swung his blade at him. At that moment, Pei Xiting had no time to react. He subconsciously let go of the Crown Prince’s hand and pushed the man away while retreating to avoid it.
The residual power of the blade tore Pei Xiting’s sleeve, causing him to stumble and be kicked down by the assassin, plunging into the mud.
Pei Xiting felt a pang of pain in his shoulder. Before he could catch his breath, the blade had already chased him down. He didn’t move when he saw the blade suddenly freeze and fall in midair. The black robe spun over a scene of afterimages, and the scene of flowers on the robe instantly came to an end. The blade had already been kicked away.
The treetops trembled behind, and leaves fell in a whoosh.
Pei Xiting’s eyelashes trembled as he saw the hand that reached out from behind and suddenly crushed the assassin’s neck.
It was cold and white, like a ghost hand in the rain, with a kind of terrifying and bizarre beauty to it. Pei Xiting shuddered inexplicably, but it was fear mixed with excitement.
The assassin smashed down, and mud splashed Pei Xiting’s face. He tilted his head and closed his eyes. When he opened his eyes again, the Crown Prince was slowly wiping his hands with a handkerchief.
His stagnant heartbeat started again. Pei Xiting looked up at the Crown Prince, took a breath, and said, “Should I speak frankly now, or pretend not to know?”
The Crown Prince threw away the handkerchief and looked at Pei Xiting, “But are you scolding me?”
“That’s not the case.” Pei Xiting supported himself to get up, twisted his shoulders uncomfortably, frowned in pain, and groaned. He took out a handkerchief from his sleeve pocket to wipe the mud off his face, then said slowly, “Your Highness’s life and possession are so important. I took the initiative to approach you, show goodwill to you, and even proposed to enter the Longhe Division. You suspected my intentions and wanted to take the opportunity to test me, but I can understand.”
The Crown Prince asked, “When did you notice it?”
Pei Xiting pointed at the assassin at his feet. “After he fell down, the danger disappeared, so my mind began to spin. Since you know that you are an old customer of the assassin, you should take more thorough precautions when you go out. Even if you don’t, you should be very confident. In this case, you’re unlikely to escape with me. After all, this situation is not a critical moment for you. I was a little scared and didn’t want to continue watching, but I also think that I haven’t hugged your thigh firmly enough to the point where you can be so considerate.”
Pei Xiting was wet and dirty, like a red fox bullied by the rain, shaking from time to time, downcast but not ugly. The Crown Prince looked calm. “I thought you would feel resentful or aggrieved.”
“I didn’t think you would feel sad or aggrieved about me. After all, my life is not a precious treasure to you. We have different statuses. If I died protecting Your Highness, it would be my honor. The Pei family would even build a loyalty temple for me.” Pei Xiting threw away the dirty handkerchief and said openly, “When I’m being sincere, I don’t know how to spell ‘tongue in cheek.’ I mean what I said.”
“You are restless and very frank.” The Crown Prince retracted his gaze. “Let’s go.”
Pei Xiting hurriedly followed, “Where to?”
“Hot spring.” The Crown Prince’s fingertips curled slightly, and then with a ‘swoosh,’ a person landed in front of him, holding an umbrella to cover him.
Pei Xiting glanced at the umbrella delivery guy, grabbed the handle of the umbrella, and took the opportunity to hide under it. Although they were all drenched chickens, it’s better with an umbrella.
The shadow guard saw that the Crown Prince didn’t stop him, so he bowed and withdrew.
“There’s a hot spring here? Are you inviting me?” Pei Xiting asked.
The umbrella was big, and Pei Xiting, who was sober, knew his limits, so although they were close, they did not really touch each other.
The Crown Prince took a leisurely step forward and said, “It’s in the mountain villa, and I don’t charge money.”
“So powerful,” Pei Xiting said sourly, “When can I turn back into… a rich man?”
The Crown Prince said sharply, “Turn back?”
“…” Pei Xiting said sincerely, “I’m probably crazy because of poverty. I often dream of becoming a wealthy man who spends money like water.”
The Crown Prince did not laugh at his dream and said, “Your paintings are very valuable. Aren’t there many people who ask you to paint for them?”
“I don’t want to paint for them,” Pei Xiting said, “They wanted to request a painting, but their words became so high and mighty as soon as they opened their mouths. To hell with their attitude.”
He has a fearless and spoiled temperament in his bones, and his “My happiness is the most important” attitude will occasionally leak out. This is one of Pei Xiting’s true natures. The Crown Prince’s eyes flickered, and he said, “Then paint more for me. I will pay you according to the market price, or you can raise the price yourself.”
This is a good shortcut to get rich, but Pei Xiting refused, “No, Your Highness is different from others.”
Another misleading remark. The Crown Prince paused. “What’s the difference?”
“Didn’t I say before that you are my muse?” Pei Xiting said, “Painting you makes me happy, which is equivalent to you paying.”
The Crown Prince stopped and tilted his head to look at the man. “I said I asked you to paint for me, not to paint me.”
Being exposed, Pei Xiting felt a little regretful and said sincerely, “You are so good-looking; it would be a pity not to paint you.”
The Crown Prince paused. “Am I good-looking?”
“So you’re oblivious to your own beauty?” Pei Xiting teased him, “You have been at the top of the ‘Yejing Dream Lover List’ for several years. Everyone says that Your Highness is handsome and good-looking, and your appearance is elegant. Don’t you know how many young women and men are longing for you?”
“Yu Shaoyun did mention this list and also said that people set up private gambling games to bet on the selection of The Crown Princess.” The Crown Prince commented, “It’s inexplicable and makes no sense.”
“Gossip is a traditional virtue,” Pei Xiting also took the opportunity to gossip, “Why didn’t you take a consort? Don’t people in your royal family marry and have children very early in order to expand the family?”
“I don’t want to.” The Crown Prince said.
“I don’t want to get married either, but I think dating… matters concerning love are quite interesting, but I haven’t met any like-minded guests.” Pei Xiting paused after speaking and tilted his head to look at the person next to him.
The Crown Prince noticed the gaze and asked, “Hmm?”
Pei Xiting blinked. “What kind of people does Your Highness like?”
“I don’t like people,” said the Crown Prince.
It fits his personality very well. Pei Xiting smiled and said, “Has anyone pursued you or expressed love to you?”
The Crown Prince said, “No.”
“If you had a gentle temperament like water, you would probably be drowned by peach blossoms. Unfortunately, you have an aura that keeps people away from you. But it doesn’t matter,” Pei Xiting said, “Only brave people can climb up the cliff and pick the flowers on it.”
The Crown Prince felt that there is an insinuation in that remark.
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