Ch. 55 - Zhong Yansheng: Where is His Royal Highness Prince Ding?

The dealings between Lou Qingtang and Xiao Nong had always been secret, and few people knew that they were acquainted with each other, so Lou Qingtang indulged in the drama, and acted as if he was really wronged, making the local officials feel very uneasy.

After telling about his own injustice, Lou Qingtang quickly glanced at Zhong Yansheng.

After not seeing him for a while, the little beauty's features became calmer, and his charm became more attractive, perhaps because his status had changed. He was wearing a gorgeous scarlet round-necked robe, and he looked as gorgeous as a peach or plum, radiant and dazzling.

It looks like he didn't suffer any harm.

He knew that if Xiao Nong, the big-tailed wolf, got angry and embarrassed, it would definitely not be this little beauty who would suffer.

Looking at Xiao Nong who had no expression on his face at the other end, Lou Qingtang knew that the beating he received was probably in vain.

Lou Qingtang never suffered a loss in vain. Even if he couldn't beat Xiao Nong, he would get it back verbally. Looking at Zhong Yansheng, he showed a strange smile: "Knowing that His Royal Highness Prince Ding is here in person, I am also relieved - but may I ask who this young master is?"

He emphasized the word "young". Xiao Nong paused holding the teacup and looked at him expressionlessly.

Lou Qingtang was so rich, and it was said that he had a background as an important official in the court. Governor Wei was very cautious with him, but he did not neglect him. He introduced him with a smile: "Mr. Lou, you may not know that this is the eleventh prince that His Majesty found a few days ago. He came here with His Royal Highness Prince Ding to suppress the bandits."

Lou Qingtang suddenly realized what was going on and immediately bowed his hands to apologize: "It turned out to be the Eleventh Prince. I was blind and didn't know that the Eleventh Prince was so young."

Seeing his pretentious manner and exaggerated tone, Zhong Yansheng pursed his lips and smiled: "Yeah."

When he smiled, his beautiful eyebrows and eyes seemed particularly soft and easy to bully. Noticing Xiao Nong's warning gaze, Lou Qingtang clicked his tongue in his heart and kept saying, "The bandits are extremely vicious, aren't you afraid, young prince?"

Zhong Yansheng was curious about what he wanted to do: "Isn't afraid."

"You're not afraid." Lou Qingtang bowed to Xiao Nong with a face full of admiration, "His Royal Highness Prince Ding is seven years older than you, and he's also your uncle. I'm sure you grew up listening to the legend of His Royal Highness Prince Ding."

Xiao Nong: “…”

Zhong Yansheng nodded in confusion: "Yeah, I heard the legend of Uncle King when I was a child."

Xiao Nong became famous at the age of sixteen, and the news spread throughout Dayong. Zhong Yansheng was nine years old at that time. He often moved a small stool to sit on the veranda, waiting for Yun Cheng who went out to buy groceries to come back and tell him what happened outside.

In those days, the border was in chaos and people were in panic. The prince of Ding defeated the enemy with a smaller force. It was the first victory of Dayong after several generals were lost. It was particularly inspiring. Others added embellishments and vivid descriptions to make the story very exciting.

Zhong Yansheng still remembers how much he enjoyed listening to it at that time.

However, after Prince Ding was officially crowned as king and won many battles in succession, his reputation became more and more terrifying, and people dared not mention him too much.

Zhong Yansheng nodded, and Xiao Nong's expression became even worse.

With a "bang", he knocked the teacup onto the table again without any expression, and said in a chilly voice: "Are you done with the nonsense?"

Lou Qingtang immediately put away his brilliant smile and returned to his serious expression.

Governor Wei's eyelids twitched.

This Lou Qingtang has always been good at socializing, but how come he is so tactless and can't even flatter correctly. He makes it seem like His Royal Highness Prince Ding is very old... Although His Royal Highness Prince Ding is much older than His Royal Highness the Eleventh Prince.

But these words made His Royal Highness Prince Ding obviously unhappy.

Governor Wei had connections in the capital, and when he brought back the news, he heard that the third young master of the Duke of Pei's Mansion, who had offended His Royal Highness Prince Ding, was a young man from an aristocratic family who used to bully men and women in the capital and no one dared to stop him. Now he was scared mad and became a useless person with his mind unclear.

Prince Ding acts so arrogantly and recklessly, and Your Majesty seems to be deliberately condoning him.

If you make King Ding unhappy, he might chop off your head in a flash.

"The rest of you, please step back."

In the silence, Xiao Nong's voice was particularly cold: "Lou Qingtang, please stay. I have something to ask you."

Hiss, he really offended someone he shouldn't.

Governor Wei and others looked at Lou Qingtang with secret sympathy, and no one spoke up to refute.

Just now, everyone was first questioned by Xiao Nong, and then by Zhong Yansheng, who made them sweat profusely. After Lou Qingtang came out to complain, they became even more restless. They had long wanted to leave, so they hurriedly stood up to say goodbye and leave.

Everyone else left, leaving only Huo Shuang and his party and the Black Armor Army in the hall. Xiao Nong glanced at Zhan Rong, who immediately understood: "Yes!"

Seeing how well they understood each other, Zhong Yansheng looked at Yun Cheng in confusion, and they stared at each other, only seeing the confusion in each other's eyes.

Zhan Rong raised his hand, signaling the black-armored soldiers to withdraw, and walked up to Huo Shuang, making a gesture of invitation: "The master wants to ask Mr. Lou, what are you still standing here for? Are you trying to eavesdrop on the secrets?"

Huo Shuang was unmoved: "His Highness Prince Ding's people are really good at putting accusations on us. We are the followers of His Highness the Eleventh Prince. Why should we listen to your master?"

"If the young prince gives the order, you will listen to him and do your best. The master and the young prince are a family who work together. What do you mean by this? Are you trying to sow discord?"

“…”

A vein popped out on Huo Shuang's forehead, and the guards behind him were so angry that they all held down the hilts of their swords.

Prince Ding's style of doing things is so swift and resolute, but the people under him are even more talkative and capable of accusing others than those censors in the Censorate!

Seeing that they were about to argue again, Zhong Yansheng tried to persuade them, "Okay, Huo Shuang, you two can leave now."

Although he still spoke in the same soft tone as always and seemed to have no temper, after seeing Zhong Yansheng pointing a dagger at Wanzhou to scare him away last time, no one really thought that this little prince was soft and could be bullied.

These guards unconsciously put away their contemptuous attitude, and became more convinced of his orders. They released their hands on the knives, and with gloomy faces, they followed Zhan Rong out of the hall and guarded the corridor.

Everyone was dismissed, and Yuncheng was taken away by Zhan Rong. Zhong Yansheng felt like they were going to tell him something confidential, so he hesitated and asked carefully, "Am I leaving too?"

When Xiao Nong saw that he was about to leave, he immediately stood up and gently pushed him back to sit down: "Don't run around."

The tone is low and soft.

"Oh."

Zhong Yansheng sat down and drank tea obediently.

Lou Qingtang saw it and twitched the corner of his mouth.

The man surnamed Xiao never used that tone to talk to him. His expression changed faster than a book. He actually got to hear Xiao Nong talking to someone in that tone in his life!

If I live long enough, I can see everything.

Xiao Nong pushed Zhong Yansheng back, turned around with his hands behind his back, and his expression changed miraculously, turning cold in the blink of an eye: "How is your arrangement going?"

Lou Qingtang tutted his words and said sarcastically, "Ah, the little prince is still young and tender, but Prince Ding is already deaf and blind? Didn't I just say that I was very scared when I was robbed, and when I saw that the escort was no match for the bandits, I handed all the goods to the bandits to save my life."

Just as he finished speaking, he saw a furry head quietly popping out from behind Xiao Nong. The pair of eyes that looked over were dark and bright, as if they were full of affection, and the voice was soft: "Doctor Lou, are the goods you mentioned anything other than silk?"

Oh, it's so cute, as lovable as a little animal.

Lou Qingtang's heart softened, and he couldn't help but smile, but before he could say anything, Xiao Nong raised his hand and pushed back the little head that popped out from behind.

"...Your Highness is really smart." Lou Qingtang cursed in his heart, "Among the looted goods, in addition to silk, there are also spices, tea and other items, all of which are things that the foreign vassals like."

Zhong Yansheng was pushed back, then popped up from the other side and grasped the key point: "Spices?"

Quite sharp.

Xiao Nong raised his eyebrows, put down his hands, pressed Zhong Yansheng's head, rubbed it hard twice, making his hair messy. The person behind him exclaimed and shrank back.

"Lou Qingtang's family has a long history of learning medicine." Xiao Nong turned around and looked at Zhong Yansheng, who was furrowing his brows and combing his hair, and smiled, "He also knows a little about perfume making."

The sachet with a calming effect that was sent to the palace before, the combination of medicinal materials inside was the work of Lou Qingtang.

Zhong Yansheng suddenly realized: "So, brother, you asked Doctor Lou to deliberately bring the goods through this narrow path, and hid spices that could lead the way?"

"Not bad." Xiao Nong's eyes flashed with a hint of smile, "Yuan Yuan, you've become smarter."

Zhong Yansheng was unhappy: "I have always been very smart."

Xiao Nong and Lou Qingtang are really generous. They dare to use so many goods as bait. What if the meat buns are thrown away and never come back, wouldn't they be so painful?

However, Zhong Yansheng felt that if Xiao Nong was there, the batch of goods would not have been lost.

Moreover, according to what Gui Guang and his group of officials said, those bandits did not just rob a caravan when they passed by. If the bait was not big enough, they might not be able to lure them out.

My brother is so smart. He had already figured out how to catch the thief before leaving Beijing.

Zhong Yansheng looked at Xiao Nong with sparkling eyes.

Xiao Nong curled his fingers.

Hook him again.

Lou Qingtang was silent for a while, then pointed at his nose and said, "You two, do any of you still remember that I'm still here?"

Zhong Yansheng certainly remembered it. He tilted his head and was very humble. He asked when he didn't understand, "But weren't those bandits very alert? Wouldn't Dr. Lou's sudden passing by with a large amount of goods aroused suspicion?"

Lou Qingtang was much more patient with Zhong Yansheng, and he softened his tone and answered, "I often follow the caravan around personally, and this batch of goods is indeed destined for Annan. We should have taken the water route, but pirates have been rampant in the south in the past two years. If we were caught by pirates, the fate would be the same. They would kill and rob, leaving no one alive. On the water, we would be helpless. But if we pass through Baoqing Prefecture, we will not necessarily be robbed, and even if we are robbed, we will not necessarily be killed. For an honest merchant like me, isn't it reasonable for me to take this route?"

Zhong Yansheng suddenly realized: "Is that so? I was wondering why you had to come forward. I thought you were always with my brother."

"Haha, little prince, you are really good at joking. If I had always followed His Royal Highness Prince Ding, I would have been pissed off eight hundred times."

Lou Qingtang smiled with his face but not his heart. When he wasn't paying attention, he would mutter: "If your brother's headaches hadn't occurred more frequently this year, I would have only seen him two or three times at most in the past few years..."

Zhong Yansheng was startled: "Headache?"

Xiao Nong never told him about his headache, nor did he show it... No, he did show it.

Xiao Nong's face darkened: "Lou Qingtang."

Lou Qingtang knew he had said something wrong, so he stopped talking abruptly, laughed and changed the subject: "The gangsters were too alert, so I didn't dare to send anyone to follow them immediately. As a result, it rained that afternoon, which washed away the smell of the spices. But your Taxue did a good job. The people we sent out yesterday followed Taxue, and they should be able to find their lair soon."

Zhong Yansheng opened his mouth, and seeing that Xiao Nong was unwilling to say more, he raised his hand and grabbed Xiao Nong's sleeve. He was quiet for a while, and did not ask any more questions in front of Lou Qingtang. Instead, he asked: "Brother, they don't seem to be bad people. Do we really have to eliminate them?"

The young man sitting in front of him was thin and frail, with a gentleness and clarity that was incompatible with the others, like the little tit in his palm, docile and quiet, as if he knew nothing and was not quick to react, yet he was much more transparent than everyone else.

Xiao Nong paused and said, "Let's see what happens first."

Zhong Yansheng nodded and responded obediently: "Okay."

Xiao Nong's headache seemed to be a taboo, and he didn't like people mentioning it.

He remembered that when he went to Changliu Villa for the second time, Xiao Nong was in a very bad condition. Also, on the day when His Royal Highness Prince Jing entertained guests, Xiao Nong took him away in public and almost got into his arms in the carriage.

He misunderstood Xiao Nong. Xiao Nong was not a moody pervert. He just felt pain.

Judging from Lou Qingtang's tone, the disease seems to be very serious.

If this headache occurs every once in a while, then based on the frequency of it occurring once when they first met and once again at the banquet hosted by Prince Jing, it seems that Xiao Nong's headache is about to occur again.

His self-esteem was obviously hurt, he was so angry, and his headache was obviously about to flare up.

But he was still willing to go south with him and help him track down the bandits.

Zhong Yansheng looked innocent and well-behaved on the surface, but his heart was beating faster and faster. He thought to himself that he must force Xiao Nong to explain himself tonight.

Explain clearly why you are so nice to him and what the headache is.

If Xiao Nong didn't tell him...he would not agree to sleep with him.

This is the most powerful threat Zhong Yansheng can think of.

His cheeks turned red just thinking about it.

"Why is your face always red?"

While he was in a daze, Xiao Nong's voice fell from above his head, and then a big hand stroked his face, which was cold and felt very comfortable against his hot face.

Xiao Nong frowned: "Yuan Yuan."

Zhong Yansheng thought his little trick had been discovered, and his heart skipped a beat: "Huh?"

"You have a fever." Xiao Nong moved his hand to his forehead and confirmed, "You caught a cold."

Zhong Yansheng hesitated for a moment: "Ah?"

He was clearly covering himself with the quilt.

However, his window had been pried open by Xiao Nong and was not closed tightly. When he was drawing little figures by lamplight at night, he could feel wind coming in through the window.

Zhong Yansheng only realized at this moment that the reason he felt dizzy after getting off the boat was probably not because he was not used to the earth after staying on the boat for several days.

"Fool."

Xiao Nong, who had just praised him for his intelligence, frowned again: "You didn't even realize you were sick."

Zhong Yansheng: “…”

He was angry, but he couldn't refute it.

"Lou Qingtang." Xiao Nong's voice was calm, "Go get someone to get the medicine."

Lou Qingtang: "..."

It turned out that he had finally gotten back to his old job and became a doctor again.

But since he had just said something wrong, Lou Qingtang couldn't refute it and left in a huff.

As soon as Lou Qingtang left, Zhan Rong came in: "Master, there is new news."

Xiao Nong withdrew his hand from Zhong Yansheng's head and went to answer the message. Zhong Yansheng felt his hand was particularly comfortable on his forehead and subconsciously grabbed his hand, not letting him go.

His wrist was suddenly grabbed back. Xiao Nong lowered his eyes and looked at his confused look, his Adam's apple rolling.

Did this kid do it on purpose?

Zhan Rong saw that Xiao Nong had no time to reach out, so he reported in a low voice without looking away: "The brothers who were led by Taxue found some traces, and the people on the building ship also came down and camped outside the posthouse. Master, what do you think we should do next?"

The skin in his palm was soft and hot, and the high temperature seemed to be able to burn through the skin to the heart. Xiao Nong frowned and touched the temperature of Zhong Yansheng's cheek again: "Go to bed."

"Huh?"

"Go to sleep." Xiao Nong didn't dare to speak to Zhong Yansheng with too much strength or voice, "Be good, I'll go to Chunfeng Valley to check it out."

Chunfeng Valley is where the group of forest bandits often appear. There is a narrow path in the middle, surrounded by mountains. Merchants traveling back and forth must pass through this place. The bandits are entrenched in such a place, where they can attack or defend. If you don't understand the terrain nearby, you will easily suffer losses.

Zhong Yansheng wanted to go with them, but his forehead was burning so much that he had to nod: "Okay, then you have to come back early."

Xiao Nong curled his lips: "You're already acting like a spoiled child before I even leave?"

"I'm not acting like a spoiled child." Zhong Yansheng retorted.

Why does Xiao Nong always feel that he is acting like a spoiled brat?

Zhong Yansheng drooped his long eyelashes, his consciousness was hazy for a moment, and he rubbed his hot cheeks gently in his large palm again.

Very well-behaved.

If it weren't for the fact that the bandits were hard to find, Xiao Nong would have hardly wanted to leave.

At this moment, Huo Shuang and the others also shook off the entangled black-armored soldiers and came in. Xiao Nong retracted his hand and said in a light voice: "His Highness the Eleventh Prince is in poor health, send him to have a good rest. Zhan Rong, call Governor Wei over, I have something to tell you."

Zhan Rong ignored Huo Shuang who was glaring at him and said, "Yes!"

No matter how angry Huo Shuang was, his attention was inevitably diverted when he heard that Zhong Yansheng was ill. But before he could go over, Yun Cheng rushed over first, so he had to take a step back: "The rooms in the inn have been cleaned and prepared. I have just sent someone to check them. Your Highness, please follow me."

Zhong Yansheng stood up, inexplicably feeling a little reluctant. He glanced at Xiao Nong again, and the moment he was about to pass by him, he suddenly felt his hand being grabbed, and each of his fingers were pinched lightly.

Acting like a hooligan in front of a group of people.

His face instantly became hotter and hotter, even the tips of his ears were red. Yun Cheng thought his condition had worsened, and hurriedly asked, "Master, how do you feel?"

Zhong Yansheng retracted his fingers in shock, his eyelashes fluttering: "...very good."

Pretty good? You're really not teasing me on purpose.

Xiao Nong stared at him with eyes that darkened a little.

Zhong Yansheng didn't dare to look back at Xiao Nong's reaction. He quickly followed Yun Cheng out of the lobby and went to the yard at the back.

Baoqing Prefecture is not too big, and the posthouse is not luxuriously built, but the rooms are much more spacious and comfortable than the cabins.

The room had been cleaned and tidied up by now. Zhong Yansheng lay down on the bed. As soon as he left Xiao Nong, the pain in his illness became particularly intense, and even his breathing became hot.

Zhong Yansheng lay down wrapped in a quilt, feeling a little cold. He dozed off for a while, and then the kitchen brought some medicine. They said that Mr. Lou had studied medicine and had specially written the prescription. The doctor who came with him checked and found no problems, so he asked Yun Cheng to bring it in.

Zhong Yansheng drank the medicine and felt sleepy. He pulled Yuncheng and whispered, "Yuncheng, I'm going to sleep for a while. When His Royal Highness Prince Ding comes back, you can wake me up."

Yun Cheng saw that his face was flushed red, and sighed distressed: "Okay, young master, go to sleep quickly. His Royal Highness Prince Ding is discussing with Governor Wei about going to Chunfeng Valley."

Zhong Yansheng hummed, wrapped himself in the quilt, and dozed off in sleepiness.

He slept very groggy and had a bunch of disorganized dreams. One dream was about the first time they met, when Xiao Nong looked at him with blood-red eyes in the dim room. Another dream was about the day of King Jing's banquet, when he felt a slight dampness on his back after being carried onto the horse by Xiao Nong.

He always thought Xiao Nong slept well.

But how could a person who has had headaches for many years sleep well?

So, he dragged him to read, not out of bad taste, but because he could only close his eyes after listening to the book...

Zhong Yansheng felt like his heart was being pinched by an invisible hand, shaping it into various shapes, with sour, bitter and sweet flavors pouring into it, disturbing his uneasiness in sleep.

Until suddenly a cold hand brushed across his face. Zhong Yansheng was trapped in a dream and couldn't open his heavy eyelids. He vaguely felt that there seemed to be someone sitting beside the bed. After looking at him for a while, he bent down and kissed him on the forehead.

Like a talisman, those bizarre dreams were slowly smoothed out by a kiss.

The person sitting beside the bed didn't sit for long and left in a hurry.

Zhong Yansheng's dream became peaceful, his breathing became even, and when he woke up from his sleep with a limp body, he found that it was already dark.

It's already evening.

It rains a lot in summer. There is a loud rain outside. He doesn't know when it started again.

There was a candle lit on the table, the candlelight flickering. Yun Cheng probably lit it in advance because he was afraid that he would wake up and be afraid of the dark.

His throat was extremely dry, so Zhong Yansheng climbed up, swallowed the sore throat, and opened his mouth to call Yun Cheng. However, when he tried to stand up, he found something rolling down his chest, poking him hard.

Zhong Yansheng picked up the thing and took a closer look.

It's a very delicate wood carving, depicting a... chubby tit?

You can tell that the sculptor was very attentive. Every feather is carved in great detail and lifelike. Although it is a dead object, it seems to have a soul, and is cute and lovable.

Zhong Yansheng's eyes lit up, he held the carving in his hands and read it over and over again with great pleasure, the corners of his mouth curled up unconsciously.

Even if the person who gave him the wood carving didn't leave any note, he would know who gave it to him at a glance.

Was this carved by Xiao Nong himself?

Zhong Yansheng stroked every line of the little tit with his fingertips, and suddenly remembered that he was only a few strokes away from finishing the painting of the little man. Forgetting that he was thirsty for a moment, he climbed out of bed excitedly, took out his painting from the bag that was brought into the room, put it on the table, and started working on it enthusiastically.

Xiao Nong gave him a wood carving of a little tit, so he must also give the painting to Xiao Nong tonight!

The headache and fever seemed to have gone away. Zhong Yansheng put on his outer robe, lay on the table, and worked for a while, finally stopping the last scene of the little man's painting on the city wall.

The handsome little man was playing the xun, and the beautiful little man was looking at him. Under the city wall, iron flowers were flying.

He finally let go of his fear and guard against Xiao Nong on the night of his birthday, when Xiao Nong took him to the city wall and played a tune for him with a clay xun.

After carefully outlining the last stroke, Zhong Yansheng looked through it with satisfaction.

He specially had it bound with rice paper into a book-like pamphlet, which is now full of paintings.

As he was flipping through the pages, he saw a figure flash past his peripheral vision and gradually approached the door.

Zhong Yansheng had been painting secretly these past few days, fearing that he would be discovered. He quickly closed the book of miniature paintings and stuffed it into his arms, and then stuffed the things on the table under the bed.

After doing all this, the door was gently pushed open.

The person who came in obviously didn't expect Zhong Yansheng to have woken up, and his movements froze: "Your Highness, are you awake? How do you feel?"

"I'm feeling better now." Zhong Yansheng pretended to be calm while sitting on the bed, looking up at Huo Shuang, "What's the matter?"

His mind was not on Huo Shuang, and his eyes glanced out over his shoulder.

It's dark now, why hasn't Xiao Nong come back yet?

Huo Shuang thought for a moment, and seemed to have made up his mind: "Your Highness, I have something to tell you. Actually, I..."

Before he could finish, a burst of hurried footsteps approached: "Your Highness! Urgent news!"

The person who came to deliver the message, Zhong Yansheng, looked familiar. He was a subordinate of Governor Wei, whom he had met before in the lobby of the posthouse.

Zhong Yansheng remembered that before he took the medicine and fell asleep, Yun Cheng told him that Xiao Nong was discussing with Governor Wei and others and was preparing to go to Chunfeng Valley to investigate.

At this time, Xiao Nong was not there, but this person came to deliver an urgent report. His heart skipped a beat and he had a bad premonition. He tried to keep his face calm and said, "Speak."

"Two hours ago, His Royal Highness Prince Ding and Lord Wei went to Chunfeng Valley to investigate the terrain. When they were coming back, it suddenly rained heavily. Bandits appeared in the rain and attacked His Royal Highness and Lord Wei. Lord Wei was injured and has been sent back for treatment..."

He hesitated to get to the point, Zhong Yansheng stared at him and asked softly, "Where is His Royal Highness Prince Ding?"

Zhong Yansheng's eyes were very gentle, but the man was stared at so hard that sweat broke out on his forehead. He couldn't help but wipe the sweat off his forehead: "The bandits attacked suddenly and were familiar with the terrain. His Royal Highness Prince Ding and Lord Wei only went to investigate and didn't bring too many people..."

"Let me ask you again," Zhong Yansheng interrupted him, "Where is His Royal Highness Prince Ding?"

"…His Royal Highness Prince Ding is missing."

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