Ch. 35 - Zhong Yansheng: My birthday is coming soon

The people in Prince Ding's Mansion were all secret guards and personal guards brought back by Xiao Nong, and they were extremely efficient.

It didn't take long before the porcelain pillows in the room were replaced with soft pillows, the quilts were replaced with lighter and softer ice silk, the bed curtains were replaced with silk, and even the floor in the room was covered with thick cashmere blankets.

Zhong Yansheng recovered some of his strength, but felt uncomfortable as he was sweating all over. While his personal guards were dismantling the bed, he went to take a shower first, then came back and sat on the bed, examining the soft ice silk quilt and pillow.

Xiao Nong leaned against the bedpost with his arms folded, looking at the beautiful boy with a rosy face and loose black hair after bathing. Until this moment, his cold and gloomy expression seemed to melt away, and he returned to his usual lazy and casual self: "Are you satisfied?"

Zhong Yansheng pinched the half-soft pillow in his hand with dissatisfaction. Considering that Zhan Rong had searched the warehouse to find it, he accepted it reluctantly: "Not bad."

Although he is a little difficult to raise, looking at his appearance, people are willing to raise him.

It makes people want to give him the best things in the world.

This thought flashed through Xiao Nong's mind, and his expression froze for a moment. He lowered his eyes and glanced at Zhong Yansheng: "Are you ready to sleep?"

Zhong Yansheng nodded, hugged the small quilt, and gave Xiao Nong a puzzled look, asking "Why don't you leave yet?"

Xiao Nong was silent for a moment, then raised his eyebrows slightly: "You slept for so long in the afternoon, and just now you took a nap, can you sleep now?"

Zhong Yansheng curled his lips quietly.

He made it sound as if he was a good sleeper. His Royal Highness Prince Ding himself was also a good sleeper. When he was in Changliu Villa, he would catch him every day and read to him to hypnotize him, and he would sleep for an entire afternoon.

Xiao Nong saw that his eyes were dark, and he was looking at him without saying anything. The corner of his mouth raised an arc: "Did I forget to tell you that this is my room. If you sleep, where will I sleep?"

Then why was Xiao Nong silent when Zhan Rong and his men were dismantling the bed just now, and why was he even drinking tea leisurely?

Zhong Yansheng was stunned and wanted to get out of bed regretfully: "Then Your Highness, please go to sleep. I'll change the room..."

Before he could get out of bed, a big hand held down his head.

Xiao Nong ruffled Zhong Yansheng's soft hair, and with two fingers, he pushed him back: "Go to sleep, I have something else to do."

When leaving, Xiao Nong extinguished the candle on the table.

The room became quiet and dark.

Zhong Yansheng sat back on the bed, dazedly recalling Xiao Nong's back as he turned and left. Belatedly he remembered that after Prince Ding returned to the capital, he must have been very busy working with the Cabinet to handle affairs for His Majesty.

But from the time he vomited until now, Xiao Nong has been guarding his side.

Bathing took a lot of energy, and Zhong Yansheng was still weak. After hesitating for a while, he lay down on his side, lying on this unfamiliar big bed, clutching a corner of the quilt.

When they were fishing that day, Marquis Huai'an told him that if he did anything in the future, it would be out of necessity.

I guess it means letting Xiao Nong take him away.

This is Xiao Nong's room and Xiao Nong's bed. The bed is permeated with a familiar scent, a cold and bitter smell like ice and snow.

Zhong Yansheng gradually felt sleepy, and he felt that his whole body was wrapped in that breath. He thought vaguely... After His Royal Highness Prince Ding discovered his identity, he did not tear him apart or eat him. Maybe he really is a good person.

Otherwise, the Marquis of Huai'an and his wife would not be at ease letting him stay in Prince Ding's mansion, right?

Xiao Nong, who didn't know that he was judged as a good person, disappeared from his smile as soon as he stepped out of the door. He said in a light tone: "Send someone to guard Yuan Yuan, and report any situation immediately."

Zhan Rong had never seen Xiao Nong treat anyone so carefully. He agreed to everything the other person asked, and even gave him a room to live in. Thinking about the prince's cold words "How is it possible" in the study, Zhan Rong barely suppressed a smile and said, "Yes."

['How is it possible' refers to the time when Dr. Luo asked Xiao whether he loves Zhong or not]

Xiao Nong glanced over coldly.

Zhan Rong immediately tightened his lips and kept a cold expression.

Xiao Nong had a blank expression on his face: "What do you want to say? I won't cut off your mouth."

Zhan Rong silently took three steps back to avoid having his mouth cut.

Returning to the study, Xiao Nong sat down at the desk, on which was already piled a pile of letters and newspapers about Zhong Yansheng.

Zhan Rong lowered his head, and when Xiao Nong flipped over the letters, he briefly reported: "I have searched all the information about Young Master Zhong in Beijing and Gusu, and eliminated some duplicate and false ones. The rest are all here."

Xiao Nong opened the first one, which was the part about the capital.

"Young Master Zhong was weak and sickly when he was young. He had nightmares all the time and was bedridden. He stayed in the capital for seven years and only went out once. It was during that time that he met the prince Pei Hong who was exiled from the palace and saved his life."

"Afterward, the Marquis of Huai'an offended several dignitaries while handling a case. Several people were dissatisfied with the Marquis of Huai'an and spoke ill of him in front of the old emperor many times. Half a year later, the Marquis of Huai'an was banished from the capital and transferred to Gusu."

Xiao Nong's gaze lingered on the words "weak and sickly" for a long time, and the pale little face of Zhong Yansheng at night appeared in front of him.

No wonder he had never heard of or seen the young master of the Huai'an Marquis' Mansion after returning to Beijing.

Zhong Yansheng was seven years old when he left the capital with the Marquis of Huai'an... He was fourteen years old at that time, and was secretly gathering the remnants of the old King Ding. It was also in that year that a severe headache broke out without any warning.

The first time the headache broke out was in front of Xiao Wenlan.

At that time, Xiao Nong did not have the pain tolerance he has now, and did not have the ability to endure without showing any emotion. Xiao Wenlan was frightened and thought that Xiao Nong was going to die. He hugged his thighs and cried loudly, begging his cousin incoherently not to die. It was as if it was him, not Xiao Nong, who was having the headache.

It was just like when Xiao Nong just returned to Beijing when he was nine years old.

At that time, Xiao Wenlan was only five years old. He hugged the thighs of Xiao Nong, who had a numb face, and cried and asked him to find his father... But Xiao Nong couldn't even find his own parents, so where could he find a father?

Coming back to his senses from some distant memories, Xiao Nong looked calm as he flipped through the news from Gusu.

Zhan Rong paused for a moment, and when he saw Xiao Nong looking again, he continued to report: "After Young Master Zhong followed Marquis Huai'an to Gusu, his health gradually improved. Marquis Huai'an invited Zhou Rulin to come to the mansion to give lessons to Young Master Zhong."

Xiao Nong tapped the tabletop lightly with his fingers: "Zhou Rulin? The one I know?"

"Yes." Zhan Rong said, "It was Mr. Zhou Rulin, who taught at Wenhua Hall and Wuying Hall before he retired."

Wenhua Hall was where great scholars gave lectures to the crown prince, and Wuying Hall was where the kings {princes} studied. When Xiao Nong returned to Beijing at the age of nine, he was taken into the palace by the old emperor and attended classes in Wuying Hall. Zhou Rulin was one of the teachers at that time, but he soon retired and returned home.

A great scholar who has lectured to the crown prince and princes would indeed be treated as a guest of honor by aristocratic families and invited to give lectures.

The only strange thing is that Marquis Huai'an does not seem to be keen on Zhong Yansheng's achievement in imperial examinations. Zhong Yansheng has not even taken part in the college entrance examinations in these years.

But Xiao Nong thought about it and decided that if he had to raise such a sickly child, he would not let him study hard. As long as he could live safely and long, that would be enough.

The little bird doesn't have to do anything, just sit there and smile, which is very comforting.

...No, what a mess.

It was Zhong Yansheng who was deeply in love with him, not him who was deeply in love with Zhong Yansheng.

Xiao Nong's face turned cold, he put aside all distracting thoughts and looked down at the newspaper again.

In the past, when he read letters and newspapers, he would only pick out the important points and glance over them. But today, he was quite interested and read every letter piled on the desk.

The last letter was about how the Marquis' wife was held hostage by the remnants of the former crown prince after she gave birth to a child.

Because of the long time, no one knows the details. Most of the speculations were made by the subordinates and casually put at the bottom of the letter. The letter only said that Zhong Yansheng might be the child of a village woman nearby. The village woman was killed by the remnants of the prince's party. When the Jinyiwei came to rescue, there was too much chaos. The remnants of the prince's party fled, and the marquis' wife was still in shock and took the wrong child.

[Jinyiwei = Army]

Xiao Nong raised his eyebrows.

Judging from the appearance and delicate behavior of the child on his bed, could it be the child of an ordinary village woman?

Why is he so unconvinced?

Zhan Rong saw that the prince's face was gloomy for a while and brightened up the next, and the corner of his mouth twitched.

Xiao Nong suddenly put down the letter and reported: "Send someone to continue to dig out the whole story of how the Marquis Madam took the wrong child."

Whether it was his physique and appearance, or the effect of Zhong Yansheng's aura, it all showed that his identity was definitely not simple. It was just that the child himself was probably ignorant and didn't know anything.

I just don't know whether Marquis Huai'an knows about it.

Xiao Nong narrowed his eyes: "Dig up the past of Marquis Huai'an for me again."

No one except Lou Qingtang knew that Zhong Yansheng's aura could relieve Xiao Nong's headache, so when Zhan Rong heard this order, he was stunned for a moment and said, "Yes."

Seeing that Xiao Nong had no other instructions, Zhan Rong handed down the order and mentioned the business: "Master, we have brought all the people from the ship we robbed in Huguang a few days ago. They are all in the torture room."

Xiao Nong then put down the letter, stood up and said casually: "Take me to see how hard their mouths are, which is why you bunch of useless people have not been able to pry open their mouths until now."

Zhan Rong did not dare to say anything. He followed Xiao Nong to the private prison of the palace. He hesitated and said, "Master, why haven't you reported the matter of Prince De's smuggling of salt to the old emperor yet? Prince De must have made preparations for the response in the past few days."

Xiao Nong chuckled: "Do you think the old man doesn't know Pei Yong's little trick? He just turned a blind eye. Pei Yong just thought he hid it well. It's useless even if this matter is exposed. At most, Pei Yong will be punished by being grounded for a period of time. What's the point?"

Zhan Rong said, "Ah, So you want to..."

"If we get caught, we'll have to bring back a whole shipload of smuggled salt to fill our warehouses." Xiao gathered his sleeves, looking like a leisurely gangster. "It's better to give it to us, as our military budget is tight."

Zhan Rong: "…"

At the flower-fighting banquet that day, Xiao Nong told King De about the robbery of his smuggling salt ship, which frightened King De so much that he felt guilty whenever he saw Xiao Nong. He has been avoiding Xiao Nong ever since. He was so scared that he couldn't eat or sleep well. He went hunting a few days ago to relieve his depressed mood, but he was caught in a sudden rainstorm and was soaked like a drowned rat again.

Prince De had been worried and frightened for so long, without waiting for Xiao Nong to take any action. He must have gradually realized that Xiao Nong was outwitting him.

But he couldn't say anything because his people were in Xiao Nong's hands. Even if the old emperor found out, he would not blame Xiao Nong, otherwise Prince De would be implicated.

A whole boat...

Zhan Rong truly felt that for the next six months, Prince De would probably dream about that ship of contraband salt.

Zhong Yansheng was a little reluctant to leave his bed, but he didn't expect to sleep so soundly that night surrounded by the familiar scent.

The next morning, he was woken up by being licked.

Zhong Yansheng didn't sleep properly, with his silk quilt turned sideways and both of his feet exposed outside the quilt.

That thing was licking his bare feet. The rough and warm touch licked the soles of his feet carefully, making them itchy and numb. Zhong Yansheng suddenly woke up from his sleep and pulled his feet back into the quilt. It was the first time he woke up so quickly and panicked: "What is that..."

As soon as he lowered my head, he met a pair of familiar gray-blue animal eyes.

Taxue appeared out of nowhere, and when he saw Zhong Yansheng open his eyes, he rushed over excitedly.

There was so little space on the bed that Zhong Yansheng couldn't even run away and was pounced on by the big cat while lying on the bed in a daze.

This time, the choking smell of perfume powder was finally gone from his body. Instead, he had only the fragrant and moist scent of orchid, which was extremely pleasant to the touch. Taxue was particularly excited when he smelled it. He leaned forward with his furry head, spraying his hot animal breath on his neck, intending to lick Zhong Yansheng's face.

Zhong Yansheng's face turned red, and he tried to push its head away, a little overwhelmed: "Don't lick me! You've just licked my feet!"

Can His Royal Highness Prince Ding control his pet that loves to lick people?

Zhong Yansheng didn't have much strength to resist Taxue from playing around. Taxue seemed not to understand what he was saying and kept wagging his big tail, neighing softly, and nudging Zhong Yansheng.

When the secret guards outside the window heard the noise, they all popped their heads out and looked at each other.

Taxue is not an assassin, and he did not harm Young Master Zhong. Should they intervene?

Zhong Yansheng's inner clothes were messed up, half of his collarbone was exposed. He finally jumped off the bed and quickly ran out holding his clothes.

Taxue followed behind leisurely, as if teasing Zhong Yansheng.

Zhong Yansheng was afraid of being caught up and licked again, so he ran a few steps along the corridor in panic and bumped into a hard chest, making him cry out in pain.

A hand came from behind, and then a familiar voice came from above my head: "Why are you running?"

Zhong Yansheng's nose was hurt by the collision, and tears welled up in his eyes. He rubbed his nose and said with a nasal tone, "Taxue."

Xiao Nong was protecting him. When he looked up, he saw Taxue chasing after him with its tail in its mouth. He immediately guessed what had happened.

Taxue was playing a chasing game with Zhong Yansheng. After he ran for a while, he caught up with Xiao Nong. When he saw Xiao Nong, his tail, which had been wagging non-stop, froze. He slowly took a few steps back and lay down.

It keenly felt that Xiao Nong's eyes seemed to want to stew it.

Xiao Nong glanced at Taxue threateningly, and seeing that it had calmed down, he looked down and found Zhong Yansheng running out in a panic, without even boots or socks on, with his two snow-white bare feet stepping on the ground. He frowned, and bent over to pick him up.

Zhong Yansheng noticed his movements and quickly refused: "Thank you, Your Highness, but you don't have to carry me. I can walk by myself."

"You won't let me hug you?" Xiao Nong lowered his eyes and looked at him.

Zhong Yansheng nodded firmly.

He dare not let His Royal Highness Prince Ding to hold him. Who is his highness prince Ding?

The next moment, the world before his eyes turned upside down and his body felt lighter.

Zhong Yansheng looked at the ground with a dizzy head. After a moment of stunned silence, he realized that Xiao Nong had lifted him up. He immediately tried to struggle.

As soon as he struggled, he was slapped on his buttocks, neither lightly nor heavily.

Xiao Nong carried him easily: "Don't move."

Zhong Yansheng has been a very well-behaved child since he was a child and has never been spanked. He was stunned for a few moments, feeling ashamed and wronged, his face burning hot. He was afraid that Xiao Nong would hit him again, so he behaved himself and didn't dare to move.

Back in the room, Xiao Nong put Zhong Yansheng on the couch, half-knelt down, lifted his ankles up, and looked at the soles of his feet carefully as if he was looking at some valuable object.

It was a little dusty and covered in dirt, but he didn't step on anything to get hurt.

Zhong Yansheng has fair skin and white feet. Because he is lazy and doesn't like to walk around, his skin is particularly tender.

As delicate as a flower.

The slender ankle in his palm can be encircled with one hand, which especially satisfies one's desire for control. Xiao Nong took out a handkerchief to wipe the soles of his feet, thinking that even princes and nobles may not be as delicate as him, and he is not like an ordinary farmer's child at all.

Zhong Yansheng didn't expect that Xiao Nong would wipe his feet.

Unfortunately, His Royal Highness Prince Ding was not very good at serving others, and had never served someone as delicate as him. Even if he used slightly less force, he still made Zhong Yansheng tremble, and his white feet turned red.

Xiao Nong paused, stared at his feet, and rubbed them twice casually.

A strong hand with thin calluses was wrapped around his ankle, and his memory seemed to go back to that night when the houseboat was swaying.

Zhong Yansheng became increasingly restless under the scorching gaze that fell on his feet. His back felt numb, and his toes curled up slightly. He called out nervously, "Your Highness Prince Ding..."

Hearing Zhong Yansheng's tense voice, Xiao Nong, who was half-kneeling on the ground, raised his eyes. His deep blue eyes were like those of some kind of beast, staring at his prey.

Why does it feel like His Royal Highness Prince Ding is like Taxue?

Zhong Yansheng became even more nervous, his long eyelashes trembling constantly, just like the little bird perching on the branch in the painting of winter plum blossoms that he had painted.

Very pitiful and cute.

Xiao Nong licked his canine teeth, with an imperceptible smile in his eyes: "Are you afraid of me?"

Zhong Yansheng glanced at him quickly, hesitated, and nodded honestly.

He is afraid but still dares to go to Changliu Villa to find him.

Little Yuan'er is truly infatuated.

Zhong Yansheng waited anxiously for a while before his ankle was released.

He breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that the vague thought he had just had was very strange.

His Royal Highness Prince Ding is not Taxue, how could he bite or lick him... He was really overthinking it.

It was not until this moment that he noticed that Xiao Nong seemed to have not slept all night. There was a faint dark blue under his eyes. He was wearing the same turquoise robe from last night, and there was a faint smell of blood lingering around his body.

Zhong Yansheng was startled for a moment, and his furry black head came forward. When he smelled the bloody smell at the tip of his nose, it became stronger. He couldn't help but show worry in his eyes: "Your Highness, are you hurt?"

If his eyes hadn't been so pure, Xiao Nong would have suspected that he did it on purpose.

It seems that some blood was accidentally splashed on his body during the torture.

Xiao Nong was silent for a moment, then raised his hand to lift Zhong Yansheng's chin, so that he wouldn't sniff around in dangerous places like a puppy. He said calmly, "Well, we were attacked by an assassin last night."

Zhong Yansheng's eyes widened: "Ah?"

After torturing them for a whole night, they finally got a lot of information out of those people. They also got two new routes for transporting contraband salt from King De. Who knows, they might be able to rob some of the contraband salt and bring it back to supplement their military expenses.

Xiao Nong was in a good mood after a fruitful harvest. He teased him, "I've been dealing with it all night and am very tired. Have some breakfast and go to the study to read something for me?"

The bloody smell was so strong that Zhong Yansheng didn't dare to think about how badly Xiao Nong was injured. He felt that he was extremely pitiful, so he nodded and agreed without thinking too much: "Okay."

Zhong Yansheng vomited so much last night that the personal guard in charge of cooking studied Gusu recipes overnight. The breakfast served was light and exquisite, which suited Zhong Yansheng's appetite very well.

While Zhong Yansheng was eating, Xiao Nong went to take a bath. When he left, he glared at the innocent Zhan Rong and said, "You didn't even remind me that I was stained with blood."

Zhan Rong: "…"

Zhong Yansheng never thought that there would be a day when he would be able to return to his old job.

Even the small stool he had in Changliu Villa was taken back to the palace and placed next to the Arhat couch in Xiao Nong's study. Taxue, who had been taught a lesson, lay beside it, looking particularly honest. When he saw Zhong Yansheng, he couldn't help but wag his tail again.

Zhong Yansheng was a little angry because of being licked. He ignored Taxue who was wagging his tail. He held the book handed to him by Xiao Nong and was stunned.

After returning to the Marquis' Mansion from Yannan Mountain a while ago, he was sick for a few days. He didn't have to get up early to study, so he asked Yuncheng to buy him two storybooks to read secretly.

What Xiao Nong handed him was the second volume of the storybook he had read.

This storybook originated from the southern Fujian area and has become quite popular in Beijing recently. Southern Fujian has always been fond of male homosexuality, and this storybook also writes stories between men.

It is a story about a spoiled young man from a noble family and a cold-faced prince. The story says that the young man secretly loves the prince, but the prince does not know how to be sympathetic to him, which always makes the young man sad, crying silently, and even vomiting blood.

My teeth are very sour.

Zhong Yansheng couldn't understand how there could be someone more troublesome and pampered than him.

If all the idle books in the study had not been taken away by Marquis Huai'an, and Yun Cheng had bought these books secretly, he would not have been able to read them.

Thinking of the study in Xiao Nong Villa, which also housed erotic storybooks between men, Zhong Yansheng swallowed hard and secretly glanced at Xiao Nong, who had washed off the bloody smell.

That handsome face was much more beautiful than the exaggerated description in the storybook.

Xiao Nong raised his eyes to look at him: "What are you doing?"

Zhong Yansheng felt like he had discovered a big secret.

His Royal Highness Prince Ding not only likes old people, but also likes men.

Thinking of this, his gaze drifted towards the place where Xiao Nong had placed the paintings before, and sure enough, he saw that his three paintings were still hanging there.

Xiao Nong noticed his gaze and raised his lips: "Did you deliver the letter I asked you to pass to Mr. Chunsong?"

Zhong Yansheng: "…delivered."

Xiao Nong: "Does Mr. Chunsong like my gift?"

Zhong Yansheng didn't expect that he would write such a letter and still be so shameless to ask if he liked it. He was silent for a while, and said stiffly: "I didn't ask, but he should like it."

As expected, you like the things I gave you.

Just too shy.

Xiao Nong nodded with satisfaction: "Read it."

This storybook was bought by Zhan Rong. Xiao Nong took some time to read the first volume and found it quite interesting. He didn't have time to read the second volume, so he asked Zhong Yansheng to read it to him.

Zhong Yansheng opened the book and his teeth ached again. It started with the prince being injured and the young master crying with tears in his eyes, hugging the prince's waist.

Does His Royal Highness Prince Ding like this kind of thing?

Zhong Yansheng found it difficult to pronounce the words, and could not help but chat with Xiao Nong about this and that, and asked in a soft voice: "Your Highness, when can I go home?"

Xiao Nong opened his eyes and looked at him: "Why do you want to go back?"

Zhong Yansheng pursed his lips.

"Marquis Huai'an has already requested that Zhong Sidu be made the heir of Marquis of Huai'an. Zhong Sidu has a famous scholar in the capital as his teacher. Everyone is optimistic about his performance in the autumn examination." Xiao Nong said indifferently, "What are you going back for? There is no place for you in the Marquis' Mansion."

Xiao Nong's words were not pleasant to hear, but they were the truth.

Zhong Yansheng still felt a little uncomfortable. He was ready to leave the Marquis' Mansion, but he didn't expect it to be so soon.

"My birthday is coming soon." Zhong Yansheng looked downcast, "Every year my mother would cook me a bowl of longevity noodles."

Xiao Nong stretched out his hands and rubbed his head: "It's just a bowl of noodles, can't I give it to you?"

Zhong Yansheng moaned as he rubbed his head, his pretty facial features slightly wrinkled, and he looked unhappy.

Xiao Nong looked at him for a while, ruffled his hair, then took his hand back and said calmly, "Okay, I'll let you go back on your birthday, okay?"

Zhong Yansheng didn't expect him to be so easy to talk to. His eyes, which had been dull just now, suddenly became bright: "Yeah!"

"Smile."

Zhong Yansheng smiled obediently, with curved eyes, looking very beautiful.

Tsk, with all the delicious food and drinks provided, he is still thinking about flying back.

But compared to his listless look just now, he looks better when he smiles.

Xiao Nong felt happy but also unhappy: "Read."

Zhong Yansheng had no choice but to look at the notebook again. Before he could read a word, he heard the sound of footsteps outside.

Zhan Rong seemed to be shouting something, but Xiao Wenlan's voice was more penetrating: "Young Master Zhong! I'm here to save you!"

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