Chapter 149 Staying in a Tent Again

Chapter 149 Staying in a Tent Again

Xie Yu looked at Xie Yan, understanding his meaning perfectly, and said to the carriage:

"It's alright, Cheng'er. Sixth Imperial Uncle has official business to attend to and will be leaving now."

"Sixth Imperial Uncle, wait a minute."

Xie Yu reined in the horse.

Cheng'er quickly took out a meat bun, chased after the carriage, stood behind the driver, and held out her hand: "Sixth Imperial Uncle, this is for you."

Xie Yu took the steamed bun from him and patted Xie Chengze's little head.

"Cheng'er is so good, go inside quickly."

Xie Chengze smiled sweetly and waved, "Sixth Imperial Uncle, take care."

Xie Yan watched Xie Yu leave, then turned around and watched Cheng'er walk into the carriage from outside.

He whispered in Shen Nanzi's ear, "From now on, I will try my best to be a good father."

His breath brushed against Shen Nanzi's earlobe.

Shen Nanzi pinched off a small piece of steamed bun and kneaded it between her fingers.

Xie Yan looked at her expression and knew that she didn't take it to heart, and a hint of disappointment appeared in her eyes.

He reached out, lifted her chin, and gently turned her face towards him, begging her to look at him.

When their eyes met, he only saw the annoyance in her eyes.

His heart clenched instantly, and bitterness spread throughout his body.

He knew that her lack of resistance was simply because Cheng'er was there.

It wasn't submission; feeling the delicate touch of his fingertips, his gaze fell on her red lips, and sadness flickered in his eyes.

A subordinate came to report, "Prince Jing, the Emperor and Consort Wei have already left through the North Gate. Can they leave now?"

"Have the guards lead the way until the Emperor's carriage is at the very front," Xie Yan instructed, reluctantly letting go of his fingers.

Still feeling uneasy, he mounted his horse and went to check.

Shen Nanzi withdrew her gaze and finished eating a steamed bun with a blank expression.

After searching around, Qinghe returned to the carriage and peeked out: "Your Highness, I didn't see the Grand Commandant's carriage."

"However, I saw Grand Commandant Shen accompanying the Emperor's imperial carriage."

When Shen Nanzi heard that her brother was here, she felt relieved. Perhaps there were too many carriages and Qinghe had misjudged him.

Shen Minghan, who was standing next to the emperor's carriage, was jogging beside it.

"You shall handle these thorny issues I have mentioned according to my ideas, and you shall work hard for three days."

Shen Minghan: "It is what I should do, Your Majesty. You can go hunting with peace of mind. Just remember to bring me back some game."

The Emperor laughed heartily, “Very well, I will personally shoot a wild animal for you, and return in three days to bestow it upon you.”

Shen Minghan slowed down a bit, "Your subject respectfully sees off His Majesty and Consort Wei."

The emperor's carriage quickened its pace and gradually moved away.

Shen Minghan turned around and walked towards the palace.

Imperial Censor Zhang leaned out of his carriage and asked, "Isn't Grand Commandant Shen going on the autumn hunt?"

Shen Minghan: "Yes! His Majesty has asked me to handle some important matters."

Aren't your wife and children going either?

"Political affairs are important."

"That's right." Imperial Censor Zhang nodded. "Then we'll have to trouble Grand Commandant Shen!"

Shen Minghan cupped his hands in greeting and quickly left.

＊

At noon, the autumn hunting party arrived at the foot of Shilin Mountain, thirty miles outside Luoyang City.

A large number of tents have already been set up on the flat terrain.

The emperor's tent was in the very center, and everyone else was distributed around it.

Beyond that, the imperial guards stood in three layers, protecting the emperor's safety.

Qinghe went to get the location of the tent at Prince Jing's residence, and then Shen Nanzi took Cheng'er there.

Looking at the tent, Shen Nanzi couldn't help but recall the ice skating banquet last winter.

Time flies so fast, almost a year has passed in the blink of an eye.

Shen Nanzi and her aunt were packing up the tent, but Cheng'er and his guards had already disappeared.

"She's probably gone to find the young master of the Wei family!" Auntie muttered as she tidied the bed.

Shen Nanzi tidied up her clothes. "Children are happiest when they come out to play. They don't have to go to school or practice riding and archery."

"Will His Highness Prince Jing be coming back to sleep tonight?" Auntie asked, hesitating as she held the cloth pillow in her hand, unsure whether to put it down or not.

Thinking about how frequently Prince Jing had been visiting Princess Jing's room these past few days, Auntie was always worried, fearing that she might have fallen into the same trap again.

"Never mind him!" Shen Nanzi said calmly, looking at his camphor wood chest.

Last year when we were ice skating, we made up a bed for him, but he didn't come and slept in a separate tent.

He'd better not come these next few days.

"Qinghe, go ask Wuying where Prince Jing's clothes trunk is being sent?"

He has a lot to do and has a special tent for handling his affairs.

Qinghe received the order and ran out.

A while later, Xie Yan lifted the curtain and appeared in the tent.

Shen Nanzi knelt on the felt carpet, still folding Cheng'er's little clothes in her hands. When she saw him enter the room, she raised her eyes.

"This is the tent of Prince Jing's residence. My clothing trunk will naturally be placed here!"

Xie Yan walked to her side, glanced at her aunt, and her aunt got up and quickly went out.

Silence fell over the tent.

Shen Nanzi glanced at the pair of black boots, bound with rope, and a section of calf was exposed between the crimson hem of her dress.

Suddenly, a weight came off my shoulder, and then my body was gently squeezed.

Xie Yan sat down next to her, resting his head on her shoulder, his voice filled with deep weariness, "So tired!"

Seemingly knowing that Shen Nanzi would move away, he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Don't go! Let me lean against you for a bit!"

His arms were like iron chains, and Shen Nanzi couldn't move them even if she wanted to. She could only be patient, but she didn't say a word.

They seemed to have nothing to say to each other.

Xie Yan had already realized that in the years before, their constant arguments and conflicts were all due to Shen Nanzi's one-sided pulling.

Now that she's stopped pulling at him, he's like a kite with a broken string, wanting to reconnect with her, but so powerless to do so.

If he doesn't contact her, it seems she'll never contact him again.

When he saw Qinghe go to find Wuying, his heart pounded like a restless young boy.

However, Qinghe's words were like a bucket of cold water, extinguishing the fire in his heart.

He leaned on her shoulder, saying he was tired, but the scent of her body and her soft waist made his heart, which had been extinguished, start beating fiercely again.

Time passed slowly, and the shadowless figure had been pacing back and forth outside the curtain several times. Something must have happened again, and he had to deal with it.

As he stood up, he remembered her rosy lips from earlier that morning. On a whim, he bent down and found that long-awaited sweetness.

Her lips and teeth seemed to swirl, drawing him in and making him fascinated.

Even though she tried her best to push him away, he still insisted on taking more.

Wuying outside couldn't wait any longer and walked back and forth almost ten times.

Just as I was about to speak out, I heard my own prince's painful cries from inside.

He swallowed the cry that was in his throat. What on earth was his prince doing?

Then, incredulous, Prince Jing's voice rang out, "Shen Nanzi, are you biting me?"

"I'm biting you, Xie Yan. Are you in heat?"

"You are my queen, if I don't send it to you, who else should I send it to?"

"If you want to send it, then send it to your second..." Then the sound was cut off, and the sound of clothes rubbing could be heard from inside.

After a while, they finally heard Princess Jing breathing heavily, "Get out of here and don't come in again."

Wuying's eyes widened!

"Fine, I'll get out!"

Damn it, his prince, who is usually so restrained, actually acted like this in front of the princess.

Could it be... that His Highness has really fallen for him?

Then he saw his prince come out of the tent.

He had a cut on his lip, and when he rubbed it with his thumb, there was still blood on his fingertip.

The lips still bore traces of lip rouge, glistening with moisture...

Most importantly, His Highness had a beaming smile on his face.

There were still several scratches on his cheeks.

For the past few years, he had always left the princess's room in a rage.

Wu Ying didn't look closely; Xie Yan's smile didn't reach his eyes, it was tinged with self-mockery, but more so with sadness.