Damn it! Sure enough, when you owe someone favors, even defending your own rights somehow turns into unreasonable arguing!
Ning Xuan sighed helplessly and could only nod in defeat. He would endure it all.
“He usually sleeps by around midnight at the latest, though there are exceptions sometimes.” Yi Xuan glanced at Ning Xuan and grinned suggestively, clearly implying you know what I mean. But Ning Xuan only broke out into a cold sweat, wondering what that was supposed to mean… “Master doesn’t have any particular preferences when it comes to food, though he seems to dislike sweets. As for tea, he drinks Dongting Biluochun brewed at about eighty percent heat.”
After rambling on for quite some time, Yi Xuan finally remembered that even slacking off had its limits and hurriedly patted his backside before leaving.
Firmly believing in the principle that “the masses see things most clearly,” Ning Xuan squeezed all the information he could out of Yi Xuan, then went one by one to Yi Shu, Yi Ji, Yi Guang, and Yi Quan to fill in the gaps and verify everything.
Looking at the neatly organized notes in his hands, written in modern simplified Chinese characters, the brushstrokes unexpectedly formed an elegant clerical script. In a modern age corrupted by computers—where people could type fluently but held a pen like a cripple—it would have been considered exceptionally beautiful handwriting. Of course, Ning Xuan wasn’t being smug about it. First, he needed the notes because his memory was honestly terrible even by his own standards. Second, they were meant only for his own reference. Even if someone else discovered them, they wouldn’t understand a thing, which would avoid unnecessary trouble.
Walking through the corridor with a teacup in hand, Ning Xuan silently recited the “mental checklist” he had already memorized by heart while smiling to himself on the way toward the study. The sun was already high overhead. Yet Ning Xuan remained blissfully unaware that spending the entire morning gathering information had left him walking straight into the tiger’s den like a sheep delivering itself to slaughter…
Calculating that the prince should soon be returning from morning court, Ning Xuan quickened his pace toward the study. He planned to prepare everything in advance before Feng Xuanyi returned, creating a warm and comfortable work environment so the prince wouldn’t have to ask for anything himself later and become irritated waiting for it. Unfortunately, it turned out Ning Xuan wasn’t the only one rushing back to prepare the study ahead of time. The consequence of not watching where he was going was crashing full-force into another “unlucky bastard” who also wasn’t paying attention.
Thinking that anyone appearing in the main courtyard at this time and place—and restrained enough not to explode at him immediately—could at most only be the steward, Ning Xuan cared far less about the fellow “victim” than the teacup in his hands. Inside it was nearly boiling water. If it spilled, the only one getting scalded and skinned alive would be himself.
With that thought, Ning Xuan focused entirely on protecting the teacup. Somehow, his body suddenly lightened. His toes tapped lightly against the ground as he forcibly pulled back his tilting center of gravity and steadied himself. To Ning Xuan, the cup merely lurched violently, but the water’s movement shifted from front-to-back to side-to-side—and astonishingly, not a single drop spilled. Even Ning Xuan secretly marveled at his own flexibility and balance. Such twisted, dangerous movements had actually allowed him to reverse disaster itself. But when he looked up, he found himself staring into a collection of utterly stunned faces, jaws hanging open. Ning Xuan immediately broke into awkward embarrassment. Had his movements really been that exaggerated…?
What Ning Xuan didn’t know was that the series of movements he had just performed flowed together as smoothly and flawlessly as drifting clouds and flowing water. Ordinary people would only think it looked impressive, almost dance-like. But anyone with even a little martial arts knowledge would recognize the footwork immediately. With those lightness skills, he could probably run across water without leaving a ripple.
Only afterward did Ning Xuan realize the real issue wasn’t the shocked expressions—it was the fact that the shocked people were Yi Heng and Yi Guang! These were the only close attendants around the prince permitted to leave the estate with him. Ning Xuan slowly lifted his gaze and met Feng Xuanyi’s dark eyes. Perhaps it was because of the dark crimson official robes, but at this moment Feng Xuanyi looked incomparably noble and imposing, impossible to read.
Ning Xuan froze. At this hour, shouldn’t Feng Xuanyi still be attending court? Even if court had ended early, he should still have been on the way back. So how had he appeared here so perfectly at the exact moment Ning Xuan crashed into him? More importantly, when the collision happened, Ning Xuan’s first instinct had been to save the teacup.
His face instantly flushed red with embarrassment. He felt mortified that, in front of the very person he was trying to impress, he had unconsciously made such a “choice,” one that seriously damaged his image score. In a sudden heat-of-the-moment impulse, completely forgetting rank and propriety, he shamelessly plastered on a flattering grin, took two quick steps forward, and eagerly offered over the teacup he had just risked his life to protect.
“Your Highness returned so early today! Why didn’t you send word ahead of time? You must be thirsty by now, right? This is this year’s tribute Dongting Biluochun tea. Would Your Highness like to try some?”
A cold wind swept through the courtyard, making everyone present shiver instinctively. Yi Heng and Yi Guang, standing behind Feng Xuanyi, still had their mouths hanging open. Earlier, they had merely been shocked. Now they felt mostly horror and fear. If possible, they wished they could disappear on the spot—or at least retreat five whole steps away.
In his overheated excitement, Ning Xuan had absolutely no idea how bizarre his words sounded. Leaving aside the fact that he had offended the prince without realizing it and still showed no remorse, just the suggestion that the prince should send someone ahead to notify him before returning home was enough to exterminate nine generations of a family and still be considered too light a punishment. Feng Xuanyi was a prince. Ning Xuan was a servant. Why would a prince need to notify a servant before returning to his own residence? Let alone inform him of the exact time.
What was even more outrageous was the setting. Ning Xuan had effectively blocked the prince outside the study and expected him to stand there drinking tea in the chilly autumn wind. Truly something unheard of and unseen before.
And what made everyone’s jaws drop even further toward complete mental collapse was that Fifth Prince Rong, Feng Xuanyi himself, merely raised an eyebrow and accepted the teacup. He then calmly drank the tea right there in the middle of the courtyard. After finishing, he even gave a serious concluding evaluation:
“Not bad.”
Feng Xuanyi lowered his head slightly and looked down at Ning Xuan, who was smiling brightly like sunshine itself. A mysterious smile tugged at his lips. Thinking about the possible reason for Ning Xuan’s sudden transformation, Feng Xuanyi nearly suffered internal injuries from suppressing laughter once again. Rather than explain anything, he preferred to continue watching what would happen next. Besides, he had no intention of clarifying the misunderstanding. One of the reasons he had returned early today was precisely because he wanted to see whether a certain someone would turn Prince Rong’s estate upside down during his absence.
Receiving Feng Xuanyi’s silent command, Yi Heng and Yi Guang felt as though they had been granted amnesty. They no longer needed to enter the study they were normally so accustomed to. Avoiding it as though it were plague-ridden, the two willingly remained outside in the chilly late-autumn breeze as dutiful door guardians.
Feng Xuanyi and Ning Xuan entered the study one after the other. The instant he stepped through the doorway, Feng Xuanyi realized he had greatly overestimated both his own endurance and Ning Xuan’s mental wiring. Looking at the tea and snacks carefully arranged on the table, along with the chairs and couch deliberately padded extra thick and soft, Feng Xuanyi felt the veins at his temples begin throbbing violently.
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