Yang Wenbao had found out that Zhou Yequan indeed liked to be alone.
"I think I have only ever seen his attendants when they bring his meals, or when they were carrying the bath tub into his room... ."
Yang Wenbao never stayed around when Zhou Yequan had his bath, of course. He did not have such a weird hobby.
"Huh?" Yang Wenbao felt his nose stung a bit, and he inadvertently brushed it with his fingers. He was baffled when he saw scarlet blood on his finger after he gave his nose a gentle wipe. He furrowed his brows as he cleaned his nose with a piece of muslin handkerchief he had brought along.
"The air isn't even that warm, and I feel fine. What the heck has made my nose bleed? What was I thinking about?"
Throwing it to the back of his mind, he helped himself towards Zhou Yequan's courtyard. Lately, Zhou Yequan's servants had been letting Yang Wenbao come and go as he pleased. Zhou Yequan had most likely instructed them to.
Yang Wenbao's lips were immediately lifted in an involuntary smile when he was able to see Zhou Yequan through the opened window. The prince was idly strumming his zither, a habit that Yang Wenbao noticed whenever he was lost in thought.
As soon as Yang Wenbao passed through the door, however, Zhou Yequan immediately took notice, "Brother Wenbao?"
He walked closer, "Mmn. It's me." It had been a couple of days since he last saw Zhou Yequan as they were his free days. As soon as he entered the Palace ground in the morning, he was immediately escorted to the court to discuss about the military expedition against Western Jia and the eastern lands.
However, as he got close enough to observe Zhou Yequan properly,Yang Wenbao immediately felt aggrieved. Why was Zhou Yequan looking more wane than when Yang Wenbao had left him a couple of days ago?
Yang Wenbao immediately grabbed Zhou Yequan's arm, wanting to feel both his pulse and his forehead, in case the latter was feeling sick. However, because Zhou Yequan was sitting, and Yang Wenbao was standing, the portion of skin that was initially hidden behind Zhou Yequan's sleeves came into view when the sleeves rolled back.
On the fair arm, were few traces of red, not unlike the insect bites he had seen back at the temple.
Yang Wenbao was angry, "You... how are your servants doing their job? It's one thing at the temple, but how can a Prince's room be full of blood-sucking insects? You really should punish them!"
Zhou Yequan immediately retracted his arm, fixing his sleeves. He touched the zither softly with his fingers once more, his gaze hidden under his long lashes. The slight quiver of those feather-like lashes caused the itch to appear in Yang Wenbao's heart again.
"It's... really not the servants' fault," Zhou Yequan muttered, "The insects... are mighty."
Before Yang Wenbao could rebuke him, Zhou Yequan smiled, "Brother Wenbao. You are late. What has delayed you?"
Yang Wenbao then told of the Emperor's summons and the outcome of the discussion from earlier. However, Zhou Yequan's face immediately paled when he heard that Yang Wenbao were to leave along with Yang Liyuan to Western Jia,
"You can't leave!"
Attributing Zhou Yequan's fluster to worry, Yang Wenbao chuckled, "I cannot not leave. It's a decree already. Besides, what are you worried about? Two years ago, I returned to Western Jia just fine."
Although two years ago, he was still a fat round ball, and the original Yang Wenbao had only managed to leave him with an intact body purely on luck.
YOU ARE READING
Because It's You
General FictionPark Jeong Hyeon did not have any regrets. He had lived his whole life adhering to the principles behind the name that he had been bestowed with. ['Jeong 正'] which means 'right/proper'; ['Hyeon 현'] which means 'bright'; He was intelligent, never exp...
