Masquerade in Bridal Attire and Marry the Prince

122. A Breathing Spell

Translator: asassin

It took Du Chuxuan a long time to put Yuxing Tianrui to sleep. He sat by the bed and watched him in sleep for a long time. Then came a quiet sigh.

Considering the immense wealth of the imperial family, the world always thinks that only the ones with extremely good fortune could end up the crown prince, becoming the most respected person in Shenglan.

Yet nobody knew what Yuxing Tianrui had gone through to get to where he was today.

Du Chuxuan rubbed Yuxing Tianrui’s fingers as he sorted out his relationship with the emperor.

For a split second, the things that had puzzled him suddenly turned clear. It started when Yuxing Tianrui and him went missing at the military camp. As the crown prince, if anything happened to Yuxing Tianrui, the emperor shouldn’t have let members of the imperial family get their way.

No matter how powerful Shan Zhongli was, he was no equal to Yuxing Tianrui. That was what had long confounded Du Chuxuan. What aroused his suspicion was that the emperor claimed he was sick and couldn’t attend the court, so he couldn’t help Yuxing Tianrui.

The emperor didn’t help Shan Zhongli either. However, as the head of state, knowing that his son was still alive, even if he was beyond cure, his first reaction should have been giving his son justice. Instead, he sent a relative to the barracks, who almost robbed Yuxing Tianrui of all the credit.

What happened next was even more unbelievable, the sudden appearance of the third prince. However, from Du Chuxuan’s point of view, the third prince didn’t seem like someone who grew up away from the palace, uneducated. Even if it was true that the third prince was not as gifted, the timing of his appearance was too much of a coincidence.

Pondering, Du Chuxuan walked out of the room, not noticing when Luo Yi started to follow him.

“My Lord, if there is anything you want to ask, just ask me.”

Du Chu Xuan glanced at him. He knew why Luo Yi said that. The thought that Luo Yi used to work for Yuxing Tianrui’s father, his true father-in-law, was a big relief.

“Does the emperor know anything about Sect Luo?” This was what Du Chuxuan wanted to know the most right now. Immediately as he said this, he noticed that Luo Yi turned tense for a second.

“My Lord, your are right. The emperor has always been suspicious. Yet he only started to take action after the late master passed away when he couldn’t find the real edict which gave rise to his suspicion about the relationship between my late master and Sect Luo.” Luo Yi paused for a moment to think before continuing, “He keeps such a close eye on His Highness for he is worried that His Highness will get in touch with Sect Luo.”

After Yuxing Tianrui’s father passed away, Sect Luo had infiltrated the palace. After years of work, it was finally able to get in touch with Yuxing Tianrui, who was just a boy of no more than five years old. Calm and collected as he was, it still took him a long time to accept the fact.

No matter what the emperor had in mind, he was all that a caring father should be, at least in front of Yuxing Tianrui, giving him all the support that a boy needed to become a man.

That was why Yuxing Tianrui ordered the men of Sect Luo to get jobs in the real world and not act against the court as soon as he was in control. He had made up his mind that as long as the emperor did not overstep the bounds, he would act like he never knew anything about Sect Luo.

Although men of Sect Luo felt sorry for what Yuxing Tianrui had to do, in the end, they would always listen to him. They did not have any dissatisfaction with his order and followed it. That was why Sect Luo, with its rich heritage, would make an entire retreat overnight before Wulin noticed.

“What about Manlou?” Du Chuxuan stopped as he turned to the begonias in the courtyard, somewhat baffled, “Ever since the rescue of Shan Zhongli, Manlou seems to have a target.”

Luo Yi was flabbergasted, only at this moment did he realize that Du Chuxuan was different. At first, many people weren’t happy when Du Chuxuan became the Lord of Sect Luo. Although Luo Yi didn’t say it, he wasn’t that convinced with Du Chuxuan’s ability after all. Now, he was really impressed that Du Chuxuan could get a clear picture of the whole thing in such a short time.

“My Lord, Manchu has existed since the establishment of Sect Luo. It has always been a big trouble. But even the late lord wasn’t able to find out who was behind it. I only know that person seems to be close with relatives of the imperial family of Shenglan, but never gets in touch with anyone of the imperial family.”

Du Chuxuan squinted. Manlou was indeed peculiar. They say man struggles upwards and water flows downwards. That Manlou only contacted with relatives of the imperial family but not with those of the family aroused his suspicion that it really had something to do with the imperial family.

Taking a deep breath, he took a glance at the moon. “Remember, I didn’t ask you anything today.” As he spoke, he suddenly turned to Luo Yi. “I know you guys still consider Zi Zheng your Lord, but there are things you don’t need to tell him – he’s carrying too much load on his shoulder.”

Luo Yi bowed deeply towards Du Chuxuan, quietly. He had already made his position clear through his actions.

Du Chuxuan was relieved to see that.

When he woke up the next morning, Yuxing Tianrui opened his eyes in a daze, confronted with Du Chuxuan’s gaze.

“!” Instantly he remembered what a fool he had been last night, and his cheeks reddened, “You, you…”

Nothing else came out of his mouth except for “you”, the only word he managed to speak for a good while.

It was Du Chuxuan who opened his mouth first, rescuing him from that state of shame. “Don’t worry. I’ve told you that I’ll always be there for you.” He pulled Yuxing Tianrui into his arms and reassured him.

Yuxing Tianrui rested in Du Chuxuan’s embrace, unable to see his amused expression, finally calmed down. As he heard that from Du Chuxuan, he snorted, “You’d better keep your promise, if…” if I know you have second thoughts, I’d be the first to kill you.

He didn’t say that out loud. But oddly, Du Chuxuan understood him.

When the two of them finished breakfast as usual, a group of uninvited guests arrived. Du Chuxuan listened to the noise outside and thought: finally.

It was none other than the man from the patrol station, who came with a shouting crowd, looking for Du Chuxuan. The inn-keeper naturally stopped him.