CH 7

The ambiguous atmosphere was swept away and Gu Yan no longer had any more urges. He helplessly let go of Ye Zi, viciously dropped a “wait for me here,” and left the central room.

Ye Zi naturally wouldn’t actually listen to his words and stupidly wait for him. Looking through the cracks of the doors, he waited until Gu Yan was far away before strutting out the door. He had just passed through the courtyard when he heard the little gray sparrow calling him from afar.

The little gray sparrow flew over and landed on his shoulder.

Ye Zi said: “I’ve made you wait, let’s go now.” 

The little gray sparrow paused for a moment and asked him, “W-Where are we going?”

“Leave the Prince’s manor, didn’t we agree beforehand?” 

“But……” The little gray sparrow lowered its head.

If they left, then would it no longer be able to meet the person from earlier again? 

Noticing the little gray sparrow’s preoccupied look, Ye Zi reached out and poked it: “Little silly bird, what’s wrong with you?”

The little gray sparrow whispered: “N-Nothing……”

Ye Zi reached out and pulled the little gray sparrow off his shoulder, holding it in his hand: “Is this how someone looks if nothing had happened? Tell me exactly what happened. Who bullied you? Big brother will avenge you.” 

“……No one bullied me.” The little gray sparrow sat in Ye Zi’s palm. Its black jewel-like eyes stared at its small feet and felt embarrassed to voice the words in his little heart.

——It was too embarrassing to say that it felt attached just because someone had complimented it.

Ye Zi didn’t have the habit of prying into other people’s secrets. When he noticed that it didn’t want to tell him, he no longer asked any more questions. 

He led the little gray sparrow through the courtyard, but the little gray sparrow couldn’t help but ask: “Little leaf, who are those two people you met just now?”

“Xiao Min, Prince Yu’s son, and Gu Xuan, the Third Imperial Prince.” Ye Zi was angry at the mention of Xiao Min and said indignantly, “That Xiao Min is a playboy who spends his days drinking. He is surrounded by beauties all day long but is still greedy and insatiable. Just now, he wanted Gu Yan to send me to his manor.” 

The little gray sparrow couldn’t match those two people at all and thought that Ye Zi was talking about Gu Xuan. It opened its eyes wide in surprise: “He……how could he be such a person.”

“It’s all because of his father, Prince Yu, who spoiled him rotten.” Ye Zi said, “But thanks to his father’s control, he also doesn’t dare to do too much. Otherwise, I think he would actually steal girls left and right in broad daylight.” 

The little gray sparrow had heard stories of stealing girls. Most of those who stole young women were very bad men and many of the stolen girls could only wash their faces with tears every day, living a very poor life.

It shrank, bewildered and afraid.

That man looked so kind, how could he be such a terrible person?

Fortunately, it didn’t follow him. If it was snatched away and locked up, it could no longer fly around.

Ye Zi didn’t know the little gray sparrow’s thoughts and after complaining for a while, he added, “Fortunately, Gu Yan did not agree, otherwise, I wouldn’t have spared him.”

As he said this, he regretted it a little. After a pause, he added: “But he also isn’t a good person either.”

Thinking about what happened earlier, Ye Zi had a stomach full of fire.

That man was about to get married, but he still casually……flirted with others. It was their first meeting today and that person dared to be so reckless, he didn’t know how he acted in front of others. 

Previously, he thought he was clear-headed, but now he learned that the man was actually debauched.

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How wrong he was about him!

The little gray sparrow cocked its head: “Little leaf, your face seems to be red.”

Ye Zi froze for a moment and gritted with emphasis, “This is from my anger! My anger!” 

“……It’s even redder now.”

“Shut up!” Ye Zi pinched the little gray sparrow’s soft little head and firmly said, “Anyway, I don’t want to stay in the Prince’s manor at all now, let’s hurry up and leave while that guy is still busy.”

“But little leaf……”

“There are no ‘buts.’” Ye Zi interrupted him, “Since that bastard said he would marry the Princess Consort, he has not been attentive to me at all. He didn’t even water me today! Let him go enjoy himself with his Princess Consort, from now on, I have nothing to do with him!”

The little gray sparrow murmured: “……You seem to be growing grass on your head.”

Ye Zi said: “Ptouh, grass is growing on your head! How could you spout such nonsense?!”

“But……” The little gray sparrow stared at the top of his head. Two small sprouts slowly emerged from Ye Zi’s hair and the tips of the bright green sprouts gently trembled as Ye Zi spoke.

Ye Zi was stunned and immediately felt a familiar warmth gush out of his body.

——It was exactly the same as earlier when he was about to turn into a human.

“Oh no!”

Inside the study, the housekeeper held the list of accounts and compared them one by one with Gu Yan. Gu Yan demanded that everything be done in detail and no mistakes could be made in every arrangement. The two of them discussed for almost two hours before Gu Yan finally nodded his head.

“That’s good, go and prepare.”

The housekeeper nodded and was about to leave when Gu Yan suddenly called him back.

He thought for a moment and ordered, “Call that little servant girl Qiu Tang here.”

The housekeeper answered, “Yes.”

Gu Yan leaned back in his chair and gently brushed his fingers over the wedding banquet preparation list left by the housekeeper on the table.

He had waited too long for this day.

Gu Yan still remembered when he first met that person.

He was still living in the palace at that time and was spoiled rotten by his Imperial grandparents. Gu Yan had been smart since he was a child. He could finish his homework in half a day when others needed five days to complete it and spent the rest of his time having fun.

He had a group of eunuchs with him as he climbed trees and walls all day long for the fun of teasing people, and no one could control him.

The day the man was brought to him, he happened to climb an old Japanese pagoda tree to hunt for bird’s nests. He didn’t know martial arts at that time and couldn’t get down when he went up. In the end, he became so anxious that he didn’t know what to do.

As he fell from the tree, the man caught him.

But after catching him, the man actually dared to laugh at him.

Little Highness, if you can’t get down, call for help. There’s no shame in it. But now look, you’re crying in fear.  

Damn it, when did he cry?

From then on, the two of them had bad blood. Even if his Imperial grandfather told him that this was the guard chosen from dozens of people to protect him and that they would do everything together, it still didn’t ease the relationship between them at all.

Gu Yan hated him and even thought of many ways to tease him, but it was always easily resolved by the other party. Not only did they resolve it, but they also laughed at him for using this old trick again.

The more he looked at him, the more annoying the guy became.

But that annoying guy, without complaint, followed him around, patiently taught him kung fu, and even……protected him until the last moment of his life.

Gu Yan’s hand on the desk suddenly tightened, pinching deep folds out of the glossy rice paper. He took a deep breath and slightly closed his eyes.

In the past, he was wrong; he was too proud and too arrogant. From the time he had the idea of treason, he pushed himself step by step into the abyss of doom.

He lost everything he had, including that person.

Fortunately, he now had a second chance.

When Gu Yan led his troops to attack Chang’an, he was eventually defeated by Gu Xuan. After his death, his soul did not disperse and lingered in that land. He didn’t know exactly how long it took, but he met a person.

That person said that he could take him back to his teenage years and let him finish his life again to fulfill his wish.

More importantly, that person told him that his guard had also returned. His guard’s original body was an immortal plant and after returning to the past, he would change back to his original form and would need ten years before he could transform.

Gu Yan, who woke up from his thirteen-year-old body, found the small plant and brought it back to the Prince’s manor half-heartedly. He kept the promise, not knowing whether it was true or not, and just like that, ten years passed.

It wasn’t until today’s reunion in the Prince’s manor that Gu Yan finally believed that the person had not lied to him.

His little guard had really come back.

Now that he was back, he should never leave his side again.

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The only problem was that the man pretended not to remember what happened before, he really should be punished.

The knock on the door pulled Gu Yan out of his memories, “Come in.” The little servant girl Qiu Tang pushed open the door and came in.

Qiu Tang stood in the center of the study with her head hanging, twisting her sleeve with anxiety.

Gu Yan asked, “Qiu Tang, you didn’t tell anyone about what you saw today, right?”

Qiu Tang immediately replied, “No, this servant didn’t say anything.”

Gu Yan was silent for a moment and then asked, “Aren’t you curious about who he is?”

Without waiting for Qiu Tang to answer, Gu Yan tapped his fingers on the table and leisurely answered his own question, “He is Princess Consort Rui, your future master.”

Qiu Tang answered, “Yes, this servant understands.”

“Therefore, you can talk about what happened today.” Gu Yan was patient and said in a warm voice, “But when you talk about it, remember to be more clear with your words. This Prince is just enhancing my relationship with my beloved consort. Not anyone can enter my eyes and enter my heart.”

Qiu Tang: “……”

“What this Prince does in private with my beloved consort is reasonable and I will only do it to him alone.”

“I’m telling you all this because this Prince doesn’t want others to misunderstand. At that time, if there are any rumors that manage to enter his ears, it will make him angry.” 

Qiu Tang, who inexplicably got smacked in the face with romance: “……This servant understands.”

Gu Yan looked at her suspiciously: “Why are you not surprised at all?”

Qiu Tang was silent and replied in a low voice: “This servant……already knew about it.”

“Knew about what?”

“I knew……that the gentleman was Princess Consort Rui.”

Gu Yan raised his eyebrows, vaguely realizing something: “When did you find out that he was the Princess Consort?”

Qiu Tang hesitated for a moment and didn’t answer.

In the morning, she promised the Princess Consort that she would not tell the Prince about her discovery. But the Prince’s attitude at this moment seemed as if he didn’t care about this secret being discovered either.

Qiu Tang hesitated for a moment, not knowing whether she should tell him or not. 

Seeing that she wasn’t answering, Gu Yan’s eyes went cold: “Speak.”

Qiu Tang was so frightened that she fell to her knees and gave an honest account: “This morning, I went to water the immortal plant in Your Majesty’s room and bumped into His Highness. This servant didn’t do it on purpose, please forgive me, Your Majesty.”

“You bumped into him in my room?” Gu Yan narrowed his eyes suspiciously, and then, a smile slowly spread on his face.

“What did he say to you, tell me everything.”

********

The author has something to say:

Gu Yan: You still want to pretend that you don’t know anything? Too late, now I found out about it.

Ye Zi: ……….[Nothing to Say.jpg]