Prince Liang Chen lay on the bed staring at the ceiling. His mind kept circling around the words of Ji Mingyuan. The more he thought about it, the more suffocated he felt. The room suddenly seemed too small, his space invaded, not to mention the faint scent of sandalwood the other man carried, which refused to disperse.
Above him, the system flickered faintly again.
[Emotional Bond: 5% → 5.2%]
Liang Chen hissed and turned to the other side, now facing the wall. Even his anger now seemed to feed the so-called bond. It only angered him further, making his hate for the other man grow stronger.
The night was quickly seeping in, and tiredness gnawed at his body, but his mind was too occupied to let his weary bones rest.
"I'd rather be condemned with you than crowned without…"
The words echoed like a broken relic, a curse he dared not utter, yet here he was, repeating the same words in his mind far too many times to count.
"I should hate him… I hate him," he whispered to himself.
But his heart spoke another language. At the thought of Ji Mingyuan, his breath hitched, his lips trembled with a thousand questions, and his mind grew too fuzzy to form full sentences. Liang Chen's chest tightened; maybe it was hate… or whatever, but it had to be hate.
By the corner of the room, Shuming watched his master with keen eyes. Every move, gesture, and expression did not escape his notice. The way Liang Chen turned, the way his lips murmured incoherent words as though fighting an inner battle—it all made Shuming uneasy. But it wasn't his place to comment, so he remained quiet.
The birds chirped outside the window. A fresh breeze blew through the curtains, and sunlight peeked through the cracks.
A gentle knock echoed, and Prince Liang Chen stirred lazily on the bed.
"Come in," he muttered, brushing his hair back messily.
Shuming entered with a tray of freshly brewed tea and some fruit. Liang Chen sat absentmindedly, his eyes darting toward the door, but his thoughts were elsewhere. Shuming slowly set the tray on the table and turned to leave, but the unsettling sight of his master couldn't be ignored.
He opened his mouth to say something, but quickly shut it.
"Speak," Liang Chen hissed from the bed, staring fiercely at him.
At first, Shuming was startled. He jolted a little under the intense gaze of his master.
"My… my prince, it's nothing," Shuming stammered, but Liang Chen wasn't buying it.
He was still clad in his nightwear, a white silk shirt and pants that complemented his skin effortlessly. Yet his eyes carried heavy bags from lack of sleep.
"Speak," Liang Chen urged further.
Shuming sighed inwardly and gave in. "The Empress has fallen ill. She's said to be seriously unwell after the violent confrontation yesterday, and the ministers are in an uproar. And the Crown Prince…"
Liang Chen's face instantly lit up as though he had won a million jade pendants. He was happy someone else was having a bad day for once.
"So, I brought sickness to Yelan before sunrise, destabilized their well-rumored classic court, and made that green-eyed devil—" Liang Chen halted. His hand slowly went to his lips, his gaze sharpening. He had said too much, and the way Shuming stared at him told him he'd been caught.
"Ji Mingyuan," Liang Chen corrected himself, but the damage was already done.
"By the way, what did you say happened to Ji Mingyuan? Has he, too, fallen under the effect of my presence?" Liang Chen half-joked.
Shuming sighed inwardly. How he wished he could tell the prince more, how the Crown Prince had protected him in court, and how the session had dragged late into the night until Ji Mingyuan stumbled back to his quarters in exhaustion. How he had secretly sent men to watch and protect Liang Chen, even from the shadows that never whispered his name.
"The prince returned late to his quarters," Shuming finally said. "The court session lasted way into the night. The ministers demanded he hand you the divorce papers."
Liang Chen's lips curled dangerously.
"A divorce paper, you say?" His voice was cold, almost amused.
Shuming could only nod but said nothing more.
Liang Chen's morning couldn't have been any better. He had a swift bath and wore dazzling blue pants and a white top. The air around Yelan wasn't bad, and from his balcony, the view was outstanding, just like back home.
Sitting in the courtyard behind his quarters, admiring the fishes' dance in the pond, his smile never faded. His eyes were fixed on them. He had something similar back home, one he'd built with the help of Eunuch Shen.
At the thought of him, Liang Chen sighed deeply. "I wonder how he's doing," he muttered. Behind him, Shuming could only nod.
Silence followed, but not for long. Voices echoed from a distance, growing louder by the second.
"All we have to do is make sure Ji Mingyuan gives him a divorce letter," one voice whispered.
"Yes, and if he insists on keeping a male around him, we can always pick one of the duke's sons. They're well-mannered and of good upbringing," another voice added.
Liang Chen sat quietly and watched them turn the corner. Their eyes nearly popped out of their sockets upon seeing his refined self.
"M-my prince!" the ministers stammered, cold chills running down their spines.
"What's wrong?" Liang Chen asked, but no one dared utter another word.
"Come on, you two were just having a conversation. Care to fill me in?"
The ministers immediately fell to their knees.
"My prince, we're sorry; it was a mistake."
"No, I mean a slip of the tongue!" another added quickly.
Liang Chen's lips curled, and his eyes darkened. He turned to Shuming, who was panicking by his side.
"I am the prince of Yunzhou. What better candidate can there be, if not me?" he whispered coldly.
The ministers quickly nodded. "Yes… sure! Only you can be the consort of our prince!" they chorused, their bodies trembling against the floor.
"I would have had your heads, but I am newly married, and this should be a glamorous time for me and my, "
Liang Chen paused. His eyes darted to the balcony, and there Ji Mingyuan stood.
"husband," he completed the sentence.
Ji Mingyuan's lips stretched slightly, and Liang Chen rolled his eyes.
"Flog them," he ordered.
Before the ministers could beg or protest, he was gone, but his words remained.
"I may be a man, but I am still the pride of Yunzhou, married or not."
Ji Mingyuan watched as the ministers trembled and screamed in pain while lashes fell on their backs. They caught sight of him; their eyes begged for mercy but they received no orders, not to them, not to the guards who continued their duty.
Their cries sounded like music to Liang Chen's ears. The Prince of Yunzhou walked back into his room smiling, a sweet chuckle ringing through the building.
Liang Chen did not join the prince on the balcony. Instead, he walked over to the window, where a soft couch sat, perfect for reading. He settled down and picked up one of the scrolls Shuming had placed there.
Ji Mingyuan walked back in, but Liang Chen neither rose nor appeared to notice his presence.
"Flogging the ministers will only bring more chaos," Ji Mingyuan whispered. "The court is already in turmoil."
"As expected. You sowed your own rebellion," Liang Chen replied flatly, his eyes fixed on the scroll.
"Why don't you want to see reason with me? Liang Chen, we can't be divided, not now," Ji Mingyuan murmured, running his fingers through his hair as he removed his crown, letting his unboned strands fall messily yet beautifully behind him.
"Mingyuan." Liang Chen finally lifted his gaze toward the man before him. "I do not know what you speak of, but I will certainly not be used as a shield for your war against your family."
Mingyuan opened his mouth but then stopped. He stepped closer, leaned down, his eyes burning into Liang Chen's.
Liang Chen tried to step back, but a hand caught his collar, pulling him closer.
"Then be my sword," Ji Mingyuan whispered.
And for the first time, Liang Chen sensed sincerity in his words, not anger, not rage, not hate… not vengeance.
Above them, the system flickered faintly again.
[Emotional Bond: 5.2% → 16%]