The small courtyard where Huo Kangshou was confined was directly opposite Zhao Mian’s residence. In the dead of night, if one strained their ears, they could catch some louder movements.

Though Huo Kangshou was imprisoned, he knew that neither the Nanjing people nor the Wei dog would kill him before obtaining clues to the Western Xia treasure. Since he had fallen into the enemy’s trap, he had to maximize his usefulness.

Huo Kangshou endured the pain, leaning against the wall, painstakingly inching towards the window. He opened a small crack and peered across.

What he saw truly brought him immense satisfaction.

First, he saw the Wei dog knock on Xiao Jue’s door. Not long after he entered, sounds of a struggle emanated from the room.

The candlelight perfectly cast the silhouettes of the two inside onto the window. One wielded a sword, frequently attacking, while the other dodged and retreated, simultaneously seizing an opportunity to snatch the long sword from the opponent’s hand. Then, one hand held the sword, and the other… wrapped around the opponent’s waist, pulling them into an embrace?

Huo Kangshou was somewhat shocked, but he quickly found an explanation.

No, it must be an issue of perspective. The Wei dog must have delivered a heavy punch to the Nanjng man’s stomach.

In any case, the Wei dog and the Nanjing envoy were indeed fighting, and the battle was fierce. His painstaking efforts and counter-scheme had paid off.

Huo Kangshou felt greatly relieved. He wanted to watch a bit longer, but unfortunately, the candlelight in the room suddenly extinguished, and the two silhouettes on the window vanished with it. Huo Kangshou waited patiently for a moment, but no other sounds followed.

Could it be that the Wei dog intended to kill him to silence him? If so, the grudge between Beiyuan and Nanjing would be irrevocably sealed.

Huo Kangshou returned to his bed, closing his eyes contentedly. His scheme of sowing discord had, in the end, been effective. Excellent, excellent.

What Huo Kangshou didn’t know was that half an hour later, the light in Zhao Mian’s room lit up again.

The sudden light made Zhao Mian extremely uncomfortable. He instinctively narrowed his eyes, trying to shield them with the back of his hand, but his wrist was held. Zhao Mian sat on Wei Zhenfeng’s lap, complaining discontentedly: “So bright… what do you want to do?”

Wei Zhenfeng said, “I want to look at you.”

The candlelight wasn’t actually very bright, only illuminating a small overlapping area of the two. Zhao Mian was bathed in candlelight, his gaze unfocused, his lips slightly parted, his cheeks and the tip of his nose red. There was still a hint of teary moisture at the corners of his eyes.

Wei Zhenfeng’s breath hitched.

“Enough, Wei Zhenfeng.” It was hard to say whether Zhao Mian’s voice conveyed pain or pleasure, but even at a moment like this, his words were still commanding and threatening: “Don’t make it any bigger.”

Wei Zhenfeng: “…”

Zhao Mian imperiously ordered: “I told you to make it smaller, are you deaf?”

Wei Zhenfeng raised a hand and brushed Zhao Mian’s long hair, which had fallen across his chest, behind him: “How about you just don’t talk anymore?”

…

When Zhao Mian woke again, his vision was finally no longer blurry. For a moment, he even felt… a little unaccustomed to it?

Zhao Mian closed his eyes again, feeling repeatedly, and after confirming there was nothing inside him, he murmured, “Finally, is it over?”

After he spoke, Zhao Mian heard a muffled chuckle.

“Yes, yes,” Wei Zhenfeng’s voice carried a rare hint of languor from lack of sleep, “it’s over.”

Zhao Mian looked towards the bedside. The impeccably dressed young man raised his hand and greeted him: “Good morning, Crown Prince.” Zhao Mian observed Wei Zhenfeng’s neat attire and high ponytail, asking in a hoarse voice, “You went out?”

“Yes, I went to find you some food.”

Only then did Zhao Mian notice the table filled with food: freshly made rice porridge and various delicate steamed dishes, all his usual breakfast items. Wei Zhenfeng sat at the table, serving him rice porridge into a bowl: “Come, have some?”

Zhao Mian lifted the covers, glancing down at himself: “Did you clean me up?”

“Of course.” Wei Zhenfeng said solemnly, “I, Wei Zhenfeng, never fall in the same place twice.”

Zhao Mian could indeed feel that his body was tired, but not sticky, quite refreshed. He nodded in satisfaction, “You’ve definitely improved a lot.”

The praised young man smiled: “I told you I’d learned, but you didn’t believe me.”

Zhao Mian looked at him: “But why aren’t you carrying me to eat?”

Wei Zhenfeng paused slightly: “I need to carry you to eat as well?” This wasn’t written in the ‘Tales of Romance and Love’ either.

“My back is sore. I don’t want to move myself for now.” Zhao Mian paused. “You don’t want to carry me?”

“Of course not, I was worried you wouldn’t agree,” Wei Zhenfeng’s explanation carried a hint of panic he himself hadn’t detected. “With your temperament, if I carried you all the time, wouldn’t you think it would damage your prestige as the Crown Prince?”

Zhao Mian lowered his head, hesitating for a long time before admitting with great difficulty: “Actually, I quite like being carried.”

Wei Zhenfeng’s eyes widened suddenly.

Since the most embarrassing truth was out, the rest wasn’t so hard to say.

“I liked it a lot as a child. I liked being carried by my Father Emperor, and by the Prime Minister too. When I was a little older, I even liked carrying my younger brother,” Zhao Mian said slowly. “Later, when I grew up and understood the rules of etiquette, I rarely had such intimate contact with them.”

The last time he was embraced by a family member was when Zhao Mian was leaving home. His younger brother clung to him, unwilling to let go, begging him to return early. On the surface, he acted annoyed, but he liked it in his heart.

“Perhaps it’s innate?” Zhao Mian speculated to himself. “I don’t reject closeness with friends and family, it’s just a shame…”

He had grown into an adult, unable to act spoiled towards his Father Emperor as he did in childhood, nor could he cling to the busy Prime Minister. When facing Zhou Huairang and Bai Yu, he simply couldn’t bring himself to call them “Xiao Rang” or “Elder Sister.”

Before Zhao Mian finished speaking, his body lightened, as he was suddenly lifted by Wei Zhenfeng. Zhao Mian, caught off guard, instinctively wrapped his arms around the young man’s neck.

“You should have said so earlier!” Wei Zhenfeng chuckled. “If you had told me you liked being carried from the start, I’d have made sure you didn’t take another step, and if you did, I’d lose, alright?”

Zhao Mian let out a soft laugh, a rare absence of mockery in his tone: “If I’d told you earlier, you definitely would have mocked me.”

Wei Zhenfeng wanted to say he wouldn’t, but thinking it over, if he had discovered this contradictory side of the Nanjing Crown Prince when they first met, he probably would have mocked him. But now… he didn’t want to mock; he just wanted to laugh, laugh at what a precious treasure he had stumbled upon.

He carried the Crown Prince to the table, set him down on a chair, and then brought a fox fur cloak to drape over him: “Then why are you willing to tell me now?”

Zhao Mian had thought about this question before, and he quickly gave an answer: “Because I’ve already exposed myself to you, haven’t I? Since you like hearing the truth, what’s the harm in me telling you a few truths? It’s so tiring to always maintain the demeanor of a crown prince; an occasional day off isn’t excessive.” Zhao Mian paused, then said with determination, “Wei Zhenfeng, from now on, every time we go to bed, let’s try to tell each other the truth.”

“Alright,” Wei Zhenfeng said, looking at him, his eyes bright. “You know, Zhao Mian, when you said all that to me, for a moment, I actually had the illusion that I could do anything for you. It was terrifying.”

Zhao Mian would never be foolish enough to believe a man’s sweet talk right after sex. He glanced at Wei Zhenfeng, saying lightly: “Is that so? Then give me all of the Western Xia treasures.”

Wei Zhenfeng had anticipated Zhao Mian saying this and chuckled: “That’s why I said it was an ‘illusion.’ You’re very cute, but Beiyuan is also very important.”

Zhao Mian nodded: “Understood.” Wei Zhenfeng was dashing and talented, and Zhao Mian appreciated him. However, in the face of Nanjing’s interests, this appreciation was not enough to make him compromise.

The two were silent for a moment, then exchanged a knowing smile.

Wei Zhenfeng urged: “Let’s eat first. We can discuss serious matters after we’ve filled our stomachs.”

“In the study?”

“Or on the bed?” Wei Zhenfeng pointed to the heavy snow falling outside the window. “It’s very cold out there.”

Having expended a lot of energy last night, both were quite hungry. After eating their fill, the two young men returned to bed, sitting together under the same blanket… to discuss serious matters.

“To avoid future arguments over the Western Xia treasures, which could lead to animosity between Nanjing and Beiyuan, I suggest we clarify things now,” Wei Zhenfeng said directly. “After we find the Western Xia treasures, I get eighty percent, you get twenty. How about that?”

Wei Zhenfeng considered himself to be very generous. Western Xia was destroyed by them; as Huo Kangshou said, Beiyuan paid a huge price for it, with countless soldiers dying on the battlefield, and the national treasury emptied for years due to continuous wars, forcing them to increase taxes on the common people to compensate.

The Western Xia treasures should rightfully belong entirely to them. He was willing to give Nanjing twenty percent, firstly because Nanjing had provided them with provisions and military equipment during their attack on Western Xia, and secondly because they relied on Zhao Mian and Nanjing to find these clues. There were no personal feelings mixed in with this.

Before Zhao Mian could answer, he emphasized, “This time, I only did it once, so don’t bring up the number of times.”

Zhao Mian thought to himself, Your one time was as long as two times last month, so what’s the difference?

“What is Your Highness thinking?” When it came to serious matters, the Crown Prince’s old habits returned. Leaning against the Young Prince’s shoulder, he remained domineering, “How can such an important matter be mixed with bedroom affairs? I want fifty percent.”

Wei Zhenfeng laughed in exasperation: “The Crown Prince really is audacious. Fifty percent, how can you even say that?”

“Your Highness can consider it yourself,” Zhao Mian said unhurriedly. “However, I must remind Your Royal Highness that even if you manage to learn the location of the treasure from Huo Kangshou, you might not be able to enter without the ‘key’ that Xiao Rang is currently researching.”

Wei Zhenfeng was even angrier.

“It’s useless to tell me,” he said blandly. “This is too big a matter; I cannot make the decision.”

Things Wei Zhenfeng couldn’t decide on, Zhao Mian could simply do as he pleased without reporting to his Father Emperor or the Prime Minister. After all, the Prime Minister had said he could do whatever he desired outside the palace. This once again proved who was the favored child of their parents.

“In that case, Your Highness should communicate with Shengjing as soon as possible,” Zhao Mian lay back down under the covers. “I’m sleepy and want to sleep a bit more. Your Highness may do as you please.”

Wei Zhenfeng had intended to throw off the covers and leave, but recalling that he would have to wait another month to share a bed with Zhao Mian again, he hesitated for a long time. In the end, he rather stubbornly got out of bed and went back to the Beiyuan Embassy to write a memorial to the throne.

After finishing the memorial, he summoned someone to deliver it to Shengjing as quickly as possible. The person was the same young man who had previously been warned by Bai Yu about “excessive sexual activity” due to his recent marriage. Wei Zhenfeng saw that his nose was still dark and couldn’t help but sigh: “Affairs of the heart are indeed quite addictive, aren’t they?”

“Don’t worry, Young Prince, it’s not that exaggerated,” the young man said confidently. “I do it every day, and I haven’t seen myself get addicted.”

Wei Zhenfeng: “…Oh.”