Watching Xu Nian'an make faces at him, Xue Qinghe felt a sudden chill and clenched his backside.
Could it be... could those two have something going on that I didn't know about?
It must have happened the last time they bathed together.
This was trouble.
Or perhaps...
Xue Qinghe narrowed his eyes, a barely perceptible glint of killing intent flashing through them.
Xu Nian'an hadn't noticed Xue Qinghe's subtle expression. He was still looking around, checking the area beside Xue Qinghe.
Especially the palace maids and eunuchs following behind him.
He was practically about to lift their skirts and check one by one.
"Damn, cousin, you old rascal. Don't you know why I came to your Tiandou Empire?"
"It was for that thing, wasn't it? I treat you like my own brother, and you treat me like a cousin, is that it?"
"Fine, fine, our bond's faded. Our feelings have grown cold."
???
Hearing Xu Nian'an's words and watching what he was doing, Xue Qinghe was utterly baffled.
Wait, perhaps there was no need to go to such extremes just yet.
Xue Qinghe kept his patience and asked tentatively, "Cousin, what exactly is the matter?"
"Ever since I returned to the Tiandou Empire from your Great Ming Kingdom, I've forgotten a lot of things. If there's something you want, you can just tell me."
At that, Xu Nian'an narrowed his eyes.
Ever since returning from the Great Ming Kingdom to the Tiandou Empire... he'd forgotten a lot of things?
Xu Nian'an had only spent a few days with Xue Qinghe, but in that time he'd made only two points clear.
I'll help you, we're family, and can you give me Xiao Xue?
A month had passed, but there was no way he'd forgotten both things, was there?
Or had he only remembered what benefited him?
Xu Nian'an had a vague feeling that something was wrong.
"What about your palace maid, Xiao Xue?"
At Xu Nian'an's words, Xue Qinghe's body visibly stiffened.
"Heh, it's a long story. Not long after we returned from the Great Ming Kingdom, her father passed away. She asked me for leave and never came back."
"I think the world outside the palace must have dazzled her."
"She wanted freedom, so I gave it to her."
At that, the corners of Xu Nian'an's mouth slowly lifted.
Good, good. Xu Nian'an could now be sure his guess was right.
Even if it wasn't, the evidence and the timeline made it almost certain.
Xu Nian'an trusted his instincts.
But he still needed to verify it. What was the best way?
There was no need to think about it. Obviously, they had to bathe together.
For Qian Renxue, even if he had to face the threat of that French-style black rod again, he wouldn't back down.
"Cousin, look. I got my clothes dirty eating the food you sent over this morning."
"How about we go to your palace, bathe together first, then head to this Hunting Festival?"
Hearing that, Xue Qinghe's mouth twitched repeatedly, but he still waved a hand.
"Let's not. Not right now."
"My father put me in charge of supervising this Hunting Festival. I'm afraid I can't leave for the time being."
"If you want to bathe at my palace, I can have one of my little eunuchs take you there."
"Think of it as an apology for his rudeness when he brought you breakfast this morning."
Xu Nian'an glanced at the pale-faced little eunuch, then immediately turned his head away.
"Cousin, you're not like you used to be."
"I remember you always did your best to grant my requests."
As he spoke, Xu Nian'an ran his hand down Xue Qinghe's perfect waist to his buttocks.
He hesitated, caught between pinching and not pinching. In the end, Xu Nian'an gritted his teeth.
"Mm... Cousin... what... what are you doing? Men and men shouldn't touch each other."
Xue Qinghe turned around and saw Xu Nian'an rubbing his fingers together with a suggestive look.
This time, it wasn't as firm as before. It was very soft, softer even than the palace maids who warmed his bed.
Xu Nian'an gave him a meaningful smile.
"Cousin, you weren't like this before."
After saying something suggestive, Xu Nian'an turned and climbed onto a horse Xu Fu had brought over.
He planted his left foot in the stirrup, pushed himself up, swung his right leg across, and mounted in one smooth motion.
"I'll come find you tonight. I hope you won't turn me away then."
"Hahahaha!"
After saying that, Xu Nian'an laughed loudly and rode off like a gust of wind, swiftly charging into the Royal Hunting Forest.
The Great Ming King's carriage quickly followed.
Watching Xu Nian'an ride away, Qian Renxue's expression gradually turned cold.
She didn't want to bathe together with Xu Nian'an like Xue Qinghe.
Even less did she want to reveal that her carefully planned replacement scheme had failed.
"Your Highness, everything's ready. As long as Xue Luochuan goes deep into the hunting forest, he'll never make it out alive!"
Just then, a man dressed in the uniform of the Tiandou Imperial Guards ran up beside Qian Renxue and dropped to one knee.
Wearing Xue Qinghe's face, Qian Renxue turned to him coldly.
"This time, there's one additional person in the plan. He's become a serious threat to our plans."
Whoosh—
At that, the man narrowed his eyes and raised his head.
"Who?"
Qian Renxue's face remained expressionless as she said, coldly, "The Great Ming King, Xu Nian'an!"
Why kill Xu Nian'an? Wouldn't his existence help the eldest prince secure the position of Crown Prince?
With Xu Nian'an's support—a kingdom with top-tier military strength and nearly five hundred thousand troops—who could threaten the Crown Prince's position, or even his future claim to the throne of the Heaven Dou Empire?
Unfortunately, Qian Renxue didn't see it that way.
Xue Qinghe needed Xu Nian'an's full support. That didn't mean Qian Renxue did.
As long as she killed all the other princes of the Heaven Dou Empire, Emperor Xue Ye would have no choice but to choose his eldest son.
So Xu Nian'an's support was completely useless.
Worse, Xu Nian'an had been too close to the Crown Prince before. Qian Renxue didn't know whether he had threatened their replacement scheme.
To avoid being exposed...
That one touch from Xu Nian'an was already enough to get him shot ten times over.
"Your Majesty, at twelve o'clock, there's a Lark just over a hundred years old."
On horseback, Xu Nian'an was looking around when Long Xiaoyao's voice drifted out from inside the carriage.
Xu Nian'an immediately stood up on his horse, nocked an arrow, and drew the bowstring to its full length.
Tweet—
"Aw, the internet lagged! I was so close. That one was almost dead!"
When Xu Nian'an was just over ten meters from the Lark, his arrow went wide. It didn't hit the bird; instead, the arrow made a peculiar sound as it flew past, startling the Lark.
The Lark slammed into a nearby tree, flapped wildly, then fell to the ground not far away.
"Almost, Your Majesty. That was a great shot. Next time, we'll get it."
Xu Fu's cheerful voice rang out.
Hearing that, Xu Nian'an turned from the front and hurried back.
"Great shot?"
"Can't you see my prey is injured?"
"Go after it, now!"
With that, Xu Nian'an abandoned his horse and walked into the carriage.
He was only here for the novelty of the Hunting Festival. Whether or not he caught anything could wait; the important thing was to keep himself in good spirits.
Clip-clop, clip-clop—
The carriage had been moving for quite a while, and Xu Nian'an had nearly fallen asleep.
Bang! Crash!
"Ass... assassin!!!"
With a cry, the voice abruptly fell silent.
Inside the carriage, Xu Nian'an's eyes snapped open.
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