Chu Xuanzhen's pupils contracted slightly. His long fingers tightened, then relaxed before he seized Shen Yangge's wrist, pulled him into his arms, and swept him up.
The movement was so sudden that Shen Yangge had no time to react. He cried out, but before he could say anything, Chu Xuanzhen was already carrying him toward the hall's entrance.
Then he headed straight for Shen Yangge's courtyard, clearly knowing the way. At this point, Shen Yangge would have been a complete idiot not to know what Chu Xuanzhen intended.
Shen Yangge twisted Chu Xuanzhen's sleeve between his fingers, trying to make him calm down. "Your Highness, you mustn't!"
The nearby servants glanced up, then immediately lowered their heads, afraid that looking a second longer would cost them their eyes.
Once the two had left, however, the servants swiftly raised their heads again, openly staring and whispering among themselves. "Is His Lordship injured?"
"Why is His Highness carrying him?"
One maid murmured, "You don't understand, do you? His Highness and our lord have a special relationship. Haven't you heard that our lord is His Highness's trusted confidant?"
Someone objected, "Does being a trusted confidant mean doing that? I've never seen our lord act like this with anyone besides His Highness, not even General Xue."
"Whatever you say, General Xue and our lord do have a friendship. Besides, when His Highness ran into trouble before, our lord immediately returned to the capital to inform General Xue."
"At such a dangerous time, General Xue risked being branded a rebel and sent troops north without hesitation. With that kind of bond, surely our lord and General Xue must be close too!"
The others chimed in. "Exactly! Rumor has it that both General Xue and Second Young Master Xue are on good terms with our lord."