"Your Highness, I caught you this time."
Zhang Lanhe finally saw Xie Huizhou in Capital City. He held his beloved tightly, refusing to let go.
Xie Huizhou landed in his arms and turned his head, only to find Zhang Lanhe lifting him up. Paying no mind to the weeds tangled around Xie Huizhou dirtying his luxurious clothes, he carried him inside.
Meeting again in Capital City after so long, Xie Huizhou saw the person he had missed for so long, the person he trusted most, and the tension that had gripped his body throughout the journey instantly eased.
Xie Huizhou waved the sword in his hand as though showing off a treasure, his eyes sparkling as he extended an invitation. "Imperial Preceptor, I came back to save you. Are you ready to elope with me?"
Xie Huizhou had said he would come back for Zhang Lanhe, and he had kept his word.
"All that matters is that you're back." Holding the lively Xie Huizhou, Zhang Lanhe was perfectly content. "As long as you wish it, Your Highness, I'll follow you wherever you want to go."
The urgent task was to dry off Xie Huizhou, who had spent half the day soaking in the lake. Being exposed to cold winds in drenched clothes could easily make him ill.
Zhang Lanhe could not bear to see Xie Huizhou suffering, confined to a sickbed.
The servants at the National Preceptor's Residence were already accustomed to seeing the Imperial Preceptor carry Xie Huizhou inside. They continued working as they watched him carry Xie Huizhou all the way to the bedroom, their expressions unchanged.
Perhaps because they had spent some time apart, the Imperial Preceptor and the Ninth Prince were growing more and more affectionate. That was a good thing.
When the Imperial Preceptor was