C117

By the time King Xuan returned to the manor, it was already very late.

There was a lamp burning in the room, and a lantern hanging on the long corridor. Princess Xuan sat quietly under the lamp, a piece of embroidery in her hand as she waited for King Xuan to pass the time. It was impossible to count how many nights she had sat in the lamplight waiting for her husband to come home, sometimes in the middle of the night, sometimes in the morning when no one came back and she had to sleep alone.

Familiar footsteps came from the corridor. Princess Xuan stopped her sewing and raised her head to look outside. Following the creaking sound of the door opening, King Xuan walked in.

A pungent smell of alcohol filled the entire room. Princess Xuan frowned slightly before standing up to serve King Xuan. She helped him take off his outer robes. His body was filled with the smell of alcohol, but there was still a lingering fragrance on his clothes. Princess Consort Xuan was a woman, a woman who was neither too stupid nor too smart, but even the stupidest girl would know what the scent of another woman on her husband's body meant. She sighed in her heart and calmly asked, "It's best if you don't drink too much in the future. After all, drinking too much will harm your body."

King Xuan glanced at his wife. "I understand. Why didn't you go to sleep earlier?"

"Which day didn't I wait until late into the night for you?" Princess Xuan laughed self-deprecatingly. "It's quite late. You should get some rest."

"Yes."

King Xuan laid on the bed very casually. His eyes were wide open as he stared at the glazed lamp on the roof of the room. He couldn't sleep at all. Under his gaze, Liu Li slowly transformed into Xiao Tianyin. Thinking back to the moment when he kissed her today, King Xuan felt his entire body soften. What a memorable kiss. It was just that she seemed to be very unwilling, how great would it be if she could accept it! He couldn't help but let out a long sigh.

Princess Xuan also lay down. When she heard King Xuan's soft sigh, she knew that he had something on his mind. He had originally intended to not ask him, but he couldn't help but ask, "Does King Xuan have something on his mind?"

King Xuan pretended not to hear his wife's question and turned his back to her. Right now, he only had Xiao Tian Ying in his heart. Any woman was like passing clouds in his eyes. Ever since he met Xiao Tian Ying, even Ruyu rarely left. The more he wanted to fall asleep, the more he couldn't sleep. When he opened his eyes, it was as if Ying Ying was right before him. When he closed his eyes, Ying Ying was even closer to him. After flipping three times like this, he was unable to sleep at night. He only fell into a deep sleep when the sun started to rise.

Princess Xuan was still in a drowsy state. When she heard King Xuan get up, she opened her eyes and asked, "Your highness, you're up so early. Do you need to go out for something?"

Duke Xuan could only let out an indistinct sound from his nose as he opened the door and walked out.

Princess Xuan quickly got up and washed her face and rinsed her mouth. When she got up and rushed to the courtyard, she saw King Xuan ordering people to lead a horse outside. This horse looked very unfamiliar, and the saddle he wore did not seem to be something that only existed in the Xuan King's Manor.

King Xuan was pulling the reins from the servant at home, and then he patted the horse's neck in a pampering manner. His eyes revealed a very strange expression, and his gaze seemed especially gentle.

Princess Xuan was too familiar with such an expression. It was only when he saw someone or something he liked that he would have such an expression. Could it be …

At this time, it was still early in the morning. There were cold stars in the west horizon that were hidden in the clouds, and these stars were so beautiful that they reminded him of Ying Ying's eyes. He wanted to borrow the horse's name to go to the Xiao manor, but now, it was still early, and he did not know if Ying Ying had woken up yet.

As he thought of this, he headed in the direction of the Xiao manor.

The main gate of the Xiao manor was tightly shut. It seemed that the people inside had not woken up yet. The sound of chickens chirping could be heard from afar. There were not many people walking on the main street either. King Xuan dismounted and stood silently by the stone lion in front of the Xiao manor's entrance. Since he was already here, how could he leave so easily? No matter what, he had to meet Ying Ying today. Of course, being a horse was the best excuse.

After a while, he saw the main gate of the Xiao manor open. Servants had come out to buy daily necessities. King Xuan quickly turned around. He didn't want the Xiao manor's people to see him so early.

After a while, there were more and more pedestrians on the street. Only then did King Xuan turn around. Just as he was hesitating, he suddenly saw a shadow flash by and someone else walk out from the front door. This person was wearing a light blue lily dress and had a hair hairpin with Tilly stuck in the middle of the clouds.

King Xuan was so excited that his heart nearly jumped out of his throat. In front of her, he was like a youth that had just opened his heart. He had young and innocent emotions that were so sincere that even he himself was surprised!

"Ying Ying, I've come back on horseback." he said to her, and tried to keep his voice calm.

Ying Ying clearly hadn't expected to see him at this time. She revealed a shocked expression and quickly glanced at her before asking in embarrassment, "Duke Xuan, why are you up so early?"

"Aren't you the same?" King Xuan could not suppress his excitement, and the corners of his lips curled up to form a smile that would send people into action.

Ying Ying was stunned for a moment before asking her family to bring the horse back. Then, she said, "I have something to attend to today and am about to leave. If there is anything that Prince Xuan wishes to talk to my big brother about, I will take my leave first." As he spoke, he turned around and rode his horse, leaving the area.

"Sigh …" As he watched Ying Ying ride away, King Xuan felt as if he were worried about something. Suddenly, he caught sight of someone passing by the Xiao Residence on a horse, and reached out to stop him. "Please dismount," he said as he took out a silver note from his pocket.

The man jumped off the horse, but before he knew what was going on, he saw King Xuan slip the banknotes into his arms, then snatch the horse and leave. Only when King Xuan's figure disappeared into the distance did that person come back to his senses. The banknotes in his hands were five hundred taels of silver. That person was so happy that he couldn't even close his mouth. He thought that he had met a lunatic. Because his horse was only worth a hundred taels of silver at most, but he did not expect to earn a few hundred taels in the blink of an eye.

From the looks of it, she was heading towards the east. Could it be that she was still heading towards the Rong King's Manor today, and this made her even more anxious in her pursuit? After turning around two streets, she finally caught up to Xiao Tian Ying?

"Ying Ying, wait a moment," King Xuan caught up and smiled at her. "Where are you going in such a hurry?"

"Why is it you again?" A look of displeasure appeared on Ying Ying's face as she snappily replied, "It doesn't seem to have anything to do with you whether I go or not!"

"Your business is my business. How can you say it's not my business?" King Xuan turned a blind eye to her attitude and answered in all seriousness.