Prince Yean chuckled, “Even if the tree wants to stand still, the wind will not cease. The trouble that should come will find us, no matter how we try to avoid it. Moreover… if I hadn’t accepted these three grand gifts, how would I know what the other party plans to do next?”
“Are you planning to… strike back later?” Prince Yean stood up, paced a few steps by the window, and commanded, “These next few days might be tough for you. Intercept all messages in and out of Cangzhou. Report any anomalies immediately.”
Xuanwu responded solemnly, “Yes.” As Xuanwu was about to leave, Prince Yean suddenly smiled, “Qinglong, have you heard enough hiding outside the window?”
A light scoff came from outside the window, followed by a figure darting in. It was an extremely handsome boy of seventeen or eighteen, who said lazily, “The prince talks too much. You’ve been talking for half a day but haven’t mentioned the most important thing.” He then glanced sideways at Xuanwu, “Xuanwu, you listened for half a day but didn’t dare to ask a single question. How restrained.”
Prince Yean smiled, “What do you want to ask?”
Qinglong rubbed his nose, “Prince, what exactly is this ‘Shanshui Yao’?”
Xuanwu also looked up, evidently very curious. The prince laughed, looking at the lethargic youth, “I’m not sure yet.”
“Even if the prince doesn’t know, I do.” Qinglong smiled proudly and glanced at Xuanwu, “The ‘Shanshui Yao’ is—”
Xuanwu couldn’t help but ask, “What is it?”
“It’s a treasure,” Qinglong said triumphantly. Xuanwu rolled his eyes but didn’t argue, knowing Qinglong was the youngest among the Four Guardians and favored by the prince, so he usually didn’t mind his antics. The prince, however, was very patient, “How did you find out?”
“Because I encountered four groups of people spying on this item when I returned to Shu Garden half an hour ago,” Qinglong said, pouting, “But rest assured, prince, they’ve all been dealt with.” Qinglong was still childlike at heart, and after a few words of praise from the prince, he got serious, “Qinglong, among the Four Guardians, you are in charge of defense. Now, due to ‘Shanshui Yao’, more and more uninvited guests will come. From today, you will lead your shadow guards to take full responsibility for the mansion’s security. If anything goes wrong, you might as well resign as a guardian.”
Qinglong and Xuanwu took their orders and left without further ado. That night, Prince Yean rested in Linjiang Pavilion. When he entered, Chuxia had already gone to sleep. At the Hour of the Rat, Prince Yean woke up naturally, and after a while, he heard slight noises outside. He thought… Chuxia was having nightmares again. He got up, put on his clothes, and sat by her bed as usual, about to touch her shoulder when he heard a ding outside the window. The prince’s gaze cooled, but he did not wake Chuxia, instead standing up and facing the glass window with his hands behind his back. The moonlight outside was dim, with thick clouds blocking all light. Another ding sounded. A very fine arrow shot from outside, heading straight for the prince’s forehead with incredible speed, unseen before by Prince Yean. He flicked his finger, and the arrow fell silently to the ground. However, his expression did not relax; more arrows followed, each from different angles, making evasion nearly impossible. Just as he was about to act, Chuxia screamed behind him, a sound of terror from her worsening nightmares. His mind shifted, ignoring everything else, he turned to check on her. He managed to deflect three arrows, but the last one, as he bent to embrace Chuxia, narrowly missed his ear, striking the wall with a ding, its tail still trembling.
“Chuxia… is just dreaming…” Prince Yean met her wide-open eyes, softly comforting, “Don’t be afraid, it’s just a dream.” No more arrows came from the window. Chuxia, still in a daze, looked at the prince for a moment, perhaps really thinking it was a dream, and obediently closed her eyes again. Once her breathing steadied, the prince let her go and stepped outside the pavilion. A shadow flipped down from the eaves of Linjiang Pavilion, and there stood Qinglong in the darkness, looking very annoyed, “Prince.”
“Is this your defense?” Prince Yean said coldly, “If I hadn’t woken up, another innocent life would have been lost in this mansion.”
Qinglong hung his head, whispering, “Prince… the last batch of my shadow guards arrived at the Hour of the Tiger. I thought the safest place in the mansion was around you, so I focused the defense elsewhere… I didn’t expect… there was a maid who can’t even dodge a reconnaissance arrow…”
“I scold you once, and you give me ten excuses.” The prince rubbed his temples, softly saying, “Do not be so negligent again.”
“If there’s another intrusion here, I won’t be called Qinglong.” Qinglong, feeling more embarrassed, made his promise and disappeared.
“Qinglong—” The prince called out quietly.
Qinglong indeed reappeared, hanging half his body down from the eaves, softly asking, “Prince, is there anything else?”
The prince threw him a very fine thread with a set of bells, calmly saying, “Take a look at our opponent this time.”
Snow began to fall from the sky, cool flakes landing on Qinglong’s face, and he felt a chill in his heart, blurting out, “Tiangang?”
The wind and snow whipped around, lifting the prince’s sleeves, his gaze distant and cold, murmuring, “Yes.”
Chapter Eight
When Chuxia woke up in the morning, the bright snow outside made it hard for her to open her eyes. Excited, she put on her outer robe and leaned out to look. Below Linjiang Pavilion, the Cang River flowed from west to east, rushing away. Palm-sized snowflakes fell from the sky like scattered cotton, and in the vast expanse, only a lone boat floated down, fishing in the cold, snowy river. Chuxia was mesmerized when someone behind her said, “Enjoy the snow if you want, but why not put on your clothes properly?”
The prince’s voice was right behind her. Chuxia turned around and exclaimed, “Prince, last night I had the strangest dream.”
