1.14

Wen Ning should have known better than to hope for peace and quiet today. Of all the times he was able to have his brothers here with him, it had to be today when both of them were gathered here with Liu Li Feng, Sun Junjie and Liu Li Fei in the mix. It was disastrous.

To his left.

"Sit farther. You're too close to Yujin," Bai Shirong tries to pry Liu Li Fei off Wen Ning, who was sitting impossibly close to him. Wen Ning can feel the prince's fingernails biting into his skin, gripping on him so that Bai Shirong couldn't pull him off.

"Go away or I'll make a scene," Liu Li Fei whispers harshly to Bai Shirong, trying to hit the man's stomach with his elbow but his elder brother was able to avoid it and retaliate by hitting the back of the prince's head. They truly were childhood friends if Liu Li Fei allows himself to get hit and not punish Bai Shirong.

Also, what is with Bai Shirong always aiming to hit behind the head? Wen Ning once heard someone say that you lose intelligence if your head gets hit from behind. Is that why Bai Shirong does it?!

To his right.

"Hey Fox, how does it feel like to be a mere bodyguard? Must feel bad for the second commander to lower himself by guarding someone. When was the last time you had to do a castle guard's duty?" Bai Zian snickers to himself, cuddling closer to Wen Ning's right as he looks at Sun Junjie with a triumph look. Sun Junjie merely grins as he stands guard behind them, eating a meat bun given by Wen Ning for breakfast. "Hmm, not too bad. I don't need to run drills and get all sweaty from training. Also, being a bodyguard for a beauty, sign me up. Getting close to my Yujin and protecting him is better than a certain 'brother' who has been ignoring his sibling throughout his life and just making up for it now. Poor Yujin, having such a worthless brother," Sun Junjie mocks and bites into his bun, ignoring the spluttering from Bai Zian. Bai Zian looks at Wen Ning and cries out, complaining to Wen Ning that he was being 'attacked' and apologising to him again for not caring for him those past years. Wen Ning glares at Sun Junjie who is faking ignorance.

Urg, having these three squishing into him makes it hard for him to have breakfast. He can't eat properly! At least, Liu Li Feng was acting like his usual self.

His quiet husband was eating breakfast, ignoring the noisy group at his side. He was sitting beside Bai Zian and from time to time wincing when Wen Ning's second brother wails out loudly from what Wen Ning sees. Wen Ning wonders why Liu Li Feng doesn't just move a bit farther if his ears are hurting. Even Wen Ning's ears are hurting from how both sides are arguing close to his delicate ears.

"Yujin," Liu Li Feng calls him.

Wen Ning turns towards Liu Li Feng with a grimace as his ears ring from the noise. Seeing Wen Ning's face and teary eyes, Liu Li Feng nods in understanding as he too can sympathise being assaulted from the shrieks and shouts of the others.

He takes a piece of steam veggie, fish and rice using his chopsticks and directs it to Wen Ning's mouth. "Ahhh," Liu Li Meng urges him to take a bite, sounding monotone. This caught not only Wen Ning by surprise but also everyone around the table. Only Sun Junjie made a 'pfft' sound as he tries to stifle his laugh. Wen Ning looks at Liu Li Feng's embarrass face judging from his red ears but Wen Ning could see how earnest his husband was in trying to feed him that he felt touched by the gesture.

Liu Li Feng thought he made a mistake being too forward with Bai Yujin since the young man was quiet as he stares at the pair of chopsticks with food held to it. Feeling slightly crush, Liu Li Feng was about to pull his chopsticks back until he sees Bai Yujin moving forward; shyly closing his eyes and opening his small mouth, his cheeks dusted with a tint of pink. "A-ahhh~," Bai Yujin stutters but keeps his mouth open, waiting to be fed. Liu Li Feng looks at the pink tongue and pink cheeks and he gulps nervously. Not the time and place to be imagining. He moves the chopsticks to Bai Yujin's mouth and the ger closes them when he tasted food. Liu Li Feng moves the chopsticks away, letting Bai Yujin chew properly.

What greeted Liu Li Fei was bright eyes and a soft smile. The cute giggle coming from his wife was an extra. "Another!" Bai Yujin says. Liu Li Feng feels happy somehow. He would have fed Bai Yujin again but he can't help but want to tease him.

"What is the magic word?" he eats a bite of his breakfast.

"Huh?" Bai Yujin tilts his head, puzzled.

"When you ask someone to do something, what do you say at the end?"

"…,"

"…,"

"…pl-please?"

"Hmm,"

"Please…Li Feng,"

"Good boy,"

Bai Yujin blushes redly being called that. 'Cute,' Liu Li Feng thinks.

Liu Li Feng, satisfy, feeds him again and Wen Ning enjoys being fed since his hands are occupied by two children. Also, it's not bad being spoiled from time to time, which is rare especially from this stoic husband of his. He glances at Sun Junjie and the man is grinning while he has his thumb up in a 'good job!' sign. Ridiculous, these two are just ridiculous. But Wen Ning can't seem to stop being fond of these two ridiculous men.

"Hey, you're my companion today. You should have your eyes on me," Liu Li Fei voices out, disgruntled from being ignored. Wen Ning turns to the sulky prince to apologise but as he was about to open his mouth, a small dim sum was pushed to his lips. "Eat it," the prince grins. Wen Ning, too shocked, unconsciously ate it and chews slowly. With his thumb, Liu Li Fei cleans up the smudge at the corner of Wen Ning's mouth. "Such a messy eater," he chuckles while licking the residue off his thumb. Wen Ning sat there frozen until his whole face turned red. He turns away and covers his face with both of his palms, internally screaming.

Then, the shouting grew louder.

"How dare you touch my didi, you bastard!" Bai Zian tries to get his hands around Liu Li Fei's neck.

"What? Jealous Bai Zian? So immature," Liu Li Feng smirks as he skillfully avoids the fork in Bai Zian's hand.

"It seems you have grown bolder since I last saw you. How about we take this outside so I can pummel you to the ground?" a glint of silver shines behind Bai Shirong's outer robes.

"…come," Liu Li Feng places a hand on the hilt of the sword, ready to strike.

"All of you, stop it. Also, if Liu Li Feng is fighting, I'm joining too," Sun Junjie pipes up, both hands behind his head as he relaxes his back against the wall, grinning in excitement for a fight.

"Shut it fox! After I'm done with this rat, you're next. Don't think you can fight Shi-ge without going through me first," Bai Zian shouts, still trying to get a hit on Liu Li Fei.

Wen Ning sat there in the middle, surrounded by shouting and fighting. His hands were tightly in a fist, shaking on the table and A-Jia even ran to the other side of the table when it sees the silent, furious look on its master. Wen Ning harshly bit his lips, trying to hold himself in from lashing out. The men around Wen Ning did not notice how quiet he was, continuing their childish arguments.

He looks up and sees the princess looking at them with wide eyes. Probably surprise with their display of words and actions. Even the princess' servants are looking at them with dissatisfaction and mocking eyes, that Wen Ning was embarrassed in their stead for acting so childish in front of their guest, an important guest at that!

Wen Ning tried to engage in conversation with Princess Mo Lanfen but whenever he tried to say a word, one of the men would talk over him and since Wen Ning wasn't one to speak out loudly, he usually wasn't heard and treated like a rope; arms getting pull from both sides. Such rude behaviour being acted in front of the princess, what has caused them to behave like this so suddenly?! The princess was kind enough to ignore the noise and smile at him, nodding in understanding at the situation.

So humiliating!

There is also another problem.

He is hungry. He didn't eat anything back at the little mansion because he was promised breakfast and he can't even eat properly because of these people. He is hungry, the baby in his belly is upset and moving erratically due to being hungry and his worsening mood, his poor ears are ringing non-stop and it is too loud. Also, he. Is. Hungry!

Smack!

"Enough,"

Wen Ning slaps his hands on the table, the loud smack surprising the others making them quickly quiet down. The look of shock on their faces when the usual soft-spoken young man's voice was firm and chilly when he says that one word. His red lips were in a thin line and his eyes were narrowed as he exudes frustration and annoyance. He unconsciously puts up a cold demeanour and they could feel that Wen Ning had his walls up when he shook off Liu Li Fei and Bai Zian's hold on him.

Liu Li Feng and Sun Junjie noted that it was similar to last time when they had dinner and became a bit too touchy with him. The chilly expression on Bai Yujin made them anxious. The two wanted to comfort him but knew that it would only make the ger angrier.

Bai Zian nervously laughs as he was the first to try to calm down Bai Yujin. "Umm, didi I'm so-," "Shut up," Bai Yujin lowly says which earns a whimper from Bai Zian.

His didi was mad at him! Nooooooooo!

Bai Shirong looks at his second sibling, whose tears already welling up threatening to fall. Bai Zian has always been a crybaby. Despite his confident and extrovert personality, his brother was a crybaby who would cry if Bai Shirong or their father got angry with him. He doesn't cry when it comes to strangers but when it's from his family members, the waterworks will start and Bai Shirong finds that stopping Bai Zian crying is more taxing then handling those snobby nobles. So it doesn't surprise Bai Shirong to see him crying. But he doesn't expect his youngest sibling to be the cause of Bai Zian's tears this time.

Should he interfere?

"Sparrow, come now, don't pou-," Bai Yujin slaps the hand trying to touch his cheek. He looks at that offending hand with a cold gaze that even Liu Li Fei was left speechless.

Hmm, maybe he should let it be if he gets to see the imperious prince get shot down.

Wen Ning takes a deep breath and exhales slowly. Now that it has quiet down, he can think more calmly. It seems his temper is still something he has to work on.

The last time someone made him this angry was Wei Wuxian. Although his master didn't mean to push him for an answer on why he was spending so much time at the Unclean Realm, the accusations Wei Wuxian said had made him inwardly upset, which surprise him since he doesn't feel anymore. Maybe its because he was Wei Wuxian's creation, thus a connection of master and servant, that he can feel this way due to Wei Wuxian influx of emotions. Still, that is just a thought. It could have been luck for all he knows.

Wei Wuxian realised what he had said, apologising to Wen Ning but Wen Ning just walked past him and jumped into the forest. He knew what Wei Wuxian said was just in the heat of the moment and frustration that had been built up due to not knowing why Wen Ning kept disappearing to the Qinghe Nie Sect but he still kept himself away because he didn't want to hurt anyone. He came back two weeks after and…it was awkward. They apologized to each other but there was an unspoken understanding between them that that day's event should not be spoken. To this day, they never talked about it.

Speaking of temper, he did scold Bai Zian quite harshly just now. Bai Zian didn't deserve being treated that way by him. He was now sullen thinking about it.

With a tired sigh, he turns to Bai Zian who is trying his best to hold in his tears. Now he feels guilty.

Wen Ning pulls out a handkerchief and discreetly dabs the tears at the corner of his brother's eyes away. He gets closer until their foreheads are touching. "Zi-ge sorry. I'm sorry for saying that. I shouldn't have been mad at you," Wen Ning whispers to Bai Zian. His brother was quiet until he felt a hand holding his. "I wa-want to eat the shrimp wa-wanton you make," Bai Zian wobbly says with a sniff. Wen Ning affectionately strokes the palm of his hand with his thumb. Bai Zian did love his cooking. Wen Ning says okay, agreeing to make him wantons when they get back before sitting back normally at his seat, leaving his brother holding his hand.

Liu Li Fei kept himself quiet, arms cross and fuming with rage. He didn't look at Wen Ning at all, instead silently watching the food on the table as if it was the most interesting thing in the world. Wen Ning doesn't think he slapped the man's hand too hard but maybe the notion of being hit by a lowly commoner had bruised the prince's ego. If this is how Liu Li Fei acts getting hit by him, Wen Ning can't imagine what else he does to others who oppose him.

Thinking to himself that Liu Li Fei wouldn't want Wen Ning to touch him after that slap to the hand, Wen Ning opts to apologies now and let the man hit him after breakfast if he wasn't satisfied. Probably too much for just a light hit but from what Wen Ning has learned of Liu Li Fei, the prince wasn't one to let grudges go that easily.

"Make me wantons," Liu Li Fei mumbles. He was probably eavesdropping on their talk but Wen Ning was surprised to hear the prince talking to him first but maybe it was his way of offering Wen Ning a way to apologies. Liu Li Fei once told him how he hated people apologizing when they meant what they say or do in a moment of emotional outburst, people were more honest on what their intentions were when they acted that way. Liu Li Fei was treating him very lightly compared to what he does to others. Well, it was just wantons.

"Of course, my prince," Wen Ning gently teases which Liu Li Fei scoffs at that but the small lift of his lips was enough for Wen Ning to know he was forgiven, for now.

Wen Ning looks forward and softly smiles to the princess who has been watching their interaction with interest in her eyes.

"Apologies for my sudden burst of…temper. It was getting too out of control and I figured I should stop them before it gets out of hand," Wen Ning says while he drinks his tea.

The princess nods. "Of course. My brothers do the same thing. It takes a lot of patience to handle them. Sometimes they just need a good scolding," she too drinks her tea, looking at Wen Ning over the rim of her cup.

"Maybe you could share some tips on how to handle wayward brothers. I tend to be too lenient with mine," Wen Ning voices in concern and sigh, truly acting like a disgruntled mother having trouble with her children.

"I think you are doing just fine. Maybe we could exchange tips and learn from one another, as one youngest sibling to another?" she asks, a friendly air around her.

"We could do so while walking around the garden after breakfast,"

"I would love too!" the princess claps her hands, looking at Wen Ning excitingly. Wen Ning is sure she is happy to see the royal garden since it is known for being the largest in the kingdom with many plants and flowers from different kingdoms and countries. Some were not blooming due to winter but the few that were are still as beautiful. Even Wen Ning acted like a child when he first saw the garden.

Happy that he had finally established a connection that could lead to friendship, Wen Ning started conversing with the princess, asking about Hwasou and what her kingdom was like. They chatted happily with each other, surrounded in their private bubble that they were oblivious to the eyes of the other occupants of the room.

Bai Yujin and Mo Lanfen treated the others as if they weren't there and ignore them. Right now what was in the other men's mind was the conversation the two just had. People would think Bai Yujin was speaking about his brothers but the hidden meaning in Bai Yujin's words were 'it's difficult to handle the men around him, so do you have any pointers?'. The brat just indirectly mocked them!

They were about to give Bai Yujin a piece of their mind and to three people, this also includes punishing the bratty ger but Bai Yujin turns to them with bright, shining grey eyes and that adorable smile, any thoughts of scolding and punishment have been wiped out from their mind if Bai Yujin just continues being that cute and innocent self of his.

"What are you all waiting for? Come on, eat your breakfast. It's gonna get cold. Junjie, have a sit. You don't need to guard me when we're eating. Sit beside Li Feng okay," Bai Yujin says in concern, making sure everyone was eating before continuing to talk with Mo Lanfen.

How can this child be considerate and kind but scary at the same time? They really can't get angry with Bai Yujin. This child really knows how to handle them.

This cute devil will be the death of them.

*****

"The garden is certainly large. How do you not get lost?" Mo Lanfen looks in amazement at the sheer size of the frozen lake as they sat at the bench under a magnolia tree.

After walking around the garden, just the two of them with Sun Junjie and the princess' guards following behind. One servant was accompanying them while the other two were shown to the princess' guest room to unpack the luggage. Wen Ning suggested to Mo Lanfen that they should rest at the nearby bench since he notices that the princess was tired despite her childlike excitement to explore. Mo Lanfen seems grateful that he suggested it.

The others were at the gazebo from last time after Wen Ning scolded them again for fighting on the way to the garden. Fed up with the needless fights, Wen Ning told them to stay at the gazebo if they couldn't stop being so immature. In the end, Wen Ning ignores the complains and guided Mo Lanfen to the garden.

"You get used to it after exploring the place every single time," Wen Ning answers as he kicks a lump of snow with his foot.

It also helps to have a small navigator flying around when he does get lost. Speaking of the navigator…

Wen Ning looks to the side and sees the sugar glider, standing on the princess' lap, staring intensely at the unsuspecting princess. Its mouth was open in a little o as its twinkling eyes were enchanted with the princess' beauty. "So pretty," A-Jia gushes with its little paws trying to reach out to touch the princess' cheek.

Before A-Jia could do so, Wen Ning quickly picks it up and put the naughty creature on his lap. "Don't make trouble," Wen Ning lightly scolds it. A-Jia pouts and planted its face on Wen Ning's lap, sulking with its butt in the air. Wen Ning watches as the little tail keeps swishing around and feeling playful, touch the base with his finger. A-Jia squeaks in surprise and lifts its head to glare at him with its big eyes. "Master is mean!" A-Jia whines but still firmly stay at his lap. 'That is for acting naughty and calling someone else who isn't me pretty,' Wen Ning giggles, knowing A-Jia can hear his thoughts if it wanted too. A-Jia just pouts harder and ignores Wen Ning, again hiding itself on his lap.

"You seem preoccupied with your thoughts," a gentle voice remark. Wen Ning looks at Mo Lanfen who has an amused smile on her. "Am I boring you?" "Of course not! I just get…easily distracted," he mummers, feeling quite abash for ignoring the princess. The princess giggles and then stares at the lake, suddenly looking downcast. "My brother should have been here," she sighs sadly. Wen Ning was surprised to hear that, wondering why she would say such a thing.

Mo Lanfen looks down at her lap, playing with the ribbon of her hanfu. Wen Ning waited patiently for her to explain. "I am close to my third brother, Mo Rui. He is the smartest and most talented of anyone I know but they treat him as if he was a commoner's son. He should be here negotiating for peace between our kingdoms but my stubborn father ignores his diplomatic skills just because we came from different mothers. It isn't fair, even I know he would have been a better choice. I can't do much but be a bargaining chip for my kingdom. The only reason I volunteer being here is so that I can buy medicine for his illness and find a way to cure him. The doctors at my kingdom were ordered by my mother empress not to treat him and only give barely the minimum of his medication. It's not fair!" Mo Lanfen cries out, clearly upset by what she was saying.

A Hwasou guard walks closer, hearing the distress of the princess but Wen Ning just shook his head and gave him a sign to wait. Sun Junjie also has a worried face but seeing Wen Ning slowly getting closer to Mo Lanfen, he stays back and keeps watch of them.

Wen Ning gently but cautiously holds Mo Lanfen's hands, offering a comforting presence by her side. She clearly loves her brother judging from how upset she was. She might have been keeping her feelings lock because she doesn't want to choose sides but the stress from not being able to share her concerns has worn her down until the only person she could complain was him. Still, Wen Ning wonders, why was the princess comfortable enough to tell him this? He doesn't mind being rely on but any other person would use this info against her and blackmail Hwasou's royal family with it. Mo Lanfen's danger senses must be weak

"It might not be fair but with you here, you could make a change. Even if it's small, the chance of making a difference for both Hwasou and your brother is still there. Don't put yourself down, your opinion is much more valued compared to the representative. You're the princess of Hwasou, use that position and discuss with ours to find a better way to rule without fighting, without a war," Wen Ning says, stressing on the last part, seeing the princess' eyes open wide, shaking with fright. Wen Ning knew she wasn't stupid enough not to know what her kingdom was leading itself into. Her eyes were enough proof to see that.

"What can I do? My father won't listen to me! I told him, incurring Zhenbou's anger will doom us but he wouldn't listen. My two elder brothers, they are already destroying the kingdom with their selfishness," Mo Lanfen spoke in a defeated tone, her eyes glistening with unshed tears.

Suddenly, the princess felt hands gripping her shoulders. She looks up in surprise and was face to face with a serious face Wen Ning.

"Princess,"

"Ye-yes?" her eyes blink owlishly, fluttering eyelashes clearing away the need to cry.

"Don't cry," he firmly says.

"What?"

"I really, really don't know how to handle a crying person. So please, don't cry," despite the small smile on his lips, Wen Ning was practically begging her.

"O-okay,"

"Good. Listen, you need to be brave when doing something and that first step is the most important. But I know with your strength only and I am guessing, without the support of your representative, your opinions will not be considered straight away. So, I'll help you with that," Wen Ning grins.

Her eyebrows lift in surprise. "How?" she looks at Wen Ning with doubt, deeply sceptical with his words.

Of course, the princess would be uncertain with what he says. Who was he to decide what the royal court thinks? Even A-Jia was looking at him with doubt.

"Well…," he removes his hands from the princess and scratches his chin. "I'll ask Li Fei to help. He will also be attending the discussions with my brother. If we have both of them, your opinions will be heard,"

"Oh. That sounds…plausible. But will they help if you ask?" Mo Lanfen worries.

"Shi-ge will see it as a good opportunity and cooperate. He definitely will use anything in his disposal to avoid our kingdoms from going into war. That is what all of us are hoping for. But Li Fei, hmm, I will probably need to convince him," Wen Ning says, already dreading the talk he will be having with Liu Li Fei.

The stubborn man will definitely put up a fight and demand something if he is to help. He'll probably ask Wen Ning something outrageous.

Wen Ning hears giggling coming from Mo Lanfen. She wipes away the rest of her tears and lets out a long exhale. "Thank you Bai Yujin. I…I really can't tell you how thankful I am. It feels good to let that out my chest. I don't have anyone to tell my troubles so again, thank you for listening," she softly smiles, grateful for Wen Ning being there for her.

"It's okay, you just needed someone to listen. I didn't mind. But, umm, if you don't mind me asking," he hesitates before the princess nods at him to continue. "What prompt you to suddenly tell me this?" Wen Ning was curious and it could be seen from his face.

The princess mirthlessly laughs before distracting herself by playing with her hair, twirling a long strand with her finger. "That was because you reminded me of third brother. The way you carry yourself and the steel in your eyes, very similar. If you two meet, I am sure you would get along," she looks at Wen Ning with warm eyes.

"I guess that is also not the only reason why I am similar to him," Wen Ning nonchalantly says, discreetly implying about the illness.

"Hmm, that and another," the princess just smiles vaguely.

She's avoiding a straight answer.

"I can introduce you to my doctor, he handles my illness. Also, I have some powder medicine in my room that I can give to you. It helps to lessen the burden of the heart and strengthen the heart muscles," remembering the medicine sachets he made A-Jia keep, Wen Ning decides to give it to Mo Lanfen for her brother.

The medicine sachet has been improved by combining the pills A-Jia gave him. The pills were a grade-D restorative pill that can heal superficial and laceration wounds faster than normal but still not in an instant. He had crushed the pills and combined it with what Doctor Jian had given him. Since the medicine is targeted to the heart and Mo Rui's illness is treatable, Wen Ning estimates with continuous intake of the medicine and a change of lifestyle, the prince would be completely healthy in the span of two-three years.

Hearing this, Mo Lanfen brightens, new form of tears already forming. She hugs Wen Ning, surprising him until he splutters being hugged by a girl. Girls have hugged him before, his cute younger students that is but never one like the beautiful Mo Lanfen. "Oh thank you so much Bai Yujin! You really are an angel," she sincerely says, hugging him tightly. "Ah, yeah, okay," he awkwardly replies.

A strong gust of wind hits them, eliciting shivers to both of them. The princess lets go of Bai Yujin and they look at each other quietly before laughing together, the awkwardness now gone between them.

Seeing that the wind was getting stronger, Sun Junjie and the princess' guards walk closer to them. Sun Junjie removes his coat and drapes it on Wen Ning's back, tucking him comfortably in it, the same goes for the princess when a guard gives her a heavy coat too which the servant makes her wear. "It's getting cold, we should head back inside Yujin," Sun Junjie whispers to Wen Ning, using his palms to transfer heat to Wen Ning's cold cheeks. The puff of cold air from his breath and the shivering from him has Sun Junjie worry since the ger shouldn't have been out this long with his condition.

"Hmm, mkay," Wen Ning closes his eyes, leaning his cheeks to the warm palm and his body cuddling to Sun Junjie's body heat. He hears Sun Junjie quietly chuckles as the man carefully holds Wen Ning while standing and him sitting.

Sun Junjie looks at the princess who is watching them quietly. She seems surprised to see their intimacy and he knows she is trying to figure out what their relationship is. Sun Junjie lifts a finger to his lips and gives her a sign to keep quiet as he winks at her. She blushes and turns away.

For Wen Ning, he is comfortable in the warm embrace. He starts to doze, comforted by the smell of cinnamon before Sun Junjie's voice catches his attention. "Mmm?" he woozily murmurs. "You told me to hold the gift, remember? Would you like me to give it?" the soldier asks this while he strokes Wen Ning's ear with his thumb. "Oh, no no. I'll give it," pulling away from Sun Junjie, now being more alert. He takes the gift from the soldier's hand with thanks and gives the nicely pack wrapping to the princess. "A welcoming gift," he shyly says with a nervous smile. The princess unwraps it, revealing a soft, emerald scarf.

"I know it is a normal gift but with the cold weather now, I thought this would be a suitable choice,"

"This is a great gift and what a pretty colour too. Thank you, Bai Yujin," she happily exclaims as she wraps the scarf around her neck.

"How do I look?"

"Pretty as ever," he gives a charming smile.

"Oh you," she lightly slaps his lap.

"We should probably go inside," Wen Ning says.

The wind starts to get stronger, causing the temperature to lower until Wen Ning was shivering even though he was wearing Sun Junjie's coat together with his own under it. As the soldier helps him stand, Wen Ning felt troubled seeing Sun Junjie standing in the cold with only his soldier uniform on. It's better to get inside quick before they freeze themselves out here.

The princess nods and stands with the help of her servant. They begin walking back to the gazebo to meet up with the rest but this time, Sun Junjie is by his side holding Wen Ning's hand. Wen Ning wants to giggle at this. Sun Junjie will use any opportunity he can to hold his hand, even with the princess there. The princess is probably guessing what their relationship is because she has already seen Sun Junjie intimately warm him up just now and now she is glancing at their hands. Well, let her guess. It is fun this way.

"So…you like Liu Li Fei?"

"Wha-what?!" she blushes redly and looks away, embarrasses with his words but Wen Ning can still see the smile on her lips.

Hoh, Liu Li Fei got an admire~

*****

"Finally! We manage to get away from them," Wen Ning complains to a nodding A-Jia who has both its arms cross.

"Master has Bai Shirong to thank for," the little sugar glider reminds him as it sits on Wen Ning's shoulder.

Today is the third day and they were having dinner with the emperor and a few people this time compare to the first day. Even so, his brothers and the other three men have been surrounding him ever since and he feels suffocated. Bai Shirong probably notices this and ask Wen Ning a favour to go pick up a scroll and a few papers on his desk. So now, Wen Ning is walking towards Bai Shirong's study.

Sun Junjie was supposed to guard him but he was surrounded by a few noble ladies and because Wen Ning didn't want to wait for the man to charm his way out, he went alone with only Bai Shirong knowing while the others were preoccupied to notice him gone. He rather goes alone since he hasn't had any chance to since Hwasou's arrival.

"How did the meeting today go?" Wen Ning asks A-Jia as he rubs his belly, his body feeling uncomfortable now with the extra weigh in him. He wishes this child could come out quickly. The due date is near but he feels restless somehow.

"Everything seems to be going smoothly. Liu Li Fei was able to ask for reparations from Hwasou regarding our injured soldiers since there was evidence that mysteriously appeared out of nowhere that tells of Hwasou soldiers' involvement," A-Jia proudly stated with its nose in the air.

It seems those fake letters worked. Even though the letters could be rebutted by the representative to be fake, the only reason Hwasou's representative caved in was because of sensitive information written in it that only Hwasou knew of. The moment Liu Li Fei read about the first prince's subordinate involvement of ordering the soldiers to enter the kingdom and orders of attacking our soldiers, A-Jia described to Wen Ning how paled the representative's face was. He was already wiping away the nervous sweat when the name of the subordinate was stated but then grew more skittish when responding letters claiming to be from Hwasou's first prince stating orders to destroy the nearby village near their soldier's campsite after that with an official Hwasou royal sign stamped to it, made the man hysterical. No explanation could be given by the representative since their royal sign was on those letters. It was easy to duplicate the sign with A-Jia's copy skill using one of the princess' letters which she read in front Wen Ning and Wen Ning wasn't going to waste the opportunity.

Was it wrong? Yes. Did he care? Nope.

If it made his life easier by using those underhanded tactics, so be it. Even if was written up with half-lies, half of it was the truth that even their enemies would doubt themselves. It just makes him feel guilty for taking advantage of the princess. Still, the princess is getting something out of this.

"Has a plan been decide to help the princess with her kingdom? With brother and Liu Li Fei's mind and tactics, it should be less difficult to come out with a plan," Wen Ning wondered since he was curious with their plan.

After that day in the garden, Wen Ning had discussed with Liu Li Fei and Bai Shirong about the princess' predicament and establishing a new peace treaty that would benefit both kingdoms after the first meeting ended. The princess sat beside him, nervous as Wen Ning spoke. Bai Shirong was dubious at first but after hearing the whole story, he said it would be an advantage if they were able to come to an agreement but careful planning had to be made. His brother did agree to hear what the princess had to say.

Liu Li Fei, not so much.

"You want me to listen to this nonsense? Bai Yujin, how naïve of you to believe in the words of our enemy. Do you not see she is using you?" Liu Li Fei chastised, looking at Wen Ning as if he was a child with his finger pointing at Mo Lanfen as if she was something to be…disgusted. Even the princess frowned when she saw the look on Liu Li Fei's face. Rude.

They argued back and forth until Bai Shirong stood in the middle to stop their stupid fight. Bai Shirong took Liu Li Fei to the side and words had been said between them before Bai Shirong walked back to them with a scowling Liu Li Fei behind him. The prince finally agreed albeit reluctantly, mumbling something about 'stupid Xiao Shi' and 'letting sparrow see my good side'. Ridiculous, this man was ridiculous.

In the end, they decided to let the princess state her opinion and advice in the last two meetings while they both plant the idea in the rest to allow the royal council and Hwasou to think about it. Wen Ning knew the plan involved them finding a new ruler for Hwasou that could work alongside Zhenbou, but 'who' he doesn't know.

Hmm, no one comes to mind. The princess did say his third brother was an acceptable person so maybe Wen Ning can suggest him.

"No, they are being hush-hush about it. So frustrating master!" A-Jia huffs, it's fur hackles.

Wen Ning giggles and calms A-Jia down by smoothing out its fur. "Well, we can't always have what we want. Let's just wait and see. Oh, here we are,"

They arrive outside Bai Shirong's study. The hallway was empty since the next guard should arrive in 15 minutes to take post. It was still unreasonable leaving a place unattended that long. Wen Ning should tell Bai Shirong this. With all his brother's important documents inside, anyone could take this opportunity and mess around.

The moment Wen Ning was about to push the door, his senses alerted him.

'Of all the times to jinx myself,' he lets out a long, exasperated sigh.

"A-Jia, can you go inside and check for me?"

The sugar glider tilts its head in confusion. "Why?'

"Please," Wen Ning stresses his word. A-Jia still was confused but he nods to him. The sugar glider goes through the door, a yellow spark around its body before disappearing inside. Suddenly, the small creature flies out crashing to his chest.

"Master! Someone is inside!" A-Jia squeals. Big eyes frightfully watching the door.

"Okay, calm down. You need to calm down. What do they look like?" Wen Ning comforted the creature.

"I couldn't see their face. They had a cloak on and his face was covered with a cloth to his mouth, like a burglar. What are we going to do?" the little paws tightly held to his robes.

"Hmm, just stay put on my shoulder. I'll handle it,"

"…wha?"

*****

"Useless, useless, garbage, more garbage. Where are those documents?!" the man growls as he goes through another drawer. He roughly throws a stack of papers on the floor, frustration on his face as he again fails to find what he seeks.

"Quickly, I have to find those damn papers before the guard comes back," he closes the drawer and decides to look at the cabinet at the corner of the room.

He walks backwards until he felt something sharp hitting his back. The man freezes in his step.

"If you think about running, I won't hesitate to push this dagger," Wen Ning nonchalant challenges. The man tenses as the sharp sting go deeper but not until it broke the skin. "You wouldn't," the man says back, cockiness in that voice despite the nervous aura his projecting. "Try me," before, as a corpse, he was forced to kill many men and it helps when he felt only numbness, he wouldn't feel any different with this one.

"We can work something out. I am not here to cause trouble. Just put that down," the man says, trying to convince him to take away the dagger.

"Turn around, slowly and maybe I'll let you off if you're able to sway me," Wen Ning tells him before walking back a bit, still with the dagger pointing at the masked figure.

The person slowly turns to him and glares at Wen Ning with chestnut colour eyes. Their fists were held tight by their side and the person was shaking either in fright or in anger, Wen Ning didn't care to find out. Due to the hood of his cloak and the mask, Wen Ning wasn't able to identify this stranger. The identity of this person was important but Wen Ning was more worry about the hidden weapons. He should be careful.

"Now, how about you tell me who you are?" Wen Ning grins, with only time and patience at his side stopping him from running the dagger through this stranger.