Pathological Trapping - Chap 120
But Li Dezhuang couldn’t sleep.
During the year at Yanmen Pass, every little detail between him and Mu Jian always came to mind. Mu Jian’s paranoia, obsession, coquetry, and flattery…
It’s like a seed that has been hidden in my heart for an unknown period of time, which has quietly sprouted and is growing stronger.
Li Dezhuang was walking in General Meng’s mansion holding a lantern.
The moon is heavy and the shadows of the trees are swaying.
He was alone, and the sound of his footsteps in the empty night was clear and lonely.
”Meow–”
A cat’s meow was heard in the darkness.
Li Dezhuang stopped and looked in the direction of the sound, but didn’t see a cat. He walked closer and saw a kitten, skinny, small, dirty, staring at Li Dezhuang with its glass-like eyes.
He raised the lantern in his hand.
The cat came toward him.
Li Dezhuang squatted down and held the cat in his arms.
The cat struggled in his arms.
”That cat scratches people, so be careful.”
The familiar voice penetrated the darkness and was carried to Li Dezhuang’s ears by the wind.
Li Dezhuang looked up in surprise.
There was a man sitting on the wall, wearing dark clothes, with a thin face and dark circles under his eyes.
But it didn’t affect his handsomeness at all. His hands were lazily placed on his knees, and there were two faint scratches on the back of his hands.
Time seemed to have stopped at this moment.
The man on the wall said, “That’s my cat.”
Li Dezhuang’s heart trembled, as if he had returned to that winter day many years ago, and saw the little child lying on the wall, wearing tattered clothes, with his two little hands frozen like carrots.
The man on the wall asked, “Do you like my cat? If you like it and want to see it, you can come find me.”
Li Dezhuang felt like he had something stuck in his throat. After a long while, he said, “I don’t like it. Since it’s yours, I’ll give it back to you.”
As soon as I loosen my grip…
The struggling cat landed on the ground nimbly and disappeared.
But the man on the wall still looked down at him.
Eye contact.
The time between the two people seemed to slow down because of his gaze.
”Lantern,” said the man on the wall.
”You won’t give it to me? I’m afraid of the dark.”
Chapter 93: You are the one who goes forward and you are the one who retreats
Li Dezhuang held the lantern in his hand and slowly clenched it.
”Your Majesty is already an adult, how could he be afraid of the dark?”
”I’m afraid my moon is gone.”
Li Dezhuang frowned and looked up at the sky.
There is a big moon above my head.
What nonsense is he talking about?
But when Li Dezhuang retracted his gaze, he saw Mu Jian jumping down from the top of the wall, his clothes fluttering in the air, and landing steadily on the ground.
She walked straight towards him, her eyes fixed on him, without moving for a moment.
Li Dezhuang suddenly had an idea.
The moon Mu Jian was talking about was him.
”Ji Enxu…” Mu Jian’s voice was very soft and gentle, but it gave people a feeling of gentle pronunciation. Suddenly, he seemed to no longer be the crazy prince.
”Does this mean that the sun will rise again thanks to the Liu family’s kindness?”
”no.”
”What is that?”
”Uh…” My real name!
What else?!
”Forget it.” Mu Jian seemed a little tired. He stopped when he came in front of him and took the lantern from his hand. “I think Counsellor Ji is not afraid of the dark. Give me this lantern.”
Li Dezhuang didn’t move and let him dig out the lantern.
After some thought, he uttered a sentence.
“They said you were injured.”
Mu Jian raised the back of his hand.
There were two cat scratch marks on it.
Li Dezhuang: “…”
No wonder they said it was no big deal.
Mu Jian: “Worried about me?”
”Your Majesty’s life is worth a million gold. If it were to be lost here, it would be a loss and misfortune for our dynasty.”
Mu Jian sighed, naturally grabbed Li Dezhuang’s wrist, and slowly walked back with him holding the lantern.
”When did you learn this official language? It really doesn’t sound comfortable at all.”
You are the emperor. If I don’t speak in official language to you, you will be unhappy and I’m afraid you will ask for my head.
Mu Jian sent the man to his residence and said, “Go back early tomorrow. Be careful on the road.”
Li Dezhuang was a little surprised.
Mu Jian actually let him go? !
Mu Jian released the hand that was holding his wrist and stood in front of him, “Can’t bear to leave me?”
”Of course not. I came here to visit His Majesty at the request of General Liu.”
Mu Jian laughed, “You are not speaking official language to me now.”
”Isn’t that what you don’t want to hear?”
Both of them were silent.
No one spoke for a moment.
Mu Jian glanced sideways at him.
”You like it here.”
Li Dezhuang nodded.
”The sky here is very blue, the people are very simple, and everyone is very nice.”
”You’ve got a tan.”
Li Dezhuang touched his face subconsciously.
Yeah?
Is he tanned?
He was always the whitest one among a bunch of rough soldiers. But he didn’t expect that he would become darker!
Mu Jian looked at him frowning and thinking, and a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.
”In fact, the Thirteen Prefectures of Youyun are more beautiful. It is said that there is a hot spring in Canglangzhou, and red plum blossoms are blooming beside the spring, just like rising clouds. There is also Moyunzhou, which has large grasslands where you can ride horses. After we recover it, I will take you to see it.”
Li Dezhuang frowned.
”Aren’t you going back? This is a battlefield. What if something unexpected happens…”
”No. Now the world has finally been pacified. After a whole year of adjustment, the country is rich and the army is strong. It is a good time to recover the Thirteen Prefectures of Youyun.”
Li Dezhuang looked at Mu Jian quietly.
He was at Yanmen Pass, far from the capital, so it was not that convenient for news to reach him. But he could still often hear about Mu Jian’s achievements, such as reducing excessive taxes, opening up businesses, and recruiting talents.
