Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Thank goodness he had only been joking.

I clutched my neck, still shaken, and hid in a corner.

After finally enduring until the Hundred Flowers Banquet ended, I changed back into my Dark Guard uniform and reported for duty.

I ran into my colleague Ah Jiu as he came out of the Eastern Palace.

He was in a hurry.

“His Highness ordered me to kill someone.”

I felt a little jealous.

In the past, Xie Zhaolin had always sent me on jobs like this.

So I cozied up to him. “Brother, who is it? Let me do the killing. You take a rest.”

“That works too. His Highness trusts the way you handle things.”

Ah Jiu spat out a name.

“Lin Suisui.”

???

I’m supposed to kill myself?

I walked into the Crown Prince’s bedchamber.

Xie Zhaolin was still bathing.

It was like he had some kind of cleanliness obsession. He took eight baths a day. Wasn’t he afraid he’d scrub his skin right off?

A while later, Xie Zhaolin came out wearing something even thinner and lighter than yesterday.

“Your Highness, why are you so determined to kill Lin Suisui?”

She hadn’t even offended him.

Xie Zhaolin slowly said, “Because she said she regards me as a god.”

???

So what?

I was baffled.

Xie Zhaolin looked at me and gave a meaningful little laugh.

“I told you. I will only be your god.”

…Is he insane?

What a waste of that pretty face. His brain was probably borrowed from the village mutt at the entrance.

I gave an awkward smile.

Xie Zhaolin rapped his knuckles against the table. “I sent you to kill Eldest Royal Brother. Is the task complete?”

My heart lurched. Oh no.

Only when I was carrying out the mission did I discover that the Eldest Prince was the master who had taught me martial arts when I was little.

A teacher for a day was a father for life. I couldn’t bring myself to do it.

Xie Zhaolin tugged at the corner of his mouth and changed the subject.

“Between me and Royal Brother, who is more beautiful?”

Xie Zhaolin abruptly shifted his sitting posture.

His collar fell wide open. The faint blue veins along his neck flexed and relaxed in a sensual way, and there was a tiny red mole on his protruding Adam’s apple.

It bobbed as he swallowed, making him look even more seductive.

I stared, completely entranced.

“Your Highness’s beauty is unparalleled under heaven. Others can’t even compare to one of your fingers.”

The corner of Xie Zhaolin’s mouth curved up. He was very satisfied.

I gradually sank into my memories. “But if we’re talking about masculine vigor, the Eldest Prince is sturdy and powerful, broad of chest…”

“Were all the idioms you learned meant for describing men?”

Xie Zhaolin’s gaze suddenly went cold. “Go reflect on the rafters. I don’t want to see you tonight.”

I pouted, then leaped up and flung myself onto the rafters.

My gaze wandered aimlessly and happened to sweep over Xie Zhaolin, who was sitting at the table.

My eyes instantly went wide.

Xie Zhaolin was holding a scroll and reading with total absorption, completely unaware that the ties of his robe had come undone.

And from my angle, the moment I lowered my head-

That snow-white, bulging chest nearly blinded me.

Whoa!

So big!

I wiped the corner of my mouth, so excited I nearly passed out.

I wished I could stuff Xie Zhaolin into a sack and carry him away on the spot.

But I never expected the opportunity to come so soon.

Xie Zhaolin, the Crown Prince, had been deposed!