Your Highness, Please Love Me Tender

96. Little Brother Wen

Translator: Flying Lines

“Can you take us to see Prince Xian now?” There was a trace of complex emotion in Su Jie’s expression. When he saw Gongsun Yi kneeling on one knee before him, lofty sentiments and aspirations suddenly rose in Su Jie’s heart as Elder Zhou’s words echoed in his ear: ‘Your Highness, you are Yanling’s ruler. I hope you will shoulder this heavy responsibility and won’t betray the trust of Yanling’s citizens…’

At this moment, Su Jie’s gaze became more determined. This was the first time he fully understood how important his status was in State Yanling. He was the sole male heir of Yanling’s royal family. State Yanling’s empire relied on him to lead soldiers into war. He would restore the glory that the Su dynasty should have!

“Your Highness…”

Hearing Su Jie’s words, Gongsun Yi stood up. There wasn’t a hint of humility on the black-robed man’s face. His features revealed an innate wildness. Even if he did submit himself just now, Gongsun Yi could never shed his arrogance.

This was Gongsun Yi’s personality. He wouldn’t be so arrogant to the point where he’d look down on others, nor would he bend over backward to please other people. Gongsun Yi had always been straight-forward. So, even if Su Jie was State Yanling’s crown prince, Gongsun Yi’s gaze still revealed a thread of appreciation and a glimmer of interest. He opened his mouth to ask for Su Jie’s name but then felt that it wasn’t appropriate. Thus, after calling out ‘Your Highness’ these two words, his throat felt dry. He pursed his lips and fell silent.

Yet, Su Jie quirked his lips into a small smile and said, “You can just call me Wen Nianxuan. It would be best if you didn’t refer to me as Your Highness. Also, I greatly admire your martial arts. I heard that you are State Yanling’s youngest and most promising commander. If we have time, we can have a spar together.”

At first, Gongsun Yi froze a little. Then, he let loose a hearty laugh, saying, “Sure! I’m older than you by five years, so I’ll call you Little Brother Wen! Also, I won’t lose to you next time. Even if you’re the crown prince, I still won’t go easy on you!”

A feeling of wistfulness formed inside Gongsun Yi’s heart. He felt that Su Jie’s temper matched his tastes exactly. Of course, this wasn’t only in terms of his martial arts but also in terms of appearance and aura too…

At this, Zhou Zaiyue’s eyelids twitched lightly. He truly wanted to say ‘how could you act like this?’ After all, in this old man’s view, the concept of superiority and inferiority was long seared into his mindset. But when he saw Su Jie smile with such a friendly look on his face, Zhou Zaiyue didn’t say anything in the end.

Never mind. As long as he guided the crown prince when it was necessary, it was fine. Even though the identity of being part of the Su royal family was very useful in State Yanling, it was not an easy feat to make commanders feel that they are submitting to an outstanding descendant of the royal family. Even if Su Jie received Gongsun Yi’s acknowledgment, there were some people under Ju Liandao’s command who, despite being loyal, were difficult to deal with. He was afraid that they wouldn’t accept Su Jie easily.

“Let’s go. I’ll take you both to see Prince Xian.” Gongsun Yi swung his arm in a wide arc. The manner he did so was casual, and he effectively conveyed the fact that Prince Xian wasn’t in danger. However, he glossed over why he kidnapped Prince Xian in the first place.

“After today, you should return to Yanling as soon as possible. Why on earth did you come here to State Yanhui? His Highness the Crown Prince won’t tolerate mishaps.” Zhou Zaiyue used this chance to lecture him.

“You won’t go back with me?” Gongsun Yi asked.

“We will soon. We’ll be able to return to Yanling near the start of next month. There are still some things we have to deal with first.” Zhou Zaiyue said, evading the true reason.

Gongsun Yi nodded. Even though he didn’t pursue his questions, he was attentive towards this. Gongsun Yi was always careful and cautious. If he wasn’t, the battles he fought wouldn’t result in victories, but failures instead. Besides, since this was something that involved Su Jie, Gongsun Yi naturally had to pay attention.

Gongsun Yi’s biggest dream in this lifetime was to fight a satisfying battle to recover Yanling’s territories in one fell swoop. He wanted to be a good general who would go down in history famous and worthy of his life.

Also, if he succeeded, he wanted to develop his relationship with the crown prince afterward. Despite the opposite party being of a prestigious status, Gongsun Yi had both skills and looks. He was good enough to be a match for anyone.

At this time, Su Jie didn’t know the commander beside him still possessed this kind of thinking. Not to mention, Su Jie harbored a thread of self-blame towards Gongsun Yi. After all, Su Jie had once recognized the wrong target and injured the wrong person. However, this sense of regret would never transform into love.

Right now, Su Jie didn’t put much thought into relationships. One Prince Qin had already caused Su Jie to mature quite a bit. Su Jie wouldn’t fall for someone so easily again.

However, he still believed that there was love in this world.

Perhaps, this love would belong to Xiao Shengnian and wouldn’t be shared with other people.