Lan Yan quickly ran over, snatched the dagger from Jun Yelan’s hand, and shouted, “Life is precious, don’t do anything foolish.”
She didn’t notice the confused look in Jun Yelan’s eyes and continued, “I’m telling you, I won’t scold you anymore. I’ll treat you well. I swear to heaven!”
“Right, the food on the table is proof,” she quickly brought the food box over again, opened the lid, and said, “Look, there are chicken legs today. If you do something foolish, you won’t get to eat them.”
She picked out a chicken leg and offered it to Jun Yelan’s mouth.
Good heavens, it was fortunate she arrived in time, or something terrible would have happened. If the mission target died, she would have nowhere to go! It seemed she had to keep a constant watch on Jun Yelan these past few days.
Jun Yelan looked at the chicken leg in front of him, even more bewildered. The food today was different. He recalled Lan Yan’s words from earlier and, piecing them together, suddenly understood.
His eyes darkened, and he said, “This King is not that weak yet.”
“Yes, Your Highness is very powerful.” Lan Yan blinked, a smile on her lips, and pushed the bowl with the chicken leg into Jun Yelan’s hand. Seeing that Jun Yelan wasn’t eating, she asked, “Does Your Highness want me to feed you?”
She rolled up her sleeves, ready to do so.
Jun Yelan was merely stunned by her previous words, hence the slight delay. He shook his head, “No need.” His legs were useless, but his hands were not, and he could eat himself.
He picked up his chopsticks and, turning to see that Lan Yan’s bowl was empty of chicken legs, felt a strange sensation. “Why aren’t you eating?”
Lan Yan said, “When I went to the kitchen, one chicken leg had already been stolen by the cooks. But don’t worry, I’ve taught them a harsh lesson. There will be two chicken legs tomorrow!”
She held up two fingers.
A flicker of emotion stirred in Jun Yelan’s heart. He picked out the chicken leg from his bowl and gave it to Lan Yan. “This King doesn’t like to eat them.” He turned away and ate the vegetables in his bowl.
In truth, he didn’t care what he ate. He also knew who was responsible for his current miserable state, and his hatred swelled.
Seeing that Jun Yelan truly wasn’t eating, Lan Yan ate it herself. Tomorrow, she would make something lighter for Jun Yelan. She vaguely recalled someone else who also liked plain food.
After finishing the meal, she cleared the dishes and tidied the room. Jun Yelan surely wouldn’t want anyone else to see him in this state, so she took care of it herself.
Jun Yelan sat on the bed, watching Lan Yan busily moving about, yet her face was always beaming. What a peculiar person, so different from his memory.
Lan Yan took the broken pieces outside and asked the maidservant at the door to take them away. Then she went to the adjacent room and moved some sturdy-looking items into her own room, so that Jun Yelan could fall a few more times in the future.
She was quite clever.
Jun Yelan watched as Lan Yan placed things, including baskets, all around him. He couldn’t quite understand it. But seeing the smile on Lan Yan’s face, he didn’t stop her.
Looking at the tidied room, Lan Yan felt a sense of accomplishment. She clapped her hands and said with a laugh, “Done.” Seeing that it was getting late, she called for a maidservant to prepare water for her to wash up.
Since she was the princess consort now, she should certainly make use of the household staff, lest they take advantage and slack off.
She took the water bucket at the door and looked at the maidservant in the yellow dress outside. “You don’t need to serve here anymore, you may go.”
“Yes, Princess Consort.” The maidservant, Xia Lian, left.
Lan Yan placed the water bucket by Jun Yelan’s bed and said, “Your Highness, here is a towel for you.” After speaking, she went to wash another bucket of water. She took off her shoes and socks and placed her feet into the bucket, feeling instantly more comfortable.
Jun Yelan put down the book in his hand, lifted the quilt, and placed his feet into the bucket.
During this time, Lan Yan glanced over. Jun Yelan’s legs were not withered and looked the same as a normal person’s. However, there was a scar on his calf. Perhaps it was because of this scar that his legs lost sensation and he couldn’t walk.
For Jun Yelan, this kind of life must have been very painful, which was why he had such an extreme reaction earlier. She suddenly felt a strong desire for Jun Yelan to regain his spirits, feeling that he shouldn’t have ended up this way.
Jun Yelan’s peripheral vision caught sight of Lan Yan. He saw that her face was thoughtful, with a hint of seriousness. He could understand the thoughts of many people, including the former Lan Yan, but now he couldn’t understand her.
He wiped his feet dry, placed them back under the quilt, and moved inward, preparing to sleep. But Lan Yan didn’t leave, so he looked at her.
Lan Yan was taking bedding out of the cabinet, spreading it on the floor. She wasn’t leaving; she knew that at night, one’s mood could easily turn gloomy, and incidents were more likely to happen.
She lay down on the floor, swinging her feet, and called out to Jun Yelan on the bed, “Good night.”
Jun Yelan: “……” Lan Yan used to sleep in the next room. Having someone suddenly beside him made him feel a bit unaccustomed, and he found it difficult to fall asleep.
He glanced again at the person on the floor, who was already breathing evenly.
He closed his eyes again until he felt very light footsteps outside the door. He remained still, knowing that the people sent to monitor him had arrived again. He clenched his fist, paying attention to the movements at the door.
The person at the door glanced into the room, wrote something on a piece of paper, and then left.
Seeing that there was no longer any sound, Jun Yelan’s body remained rigid. The hatred in his heart simply wouldn’t dissipate. Those people had crippled him and still wouldn’t leave him alone!
One day, he would stand up and kill them himself! He habitually reached under his pillow, but there was nothing there. He remembered Lan Yan had taken it.
In the darkness, he looked at Lan Yan’s sleeping face and slowly retracted his outstretched hand. He would get it back tomorrow.
The next morning, Lan Yan sat up from the floor and looked at Jun Yelan on the bed, yawning as she greeted him, “Morning.” She began to get dressed.
Jun Yelan: “……” He looked at Lan Yan’s hazy eyes, which still had a film of moisture. Then he looked at her nose and lips, pausing for a moment. What was he doing!
He quickly turned his head away, saying nothing.
Lan Yan was about to go out to get breakfast when she suddenly noticed a patch of mud on the floor by the door. When Xia Lian left last night, the area was spotlessly clean, and no one had passed by in the morning.
This meant someone had been here last night. She couldn’t help but become more vigilant, looking around. This prince’s mansion was not safe! She had to protect Jun Yelan and figure out a way to catch the intruder.
She went to get breakfast as usual. Actually, she could have asked Xia Lian to deliver it, but she wanted to make something herself. She took the food box and cast a cold glance at the people around her, wary of anyone trying to poison the food.
She returned to the room and brought the porridge to Jun Yelan.
Jun Yelan, seeing Lan Yan leave looking quite happy but returning with a somber expression, asked, “What’s wrong?”
Lan Yan leaned close to Jun Yelan’s ear and whispered mysteriously, “Someone was at our door last night.”
Jun Yelan: “……” He had known that last night.