The Captivating Crown Prince

Chapter 25.1 — Leng Yu Feng’s Solicitude

Night silently fell. On a mountain slope outside of the capital, Shang Wuxin was sitting motionless on a snow-white horse.

Accompanying her were a thousand soldiers and carriages loaded with grains. They had long been waiting. Everyone was wearing standard black attire, and under her command, even the flags* had been taken down.

*In ancient China, when those with status travel, they would raise flags that show which clan and such they belong to.

“Crown Prince, the provisions have already been sorted and tallied, and the soldiers are all present!” Leng Yu Feng arrived at the crown prince’s side.

Under the moonlight, one could discern that Leng Yu Feng’s whole body was clad in black, including a midnight cloak, his appearance handsome, with a pair of apathetic, inky irises and strict, thin, unsmiling lips. He emitted icy confidence that was as cold as snow.

Shang Wuxin nodded and at that moment, an official went to her and asked curiously, “Crown Prince, why must we embark at night time? And why are we not permitted to wear military clothes?” This official wasn’t the only one confused. The soldiers were too, so they all perked up their ears.

The man who had asked the question was about thirty years old, and his position was that of a vice minister’s. This man was Bai Shang Shu’s son, Bai Shaolin. His looks were ordinary, but he’d inherited his father’s righteous air.

Under his father’s instructions, he was accompanying the crown prince on this journey to the south. However, there was another reason for Bai Shaolin’s compliance—he wanted see for himself the prince his father had ever so passionately praised.

Noticing that a lot of the soldiers seemed to be looking at the grains in their carriages but was actually perking their ears, Shang Wuxin bluntly said, “This time, bengong is heading out to deliver provisions to the common people, not going out to amuse myself. There is no need for a grand send-off. By leaving at night, we can also catch those with ill intentions unawares. As for your clothes—military attire is very noticeable. If we wear them, wouldn’t that the same as asking for bandits to attack us?”

Certain parts of the mountainside inhabited bandits who were especially abhorrent to those from the capital. This was mainly due to the Imperial Court’s incompetence, which was usually the reason behind the bandits’ exiles.

Those from the Imperial Court had repeatedly been robbed to the last pin by said bandits, but if they changed their clothes, even if the bandits were to attack, the attack wouldn’t be as harsh as attacks driven by hatred.

Bai Shaolin suddenly understood the crown prince’s motives and promptly fell to his knees in front of Shang Wuxin.

“Crown Prince is wise! Chen[1] was ignorant!” The other soldiers also looked at the crown prince with admiration. They’d heard that the crown prince was very wise, but when were rumors ever as true as reality? It turned out that the rumors were actually true!

[1] “臣” = A form of self-address used by members of the Imperial Court, meaning ‘this official’.

Leng Yu Feng glanced at the crown prince as his heart filled with approval. If it had been him, he would’ve done the same too, but he’d only developed this kind of mindset through heavy experience in the battlefield.

It turned out that the crown prince, who’d grown up in the palace, was actually capable of such thorough thinking. Leng Yu Feng had to say, this crown prince was not someone the other princes could compare to.

Faced with the soldiers’ somewhat worshipping gazes, Shang Wuxin didn’t feel any self-satisfaction. She propelled her horse forward, finally leading the vigorous troops forward.

“Wait!” Suddenly, from behind them, hoof-steps sounded. She gripped her reins tightly and turned her head to see Huan Mo Che in a blue robe as he galloped quickly towards her.

With his masculine good looks and rare beauty, he looked undoubtedly like a well-groomed gongzi. There was a heartwarming smile on his face, and that smile elicited the feeling of caress by a spring breeze.

“Crown Prince, I want to go too!”

Ahhh, it’s such a short update, yet it took so long, sorry! ( ;_; ) Btw, who are you all leaning more towards right now? Leng Yu Feng for me ^o^

My semester exams are right around the corner, and there are things that I’ve been so busy with, I’ve had to skip breakfast, eat half of lunch, and skip dinner for 3 days in a row now…

There’s a 50/50 chance of this being the only update this week. I might or might not finish off the rest of this chapter before next Monday.

The footnote for chen will be removed after this little chapter snippet.

*You can check the translation progress of the next chapter in the “Translation Progress” section of this blog. The sidebar is available only in desktop view.