Lu Chen had been holding back all the way since he left the North Land. He also held back when he went to the Barbarian Tribe prisoner camp, but in the end, he couldn't hold back any longer.
It was like placing a candy in front of a child, allowing them to look but not to taste.
Who could endure that?
As soon as Lu Chen returned to the Prince's Mansion, the first thing he did was head straight for Yelv Nanyan's room.
When Yelv Nanyan saw Lu Chen enter her room, she was momentarily stunned. She was about to say something when she noticed Lu Chen closing the door behind him.
Yelv Nanyan immediately became nervous, what was this young man going to do, running into her room and locking the door?
At this time, Lu Chen gave a slight smile, "Queen Yelv need not be afraid, this Prince has come to ask you about some matters."
Hearing this, Yelv Nanyan thought to herself in confusion, asking about matters, what matters?
At that moment, Lu Chen sat down at the table inside the room.
Yelv Nanyan then asked, "May I know what the Prince wishes to inquire about?"
Lu Chen glanced at the dignified and graceful Yelv Nanyan, "Please have a seat first, Queen Yelv."
Yelv Nanyan had no choice but to sit down. Now there were only the two of them in the room, and Yelv Nanyan felt the atmosphere was a bit strange, especially with them sitting so close to each other.
However, Yelv Nanyan thought that although Lu Chen was very powerful, he was just a sixteen or seventeen-year-old boy. She was more than a decade his senior — what was there to fear?
Moreover, from Lu Chen's demeanor, it appeared he genuinely had something to discuss with her, and besides, it was still broad daylight. After all, he was a Prince, so it was unlikely he would do something untoward.
This thought quickly calmed Yelv Nanyan's heart.
"May I know what the Prince seeks from me?"
Lu Chen directly asked, "I noticed that Queen Yelv's appearance seems very similar to the women of Great Xia. Could it be that you are originally from Great Xia?"
Upon hearing this question, Yelv Nanyan was taken aback, and Lu Chen's query brought her mother to mind.
Yelv Nanyan fell into silence, not speaking for some time, while Lu Chen watched her eyes and asked, "What's wrong?"
Yelv Nanyan regained her senses and hastily said, "It's nothing, I was just caught off guard."
"Indeed, my mother was from Great Xia. When the Barbarian Tribe came south, they captured her and took her to their tribe, where she gave birth to me. I resemble my mother, so it's not strange that the Prince finds similarities between me and the women of Great Xia."
Lu Chen responded, "I see, I hadn't realized there was such a story behind it. I thought Queen Yelv bore a strong resemblance to Great Xia's women."
Just as Lu Chen was about to say something further, Yelv Nanyan spoke up, "Prince, I have left the Sky Wolf King tribe and am no longer the Sky Wolf King's wife. You don't have to call me Queen Yelv anymore, just my name will do."
They were now in the North Prince Mansion, where there could only be one official wife. If the North Prince continued to call her Queen, it could lead to unnecessary trouble.
Yelv Nanyan was clear-headed about such matters. If she wanted to survive in the North Prince Mansion, she couldn't afford to offend Mu Zixuan, the legitimate wife.
If Lu Chen kept addressing her as Queen, and Mu Zixuan, the legitimate wife, heard it, who knows what she might think. She would likely suspect Yelv Nanyan of trying to vie for favor.
That would not be good for her or for Xiao Wenyao.
Although Yelv Nanyan had never lived in Great Xia, influenced by her mother, she was very familiar with it.
Hearing Yelv Nanyan's words, Lu Chen said with a smile, "Alright, from now on I'll call you Nanyan."
Continuing, he asked, "Nanyan, after your mother gave birth to you in the Barbarian Tribe, life must have been very hard, right?"
After all, as a woman from Great Xia, being captured by the Barbarian Tribe, life must have been difficult.
Hearing Lu Chen's question, Yelv Nanyan again seemed to drift into her memories. After a little while, she finally answered, "Yes, my mother was treated as a slave by the tribe's Chief, made to serve him daily. She often suffered beatings from him, and ultimately, unable to bear the humiliation, she drowned herself when I was ten years old."
Speaking of this, Yelv Nanyan's expression turned forlorn, appearing immensely sad.
Seeing this, Lu Chen reached out and directly grasped Yelv Nanyan's hand, comforting her, "The dead cannot be brought back to life, mourn no more."
Yelv Nanyan's mature body involuntarily trembled when Lu Chen suddenly grabbed her hand, but Lu Chen made no further move, and she didn't take it to heart, assuming it was just an instinctive gesture from him.
Lu Chen continued, "Nanyan, actually, I am very similar to you in that I also lost my mother at a young age."
As he said this, Lu Chen's tone turned somewhat somber, sorrowful.
Upon hearing Lu Chen's words, Yelv Nanyan was taken aback. She gazed at him, and for some reason, she began to feel an odd urge to comfort this young man, to tell him not to be so sad.
Perhaps because Lu Chen was more than a decade younger than her, and knowing how painful life without a mother could be, stirred this sentiment.
Thinking of Lu Chen as a Prince, Yelv Nanyan realized his days in the Imperial Palace after losing his mother must also have been difficult.
Yelv Nanyan then said, "Prince, don't be too sorrowful. Your mother, knowing of the achievements you've made in North City, would surely be happy for you."