31: Chapter 31: He is the Big Brother of Those Years 31: Chapter 31: He is the Big Brother of Those Years This jade pendant, it looks so familiar.
Chu Baihan hesitated for a moment but still picked up the jade pendant.
There was a tiny nick on the jade pendant, which she had caused by carelessly dropping it on the ground when she was five years old.
This jade pendant used to be hers!
But how could it be on Yan Lin’s body?
“I remember clearly giving the jade pendant to that elder brother back then, how could it…”
Chu Baihan furrowed her brows and murmured, and suddenly, an idea flashed through her mind.
“Could it be, he is…
that elder brother?”
Lost in thought, her hands softened and she could not hold onto the jade pendant, which fell to the ground once again.
In fact, she had been to the Imperial Palace before when she was very young.
It was there that she met a big brother who was severely injured.
At that time, she thought he was a little eunuch in the palace who had been punished by his master.
Otherwise, how could a normal person be so seriously injured?
She gave him her own medicine, and also left him a jade pendant because her mother had once said that the jade pendant could protect people.
If he was that elder brother, then why as a prince had he been so seriously injured back then?
Chu Baihan’s feelings were indescribably complex.
In the end, she carefully put the jade pendant back on him and continued to wipe his face to bring down the fever.
…
The next morning.
Chu Baihan opened her eyes and found herself in Yan Lin’s embrace.
Her face turned red and she quickly rose.
“Ahem…” Yan Lin coughed harshly and began to open his eyes as well.
His face was very pale, and his picturesque features seemed to have their luster wiped away.
“Are you okay?” Chu Baihan asked, concerned and supporting him with her hand.
Noticing her concern, the ink color in Yan Lin’s eyes spread, and his expression was a bit strange.
The way she was treating him seemed a little different after just one night.
Chu Baihan also realized that her concern was too obvious; she turned her face away awkwardly, but without explaining, she simply said, “I’ll now go out to look for the way.”
“This prince will come with you.”
Yan Lin spoke in a hoarse voice and took the initiative to grab her cold hand.
His palm, due to years of wielding a sword, had a layer of thin calluses that made her palm feel uncomfortable.
But Chu Baihan felt an incomparable sense of security.
Looking at his profile and recalling the events of last night, as well as the past incident in the Imperial Palace, her mood was already very different from before.
“Prince, when you were a child…” She wanted to ask about his childhood.
But before she could finish speaking, an anxious voice coming from not far away interjected, “Princess Consort, Princess Consort!”
“What did you want to ask this prince?” Yan Lin asked in a deep voice.
Looking up to see the figures of Ziyi and others appearing not far away, Chu Baihan no longer felt like asking her question.
She pulled at the corners of her mouth and said lightly, “It’s nothing.”
Turning away her gaze, she hurriedly waved to the people in the distance, “Ziyi, Ziwu, we’re here.”
“Prince, Princess Consort, your subordinates are late, we deserve death.”
A group of Hidden Guards, led by Ziyi and Ziwu, knelt to the ground.
“Go back for your punishment,” Yan Lin spoke coldly.
Chu Baihan glanced at Yan Lin and quickly spoke out, “With the big storm last night and the mountain roads being so complicated, we couldn’t find our way, it’s not their fault, Prince.
Isn’t that right?
They actually shouldn’t be punished.”
No matter what, this was all because of her; she did not want to implicate innocent people.
Ziyi and Ziwu both kept their heads down, clearly understanding that as Hidden Guards, they had let the Princess Consort and the Prince be in danger; they truly deserved punishment.
The Prince was a man of his word, and pleading was useless; they could not avoid their punishment.
But to their surprise, the very next moment, they heard a cold voice: “Since the Princess Consort has interceded for you, this time the punishment will be spared.”
The Prince…
actually spared their punishment?
Ziyi and Ziwu, along with the rest, were stunned.
The Hidden Guards of the Prince Residence were notoriously strict; they tolerated no errors, because their Prince was also extremely harsh on himself.
Yet just now, because of a single plea from the Princess Consort, the Prince actually spared them their punishment.
It seems the Ninth Prince was right; the Princess Consort…
really has started to become different in the Prince’s heart.
Chu Baihan was unaware that her simple words had stirred up a storm in the hearts of the Prince Residence’s Hidden Guards.
She thought of Ruolan and thus asked with concern, “Have you seen Ruolan?”
“To report to the Princess Consort, we saw her on the way up the mountain.
She told us everything, and we have already sent people to escort her back to the Prince Residence.
You need not worry,” they replied.
“That’s good,” Chu Baihan breathed a sigh of relief.
“Princess Consort, after you fell down the mountain, what about Su Yuan?” asked Ziyi, concerned.
At the mention of this, Chu Baihan’s expression turned cold as well.
“After he rolled down the mountain, he still wanted to harm me, but I’ve already hit him with a rock.
I don’t know if he’s dead or not.”
“Ziyi, Ziwu, send people to search the mountain.
If the man’s not dead, help him on his way,” Yan Lin instructed, his body radiating unshaken chill.
He glanced at Chu Baihan’s hand and squeezed slightly, unable to vent the smoldering anger in his heart.
Last night, when he heard from the maidservant that Chu Baihan had been surrounded by Su Yuan and his men on the mountain, he felt a bit panicked internally.
It seemed as though Chu Baihan had begun to influence him before he even noticed.
“Back to the residence.”
“Yes, Prince.”