After the Crybaby Married the Disabled Villain - Chapter 23

This was the first time An Yu had shared a bed with Lu Shiyan while fully conscious. Although their relationship was now quite clear, the subtle nuance in the atmosphere was unavoidable.

Lu Shiyan had already washed up with the help of a servant and was sitting in his wheelchair wearing his sleeping robes. The wheelchair was parked by the bedside. An Yu was already lying on the inner side of the bed, staring intently at the man.

“Does Your Highness want me to help you?”

Lu Shiyan shook his head. Supporting himself with both hands on the bed, he shifted his body directly from the wheelchair onto the mattress.

An Yu’s eyes widened slightly. It seemed that during these days of rehabilitation, even his physical strength had improved significantly.

Likely, once his legs are fully healed, he will regain the physique he had when he was charging across the battlefield.

It was pitch black outside the window, though it was probably only around ten o’clock. Usually at this time, An Yu would still be comfortably reading storybooks in bed.

Feeling a bit bored, An Yu lay on his side facing Lu Shiyan, looking at the man’s sharply defined profile. He looked much sterner than usual, making him seem even harder to approach.

“Is Xiao Yu not sleeping?”

The man, who had been closing his eyes, opened them and turned his head. Seeing a youth on his usually empty bed still felt a bit unfamiliar, but the feeling was novel and not at all bad.

An Yu wasn’t sleepy to begin with, and now he was even more wide awake. He said: “I can’t quite fall asleep. Your Highness needn’t mind me. You still have to wake up early for treatment, so you should sleep quickly.”

“I saw you brought so many books today. If you wish to read, then read.”

He had indeed moved many books over, but An Yu didn’t really want to read them right now. He had already learned most of the historical background of this era, and the culture was quite similar to what he had studied, so there was no need to read more. The ones he moved over were just novels to relieve boredom.

An Yu shook his head and said: “I won’t read. It’s better to sleep.”

With that, he turned over. Two candles were still lit in the hall, their dim yellow light making the room feel much warmer and easier to fall asleep in than total darkness. An Yu, who thought he would suffer from insomnia tonight, lay there for a while and actually fell straight asleep. When he woke up, it was already noon the next day.

Rubbing his eyes, he saw the sunlight streaming through the window and spilling onto the quilt. An Yu was still a bit dazed and hadn’t fully woken up.

As Xiao Zhi served An Yu while he dressed, he said: “The Crown Prince is truly good to you, Young Master. When Military Physician Yun came to treat His Highness this morning, His Highness feared disturbing your rest, so he went to the study with Physician Yun.”

The Prince is indeed considerate. If this were the modern era, he’d probably be a model boyfriend.

Wait, what boyfriend…

An Yu shook his groggy head and pushed open the door to wander around the courtyard.

He stretched his arms and legs like an old man doing morning exercises, even though it wasn’t early anymore.

“Young Master.”

An Yu turned around to see Mo Ying approaching with a furrowed brow.

“What is it?”

“Since early this morning, those two dancing girls have been clamoring to see His Highness. The manor is filled with men, and we truly cannot cope with them.”

An Yu felt helpless. Those two were certainly capable of making a fuss. They clearly didn’t remember a single word he had said yesterday.

He clapped his hands. Since his morning exercises were finished anyway, it was time to take Xiao Bai for a walk.

“Mo Ying, follow me.”

An Yu meandered over to the cage where Bai Ao was kept. A guard was currently grooming the snow leopard, which had grown significantly larger.

“Xiao Bai!”

Seeing Xiao Bai clean and basking in the sun, An Yu’s mood instantly became beautiful. He could already imagine how wonderful it would be to bury his face in that warm, fuzzy head.

The snow leopard immediately ignored the guard and began circling An Yu, dragging its long iron chain. It rubbed against An Yu’s legs from time to time, making him laugh helplessly.

He rubbed the warm head. Indeed, quite nice.

An Yu looked at the guard: “I’m taking Xiao Bai. If the Prince asks, tell him the truth.”

“This…”

The guard was momentarily at a loss and instinctively looked toward Mo Ying.

Seeing Mo Ying nod, he finally said: “Yes, Young Master.”

Satisfaction achieved.

An Yu pulled the chain, which clattered loudly against the ground as he led Bai Ao away. Passing servants and guards couldn’t help but widen their eyes; the more timid ones froze in place, not daring to move.

It got to the point where An Yu had to hold the leather collar around Xiao Bai’s neck directly, looking exactly like someone taking a large dog into an elevator.

Whispers followed them the entire way.

“This” “The Young Master is far too calm.” “A snow leopard! Help  mmmph!”

Mo Ying went from being mentally tense at first to relaxing once he saw that An Yu walked the snow leopard just like one would walk a cat or a dog.

Instead, he found it quite amusing to see the guards reacting this way.

The General’s Manor was indeed large. An Yu didn’t walk fast, and it took nearly an hour to reach the remote courtyard. He looked around; it was indeed far away.

From the main hall to the main courtyard, everything was magnificent, surrounded by green trees with occasional ponds, bridges, and gardens.

The remote courtyard, however, was much more haphazard—it was as desolate as a so-called “Cold Palace.”

An Yu couldn’t help but laugh in his heart. Isn’t my current behavior exactly like a favored consort going to the Cold Palace to flaunt my status?

“Your Highness! I want to see Your Highness!”

“On what grounds do you stop me? I was sent to the Crown Prince by the Empress herself!”

“You servants, you slaves! Get out of the way this instant!”

Before even reaching the gate of the remote courtyard, the angry shouts of the two dancing girls were already ringing in his ears.

An Yu looked at the energetic Xiao Bai, raised an eyebrow, and crouched down to rub the furry head: “Xiao Bai, some bad women are bullying me.”

Bai Ao seemed to understand; it rubbed against An Yu’s palm affectionately. When it turned back to walk forward, it reverted to the fierce, chilling look of a wild beast.

Mo Ying pursed his lips: Those two dancing girls better pray for themselves.

As they drew closer to the remote courtyard, the voices of the two women grew louder. When they arrived, they saw a row of guards standing at the entrance, preventing the two from leaving. The woman who had been so gentle and delicate yesterday was now pushing at the guards like a shrew: “Move! I must go see His Highness!”

“My, and who is it that wants to see the Prince?”

An Yu led Bai Ao leisurely toward the crowd. The snow leopard, which had grown even larger recently, looked even more majestic, its predatory eyes full of aggression.

The guards were momentarily stunned upon seeing the snow leopard. However, they were soldiers trained by Lu Shiyan; the moment they caught Mo Ying’s eye, they swallowed the words “Young Master” and said in unison: “Greetings, Crown Princess.”

Xu Niang and Zi Ling stopped their fussing. They exchanged a glance, their delicate brows furrowing, and reluctantly performed a salute: “We servants greet the Crown Princess.”

“Hmph.”

As the row of guards stepped aside, the snow leopard over a meter tall appeared before the two women. Xu Niang’s face instantly turned pale, and Zi Ling couldn’t help but scream.

“Ah!”

“Crown Princess, you… what is this”

An Yu rubbed his ears impatiently and said eerily: “I imagine you two beauties have forgotten what I said yesterday?”

The two suppressed their terror and thought back. A sentence suddenly flashed through their minds: “I’ll take them all to feed Xiao Bai.”

Xiao Bai—this fierce beast? Thinking of this, both women inhaled a cold breath.

Zi Ling hid behind Xu Niang and said timidly: “But Crown Princess, His Highness has not come to see us sisters.”

Upon hearing this, the youth’s gaze swept over them instantly:

“By the sound of it, I have wronged you two beauties? Then I wonder what you were shouting about just now. Furthermore, I am merely taking Xiao Bai for a walk and happened to wander here. Then, I heard someone clamoring to see the Prince.”

“No… it won’t happen again. It’s all a misunderstanding. The two of us are quite happy staying here.”

An Yu gave Mo Ying a look, and the latter hurriedly said: “Since it is a misunderstanding, then disperse. You shouldn’t stand at the door blocking the ladies’ view.”

The guards immediately formed two rows behind Mo Ying and An Yu.

The youth gave a casual smile, and the iron chain in his hand clattered to the ground. Suddenly freed from restraint, the snow leopard looked around.

“Ah!”

This time, not only did Zi Ling scream, but even the previously calm Xu Niang retreated repeatedly, fearing that any large movement would attract the beast’s attention. But that one scream was enough to draw its focus.

The snow leopard had been looking around, but hearing the scream, it walked straight toward the two, the chain clattering behind it.

“Get away! Don’t come over!” “Go away!” “Help! Help!”

The two didn’t know where to hide. The guards had just pulled back, leaving only the empty walls.

Huddled together, the two retreated in a panic. Someone lost their footing, and both fell to the ground. There was no trace of the “delicate beauties” left; their makeup had been mostly dissolved by sweat and mixed with tears into a mess.

The snow leopard was in no hurry, pacing slowly toward them. It was as if it understood its master’s words and was simply terrifying these two bad women.

“Roar!”

Zi Ling had long since been scared out of her wits. Xu Niang finally couldn’t take it and shouted:

“Crown Princess! We were wrong! We won’t ask to see His Highness ever again!”

“We will stay right here and go nowhere!”

An Yu lowered his head and laughed. He said helplessly: “In that case… Xiao Bai, come back to your brother.”

Hearing An Yu’s voice, the snow leopard ignored the two people collapsed on the ground. It immediately turned and ran to An Yu, circling and rubbing against him.

The youth murmured in a voice just loud enough for everyone to hear: “Xiao Bai is clearly so gentle; how could you two beauties be so frightened?”

Guards: …

Taking the chain back in his hand, An Yu shook his somewhat aching arm this chain was far too heavy.

“Crown Princess, let me do it.”

Mo Ying reached out to take the chain, but before his hand could even get near, the previously gentle snow leopard turned on him: “Roar!”

Mo Ying had no choice but to withdraw his hand sheepishly.

An Yu was also helpless and rubbed Xiao Bai’s head: “Alright, let’s go.”

After wandering the manor all morning, An Yu’s legs were a bit sore by the time he returned to the room.

Lu Shiyan had already returned and was sitting at the table writing something. Hearing the footsteps, he looked up: “You’re back.”

For a split second, An Yu felt like the two of them were an old married couple of many years.

He also sat down and poured himself a cup of tea to moisten his throat.

Then, he recounted his heroic deeds of the morning with much embellishment, adding vivid and expressive gestures. It was quite a performance.

Lu Shiyan had already heard the original version from his hidden guards, but listening to this decorated version, he couldn’t help but keep laughing.

“What is Your Highness laughing at?”

Lu Shiyan suppressed the corners of his mouth: “Thank you for your hard work, Xiao Yu.”

An Yu nodded in total agreement and added: “And thank you to Xiao Bai too.”

The man chuckled: “Indeed.”

As the topic came to a close, An Yu remembered that Lu Shiyan was writing something when he came in.

The man handed the paper to An Yu. Under An Yu’s puzzled gaze, he said: “Xiao Yu, take a look.”

An Yu looked down. The paper was filled with names and ages, followed by family details and medical conditions. Different symbols were drawn after different names.

“Are these the intelligence members Mo Ying found?”

Lu Shiyan nodded: “Mhm. Many are unable to speak due to secondary causes; I had Yun Liang examine them. They are divided into ‘treatable’ and ‘untreatable’. They will be trained in two batches for different levels of message transmission.”

An Yu nodded. That meant the youths who could speak would be easier to train and could transmit messages more easily. Those who couldn’t speak would be more complex to train, but they could ensure absolute secrecy.

As expected of my Crown Prince.