Chapter 13: Surviving the Ordeal

Chapter 13: The Aftermath

The sound of a blade piercing flesh rang out, and the ferocious wolf fell to the ground.

In a flash, Chen Shuoan was hoisted up and placed onto the horse's back.

The chest behind him was lean—the distinctive build of a young man.

Yuan Rang yanked the reins, and Chen Shuoan found himself trapped in his embrace, feeling how tense his muscles were.

They were riding back.

The rain picked up, stinging as it hit them.

A burning heat spread across Chen Shuoan's neck.

It was Yuan Rang, sniffing him.

The young man's breath hit him, scorching hot, a stark contrast to the sticky rain drenching their clothes.

Suddenly, Chen Shuoan heard Yuan Rang's voice right by his ear.

"Chen Shuoan, you're not looking too good."

Chen Shuoan himself was tingling all over from Yuan Rang's heat and thought Yuan Rang was the one who didn't look so good.

He sat up straight in Yuan Rang's arms, looking at him with concern. "Your Highness, you're really burning up."

Yuan Rang's thin lips were pressed into a tight line, his breathing heavy.

He gently rested his head on Chen Shuoan's shoulder, his cool lips brushing against the shell of the other's ear, savoring the shiver that ran through the man in his arms.

"I'm running a fever, Chen Shuoan." Yuan Rang pressed his lips fully against Chen Shuoan's earlobe, still baiting him. "When we get back, you'll have to take care of me."

The touch was soft and delicate, still cold from the rain.

Yuan Rang's eyes were bloodshot, his whole body trembling with excitement.

Chen Shuoan turned to look at him and thought, *Oh no*—his eyes were bloodshot red, and he was shivering all over.

He tried to break free from Yuan Rang's iron grip on his waist.

Yuan Rang kept riding, but moved his hand from Chen Shuoan's waist to grab his chin, tilting his head back.

His Highness the Sixth Prince looked down at him, his pale lips parting to say two words: "Don't move."

Chen Shuoan, furious, slapped away the hand pinching his face. "Ow!"

"Rain got in my eyes!"

Yuan Rang paused, then immediately pulled him into his arms.

Chen Shuoan rubbed his eyes. Seeing Yuan Rang still wouldn't let go, he had no choice but to squirm like a worm in his arms.

Yuan Rang didn't care how much he squirmed—as long as he stayed in his arms.

Suddenly, a piece of clothing was thrown over both their heads, shielding them from the rain and improving their visibility.

Yuan Rang stared at the snow-white nape exposed when the other took off a layer of clothing, and couldn't help running his tongue over his teeth.

With one hand on the reins and the other locking Chen Shuoan in place, he pulled him closer, saying considerately, "Come closer and you won't be cold."

Yuan Rang and Chen Shuoan rode hard all the way back to camp. No sooner had they dismounted than they overheard people discussing the attack on His Majesty tonight.

Before Chen Shuoan could listen closely, Yuan Rang's body suddenly went limp and collapsed against him.

All thoughts of finding out what happened were abandoned. Chen Shuoan felt Yuan Rang's forehead and helped him back to the room.

Yuan Rang's steps were unsteady, most of his weight leaning on Chen Shuoan.

Chen Shuoan laid him on the bed and went to take off Yuan Rang's soaked outer robe, but Yuan Rang grabbed his wrist.

"Chen Shuoan..."

"Here!" Chen Shuoan jumped, startled nearly out of his skin.

Yuan Rang's fingers gently traced circles, feeling the warmth under his fingertips, before finally letting go. His voice hoarse, he said, "Go change your clothes."

Chen Shuoan said yes but did nothing of the sort, rubbing his hands together eagerly, eyeing Yuan Rang's clothes.

Yuan Rang's gaze darkened. Staring at Chen Shuoan's pale, bloodless lips, he suppressed his rising anger and repeated, "Go change. I can handle it myself."

Chen Shuoan was finally shooed back to his own room.

He had someone draw a hot bath and specifically told them to make Yuan Rang soak in it before bed.

Then he went to the pharmacy to pick up a few fever-reducing, cold-dispelling prescriptions and brewed them, planning to bring the medicine over once Yuan Rang woke up.

After enjoying a nice hot bath himself, Chen Shuoan brought the medicine to see His Highness—only to realize something was wrong.

He knocked several times with no answer. Chen Shuoan immediately burst in and found Yuan Rang passed out on the bed.

He was still in his soaked clothes, the dampness now soaking into the velvet blanket under him.

"*I can handle it myself*"? Handle burning himself to death, more like!

Chen Shuoan was livid, wishing he could slap this Sixth Prince—the one whose mouth was the hardest part of his entire body—right across the face.

But "wishing" was all it was. Chen Shuoan dutifully called out "Your Highness" as he started stripping off the Sixth Prince's clothes.

When the black outer robe came off to reveal the inner garment, Chen Shuoan's eyes nearly bulged out of his head.

The snow-white inner robe was stained with blood.

Hadn't the injury from falling off the horse healed yet?

Chen Shuoan was alarmed. He tucked the blanket around Yuan Rang, ran back to his room to grab a bottle of medicine, and came back.

He also prepared fresh hot water and clean towels.

Chen Shuoan stripped off all of Yuan Rang's upper garments, revealing lean muscles and a back covered in crisscrossing wounds.

The wounds had been soaked white by the rain, the flesh turned inside out.

Chen Shuoan was speechless.

There was no fall injury—these were all whip wounds, man-made.

And Yuan Rang's not-so-broad back bore many older scars, long healed and barely visible.

Chen Shuoan's throat began to tighten.

Yuan Rang on the bed opened his clear eyes, staring intently at Chen Shuoan's reddened eye sockets, and said, "It hurts."

Chen Shuoan abruptly stood up, raised a hand to wipe his eyes, and said, "Let me apply the medicine, Your Highness."

Yuan Rang truly loved seeing him so concerned like this, though his face betrayed no hint of madness: "Alright."

Chen Shuoan wiped Yuan Rang's back with a towel soaked in hot water, carefully avoiding those horrifying wounds, and said softly, "Call out if it hurts, Your Highness."

Yuan Rang felt the gentle pressure on his back, like a kitten kneading dough, and couldn't help but chuckle softly: "Alright."

After Chen Shuoan nervously finished applying the medicine to Yuan Rang without hearing a single cry from the Sixth Prince who had just claimed to be in pain, he couldn't help but marvel at the Sixth Prince's toughness.

Although the original book mentioned that the Sixth Prince was not favored, it didn't mention he was this neglected.

Who could have done this to him?

Yuan Rang seemed to read Chen Shuoan's thoughts and spoke up: "It was my mother."

Chen Shuoan's eyes widened in shock.

"I got punished badly for slacking off in my studies. I didn't tell you the truth because I felt ashamed, so I made up an excuse about falling off a horse." Yuan Rang explained with an indifferent expression.

Chen Shuoan nodded nervously after hearing this.

He'd already stuck his nose in way too far, yet the Sixth Prince still explained things to him—he didn't want to know too much!

Chen Shuoan completely dispelled his doubts, thinking that even if the prince wasn't favored, no one would dare mess with a prince.

So he slung an arm around Yuan Rang's neck and whispered, "Hey, bro, I really don't agree with your mom's methods. You need to remember, studying isn't the only way out, but your mom's beatings are totally wrong! You need to dare to fire the first shot of revolution, bravely stand up to tyranny..."

Chen Shuoan hyped himself up with his fiery speech, totally missing the dark look in Yuan Rang's eyes.

Yuan Rang waited quietly for Chen Shuoan to finish before slowly speaking: "There aren't any other clean mattresses in camp..."

Before Yuan Rang could even finish, Chen Shuoan perfectly predicted what he was going to say.

"We'll sleep together then, Your Highness."

As a straight man straighter than a ruler, Chen Shuoan's bed was easy to get into.

Yuan Rang subtly ran his tongue over his teeth, lowering his voice: "Alright."