On Our Wedding Night, I Discovered the Crown Prince’s Hidden Illness
Chapter 304: Drinking and Talking

Chapter 304: Chapter 304: Drinking and Talking

Leng Yu Yan was entirely timid, her heart pounding with both panic and chaos, her ears buzzing, her face burning hot as if on fire, along with an inexplicable sensation that arose within her.

She didn’t know if it was because his hands were too cold, or her feet were too warm, but in that moment, Ye Yiheng really didn’t want to let go...

He even wanted to take more warmth from her.

A cough reminded him of his cold disease. Ye Yiheng’s mind became alert, he put the cotton towel aside, and placed her feet back on the couch.

Fortunately, the floor was reasonably clean, and she had only stepped on it twice, so a brief wipe was enough.

He reached out to tuck the blanket around her, then carried her across the carriage horizontally.

By the light of the crescent moon, she saw his lips tightly pressed into a thin line.

It was too strange, the state between them was just too strange.

Suddenly, the moon disappeared entirely behind the clouds.

Ye Yiheng’s foot twisted, jolting Leng Yu Yan into clutching his robes tightly.

"Your Highness, be careful!"

He already had a vision problem, and with the moonlight suddenly gone, his eyes couldn’t adjust in time. Furthermore, with stones by the stream, he stepped on an uneven one, causing his body to wobble.

Luckily, he steadied himself immediately, his hand that was resting on her knee clenching tighter.

Falling himself was not a big deal, but if the person in his arms were to fall, he guessed she would cry.

Suddenly, Ye Yiheng realized that he was becoming increasingly afraid of her tears.

Speaking crazily, when they first met, he even thought that seeing her cry was a rather interesting affair.

The hand behind her back clenched into a fist: "I’m fine."

After he brought her back to the carriage, Leng Yu Yan barely had the chance to say anything before he turned and left.

--

The next morning, the caravan broke camp and set off.

From that day on, the cold and noble Crown Prince became unusually somber, speaking scarcely a few words to the people by his side all day long.

As for Leng Yu Yan, unless she needed to eat or stay at an inn or hostel, she spent most of her time hiding in her carriage.

This situation was exactly what Li Yuyue liked to see.

Several days passed, and one evening, when the hostel was full, Ye Yiheng and his party of seven proposed staying at an inn.

Lai Ran had no objections, but after all, the man was the Crown Prince, and the safety issue was his responsibility as Prince Zhenbei, so he asked Li Yuyue to take a few people with him to stay at the inn as well.

The innkeeper, seeing the young man with the eye veil return, greeted him cheerfully: "Has young master made up with your lady?"

"We need a few upper rooms," Ye Yiheng nodded faintly. "Song Guo, you talk to the shopkeeper."

Li Yuyue, standing to the side, was full of confusion. When had the blind Crown Prince ever stayed here with his lady?

No wonder he had offered the hostel room to the palace guards and brought his people to the inn himself; it turned out he was here to relive old dreams.

Blind and still so fickle, truly not a good match!

While Li Yuyue felt indignant on behalf of his sister, he raised his voice: "Shopkeeper, we also want a few upper rooms."

"Please wait a moment, sir," the shopkeeper nodded to Li Yuyue and turned to hand several room keys to Song Guo, "How’s your young master and young lady been lately? I have some homemade wine; you can take a few jugs later."

Song Guo happily replied: "That’d be great, thank you, Shopkeeper!"

Gao Yuan saw his Princely Heir being neglected and lifted his sword hilt a bit: "What kind of service is this, old man?"

The Shopkeeper chuckled apologetically, "There’s a matter of order in these things! Besides, I happened to run into a regular. Is a little friendly chitchat unacceptable? You young people shouldn’t be so hot-tempered!"

Gao Yuan still wanted to say something, but Lai Yuyue pulled at his arm.

If he were to tell his sister what he saw and heard today, she would become disheartened toward the blind Crown Prince.

To make his sister completely give up on the Crown Prince, he had to start with the Crown Prince himself.

Acting on both fronts would be the safest bet.

With that in mind, Lai Yuyue walked over to Ye Yiheng, lowered his voice, "How about a drink for a chat?"

Ye Yiheng replied indifferently, "Alright."

This inn had no private rooms; all were for dining in the hall.

Considering the fact that he was a regular, the Shopkeeper hastily prepared a room, setting up a table to serve as a private dining space for Ye Yiheng and Lai Yuyue to drink.

Night enveloped all around, and the fine wine and dishes were laid out on the table.

Ye Yiheng drank his wine impassively, while Lai Yuyue, disliking how even as a blind man he still put on airs, raised his hand to have the waiter replace the small wine cups with large bowls.

As soon as the large bowls arrived, Lai Yuyue poured wine for both of them.

Ye Yiheng declined to drink from the large bowl, simply stating, "Speak frankly if you have something to say!"

With his own men guarding outside the door, Lai Yuyue lowered his voice and said with confidence, "Your approach to my sister is merely to secure the military authority of our Prince Mansion. My sister is naive, easily charmed by you, but we brothers are not to be trifled with!"

"The Heir Lai is very clever, but don’t forget," replied Ye Yiheng, "that military authority is a double-edged sword. While it may allow your Prince Zhenbei Mansion to stand on its own, it also makes you a target for everyone."

"When we become a target, our Prince Mansion will handle it. The Crown Prince need not burden himself!"

Ye Yiheng chuckled lightly, "Heir Lai dares to say that without me, you’d have been able to leave the capital smoothly?"

Lai Yuyue, left without a retort, picked up the large bowl and gulped down the wine.

The more he drank, the clearer his mind became. Slamming down the wine bowl, Lai Yuyue said, "The Crown Prince simply wants the support of Prince Zhenbei Mansion and the Northern Garrison, right? As long as Your Highness ensures that you’re not deposed and also stays away from my sister, I, Lai Yuyue, dare to promise my support! And in the struggle for succession, I will not side with any other Prince!"

Ye Yiheng raised an eyebrow, not expecting Leng Yu Yan to be so important in Lai Yuyue’s heart.

Siblings of the Tian Family were known for their cold-heartedness. In his nineteen years of life, he had never experienced the kind of brother-sister bond apparent in the Leng Family.

Leng Yu Yan was willing to negotiate and cooperate for her father and brothers; whereas Lai Yuyue was willing to make such a promise for Leng Yu Yan.

The Emperor most feared the words "struggle for succession." To the Emperor, the struggle implied wishing for his early demise.

Merely these words could bring about the immediate punishment of everyone in Prince Zhenbei Mansion.

Though other ministers also mentioned it in the shadows, it was only within their camps and in hushed tones.

Like now, Lai Yuyue was openly discussing it, which was quite rare. Moreover, Ye Yiheng had no particular friendship with Lai Yuyue, which made his boldness stand out.

Ye Yiheng lifted up his large bowl of wine, and Lai Yuyue hurriedly filled his own bowl. Their bowls clinked together, and they each drained them.

"Why is the Heir Lai opposed to me being with your sister?"

Lai Yuyue’s face showed hints of intoxication as he smiled and said, "Forgive my frankness, Your Highness, but while I am unaware of the true condition of your blindness and frailty, I do know that your cold disease is particularly severe."

"I’m unclear about how Yan’er was as a young child, but when Mian’er was young, whenever winter came, her little hands and feet would be so cold. She didn’t like hand warmers either, so we brothers would take turns warming her up. Mian’er and Yan’er look about eighty percent alike, so I presume they are similar when it comes to coldness."

"If Your Highness truly became Yan’er’s husband, would you not risk harming her with the cold? You can claim there are various ways to keep warm, but between a husband and wife..."

Lai Yuyue stopped there, silently watching the Crown Prince.

Ye Yiheng frowned, lately vexed by his cold disease preventing him from being more intimate with her.

Today, as Lai Yuyue spoke so bluntly, was he, afflicted by a cold disease, deemed unworthy of having a wife?