The protagonist chased the villain, and Tiandao screamed in anger

"Young Master, what's wrong with you..." Jiang Ya was standing at the door, and was surprised when he saw Lou Jian running towards him, panting.

Lou Jian's breathing was unstable as he hurried along, but he was eager to see the prince, so he didn't even have time to catch his breath or answer Jiang Ya. He walked up the stairs and went straight into the prince's bedroom.

"Ah... Sir, you can't do that. His Highness is here..."

Jiang Ya was a little passive, knowing that Lou Jian was still injured and couldn't use force. But this moment of hesitation gave the other party an opportunity, and he stepped sideways to bypass his obstruction and pushed open the door.

The curtains in the inner room swayed, and the candlelight was mottled. The prince, who was sitting on the side of the wooden frame, had his clothes half-taken off, exposing a large area of ​​his waist, abdomen and back.

"boom!"

The door closed from the inside, and the quickly closing wooden door almost hit Jiang Ya's nose. He was afraid that His Highness would be unhappy, so he knocked lightly on the door and tried to get Lou Jian, who had accidentally entered, out.

"Sir...you can't..."

"Get out." His coat fell at his feet. You Mu didn't look at the person who suddenly broke in, but just scolded in an unpleasant tone.

Lou Jian stood at the door, having already decided to stay, so how could she leave easily?

He stood still, guarding the door stubbornly, not letting Jiang Ya from outside in.

You Mu reached out and pulled the pajamas on the wooden rack and put them on for himself. Without hearing any movement behind him, he knew that the other party did not follow his orders. He estimated that there was not much time left to leave the city, so he called Jiang Ya.

"Jiang Ya, send him out of the palace."

"Your Highness, your subordinate..." Jiang Ya stood outside the door, thinking about the consequences of using brute force to break through the door, and felt quite helpless.

The sound of the door being bolted and Jiang Ya's helplessness outside the door reached his ears. You Mu wanted to turn back, but his waist tightened.

Bringing with her a bit of the bitter chill of the night, Lou Jian approached from behind, and once he gathered his arms around her, he tightened them tightly, causing You Mu to feel a little uncomfortable.

It would have been fine when they were young, and it was fine to let the other person do whatever he wanted. But now that they were both adults, and they had experienced many twists and turns, You Mu was somewhat resistant to such a close distance.

Jiang Ya was still asking for instructions in a low voice outside the door, fearing that he would disturb You Mu's rest, and also worried that Lou Jian inside would cause trouble.

As he frowned and reached out to pull the person away, the tears mixed with his low sobs wet the fabric and fell on the back of his neck, bringing a hint of coolness.

"You don't want me anymore... Do you want to abandon A Jian... Brother Prince..."

The whispers with a crying tone made people feel breathless. After all, he was a close minister who had been spoiled by You Mu for many years since childhood. You Mu had treated him almost like his own brother. Even though it had been a long time, habits were always hard to change.

As soon as Lou Jian cried, he softened his heart.

"Jiang Ya, wait outside the hall." He ordered Jiang Ya who was outside the door to step aside and wait. You Mu reached out to untie his arms from his waist, but failed to move.

"Lou Jian, at this time, you should have left the palace with others."

It doesn't matter if it can't be solved. You Mu tilted his head to see what the other party was trying to do.

Seeing the opportunity, Lou Jian hugged him tighter and cried even louder: "I won't leave, I won't... My parents are gone, my elder sister is gone, the fire burned everything, I have nothing left, brother Crown Prince... I only have you left, don't chase me away... brother..."

"Lou Jian, you said you wanted to kill me when I first arrived, but now you don't hate me anymore? Then I am still your brother?" He turned sideways to look, but the person behind him was leaning on his neck, so close that You Mu couldn't even move.

"...I was wrong, I shouldn't have said that...Brother, I didn't know, I just thought at that time...please don't be angry with me...okay? The prince loves A Jian the most..."

Lou Jian raised her head and leaned on the prince's shoulder. Her eyes were red with tears, and all the tears seeped through the connected skin and fell on You Mu's neck.

The mask that the prince had asked Jiang Ya to bring to him was thrown by the door at some point.

"Brother... do you think A Jian is ugly? The fire was so big that I ran for a long time, hiding everywhere. Sparks got on my clothes and my body started to catch fire. I was in so much pain that I cried for a long time, but my brother never came to comfort me..."

Lou Jian was the youngest son of the Grand Tutor and also the prince's companion. He was favored by the prince and had hardly ever suffered any hardship.

Whenever she got bumps and bruises, the prince would hold her in his arms and comfort her for a long time.

The pain from the fire was almost engraved in my soul, and every time I had a nightmare, it was very painful.

Thinking of the situation in Qixia Pavilion, Lou Jian's tears fell more frequently, drop by drop, dripping on the prince's skin.

"The Albizia Julibrissin tree is gone too... Brother... are you really going to abandon me?"

Speaking of this, You Mu stretched out his hand to pry the head away from his neck and tilted it to one side: "...If you like, take the potted plant out of the palace with you. I agree."

There was mist in front of her eyes. Lou Jian blinked for a long time before she saw a small tree with dry branches contained in a snow-white wide-mouthed porcelain vase in the corner.

Although the tree's roots were short and had some signs of being cut and burned, tiny new branches were growing from the burnt, cut sides.

…has not disappeared, the tree is still there…still alive.

Lou Jian was somewhat delighted. It was obvious that the Albizia Julibrissin tree had been well cared for. Even though the tree trunk looked weak, the person who was raising it must have taken great care of it.

But when she heard the prince mention "leaving the palace" again, Lou Jian's face fell again.

"I won't leave. I can't leave. I want to stay and accompany my brother... Don't chase me away, Prince brother. I know you are angry with me. It doesn't matter if you hit me or scold me, just don't let me go..."

Lou Jian lowered his head and remembered the past when he rubbed against people like a puppy, trying to please and beg.

You Mu was getting impatient with being rubbed, and had been standing there for too long. He lost his patience and reached out to pull the arm off his waist: "This trick doesn't work, Lou Jian, let go!"

Seeing that the prince had a bad tone, Lou Jian's eyes jumped and she reluctantly let go.

Finally freed, You Mu raised his feet and sat back on the bed, waved to Lou Jian who was standing helplessly on the side.

Lou Jian was frightened by the previous indifference, so he hurried over at the mere gesture of hooking his finger, fearing that the prince would be displeased.

"Squat."

The prince spoke, and Lou Jian obediently knelt beside the other's legs.

This quick move made You Mu speechless. He lowered his eyes and looked at the person lying beside his legs. "Now you are well behaved. I can't see the stubborn temper you had the other day."

“I was wrong, I was wrong, brother…” Her body froze, and Lou Jian leaned her head against the prince’s knees to apologize.

"What's wrong?" You Mu's tone softened a little. He reached out and touched the scar on Lou Jian's cheek. His dark pupils revealed some emotions.

Looking up and following the other's movements, Lou Jian saw the fondness in the prince's eyes and knew that she was still different.

"I shouldn't have pointed the sword at my brother, nor should I have said those nonsense. My brother should punish me..." With her cheek slightly turned away, Lou Jian was worried that the prince would think she was ugly, but she also wanted to use these scars to gain his love.

“…What’s wrong?” With a slower tone, You Mu pinched Lou Jian’s cheek and asked again.

Lou Jian was very familiar with this tone. When he answered questions incorrectly in academic tests in the past, the other party would ask him questions in this tone.

But he thought carefully, thinking about his mistakes, looked up at the other person's expression and spoke carefully: "I shouldn't..."

He couldn't explain it. As for the incident in the pool, he didn't think it was wrong...

Just by looking at Lou Jian's expression, You Mu knew that he had never realized his own shortcomings.

However, the opponent's weakness is a fatal flaw in Kyoto, a place where people fight for power and profit.

Reaching out his hand and touching Lou Jian's hair, the prince lowered his head, his long eyelashes blocking his vision.

"Ajian, you shouldn't be so stubborn. You are alive today because you fell into my hands. If you had assassinated someone else that day and were arrested, would you still be so unruly and wantonly offend me?"

"This Kyoto...is different from before, Ajian. The situation is stronger than you. You must learn to bow your head."

Listening to the prince's words, Lou Jian looked up, but the dense eyelashes obscured all the other person's expressions. He could not see through him, but he could feel the sadness and pain all over the prince.

It was like a gust of bitter wind in a cold night, silent yet roaring with all its might, causing pain in one's heart.

Bitterness surged in her throat. Lou Jian propped herself up, rushed over to hug the prince, and whispered, "Brother Prince, I won't leave you alone anymore... We can do those things together. A Jian will not leave."

After a long time, Lou Jian felt the warm touch on her back, which was the prince's response.

After a long-awaited hug, You Muhuan leaned on Lou Jian's back, but it was different from when they were young.

The boy who once leaned in his arms has sprouted and grown into an adult. Such a close embrace seems too intimate.

"Okay, let go."

The gloomy mood dissipated a little, and You Mu pushed Lou Jian away, which was considered as allowing her to stay.

"Lou Jian is dead. If you want to stay, you can only be Ah Chou."

It was late at night and You Mu felt a little tired. He kicked off his shoes and got on the bed sideways.

"I'll stay by my brother's side and won't go anywhere. Achou is also me. As long as my brother doesn't dislike me..." Lou Jian knelt at the head of the bed and tugged at You Mu's sleeve.

"A Chou, put yourself in your proper place and call me what I should call you."

You Mu raised his head and opened his eyes a little. He felt a little tired, but he still patiently agreed.

"Owner."

"Okay, go back and have some rest." He closed his eyelashes. He was tired after being busy these past few days. In the blink of an eye, his consciousness began to become confused.

"...I want to stay here to guard the master." Without waiting for You Mu to say anything else, Lou Jian stood up and went to the lamp on the side, trimmed the candle wick, and dimmed the flame.

After turning down the candlelight, Lou Jian turned around and saw that the person on the bed had already fallen into a sound sleep.

With lighter footsteps, Lou Jian approached, lifted the gauze curtain, squatted down and looked for a long time, until his legs became sore. He suddenly remembered Jiang Ya outside the room, stood up and pushed the door open to go out.

There was no movement in the room. Jiang Ya had no idea what His Highness had said to Lou Jian. He was just conscientiously calculating the time for his next exit from the palace.

Hearing the sound of the door opening, he jumped down from the eaves and said, "Sir, we are late tonight. I will take you there myself tomorrow night..." Calculating the time, the opportunity to leave the palace today has passed.

"No need, Jiang Ya, the prince allowed me to stay, so I won't leave. It's late at night and cold, you should go to bed."

Before Jiang Ya could respond, the door closed again and Jiang Ya was almost hit again.

Jiang Ya touched the tip of his nose, was stunned, and walked away from the door doubtfully.

...Your Highness treats you very well, Master Lou, and you shouldn't lie to him.

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It's okay.

Stubborn and stupid dog: I will avenge the Lou family until I die! :(

Crybaby: Brother, brother, brother...QAQ