Ling Qiyan reached out to grab Wen Ying's clothes, insisting that he take them off for him to see.

There was a time before when he had pulled open Wen Ying's collar and bitten his shoulder, but he was drunk then and hadn't gotten a good look. Today, he had to see it clearly.

Ling Qiyan's hands moved urgently, but his own clothes were always put on by servants, so he didn't even know how to untie a sash. He fumbled with the buckle for a long time and nearly tore it.

Ling Qiyan grew a little annoyed, his face showing displeasure. Wen Ying silently pressed down on his hand, undid the sash himself, and removed his outer robe, followed by the inner shirt.

A sturdy, well-built male body with perfectly defined muscles was revealed before Ling Qiyan's eyes. Ling Qiyan subconsciously swallowed. His fingers first poked Wen Ying's arm, then his pectoral muscles, and then moved down to his abdomen. Every part was firm and hard, the muscles tight with not a trace of fat, yet not appearing overly bulky.

Ling Qiyan looked on with both envy and desire, poking him repeatedly and clicking his tongue. "Aren't you a scholar? How did you train to get like this? This Prince rides horses every day and isn't as well-trained as you."

Wen Ying said faintly, "This student practices boxing for an hour every day. This student mentioned it to Your Highness before—that retired old general. He saw that this student had the potential for martial arts and taught this student many skills, which can strengthen the body. If this student hadn't insisted on taking the imperial examinations, he would have preferred to recommend this student for the army."

"Join the army?" Ling Qiyan was a little surprised to hear this. "Joining the army isn't bad. Then why were you so insistent on pursuing literary studies?"

Wen Ying shook his head slightly. "This student's father said his greatest regret in life was being illiterate. He wanted to see this student pass the imperial examinations. This student merely wishes to fulfill his father's last wish."

"To think you're such a filial son."

As Ling Qiyan spoke, his gaze fell on Wen Ying's chest. There was a blood mole the size of a grain of rice, its color a brilliant and bewitching red.

"What's this? It's beautiful..." Ling Qiyan brushed the pad of his thumb over it, caressing it fondly.

"I was born with it."

"A beauty is truly a beauty, beautiful everywhere."

Ling Qiyan praised, smiling as he fondled it for a long while, even wanting to stick out his tongue to lick it and have a taste.

Wen Ying grabbed his hand, frowning slightly. "Your Highness has seen it. May this student put his clothes back on now?"

Ling Qiyan was displeased. "You haven't taken off what's below yet."

Wen Ying's expression didn't change as he reminded him, "Didn't Your Highness already see what's below last night?"

He had indeed seen it, and also...

Thinking of last night's events, Ling Qiyan cleared his throat. "Using your legs wasn't enough. This Prince wasn't satisfied. We'll have to use a different place."

Wen Ying just looked at him, not responding.

Ling Qiyan seemed annoyed by his stare. He grunted twice and grabbed at Wen Ying's abdomen before finally pulling back from his embrace and letting him go.

It had started raining outside again, and the weather had turned cool. Wen Ying dressed, glanced out the window, and reminded Ling Qiyan in a low voice, "This student is returning. Your Highness is injured, so you should rest early."

Ling Qiyan was unhappy. "Why are you in such a hurry to run off? Stay and attend to this Prince in bed. Didn't this Prince just say that last night wasn't enough? Don't play dumb with this Prince."

Wen Ying averted his eyes. "Your Highness should rest well. We can talk about it after the wound on your back has healed."

"You'll be willing to attend to this Prince in bed once the wound is healed?"

Ling Qiyan smiled again, his face appearing even more radiant and exquisite in the candlelight. Wen Ying watched him impassively, a thought stirring in his mind. He suddenly asked, "Does Your Highness know how to do it?"

The smile on Ling Qiyan's lips froze. He slapped Wen Ying across the face. "What are you talking about? This Prince is battle-hardened. How could I not know what to do?"

His slap used one-tenth of his strength at most, no different from a cat's paw scratching someone. Wen Ying continued to stare straight at him, something seemingly brewing in his dark eyes. After a long moment, he heard himself ask in a hoarse voice, "Is that so?"

"Of course." Ling Qiyan wasn't the least bit sheepish.

He had never eaten pork, but he had seen a pig run. He himself had read the booklet he gave Wen Ying countless times. Since he could get a reaction from Wen Ying, if he just took him to bed and broke his fast, wouldn't his unspeakable ailment be cured?

Wen Ying just took it as him spouting nonsense.

If he were truly battle-hardened, the maid who had a tryst with Liu Qingxi that day wouldn't have spoken like that. And seeing Ling Qiyan's reaction every time he was handled by him, Wen Ying felt he had misjudged. When he first entered Prince Yu's Manor, he had actually believed the rumors about the young prince's romantic affairs.

But it turned out Ling Qiyan was just a paper tiger putting on a brave front, turning as soft and pliant as a kitten the moment someone handled him.

He didn't continue the meaningless banter with Ling Qiyan. "Then let's wait until next time."

Ling Qiyan kicked him. "Then get lost."

Wen Ying took his leave and went out.

The rain outside had grown heavier. Wen Ying stood under the eaves for a moment, listening to the sound of Ling Qiyan imperiously scolding the servants inside. A slight curve appeared on his lips as he opened his umbrella and walked into the night rain.

Two more days passed. Just as the wound on Ling Qiyan's back was almost healed, an imperial edict suddenly arrived from the palace. The Emperor ordered him to begin learning about vassal state affairs at the Bureau of Receptions, effective immediately. Ling Qiyan examined the edict from front to back, finding it more and more bizarre. He hadn't expected his Imperial Father would actually intend for him to handle official duties.

The Empress Dowager had mentioned this at the Dragon Boat Festival family banquet. At the time, the Emperor said he would go back and consider it. Ling Qiyan had assumed it was just his Imperial Father's way of placating the Empress Dowager. He had forgotten all about it, but now the edict had arrived.

"This Prince truly does not want to handle official duties. Her Majesty the Empress Dowager has really found some trouble for this Prince." Ling Qiyan sighed, sprawled on the couch.

Wen Ying came to pay his respects and, hearing this, picked up the edict Ling Qiyan had thrown on the floor. After examining it carefully, he said, "His Majesty now intends to cultivate Your Highness. Why not seize the opportunity? You've entered the Bureau of Receptions. Although it's for 'learning,' those officials will surely have to listen to you. In another month, it will be the Longevity Festival, when all nations will come to pay tribute. If Your Highness can handle this assignment well, not only will His Majesty and the entire court take notice, but the various vassal states will also know that our Great Cheng Dynasty has not only a Crown Prince, but also you, the Emperor's eldest legitimate son."

Ling Qiyan sneered at him, "You still haven't given up, have you? Still trying to persuade this Prince to fight for that position?"

Wen Ying kept his mouth shut, but his expression told Ling Qiyan that was exactly what he was thinking.

Ling Qiyan remained completely unmoved. He yawned lazily and stretched, muttering, "How strange. This shouldn't be happening. Why would Imperial Father let this Prince handle such an important assignment? Even if it's because the Empress beat this Prince a couple of days ago, which angered Grandmother so much that she threatened to go to this Prince's fiefdom with me, he shouldn't have given me this task just to appease her. Isn't he afraid this Prince will ruin his Longevity Festival?"

Ling Qiyan was very self-aware, knowing full well what kind of image he had in his Imperial Father's eyes. Therefore, he didn't believe Wen Ying's claim that his Imperial Father intended to cultivate him; he only felt that something was fishy.

Jiang Lin saw the palace eunuch who delivered the edict out of the manor. He returned to report to Ling Qiyan that he had slipped a fine jade pendant to that Eunuch Qi, and the man had told him everything he knew.

Giving Ling Qiyan an assignment was indeed the Emperor's way of showing goodwill to the Empress Dowager. However, the initial plan was for a quiet department with no important duties, not the Bureau of Receptions. "Later, His Highness the Crown Prince mentioned to His Majesty that since Your Highness is almost seventeen, you should formally start getting involved in court affairs so that you can share His Majesty's burdens with him in the future. His Majesty was very pleased and changed his mind."

Ling Qiyan frowned. "What is that Second Brother up to now?"

Wen Ying reminded him, "Whatever the Crown Prince is planning, as long as Your Highness is careful, handles the assignment properly, and does nothing to give others cause for gossip, nothing can go wrong."

Ling Qiyan waved his hand resentfully. That was true, but knowing that the assignment was something that fellow Ling Qiyu had helped him get, he wanted to go even less.

"What's so interesting about handling official duties? None of those old coots are as handsome as you. Looking at them, this Prince can't muster any enthusiasm."

Ling Qiyan said this while squeezing Wen Ying's hand. Wen Ying's gaze shifted down, landing on their clasped hands. He paused, then said, "This student also has to study and won't be in the manor during the day. Wouldn't Your Highness feel bored? Drinking tea and listening to music every day is also quite meaningless. It would be better to handle some proper business."

How could Ling Qiyan listen to what Wen Ying was saying? His mind was filled with how smooth his hand felt. It wasn't soft like a girl's, but rather bony and well-defined to the touch, which had its own unique appeal. Previously, whenever he grabbed Wen Ying's hand to fondle it, it would mostly be shaken off. Today, this fellow was behaving, actually letting him touch it as he pleased.

Ling Qiyan narrowed his eyes and thought carefully. It seemed that ever since he helped him teach Shen Xingyao and his group a lesson and covered up the matter of him killing Liu Qingxi, Wen Ying's attitude had improved somewhat. This was how it should be.

However, although he wanted this fellow to bow his head, if he became like everyone else, blindly fawning and flattering him, it would seem rather dull. Tsk, being a person was truly contradictory.

The way things were now was better. He wanted to see just how long this poor scholar would play hard to get with him.

The more Ling Qiyan thought, the more engrossed he became. Suddenly, he felt his hand being held in return. Looking down, he saw that Wen Ying had turned from passive to active and was now squeezing the back of his hand, his fingers kneading his palm.

He hadn't noticed before, but the comparison made it clear: although Wen Ying's skin was fair, it still wasn't as fair as his. And this fellow, having come from a poor family, had a thin layer of calluses on his fingertips and palm, unlike him, who had been pampered since childhood, his ten fingers never having touched spring water, his hands as white as a freshly shelled tender egg.

Wen Ying held his hand, and it seemed his palm was slightly larger than his own. Ling Qiyan was a little displeased. Why did he feel like his own presence had weakened a notch?

After being squeezed a few times, Ling Qiyan angrily pulled his hand away and glared at Wen Ying. "You are not allowed to take liberties with this Prince."

He hadn't forgotten what kind of filth Shen Xingyao and his gang had discussed behind his back.

Wen Ying watched him quietly. Ling Qiyan raised his hand high, but instead of slapping him, he let it fall to tap Wen Ying's shoulder, reminding him, "You must remember your status clearly. Do not think about things you shouldn't think about."

After a moment of silence, Wen Ying lowered his eyes. "This student would not dare."