The Captivating Crown Prince

Chapter 62: Suspicion From Nangong Qian
Translator: Claire.KK
Nangong Qian got suddenly stunned. It was the first time that he had ever held a man’s hand. Actually, he had never held anyone else’s hand before, not even a girl’s. Of course he had done that to his sister when she was a little girl, but it never happened again when they grew up.

Gazing at the hand which was seized by him, Nangong Qian had to admit that it was really beautiful. The hand was white and delicate. The thin fingers looked like bamboo shoots in spring and their round tops were so cute. Compared with the hand, all those ancient books that had ever been in his hands lost their attraction.

Nangong Qian got a bit blank in his mind and then he suddenly came up with an idea that he would hold the hand forever. The thought passed his mind so quickly that he didn’t realize that he could have such an idea at the moment. The most important thing was that Nangong Qian was a sensitive man. He had noticed that the hand of the crown prince was strange. It was smaller than half of his big hand and it was too soft, which made it look more like a girl’s. Nangong Qian quickly moved his hand over Crown Prince Shang’s wrist to feel her pulse.

At the beginning, Shang Wuxin just instinctively wanted to get out of the way as she felt that Nangong Qian was about to take the book. To her surprise, Nangong Qian held her hand instead of the book by accident. As Shang Wuxin tried pulling back her hand, she found that Nangong Qian intended to feel her pulse.

Shang Wuxin knew clearly that though she tried hard to pretend herself to be a man, she was actually not. Her height was just a good example. It was good enough for a girl but she was too short when she stood beside a man like Leng Yufeng. These men around her were much taller than her. Furthermore, she didn’t have Adam’s apple, which was a distinct difference. And her body, especially her shoulder, was too emaciated, making her look not only weak but also effeminate. Finally, her wrists were too thin and her hands were too small. People would not notice it since they normally didn’t pay attention to it. But now it was pretty obvious, comparing with the big hand of Nangong Qian.

Shang knew that Nangong Qian was always suspicious. If she didn’t take measures to dispel his doubt, she would be in trouble soon. Fortunately, Shang Wuxin had mastered the method to hide her pulse and blur her gender.

Generally, though these martial artists were not good at feeling the pulse but they could still distinguish the gender of a person. Since he was so confused, Nangong Qian subconsciously feel the pulse of Crown Prince Shang. It was disordered but Nangong Qian was convinced that Crown Prince Shang was a man.

Realizing that, Nangong Qian naturally recalled the rumour about the crown prince. It was said that Shang Wuxin had lived mainly on medicine since he was born. Nangong Qian didn’t believe it before and thought that Crown Prince Shang just pretended to be like this to confuse people. But now he began to believe it. The young man in front of him was so emaciated and her hands were not only small but cold. Thinking about the complex condition of the empire made Nangong Shang feel a bit pity for the young man.

Seeing the obscure emotion in his eyes, Shang Wuxin got a bit impatient. She moved her wrist which was held tightly and coldly said in a dissatisfied voice, “When will you release me, Prince Qian?”

Nangong Qian’s mind was filled with thinking of the small hand. As he heard those words, he quickly averted his eyes and slightly released Shang Wuxin. No one noticed that his ear tips had been red and the hand behind him became a bit still in a sudden.

It was until Nangong Qian withdrew his hand that Shang Wuxin could set her mind at ease. She had never received such enormous pressure because of a man. Neither Han Xuanhao nor Leng Yufeng had ever made her feel so stressed but Nangong Qian just did it. He was so smart. It didn’t mean that the others are not as smart as him but he paid too much attention to the interest, which made him a really difficult person to deal with. And he was just the same kind of person as she.

The carriage got suddenly quiet. Nangong Qian felt embarrassed and asked, “How to do with it?”

Shang Wuxin turned her eyes to the page that Nangong Qian pointed at. It concerned arms arrangement and Shang Wuxin had ever read this kind of books so she knew it well. She didn’t keep the methods as secrets; instead, she told them to Nangong Qian directly. Both of them were extremely intelligent people and they couldn’t stop talking with each other later. They shared their opinions about arms arrangement and admired each other deeply in their hearts. They gradually felt that it would be much better if they could meet each other earlier.

For the first time in his life, Nangong Qian felt that he met a man who was congenial to him. It was true that so many people were equal to be his opponents such as General Leng of the Shang State. But now as he had met Crown Prince Shang, he couldn’t help feeling that it would be a great pity if she became his enemy.

“Crown Prince, thanks so much for helping my sister!” Though they had a hot discussion just now, both of them were inarticulate people. So they actually didn’t talk too much. As Shang Wuxin put down the book, Nangong Qian then said these words. He was not intended to talk about it and they were not supposed to make any promise to the others. “Crown Prince Shang, I will help you whenever you need!” promised Nangong Qian. He was surprised by what he just said.

Shang Wuxin simply nodded and didn’t refuse. She saved Nangong Lian not only for her beautiful face. Actually, she had her own purpose. Now that Nangong Qian had expressed his thanks, Shang Wuxin would definitely accept it. And she believed that she deserved it.

As the carriage was running on the road, a girl jumped in. Nangong Qian didn’t stop the person and so did Shang Wuxin. Because the girl was no other than the fifth princess of Nangong State, Nangong Lian.

“What are you talking about?” Nangong Lian got into the carriage and found that they seemed to be talking about something. She felt so curious as her brother didn’t like to talk with others unless he had business to deal with. As his sister, her brother would talk with her only after she talked too much to him.

Shang Wuxin didn’t reply her words and Nangong Qian didn’t give a response too. He loved his sister but he never spoiled her. He thought that a rational man would not give up his principles to spoil someone. But as so many years had passed he would realized that it was all because he didn’t meet the right person. Once he met her, he would completely lose his principles.

“Crown Prince Shang, will you attend the banquet tonight?” asked Nangong Lian. It was ordinary that Nangong Lian would have such a question. She had stayed at Crown Prince Mansion for such a long time and noticed that Crown Prince Shang seldom attended banquets or poem parties.

People’s life in the ancient time was pretty boring so they had lots of banquets to make it more pleasant. They would have seven or eight banquets in a month, which played an important role in amusing themselves and increasing people’s connection. However, Shang Wuxin was not interested in attending these banquets at all, and the former crown prince just did the same thing with her. Though there were massive rumour about Crown Prince Shang, not many people had ever seen her in person.

Shang Wuxin nodded. She had no other options as her father had asked Eunuch Xu to pass his words to her. And today she came alone to welcome Nangong Qian. It was obvious that her father was helping her to improve her status as crown prince. Shang Wuxin knew his intention so she would not give up the chance.

In order to avoid monitor of some people, Shang Wuxin didn’t choose the bustling main road though she was welcoming the lord of Nangong State. Instead, she chose a quieter street. However, something unexpected still happened there.

Beside the street, a strong man was chasing a girl in white. The girl running ahead in terror. Seeing the girl approaching the carriage, Leng Yufeng, along with several guards, showed no compassion and stopped her directly. Their swords were pointed at the girl in white and the strong man behind her.

“Who are you?” scolded Leng Yufeng in a cold tone. He had to keep cautious as the most dangerous risk always hid behind a small thing.

The girl didn’t pay any attention to the weapons. She just dropped to her knees and began kowtowing to the carriage saying, “Crown prince! Save me! Save me please!” she kowtowed again and again, making a horrifying sound as her forehead crashed the ground.

Shang Wuxin looked so attractive as she rolled her eyes to think something, which was caught by Nangong Qian. He suddenly realized that Shang Wuxin’s eyes were so beautiful that he could hardly breathe smoothly and his heart was influenced too.

Shang Wuxin nodded to Nangong Qian and Nangong Lian explaining, “Prince Qian, Princess, excuse me, I need to go out now, so I can’t go to the place with you!”

Nangong Lian waved her hands to show that she didn’t mind it at all. Nangong Qian held the same attitude saying, “It doesn’t matter, I can wait you here and then go with you!” He subconsciously didn’t want to leave Shang Wuxin here. The more important thing was that if Shang Wuxin didn’t go back with them as she was supposed to accompany Prince Qian, she would be punished severely for that. Thinking the dangerous condition of the empire palace that Shang Wuxin had to face, Nangong Qian recalled what he faced before. So he set his mind to help Crown Prince Shang.

When Crown Prince Shang walked out of the carriage, Nangong Lian said to her brother, “Brother, look! Isn’t Crown Prince Shang great?” The most intelligent person in Nangong Lian mind was no longer her brother but Crown Prince Shang now.

Nangong Lian didn’t expect getting response from her brother. But she still heard what her brother said.

“Yes, he is great!”

Nangong Lian knew that Crown Prince Shang was a good person so she jokingly murmured, “If only Crown Prince Shang were a girl. I always thought that no one could match you, brother. But now Crown Prince Shang appeared. What a pity that he was a man!”

Nangong Qina had been twenty four years old. In the past years he buried himself in finding methods to survive in the empire palace. As he became powerful enough, he paid all his attention to get more territories in Nangong State. There was no girl in Nangong Qian’s life. He had no concubine at his side. No one dared to talk about it in fear of his temper and style of doing things. The most important thing was that Nangong Qian was extremely cruel and merciless. A girl had ever tried to seduce him but failed. Then Nangong Qian gave her to his guards as a reward. And the beautiful girl was finally tossed to death.

Nangong Qian was a normal man but it seemed that there was no connection between him and love affairs. He was a cold-blood person. Girls, except his sister, were nothing but trouble for him. He had never thought about having a son to carry on his family line because his heart was filled with his ambition.

As he listened to his sister’s words, Nangong Qian felt that his heart moved and there seemed to be something different.

Most of the time, people didn’t need to have a reason to fall in love with someone. And now what Nangong Lian said really caused waves in his heart. Even though it was not a big thing, it would last in his heart all his life.