Card Room

At the same time, the imperial palace.

There were many Gothic-style buildings in the palace. The towering spires rose to the sky and the neat palace complex was magnificent. The Twin Palaces was the most distinctive building in the entire complex. It was located on the west side of the imperial palace and consisted of two modular white palaces connected to each other.

Yu Hanjiang was the captain of the royal guards and the keepers had instilled all types of information about the imperial royal family into him. Of course, the map of the distribution of the entire palace was also clear.

He used the knowledge in his memory and quickly found the Twin Palaces. There were several guards at the entrance of the palace and they saluted upon seeing Yu Hanjiang. "Major General."

Yu Hanjiang asked, "Is His Highness inside?"

One of the guards answered, "His Highness just had a meal and is taking a break after lunch."

Yu Hanjiang nodded and directly pushed open the door to enter. The guards seemed used to him directly entering the Twin Palaces. They lowered their heads and pretended not to know anything.

After entering, Yu Hanjiang first passed through a long corridor. The floor of the corridor was covered with a light gray marble that was clean of any dust. It was like a mirror that clearly showed the reflection of Yu Hanjiang's slender figure.

On both sides of the corridor were rows of windows that occupied almost 50 meters of the walls. The windows were inlaid with stained glass that contained various exquisite patterns, which shone colorfully under the sunlight.

Yu Hanjiang's leather boots stepped on the marble floor and made a regular sound.

The entire palace only contained Yu Hanjiang's footsteps. It was as if he entered an empty labyrinth. If a stranger came here for the first time, they would definitely be stunned by the complicated paths.

Fortunately, Yu Hanjiang was very familiar with this place. He walked around several consecutive corners according to the path he remembered and finally reached the crown prince's chambers. He reached out and knocked on the door. A moment later, the door opened from the inside and Yu Hanjiang met a pair of familiar eyes.

Xiao Lou was stunned for a moment before a smile filled his eyes. "I guessed that you would find me."

Yu Hanjiang placed his right hand over his heart and bowed to salute. "Your Highness."

This was an instinctive action. He was the captain of the guards and he had to salute when he met the noble crown prince. It wasn't known if there were any outsiders in Xiao Lou's palace so the necessary etiquette must always be done.

Xiao Lou told him, "I am alone. Don't worry about etiquette. Come in."

Yu Hanjiang entered the room and looked carefully at Xiao Lou.

Xiao Lou was wearing the white clothing of the imperial family. It was tailored to him and the cuffs and neckline were decorated with silver patterns. The ornamentation wasn’t exaggerated but instead looked very delicate. He was wearing a pair of white leather boots and a belt was tied around his waist, making his legs look straight and long. The originally good-looking facial features were set off by this clothing, making him look like a real prince who walked out of a painting.

Yu Hanjiang stared at this person and the color of his eyes gradually deepened. How many people were willing to surrender at the feet of such a handsome prince? If one were to line up all the ladies willing to marry him, they should effortlessly be able to form a circle around the palace.

Xiao Lou saw Yu Hanjiang staring at him and spoke in an embarrassed manner. "It seems I have to wear these clothes to a birthday party so I tried it on. Do you think it's weird?"

Yu Hanjiang blurted out, "You are very good-looking."

Xiao Lou told him, "This time, I have to wrong you. You are my guard so you have to salute me in front of others."

Softness filled Yu Hanjiang's eyes as he answered calmly, "I'm not wronged. I'm very satisfied with the keeper's arrangement."

"Huh?"

Yu Hanjiang didn't explain. He just thought, 'I am happy to be your guard. How can I be wronged?'

Yu Hanjiang saw Xiao Lou's puzzled eyes and coughed lightly before changing the topic. "In my memories, I only have Brother Jiu, Mr Tang, Long Sen and Qu Wanyue. I don't have any information about our other teammates. How about you?"

"…I only have you in my memories."

Yu Hanjiang was startled. Then Xiao Lou turned around and asked him to sit in the living room to talk.

The crown prince's palace was naturally luxurious. Yu Hanjiang glanced around Xiao Lou's residence before taking off his military hat and following this person to sit on the sofa.

Xiao Lou asked an intelligent robot to pour water for them. The robot was a cute little boy. He came with two glasses of water and greeted Yu Hanjiang politely. "Master, Major General, please drink water."

Yu Hanjiang replied, "…Thank you."

He glanced at the robot carefully. From the outside, it wasn't much different from a human being. In fact, this was the crown prince's intelligent mecha 'Spirit Fox'. Not only could it help Xiao Lou with housework but it could also transform into a combat mecha to protect the safety of its master.

Xiao Lou continued, "Just now, I carefully sorted out my memories. The era we are currently in is of an interstellar world. I am the only heir to the imperial family. My father, the emperor Xiao Qin, is 55 years old this year and is in poor health. The empress passed away a few years ago. I have an older sister called Xiao Rou. She married a prince of the Azure Empire in the distant Aquarius star field. Last year, she gave birth to a son. My sister and I haven't seen each other in three years."

Yu Hanjiang's memories had the same information. Yu Hanjiang nodded and signaled for him to continue.

Xiao Lou said, "As a child, I was born with a serious illness and almost died. Therefore, my father didn't let me leave the palace. All these years, he had teachers come to the Twin Palaces to teach me. I never went to school and have no classmates or friends."

"Seven years ago, you joined the royal guards. One night, you were patrolling the palace and happened to encounter me sneaking out. You didn't bring me back but followed me to protect me. We gradually became friends. In name, you are my guard but you are actually my only friend in the palace. In addition, my father has arranged a fiancee for me. She seems to be the daughter of General Lin and is called Lin Yan."

These were the memories that the keeper instilled in Xiao Lou.

Yu Hanjiang heard this and raised an eyebrow, seemingly a bit unhappy. "Fiancee?"

Xiao Lou awkwardly touched his nose. "The setting is like this."

Yu Hanjiang suddenly leaned over and slightly lifted Xiao Lou's chin, his voice low. "Don't forget, our real relationship isn't just friends."

Next, his lips were kissed in a domineering manner by this man.

Xiao Lou's eyes widened slightly and his ears instantly turned red.

…Was this okay?

A guard kissed the prince forcibly in his living room? This strange 'taboo love' scene made Xiao Lou's heart thump.

Yu Hanjiang wore a military uniform and gave off an air of abstinence, but he was extremely enthusiastic when kissing someone. He even forcibly pried open Xiao Lou's teeth. Xiao Lou's eyelashes trembled slightly as he closed his eyes and gently hugged Yu Hanjiang back.

Yu Hanjiang pressed him against the sofa. Xiao Lou was kissed so much that his ears burned and he unknowingly made weak sounds like a sultry cat, "Um… mmm…"

Yu Hanjiang's gaze deepened and he reached out to hold the back of Xiao Lou's head and pulled him even closer.

……

It wasn't known how much time passed.

Xiao Lou's lack of oxygen made him push this person hard. "You are… enough… let's talk about business first…"

Yu Hanjiang was usually a very calm person. However, Xiao Lou, who had the identity of the crown prince, had a unique charm. It was difficult for Yu Hanjiang to control himself for a while. He wanted to crush His Royal Highness who was wearing such fine clothing against the sofa…

The word fiancee did bother Yu Hanjiang a bit.

Now he kissed Xiao Lou and perceived the other side's response. He knew that Xiao Lou liked himself and a trace of satisfaction flashed in Yu Hanjiang's eyes. He let go of Xiao Lou and reached out his thumb to gently wipe off the transparent liquid on Xiao Lou's lips, his deep voice a bit hoarse. "Sorry, I lost control."

Xiao Lou sat up with red ears.

Both of their clothes were messy. The military uniform and formal outfit were ruffled and there was a strange sense of confusion mixed with abstinence. Xiao Lou lowered his head to tidy up his messy shirt while Yu Hanjiang also seriously neatened his military uniform.

Their breathing was restored and the two men acted as if nothing had happened. They continued to discuss the topic from just now.

Yu Hanjiang said, "For the time being, don't worry about the situation of our teammates. Brother Jiu and Mr Tang are on their way back. Long Sen is in the palace protecting His Majesty. Qu Wanyue is Long Sen's wife and should be home at this time. The others haven't shown up yet. They might be on another plot line or they might show up at your birthday."

Xiao Lou agreed. "My birthday banquet will be held three days later. My father wants to make this birthday banquet very grand. Once it is over, I can help him with management of the imperial government. Do you think there will be a problem at the banquet?"

Yu Hanjiang nodded. "Your birthday banquet should be a key plot point. There are three days left, so you should prepare first. In addition, the imperial palace is an area where cards are restricted. Since we can't use cards, we can't be connected using Heart has a Tacit Exchange of Romantic Feelings. So for the next three days, I will constantly stay at your side."

Xiao Lou was stunned. "Are you going to live in the Twin Palaces? Is this okay?"

Yu Hanjiang looked serious as he stared at Xiao Lou and said indifferently, "As the captain of the royal guards, it is my duty to protect Your Highness personally."

Xiao Lou, "……"

Another fanart entry. Check out Xiao Lou and Ye Qi in 'Beacon In Troubled Times' by ColdChillyRamen

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Proofreader: Fictional Reality & Paranoid Kitten