The empress disliked my achievements for overshadowing her own, so she turned her attention to the N

Chen Nan came up behind Hongming and gently patted him on the shoulder.

"what are you doing?"

Hongming turned his head wearily and snorted, "Of course I'm acting on the Prince's orders, taking care of the Empress Dowager's safety every step of the way!"

Chen Nan was taken aback: "How did you know it was me?"

Hongming smiled and said, "Besides you, who else in the entire Northern Wei would dare to treat a general so rudely?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Nan awkwardly rubbed his nose: "When did I become that maverick in Northern Wei?"

“Isn’t that so?” Hongming said softly, “Throughout history, being granted the title of king or prime minister has always been a choice between two options. Apart from you, I have never seen anyone who has held both positions at the same time.”

"Not only did he possess these two titles, but he was also bestowed with a golden staff by the emperor, appointed as an imperial censor, and concurrently served as the prefect of Weidu."

"I'm afraid the Empress Dowager's heart has long been with you, hasn't it?"

Whether it was his imagination or not, Chen Nan actually detected a hint of jealousy in those words.

Seeing the pale face of Hongming, Chen Nan felt a pang of heartache and couldn't help but touch it.

"Hey, what are you doing? There are so many people watching!" Hongming blushed and dodged Chen Nanse's outstretched hand.

The eunuch Wang had already been awakened by the sudden commotion.

He merely raised his eyelids and discovered that the person who had come was Chen Nan, and that he and Hong Ming were engaging in actions that no one else could witness.

Even though she was awake, she pretended to be asleep and turned her head away.

Having witnessed that scene not long ago, and now seeing this one again, Eunuch Wang's heart is already numb. Unfortunately, he not only saw it but also experienced the whole thing, yet he dares not mention it to anyone.

Seeing Hongming's shy expression, Chen Nan moved a chair over and sat down next to him.

At this moment, the room returned to calm. Hongming turned his flushed face away, not daring to meet Chen Nan's gaze.

Chen Nan didn't say anything either, and the two of them just leaned against each other quietly.

After an unknown amount of time, Chen Nan suddenly felt something lean against his shoulder.

Looking over instinctively, he saw that Hongming had fallen into a deep sleep, perhaps because he had been too tired recently, and was leaning on his shoulder.

Chen Nan looked at the sleeping Hongming and coughed lightly: "Eunuch Wang!"

The eunuch, who had been awake for some time, rubbed his eyes and pretended to be surprised, saying, "This servant did not know Your Highness was coming. I fell asleep while leaning against something. Please punish me, Your Highness."

Chen Nan wasn't stupid. How could someone like Eunuch Wang, who had served people his whole life, possibly fall asleep, especially with strange noises around him?

However, he did not specify anything, nor did he mention any punishment: "Find me a cotton quilt."

Without saying a word, Eunuch Wang went out and instructed, "The prince wants a quilt, so go and come back quickly. Don't let General Hongming get away with it."

It must be said that the people in the palace are very efficient. In just a few breaths, a palace maid came to Chen Nan's side with a cotton quilt.

"Your Highness, here is the quilt you requested."

Chen Nan took the quilt and carefully covered Hongming with it, then took Hongming's little hand and leaned close to him.

This one place alone took an entire afternoon...

As evening approached, Chen Nan noticed that Hongming in his arms suddenly moved.

To avoid being criticized, he simply closed his eyes and pretended to sleep.

Just as he was dozing off, he thought Hongming would simply pull his hand away.

Unexpectedly, although Hongming woke up, he did not make any movement. In fact, he tilted the quilt slightly towards him.

Chen Nan chuckled to himself: I thought she really wouldn't let me touch her, but it turns out she's just shy.

He was also unaware that Hongming, a war god on the battlefield, would have such a shy side.

Suddenly, Hongming turned around nervously. She realized that this was the Imperial Hospital, and there were more than just the two of them.

Especially since there was an eunuch named Wang behind them who always kept his eyes open.

Strangely, when she looked back, she found that Eunuch Wang was leaning against a pillar, his head tilted to the side, also taking a nap.

Only after confirming that Wang Gonggong hadn't noticed his little trick did he pat his chest in relief.

Just then, Chen Nan made a move, swaying his body from side to side a few times.

Hongming knew that Chen Nan was about to wake up, so she quickly pulled her hand away, gave Chen Nan a coquettish glare, as if she was still not satisfied.

The next second, Chen Nan opened his eyes, deliberately rubbed them, and asked curiously, "Huh, how did this quilt end up on me?"

Hongming turned his head away, blushing, and said, "I was just worried you'd freeze to death, so I kindly covered you with a quilt, and you're not even thanking me?"

"Very well, thank you very much, General Hongming."

Chen Nan said thank you, but he didn't really mean it.

Even as he spoke, he was already inwardly laughing hysterically.

Just as the two were getting intimate, Eunuch Wang coughed lightly.

Chen Nan turned around and glared at him with displeasure.

One glance was enough to frighten Eunuch Wang into immediately closing his eyes. At that moment, all he wanted to do was slap himself twice, and he was also regretting why he had coughed.

If it were any other time, Chen Nan certainly wouldn't say anything about coughing, but that look in his eyes just now made him feel as if he were in complete darkness, unable to see a trace of emotion in those eyes.

Eunuch Wang had no choice but to try and salvage the situation, saying, "Your Highness, my stomach suddenly feels a little uncomfortable..."

Chen Nan said softly, "If your stomach is upset, go to the outhouse. What are you talking to me about?"

He knew that it was the effect of his earlier glance.

After Eunuch Wang left, he tried to get a little closer to Hongming, but the other man dodged him: "What are you doing getting so close to me? The Empress Dowager is still watching!"

Chen Nan rolled his eyes at the Empress Dowager on the bed, thinking to himself: If she could see me eating live on the spot, she would be so reluctant to let go when she let go, but now that I'm awake, she won't let me touch her anymore.

For a moment, Chen Nan also began to regret why he hadn't slept a little longer.

Outside the door, Eunuch Wang stood behind the palace maid, tiptoeing, and looked helplessly into the room.

He wasn't actually having an upset stomach; it was just an excuse. He was afraid that Chen Nan would cause him trouble because of it.

While Chen Nan and Hong Ming were flirting, neither of them noticed that the Empress Dowager's ears suddenly twitched and she breathed heavily twice.

It was late at night when the slave quarters were brightly lit and surrounded by men in black.

The shadow guard stood in the middle of the men in black and said in a cold voice, "Are you sure?"

A person behind him replied, "It can be confirmed that there is an old woman's corpse in the latrine of the slave quarters. Her clothes are missing and her face has hundreds of scratches."

The shadow guard nodded: "Go to the Imperial Hospital and report this to the Prince. Don't mention that I, the guard master, have been here."

"Your subordinate obeys!" With that, the man turned and disappeared into the endless night.

After speaking, the shadow guard glanced back in the direction of the Imperial Hospital and said in a low voice, "I hope Your Highness will not disappoint me."

He then spoke again: "Shadow Two, go and report this matter to the Prince."

A dark figure stepped out from the side of the shadow guard: "Yes, sir!"